Practices in Research Journal (PiR)

Focus and Scope

Practices in Research is an annual online open access double blind peer reviewed journal for practice-based research in architecture. The publication is related to an annual conference for practice-based research in Architecture with the same name. The journal invites practising architects to explore the relationships between their practice and their research. The focus on the relationship of architectural practice and research can lead to a broad range of contributions, such as considerations about specific design processes, transversal surveys, epistemologic reflections, considerations about tools and media.  

Practices in Research is an initiative of the interuniversity research group Architecture In Practice including KU Leuven Department of Architecture, U Liège Faculty of Architecture, ULB La Cambre-Horta Faculty of Architecture, University of Antwerp Faculty of architecture, and UCLouvain Faculty of Architecture.

ISSN: 2736-3996

Editorial Board

The Editorial Committee is responsible for the operational management and strategic direction of the journal. This team, which includes the Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editor, and experienced editorial staff, plays a central role in overseeing the entire publication process—from manuscript submission to final publication. They implement the journal’s editorial policies, ensuring consistency and adherence to academic standards while curating relevant, high-quality content. The Editorial Committee may propose special issue themes or commission articles, actively shaping the journal’s profile and scope. Ultimately, they hold the final authority on publication decisions, drawing upon peer review feedback and their own expert judgment to accept, revise, or reject submissions.

Current members are : 

Editor in chief: 

Harold Fallon (AgwA, KU Leuven) 

Associate Editor: 

Tomas Ooms (Studio Tuin en Wereld, KU Leuven) 

Editorial Staff: 

Martina Barcelloni Corte (ULiège)

Benoît Burquel (AgwA, ULB)

Elodie Degavre (UCLouvain)

Christine Fontaine (UCLouvain)

Juliane Greb (Büro Juliane Greb, UAntwerpen)

Tine Segers (UAntwerpen)

Wouter Van Acker (ULB)

Benoît Vandenbulcke (AgwA, ULiège)

Editorial Coordinator:

Louise Meersseman (AgwA)

Scientific Committee

The Scientific Committee serves primarily as an advisory body, offering strategic guidance on the journal’s thematic focus and scholarly trajectory. Composed of senior researchers and practitioners, this committee enhances the journal’s credibility and academic standing. Its members contribute to long-term planning by identifying emerging research trends and refining the journal’s agenda. While their main function is not evaluative, they may occasionally participate in the review of particularly significant or complex manuscripts, especially when their specialized expertise is crucial.

Current members are :

Tiphaine Abenia (ULB) 

Céline Bodart (ULiège, ENSA Paris La Villette) 

Stijn Cools (aNNo architecten, KU Leuven) 

Niklas Fanelsa (TU München)

Pauline Fockedey (Nord, UCLouvain) 

Liesbeth Funck (Oslo School of Architecture and Design) 

Lidia Gasperoni (Bartlett School of Architecture, UCLouvain) 

Christoph Heinemann (ifau, Universität Kassel)

Nikolaus Hirsch (CIVA) 

Urszula Kozminska (Arkitektskolen Aarhus) 

Fabiano Micocci (NE A R architecture, University of Thessaly) 

Claus Peder Pedersen (Arkitectskolen Aarhus) 

Bie Plevoets (UHasselt, As Found Network) 

Cristian Ștefănescu (A-Works, BAS Bergen School of Architecture) 

Guillaume Vanneste (vvv, UCLouvain, Uliège).

Reviewing committee

The Reviewing Committee, composed of external peer reviewers, is tasked with the critical evaluation of submitted manuscripts. These reviewers are selected for their subject-matter expertise and are invited on a case-by-case basis. Their primary responsibilities include assessing the originality, scientific rigor, methodological soundness, and relevance of each submission. Through comprehensive feedback and constructive criticism, they support authors in improving their work and assist the Editorial Committee in making informed publication decisions. Peer reviewers are vital to maintaining the academic quality and integrity of the journal, ensuring that all published content meets the highest scholarly standards.

As the Practices in Research journal follows a double-blind peer-review process, members of the reviewing committee remain anonymous. 

Peer review process

The editorial team of Practices in Research ensures the quality of the editorial standard.

1. An open call for contributions is issued each year, including precise instructions. This open call may be combined with invited contributions.

2. The editors decide if the contributions fall within the scope of the journal and are suitable for inclusion in the issue.

3. Accepted contributions then undergo a double-blind peer-review process. The editors select two members of the reviewing committee per submission. Anonymity is strictly maintained and all information related to the author's identity is removed. The anonymity of the reviewers is also ensured. The reviews investigate the scientific rigor, the artistic quality and the clarity of communication of the contibution.  It also involves an open comment on the contribution.

4. If accepted (no negative review), the author is asked to resubmit the contribution, taking the reviews and editorial comments into account. The editorial team makes the final decision on whether the submission is rejected or accepted.

Special issues

Practices in Research Journal may publish special issues curated by guest editors. These issues fall within the scope of the journal and follow all its policies, under the responsibility of the Editor in chief. The Editor in chief or dedicated Editorial Board members oversee the guest editors. Special issue articles have the same editorial oversight as regular papers, including external peer review. The guest editors’ credentials are checked and approved by the Editorial Board. Papers submitted to a special issue by the guest editor(s) are handled under an independent review process and make up no more than 25% of the issue’s total.

Licensing, Copyright terms, Open Access Policy

Practices in Research is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License and fulfils the DOAJ definition of open access.
Practices in Research provides immediate Open Access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. 
 

Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the authors whitout restriction. By appearing in this Open-Access journal, articles are free to use, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings. The author(s) hold the copyright and retain publishing rights.

Registration

The contributions are made available through the website of the journal as separate pdf files and as a single pdf file containing the complete issue of the journal.

https://architectureinpractice.eu/pirjournal

Additionnaly, the contributions are uploaded on the Zenodo platform, a EU-funded Open Access platform providing DOI (Digital Object Identifiers) for each published article. The contributions to the Practices in Research journal are uploaded in the “Practices in Research” community of Zenodo.

https://www.zenodo.org/communities/practicesinresearch

The journal is listed on the VABB/ECOOM website as a Guaranteed Peer Reviewed Content journal (code 2736-3996). 

https://www.ecoom.be/en/vabb-shw/journal-list-cumulative

Originality

By publishing their work in Practices in Research, the authors declare that their contribution is original and has not been published before. The authors also declare that the contributions do not infringe third party rights (ie. the contribution, texts, images, etc.) and bear this responsibility.

In case of doubt the Editorial Board will make use of the ‘Turnitin’ plagiarism detecting service.

Charges

The online publication is free of charge. Practices in Research do not apply publishing fees such as : submission fees; editorial processing charges; article processing charges (APCs); page charges; colour charges.

Contact Detail

Editor in Chief
prof. dr. ir. arch. Harold Fallon - harold.fallon@kuleuven.be

Associate Editor 
Sr lect. dr. arch Tomas Ooms - tomas.ooms@kuleuven.be

Editorial Coordinator
Louise Meersseman - info@architectureinpractice.eu

Rue des Palais 153
1030 Brussels - Belgium
T. +32 (0)2 244 44 30 
E. info@architectureinpractice.eu