Urban public space faces increasing challenges due to the accelerating impacts of climate change, necessitating a paradigm shift in how cities adapt their built environments. This paper presents a case study on integrating Nature-based Solutions(NbSs) with urban infrastructure, focusing on the design and development of Urban Oasis, a modular and multi-sensory urban furniture system. Urban Oasis functions as a climate adaptation tool, incorporating rain gardens to manage stormwater, mitigate urban heat island effects, and enhance biodiversity while integrating smart features such as climate sensors, irrigation systems, lighting, speakers, and electric vehicle chargers. Through a practice-based design methodology, the study explores how transdisciplinary collaboration can inform the development of adaptive, resilient, and equitable urban interventions. The findings demonstrate the potential of NbS-integrated urban infrastructure to address the complexities of climate adaptation while enhancing social, ecological, and technological resilience. The results, validated through an integrated design checklist, contribute to ongoing discussions on urban design frameworks, emphasizing a multi-layered and systemic approach that intertwines architecture, social innovation, multi-species design, and sensory engagement to reimagine public space for future climate resilience.

This study addresses the need for sustainable urban design, focusing on enhancing street-level interactions in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 11). The research specifically examines the evolving role of urban furniture and infrastructure in creating inclusive, resilient cities that respond to current challenges, such as climate adaptation and citizen accessibility. Using a qualitative mixed-methods approach, this study combines keyword analysis and semi-structured interviews with urban design experts, and comparative case studies in the Basque Country. Key themes emerged, including sustainable water management, Nature-based Solutions, technological integration, and pedestrian prioritization. These findings underscore a shift from static, object-oriented urban components to adaptable, modular designs that balance functionality with environmental and social sustainability. This study concludes with a checklist for urban furniture design, offering practical guidelines that will inform the next research phase: prototyping innovative urban furniture solutions to support more sustainable and inclusive city environments.

Urban public space faces increasing challenges due to the accelerating impacts of climate change, necessitating a paradigm shift in how cities adapt their built environments. This paper presents a case study on integrating Nature-based Solutions (NbS) with urban infrastructure, focusing on the design and development of Urban Oasis, a modular and multi-sensory urban furniture system. Urban Oasis functions as a climate adaptation tool, incorporating rain gardens to manage stormwater, mitigate urban heat island effects, and enhance biodiversity, while integrating smart features such as climate sensors, irrigation systems, lighting, speakers, and electric vehicle chargers. Through a practice-based design methodology, the study explores how transdisciplinary collaboration can inform the development of adaptive, resilient, and equitable urban interventions. The findings demonstrate the potential of NbS-integrated urban infrastructure to address the complexities of climate adaptation while enhancing social, ecological, and technological resilience. The results, validated through an integrated design checklist, contribute to ongoing discussions on urban design frameworks, emphasizing a multi-layered and systemic approach that intertwines architecture, social innovation, multi-species design, and sensory engagement to reimagine public space for future climate resilience.

Design as a discipline has evolved significantly since the early 20th century. While architecture played a pivotal role in the early development of Design Research (DR), its focus on intuition and subjective processes gradually distanced it from the systematized methodologies of the broader DR community. This divergence has left architecture underrepresented in contemporary design discourse, despite its foundational contributions. This article revisits the historical intersections of architecture and DR, proposing a quest for a renewed methodological framework for Architectural Design Research (ADR) that does not ignore the subjective/artistic factor of Architecture. By mapping the evolution of DR, from the Bauhaus and Ulm schools to the present, proposing a critical review of strongly rooted standards such as Wicked Problems and the universal scope of design, and taking on board potentially architecture-matching directions like Donald Schön’s Reflection in Action and Jane Darke’s Primary Generators, this study identifies critical points where architecture can reengage with Design Research. The goal is to establish ADR as a distinct yet integrated domain that embraces both reflective practice and structured inquiry, thus enriching the landscape of Design Research for the challenges of the 21st century.

Despite the shared roots between design and architecture, design methodologies, such as Design Thinking (DT), have evolved separately from the architectural workshop teaching. This article collects the experiences of implementing methodologies and exercises in the second-grade architecture workshop from 2018 to 2023. The implementation process was based on the incorporation of these methods within the basic teaching triangle composed of the competencies/objectives, methodology, and evaluation. The exercises tested include the DT double triangle paired up with the SITE-PROGRAM-CONCEPT sequence and specific DT exercises such as 6-3-5, the "Wallet exercise", empathy/Personas exercises, and the SCAMPER method. The implementation has been highly positive and has improved the structuring of course activities and the acquisition of creative skills by students. These results encourage us to continue integrating these practices in the future, contributing to design training in architecture. A pesar de las raíces compartidas entre el diseño y la arquitectura en el pasado, las metodologías de diseño, como el Design Thinking (DT), han evolucionado por separado de la docencia en el taller de arquitectura. Este artículo recoge las experiencias de implementación de metodologías y ejercicios de en el taller de segundo curso de arquitectura desde 2018 hasta 2023. El proceso de implementación se ha basado en la incorporación de estos métodos dentro del triángulo docente básico compuesto por las competencias/objetivos, la metodología y la evaluación. Los ejercicios testados incluyen la secuencia del doble rombo de DT sobre la secuencia SITE-PROGRAM-CONCEPT y ejercicios concretos de DT como 6-3-5, el "Wallet exercise", ejercicios de empatía/Personas y el método SCAMPER. La implementación ha sido altamente positiva y ha mejorado la estructuración de las actividades del curso y la adquisición de habilidades creativas por parte de los estudiantes. Estos resultados alientan a continuar integrando estas prácticas en el futuro, contribuyendo a la formación proyectual en arquitectura.

We are currently facing a new social and technological situation that demands a different and renewed approach to the way we teach architecture and design as a whole. It is not the first time that the economic and social situation triggers a crucial shift in the way we understand this matter. Learning from the Bauhaus (stepping onto industrial design), the school of Ulm (new step onto non-tangible design) and Design Thinking as an outcome and commercial product consequence of the ‘design rationale’ of those years of the twentieth century, we can build over the foundations of the classical architecture design studio practice, a set of exercises, methodologies and a general approach in order to handle the future of architectural teaching. Today, we can merge the experiences of Bauhaus and Ulm, Design Thinking and the classical architectural teaching to frame a coherent and holistic approach to architecture and design.