Evaluation of the relationship between studies of design research and design process in the field of architecture: a systematic review

Abstract Although design research is a relatively recent academic field, it has developed several influential typologies over the past decades. This study conducts a systematic review to evaluate how design research approaches relate to the design process, with a specific focus on two overlooked dimensions: the point of research integration in design and the research attitude guiding the inquiry. Drawing on foundational models by Frayling, Cross and Buchanan, the paper proposes a conceptual framework that cross-analyzes research typologies with these two dimensions. Seventy peer-reviewed studies in architecture and related disciplines were identified and analyzed through PRISMA guidelines and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist. The findings reveal four distinct clusters: (1) research about design – basic research – design epistemology, (2) research through design – applied research – design praxeology, (3) research for design – clinical research – design phenomenology and (4) a fourth category, research through design (II) – applied research – design epistemology. Moreover, five research attitudes were identified across the studies: practitioner, practitioner with user, practitioner with AI, researcher and user. These findings provide a more nuanced understanding of how design knowledge is produced in architectural research.