Research › KASK & Conservatorium (HOGENT – Howest)

KASK & Conservatorium (HOGENT – Howest)

Transformative, multidisciplinary research

Research at KASK & Conservatorium stems from individual or collective art and design practices or is closely related to them. This research aims to bring about both internal and external transformation. The research culture at KASK & Conservatorium is interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary in nature and focuses on experimentation, openness and freedom of research. There is a strong link between education and research, while the autonomy of both is safeguarded. This close connection is reflected in the sharing of knowledge from research in education and in the collaborations between researchers, lecturers and students that form the basis of the jointly supported research culture.

Research clusters

KASK & Conservatorium focuses on research clusters. These consist of artists, designers and theorists from various disciplines who come together around a specific field of research that appeals to or connects them through their research or artistic practice. A research cluster provides space for experimentation, the exchange of expertise, interdisciplinary approaches and the organisation of study days, symposia, presentations, publications and master’s seminars.

Futures through Design

Most research projects in the field of Landscape and Garden Architecture fall within the Futures through Design cluster. This PWO research centre is a collaboration between HOGENT and Howest and systematically uses design as a creative, exploratory, participatory and solution-oriented process to increase the resilience of society, while initiating and guiding the transition to a sustainable future. It is organised according to the principles of HOGENT’s 12 interdisciplinary research centres, each with its own mission and vision, separate from that of research in the arts. Futures through Design is embedded in the programmes of KASK & Conservatorium.

Design-based research aims to bring new perspectives to the fore by shaping future scenarios rooted in a critical analysis of the contemporary context. By tackling concrete challenges in a multi- and transdisciplinary manner, we want to not only provide future-oriented solutions that avoid negative impacts, but also maximise their positive impact. Sustainable innovation of our human environment is paramount, both in material terms and in terms of behaviour and value patterns, with an overarching focus on improving quality of life. Futures through Design concentrates on challenges that lie at the intersection of three lines of research:

Co-design, achieved here by actively involving end users for the sake of the participatory and emancipatory power of design as a process;
Preservation through development, with an emphasis on the reinterpretation and updating of heritage, such as historic estates and traditional crafts;
Socio-ecological systems, pointing to the intertwining of natural and cultural processes, and the relationship of both human and non-human actors to each other and their environment.