As the act of envisioning future environments, design inherently involves innovation (Munigala et al. Citation2018; Wilkes-Allemann et al. Citation2023). In its 2024 firm survey, the American Institute of Architects found that 76% of all participating firms reported conducting some form of in-house research activity. About half of those practices also reported experimenting with the introduction of advanced technologies into their workflow (AIA Citation2024). Although innovation is often perceived to depend on and result in technological advancements, novelty that emerges from analog processes, traditional methods, and community engagement has the power to remove entry barriers and offer advantages, such as faster and broader adoption, as well as longevity and growth over time (Allal-Chérif et al. Citation2025). With that in mind, the peer-reviewed articles in this issue of TAD explore and study design solutions that, while charting new territory, are also grounded in current knowledge and seek to expand existing practices.
