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EDRA CORE
 

About CORE

EDRA Certificate of Research Excellence (EDRA CORE) is a professional recognition that acknowledges and celebrates rigorous and innovative practice-based environmental design research studies.
 
CORE serves as a bridge between the design industry and the larger environmental design research community. Through CORE, design and research practitioners explore new topics, methods, and findings with the most brilliant minds in the field. Celebration of research projects and elevating the bar for practice-based research are byproducts of participation in this community.
 
Applications to CORE undergo a rigorous, double-blind review by an interdisciplinary panel of experts. Evaluations are based on two main dimensions: (1) Research Rigor: the use of new and/or recognized research approaches in research design, methods, and tools; and, (2) Research Impact: pushing the boundaries of practice through impact on stakeholders and the design industry.
 
During the past years, collaborative studies from the following firms, organizations, and institutions have received EDRA CORE:

 

If you, your team, or your organization has completed a research study with impact on a design project or the design industry during the past two years, submit for CORE and share it with the broader community through the CORE 2026 Certification Application Portal.

 

learn about THE 2025 CORE RECIPIENTS

After a rigorous review process, EDRA has bestowed its Certificate of Research Excellence (CORE) on these research projects.

 

KEY DATES FOR 2025-2026 CORE APPLICANTS

  • November 4, 2024 Submission portal opens
  • February 1, 2026  Submission portal closes
  • February 11, 2026 Submission Deadline Extended
  • April 6, 2026  Notifications to recipients
  • May 27-30, 2026  Recognition Ceremony at EDRA57 Amherst

 

Application
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2026 EDRA CORE Application Brochure

Everything you need to know about the EDRA CORE application process - requirements, evaluation, recognition package, and application form questions.

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PAST Recipients
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Learn about the 2025 and past years' CORE Recipients

Check out our collection of EDRA CORE Certified research projects from 2025, and the past nine years!

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Featured projects
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Featuring CORE Recipients

Get to know some of the CORE recipients and their research projects in their own words.

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FAQ
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Facts & Questions

We have provided you with commonly asked questions regarding CORE. Do you still have questions? Email us!

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Certification Requirements

To apply for CORE certification, the research study should:

  • Have been either applied to or be based on a design project;

  • Consider the relationship between human and the environment;

  • Include an interdisciplinary team of designers and researchers;

  • Have been completed in full (data collection/analysis, findings, documentation, and dissemination) within the last three years..

Note: We highly encourage studies to go through the process of review by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) if they involve human subjects. If the study involves human subjects, but IRB review is not sought and/or obtained for the study, applicant(s) should provide within their application a rationale for why the IRB process was not included in the research protocol.

CORE Application Brochure
CORE Application Portal

EDRA CORE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Shan Jiang, PhD | Co-Chair 
Director of Research, GBBN Architects
sjiang@gbbn.com 

Dongying Li, PhD | Co-Chair
 Associate Professor
Texas A&M University
dli@arch.tamu.edu

Elizabeth Cooper, PhD
Director of Undergraduate Architecture Programs
Associate Professor
Wentworth Institute of Technology

Claudia Berenice Muciño García, MSc 
Director of the architecture department
School of architecture, art, and, Design
Tecnológico de Monterrey, Puebla