The growth of formalized research has been one of the most important developments in architectural education in the last half-century. It is now axiomatic that most, if not all, faculty members in schools of architecture will undertake some measure of research. In this the academic architect stands alongside, and is indistinguishable from, colleagues in the other disciplines. But in the middle decades of the last century the case for the development of a research culture in architecture was not so clear cut. Two of the central figures in the debate about the establishment of research were Serge Chermayeff in the United States and Leslie Martin in the United Kingdom. DEAN HAWKES compares and contrasts their pioneering work.