What do we publish?

We represent digital architecture in the broadest possible sense: business architecture, solution architecture, software architecture, infrastructure architecture or any other kind of architecture with which a business van develop its business strategy. Next to this professional area, Via Nova Architectura also strives to be a publication platform for researchers and professionals in the field of design; we view this combination of practice and theory as a positive joining of forces in our e-magazine.

For this reason, we welcome your contribution wholeheartedly, regardless of whether you come from a practical or theoretical background, and invite you to send us your article in one of our categories; position papers, case studies, reflections or pure research. Of course the subject matter will be directly related to architecture; a large choice of examples can be found under the ‘contributions’ heading.

Why publish?

It is often the case that professionals write many reports or business documents. This is what we are used to and feel comfortable with and competent at. However, an article or publication may be valued quite differently and requires a lot more time and effort.

Finding this time may be difficult, as this is definitely more of an issue than when an already existing task is concerned. It may also be hard to make your experiences and ideas visible to others; be it for fear of embarrassment or because of the notion that it is unnecessary or even pointless. Most professionals rarely transfer their knowledge in a structured manner, which is a huge shame, for varied reasons.

• Creating a systematic written account, parallel to the direct work process, of what exactly is happening, being discussed and done, and why particular decisions have brought particular results and for whom, is hugely beneficial. It forces you to analyze and evaluate your own work in a way that is different from your usual perspective. You have to search for more associations and connections in your own work in order to make others understand exactly what the nuts and bolts are of the situation that is so normal and self-evident to you. Making your work explicit, and motivating, explaining it to others, can give you a level of reflection that does not otherwise arise. This provides an independent means of increasing your professionalism. The process of writing of an article can serve as an aid to your professional growth here. Optimize your own opportunities!

• Throughout the course of your career you have gathered a multitude of information and knowledge of your profession. To you, this is your framework of thought and you may see this as standard, just the way things work. This framework may limit you in seeing what learning about your experiences can mean for others. For this purpose it is not necessary that you performance is much better than theirs; your thoughts can simply provoke others to order their thoughts in a slightly different way. This is called learning from an through each other!

• You may have worked for a specific client and gained knowledge and experience that you can share with the wide audience of Via Nova Architectura. An account of a good business case is interesting to many professionals. There may be other clients with similar issues, who read what you have done and may be interested in consulting you. There may be employers who get a look at your expertise and may grow an interest for you as a consequence. Or perhaps a fellow professional in your field may get in touch for an in depth discussion. Or that one driven colleague, that you have been looking for to complete your team, gets captivated by your work. By stating your name, e-mail address and your employer you are not just presenting yourself as an individual, but also your company, in combination with your professional content. Representation through the right channels is a key asset in our community!

• Many professionals in our field are focused on content and sometimes have a personal modesty that may deter them from presenting and/or transferring their knowledge. Nevertheless, our field is calling for a structural gathering of knowledge, that does not necessarily need to be of a scientific standing, but could just as well be pragmatic and practical. You can support the field in its further development by publishing an article at Via Nova Architectura. You may not feel the need to stand in the spotlight, but it would be a shame not to share your professional vision with us!

Support

If you feel uncertain about publishing your work, our editors at Via Nova Architectura can provide some help in the writing process. This may consist of proofreading your concept in an early stage and giving feedback and suggesting improvements, or of a supporting role on the topic and scope of your article. In any case, you can always count on inaccuracies on punctuation and any unclarity in text or structure to be amended. You can indicate your preferences in the e-mail. We are happy to help, as Via Nova Architectura is shared by us all!

Which contribution suits you?

On Via Nova Architectura, 4 types of articles are placed, each with a different signature:

• Position papers: a short contribution of approximately one page, in which a specific issue in Architecture is laid out, with an appropriate argumentation

• Case studies: a report on practical architecture, preferably including a description of key lessons learned in the process

• Reflection: a practical reflection on multiple items in comparison, such as cases, design methods, techniques, tools and new technologies. These contributions characteristically rely on insights that have arisen from the perspective of a practitioner.

• Research: a scientific reflection on the execution of the design profession. These contributions mainly take a theoretical point of view.

How does it work?

Articles may be 4 to 20 pages long (the position paper may only be one page), where we are aware of at least the name of the author as well as employer and contact details. You are asked to format the article in a standard MS Word template, which you find here.

All contributions may be sent in through the site or by e-mail (at the address This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). The editorial board will go over this and provide help if required.

Contributions will then be judged on relevance and quality by the editorial board, which is common practice. You may choose a superficial or a quality review. In case of a quality review paper, the author will be required to re-edit your contribution after receiving feedback from the editorial board. A special “reviewed” logo will be placed in your article to emphasize the quality of the contribution. If you choose the quality review you will be notified within three months whether or not your paper has been accepted. If you choose the superficial review, you will be notified if and when your contribution has been placed.

Although we prefer to publish in English, we do by no means exclude articles in Dutch. The copyright remains the author’s at all times.