Tower blocks are a prominent but at the same time somewhat elusive subject of research. They are ubiquitous both in the urban fabric of many cities and in the collective memory. At the same time they present a methodological challenge, as they combine aspects traditionally covered by very different disciplines: architecture, engineering, history, sociology, planning and others.
The author will give an overview into methodological issues connected to research on tower blocks. He will present some of the challenges he faced in the context of his book “Tower and Slab” (Routledge, 2012), as well as the solutions he found.