The celebration of Leslie Martin's life and work in arq 4/4 has provoked a steady stream of correspondence about the nature and quality of his contributions to architectural practice, education and research. However, so far absent from this debate has been the voice of any of those who worked in Martin's Shelford studio. Spurred by the issue of the relation of practice to (academic) research, PATRICK HODGKINSON, Martin's first assistant, reflects on some of the projects with which he was involved. This most revealing contribution to the debate raises the whole issue of the nature of architectural research.