I would research why there are so many architecture students who don't seem to be passionate about architecture, since they keep asking for help on topics to research. Sorry, but are you that disinterested in your chosen field of study that you have to ask a question like this?

What are you interested in? Research it. Done!

Spot on Kevin.

I guess Google is broken today. Damn lazy students.

Architectural typologies of Donut Shops in Los Angeles

Sexy Architecture: Whorehouses of Nevada.

Can you make it in Jello: Famous Buildings made Jiggly

Seriously, my research fellowship was studying the museums of a Norwegian architect because I love museums, wanted to go to Norway, and it ended up tying into my thesis. Figure out your own voice, not what everyone else thinks is hot.

I wanted to start an intelligent conversation about what interests professionals in the field. I wasn't asking you to do my research for me I was asking opinions of people who are actually experienced. I am a second year student and wanted to learn and get experience. But thank you for your the incredibly insightful comments Kevin and Non Sequitur.

"Or what are the hottest topic in architecture now that involved analyzing and research?"

History would tell us that you're not able to come up with your own interests. Do a search on similar topics in these forums and you'll see how common posts like yours are.

How about you speak to the graduate or phd department on your architecture department and ask what dissertations are in progress? Or look through your library's arch periodicals /journals?  That should at least lead you to something productive and current instead of taking the easy way.

I have looked and I have found topics that interest me and that I want to pursue. Just because someone asks for input on a forum, don't assume they're so ignorant and talk down to them. This was not my only source of searching for topics. I just wanted some input on a forum that is built for architects. 

Brothels

Dog Houses.

Need more research on both. 

I'm interested in the 3 C's. Callous, condescending, or conceited, which personality trait is best?

I apologize for being harsh. I realize architecture is different for everyone, but it would seem by now you should have developed some interests and curiosities, some strong feelings that need to be looked into deeper. Flip through any current or past architectural magazine, walk through a city, a suburb..(best drive through, not pedestrian friendly, usually)...does something make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, does your heart rate increase?

What are your questions in regard to architecture today and the future? What do you look at and think to yourself, "that's just fucked up!"  Let's begin again, sorry again for the rudeness.

What university do you attend?  Most faculty members have their own specific research topics that they are already deeply engaged in.  Have you tried talking to them or reviewed any of their previously published research to see if any of that piques your interest?

It's great that you want to take advantage of these opportunities.  You're just getting a little bit of grief because you didn't offer anything up about what YOU are interested in to help us guide our suggestions.  Ultimately, the research needs to be something that you are passionate about, or else you won't get much out of it.

Outside of that, here you go (utilizing the googles):

https://architecture.mit.edu/building-technology/program/research-topics

As for whats hot: digital fabrication, scripting, etc., etc.

There are people expressing interests and opinions all the time in the forums, I say just jump in. Writing and expressing yourself will help you find where your interests and opinions are.

I hear shipping containers are hot right now.  We need more projects with these.

You really should do my Jello topic suggestion above, because I really want to see that.

An exploration of jello.  How can we take jello past shaping?  How can we allow jello to find its own form? If a bowl of jello is placed in the box with Schrodinger's cat, is it eaten, or is it still there? 

I'm not sure why all prior responses consider this post "the easy way out", and I'm not sure if it is the forum's role to police weak vs. strong students. In addition, architectural research is a nebulous, ill-defined subject, with a wide range of academic and professional opinions, so I honestly fail to see why this forum cannot provide some pointers to the post. 

nehrlich, 

You should be asking your Professors and graduate students to understand what is "sexy" at your school but I also think that is a bad approach to research. You should be thinking about research that is relevant to your future interest and which might have the best chance of getting funded, or since you are in architecture school, gaining buy-in from both faculty and other students. 

 

Clear areas of research might have to do with manufacturing; pre-fab; landscape urbanism; parametric design; robotic construction; design for pressing issues; etc....

Spend some time looking at the potential topics and then make a decision

I think what interests me most in retrofitting buildings. How do we build to make room for technologies that haven't been invented yet. I feel like architecture, in some cases could be a cyclical thing. As opposed to building new, why not modify a building with newer technologies. Does this save on construction costs? Energy costs? Labor costs? What are materials that can and can't be recycled or reinstalled? How do we take these materials from other buildings and re-utilize them on housing in places like developing countries? Can this sort of strategy be used to edit prefab housing/buildings? This is where I am starting to take my thinking. 

Technology is often a place holder for anything. What are you suggesting, solar panels, moving sidewalks, wifi enabled coffee machines? Or, are you interested in using old, under-performing buildings and converting them to new uses in lieu of typical demolition?

Plenty of examples for the later. Your location might already have infill and retrofit guidelines. Raised floors for new hvac and cabling, double walls for climate control, Exoskeleton type enclosures, etc.

Real advice, ignore the economics for now until you define how you interpret thech. Hopefully it's more complex than slapping a few solar panels and green roofs.

Excellent. It is typical for contractors to say restoring / renovating / retrofitting an old building is much more expensive than demo and building new. Preservation minded people have not often done a convincing job to refute that. Perhaps a study of successful examples af adaptive re-use, etc..could be a good angle. Just a thought.

Yea, I'm mostly talking about taking older, under-performing materials and replace them with newer products. How we make room for that within the design phase of architecture. All while being cost effective, like Kevin said, " restoring / renovating / retrofitting an old building is much more expensive." So possibly exploring this, doing multiple case studies and analyzing what did and did not work for the building and in what conditions. 

Seriously. Jello.

And you found a viable research topic, and one that you can sell future employers on as more and more adaptive reuse occurs.

The effect of BIM on design. Has it dumbed down our buildings to what is easily available in the program. I seem to be seeing this trend.

When I would step into an old factory space with some of the equipment still in place, but the space itself is abandoned, a sense if nostalgia would overcome me, imagining what it would have been like to step into a place like this when it was still bustling. For me, sensing how a space like this was so energized and now so dormant, is like looking at a lifeless corpse. Adaptive re-use would bring a new spirit within the carcas and re-vitalize it in ways that would hopefully bring some meaning to the context and end-user.