client v research

Since the course meet up a month ago, I’ve been quite confused in whether I should take a client-based project or a research-based project. Before the meeting, I was quite convinced that a client-based project would be the best option for me. However, after the meeting it seems that the course has became a little more challenging and now, a research project seems a possibility. Here are just a few pros and cons I thought of for both project types.

Client-based project
Pros – work with a professional in the industry; gain industry experience; client may have a prepared BIM model to work on; opportunity to collaborate with other architects and network.
Cons – difficulty in finding a suitable client in time; risk that architect may not have time for follow ups

Research-based project
Pros – be able to talk to lecturers at uni; able to be in control in what to research; able to develop prototypes (depending on project); peer support from other friends who have done research
Cons – possibility of being ‘stuck’ on research topic; quality of writing