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The Martin Centre for Architectural and Urban Studies celebrates its 25th anniversary in 1992. The Centre is the research division of the Cambridge University Department of Architecture and has been highly influential. Its main areas of study are the built form and building performance. Many highly successful architects acknowledge the Centre's influence. There are a number of buildings which demonstrate the ideas developed at the Centre including the Oxford Law Library, the Malta Brewery and Harvey Court, Cambridge.

A visit to the Design Research Laboratory (DRL) of the Architectural Association's Graduate School in Wiltshire, England throws up questions on the role of architectural research in academe and its relevance to practice. It is concluded that the DRL's pursuit of a line of enquiry that goes beyond the bland assumptions of experience is justified, as there is little point in doing research that merely corroborates what is already known.

RIBA is trying to do something about UK architectural academians working elsewhere resulting in a brain drain. RIBA has set up a Research and Development Department that would work with research institutions and those that can use the work of those institutions. Architectural research can lead to products that could be accepted by practitioners.

Le Corbusier and Rem Koolhaas are discussed in the context of the CITY2K+ Cities for the New Millennium conference.

Architects often find it difficult to gain access to research, as the current economic climate has served to limit the amount of information which is available for little or no cost. Some valuable research work is still being undertaken by universities and other similar institutions, for example, and some large companies are still investing heavily in their own internal research. Companies which build their reputation on research and innovation reap benefits in the end, as they can attract good staff and high-quality customers.

Millennium architectural projects using steel such as the British Airways London Eye, The Lowry and the Eden Project are examined.

A building study of The Lowry, a building devoted to the works of LS Lowry, is presented.