Phenomenography as a research design in architecture: A multi-stage literature review

Achmad Syaiful Lathif (Bandung Institute of Technology)
Iwan Sudradjat (Parahyangan Catholic University)
Indah Widiastuti (Bandung Institute of Technology)

ARTEKS : Jurnal Teknik Arsitektur
Vol 11 No 3 (2026): ARTEKS : Jurnal Teknik Arsitektur | July 2026 ~ September 2026

Phenomenography is a qualitative research approach concerned with investigating variations in the ways individuals experience, perceive, and understand particular phenomena. Although the approach was originally developed within the field of education, it has subsequently demonstrated considerable relevance to architectural and urban research. This paper applies phenomenography through a systematic literature review, beginning with an initial body of 1,195 articles that was progressively narrowed to 14 studies. From these studies, six principal thematic dimensions were identified: sensory-affective, representational, performative, cognitive-developmental, socio-political, and temporal. Three articles were subsequently examined in greater depth to establish a methodological protocol for applying phenomenography within architectural research. The findings demonstrate that phenomenography can effectively identify and represent the diversity of understandings associated with architectural design and spatial experience. The research process comprises four principal stages: (1) establishing the research focus; (2) defining and framing the phenomenon under investigation; (3) analyzing empirical material to develop descriptive categories through familiarization, condensation, comparison, and grouping; and (4) interpreting the findings through articulating, labeling, and contrasting categories in order to construct the Outcome Space. The Outcome Space constitutes the distinctive product of phenomenographic inquiry and can be understood as a “territory map” that represents variations in spatial experience through the relationships established among concepts and categories. Most architectural studies employing phenomenography remain primarily at the level of descriptive categorization, where experiential diversity is mapped and organized. Relatively few studies proceed toward the development of comprehensive outcome spaces. Such outcome spaces provide structural descriptions that possess considerable diagnostic potential for architectural design, education, pedagogy, and urban planning. properly, and there are gaps in the connection between units.