Purpose – This research paper is addressing the difficulties of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge transfer in respect of urban textures and furthermore the impact of knowledge, about surroundings and environment, on sustainable and holistic growth. In order to channel resources and set the focus at the right place at the right time, one important key factor is understanding and therefore decoding the transforming urban structures. Generating a base for an interdisciplinary dialogue about the potentials, risks and possibilities of the existing urban structure and its development between business organizations, public authorities and organizations is one purpose of this paper. Design/methodology/approach – It is the approach to contribute to the well-established discussion about urban textures and its complex structure connecting to correlating research topics, not only for the benefit of the community of architects and urban planners in research and practice but also for the larger target group of experts from other research fields and practices. Originality/value – Are the known tools of Knowledge Architecture, knowledge transfer and knowledge management adequate to generate and transfer the necessary knowledge of complex urban structures? Do we need to rethink, question or expand those described methods in order to meet the transdisciplinary requirements by not only transforming but also translating knowledge for diverse, heterogeneous recipients in order to be applicable in research as well as in practice? Having the effect of the increasing globalization in mind the importance of accessible, understandable knowledge gains significance in order to follow the approach of supporting a sustainable and holistic growth on multiple levels. Practical implications – Bridging the still existing gap between architecture and urban planning on one hand and non-architectural disciplines and professions on the other hand is a second aim of research. Hence it is a necessity to transform the knowledge about
urban structures into a more universal accessible language. The identification and establishment of existing interdisciplinary knowledge transfer tools, in order to make possible recommendations. Spheres of influences for various fields of expertise might be discovered and identified. This is possible only by translating the respected expert knowledge and offering this processed, transformed knowledge to an audience of various disciplines.
Keywords – Urbanism, Transdisciplinarity, Sustainable Urban Growth, Knowledge Transfer, Innovation