By Julia Backhaus
Background
The built environment plays a crucial role in global sustainability efforts. The construction industry alone contributes approximately 40% of global CO₂ emissions. In Germany, with about 6.5 tonnes per capita, private households accounted for about 540 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions in 2021. Of this total, nearly 40% resulted from direct emissions such as heating and personal vehicle use (Destatis 2023). Addressing these environmental and social challenges requires innovative research approaches that integrate technical, social, economic, and environmental perspectives.
The newest profile area at RWTH Aachen University, Built and Lived Environment (BLE), was established to tackle this challenge with initial funding from the "profile building" programme of the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Culture and Science. As a horizontal organisational structure, the BLE profile area and project connect researchers from various faculties at RWTH Aachen University, including Architecture, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Georesources and Materials Engineering, Philosophy, Business and Economics, and Medicine. Next to the close collaboration across university units, partnerships with practitioners from the city and region of Aachen ensure that research findings are both academically ambitious and practically relevant.
Practical starting points
Three focus projects to experiment with alternative approaches and solutions in real-world contexts area planned in the context of the BLE project. Living Labs and similar settings have gained prominence as collaborative research formats where science, policy, practice, and society work together towards urban transformation. In such experimental environments, a flexible and adaptive methodological framework is essential for understanding the complex interactions between the built environment and the lived experiences of its inhabitants. Traditional research methods often fail to address the dynamic, context-dependent nature of real-world challenges. Therefore, transdisciplinary research must incorporate tailored methods that bridge disciplinary boundaries and foster practical solutions.
To foster and facilitate integrated inter- and transdisciplinary research in and on the built and lived environment, the BLE consortium aims to develop a methodological toolbox. With this goal in mind, I was happy and grateful for the opportunity to visit Freiburg and exchange ideas with colleagues at the Oeko-Institute, who have led the work on “New Formats” in Topic Line 4 of the tdAcademy. During my week-long stay, I focused on the following key question: How can methods and method combinations for transdisciplinary research be systematised, structured, and made available in the form of a toolbox?
Between November 2024 and February 2025, members of the BLE consortium contributed a total of 33 methods to the initial collection of the BLE Toolbox by completing a form for each method. The collected methods included those for gathering, visualizing, or analysing data, as well as methods for interdisciplinary collaboration in research and teaching, and for transdisciplinary exchange with practice partners outside academic such as representatives from politics, public administration, civil society, or the business sector. Thanks to my colleagues in Aachen, I was able to begin the fellowship with this extensive collection and some initial ideas for its systematization and typologisation.
Developing a Taxonomy for the Toolbox
To develop a prototype of the BLE toolbox, I undertook the following steps:
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Reviewing existing literature and toolkits: Based on prior research, including work by the tdAcademy’s Topic Line 4 team, I identified key categories for clustering research methods.
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Based on the literature, prior experience and exchanges with colleagues in Aachen, I developed straightforward categories such as:
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General focus (e.g., data collection vs. stakeholder engagement)
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Approach (e.g., numerical vs. interpretive)
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Mode of inquiry (e.g., disciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary)
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Process phase (e.g., co-design, co-production, co-evaluation, co-integration)
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Core conceptualisation of space (e.g., physical, social, digital, political)
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Building on the useful distinction between formats, methods and tools by the team leading the work on “New Formats” within the tdAcademy, I distinguished process methods from pointed methods:
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Process methods focus on structured collaboration (e.g., Theory of Change, 10 Steps).
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Pointed methods facilitate momentary data collection and engagement (e.g., workshops, focus groups, interviews).
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During discussions with the GTPF Working Group on “Formats, Methods and Context,” we identified additional practical criteria such as:
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Preparation time
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Duration
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Ideal group size
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As part of our final supervision meeting, Melanie Mbah suggested another category:
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Actors involved in the research process
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On the train ride home, I decided to add content categories to signpost what particular aspects of the built and lived environment are captured or addressed by a particular method.
These categories to organise the methods and tools used by the BLE consortium ensure that the BLE toolbox can be structured and searched by means of various key words and entry points. This should enable easy and flexible use in different research contexts.
Choosing the Right Digital Platform
To ensure accessibility, I explored existing online platforms for hosting the toolbox. Many platforms, such as Notion, require paid subscriptions, which are impractical for project-based research. Wiki-based solutions emerged as a viable alternative due to their open-source nature and flexibility. Initially, I considered MediaWiki, but its technical complexity posed challenges. Instead, I opted for DokuWiki, which offers a more user-friendly structure while allowing for collaborative content updates.
A key advantage of wiki-based tools is that they can be updated and expanded over time, preventing the stagnation which was criticised by members of the GTPF Working Group on “Formats, Methods and Context” and that is, unfortunately, often seen in project-based toolkits. Turning the toolbox into an open and living platform is in line with Open Science principles and ensures that the toolbox remains a useful resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers alike.
Reflections
During my fellowship, one of the discussions with Regina Rhodius helped me to critically reflect on the feasibility of ideal methodological pathways. Given the complexity and messiness of real-world research, it is unlikely that perfect processes exist. However, some methods are more or less useful depending on the context, project phase or actor constellation, which reinforces the importance of developing flexible and adaptable toolkits rather than rigid frameworks. While there may not be a one-size-fits-all methodological pathway, providing researchers with a dynamic and adaptable set of tools can significantly enhance interdisciplinary collaboration.
The journey of developing this toolbox has been very exciting and enriching, and I look forward to further refining it in collaboration with colleagues at RWTH Aachen University, BLE, and the GTPF community. Through collective efforts, we can continue to strengthen practice-oriented, transdisciplinary research and contribute to the sustainable transformation of our built and lived environments.
Looking Ahead
The topic I explored during my fellowship could inspire the GTPF Working Group on “Formats, Methods and Context,” which is gathering insights on method combinations in different research formats. My work on the toolbox for transdisciplinary research in the built environment will also continue within the BLE project for at least another 18 months.
With the tdAcademy coming to an end, much of its work is continuing within the newly founded GTPF community. I would like to commend the entire tdAcademy team for their dedication and perseverance, which have significantly contributed to the advancement of the German(-speaking) transdisciplinary research community. The tdAcademy laid the foundation for a dynamic research network that continues to grow.
Literature
Destatis (Federal Statistical Office of Germany). (2023). Energy flows and emissions. Retrieved March 28, 2025, from https://www.destatis.de/EN/Themes/Society-Environment/Environment/Environmental-Economic-Accounting/energyflows-emissions/emissions-energiy_flows.html