Software Architecture (SA) has been an active research field for three decades. Despite much research, it is not clear to what extent research-derived solutions – approaches, methods, techniques, and tools – have actually impacted the practice of architecture in the software industry. This paper presents the results of a survey that gathered practitioners’ perceptions on the relevance of SA research. We interviewed 12 experienced practitioners who assessed the relevance of 96 papers published in the last ten editions of the European Conference on Software Architecture (ECSA). Most practitioners rated SA research as necessary due to the potential application of novel research to solve practical issues in practice. In contrast, negative perceptions stemmed from the lack of utility and unclear contributions to practice, context-specific solutions, and solutions that do not add substantial value to what the industry already uses.