Research in the ADMRC takes place in three overarching groups that each host strategic themes. 

Areas of enquiry vary in scale from lone scholars to larger networks, and have all produced notable research projects. These research groups and themes are supported where appropriate by Design Futures.  

Creative Practices in Health and Wellbeing

The centre developed and fostered Lab4Living, an interdisciplinary community of researchers in design for healthcare. Lab4Living is now established as a world leading research centre in its own right, focusing on the role of design in conceptualising the 100-year life and ‘Future Home’.

Physical and Digital Making: Theory and Practice

Research themes within this group include wide-ranging research into making and commentary on making practices: from supporting the economic re-construction of the region; through R&D for new product development; new materials and methods; discourses around authenticity; and insights regarding body adornment and body augmentation. The Digital Materiality Lab explores human-computer interaction: ways in which the digital and material worlds connect and interact and the application of new materials. More recent research foregrounds ‘frugal making’ to sustainably address issues that are recognised global challenges.

Social, Cultural and Philosophical Narratives

The centre has a strong track record of artists engaging with societal and political challenges. Empathy and Risk is an interdisciplinary community of researchers that seek to address issues of empathetic and systemic failure within contexts of contemporary global crisis, conflict and contested sites. Social commentary and critique is a strong continuing focus, and the origination and generation of ideas through the practice of film-making, performance and fine art has led to significant areas of enquiry. Repositioning of Archives explores the creative processes of film ‘making’ and fine art to elicit new meanings from archive material, to re-state histories, illuminate social challenges and to reveal the sometimes hidden or suppressed.