architectural case study conclusion

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How to write the conclusion of your case study

You worked on an amazing UX project. You documented every detail and deliverable and when the time came, you began to write a UX case study about it. In the case study, you highlighted how you worked through a Design Thinking process to get to the end result; so, can you stop there and now move on to the next thing? Well, no! There’s just one more bit left to finish up and make the perfect case study. So, get ready; we will now explore how you can write the perfect conclusion to wrap it all up and leave a lasting great impression.

Every start has an end – we’re not just repeating the famous quote here, because for case studies, a proper end is your last and final chance to leave a lasting great (at the very least, good) impression with whoever is reading your work (typically, recruiters!). Many junior UX designers often forget about the conclusion part of the case study, but this is a costly mistake to make. A well-written case study must end with an appropriate final section, in which you should summarize the key takeaways that you want others to remember about you and your work. Let’s see why.

Last impressions are just as important as first ones

We’ll go to some length here to convince you about the importance of last impressions, especially as we can understand the reason behind not wanting to pay very much attention to the end of your case study, after all the hard work you put into writing the process section. You are tired, and anyone who’s read your work should already have a good idea about your skills, anyway. Surely—you could be forgiven for thinking, at least—all that awesome material you put in the start and middle sections must have built up the momentum to take your work into orbit and make the recruiter’s last impression of you a lasting—and very good—one, and all you need to do now is take your leave. However, psychologist Saul McLeod (2008) explains how early work by experimental psychology pioneers Atkinson & Shriffin (1968) demonstrated that when humans are presented with information, they tend to remember the first and last elements and are more likely to forget the middle ones.

This is known as the “ serial position effect ” (more technically, the tendency to remember the first elements is known as the “ primacy effect ”, while the tendency to remember the last elements is known as the “ recency effect ”). Further work in human experiences discovered that the last few things we see or hear at the end of an experience can generate the most powerful memories that come back to us when we come across a situation or when we think about it. For example, let’s say you stayed in a hotel room that left a bit to be desired. Maybe the room was a little cramped, or the towels were not so soft. But if the receptionist, as you leave, shakes your hand warmly, smiles and thanks you sincerely for your custom, and goes out of his way to help you with your luggage, or to get you a taxi, you will remember that person’s kind demeanor more than you will remember the fact that the room facilities could be improved.

A good ending to your case study can help people forget some of the not-so-good points about your case study middle. For example, if you missed out a few crucial details but can demonstrate some truly interesting takeaways, they can always just ask you about these in an interview. Inversely, a bad ending leaves the recruiter with some doubt that will linger. Did this person learn nothing interesting from all this work? Did their work have no impact at all? Did they even write the case study themselves? A bad last impression can certainly undo much of the hard work you’ve put into writing the complicated middle part of your case study.

What to put in your case study conclusions

A case study ending is your opportunity to bring some closure to the story that you are writing. So, you can use it to mention the status of the project (e.g., is it ongoing or has it ended?) and then to demonstrate the impact that your work has had. By presenting some quantifiable results (e.g., data from end evaluations, analytics, key performance indicators ), you can demonstrate this impact. You can also discuss what you learned from this project, making you wiser than the next applicant – for example, something about a special category of users that the company might be interested in developing products for, or something that is cutting-edge and that advances the frontiers of science or practice.

As you can see, there are a few good ways in which you can end your case study. Next, we will outline four options that can be part of your ending: lessons learned, the impact of the project, reflections, and acknowledgements.

Lessons learned

A recruiter wants to see how you improve yourself by learning from the projects you work on. You can discuss interesting insights that you learned from user research or the evaluation of your designs – for example, surprising behaviors that you found out about the technology use in a group of users who are not typically considered to be big proponents of technology (e.g., older adults), or, perhaps, the reasons a particular design pattern didn’t work as well as expected under the context of your project.

Another thing you can discuss is your opinion on what the most difficult challenge of the project was, and comment on how you managed to overcome it. You can also discuss here things that you found out about yourself as a professional – for example, that you enjoyed taking on a UX role that you didn’t have previous experience with, or that you were able to overcome some personal limitations or build on your existing skills in a new way.

Impact of the project

Showing impact is always good. How did you measure the impact of your work? By using analytics, evaluation results, and even testimonials from your customers or users, or even your development or marketing team, you can demonstrate that your methodical approach to work brought about some positive change. Use before-after comparison data to demonstrate the extent of your impact. Verbatim positive quotes from your users or other project stakeholders are worth their weight (or rather, sentence length) in gold. Don’t go overboard, but mix and match the best evidence for the quality of your work to keep the end section brief and to the point.

Copyright holder: Andreas Komninos, Interaction Design Foundation. Copyright terms and license: CC BY-SA 3.0

User reviews from app stores are a great source of obtaining testimonials to include in your case studies. Overall app ratings and download volumes are also great bits of information to show impact.

An excerpt from a case study ending section. Here, text and accompanying charts are used to demonstrate the impact of the work done by the UX professional.

Reflections on your experiences

You can include some information that shows you have a clear understanding of how further work can build on the success of what you’ve already done. This demonstrates forward thinking and exploratory desire. Something else you can reflect on is your choices during the project. In every project, there might be things you could do differently or improve upon. But be aware that the natural question that follows such statements is this: “Well, so why haven’t you done it?”

Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by listing all the things you wish you could have done, but focus on what you’ve actually done and lay out future directions. For example, if you’ve done the user research in an ongoing project, don’t say, “ After all this user research, it would have been great to progress to a prototype, but it’s not yet done ”; instead, say, “ This user research is now enabling developers to quickly progress to the prototyping stage. ”

Acknowledgments

The end of the case study section is where you should put in your acknowledgments to any other members of your team, if this wasn’t a personal project. Your goal by doing so is to highlight your team spirit and humility in recognizing that great projects are most typically the result of collaboration . Be careful here, because it’s easy to make the waters muddy by not being explicit about what YOU did. So, for example, don’t write something like “ I couldn’t have done it without John X. and Jane Y. ”, but instead say this: “ My user research and prototype design fed into the development work carried out by John X. User testing was carried out by Jane Y., whose findings informed further re-design that I did on the prototypes. ”

What is a good length for a UX case study ending?

UX case studies must be kept short, and, when considering the length of your beginning, process and conclusion sections, it’s the beginning and the conclusion sections that should be the shortest of all. In some case studies, you can keep the ending to two or three short phrases. Other, longer case studies about more complex projects may require a slightly longer section.

Remember, though, that the end section is your chance for a last, short but impactful impression. If the hotel receptionist from our early example started to say goodbye and then went on and on to ask you about your experience, sharing with you the comments of other clients, or started talking to you about where you are going next, and why, and maybe if he had been there himself, started to tell you all about where to go and what to see, well… you get the point. Keep it short, sincere and focused. And certainly, don’t try to make the project sound more important than it was. Recruiters are not stupid – they’ve been there and done that, so they know.

Putting it all together

In the example below, we will show how you can address the points above using text. We are going to focus on the three main questions here, so you can see an example of this in action, for a longer case study.

An example ending section for a longer case study, addressing all aspects: Lessons, impact, reflection and acknowledgments.

Here is how we might structure the text for a shorter version of the same case study, focusing on the bare essentials:

An example ending section for a shorter case study, addressing the most critical aspects: Lessons, impact and reflection. Acknowledgments are being sacrificed for the sake of brevity here, but perhaps that’s OK – you might mention it in the middle part of the case study.

The Take Away

The end part of your case study needs as much care and attention as the rest of it does. You shouldn’t neglect it just because it’s the last thing in the case study. It’s not hard work if you know the basics, and here, we’ve given you the pointers you need to ensure that you don’t miss out anything important. The end part of the case study should leave your recruiters with a good (hopefully, very good) last impression of you and your work, so give it the thorough consideration it needs, to ensure it doesn’t undo all the hard work you’ve put into the case study.

References & Where to Learn More

Copyright holder: Andrew Hurley, Flickr. Copyright terms and license: CC BY-SA 2.0

Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Chapter: Human memory : A proposed system and its control processes. In Spence, K. W., & Spence, J. T. The psychology of learning and motivation (Volume 2). New York: Academic Press. pp. 89–195.

McLeod, S. (2008). Serial Position Effect

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Architecture Student Chronicles

How to conduct a Case Study?

When students begin studying  Architecture at a University, the first thing that they are supposed to become excellent at, is doing a documentation or a case study . It could be a case study of a small village, town, a villa, a bus-stop, or a high-rise commercial or residential building. A case study is an in-depth investigation of a single individual, group, incident, or community. Other ways include experiments, surveys , or analysis of archival information

What is the purpose of conducting a Case Study?

As the term Case Study suggests, it is the study of a particular case that is similar to your topic of design project. Doing a case study will help you understand the various aspects that you have to consider while designing.

Literature Case study

Before you start with your live case studies, first of all do a complete literature case study. Literature case study consists of reading everything you can find on the subject. You can refer books in a library, use Google to look up research papers, check out Standard Code books and statutory laws or from technical journals.

A literature case study would give you a vague idea about your topic. There will be various questions arising in your mind after you are done with your literature case study. To find the answers to those questions, you will have to go for minimum two live case studies….

Always possibly go for more than two different case studies, because a comparative case study of two or more different cases is very important and helpful.

• While you are doing your first case study, say a Villa, go for a smaller Villa first so that you can figure out the basic minimum requirements.
• In your second case study, go for an extremely lavish Villa so that you are aware of the maximum requirements you could give.

(Being able to provide maximum or minimum requirements in your design is very important)

If there are some requirements that you haven’t come across while doing your case studies but you went through it while you were doing a literature case study, then try implementing those requirements  in your design.

Eleven most important things to analyze in any Case Study

• Environment and micro-climate Analyzing the surrounding environment and the micro-climate of that place will help understand the reason of the orientation of the structure, the kind of roof chosen and the materials used in its construction.
• User behavior and requirements Studying the functioning of a particular place, say a Hospital, is very important; without which you will not be able to figure out the requirements and the area that should be allotted for each of the requirements.Talking to people working at that place (Hospital), will help you figure out if the requirements that are provided are adequate and he area that is allotted is sufficient for its efficient working.
• Utility and space enhancement Study of Utilitarian facilities of a particular case is also important. Various measures taken to enhance a particular space should be analyzed.
• Form and Function Analyzing the reason behind the form of that particular building…and how it merges with the surrounding environment. Form and Function go hand in hand. The form of the building should be able to convey the function of the building. A lot of Architects say “Form follows Function”.As an example, an institutional building should not end up looking like a museum or a disco.Some other Architects might disagree with that philosophy. They’d say that the function of a structure keeps changing but changing the form of the building everytime its function changes is not possible. They say, Adopt a “Universal Design Scheme”.
• Horizontal and vertical circulation Horizontal circulation consists of elements such as the corridors and lobbies. Vertical circulation includes elevators, staircases, ramps etc. The efficiency of the placement of these services should be analyzed.
• Site Planning and Landscape detailing Refer to the Article on the blog “ A Guide to Site Planning “, which deals with different aspects considered in site planning in greater detail.
• Structural details such as Column and Beam Design, Steel  and Composite structures Understanding and analyzing the structural details is also important. For example, large span structures such as Auditoriums use trusses or heavy I-section steel beams and sometimes shell-roofing that involve construction of Ring beams whereas in small span structures, RCC construction is used.
• Building Services such as Fire Alarm system, HVAC, Water supply systems The working of Fire Alarm system, HVAC and Water supply systems should be examined and their space requirements are to be analyzed.
• Design detailing considering the Barrier-free environment Implementation of the Barrier-free architecture for comfortable access to disabled people. Most public buildings have mandatory accessibility systems for the disabled. Check out Guidelines to the Disability Standards for Access to Premises 200X. (Australian law)
• Socio-economic profile of user group It might also be important to find out the socio-economic profile of the people using the services so as to determine their requirements and available resources.
• Parking details and standards Measure the allotted parking area on site, say for ten cars, then calculate the average area for each car and compare it with the areas specified in TSS (Time Savers Standards).

Conducting a case study is hard work. Sometimes, it is so small, it could be done in days, but on other occasions, it takes weeks to document and compile all the data. It involves going on-site, meeting and taking to people, lots of traveling, plenty of photography, and some fun. It is the most important of assignments you might get as an architectural students.

This is where you learn from reality, actual stuff, as opposed to only theoretical knowledge. When I was learning law I took every chance I could get to learn from people actually doing the work I was aiming for, yes I did “donate” many hours to Winters & Yonker, P.A. , but in the end is was worth every minute. Looking at places first hand  and documenting information would give you many insights and ideas and let you peek into the minds of professional architects and designers who have used years of experience and improvisation to design and create incredible structures.

Case studies of some of the famous Structures mentioned below:

 SPA – Delhi

VNIT – Nagpur

Thiagaraj Convention Center

TKM College of Engineering (Chennai)

42 thoughts on “How to conduct a Case Study?”

We want to design an oldage home how u can help

You live in Delhi and I am in Hyderabad, so I might not be of much help, unless you want my father (Architect Javed – http://www.architectjaved.com/ ) to design it for you.

If you want more info on Old age homes, see http://www.architecture-student.com/design-guide/guide-to-designing-old-age-homes/

The hardest part is looking for related literature especially when your research topic is new. It may be that difficult but it is surely unique when done and published.

I’m an attorney and when studying law we spent the bulk of the time reading what is called caselaw which is existing decisions that forms our law. We are to find cases that support our clients’ fact scenario so that the decision is our clients’ favour.

The parallel with architecture is uncanny as architects use existing structures and environments to form the basis for a new project. As the saying goes, “no need to reinvent the wheel” but it’s good to evolve from existing structures. Likewise, the law evolves.

Case Study is itself a very necessary work to be done before appearing to anything to be done. It’s just a sample report before appearing for any cases to get it solved properly.

A good blog to read on and to be shared amongst all…..

For me, Case Study is really important on anything you are planning in order to have a well planned and a successful outcome. Doing a Case Study on anything gives you an idea for the pro’s and con’s of that. I’m glad there’s such an article like this!

Case studies are a great way to plan lots of things, not just architectural projects. It’s almost like doing the work without actually doing the work, so you can identify sticking points, potential problems and lots more.

thank you that really helped….!! im a first year b.arch student….

Hello Nanda, We are glad our site has been of help to you. Do keep visiting. We wish you all the best for your future!

will do 🙂 thanku 🙂

it’s really helpful!! thx a lot!

i am beginning my thesis in B. arch. n so m requiring a hypothetical site of about 3 acres here in india with the climate warm and humid. topic is performing arts centre in kerala. how do i find and fix a hypothetical site?

Hello Resbi, The best way to find an appropriate site for your project could be done by using Google Earth.

i would like to know the steps and what case studies to do about for a multispeciality hospital

As im in 2nd year of b.arch

I have not much studed about much detailed

Like casestudy,site analysis’

It will help me

Thanks u again

U can see our 1st year architecture 1st month exibition video on youtube

hi !!!I’m a 1st year b.arch and v hav 2 do a case study on an architect’s firm . cud u tell me wat all i shud include in my case study???v hav to do a case study on a bungalow also…

Hello Joan,

The following links will be of help to you.

Guide for conducting a casestudy for a villa

Also check out: Cafeteria Design

i am a first year b.arch student..i have got a case study to do..can u please guide me by teling how many sheets should i present..please guide me..as soon as posible..ur site helpd me to knw how to do case study but i also want to know how many sheets should it include..please guide me..

tanx for this good work.pls do continue.

Number of sheets doesn’t matter until you pin down your inferences correctly …… for a first year student i guess a max of 1 or 2 A1 sheets or a ppt of less than 20 slides should be enough in terms of quantity …. make sure you put the point across 🙂 🙂

This was really helpful. Thank you very much. Just about to go for a case study on 2 schools.

What r all things I should see for bedroom attached bathroom casestudy.

Thank you for some other wonderful article. The place else could anyone get that type of information in such an ideal manner of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I am on the search for such information.

this really helped alot Thankyou

love your articles ,wld love to b part of this, was just surfing the net and found this…….good work to u guys

Hey, this really helped I’m goin for a case study on resorts tmrw Would appreciate any pointers to observe there thanq ????

hello,i am second year b.arch student,i have to do case study on luxury primary school . cud you please tell me what all should i include in my case study ???and also case study for the kids school…………

For a project like that, you should visit a minimum of two schools. One would be a high profile school and the other one could be a private low budget school or a government school. After you casestudies you will be able to draw comparisons between the two and that should help you come up with your list of requirements. let me know if you have any other questions.

I am doing by 3rd year b arch n this time our project is based on housing for artist Wht all shld I keep in mind while designing for artist n der family member who are non artist

Hello Monisha, I recommend you to read this article: http://www.architecture-student.com/case-studies/design-of-an-artist%E2%80%99s-house-guide-for-conducting-a-casestudy-of-a-villa/

Nice bolg. Thank you. I am barch student. I would like to know how to do comparison study of any two building. Now I have done with case study of a gallery (ngma Bangalore). I have done sub case study as well as literature study. But I want to know how exactly should I do comparitive study. More than write up comparison, How well can I present it

I am doing thesis on Orphan children and oldage home combining both generations together so as to create marvelous socially conceptual design. Help me with bestest case study from which I can learn alot to create spaces for both.

I am final year in srm rampuram school od architecture and doing thesis on township. So could anyone help with sum reference for case study and literature study as soon as possible

Hello Revathy,

When you say township… what kind of township. Give us some description of your thesis project so that we could give suggestions as to how you could proceed.

thanks a lot it is great information has answered some of my questions

hello.i have taken up the topic EMBASSY(any country) Design for my final year thesis. i was wondering if you could help me out with the plans for casestudies,since i hear it will be quite a problem with all the security.

It is not an excellent topic for design. You should have chosen something that would let you explore your ideas. Embassy building would look like a commercial block…nothing interesting… this is not something people havent seen. I do not think you will get permission for a livecasestudy of any embassy. No one would let you in. So if you still have time, i would suggest you choose a more design oriented topic.

hey i am doing thesis on low cost building materials and technology.i wanna do commercial project on this topic. can you suggest me project name or case study on this topic.

I have taken service apartment complex for tourist as my final year thesis. Help me to find the best case study for thesis.

Hello. Im studying b.arch 4th year. Im supposed to do a thesis case study, on Automobile industry i.e a car manufacturing plant. Can you please help me regarding this, as what all i should include and what steps i need to follow to complete my case study. Please reply me asap. Thank you.

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How to Craft an Effective Introduction for Your Architectural Case Study

As an architectural student, working on a case study is an essential part of your academic journey. It helps you understand real-life projects, apply your theoretical knowledge, and showcase your skills as an aspiring architect. One of the most critical sections of a case study is the introduction, which sets the stage for the entire document. In this blog post, we will delve into the importance of creating a compelling introduction, discuss the elements it should include, and explain how it can enhance your case study.

To create an impactful introduction for your architectural case study, you should include the following elements:

Overview of the Case Study Project

Begin by providing a brief description of the project, including its location, type (e.g., residential, commercial, educational), and any unique features that distinguish it from other projects. This information will give the reader a quick understanding of the project's context and help them grasp its significance.

Context of the Project:

 Elaborate on the broader context of the project, such as its historical background, socio-cultural influences, environmental factors, and any challenges or opportunities it presents. This information will help the reader appreciate the project's complexity and the rationale behind your design choices.

Main Objectives of Your Case Study

Explain the primary goals you aim to achieve with your case study. These objectives may include investigating specific design strategies, analyzing the project's performance, or evaluating its impact on the users or the surrounding environment. By clearly defining your objectives, you will establish a framework for your research and demonstrate your focus and direction.

Your Role in The Project

Clarify your involvement in the project, whether you were part of the design team, an observer, or a researcher. Be transparent about the scope of your responsibilities and how your role influenced your perspective on the project. This information will help the reader understand the context of your insights and the basis of your conclusions.

Scope of Your Involvement

Outline the aspects of the project you will focus on in your case study. By doing so, you will provide the reader with a roadmap of the case study, ensuring they are aware of the areas you intend to explore and analyze in detail.

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29 july 2021, how to write an engaging architectural case study.

From using an attention-grabbing image to getting a positive endorsement from an architect, here are five key tips for writing better architectural case studies.

How can you make sure your case study attracts and engages readers from start to finish?

#1: Wow the reader with an attention-grabbing hero image

The hero image is the first thing readers see when deciding whether to click through to your article, so make it count. Choose an image that is eye-catching and showcases both the project and your products. If there’s a particularly unique feature or challenging aspect of the project, this is the place to highlight it.

Architects are visual people and have high standards, so where possible, contract an architectural photographer to get the best shots of the project. You’ll find the professional images come in handy when designing brochures and updating your website.

Bonus tip: Don’t be afraid of colour! Whether it’s your product itself or nature in the background, a splash of colour can help your article stand out against.

#2: Brainstorm your way to an effective title

Your article title is another important tool for capturing interest and encouraging clicks. In digital publications, titles serve two purposes: to draw the attention of readers, and to generate search traffic.

When writing your title, think of the aspects of the project that would most interest the architect audience, the key point of difference of your product and the challenge it helped the design team overcome.

Taking those key points, brainstorm title options that are descriptive so the reader has a good idea of what they’re going to learn, and include keywords that an architect would use when searching for your product or solution.

And remember to keep it short — once you’ve got your winning title, you can add any extra details into the teaser text below.

#3: Tailor the article to your audience

Now that you’ve got the attention of the reader, can you keep them engaged? The trick here is to focus on your target audience. What would they find most useful to learn?

For the architect audience, focus on a design challenge and how the specification and installation of your product resolved this for the design team. That doesn’t mean you can’t highlight your product’s benefits, but focus on weaving these into the context of the project so architects see how they apply to their work.

And for builders, don’t forget to mention key installation benefits such as any time savings, ease of use and assistance provided so they understand how your product stands out from the alternatives.

#4: Stick to an easy-to-follow structure

Your case study is all about helping architects understand how your product was used to solve a design problem in a real-life context. This calls for a logical and easy-to-read structure. We suggest telling the story from start to finish with a paragraph or two on each of these points:

• Introduce the project and brief
• Highlight the key challenge the architect/builder needed to resolve
• Outline why your product was chosen, key benefits and how it resolved this challenge
• Describe the final result

Bonus tip: Download our case study template   to draft your article before submitting online.

#5: Incorporate quotes from an architect or builder

Let someone else speak about your products for a change! Our research tells us that architects look to the opinions of their peers when considering new products for specification. By interviewing an architect about the use of your product, you can get a positive testimonial on what they found most useful and how it helped them achieve a winning result. Quotes can help support key points and add a human touch to the article.

Still need help?  Consider EBOSS copywriting

Sometimes you simply won’t have the time or expertise in-house to focus on writing case studies. If that’s the case, don’t hesitate to reach out to the EBOSS team. We can take interviews and write case studies tailored to our format and audience for just $350+GST. Contact us on [email protected] to learn more .

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How to Write a Compelling Architecture Case Study

Table of Contents

An architecture case study serves as both an educational tool for aspiring designers and a resource for professionals working in the field. It must be comprehensive and explore all necessary elements to draw accurate conclusions. In this article, we will outline the key elements that you need to analyze to help ensure your work captures all relevant details. We’ll also share some quick tips that can help your writing process. We’ve got a ton to discuss, so let’s get into it!

What is a Case Study?

Generally, a case study is an in-depth exploration of a particular subject, typically focusing on its development or success over time . In architecture, it is a narrative document that explores and analyses an architectural project from start to finish. It typically covers everything from the creative process to practical challenges and other factors affecting the development stages. The main goal of the study is to provide insight into how architects approach their work and understand the discipline as a whole.

Importance of Architectural Case Studies

Architectural case studies are invaluable resources that provide a wealth of information to architects and designers. By studying different designs, architects can learn from past experiences and develop better approaches for future projects. Other ways an architectural case study can be used are:

• Design Inspiration : Through studying existing architecture, one can gain inspiration for their own designs. It’s a great way to understand the thought processes that went into creating the original project. This helps architects develop innovative ideas and create unique structures. 
• Project Planning : An architectural case study can serve as a starting point for the planning of future projects. It provides a clear outline of the steps necessary to reach a successful outcome.
• Risk Management : The outcomes of an architectural case study can help inform risk management decisions when undertaking a large building project. By assessing what went wrong in similar cases, architects can take all necessary precautions to avoid similar mistakes in their projects. 

How do I pick a Case Study?

Choosing the subject for your   architecture case study is a big decision. It requires careful thought to ensure the right fit. First, you’ll need to identify the type of case study you want to focus on. Do you want to explore residential or commercial projects? Or do you wish to delve into urban design and planning initiatives? Once you have determined the general scope of the project, narrow down your list further by looking at specific features such as:

• Sustainability, and so on.

Doing this initial research will help you develop a more focused plan for your case study.

Key Elements an Architecture Case Study Should Analyze

When analyzing an Architecture Case Study, it is essential to consider a range of elements to draw meaningful conclusions. Here are some essentials elements that you need to analyze::

This refers to the physical location of a building, including its geographical features such as elevation and orientation to sun and wind. Analyzing the site will provide insight into how the architecture integrates with the existing environment.

Structural Systems

This involves examining the systems used to support the structure’s weight, such as columns and beams. It is essential to consider how these systems interact with other elements to create a cohesive design.

Environment

This element looks at how the architecture will interact with the surrounding environment. It assesses noise pollution, air quality, water runoff, and other ecological concerns. Evaluating nearby buildings and other structures also helps consider how a building might impact the area. And it can help inform you if any compliance issues must be addressed before proceeding.

Building Envelope

The outer shell of a building keeps out external elements while allowing access to internal spaces. Examining its material composition, form, and function can offer insight into the overall aesthetic of the project.

Spatial Organization

This refers to how rooms or areas within a building are organized. Evaluating how spaces interact helps you understand circulation patterns, natural lighting opportunities, and so on.

How does the architecture reflect cultural values? Is it attempting to express something unique or innovative? An analysis of aesthetics will help to uncover what ideas the architect was trying to communicate through their design.

Sustainability

Sustainable design considers resource efficiency throughout all stages of construction and occupancy. Examining a project’s efforts toward sustainability is essential when evaluating its success and environmental impact.

Quick Tips for Writing an Architecture Case Study

•  Research the architectural project extensively and compile detailed notes on all key elements. 
• Clearly define the scope of the case study by outlining your objectives and intended outcomes. 
• Analyze the architecture from multiple perspectives, such as structural, aesthetic, functional, spatial, etc. 
• Ask questions that invite deeper exploration into how the structure was built and why certain design choices were made. 
• Include photos, sketches, or other visuals to support your written analysis. 
• Use storytelling techniques to make your case study more engaging and relatable for readers. 
• Ensure accuracy and consistency throughout your writing by proofreading multiple times. 
• Summarize your findings in a concise conclusion, providing key takeaways or recommendations for future projects.

Final Words

Architectural case studies are essential in the field by providing practitioners with valuable data and design inspiration . By studying existing projects, you can gain valuable insights that will inform and increase the quality of your future work.

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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Architecture

How to do case study in architecture?

A case study in architecture is an in-depth analysis of a real-world architectural project. Such projects may be new construction, adaptive reuse of existing buildings, or the conservation of historic buildings. A case study approach allows students to apply what they have learned in the classroom to a real-world setting.

Case studies are an important part of architectural education. They provide students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems.

There are a few different ways to approach a case study. One way is to choose a building or project that you are familiar with and use it as a case study. This approach can be helpful if you want to learn more about a specific aspect of architecture.

Another way to do a case study is to choose a city or region that you are interested in and find a project that exemplifies the architectural style of that area. This approach can be helpful if you want to learn more about a particular style of architecture.

Whatever approach you choose, there are a few things to keep in mind when doing a case study. First, you need to clearly define the problem you are trying to solve. Second, you need to gather as much information as possible about the case study area. This includes looking at photos, drawings, and any other available resources.

Third, you need to develop a hypothesis or proposal for how to solve the problem. This part of the process is where your creativity and imagination will really come into play. Once you have a proposal, you need to testing it out by doing a mock

How to do case study?

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. In order to write a case study, you must first select a case. Once you have selected a case, you will need to build a theoretical framework. This framework will be used to guide your data collection and analysis. After you have collected your data, you will need to describe and analyze the case.

Archdaily is an excellent source of information for anyone interested in architecture. It is one of the most popular architecture websites, with a wide variety of content including news, articles, case studies, interviews, and research.

How do you write a construction case study

A case study is an in-depth examination of a single person, group, or event. In order to conduct a case study, a researcher must first select the case or subject of analysis. Once the case is selected, the researcher must determine the research questions, which will guide the data gathering and analysis techniques. The researcher must then collect data in the field, evaluate and analyse the data, and prepare the report.

Case studies are an important tool in psychology, providing insight into unusual conditions. Some famous examples include John Martin Marlow’s case study on Phineas Gage and Sigmund Freud’s case studies, Little Hans and The Rat Man. Case studies can be an invaluable resource for understanding rare or atypical conditions.

What are the 3 methods of case study?

An intrinsic case study is undertaken to learn about a unique phenomenon. This type of case study is focused on a single individual, group, or event. The researcher attempts to understand the phenomenon from the perspective of the participants. An instrumental case study is undertaken to answer a specific question. This type of case study is focused on generating new knowledge that can be applied to solve a problem. The researcher is interested in understanding how the phenomenon works and how it can be used to improve a situation. A collective case study is undertaken to understand a phenomenon that is occurring within a group of people. This type of case study is focused on understanding the experience of the group as a whole. The researcher is interested in understanding how the phenomenon is impacting the group and what factors are contributing to it.

An effective case study has four parts:

1. Ditch the norm: You’ve seen that tired, old case study template a million times. A more useful approach is to spell out how much not solving their problem could eventually cost.

2. Show the cost of inertia: A more useful approach is to spell out how much not solving their problem could eventually cost.

3. Prove your value: Create a more effective format that includes measurable results from working with you.

4. Create a more effective format: Include measurable results from working with you in your case study format.

What should a design case study include?

A case study is a detailed account of a specific project, typically used to showcase the work of a designer or agency. A good case study will include all of the following elements:

-An introduction to the client, including their background and the problem they were facing -A description of the design solution, including the steps taken to reach the final result -An overview of the results achieved, with supporting evidence such as before-and-after shots or graphs -Any key learnings or lessons learned during the project -A short conclusion that ties everything together

There are several different types of case studies, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

Descriptive case studies provide a detailed description of a particular case, often with the aim of understanding a specific phenomenon or behaviour.

Explanatory case studies attempt to explain why something happened, often by looking at factors that may have contributed to the event.

Exploratory case studies are used to investigate a particular question or issue, and are often used to generate new hypotheses or ideas.

Intrinsic case studies focus on a particular case in order to understand its inherent features, without reference to external factors.

Instrumental case studies are used to solve a specific problem or achieve a specific goal.

Collective case studies involve studying a group of cases in order to identify common patterns or trends.

Which is the best topic for case study

A case study is an in-depth analysis of a real-life situation or incident, usually undertaken to provide insights into cause and effect relationships. Case studies are usually conducted on individuals, groups, or organizations, but can also be conducted on events or on entire societies.

What are the 6 parts of case study?

As with any study, it is important to first prepare to conduct the case analysis. This includes familiarizing yourself with the material, reviewing any relevant background information, and proposed solutions. Once you have a solid understanding of the information, you can then begin to formulate your own recommendations. Be sure to review your work before submitting it, and make sure to address all aspects of the case analysis in your review.

A case study analysis requires you to investigate a business problem, examine the alternative solutions, and propose the most effective solution using supporting evidence.

To write a successful case study analysis, you must first understand the case study. Read and examine the case thoroughly, taking notes and highlighting relevant facts. Once you have a good understanding of the problem at hand, you can begin to identify possible solutions/changes needed. Select the best solution based on your findings and support it with evidence from the case study.

How does a case study look like

A case study is a story that substantiates the value of a product, service, or idea. Case studies follow a typical story structure, which means they have a beginning, middle, and end. Think of them as a “before and after” snapshot of a customer’s business – complete with quotes, statistics, and images.

Most business case studies are created by the marketing team and given to the sales team. However, they can also be created by other departments within an organization, such as customer support or success.

There is no one correct answer for how long a case study should be. However, it is generally accepted that a case study should be between 5 and 15 pages in length. This length is considered to be appropriate for most cases.

What is the easiest way to solve a case study?

Following are the key points to write an answer to a case study assignment: 1. Read the case study and questions carefully. 2.Identify the issues in the case study 3.Link theory to practice 4.Plan your answer 5.Start writing your case study answer 6.Edit and proofread 7.Submit.

The case study method is a research method that often involves simply observing what happens to, or reconstructing the case history of a single participant or group of individuals. This method is also known as the idiographic approach.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best way to do a case study in architecture will vary depending on the specific project and situation. However, some tips on how to approach a case study in architecture include:

1. First, identify the key problems or challenges that the project is facing.

2. Second, research these problems thoroughly in order to gain a deep understanding of the underlying issues.

3. Third, develop potential solutions to the problems, and evaluate their feasibility.

4. Finally, choose the most promising solution and develop a plan for implementing it.

The conclusion for this topic would likely discuss the different methods that can be used to do a case study in architecture. It would also talk about the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Jeffery Parker

Jeffery Parker is passionate about architecture and construction. He is a dedicated professional who believes that good design should be both functional and aesthetically pleasing. He has worked on a variety of projects, from residential homes to large commercial buildings. Jeffery has a deep understanding of the building process and the importance of using quality materials.

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Introduction and Acknowledgements                          Overview and Summary of Best Practices Conclusion Case Studies  

Introduction and acknowledgements.

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) initiated Four Case Studies Exemplifying Best Practices in Architectural Co-design and Building with First Nations  as a resource for designers, clients, funders, and policymakers.

As the leading voice for excellence in the built environment in Canada, the RAIC believes that architecture is a public-spirited profession with an important role in reconciliation – addressing injustices by giving agency back to Indigenous people.

The document builds on the success of the RAIC International Indigenous Architecture and Design Symposium held in on May 27, 2017. At this ground-breaking event, Indigenous speakers from Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States presented best practices in co-design with Indigenous communities and clients. Co-design is a collaborative design process between architects and the Indigenous community as client.

The symposium was a project of the RAIC Indigenous Task Force which seeks ways to foster and promote Indigenous design in Canada.  Its members include Indigenous and non-Indigenous architects, designers, academics, intern architects and architectural students.

The four case studies presented here further explore and exemplify best practice themes, specifically in the context of three First Nations and one Inuit community in Canada. 

Ottawa consultant Louise Atkins carried out the research and writing. Special thanks are extended to the Department of Indigenous Services Canada for funding the case studies, and to the 15 individuals interviewed for the projects who generously shared their time, insights and inspiring stories.

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Overview and summary of best practices.

The four case studies set out to explore best practices in architectural co-design in the context of three First Nations and one Inuit community in Canada. One case study was selected from each of four asset classes – schools, community and cultural centres, administration and business centres, and housing. These asset types would be of special interest to First Nation, Inuit, and other Indigenous communities and to the Department of Indigenous Services Canada as they consider the architectural design, building, and funding of new community infrastructure facilities and housing. 

Best practice insights from these studies can inspire communities and help shape government funders’ policies and practices.

Summary of Best Practices

Interviews were conducted with architects and designers, Indigenous chiefs and community leaders, Indigenous government employees, contractors, and construction company officials, academics, and government funders.  Questions posed in interviews built on best practice themes from the RAIC International Indigenous Architecture and Design Symposium as well as value-added considerations such as Indigenous employment. Best practice findings are divided into four groups.

Project Initiation

The impetus for each project was different. Some were replacement assets. The Six Nations of the Grand River were replacing one-room schools dating from the early 20th-century.  When the Splatsin te Secwepemc lost their “Log Cabin” convenience and artisan craft store in a fire, they replaced it with a much larger business hub, artisan marketplace, and offices. The Squamish and Lil’Wat First Nations leveraged the opportunity of the 2010 Olympic Games to create a cultural centre as a showcase to the world in their shared traditional territory of Whistler, BC. In Nunavik, the major stakeholders came together to design, build and monitor a pilot duplex house that could be a prototype for sustainable northern housing that is culturally responsive, better adapted to climate change, and highly energy efficient.  

Co-design Process

Co-design is the collaborative design process between the architects and the Indigenous community as client. In the four case studies, best practices included architects listening carefully to understand the community’s vision, and working closely with the client throughout the design phase. The resulting building designs were anchored in Indigenous peoples’ connection with the natural world and reflected who they are as people – their traditions, culture, values and lifestyles, and their aspirations.

Co-design is not a formula. In each case study, co-design took its own distinct form. In one project, the architect worked with a large steering committee of Indigenous chiefs and stakeholder officials. Another included Elders as well. A third used a design charrette with a cross-section of Indigenous tenants and a fourth added community open houses to the process. Two of buildings were designed by Indigenous architects, and two were by architects and designers with experience working in Indigenous contexts.

For all four projects, Indigenous respondents underlined the importance of architects who listen well to the community vision and engage in ongoing dialogue. Through an iterative process, the architects brought design options and solutions until their clients were satisfied that their vision developed into a tangible design that met functional requirements and reflected their values, culture, traditions, lifestyles, and aspirations.

Designs referenced ancestral building forms and Indigenous peoples’ reverence for and relationship with the natural world. In every case example, the buildings were anchored to their natural surroundings and most integrated traditional materials, particularly wood. Each project maximized energy conservation through mechanical means, insulation, and designs that utilized natural heating, cooling, and air circulation systems.

The buildings were further enhanced through siting, orientation and natural light. In keeping with Haudenosaunee traditions, Emily C. General School is oriented to the cardinal directions, tracking the sun through the days and seasons. Following Squamish and Lil’Wat traditions, entrances to their cultural centre face east. For the Nunavik pilot duplex, reversible front entrances are an architectural innovation that allows optimal positioning of every house for solar gain and bright living spaces.

Architects and designers and their clients carefully shaped the interior spaces, commissioned artists' installations and added historical and contemporary artifacts to convey the cultures and facilitate traditional practices and teaching.

For example, visitors to the Quilakwa Centre and band members alike can sit and enjoy their Tim Hortons coffee among massive log posts and beams carved with images of bald eagles, salmon, fish, and scenes of traditional Splatsin life.

Building Process

Each community took a hands-on approach to the building process. Strong Indigenous community capacity was demonstrated in project oversight and management. Indigenous construction firms and entities employing Indigenous workers in a broad range of skilled trades built major portions of the projects. Leaders stayed involved and committed the necessary resources to ensure project completion. These best practices could be formulated into a guideline enabling First Nation funders to recognize and assess capacity and shift control of capital projects to qualified First Nations.

Steering committees continued to play an important oversight role, guiding development and consulting with architects, designers, and construction managers, right through to project completion. 

These buildings and facilities were built by Indigenous people. Project management and the majority of the construction was done by Indigenous-owned entities employing local Indigenous tradespeople, exemplifying best practices in employment, skills development, pride in the work and a sense of community ownership of the completed buildings. In every case, these buildings are highly-valued by Indigenous community residents and continue to be well-maintained.

First Nation leaders interviewed for the case studies believe that for communities with proven track records in building projects which are on-specification, on-time, and on-budget, the funding agencies should objectively assess and recognize this capacity and pass control to the First Nation for all aspects of their building projects.

Two case study projects involved First Nations who were large or sole funders of their buildings. The Quilakwa Centre was completely self-funded by the Splastsin First Nation through a combination of insurance and trust funds and loan financing. Large cultural complexes are expensive to build, and despite contributions from all levels of government and the private sector, a large funding gap remained for the Squamish Lil’wat and Squamish Cultural Centre. Both First Nations contributed their own band resources and business know-how to get the projects done.

For all four projects, Indigenous leaders were determined to complete their projects to reflect community identity and become a base for cultural reclamation and growth.

Indigenous respondents all felt that the impact of their co-designed buildings was significant, with positive, far-reaching outcomes. They appreciated the role the architectural co-design process played in creating buildings that resonate with the community and will be of lasting value.  Architectural innovations exemplified in these projects have since been applied more broadly to other building projects.

After 20 years in operation, the IL Thomas and Emily C. General Elementary Schools at Six Nations of the Grand River continue to serve as positive teaching environments and community spaces and are well-maintained. The children are aware and proud that their grandparents, aunts, and uncles built the schools, and vandalism does not occur. The co-design process with the Indigenous architect and project manager, Brian Porter, MRAIC, enabled steering committee members to develop fluency in design and construction processes – knowledge they have applied through a dozen subsequent building projects. Six Nations members continue their tradition as skilled builders and tradespeople. They are respected and employed in their home community, other First Nations and in major North American cities. Read case study

Cultural Centre

For the Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre in Whistler BC, the two First Nations sought out and hired an Indigenous architect, Alfred Waugh, MRAIC. Their goal was to give this large and complex project to an Indigenous architect to develop, innovate and become a role model for Indigenous youth. Today the Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre is a spectacular showcase for the two cultures, welcoming visitors from around the world and inspiring understanding and respect among people. It is also preserving and transmitting architecture, traditional knowledge, culture and spiritual teachings through the generations. Indigenous Youth Ambassadors employed at the centre are enjoying good careers in the tourism and hospitality industries. There are broader outcomes as well. Following construction of the cultural centre, the Squamish established a large Indigenous trades school. The cultural centre has deepened the bonds between the Squamish and Lil’Wat tribes, who are undertaking new joint projects. Architect Alfred Waugh has adapted innovations exemplified in this project to some of his subsequent major design projects. Read case study

Administrative and Business Centre

The Quilakwa Centre , located on Highway 97A in the BC interior attracts many travellers and tourists. With a Tim Hortons restaurant, convenience and craft store, and gas bar, the Splatsin Development Corporation has doubled the number of retail employees and payroll. Due to greatly increased sales of artisan crafts in the new space, traditional basket making and beading are flourishing, and new art forms are emerging. Visitors are enjoying this unique building and showcase for Splatsin culture, history, arts and business acumen. As a favourite local gathering place for people from the reserve and from nearby Enderby, it is strengthening connections between the two communities. Read case study

In Nunavik, traditional ways of life are important to identity and wellbeing. Tenants in the  Nunavik pilot duplex houses  expressed great satisfaction with their physical comfort and the capacity of their homes to support cultural practices. Owing to warm and cold porches and the large flexible kitchen and living space, a hunter and his family can store and butcher game, and hold traditional country food feasts on the floor. Another unit, occupied by a mother and her adult daughter, is an ideal environment for them to sew mitts and boots in the bright sunlight of south-facing windows, and to store sealskin pelts on their outdoor balcony. For these pilot homes, architect Alain Fournier, FIRAC, designed reverse entrances – a true innovation which allows optimal positioning of every house for solar gain. As a prototype, this pilot duplex is being monitored for physical and socio-cultural performance, a best practice that will contribute to sustainable northern housing design.  Read case study

BACK TO TOP

These four case studies illustrate that through a collaborative co-design approach, architects were successful in taking the visions, ideas, and preferences of their Indigenous clients, and turning them into designs that resonate with the community and are technically sound. These designs and building projects reflect Indigenous identity and become a base for cultural reclamation and growth.

In this way, architecture has an important role in giving agency back to Indigenous people and promoting their aspirations. 

BACK TO TOP  

Case studies:.

Case Study 1: First Nation School Emily C. General Elementary School and IL Thomas Elementary School Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario Architect:  Brian Porter, MRAIC

Case Study 2: First Nation Cultural Centre Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre Squamish and Lil’Wat First Nations, British Columbia Architect:  Alfred Waugh, MRAIC

Case Study 3: First Nation Administrative and Business Centre Quilakwa Centre Splatsin te Secwepemc First Nation, British Columbia Architect:  Norman Goddard Designer:  Kevin Halchuk

Case Study 4: Inuit Housing Pilot Nunavik Duplex Quaqtaq, Nunavik, Quebec Architect:   Alain Fournier, FIRAC  

Funding for this study was provided by the Department of Indigenous Services Canada.

Information on the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Indigenous Task Force and its membership may be found  here .

the archspace

Architecture, Interiors, Styles, Spaces, Stories

How Architecture Case Study Can Benefit Students

As an architecture student, how often do you take delight in doing architectural case studies? Does it excite you or make you frazzled? Irrespective of how you feel, a case study in architecture proves to be a privilege to the students in this discipline. You get to study a project of a similar genre, ascertain the design principles of the designer, and understand its scope before conceiving the design. You can also visualize the design more closely and manage the intrinsic affairs independently.

Table of Contents

What Is A Case Study In Architecture?

An architecture case study is the in-depth analysis, exploration, and understanding of an existing building. While students consider a case study in architecture as the starting point of any project, it can also serve as a reference to proceed with the intricacies of a project. For example, the following image shows the case study of “The National Gallery Of Modern Art”.

There is no definite format for representing a case study. For instance, the following images show the case study of “The Church of the Light” by Tadao Ando in various styles.

It is fun as an individual can travel a lot and meet different types of people. At the same time, how an architecture case study benefits us relies on how we perceive and deal with it. 

Philosophy of a Case Study In Architecture 

To make it easy to understand, we have summarized the philosophy below:

Literature 

You may not always be aware of the scope or objective of an upcoming project. The entire planning process might seem strenuous, and all your questions may remain unanswered. In such cases, an architecture case study can come to the rescue. It exposes an individual to the intricate details of a live project and answers all your questions practically. It helps in broadening your academic boundary, making your literature strong, and analyzing the following:

• Architectural Style

The regional or communal context and its predominance in the design.

• Micro-climate and Environment 

The surrounding nature and various important climatic factors like sun path, wind direction, or rainfall can affect the building in a particular site.

• Requirements Based On User Behaviors

The areas will suffice the purpose and efficiency by keeping gender, age group, well-being, and other factors in mind. For instance, a hospital is different from a commercial shopping center.

An architecture case study allows you to study the design philosophy that an architect used. Then you can analyze what worked and what did not, identify the pros and cons, and grasp what you need. It also helps you determine the following details:

• Planning and Analysis of Site

The site dimensions, site-to-building ratio, orientation, geology, hydrography, vegetation, etc.

• Function and Form

Which philosophy to adopt between “function follows form” and “form follows function”? Why does a building stand that way or why does it stick out from the immediate surroundings?

• Construction Materials and Technologies 

The available materials and commonly-used technologies in that region.

• Structural Details 

The columns, beams, and trusses are used in a building.

• Connectivity/Linkage 

How to link various activities inside the built space?

• Vertical and Horizontal Circulation

The placement of elevators, ramps, and staircases, or the area assigned for building lobbies and corridors.

• Access Locations

The entry and exit points of the building and the site.

• Services and Utility Systems

Determine why services like water supply systems, electrical layouts, HVAC, or fire alarms are necessary for a building.

• Barrier-free Consideration 

The design accessibility to children, people who have a disability, aged people, and pregnant women.

Imagination 

At times, you may mimic the case study you are studying instead of getting inspired by it. It happens because your thought process gets trapped in the shackles of your architecture case study. It may seem difficult to think outside the box. So, coax yourself to start afresh and let your imaginations do the rest.

Generalization 

You cannot adopt every element of it as a blueprint for your design. An architecture case study will make you realize that. Every design is distinctly unique and meant to fit in with ever-changing parameters like climate, region, and user requirements. Putting every single design problem in the same mold would lead you nowhere.

Therefore, treat every design problem differently.

Diversity 

It is necessary to have at least a couple of options to study from instead of sticking to one particular architecture case study. It forbids you to imitate an existing design and lets your creativity flow. 

So, initiate your case study with a small-scale project to outline the basics and consider another large-scale project to modify the required parameters you did not include before.

Architecture is a dynamic course where learning delves deeper and much beyond the scope of the textbooks. It is an undertaking to design the future by continuing the legacy of human civilization while minimizing past mistakes. All these reasons make the precedence of architecture case study an inevitable necessity.

Remember: we intend to research, understand the concepts that the architect has applied, and learn how that project worked. Meanwhile, we should also be able to point out the flaws and perfect them while introducing them in our projects.

10 Useful Architectural Magazines For Architects And Students (thearchspace.com)

Architecture Students Work – A Special Mention In GSEN (thearchspace.com)

By Sreyoshi Dhali

While finding her solace in silence and everything mundane, Shreyosi prefers to untangle the chaos inside her head and makes an effort to paint scenarios with words that keep her awake at night.

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Conclusion: Architecture, Learning, and Invention

• Published: October 2017
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The Conclusion applies the arguments of the book to a single design: Wren’s western portico of St. Paul’s Cathedral. In the process, the chapter uses Wren’s own method of analysing ancient architectural forms, and does what he did to various ancient buildings to his own most celebrated design. In the detail of the portico we can see how Wren used his knowledge (of ancient architecture) to produce invention in an architectural design, thus proving himself to be (by the standards of the day at least) an Architectus Ingenio .

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Linkage Connectivity Diagrams: Unveiling the Architectural Nexus

Linkage Connectivity Diagrams – A checklist for architectural case studies

In the ever-evolving landscape of architecture, the term “Linkage Connectivity Diagrams” stands as a pivotal element that connects the realms of design, functionality, and aesthetic appeal. This article delves into the intricate details of this architectural concept, providing a comprehensive guide for students of architecture embarking on the journey of an architectural case study.

Understanding Linkage Connectivity Diagrams

Linkage Connectivity Diagrams, often abbreviated as LCDs, represent a sophisticated visual language that architects use to illustrate the intricate connections within a built environment. These diagrams go beyond the conventional blueprints, offering a holistic perspective on how different elements within a structure or urban setting interrelate.

The Anatomy of Connectivity

At its core, Linkage Connectivity Diagrams dissect the spatial relationships, functional dependencies, and aesthetic interplay among various components of an architectural design. This includes the linkage between interior and exterior spaces, the flow of natural light, and the integration of sustainable features.

Typology of Linkage Connectivity Diagrams

1. spatial connectivity: weaving architectural narratives.

Linkage Connectivity Diagrams are instrumental in portraying spatial connectivity. These diagrams elucidate how different rooms, halls, and corridors interconnect, emphasizing the fluidity of movement within a structure. Aspiring architects can utilize these diagrams to comprehend the impact of spatial arrangements on user experience and overall functionality.

2. Functional Connectivity: Optimizing Utility

Functional connectivity is a cornerstone of effective architectural design. Linkage Connectivity Diagrams meticulously outline the relationships between various functional zones, such as living spaces, work areas, and recreational zones. By studying these diagrams, students gain insights into optimizing the utility of a space, ensuring it aligns seamlessly with its intended purpose.

3. Aesthetic Connectivity: Crafting Visual Harmony

In the realm of architecture, aesthetics play a pivotal role. Linkage Connectivity Diagrams extend beyond the practical aspects, delving into the realm of visual harmony. These diagrams unravel the connections between design elements, color schemes, and materials, providing a roadmap for architects to create visually stunning and cohesive spaces.

Architectural Case Study: Unveiling the Intricacies

For students eager to undertake an architectural case study, understanding Linkage Connectivity Diagrams is paramount. Let’s explore a hypothetical case study of a contemporary residential building to illustrate the practical application of these diagrams.

Site Analysis: Foundation of Connectivity

Before delving into the architectural intricacies, a comprehensive site analysis sets the stage. Linkage Connectivity Diagrams in the context of site analysis elucidate the relationship between the building and its surroundings. This includes factors such as topography, climate, and access points, all of which influence the design’s connectivity with its environment.

Conceptual Design: Weaving the Architectural Tapestry

As the design takes shape, Linkage Connectivity Diagrams become instrumental in weaving the architectural tapestry. Spatial connectivity diagrams outline the flow of inhabitants within the residence, ensuring a harmonious and functional layout. Simultaneously, functional connectivity diagrams optimize the placement of rooms, emphasizing efficiency and convenience.

Material Selection: Aesthetic Nexus

In the realm of aesthetics, Linkage Connectivity Diagrams guide the selection of materials. These diagrams unveil the aesthetic connections between different materials, helping architects make informed decisions that contribute to the visual coherence of the design.

Sustainability Integration: Linking to the Future

Modern architecture places a significant emphasis on sustainability. Linkage Connectivity Diagrams extend their utility to showcase the integration of sustainable features. Whether it’s optimizing natural light or implementing energy-efficient systems, these diagrams provide a visual roadmap for architects committed to creating environmentally conscious designs.

The Educational Significance

For students of architecture, embracing Linkage Connectivity Diagrams is akin to acquiring a specialized language within the discipline. These diagrams serve as a bridge between theoretical knowledge and practical application, offering a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted nature of architectural design.

Industry Integration: Connecting Education with Practice

Linkage Connectivity Diagrams have become an industry standard, and familiarity with them enhances a student’s employability. Architects entering the workforce equipped with the ability to create and interpret these diagrams bring a valuable skill set to the table, seamlessly integrating education with professional practice.

Collaborative Learning: Fostering a Community of Architects

In the collaborative realm of architecture, effective communication is paramount. Linkage Connectivity Diagrams serve as a common language, fostering collaboration among architects, interior designers, and urban planners. This collaborative learning approach prepares students for the interdisciplinary nature of the industry.

Conclusion: Navigating the Architectural Landscape

In conclusion, Linkage Connectivity Diagrams emerge as the compass guiding architects through the intricate landscape of design, functionality, and aesthetics. For students of architecture embarking on an architectural case study, mastering the art of creating and interpreting these diagrams is akin to unlocking the secrets of architectural connectivity. As the industry evolves, these diagrams stand as a testament to the dynamic and interconnected nature of the architectural discipline.

Embark on the journey of architectural exploration armed with the knowledge of Linkage Connectivity Diagrams, and witness the transformative power they hold in shaping the future of architecture, interior design, and urban planning. Let these diagrams be the conduit through which your architectural visions seamlessly connect with the built environment. The nexus of architecture awaits – navigate it with confidence and creativity.

Rethinking The Future (RTF) is a Global Platform for Architecture and Design. RTF through more than 100 countries around the world provides an interactive platform of highest standard acknowledging the projects among creative and influential industry professionals.

Style of Architecture: Exploring the Diverse World of Architectural Typologies

Site Plan Analysis: Unveiling the Layers of Architectural Insight

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• Open access
• Published: 09 April 2024

Creating culturally-informed protocols for a stunting intervention using a situated values-based approach ( WeValue InSitu ): a double case study in Indonesia and Senegal

• Annabel J. Chapman 1 ,
• Chike C. Ebido 2 , 3 ,
• Rahel Neh Tening 2 ,
• Yanyan Huang 2 ,
• Ndèye Marème Sougou 4 ,
• Risatianti Kolopaking 5 , 6 ,
• Amadou H. Diallo 7 ,
• Rita Anggorowati 6 , 8 ,
• Fatou B. Dial 9 ,
• Jessica Massonnié 10 , 11 ,
• Mahsa Firoozmand 1 ,
• Cheikh El Hadji Abdoulaye Niang 9 &
• Marie K. Harder 1 , 2  

BMC Public Health volume  24 , Article number:  987 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

International development work involves external partners bringing expertise, resources, and management for local interventions in LMICs, but there is often a gap in understandings of relevant local shared values. There is a widespread need to better design interventions which accommodate relevant elements of local culture, as emphasised by recent discussions in global health research regarding neo-colonialism. One recent innovation is the concept of producing ‘cultural protocols’ to precede and guide community engagement or intervention design, but without suggestions for generating them. This study explores and demonstrates the potential of an approach taken from another field, named WeValue InSitu , to generate local culturally-informed protocols. WeValue InSitu engages stakeholder groups in meaning-making processes which ‘crystallize’ their envelope of local shared values, making them communicable to outsiders.

Our research context is understanding and reducing child stunting, including developing interventions, carried out at the Senegal and Indonesia sites of the UKRI GCRF Action Against Stunting Hub. Each national research team involves eight health disciplines from micro-nutrition to epigenetics, and extensive collection of samples and questionnaires. Local culturally-informed protocols would be generally valuable to pre-inform engagement and intervention designs. Here we explore generating them by immediately following the group WeValue InSitu crystallization process with specialised focus group discussions exploring: what local life practices potentially have significant influence on the environments affecting child stunting, and which cultural elements do they highlight as relevant. The discussions will be framed by the shared values, and reveal linkages to them. In this study, stakeholder groups like fathers, mothers, teachers, market traders, administrators, farmers and health workers were recruited, totalling 83 participants across 20 groups. Themes found relevant for a culturally-informed protocol for locally-acceptable food interventions included: specific gender roles; social hierarchies; health service access challenges; traditional beliefs around malnutrition; and attitudes to accepting outside help. The concept of a grounded culturally-informed protocol, and the use of WeValue InSitu to generate it, has thus been demonstrated here. Future work to scope out the advantages and limitations compared to deductive culture studies, and to using other formative research methods would now be useful.

Peer Review reports

Although progress has been made towards the SDG of ‘Zero Hunger by 2025’, the global rates of malnutrition and stunting are still high [ 1 ]. Over the past 20 years, researchers have implemented interventions to reduce undernutrition, specifically focussing on the first 1000 days of life, from conception to 24 months [ 2 ]. However, due to both differing determinants between countries [ 3 , 4 ] as well as varying contextual factors, it is clear that no single fixed approach or combination of approaches can be relied on when implementing stunting interventions [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Furthermore, when external researchers design interventions for local areas in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) they can often overlook relevant local cultural factors that consequently act as barriers to intervention uptake and reduce their effectiveness, such as geographical factors and the levels of migration in certain populations [ 8 , 9 ], or social norms or perceptions relating to accepting outside help, and power dynamics related to gender [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. The inclusion of cultural level factors in behaviour change interventions has been proposed as a requirement for effective interventions [ 13 ]. However, despite the breadth of literature highlighting the negative impacts from failing to do this, the lack of integration or even regard of local culture remains a persistent problem in Global Health Research [ 14 ], possibly hindering progress towards the SDGs. Thus, there is a need for approaches to integrate local cultural elements into intervention design.

This lack of understanding of relevant local culture, social norms and shared values also has ethical implications. The field of Global Health Ethics was predominantly developed in the Global North, in High Income Countries (HICs), embedding values common in those countries such as the prominence of individual autonomy [ 15 , 16 ]. Researchers from HICs carrying out research in LMICs may wrongly assume that values held in the Global North are universal [ 14 ] and disregard some local values, such as those related to family and collective decision making, which are core to many communities in LMICs. It is therefore important for outside researchers to have an understanding of relevant local values, culture and social norms before conducting research in LMICs so as not to impose values that do not align with local culture and inadvertently cause harm or offence [ 16 , 17 ]. The importance of this is compounded by the colonial history that is often present in relationships between research communities in HICs and LMICs, and the fact that the majority of the funding and leading institutions are still located in the Global North [ 18 , 19 ]. Thus, conscious steps must be taken to avoid neo-colonialism in Global Health Research [ 20 ]. From a health-equity perspective, it is essential to ensure that those in vulnerable communities are not hindered from involvement in interventions to improve nutrition. Encouraging uptake by such communities could be provided if salient local shared values, norms and culture were taken into account [ 21 ].

In a recent paper, Memon et al., (2021) highlight the usefulness of first creating a cultural protocol that can precede and guide subsequent stages of community engagement or intervention design to ensure that salient local values are known to external researchers coming into the community [ 16 ]. We adopt the use of the concept of a cultural protocol, referring to locally-generated guidance about key values, norms, behaviours and customs relevant to working with the local community. However, we prefer the term, ‘culturally-informed protocol’ since this relates to only cultural elements deemed salient by the researchers, and locally, rather than any comprehensive notion of culture, nor extending beyond the research context.

Memon et al. (2021), point out links between the creation of such a protocol and existing codes of practice that have already been created for some cultures such as the Te Ara Tika, a Guideline for Māori Research Ethics [ 22 ]. Currently, research and interventions in Global Health can be informed by a stage of formative research involving one-to-one interviews, focus groups or direct observations, which can sometimes be ethnographic in nature such as within Focussed Ethnographic Studies or Rapid Assessment Procedures [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Although these methods can be effective to inform intervention designs, they have disadvantages like: can take long periods to complete [ 26 ], can be resource intensive [ 26 ] and can lack cultural acceptability [ 27 ]. These limitations may account for the frequent neglect of their use generally, highlighted by Aubel and Chibanda (2022) [ 14 ]. Additionally, none of these methods work towards making explicit local values, or towards the creation of a culturally-informed protocol. In brief, the literature suggests a need to develop alternative methods of Formative Research for understanding locally relevant cultural elements, that are less time-consuming and can generate data that is more easily translatable to intervention design. In addition, these approaches must be applicable in different cultures. Additionally, the protocols produced must be actionable and practical not only for guiding interactions between research teams but also for guiding the initial stages of intervention design.

The work presented here aims to address several of these needs. It includes an exploration of the usefulness of the WeValue InSitu ( WVIS ) approach because that has previously been shown, in environmental management domains, to offer a way to gather in-depth values-based perspectives from a target population [ 28 , 29 ] It was first created through action research, and co-designed to enable civil society organisations to better understand and measure the values-based aspects of their work [ 30 ]. The core WeValue InSitu process (detailed in Table 1 ) involves the crystallization of shared values, with a facilitator guiding a group of participants with shared experiences, through cycles of tacit meaning-making (using a stage of photo-elicitation and triggering) [ 31 ], until they can articulate more explicitly their shared values, in concise and precise statements. These statements are then linked together in a framework by the participants. In an example case in Nigeria, the results of the WVIS approach hinted at the creation of a culturally-informed protocol through an analysis of the shared values frameworks to find cultural themes for the creation of an indicator tool that was used to evaluate several development scenarios based on their social acceptability [ 29 ].

Furthermore, it has been found that if a group of WVIS participants take part in a specialised focus group discussion (FGD), named Perspectives EXploration (PEX:FGD) immediately afterward the main workshop, then they easily and articulately express their perspectives on the topics raised for discussion - and with allusions to the shared values they had crystallised just prior. In an example from Shanghai, the PEX:FGDs focussed on eliciting perspectives on climate change, which were shown to be closely linked with the cultural themes existing within the shared values frameworks produced immediately prior [ 32 ]. In that case, the PEX:FGDs allowed the cultural themes generated during the main WVIS workshop to be linked more closely to the research question. Those results suggested that the WVIS plus PEX:FGD approach could be used to create a specialised culturally-informed protocol for improved intervention design.

In the study presented here, the WVIS approach was explored for the purpose of creating culturally-informed protocols to inform the planning of interventions within two localities of the UKRI GCRF Action Against Stunting Hub [ 33 ]. The work was carried out in two parts. Firstly, the WVIS main workshop was used to elicit cultural themes within the target communities, indicating key elements to consider to ensure ethical engagement. Secondly, the PEX focus group discussions focussed on life practices related to stunting which we explored for the purpose of tailoring the culturally-informed protocols to the specific purpose of improving the design of an example intervention. The Action Against Stunting Hub works across three sites where stunting is highly prevalent but via different determinants: East Lombok in Indonesia (estimated 36% of under-fives stunted), Kaffrine in Senegal (estimated 16% of under-fives stunted) and Hyderabad in India (estimated 48% of under-fives stunted) [ 34 ]. We propose that, the information about local shared values in a given site could be used to inform the design of several interventions, but for our specific exploration the focus here is a proposed ‘egg intervention’, in which pregnant women would be provided with an egg three times per week as supplement to their diet. This study proposes that identifying shared values within a community, alongside information about local life practices, provides critical cultural information on the potential acceptability and uptake of this intervention which can be used to generate culturally-informed protocols consisting of recommendations for improved intervention design.

In this paper we aim to explore the use of the WVIS approach to create culturally-informed protocols to guide engagement and inform the design of localised egg interventions to alleviate stunting in East Lombok, Indonesia and Kaffrine, Senegal. We do this by analysing data about local shared values that are crystallized using the WeValue InSitu ( WVIS ) process to provide clear articulation of local values, followed by an analysis of life practices discussed during PEX:FGD to tailor the culturally-informed protocols for the specific intervention design.

Study setting

This research was exploratory rather than explanatory in nature. The emphasis was on demonstrating the usefulness of the WeValue InSitu ( WVIS ) approach to develop culturally-informed protocols of practical use in intervention design, in different cultural sites. This study was set within a broader shared-values workstream within the UKRI GCRF Action Against Stunting Hub project [ 33 ]. The Hub project, which was co-designed and co-researched by researchers from UK, Indonesia, Senegal and India, involves cohorts of 500 women and their babies in each site through pregnancy to 24 months old, using cross-disciplinary studies across gut health, nutrition, food systems, micro-nutrition, home environment, WASH, epigenetics and child development to develop a typology of stunting. Alongside these health studies are studies of the shared values of the communities, obtained via the WVIS approach described here, to understand the cultural contexts of that diverse health data. In this study the data from East Lombok, Indonesia and Kaffrine, Senegal were used: India’s data were not yet ready, and these two countries were deemed sufficient for this exploratory investigation.

The WVIS approach

The WVIS approach is a grounded scaffolding process which facilitates groups of people to make explicit their shared values in their own vocabulary and within their own frames (details in Fig. 1 and activities in Table 1 ). The first stage of the WVIS is Contextualisation, whereby the group identifies themselves and set the context of their shared experiences, for example, as ‘mothers in East Lombok, Indonesia’. Subsequently, there is a stage of Photo Elicitation, in which the group are first asked to consider what is important, meaningful or worthwhile to them about their context (e.g., ‘being mothers in East Lombok, Indonesia’) and then asked to choose photos from a localised set that they can use as props to help describe their answer to the group [ 29 ]. After this, a localised Trigger List is used. This Trigger List consists of 109 values statements that act as prompts for the group. Examples of these values statements are included below but all the statements begin with “it is important to me/us that…”. The group are asked to choose which statements within the trigger list resonate with them, and those are taken forward for group intersubjective discussion. After a topic of their shared values has been explored, the group begin to articulate and write down their own unique statements of them. These also all begin with “It is important to me/us that…”. After discussing all pressing topics, the group links the written statements on the table into a unique Framework, and one member provides a narrative to communicate it to ‘outsiders’. The WVIS provides a lens of each group’s local shared values, and it is through this lens that they view the topics in the focus group discussions which immediately follow, termed Perspectives EXplorations (PEX:FGDs).

Schematic of the macro-level activities carried out during the WeValue InSitu ( WVIS ) main workshop session

This results in very grounded perspectives being offered, of a different nature to those obtained in questionnaires or using external frameworks [ 31 ]. The specific PEX:FGD topics are chosen as pertinent to stunting contextual issues, including eating habits, food systems and environments, early educational environments, and perceptions of stunting. The local researchers ensured that all topics were handled sensitively, with none that could cause distress to the participants. The data for this study were collected over 2 weeks within December 2019–January 2020 in workshops in East Lombok, Indonesia, and 2 weeks within December 2020 in Kaffrine, Senegal.

The PEX:FGDs were kept open-ended so that participants could dictate the direction of the discussion, which allowed for topics that may not have been pre-considered by the facilitators to arise. Sessions were facilitated by local indigenous researchers, guided in process by researchers more experienced in the approach, and were carried out in the local languages, Bahasa in East Lombok, Indonesia and French or Wolof in Kaffrine, Senegal.

Development of localised WVIS materials

Important to the WVIS approach is the development of localised materials (Table 1 ). The main trigger list has been found applicable in globalised places where English is the first language, but otherwise the trigger lists are locally generated in the local language, incorporating local vocabulary and ways of thinking. To generate these, 5–8 specific interviews are taken with local community members, by indigenous university researchers, eliciting local phrases and ways of thinking. This is a necessary step because shared tacit values cannot be easily accessed without using local language. Examples of localised Trigger Statements produced this way are given below: (they all start with: “It is important to me/us that…”):

…there is solidarity and mutual aid between the people

…I can still be in communication with my children, even if far away

…husbands are responsible for the care of their wives and family

…the town council fulfils its responsibility to meet our needs

…people are not afraid of hard, and even manual work

Study participants

The group participants targeted for recruitment, were selected by local country Hub co-researchers to meet two sets of requirements. For suitability for the WVIS approach they should be between 3 and 12 in number; belong to naturally existing groups that have some history of shared experiences; are over 18 years old; do not include members holding significantly more power than others; and speak the same native language. For suitability in the PEX:FGD to offer life practices with relevance to the research topic of stunting, the groups were chosen to represent stakeholders with connections to the food or learning environment of children (which the Action Against Stunting Hub refer to as the Whole Child approach) [ 33 ]. The university researchers specialising in shared values from the UK, and Senegal and Indonesia respectively, discussed together which stakeholder groups might be appropriate to recruit. The local researchers made the final decisions. Each group was taken through both a WVIS workshop and the immediately-subsequent PEX:FGD.

Data collection and analysis

Standard data output from the WeValue session includes i) the jointly-negotiated bespoke Statements of shared values, linked together in their unique Framework, and ii) an oral recording of a descriptive Narrative of it, given by the group. These were digitized to produce a single presentation for each group as in Fig. 2 . It represents the synthesised culmination of the crystallisation process: a portrait of what was ‘important’ to each stakeholder group. Separately, statements from the group about the authenticity/ownership of the statements are collected.

An illustrative example of one digitized Shared Values Framework and accompanying Narrative from a teacher’s group in East Lombok, Indonesia. The “…” refers to each statement being preceded by “It is important to us that…”

When these Frameworks of ‘Statements of Shared Values’ are viewed across all the groups from one locality (Locality Shared Values Statements), they provide portraits of ‘what is important’ to people living there, often in intimate detail and language. They can be used to communicate to ‘outsiders’ what the general cultural shared values are. In this work the researchers thematically coded them using Charmaz constructionist grounded theory coding [ 35 ] to find broad Major Cultural Themes within each separate locality.

The second area of data collection was in the post- WVIS event: the PEX:FGD for each group. A translator/interpreter provided a running commentary during these discussions, which was audio recorded and then transcribed. The specific topics raised for each group to discuss varied depending on their local expertise. This required completely separate workstreams of coding of the dataset with respect to each topic. This was carried out independently by two researchers: one from UK (using NVivo software (Release 1.3.1)) and one from the local country, who resolved any small differences. All the transcripts were then collated and inductively, interpretively analysed to draw out insights that should be relayed back to the Action Against Stunting Hub teams as contextual material.

The extracts of discussion which were identified as relevant within a particular Hub theme (e.g. hygiene) were then meta-ethnographically synthesised [ 36 ] into ‘Hub Theme Statements’ on each topic, which became the core data for later communication and interrogation by other researchers within the Action Against Stunting Hub. These statements are interpretations of participants’ intended meanings, and links from each of them to data quotes were maintained, enabling future interpretations to refer to them for consistency checks between received and intended meaning.

In this investigation, those Hub Theme Statements (derived from PEX:FGD transcripts) were then deductively coded with respect to any topics with potential implications of the egg intervention. Literature regarding barriers and facilitators to nutrition interventions indicated the following topics could be relevant: attitudes to accepting help; community interactions; cooking and eating habits; traditional beliefs about malnutrition; sharing; social hierarchies [ 12 , 37 , 38 ] to which we added anything related to pregnancy or eggs. This analysis produced our Egg Intervention Themes from the data.

The Major Cultural Themes and Egg Intervention Themes were then used to create a set of culture-based recommendations and intervention specific recommendations respectively for each locality. These recommendations were then combined to form specialized culturally-informed protocols for the egg intervention in each locality: East Lombok, Indonesia and Kaffrine, Senegal. The process is displayed schematically in Fig.  3 .

Schematic representation of the method of production of the culturally-informed protocol for each locality

The preparation of the localised WVIS materials at each site took 6 hours of interview field work, and 40 person hours for analysis. The 10 workshops and data summaries were concluded within 10 workdays by two people (80 person hours). The analysis of the PEX:FGD data took a further 80 person hours. Thus, the total research time was approximately 200 person hours.

The stakeholder group types are summarised in Table 2 . The data is presented in three parts. Firstly, the Major Cultural Themes found in East Lombok, Indonesia and in Kaffrine, Senegal are described – the ones most heavily emphasised by participants. Then, the Egg Intervention Themes and finally, the combined set of Recommendations to comprise a culturally-informed protocol for intervention design for each location. Quotations are labelled INDO or SEN for East Lombok, Indonesia and Kaffrine, Senegal, respectively.

Major cultural themes from frameworks and narratives

These were derived from the Locality Shared Values Statements produced in the WVIS .

East Lombok, Indonesia

Religious values.

Islamic values were crucially important for participants from East Lombok, Indonesia and to their way of life. Through living by the Quran, participating in Islamic community practices, and teaching Islamic values to their children, participants felt they develop their spirituality and guarantee a better afterlife for themselves and their children. Participants stated the Quran tells them to breastfeed their children for 2 years, so they do. Despite no explicit religious official curriculum in Kindergarten, the teachers stated that it was important to incorporate religious teaching.

“East Lombok people always uphold the religious values of all aspects of social life.”

“It is important for me to still teach religious values even though they are not clearly stated in the curriculum.” – Workshop 1 INDO (teachers).

“In Quran for instance, we are told to breastfeed our kids for 2 years. We can even learn about that ” – Workshop 3 INDO (mothers).

Related to this was the importance of teaching manners to children and preventing them from saying harsh words. Teachers stated that it was important to create a happy environment for the children and to ensure that they are polite and well-behaved. Similarly, mothers emphasised the need to teach their children good religious values to ensure they will be polite and helpful to their elders.

“Children don’t speak harsh words.”

“My children can help me like what I did to my parents”.

– Workshop 8 INDO (mothers).

Togetherness within families and the community

The Locality Shared Values Frameworks stressed the importance of togetherness, both within family and community. Comments mentioned it being important that people rely heavily on their family and come together in times of need to support each other and provide motivation. This was also important more broadly, in that people in society should support each other, and that children grow up to contribute to society. This was also reflected in comments around roles within the family. Despite women being primary care givers, and men working to finance the family, participants stated that they follow a process of consultation to make decisions, and when facing hardships.

“that we have the sense of kinship throughout our society”.

“We have togetherness as mothers”.

“For the family side, whatever happens we need to be able to be united as a whole family. We need to have the [sense of] forgiveness for the sake of the children” – Workshop 2 INDO (mothers).

Attitudes about extra-marital pregnancy

In East Lombok, Indonesia, it was essential to both mothers and fathers that pregnancy happened within a marriage, this was to ensure that the honour of the family was upheld and that the lineage of the child was clear. The potential danger to health that early pregnancies can cause was also acknowledged.

“If they don’t listen to parents’ advice, there will be the possibility of pre-marital pregnancy happening, which will affect the family [so much].

The affect is going to be ruining the good name, honour and family dignity. When the children [are] born outside [of] marriage, she or he will have many difficulties like getting a birth certificate [and] having a hard time when registering to school or family” - Workshop 4 INDO (mothers).

“ To make sure that our children avoid getting married at a very young age and moreover [avoid] having free sex so that they will not get pregnant before the marriage” - Workshop 9 INDO (fathers).

Kaffrine, Senegal

The Major Cultural Themes which emerged from the Kaffrine data are described below. As these are grounded themes, they are different than those seen in East Lombok, Indonesia.

Access to healthcare

A recurring theme amongst the groups in Kaffrine were aspirations of affordable and easy-to-access healthcare. Community health workers stated the importance of encouraging women to give birth in hospitals and spoke of the importance of preventing early pregnancy which result from early marriages. Giving birth in hospitals was also a concern for Public Office Administrators who highlighted that this leads to subsequent issues with registering children for school. Mothers and fathers stated the importance of being able to afford health insurance and access healthcare so that they could take care of themselves.

“That the women give birth in the hospital” – Workshop 11 SEN (CHWS).

“To have affordable health insurance ” – Workshop 10 SEN (mothers).

“To have access to health care ” – Workshop 3 SEN (fathers).

“It is important that women give birth in the hospital in order to be able to have a certificate that allows us to establish the civil status” – Workshop 9 SEN (administrators).

Additionally, Community health workers spoke of their aspiration to have enough supplements to provide to their community so as to avoid frustration at the lack of supply, and mothers spoke of their desire to be provided with supplements.

“To have dietary supplements in large quantities to give them to all those who need them, so as not to create frustration” – Workshop 11 SEN (CHWS).

Another aspect of access to healthcare, was mistrust between fathers and community health workers. Community health workers explained that sometimes men can blame them when things go wrong in a pregnancy or consider their ideas to be too progressive. Thus, to these community health workers the quality of endurance was very important.

“Endurance (Sometimes men can accuse us of influencing their wives when they have difficulties in conceiving)” – Workshop 5 SEN (CHWs).

Another recurring theme was the importance of having secure employment and a means to support themselves; that there were also jobs available for young people, and that women had opportunities to make money to help support the family. This included preventing early marriages so girls could stay in school. Having jobs was stated as essential for survival and important to enable being useful to the community and society.

“To have more means of survival (subsistence) to be able to feed our families”.

“To have a regular and permanent job”.

“We assure a good training and education for our children so that they will become useful to us and the community”.

“ Our women should have access to activities that will support us and lessen our burden” – Workshop 3 SEN (fathers).

It was considered very important to have a religious education and respect for religious elders. Moreover, living by, and teaching, religious values such as being hard working, humble and offering mutual aid to others, was significant for people in Kaffrine.

“Have an education in the Islamic Culture (Education that aligns with the culture of Islam)”.

“Respect toward religious leaders” – Workshop 3 SEN (fathers).

“ To organize religious discussions to develop our knowledge about Islam ” - Workshop 10 SEN (mothers).

“ Have belief and be prayerful and give good counselling to people ” - Workshop 4 SEN (grandmothers).

Egg intervention themes from each country from perspectives EXplorations focus group discussion data

Below are results of analyses of comments made during the PEX:FGDs in East Lombok, Indonesia and Kaffrine, Senegal. The following codes were used deductively: attitudes to accepting outside help, traditional gender roles, food sharing, traditional beliefs, social hierarchies and understanding of stunting and Other. These topics were spoken about during open discussion and were not the subject of direct questions. For example, topics relating to traditional gender roles came up in East Lombok, during conversations around the daily routine. Thus, in order to more accurately reflect the intended meaning of the participants, these were labelled food practices, under the “Other” theme. If any of the themes were not present in the discussion, they are not shown below.

Attitudes to accepting outside help

Few mentions were made that focussed on participants attitudes to accepting outside help, but participants were sure that they would not make changes to their menus based on the advice of outside experts. Additionally, teachers mentioned that they are used to accepting help from local organisations that could to help them to identify under-developed children.

“ We don’t believe that [the outsiders are] going to change our eating habits or our various menus ” – Workshop 3 INDO (Mothers).

Traditional gender roles

In East Lombok, mothers spoke about how their husbands go to work and then provide them with daily money to buy the food for the day. However, this was discussed in relation to why food is bought daily and is thus discussed below in the topics Other – Food practices.

Food sharing

In East Lombok, Indonesia, in times when they have extra food, they share it with neighbours, in the hope that when they face times of hardship, their neighbours will share with them. Within the household, they mentioned sharing food from their plate with infants and encouraging children to share. Some mothers mentioned the importance of weekly meetings with other mothers to share food and sharing food during celebrations.

“ Sometimes we share our food with our family. So, when we cook extra food, we will probably send over the food to our neighbour, to our families. So, sometimes, with the hope that when we don’t have anything to eat, our neighbour will pay for it and will [share with] us.” – Workshop 3 INDO (Mothers).

“Even they serve food for the kids who come along to the house. So, they teach the kids to share with their friends. They provide some food. So, whenever they play [at their] house, they will [eat] the same.” – Workshop 2 INDO (Mothers).

Understanding of stunting

The teachers in East Lombok were aware of child stunting through Children’s Development Cards provided by local healthcare organizations. They stated that they recognise children with nutrition problems as having no patience period, no expression, no energy for activities and less desire to socialise and play with other children. The teachers said that stunted children do not develop the same as other children and are not as independent as children who are the proper height and weight for their development. They also stated that they recognise stunted children by their posture, pale faces and bloated stomachs. They explained how they usually use the same teaching methods for stunting children, but will sometimes allow them to do some activities, like singing, later, once the other children are leaving.

“ They have no patience period, don’t have any energy to do any of the activities. No expression, only sitting down and not mingling around with the kids. They are different way to learn. They are much slower than the other kids .” – Workshop 1 INDO (teachers).

“ When they are passive in singing, they will do it later when everyone else is leaving, they just do it [by] themselves ” – Workshop 1 INDO (teachers).

Specific views on eggs

In East Lombok, Indonesia, there were no superstitions or traditional beliefs around the consumption of eggs. When asked specifically on their views of eggs, and if they would like to be provided with eggs, women in East Lombok said that they would be happy to accept eggs. They also mentioned that eggs were a food they commonly eat, feed to children and use for convenience. Eggs were considered healthy and were common in their house.

“ We choose eggs instead. If we don’t have time, we just probably do some omelettes or sunny side up. So, it happens, actually when we get up late, we don’t have much time to be able to escort our kids to the school, then we fry the eggs or cook the instant noodles. And it happens to all mothers. So, if my kids are being cranky, that’s what happens, I’m not going to cook proper meals so, probably just eggs and instant noodles.” – Workshop 3 INDO (Mothers).

Other important topics – food practices

Some detailed themes about food practices were heard in East Lombok, Indonesia. The women were responsible for buying and preparing the food, which they purchased daily mainly due to the cost (their husbands were paid daily and so provided them with a daily allowance) and lack of storage facilities. They also bought from mobile vendors who came to the street, because they could buy very small amounts and get occasional credit. The mother decided the menu for the family and cooked once per day in the morning: the family then took from this dish throughout the day. Mothers always washed their fruits and vegetables and tried to include protein in their meals when funds allowed: either meat, eggs, tofu or tempeh.

“ One meal a day. They [the mothers] cook one time and they [the children] can eat it all day long. Yes, they can take it all day long. They find that they like [to take the food], because they tend to feel hungry.” – Workshop 6 INDO (Mothers).

“ They shop every day because they don’t have any storage in their house and the other factor is because the husband has a daily wage. They don’t have monthly wage. In the morning, the husband gives the ladies the money and the ladies go to the shop for the food. ” – Workshop 4 INDO (Mothers).

In Kaffrine, the following themes emerged relating to an egg intervention: they were different in content and emphasis to Lombok and contained uniquely local cultural emphases.

Mothers were welcoming of eggs as a supplement to improve their health during pregnancy and acknowledged the importance of good nutrition during pregnancy. However, they also mentioned that their husbands can sometimes be resistant to accepting outside help and provided an example of a vaccination programme in which fathers were hesitant to participate. However, participants stated that the Government should be the source of assistance to them (but currently was not perceived to be so).

“But if these eggs are brought by external bodies, we will hesitate to take it. For example, concerning vaccination some fathers hesitate to vaccinate their children even if they are locals who are doing it. So, educating the fathers to accept this is really a challenge” – Workshop 11 SEN (CHWs).

Some traditional gender roles were found to be strong. The participants emphasised that men are considered the head of the household, as expected in Islam, with the mother as primary caregiver for children. This is reflected in the comments from participants regarding the importance of Islam and living their religious values. The men thus made the family decisions and would need to be informed and agree to any family participation in any intervention – regardless of the education level of the mother. The paternal grandmother also played a very important role in the family and may also make decisions for the family in the place of the father. Community Health Workers emphasised that educating paternal grandmothers was essential to improve access to healthcare for women.

“There are people who are not flexible with their wives and need to be informed. Sometimes the mother-in-law can decide the place of the husband. But still, the husband’s [permission] is still necessary.” – Workshop 1 SEN (CHWs).

“[We recommend] communication with mothers-in-law and the community. Raise awareness through information, emphasizing the well-being of women and children.” – Workshop 1 SEN (CHWs).

“The [grand]mothers take care of the children so that the daughters in-law will take care of them in return So it’s very bad for a daughter in law not to take care of her mother in-law. Society does not like people who distance themselves from children.” – Workshop 4 SEN (grandmothers).

Social hierarchies

In addition to hierarchies relating to gender/position in the family such as grandmothers have decision making power, there was some mention of social hierarchies in Kaffrine, Senegal. For example, during times of food stress it was said that political groups distribute food and elected officials who choose the neighbourhoods in which the food will be distributed. Neighbourhood leaders then decide to whom the food is distributed, meaning there is a feeling that some people are being left out.

“ It’s political groups that come to distribute food or for political purposes…organizations that often come to distribute food aid, but in general it is always subject to a selection on the part of elected officials, in particular the neighbourhood leaders, who select the people they like and who leave the others ” – Workshop 11 SEN (CHWs).

Participants explained that during mealtimes, the family will share food from one large plate from which the father will eat first as a sign of respect and courtesy. Sometimes, children would also eat in their neighbour’s house to encourage them to eat.

“ Yes, it happens that we use that strategy so that children can eat. Note that children like to imitate so that’s why we [send them to the neighbour’s house]” – Workshop 11 SEN (CHWs)”.

Traditional beliefs about malnutrition

In Kaffrine, Senegal, some participants spoke of traditional beliefs relating to malnutrition, which are believed by fewer people these days. For example, uncovered food might attract bad spirits, and any person who eats it will become ill. There were a number of food taboos spoken of which were thought to have negative consequences for the baby, for example watermelon and grilled meat which were though to lead to birth complications and bleeding. Furthermore, cold water was thought to negatively impact the baby. Groups spoke of a tradition known as “bathie” in which traditional healers wash stunted children with smoke.

“ There are traditional practices called (Bathie) which are practiced by traditional healers. Parents are flexible about the practice of Bathie ” – Workshop 1 SEN (CHWs).

Causes of malnutrition and stunting were thought to be a lack of a balanced diet, lack of vitamin A, disease, intestinal worms, poor hygiene, socio-cultural issues such as non-compliance with food taboos, non-compliance with exclusive breastfeeding and close pregnancies. Malnutrition was also thought by some to be hereditary. Numerous signs of malnutrition were well known amongst the groups in Kaffrine. For example, signs of malnutrition were thought to be a big bloated belly, diarrhoea, oedema of the feet, anaemia, small limbs and hair loss as well as other symptoms such as red hair and a pale complexion. Despite this, malnutrition was thought to be hard to identify in Kaffrine as not all children will visit health centres, but mothers do try to take their babies heights and weights monthly. The groups were aware of the effect of poverty on the likelihood of stunting as impoverished parents cannot afford food. Furthermore, the groups mentioned that there is some stigma towards stunted children, and they can face mockery from other children although most local people feel pity and compassion towards them. Malnourished children are referred to as Khiibon or Lonpogne in the local language of Wolof.

“ It is poverty that is at the root of malnutrition, because parents do not have enough money [and] will have difficulty feeding their families well, so it is the situation of poverty that is the first explanatory factor of malnutrition here in Kaffrine” – Workshop 9 SEN (administrators).

“It can happen that some children are the victim of jokes for example of mockery from children of their same age, but not from adults and older ” – Workshop 9 SEN (administrators).

Pregnancy beliefs

In Kaffrine, Senegal, there were concerns around close pregnancies, and pregnancies in women who were too young, and for home births. Within the communities there was a stigma around close pregnancies, which prevented them from attending antenatal appointments. Similarly, there were superstitions around revealing early pregnancies, which again delayed attendance at health centres.

Groups acknowledged the role of good nutrition, and mentioned some forbidden foods such as salty foods, watermelon and grilled meat (which sometimes related back to a traditional belief that negative impacts would be felt in the pregnancy such as birth complications and bleeding). Similarly, drinking cold water was thought to negatively affect the baby. Beneficial foods mentioned included vegetables and meat, during pregnancy.

“ Often when a woman has close pregnancies, she can be ashamed, and this particularly delays the time of consultation” – Workshop 5 SEN (CHWs).

“Yes, there are things that are prohibited for pregnant women like salty foods” – Workshop 11 SEN (CHWs).

In Kaffrine, Senegal, some participants spoke of a traditional belief that if a pregnant woman consumes eggs then her baby might be overweight, or have problems learning how to talk. Despite this, mothers in Kaffrine said that they would be happy to accept eggs as a supplement, although if supplements are provided that require preparation (such as powdered supplements), they would be less likely to accept them.

“These restrictions are traditional, and more women no longer believe that eggs will cause a problem to the child. But if these eggs are brought by external bodies, we will hesitate to take it.” – Workshop 11 SEN (CHWs).

“They don’t eat eggs before the child starts speaking (the child only eats eggs when he starts talking). This is because it’s very heavy and can cause bloating and may also lead to intestinal problems.” – Workshop 4 SEN (grandmothers).

Other important topics – access to health services

For the participants in Kaffrine, Senegal, accessing health services was problematic, particularly for pre- and post-natal appointments, which faced frequent delays. Some women had access due to poor roads and chose to give birth at home. Access issues were further compounded by poverty and social factors, as procedures in hospitals can be costly, and women with close pregnancies (soon after an earlier one) can feel shame from society and hide their pregnancy.

“Women really have problems of lack of finances. There are social services in the hospital; but those services rarely attend to women without finances. Even when a child dies at birth they will require money to do the necessary procedure ” – Workshop 11 SEN (CHWs).

Creation of the culturally-informed protocols

Recommendations that comprise a culturally-informed protocol for intervention design in each locality are given in Table 3 .

The Major Cultural Themes, and specific Egg Intervention Themes drawn out from only 9–11 carefully planned group sessions in each country provided a rich set of recommendations towards a culturally-informed protocol for the localised design of a proposed Egg Intervention for both East Lombok, Indonesia and Kaffrine, Senegal. A culturally-informed protocol designed in this way comprises cultural insights which are worthy of consideration in local intervention design and should guide future stages of engagement and provide a platform from which good rapport and trust can be built between researchers and the community [ 16 ]. For example, in Kaffrine, Senegal, the early involvement of husbands and grandmothers is crucial, which reflects values around shared decision making within families that are noted to be more prevalent in LMICs, in contrast to individualistic values in HICs [ 16 , 39 ]. Similarly, due to strong religious values in both East Lombok, Indonesia and Kaffrine, Senegal, partnerships with Islamic leaders is likely to improve engagement. Past studies show the crucial role that religious leaders can play in determining social acceptability of interventions, particularly around taboo topics such as birth spacing [ 40 ].

The WVIS plus PEX:FGD method demonstrated here produced both broad cultural themes from shared values, which were in a concise and easy-to-understand format which could be readily communicated with the wider Action Against Stunting Hub, as well as life practices relevant to stunting in Kaffrine, Senegal and in East Lombok, Indonesia. Discussions of shared values during the WVIS main workshop provided useful cultural background within each community. PEX:FGD discussion uncovered numerous cultural factors within local life practices that could influence on the Egg Intervention engagement and acceptability. Combining themes from the WVIS workshop and PEX:FGDs allowed for specific recommendations to be made towards a culturally-informed protocol for the design of an Egg Intervention that included both broad cultural themes and specific Intervention insights (Table 3 ). For example, in Kaffrine, Senegal, to know that the husband’s authoritative family decision-making for health care (specific) is rooted in Islamic foundations (wider cultural) points to an Intervention Recommendation within the protocol, involving consultations with Islamic Leaders to lead community awareness targeting fathers. Similarly, in East Lombok, Indonesia the (specific) behaviour of breastfeeding for 2 years was underpinned by (wider cultural) shared values of living in Islam. This understanding of local values could prevent the imposition of culturally misaligned values, which Bernal and Adames (2017) caution against [ 17 ].

There are a number of interesting overlaps between values seen in the WVIS Frameworks and Narratives and the categories of Schwartz (1992) and The World Values Survey (2023) [ 41 , 42 ]. For example, in both Kaffrine, Senegal and East Lombok, Indonesia, strong religious values were found, and the groups spoke of the importance of practicing their religion with daily habits. This would align with traditional and conservation values [ 41 , 43 ]. Furthermore, in Kaffrine, Senegal participants often mentioned the importance of mutual aid within the community, and similar values of togetherness and respect in the community were found in East Lombok, Indonesia. These would seem to align with traditional, survival and conservation values [ 41 , 43 ]. However, the values mentioned by the groups in the WVIS workshops are far more specific, and it is possible that through asking what is most worthwhile, valuable and meaningful about their context, the participants are able to prioritise which aspects of their values are most salient to their daily lives. Grounded shared values such as these are generally neglected in Global Health Research, and values predominant in the Global North are often assumed to be universal [ 14 ]. Thus, by excluding the use of a predefined external framework, we minimized the risk of imposing our own ideas of values in the community, and increased the relevance, significance and local validity of the elicited information [ 28 ].

Participatory methods of engagement are an essential step in conducting Global Health Research but there is currently a paucity of specific guidance for implementing participatory methods in vulnerable communities [ 16 , 44 ]. In addition, there is acknowledgement in the literature that it is necessary to come into communities in LMICs without assumptions about their held values, and to use bottom-up participatory approaches to better understand local values [ 14 , 16 ]. The WVIS plus PEX:FGD methodology highlighted here exemplifies a method that is replicable in multiple country contexts [ 28 , 32 ] and can be used to crystallize local In Situ Shared Values which can be easily communicated to external researchers. Coupled with the specialised FGD (PEX:FGD), values-based perceptions of specific topics (in this case stunting) can be elicited leading to the creation of specific Culture-based recommendations. This therefore takes steps to answer the call by Memon and colleagues (2021) for the creation of cultural protocols ahead of conducting research in order to foster ethical research relationships [ 16 ]. We believe that the potential usefulness of the WVIS approach to guide engagement and inform intervention design is effectively demonstrated in this study and WVIS offers a method of making explicit local values in a novel and valuable way.

However, we acknowledge that our approach has several limitations. It has relied heavily on the local university researchers to debate and decide which participant stakeholder groups should be chosen, and although they did this in the context of the Whole Child approach, it would have been advantageous to have involved cultural researchers with a deeper understanding of cultural structures, to ensure sufficient opportunities for key cultural elements to emerge. This would have in particular strengthened the intervention design derived from the PEX:FGD data. For example, we retrospectively realised that our study could have been improved if grandmothers had been engaged in East Lombok. Understanding this limitation leads to suggestion for further work: to specifically investigate the overlap of this approach with disciplinary studies of culture, where social interactions and structures are taken into account via formal frameworks.

There are more minor limitations to note. For example, the WVIS approach can only be led by a trained and experienced facilitator: not all researchers can do this. A training programme is currently under development that could be made more widely available through online videos and a Handbook. Secondly, although the groups recruited do not need to be representative of the local population, the number recruited should be increased until theoretical saturation is achieved of the themes which emerge, which was not carried out in this study as we focussed on demonstrating the feasibility of the tool. Thirdly, there is a limit to the number of topics that can be explored in the PEX:FGDs within the timeframe of one focus group (depending on the stamina of the participants), and so if a wider range of topics need formative research, then more workshops are needed. Lastly, this work took place in a large, highly collaborative project involving expert researchers from local countries as well as international experts in WVIS : other teams may not have these resources. However, local researchers who train in WVIS could lead on their own (and in this Hub project such training was available).

The need for better understanding, acknowledgement and integration of local culture and shared values is increasing as the field of Global Health Research develops. This study demonstrates that the WVIS plus PEX:FGD shared values approach provides an efficient approach to contextualise and localise interventions, through eliciting and making communicable shared values and local life practices which can be used towards the formation of a culturally-informed protocols. Were this method to be used for intervention design in future, it is possible that more focus should be given to existing social structures and support systems and a greater variety of stakeholders should be engaged. This study thus contributes to the literature on methods to culturally adapt interventions. This could have significant implications for improving the uptake of nutrition interventions to reduce malnutrition through improved social acceptability, which could help progression towards the goal of Zero Hunger set within the SDGs. The transferability and generalisability of the WVIS plus PEX:FGD approach should now be investigated further in more diverse cultures and for providing formative research information for a wider range of research themes. Future studies could also focus on establishing its scaling and pragmatic usefulness as a route to conceptualising mechanisms of social acceptability, for example a mechanism may be that in communities with strong traditional religious values, social hierarchies involving religious leaders and fathers exist and their buy-in to the intervention is crucial to its social acceptability. Studies could also focus on the comparison or combination of WVIS plus PEX:FGD with other qualitative methods used for intervention design and implementation.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request [email protected], Orcid number 0000–0002–1811-4597. These include deidentified Frameworks of Shared Values and Accompanying Narrative from each Group; deidentified Hub Insight Statements of relevant themes.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Hub PI, Claire Heffernan, for feedback on a late draft of the manuscript.

The Action Against Stunting Hub is funded by the Medical Research Council through the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), Grant No.: MR/S01313X/1.

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Values & Sustainability Research Group, School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK

Annabel J. Chapman, Mahsa Firoozmand & Marie K. Harder

Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

Chike C. Ebido, Rahel Neh Tening, Yanyan Huang & Marie K. Harder

Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

Chike C. Ebido

Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), Dakar, Senegal

Ndèye Marème Sougou

Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia

Risatianti Kolopaking

Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Food and Nutrition (SEAMEO RECFON) Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

Risatianti Kolopaking & Rita Anggorowati

International Research Laboratory (IRL 3189) Environnement santé et sociétés/CNRS/UCAD, Dakar, Senegal

Amadou H. Diallo

Department of Medical Records and Health Information, Faculty of Health and Technology, Universitas Bandung, Bandung, Indonesia

Rita Anggorowati

Laboratory of Cultural Anthropology, IFAN, Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), Dakar, Senegal

Fatou B. Dial & Cheikh El Hadji Abdoulaye Niang

School of Education, Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK

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MKH formulated the initial research question and study design. AJC developed the specific research question. Data collection in Senegal involved CCE, NMS, AHD, FBD, RNT, CEHAN and JM. Data collection in Indonesia involved RA, RK, YH and MKH. Cultural interpretation in Senegal Involved AHD, FBD, NMS, RNT and JM. Analysis involved AJC and MF. AJC and MKH wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Marie K. Harder .

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Chapman, A.J., Ebido, C.C., Tening, R.N. et al. Creating culturally-informed protocols for a stunting intervention using a situated values-based approach ( WeValue InSitu ): a double case study in Indonesia and Senegal. BMC Public Health 24 , 987 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18485-y

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Received : 27 September 2023

Accepted : 29 March 2024

Published : 09 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18485-y

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Cyber Safety Review Board Releases Report on Microsoft Online Exchange Incident from Summer 2023

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the Cyber Safety Review Board’s (CSRB) findings and recommendations following its independent review of the Summer 2023 Microsoft Exchange Online intrusion . The review detailed operational and strategic decisions that led to the intrusion and recommended specific practices for industry and government to implement to ensure an intrusion of this magnitude does not happen again. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas received the CSRB report from the Board and delivered it to President Biden. This is the third review completed by the CSRB since the Board was announced in February 2022.

“Individuals and organizations across the country rely on cloud services every day, and the security of this technology has never been more important,” said Secretary Mayorkas . “Nation-state actors continue to grow more sophisticated in their ability to compromise cloud service systems. Public-private partnerships like the CSRB are critical in our efforts to mitigate the serious cyber threat these nation-state actors pose. The Department of Homeland Security appreciates the Board’s comprehensive review and report of the Storm-0558 incident. Implementation of the Board’s recommendations will enhance our cybersecurity for years to come.”

The CSRB provides a unique forum for leading government and industry experts to review significant cybersecurity events and provide independent, strategic, and actionable recommendations to the President, the Secretary, and the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to better protect our nation. The Board is made up of cybersecurity leaders from the private sector and senior officials from DHS, CISA, the Defense Department, the National Security Agency, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the National Cyber Director, and the Federal Chief Information Officer.

In August 2023, DHS announced that the CSRB would assess the recent Microsoft Exchange Online intrusion, initially reported in July 2023, and conduct a broader review of issues relating to cloud-based identity and authentication infrastructure affecting applicable cloud service providers (CSP) and their customers. The CSRB obtained data from and conducted interviews with 20 organizations and experts including cybersecurity companies, technology companies, law enforcement organizations, security researchers, academics, as well as several impacted organizations.

The inclusive review process developed actionable findings and recommendations. As a result of the CSRB’s recommendations, CISA plans to convene major CSPs to develop cloud security practices aligned with the CSRB recommendations and a process for CSPs to regularly attest and demonstrate alignment.

“DHS is committed to efforts that meaningfully improve cybersecurity resilience and preparedness for our nation, and the work of the CSRB is reflective of our determination and dedication to this cause,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly . “I am confident that the findings and recommendations from the Board’s report will catalyze action to reduce risk to the critical infrastructure Americans rely on every day.”

The CSRB’s review found that the intrusion by Storm-0558, a hacking group assessed to be affiliated with the People’s Republic of China, was preventable. It identified a series of Microsoft operational and strategic decisions that collectively pointed to a corporate culture that deprioritized enterprise security investments and rigorous risk management, at odds with the company’s centrality in the technology ecosystem and the level of trust customers place in the company to protect their data and operations. The Board recommends that Microsoft develop and publicly share a plan with specific timelines to make fundamental, security-focused reforms across the company and its suite of products. Microsoft fully cooperated with the Board’s review.

“Cloud computing is some of the most critical infrastructure we have, as it hosts sensitive data and powers business operations across our economy,” said DHS Under Secretary of Policy and CSRB Chair Robert Silvers . “It is imperative that cloud service providers prioritize security and build it in by design. The Board has become the authoritative organization for conducting fact-finding and issuing recommendations in the wake of major cyber incidents, receiving extensive industry and expert input in each of its three reviews to date. We appreciate Microsoft’s full cooperation in the course of the Board’s seven-month, independent review. We also appreciate the input received from 19 additional companies, government agencies, and individual experts.”

“The threat actor responsible for this brazen intrusion has been tracked by industry for over two decades and has been linked to 2009 Operation Aurora and 2011 RSA SecureID compromises,” said CSRB Acting Deputy Chair Dmitri Alperovitch . “This People’s Republic of China affiliated group of hackers has the capability and intent to compromise identity systems to access sensitive data, including emails of individuals of interest to the Chinese government. Cloud service providers must urgently implement these recommendations to protect their customers against this and other persistent and pernicious threats from nation-state actors.”

The CSRB recommends specific actions to all cloud service providers and government partners to improve security and build resilience against the types of attacks conducted by Storm-0558 and associated groups. Select recommendations include:

• Cloud Service Provider Cybersecurity Practices: Cloud service providers should implement modern control mechanisms and baseline practices, informed by a rigorous threat model, across their digital identity and credential systems to substantially reduce the risk of system-level compromise.
• Audit Logging Norms: Cloud service providers should adopt a minimum standard for default audit logging in cloud services to enable the detection, prevention, and investigation of intrusions as a baseline and routine service offering without additional charge.
• Digital Identity Standards and Guidance: Cloud service providers should implement emerging digital identity standards to secure cloud services against prevailing threat vectors. Relevant standards bodies should refine, update, and incorporate these standards to address digital identity risks commonly exploited in the modern threat landscape.
• Cloud Service Provider Transparency: Cloud service providers should adopt incident and vulnerability disclosure practices to maximize transparency across and between their customers, stakeholders, and the United States government.
• Victim Notification Processes: Cloud service providers should develop more effective victim notification and support mechanisms to drive information-sharing efforts and amplify pertinent information for investigating, remediating, and recovering from cybersecurity incidents.
• Security Standards and Compliance Frameworks: The United States government should update the Federal Risk Authorization Management Program and supporting frameworks and establish a process for conducting discretionary special reviews of the program’s authorized Cloud Service Offerings following especially high-impact situations. The National Institute of Standards and Technology should also incorporate feedback about observed threats and incidents related to cloud provider security.

As directed by President Biden through Executive Order 14028 Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, Secretary Mayorkas established the CSRB  in February 2022.  The Board’s investigations are conducted independently, and its conclusions are independently reached. DHS and the CSRB are committed to transparency and will, whenever possible, release public versions of CSRB reports, consistent with applicable law and the need to protect sensitive information from disclosure.

To read the full report, visit the Report on the Microsoft Online Exchange Incident from Summer 2023 .

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

This article is part of the research topic.

Eating Behavior and Chronic Diseases: Research Evidence from Population Studies

Comparison of Dutch healthy eating and healthy eating indexes and anthropometry in patients with major depression with health subjects: a case-control study Provisionally Accepted

• 1 Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Background: Diseases and disorders related to mental health are spreading like other chronic diseases all around the world. Considering the role of food in the prevention and treatment of these disorders, including major depression, investigating the relationship between different food patterns and this disorder is of particular importance. The aim of this study was to compare Dutch healthy eating and healthy eating indexes and anthropometry in patients with major depression with healthy individuals.Methods: In this case-control study, the final analysis was performed on 67 men and 111 women with an age range of 20-30 years. Height (cm), weight (kg), food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), physical activity (MET-min/week), demographic and PHQ-9 questionnaires were taken from all participants. In the following, all the food ingredients and their components were extracted and used to calculate HEI-2015 and DHD. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software with independent t-test, logistic regression and chi-square.Results: It was found that people with major depression in this study were mostly women and occupied. The average HEI-2015 in healthy people and those with major depression was 58 and 54.3, respectively. Also, the average DHD in these people was 60.5 and 55, respectively. HEI-2015 and DHD had a significant negative correlation with depression score (r= -0.16, p-value= 0.03) (r= -0.19, p-value= 0.01). Also, in the logistic regression model, before and even after adjusting confounders, HEI-2015 and DHD had a reduced odds ratio in people suffering from major depression. The two groups did not differ significantly in terms of the average factors of height, weight and body mass index (BMI).Conclusion: It seems that HEI2015 and DHD have a significant relationship in reducing major depression. However, due to the small number of studies in this regard, especially in the field of DHD, the need for more studies seems necessary.

Keywords: major depression, Dutch Healthy Diet index, Healthy Eating Index 2015, PHQ9, HEI

Received: 14 Jan 2024; Accepted: 08 Apr 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Tohidi-Nafe, Movahedi and Djazayery. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Mrs. Melika Tohidi-Nafe, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

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