At Perkins&Will, research is part of our DNA.

Innovation starts with inquiry.

In our never-ending quest for knowledge, we push limits, take risks, investigate, and discover. We constantly ask ourselves, “What if?” “What’s next?” This makes our ideas clearer, our designs smarter, our teams happier, and our clients more satisfied.

For more information, see our research site.

If you are interested in participating in any of the labs, contact Erika Eitland, Kimi Seigel, or David Moses in our studio.

Design Process

A "design process" includes many steps needed to design and construct a built environment. This includes everything from initial data-mining and schematic design all the way through to construction and post-occupancy evaluation. As built environments become more complex, building performance demands increase, and work schedules compress, project teams need to be more effective and efficient at every stage of this process.

Human Experience (Hx)

Enhancing the Human Experience of Design

Mobility

The way people move from place to place is evolving rapidly. People have more choices now than ever before about how to get around cities. And almost every day, there is new transportation technology on the market. We’re thinking seriously about the urban design implications of these emerging mobility options and smart technologies—and planning our projects accordingly. We want to reclaim our public spaces for pedestrians, cyclists, urban residents, and workers, alike.

Energy

With the right tools at their disposal, project teams can gain important insight into the performance of their buildings, even at the earliest stages of design. This insight can radically improve energy efficiency, reduce duplicative work, and save time and money. We use and develop advanced technologies to help teams discover these insights early on so they can design buildings with optimal performance.

Building Technology

What happens to the performance of a built environment when we integrate multiple materials into building systems? How do these systems affect constructability, embodied energy, durability, and costs? These are some of the questions we’re seeking to answer—because when it comes to performance, a building is more than the sum of its parts.

ResilientSEE

Climate change exacerbates natural disasters and existing chronic stressors within our communities. As global weather patterns continue to change and trigger more extreme events, we’re taking these risks seriously. We’re researching, developing, and adapting strategies to increase the resilience of our buildings and our communities so that—even in the face of acute and chronic events—they can survive, recover, grow, and flourish.

Material Performance

What kind of impacts do the materials we put into our built environments have on us? Every day, we’re discovering new answers to this question. The fact is, all across their life cycles, the products used to build, furnish, decorate, and even clean our spaces have ripple effects on our health, well-being, and environmental footprint. The more informed we can be about the materials we’re using, the better—and safer—our built environments will be.