Manchester Architecture Research Group (MARG)

Our agenda focuses on architecture as a social practice with political, cultural, and contested outcomes.

We see architecture as a broad network encompassing social, cultural, and technical aspects that go beyond buildings.

Our interest lies in exploring the relationship between architectural processes and products creatively. We aim to understand how the built environment is conceived, used, shared, contested, mediated, adapted, and changed, considering both formal and informal practices.

We pioneer interdisciplinary approaches to studying architecture, emphasizing social studies. Our expertise includes archival methods, actor-network theory, ethnography, anthropology, digital mapping, and complexity theory to examine the social, economic, and political impacts of architectural design.

Our research spans various themes and scopes, from buildings and cities to historical and contemporary contexts. We are committed to social inclusivity, considering the perspectives of users, citizens, designers, policymakers, and the media. Projects fall under four categories:

• architectures of temporality;
• architecture, politics, and networks of expertise;
• design, climate, and the Anthropocene;
• event architecture.

We collaborate with a wide range of interdisciplinary fields, including archaeology, art history, popular culture, and structural engineering, offering exceptional opportunities for collaborative architectural research. The involvement of our researchers strengthens research bids in various disciplines.

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