“In architecture and design, making something isn’t just an outcome – it’s a way of thinking. The artefacts are not illustrations of the research; they are part of the research itself,” explains Claus Peder Pedersen, Head of the PhD School at Kolding School of Design and Aarhus School of Architecture.
When research takes shape: Artefact-based PhD projects
“An artefact-based PhD project has to meet the same academic standards as any other PhD. The difference lies in how the research is developed and communicated.”
At Kolding School of Design and Aarhus School of Architecture, PhD projects can take many forms. Alongside the classic text-based dissertation, some researchers work with artefact-based formats, where physical or spatial works, prototypes, models, films, installations or other material expressions form a central part of the research contribution.
Artefact-based PhDs are characterised by the fact that knowledge is not only produced and communicated through writing, but also through what is made. According to Claus Peder Pedersen, Head of the PhD School at Kolding School of Design and Aarhus School of Architecture, this approach recognises that knowledge in architecture and design often develops through an interplay between reflection and action.
- In architecture and design, making something isn’t just an outcome – it’s a way of thinking. The artefacts are not illustrations of the research; they are part of the research itself.
He points out that artefact-based projects make it possible to explore questions that can be difficult to grasp through language alone.
- Some forms of understanding only become clear when you work in a concrete, material way – through space, form, movement or materiality. This is not an alternative to writing, but a supplement that can open up other kinds of knowledge.
PhD projects at Kolding School of Design and Aarhus School of Architecture must still meet the same academic requirements as any other PhD, regardless of format. This includes standards of methodological rigour, documentation and theoretical grounding. The difference lies in how the research is unfolded and communicated.
- An artefact-based PhD is no less academic. It simply places different demands on how you account for your process and your results. You have to be able to explain how the artefacts generate knowledge and how they function within a research context, says Claus Peder Pedersen.
In her artefact-based PhD project, Line Rebecca Rumhult works with artefacts from an embodied perspective, exploring how materials in artefacts can be combined with IoT and connectivity technologies, and how we can create more tactile, bodily objects.
“Line Rebecca Rumhult is working on an artefact-based PhD project at Kolding School of Design”
The artefact itself is not the main point
According to Claus Peder Pedersen, the key lies precisely in the connection between artefact and reflection.
- It’s not enough just to make something. You also have to analyse it, place it within a professional and academic context, and show how it contributes to existing knowledge.
Artefact-based PhD projects often sit at the intersection of artistic research, practice-based research and academic theory. This places demands on both PhD candidates and supervisors, but also opens up new ways of understanding what research in architecture and design can be.
- It broadens our idea of how knowledge can be produced and shared, and it fits well with a field where thinking and making have always been closely connected, says Claus Peder Pedersen.
Artefact-based PhD projects are one of several possible paths through the PhD programme at Kolding School of Design and Aarhus School of Architecture. They represent a form of research where creative practice and academic reflection meet, and where the particular forms of knowledge found in architecture and design are given space as part of scholarly work.
“When you work artefact-based, you are constantly moving back and forth between writing, methodology and practice. None of these stands alone,” explains PhD student Line Rebecca Rumhult.
“Emma Rishøj Holm uses artefacts in her PhD project at Aarhus School of Architecture.”
