architectural thesis format

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Fifth Year Architecture Design Thesis

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Mirjana Lozanovska

Architecture Design 2 Unit Chair: Dr. Mirjana Lozanovska Co-Chair: Anthony Worm Design Teachers: Marc Dixon, Fiona Gray, Eugenia Tan design orientation This semester will focus on the ‘making ofarchitecture’ in the more specific sense of the physical building and order of the environment. There will be two major themes explored: how materiality generates both the physical and aesthetic conditions of architecture; and how materiality organizes and frames social relations. These are elaborated below. Architecture is a product of imagination, ideas, traditions, cultural forces and it is also a product of technologies, construction, and structures. Experimentation, invention, manufacture and innovative ways of using existing materials define the field of the ‘making of architecture’. To be familiar with the tools, materials, techniques, technologies and structural possibilities of architecture is to build on the capacity of the imagination. Architecture is expanded and limited by how it is made and what it is made of. To resist and prevent a dormant imagination or an imagination that tends towards repetition, you will be encouraged to nourish it with the properties, processes and possibilities of architecture’s material conditions. Concepts such as tectonics, technics and technology will be explored through ‘hands on’ projects rather than theoretically. In a sense these all derive from the concept téchne which is conventionally understood as the science or art of making, the crafting of an object or tool. However, its deeper sense derives from the ancient Greek to refer to the process of making something appear, the letting out of the intrinsic properties within materials to inform their expression, form and usage. Technologies of the social emphasises architecture’s role in facilitating social relations, the ways that the materiality, spatial order, and various components (doors, walls, windows) set limits and open possibilities for the various relations between people, whether this be eating a meal, working, playing, or having a meeting or conversation. Architecture organises relations between people: person to person, person to group, person to crowd, group to group, etc. However, architecture also organises relations between people and objects: person to toaster, person to iPod, person to tool, person to monument. The important thing is that there are various different status objects: technological, aesthetic, consumable, kitsch, precious, profound, functional etc. At this point you can begin to understand how the two major themes meet and are overlaid onto one another. The materiality of architecture mediates the relations between people. In addition, a building is itself an object and is construed, used and perceived through its relation to people. This semester is about exploring how materiality generates architecture and organizes the relations between people and objects of a utilitarian, kitsch and aesthetic kind. It will ask you to examine the everyday garage or shed as a building type that is made in an ad hoc way. The garage is invariably not only the intended shelter for cars, but a place for a diverse array of other uses. This will ultimately form the platform for a design of a factory, warehouse or display centre.

Rapit Suvanajata

Angela Wheeler

Across culture and time, architects have interrogated the built environment and their role in shaping it. Questions of artistic agency, political power, social control, and cultural preservation all contribute to the fundamental debate of what architecture is—and is for. This syllabus aims to introduce students to the expansive theory, practice, and study of architecture. At once an examination of disciplinary history and theory, this course will investigate the diverse ways architects have understood their world (and situated their profession within it) by actively negotiating between written ideas, drawings, and built projects. To do so, this syllabus adopts an explicitly transnational perspective, challenging the Euro-American canon of architectural theory by presenting it as just one tradition amongst a range of cultural, geographic, and historical perspectives. Through exposure to a range of thinkers, students will be able to consider their own work within a diverse spectrum of theories concerning architecture, urbanism, and space.

Joseph Krupczynski

George Dodds

Panos Leventis

Chris Brisbin

jonas aluma

madis pihlak

Syllabus 02

Alessandro Rocca

The framework of the research undertaken by AUID doctoral students in the first semester (2021) traces a very varied landscape and often with interdisciplinary characteristics. Concerning the centrality of the architectural project, the backbone of the program, almost all the proposals introduce external elements involving other-dimensional scales, social and technical problems, and references to ecological, urban, and landscape issues.

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How to Write an Architecture Dissertation 101​

In this post we will explore how to write an architecture dissertation, but first…

What is an architecture dissertation?

The architecture dissertation (or thesis) is an opportunity to demonstrate the skills you have learnt and the knowledge you have developed over the course of your studies. It identifies a current question of interest that you are willing to explore and analyse.

Thesis and dissertation mean different things in Europe than they do in the USA. In Europe, a dissertation is usually part of a masters degree involving a broader research project. In the USA however, the dissertation is part of a doctorate degree. Likewise, a thesis in Europe generally refers to research work for a PhD, while in the USA thesis is part of your masters degree. Nice and confusing 🙂

Given that we are based in the UK, we will refer to the document as a dissertation, but much of the information and tips here are interchangeable. Hopefully you will find this guide useful when considering your architecture dissertation… or thesis!

Scroll to the end to download this article as a handy PDF guide!

How to write an architecture dissertation, choosing your topic​.

Selecting a topic for your architecture dissertation is often one of the biggest challenges for students. Where to start?! Let’s take a look at the process of selecting your architecture dissertation topic.

Ask a question Your architecture dissertation needs to ask a question. Whether it is a big question or just a small part of a big question, there has to be a reason for your research and data collection.

So, when you have selected a big issue that you would like to explore, you can look at breaking this down into a smaller question for your subject.

Starting off with a big issue, and beginning to narrow this down into smaller issues, allows you to end up asking a small question that could perhaps have big implications or bring very interesting results.

You could use a mind map to help you visualise and brainstorm ideas – have your big question in the centre with other smaller questions branching out from it.

Focus on an area of study that you are comfortable with Try to consider areas within your field of study that you are comfortable with. For example, if you are particularly interested and inspired by environmental architecture, perhaps you can start there.

On the flip side, if you are particularly interested in new technologies and software developments, then perhaps you could start thinking along those lines.

The more comfortable you are with your topic area, the more solid your work will be and you will be able to pursue your architecture dissertation with more confidence.

Select a topic that is focused Don’t go too broad with your topic idea. Don’t forget, you are not writing a long novel, so your research and your final architecture dissertation has to be concise. A broad topic will make it very difficult to get into the nitty gritty details.

As an example, let’s say you are interested in the feasibility of using sustainable prefabricated systems in residential architecture. This is a fairly large subject, so your work could look at an aspect of this, such as a particular sustainable prefabricated system like a timber panel, or perhaps prefab systems in social housing. You could then drill down further. You can look at the subject as a whole in your introduction or conclusion, but investigate a more focused part of that topic for your own work.

Don’t forget, as you start to investigate your topic further, it may lead you to other questions, which in turn can change the theme of your architecture dissertation.

Don’t be too fixated on a topic in the early stages that stops you from shifting and developing the dissertation. It is a bit like design projects, sometimes it is easy to get fixated on your concept at the detriment of the design – adjusting, and pivoting can be a good thing, it is an iterative process.

Look at other architecture dissertations Take some time to read and research other dissertations, to get a feel for what excites or interests you. By gaining an understanding of the format, content and overall outcomes of the architecture dissertation, you will be able to develop your ideas more easily, and drill down on a topic that fits.

Doing this will also help you see what topics have been extensively covered and ones that are niche.

You can find some architecture dissertations on the RIBA Presidents Medals website for some inspiration: https://www.presidentsmedals.com/Entries/2022/0-1/1

Read other architecture works Take some time to read other architecture works while you are in your topic decision making process. This might open up new ideas and thoughts that you didn’t think of before.

Look at current trends, what is new, what is changing, what hasn’t changed, why? How about world events, how do they impact architecture? How does architecture impact them? What can we learn?

Make sure your question can be answered Once you have chosen your question or topic, make sure that data collection and research will bring you to some sort of conclusion or answer. It will be very frustrating if you are investigating an issue that will not be possible to conclude on or resolve.

Make sure you can ask the right questions to get information from people, are there enough books on the subject? Is there any historical data that might be useful? How about photographs and drawings? Consider how you will research your architecture dissertation before finalising your topic.

Drafting a proposal You will most likely be asked to create a proposal for the topic you have selected. Your proposal will be presented to your tutors who will give you feedback that will help you move forward.

Carry out your research

The research phase of your architecture dissertation is really important. We must look at many different sources and aspects of our topic to start to develop our strategies and ideas.

Start with the library The best way to start investigating our topic is to find out what information currently exists, who has asked your question, or similar questions, what has been published? So head to the library and start reading!

Try and get a selection of sources for a more balanced overview, rather than relying on just one source. Although you can use the internet, don’t forget that it is an unregulated source, and therefore not all the information is completely reliable.

Keep track of any books, journals etc that you have consulted. (more on that later).

Follow the citations and references in relevant articles to see if other works have been written that are relevant to your topic. Research papers are good sources of references and information you could further explore.

During this initial stage of research you may still be narrowing your topic, refining your question and that’s totally ok. Often, it is not until you have started reading around your topic and delving deeper that you start to see the questions that need to be asked.

Take notes Take notes and keep track of all your research, book name, author, title, date, publisher plus all the page numbers of the important points. This will help you when you come to referencing and citation and also enable you to stay organised.

Keep your topic / question in mind as you read through the research material and make notes on relevant points, in your own words. Write down any phrases or quotations that you will want to cite later, but make sure you keep a list of the details of the author etc, so the quotation doesn’t get mixed up with your own writing.

Citations and references Make sure you reference and cite all your work correctly. This is a tedious part of the architecture dissertation but extremely important to do it right.

You can find a guide about doing the Harvard referencing system which is most commonly used in UK universities, here: https://www.citethisforme.com/harvard-referencing

This page goes through the other citation styles and gives examples for each: https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/citation-styles/

Or you can refer to your own university library reference material to make sure you are carrying out your citations and references according to university guidelines.

Collect data The goal of your architecture dissertation should be to gather and interpret new data, rather than just regurgitating existing information.

Try to collect data that you can analyse and interpret rather than just writing descriptively about the topic.

Collection of data can include information from books as we have mentioned, but also reports, studies, statistical data, surveys, interviews, opinions, archived material, and so much more.

Be prepared to think openly, and think wide. By drawing on many different data sources and formats you will have a more rounded research pool to collect data and analyse going forward.

Our Architecture Dissertation Source Log

Our Dissertation Source log is a valuable tool for architecture students and researchers working on their dissertations. This spreadsheet can help you record all the key information on the sources you have used in your research.

It is also a great way to keep track of your research progress. As you add new sources to the spreadsheet, you can include notes on each source and its quality. This information can be helpful when you are writing your dissertation and need to refer back to your sources.

There are also columns where you can add in citations for each source. This means that all your references will be stored in one place, which will be super handy for when you come to create your bibliography.

The Architecture Dissertation Source Log is a free download. You can start filling it in right away or adjust and edit to your liking to make it your own.

Download your copy today!

As you analyse your data and research, your findings will shape your architecture dissertation, the topic and the big or small question that you are exploring. Make sure you leave the title, introduction and abstract till last.

There are different types of analysis when it comes to researching. The main ones you will be using for your architecture dissertation are visual analysis, textual analysis and historical analysis – although there are many more that you could draw on.

Obviously your choice of topic and question will determine what data you will be analysing but let’s look at this as an overview.

Textual content analysis This is a deep focus on the books, reports, papers and journals that you have identified as being an important part of your research. The areas you have ‘highlighted’ to be of interest should be studied in detail and notes taken as to why these points are important.

What is the author saying? Why is this important? How does it relate to your question, and your observations? Has the author written any other titles? Do they refer to other titles? Lots of questions to ask in order to draw out the information you are looking for.

Visual content analysis Visually, you will be looking at plans, maps, photographs and use your skills to question what you see. Analysis of the spaces, the site etc similar to a site analysis or precedent analysis .

There should be countless questions you could ask when analysing your visual findings, write down your observations.

Historical analysis Here you will focus on the historical events or situations that have had an impact on the topic or question that you are studying.

What were the circumstances at that time? Where do the ideas come from? What is the author focusing on? And so on.

Where appropriate, use maps, images, diagrams, drawings, surveys, time lines and data mapping to explore and present the data you have collected and analysed.

Check out our Mapping Techniques Pinterest board for some ideas:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/1starchitecture/mapping-techniques/

The main things to consider here are:

What is your big question or topic?

What is the sub topic or smaller question that you are looking to answer?

What research and information will you draw on to answer the question?

How will you analyse the research?

How will you present or argue your findings?

Before presenting or putting together your final works, it is important to have a clear structure to your architecture dissertation and the research you have carried out.

By now, hopefully you will be clear on your topic and the question you are looking to answer. You will know what research you will draw on to inform your ideas, and how you will collect your data.

The clearer you can make your outline of how you want the structure of your dissertation to be, the easier it will be to write. If your ideas and concepts are in a muddle, the end result could mirror this.

Your university will most likely provide guidance on how you should structure your dissertation. Some UK university guidance examples include:

University of Westminster https://libguides.westminster.ac.uk/c.php?g=692395&p=4963012

University of Bath https://blogs.bath.ac.uk/academic-and-employability-skills/2020/07/07/writing-your-dissertations-structure-and-sections/

University of York https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/dissertation/structure

In general a dissertation will typically follow the structure shown below:

Title Acknowledgements Abstract Table of contents List of figures and tables List of Abbreviations Glossary

Introduction Literature review Methodology Results Discussion Conclusion

Bibliography/Reference list Appendix

General Architecture Dissertation Tips 

1. Start work on your dissertation early.

2. Include references and citations to other scholars’ work.

3. Discuss the topic with other people.

4. Make the most of your tutorials, or any dedicated sessions.

5. Don’t get stuck on your title/topic. Let your data research lead and guide you.

6. Don’t feel you have to solve the world’s problems with your architecture dissertation. You are contributing to the research on a particular topic, don’t feel that your work has to result in a ground breaking solution to a worldwide problem.

7. Tell a story – make sure there is a flow to your architecture dissertation. Avoid using complex sentence structures and fancy words, make it readable. Always try to say more, with less – keep it simple.

8. Give yourself plenty of time to carry out your project from start to finish. Start early with your research – it takes a lot of time if it is to be done properly.

9. Make a schedule – dedicate chunks of time to your architecture dissertation. Ideally intersperse these studies with lighter tasks or something different like sport. It is difficult to write for more than 4 hours without becoming tired and inefficient so make sure your schedule allows for breaks and changes in activity.

10. If you are asking people for help in your data collection, make sure you give them lots of time to get back to you.

11. Be as direct and clear as you can in your writing, avoid fluffy over wordy sentences.

12. Make visual connections between your architecture dissertation topic and the way you design and set it up. Use a consistent style and readable fonts.

13. Get someone to proofread your work, ideally a couple of people.

14. Use your tutors for advice and guidance, that is what they are there for. Be sure to ask plenty of questions if you are not sure about something.

Topic Ideas

Here are some broad topic areas you could consider looking into when you are deciding what to write about.

1. Sustainable Architecture: This topic area focuses on designing and constructing buildings with a reduced environmental impact, incorporating energy-efficient systems, renewable materials, and sustainable design principles.

2. Urban Design and Planning: This area explores the planning, development, and design of cities and urban spaces, including aspects such as transportation systems, public spaces, infrastructure, and community development.

3. Historic Preservation and Conservation: This topic area delves into the preservation, restoration, and adaptive reuse of historic buildings and sites, considering the cultural and historical significance of architecture and the methods used to protect and maintain them.

4. Housing and Residential Architecture: This area focuses on the design and planning of housing solutions, including affordable housing, sustainable housing, multi-family dwellings, and innovative approaches to residential architecture.

5. Interior Design and Space Planning: This topic area examines the design and arrangement of interior spaces, exploring aspects such as ergonomics, aesthetics, functionality, and the use of materials and finishes to create effective and appealing interior environments.

6. Landscape Architecture: This area explores the design and planning of outdoor spaces, including parks, gardens, urban landscapes, and sustainable landscape design strategies that integrate natural and built elements.

7. Digital Design and Building Information Modeling (BIM): This topic area investigates the use of digital tools, technologies, and software in architectural design and construction processes, including topics like parametric design, computational design, and BIM implementation.

8. Cultural and Contextual Studies: This area examines the relationship between architecture and culture, exploring how buildings and urban environments reflect and influence social, cultural, and historical contexts.

9. Architectural Theory and Criticism: This topic area involves the exploration of theoretical concepts, critical analysis of architectural works, and the examination of philosophical, social, and cultural influences on architecture.

10. Human-Centred Design and Well-being: This area focuses on designing spaces that prioritise the well-being, comfort, and health of occupants, exploring topics such as biophilic design, universal design, and the impact of the built environment on human behaviour and psychology.

Remember to choose a topic that aligns with your interests and academic goals. It’s also essential to conduct thorough research to ensure that your chosen topic has sufficient scholarly literature available for reference.

Example Architecture Dissertation Studies Here are some examples of other dissertation topics to get you inspired.

1. Sustainable Architecture: Exploring innovative design strategies for energy-efficient and environmentally conscious buildings.

2. Adaptive Reuse: Analysing the potential of transforming abandoned or underutilised structures into functional spaces while preserving their historical significance.

3. Urban Planning and Design: Investigating strategies for creating inclusive and livable cities through thoughtful urban design and infrastructure development.

4. Biophilic Design: Exploring the integration of nature and natural elements within built environments to enhance well-being and productivity.

5. Parametric Design: Investigating the applications of computational design techniques and algorithms in creating complex architectural forms and structures.

6. Affordable Housing: Analysing design approaches and policies that address the pressing need for affordable and accessible housing solutions in urban areas.

7. Post-Disaster Reconstruction: Examining architectural responses and strategies for rebuilding communities affected by natural disasters and creating resilient built environments.

8. Heritage Conservation: Investigating methods and principles for preserving and conserving historic buildings and sites while adapting them for contemporary use.

9. Smart Cities: Exploring the integration of advanced technologies and data-driven solutions in urban environments to improve efficiency, sustainability, and quality of life.

10. Cultural Identity in Architecture: Analysing how architecture can reflect and reinforce cultural identity, exploring the relationship between built form and cultural heritage.

Helpful Links:​

Books The Dissertation: A Guide for Architecture Students                   

Resources There will be loads of useful websites and databases that you can access through your university. A few examples include:

Jstor https://www.jstor.org/

The Courtauld Institute’s Conway Library https://photocollections.courtauld.ac.uk/menu-item1/conway-library

Arts & Architecture http://www.artsandarchitecture.com/

Harvard Digital Collection Library https://library.harvard.edu/digital-collections

Getty Publications Virtual Library https://www.getty.edu/publications/virtuallibrary/

RIBApix https://www.ribapix.com/#

Architectural Association Photo Library https://photolibrary.aaschool.ac.uk/index.php?WINID=1684503427358

Archigram Archive https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/collection/archives/archigram-archive-ca36/

You might also be interested in:

We also have lots of incredible architecture content. Be sure to check it out:

Download the Guide!

Download this helpful article as a pdf to keep for reference later!

We hope this post helps you get started on your architecture dissertation.

Wishing you the very best of luck with your work 🙂

Thank you for reading!

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A thesis is typically the culminating project for a master's degree, while a dissertation completes a doctoral degree and represents a scholar's main area of expertise. However, some undergraduate students write theses that are published online, so it is important to note which degree requirements the thesis meets. While these are not published works like peer-reviewed journal articles, they are typically subjected to a rigorous committee review process before they are considered complete. Additionally, they often provide a large number of citations that can point you to relevant sources. 

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Dissertations & Theses @ Yale University A searchable databases with dissertations and theses in all disciplines written by students at Yale from 1861 to the present.

Yale University Architecture Theses   Included in  Art, architecture, and art history theses and projects, Yale University (1915–2014)

Yale University Master of Fine Arts Theses in Graphic Design​ Finding aid for Arts Library Special Collections holdings of over 600 individual theses from 1951 to the present. The theses are most often in book format, though some have more experimental formats. Individual records for the theses are also available in the library catalog.

Yale University Master of Fine Arts Theses in Photography Finding aid for Arts Library Special Collections holdings of over 300 individual Master of Fine Arts theses from 1971 to the present. The theses are most often in the format of a portfolio of photographic prints, though some theses are also in book form. Individual records for the MFA theses are also available in the library catalog.

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How to Choose an Undergraduate Architecture Thesis Topic

• Written by Suneet Zishan Langar
• Published on September 11, 2017

As architecture students head to their final year of BArch, half-crazy from years’ worth of scraped fingers, ghastly juries, sleepless nights, and a general lack of social life, they encounter the mighty problem of choosing a thesis topic. There are many subjects to choose from, but a personal interest in a particular subject is just one of the many factors that should influence this decision. Students need to ask themselves several other questions: Is the topic significant enough? Is it expansive enough? Is the project realistically doable?

The process can be daunting, for the decision has many consequences; sometimes, the choice of topic alone can mean the difference between the success and failure of a thesis. With so many factors to consider and deadlines closing in, students easily end up making decisions that they regret later. Here are eight tips to help you make an informed choice on the matter:

1. Dare to Be Un original

Thesis work at the undergraduate level strongly differs from that at the graduate or doctoral level, and it is important to understand the rationale behind its inclusion in the curriculum. Work at the graduate or doctoral level usually asks for the identification of a “gap in existing knowledge” about a subject and an original proposal to bridge that gap, but the expectations of an undergraduate student are less demanding. This means that you don’t necessarily have to go out of your way to be innovative at the undergraduate level. Choosing a simple unoriginal topic but executing it in a way that exhibits all the knowledge you’ve acquired in college will also do the trick.

2. Choose a Topic that Personally Interests You

With your peers picking varied topics and schedules, this year will be lonesome; the most you will have for company on an average day is a drawing board, your laptop, some books, and coffee. You will find yourself routinely getting distracted by Buzzfeed ’s latest video on Youtube or the cool new Drake track. Choosing a topic that you’re passionate about will make sure that you stay inspired and motivated to work, which should ultimately result in a great final project.

3. Set Your Scope Small

Many students give in to the natural temptation to do too much by picking topics or issues that are too expansive, and therefore almost impossible to execute in a short time-frame. A tip would be to start with the simplest version of a topic and add in extra complexity later if the circumstances allow it.

4. Recognize What You’re Good at

Every student possesses a unique set of skills and abilities which they’ve acquired through their experiences and by following their interests. No one is good at everything. An unbiased understanding of your creative and technical capacities and their limits thereof will allow you to choose a topic that best employs your expertise.

5. Is There Enough Existing Literature on the Topic?

A thesis project requires an enormous amount of reading and analysis before the beginning of the design process, and the primary source of reference information for an undergraduate student is usually existing studies or research. Hence, it makes sense to choose an area of study where a substantial amount of previous work exists. The availability of such work will enable you to analyze, compare, draw conclusions, and employ the knowledge gained to suggest an informed proposal.

6. Strike a Balance Between Art and Science

Architecture students dig themselves a grave when they begin to romanticize their thesis projects. It is hard to blame them, however, when you consider that the thesis project is viewed as the culmination of a multi-year program which is rooted as deeply in art and theory as it is in building technology. But it’s imperative to find a topic that is a balance of the two. A topic that seems too abstract might make it difficult for a jury to ascertain a student’s understanding of tangible issues.

7. What Do You Want to Do in the Future?

The thesis project is the single most important part of your portfolio as a fresh architecture graduate looking for a job in the industry or applying for a graduate program. The choice of topic will reflect your interest in or experience with a particular specialized subject. Hence, when choosing a thesis topic, you should try to align it with your plans for the near future.

8. Aim to Solve a Real World Problem

While there are many wide-ranging opinions about architecture’s ideal role in society, there is a general agreement that an architect’s work does influence how a society functions and evolves. In a world that is grappling with myriad serious issues like climate change, population growth, and an inequitable distribution of resources, it benefits young architecture students to acquaint themselves with the larger picture, and to choose a topic that at least aims to solve a current socio-environmental problem through a design intervention.

• Sustainability

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Architectural thesis format

• Information and services
• Higher Degree by Research
• 1. Thesis preparation

Graphic design (or visual communication design) is an integral part of communicating both practical and conceptual architectural matters.

Architecture is a highly visual practice, replying extensively on non-linguistic communication through diagrams, drawings, photography and other forms of image including large-scale plans and maps.

These media and conventions are standard and universally employed in the architecture profession, and understood and accepted amongst architecture researchers worldwide.

Candidates are permitted to depart from standard thesis formatting where there is specific articulated justification and need for a variation. Submit a proposal to the School of Architecture, Design & Planning at the thesis review milestone.

All architecture theses submitted for examination must adhere to UQ's thesis formatting requirements with the following exceptions:

• Line spacing 1.5 to 2.5
• All four margins 10 to 50mm
• Page size A4, A3 or square
• Page layout portrait or landscape.

Candidates are also permitted to include extensive visual documentation of design process and outcomes including buildings or building parts.

• Art history thesis by exhibition format
• Creative writing MPhil thesis format
• Creative writing PhD thesis format
• Music thesis format

Architecture Thesis Research (GRAD)

Overview of architecture, graduate thesis checklist, beginning thesis research.

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Architecture Library 152 Walsh Family Hall of Architecture University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 46556

(574) 631-9401 [email protected]

The Architecture Library is a branch of the Hesburgh Libraries of Notre Dame and is located within the Matthew and Joyce Walsh Family Hall of Architecture. The library is comprised of over 36,000 volumes and hundreds of periodicals on the built and planned environment. Collection strengths include  classical & traditional architecture ,  American architecture ,  Italian architecture ,  Latin American architecture ,  New Urbanism ,  sustainable design & planning , and  urban planning . The Architecture Library supports the research and instructional needs of the School of Architecture's NAAB-accredited programs including the five-year undergraduate program and its two- and three-year Master of Architecture and Master of Architectural Design and Urbanism programs. 

Once your topic is approved you should set a meeting with the librarian to plan your research and precedent study. The library will help you to acquire materials needed for your project. Precedent study should include location, building type, and programmatic resources. Once a research plan is in place follow these steps:

• Search for Books using WorldCat
• Search for Articles
• Search for Local/Regional Resources
• Order Books & Articles
• Acquire Maps & Images
• Organize Citations
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Undergraduate Thesis

• Preparing for Thesis

Elements of Thesis

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APA For Thesis

Browse our Thesis Finding Aid to see topics previous students researched and get inspired!

Course texts.

' CLICK TO VIEW IN LIBRARY CATALOG

See Undergraduate Thesis Coordinator Amin Espandiarimahalati

Graduate Thesis Coordinator Vuslat Demircay

Thesis - The Basics

"The starting point for any thesis has to be a critique of present circumstances, which opens up possibilities of radical and practical changes in the world."

- Zegarski / Enos (2016)

What is Thesis?

The Undergraduate Thesis Research Studio offers a unique opportunity to continue your design education at NewSchool. You will plan, develop, and execute a self-generated self-directed architectural research project. You will identify a problem based on your personal interests and propose an architectural solution by navigating and expanding on a given methodology comprised of research and design tasks. You will self-evaluate and clearly convey a critical position grounded in the learning outcomes of the architectural program at NewSchool.

"An architectural thesis should be seen as a desire to map, create, draw, or plan a certain kind of spatiality through a critical/ radical critique of a specific aspect within the process of archietctural production that is representative of everyday life within our current urbanized process of spatial production." Zegarski/ Enos (2016)

The library will only accept Thesis Books that follow the standards outlined here. Make sure you review them and include all required elements. 

Front Matter

• Copyright Page
• Thesis Abstract
• Approvals Page
• Acknowledgments (optional)
• Dedication (optional)
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Thesis Essay
• Research and Findings
• Design Solution
• List of Figures
• Glossary of Terms
• Vita (optional)
• Appendices (optional as needed/ appropriate)

General Thesis Timeline

Summer quarter.

• Thesis proposal and conceptual video

Fall Quarter (AR501)

• Thesis Essay, Case Studies, Programming, Site Investigation, Research Presentation

Winter Quarter (AR502)

• Project Schedule, Concept Development, Code Analysis, Site Development, Thesis Proposal Document, Design Presentation

Spring Quarter (AR503)

• Plans, Circulation, Structure, Sections, Systems, Interior Studies and Detailing, Storyboard, Final Design Presentation, Final Thesis Document

Submission Deadlines and Instructions

• Next: Preparing for Thesis >>
• Last Updated: Apr 23, 2024 7:16 PM
• URL: https://library.newschoolarch.edu/ugthesis

Architecture: Thesis Preparation

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In an article in the July 24 1974 issue of Architect's Journal, Jeremy Baker talks about the student thesis as a way of providing students with "greater awareness of the world." Library research can help to provide the framework as well as set the boundaries for the design project.  Good research techniques can make the process both expedient and enjoyable.

Writing Your Thesis

Guidelines for starting your thesis, courtesy of UC Berkeley

https://slc.berkeley.edu/writing-worksheets-and-other-writing-resources/building-thesis

Thesis Organization

• Objectives, Scope and Limitations
• Description of the research
• Conclusions/Summary of the work
• List of Case studies
• List of references/literature case studies for thesis research work
• Identification of the project site

Harvard Guide to Using Sources

Harvard Guide to Using Sources : The Harvard Guide to Using Sources is an easily accessible introductory guide to use of sources. It includes tips for students on finding, choosing, and integrating reliable sources into academic writing. The Guide provides examples of MLA, APA, and Chicago styles of citation and includes information on avoiding plagiarism.

Past Thesis and Thesis Prep Books

The Libraries maintains online documentation of past Super Jury award winners and other theses receiving a B+ or better grade.  They are available on  SURFACE , the Syracuse University database of scholarly works, by searching for "School of Architecture Theses."

Click Here  for an easy link to the list of available theses.

General Guidelines

Familiarize yourself with your topic.

Be sure you are able to answer the following questions before beginning your research:  Take a journalistic approach to gathering information. Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? ​

Gather background information  about your topic using reference sources.

Reference books provide important information on a topic, include specific details, and point to other useful sources of information. They point the way into the core literature of a topic contained in books, journals, reports, and many other types of publications. They can also summarize, digest, or review the literature on a topic in ways that save you time and energy. Knowing the reference sources in your discipline can increase the efficiency of your searches by enabling you to better focus your questions.

The Search Plan

Define the topic.

Determine the component parts.  If the topic is fairly broad, start with the narrowest concept.  If your topic is very narrow, begin your research using broad terms.

Gear your searching to the resource.  For example, when searching subject specific periodical databases, use terms the least common to the discipline.

Review your results and refine your search as necessary.  Broaden the terms if you need more information. Narrow the terms to limit the amount of information retrieved.

Synthesize the information.  Determine if and what additional information is needed.

Actively seek out alternative views  as a way of testing your theory.

Begin your research in the architectural literature.

Search Strategies

Familiarize yourself with your topic before beginning your research.  This will save time later. This includes determining the appropriate search terms to use. Include synonyms and related terms.

Modify your search as necessary , including searching related resources or additional databases not as closely linked to your subject. These sources may include relevant information.

Know the nature and parameters of the reference tool(s) you are searching.  Certain reference works only cover particular time periods or may not be comprehensive in scope. For instance, most online databases begin their coverage in the 1970s-80s.

Make the fullest use possible of reference tools , including bibliographies and footnotes which can lead you to other sources.

Read the source carefully . Note organizational differences between tools.

Library Services

Off-desk Consultations

Students are encouraged to make appointments with  Barbara Opar  and/or other subject librarians as appropriate.  You may contact Barbara by email at  [email protected]  or at 443-3518 (King + King Architecture Library) preferably, 443-2905 (452 Bird Library). For assistance in other subject areas see the following list of  subject specialists .

Special orders

The Library may be able to order new architecture books or other materials to assist you. If you have specific requests, contact Barbara.

Extended loan period

Thesis and thesis prep. students are given graduate status in terms of library circulation privileges. Stack books circulate for one year. See Barbara for details or special requests.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

ILL obtains materials (books, periodical articles) not available within the Syracuse Libraries system. ILL requests may be submitted online using the appropriate form found online at  Interlibrary Loan .  Periodical articles will be made available electronically. Books will be delivered to Bird Library or Carnegie Library. Thesis Prep, thesis and graduate students are eligible for delivery of most materials directly to the King + King Architecture Library. Services are free of charge. To submit a book request, it is suggested that you use WorldCat to locate the citation. To submit a periodical article request, it is suggested that you use the SU links tab on the specific database citation page.

Delivery Service

Thesis students are eligible to have circulating books from Bird, Carnegie and Interlibrary Loan delivered to King + King Architecture Library. Prior sign up is required. See Barbara for details.

Sample thesis prep books

Select (B+ and above) books are available through the Library's institutional repository,  SURFACE .

Citation guidance

RefWorks (Databases tab) is one of the many sources available for proper formatting of your bibliography and notes.

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Beginning Your Architecture Research

Whether you are researching a specific historical style, building, architect, or movement, there are similar techniques to follow when exploring your topic. Think about important words or phrases that best describe your topic.

Perhaps you are searching for information on a particular architect or building, then you would want to search by name .

• Ex: " Robert Graves " with quotation marks and in correct order. The same goes for a specific building, Ex: " Denver Central Library " (Hint: sometimes buildings are known by multiple names or even by their addresses so be flexible and try a number of options)

If you are looking for a style or movement or architectural innovation , use words that either name or best describe it. Start broadly and narrow down as you search as you go, refining your words as you learn how your topic is described most commonly in the literature. 

• Ex: " Baroque Architecture " to get architecture and not just art in the Baroque style. Or if searching for a concept, " sustainability AND architecture " combining two separate ideas with the Boolean operator "AND."

Be sure to use the options on the left side of the search screen to refine your list for either books, articles, peer-reviewed, online access, etc.  

Not sure where to begin? Looking in a general historical architecture encyclopedia is always a good place to generate ideas. Please see the next box below for a few to get you started. 

Recommended Subject-Focused Encyclopedias

Dictionary of Architecture

Reference Collection (Second Floor)

Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture

Electronic Resource

Dictionary of Ecodesign: An Illustrated Reference

Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art

Dictionary of Modern Design

Elements of Style

Encyclopedia of 20th-Century Architecture

Reference Collection (Second Floor) Volumes 1-3

Encyclopedia of Detail in Contemporary Residential Architecture

Encyclopedia of Housing, Second Edition

Greenwood Encyclopedia of Homes Through American History

Reference Collection (Second Floor) Volumes 1-4

Greenwood Encyclopedia of Homes Through World History

Grove Encyclopedia of American Art

Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture

Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture

Historical Dictionary of Romantic Art and Architecture

Interior Design and Architecture: Critical and Primary Sources

Oxford Companion to Architecture

Electronic Resource Volumes 1-2

Oxford Dictionary of Architecture

Short Guide to Writing about Art

Universal Principles of Design

Visual Dictionary of Architecture

Visual Dictionary of Interior Architecture and Design

Architecture Since 1400

A Global History of Architecture

Modern Architecture: A Critical History

Main Collection, 3rd Floor

Modern Architecture

Recommended encyclopedia databases.

Working from off campus?   If so, you will need to log in with your Kean Google username and password. 

• Gale eBooks (Gale Cengage Learning) This link opens in a new window A comprehensive collection of reference resources such as subject-focused encyclopedias and dictionaries, available in a single database.
• Grove Art Online (Oxford University Press) This link opens in a new window Features a comprehensive, scholarly art encyclopedia with worldwide coverage of Western and non-Western art from prehistory to the present. The database provides access to thousands of searchable images and links to additional resources. NOTE: Permits only eight simultaneous users.
• Oxford Art Online (Oxford University Press) (VALE) This link opens in a new window Key reference for art; offers artist biographies as well as subject entries on artworks, genres, historical periods, and so on; includes Grove Art Online. The database also provides access to some 40,000 image links and 5,000 images contained within Grove Art Online. NOTE: Permits only eight simultaneous users.
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Architecture Thesis Projects: A Comprehensive List of 30 Topics to Pick From (Updated 2024)

Neha Sharma

13 min read

March 18, 2024

Table of Contents

Architecture Thesis: A culmination of all those years of intense training, sleepless nights, countless submissions and unforgettable memories. The grand finale!

It is a real test to showcase all the skills you’ve gained over the years in a single project. Naturally, choosing the right topic from an ocean of architecture thesis topics is one of the biggest challenges you can face as a final year student, as the topic itself may define the trajectory of your thesis!

To ease your conflicted mind, we have curated a comprehensive list of popular architecture thesis projects you might want to explore in your final year, along with links to relevant theses across the internet for your ready reference.

Go on, have a look! What sparks your interest?

Housing/ Residential Projects

1. Affordable Housing

“Housing for all” is a major goal developing countries are striving to achieve. Not everyone has the resources to own a house or even rent one out. Conscious and well-planned housing design can turn cities into places where owning a house is not merely a dream. And architects can play a pivotal role in achieving this noble goal.

2. Gated Communities

With the city centres choking with pollution, traffic congestion and over-population, many people are now moving to the suburbs in closed, secure and private gated communities. These colonies circumference almost every major city now, with more emerging as you read. A gated community design could be an interesting (though slightly controversial) architecture thesis topic to explore residential neighbourhood planning.

3. Modular/ Disaster Relief/ Emergency Shelters

Land and resources are limited but the demand for them only keeps increasing giving rise to environmental hazards like deforestation, pollution and depletion of natural assets. In a rapidly changing, calamity-prone world, the design of modular, mobile, disaster relief shelters is the need of the hour!

4. Slum Redevelopment

Urban informality may be a fascinating, complex issue to tackle for your architecture thesis projects. Many people have varied opinions on the dense, informal urban developments popularly known as ‘slums’ , but few are willing to tackle the difficult issue from top to bottom (or bottom up!). Are you one of the few?

Institutional Projects

5. Educational and Skill-Training Institutions

Schools play an important role in shaping a person and are key in bringing up generations of bright individuals. Educational and skill-training institutions have vast options, ranging from kindergartens to higher-education institutes; schools of dance to special-needs institutes ! Ready to shape minds?

6. Rehabilitation and Wellness Institutions

A sound mind and sound body are key to a happy life!

Unfortunately, sometimes individuals have to be institutionalised to get their health back on track. Rehabilitation centres and centres for people with depression or trauma aim at people’s mental wellness, while public gyms and civic sports centres aim at people’s physical wellness. If healing architecture and landscape is something you like, this could be the best architecture thesis topic for you!

7. Research Institutions

Progress in science, technology and humanities improves our way of living and ensures our well-being. The Sheldon Coopers among us wouldn’t be happy to see any fewer research centres and laboratories than there are!

Public Infrastructure Projects

8. Hospitals

Healthcare services are undoubtedly the most important services any region needs. The pandemic has made us understand how under-equipped even the best hospitals can be and so there is an even bigger reason for every hospital, be it multi-speciality/ speciality , maternity, special needs, public or private , to be as well designed as possible. This, more than ever, is the need of the hour and can make for a pressing architecture thesis project.

9. Transit Hubs

Airports , Bus Terminals , Railway Stations , Inland Waterways, Seaports.

Do you love to travel? Have you ever waited for a train and imagined how much better that railway station could be? Then what are you waiting for? Be the change!

10. Sports Stadia

Remember that first stadium experience of watching a cricket or football match? The energy of the crowd, the adrenaline rush! Most group sports stadia ( Cricket , Football , Hockey, Baseball, etc) and sports cities require meticulous study before designing, making a very suitable architecture thesis project for students.

11. Urban/Street Redevelopment

How often do we walk the streets of our cities and almost die because a bike passed within inches of us? Street redevelopment projects catering to pedestrianisation are proven to improve the lives of millions and are rapidly gaining urgency in the urban design domain.

These projects often require extensive site study. Not sure what all to cover in your site analysis? Read - Site Analysis Categories You Need to Cover For Your Architecture Thesis Project .

12. Waterfront Development

Rivers are considered sacred and life-giving across the world. The pitiful conditions of water bodies today have led urban designers to take up River/Canal-front Development Projects which aim at minimising water pollution, a smooth transition from land to water, and ultimately encouraging visitors for leisure and fun activities.

13. Public Parks and Plazas

Parks are the lungs of the concrete jungles many of us live in. After a day of intense work, all we need is some greenery and fresh air; or to grab a beer at that corner cafe in the city square! The design of public parks, plazas and playgrounds could be the best architecture thesis topic for an urban/landscape enthusiast.

14. Social Infrastructure

A robust, well-functioning society accommodates and facilitates the wellness of all its citizens and living beings. Infrastructure like orphanages , nursing homes , animal shelters , night shelters , daycare centres, banks, prisons , juvenile schools, community development centres , and many more tend to those social needs of the society which cannot be overlooked. Inclined towards public welfare? Look no further!

Socio-Cultural Projects

15. Community and Convention Centres

Humans are social animals. Now and then, we crave a meet-and-greet. Community and Convention Centres cater to this very need, and exploring the design angles for human interaction may be something worthy of your architecture thesis project. Be ready for competition though, this is one of the most popular architecture thesis topics students undertake!

16. Museums and Libraries

The culture-lovers among us would understand the value of a good museum or library and appreciate a well-designed one. Be it a museum of arts and crafts, culture, architecture , history or science, if the give and take of knowledge through some entertainment and delight (infotainment) is something you see yourself doing, then this could be the best architecture thesis topic for you.

17. Memorials

Memorials are the physical manifestations of the struggles endured, victories earned and life-changing events in history. They remind us to never forget the past, hoping for a better future at the same time, making memorial design both a fascinating yet weighted exercise.

18. Places of Worship/ Spiritual Centres

One cannot separate a human from their faith. Having a place to worship or connect with one’s spiritual self is as important to a human as going to school or a cinema hall. Places of worship like temples, churches, masjids, gurudwaras, monasteries , etcetera; and spiritual or meditation centres serve as places for gathering and become important landmarks in a settlement.

Conservation and Heritage Projects

19. Conservation of Heritage Structures

Conservation of the priceless built heritage like palaces, monuments, places of worship, ancient settlements, etc has always been on the agenda of organisations like UNESCO and the Archeological Survey of India. If historical significance gets your heart rate up, hi history nerd! Help in conserving our heritage structures !

20. Adaptive Reuse of Heritage Buildings

History nerd, if you’re still here, here’s another architecture thesis topic for you. Some heritage can be conserved to attract tourists and some that are too out-of-order could be modified and reused for a different purpose, generating economy. Converting royal palaces into heritage hotels, a king’s court into an emergency ward for covid patients or factories into community spaces, adaptive reuse of the built form requires fine skill, respect for heritage, and an active imagination!

Offices/ Corporate Projects

21. Government Buildings

Workspaces for all government officials are mandatory for smooth administration. The scale of government buildings is diverse, from the Central Vista Redevelopment Project (*ahem*) to a district-sessions court. Some common categories are high courts, government-owned banks, secretariat and corporation buildings , income-tax offices, assembly and gathering centres , media offices and so on.

Sounds boring? Don’t be so sure. What originally sounds typical is where there is maximum potential to surprise your critics!

22. Corporate Office Towers

We all have seen or at least talked about the famous corporate jungles of our towns. They not only serve as important landmarks but help in increasing the economic value of a region (Very SEZ-y!). If you wanna tame the jungle, you could explore corporate office-building design for your architecture thesis topic.

23. Co-working and Remote-working Spaces

A popular trend before COVID was sharing workspaces, which now have the potential to be thought of as remote-working spaces! Rethinking the design of co-working spaces is very relevant to the times and has great scope for innovation.

With the times we live in, this could be the best architecture thesis topic!

Entertainment and Commercial Projects

24. Theatres and Auditoria

Who doesn’t like good showtime with family and friends? Theatres, auditoria and performance centres are the core of spaces showcasing and witnessing talent, and fall under another typology which has the potential to be reworked post-pandemic. The design of such entertainment stations can test the knowledge of large-span structures without losing a strong grip on creativity and functionality.

25. Multiplexes and Malls

Malls and multiplexes are very popular among the masses as they possess multiple brands of shopping, entertainment and food centres. Whether or not you agree with the mall typology, more keep coming up in growing towns every year. So why not study how they work and improve the concept for your architecture thesis project? The consumerist urbania will thank you!

26. Marketplaces

Shopping for groceries and essential commodities is a frequent need, and most people head to a single marketplace for all their essential goods shopping. A place with a high frequency of movement requires meticulous and thorough design, but can also be one of the most fun challenges to take up! Think farmer markets, community-owned produce markets, mandis, harbour fish markets, and flea markets, the possibilities are endless!

27. Mixed-Use Hubs

Taking your design challenge up a notch is by taking up a mixed-use hub . This is a high-density area that caters to more than one function and has mega economic value. It could be a combination of residential, commercial, institutional, or hospitality, commercial and public space, or much more. This concept is taken to another level by bringing transit hubs into the fray with transit-oriented development!

28. Film, Photo and Animation Studios

The use of digital media has increased multifold in the past couple of decades. A lot of creatives express themselves through digital content, increasing the need for more film , photo, animation and integrated studios . Since these functions can be highly specialised, there is a lot of potential to do impressive research for your architecture thesis project!

Hospitality and Tourism Projects

29. Eco-Tourism Resorts and Visiting Centres

Imagine spending a weekend at a secluded place, close to nature, with all the facilities you need to relax and just de-stress! Ecological resorts and tourist visiting centres aim to cause as little damage to the environment as possible. Keen on environmental sustainability, eco-tourism resorts should be encouraged in the tourism and hospitality industry and make for very relevant architecture thesis topics.

Landscape architecture enthusiasts, where are you all at?

30. Backpacker Lodging/ Youth Hostels

While the question of travel arises, not everyone can afford finely kempt hotels or resorts to lodge at. The youth may opt for backpacking trips to save money as well as to have an interesting experience! Backpacking/ youth hostels like Zostel and Nomads World are buzzing for their affordability, convenience and prospects of networking with like-minded people. If this is your jam, consider creating innovative spaces for it!

Futuristic/ Sci-fi/ Conceptual Projects

How about a settlement on Mars? Or a concert hall in the air? A transit hub of 2050? A forest within the city? Perhaps a residential colony on the water!

Such futuristic or conceptual architecture thesis topics are all the more enthralling as they might not have any precedents. They stretch a creative brain to its limit, and in the process may transform into a brilliant idea. Challenging conventions, thinking out of the box and taking up a futuristic architecture thesis project could be your achievement (both in design and in convincing the faculty) as a young designer!

Having read about some common architecture thesis topics, it is important to know that you must not be limited to the above list. Your architecture thesis is your own brainchild, and it does not need to conform or even fit within a category.

A great architecture thesis is also a key ingredient in creating a kickass architecture portfolio ! So give your all. Who knows, you may even end up receiving an award for your architecture thesis !

Hoping you found the inspiration you were looking for!

Need more guidance with your architecture thesis project? Head straight to our A-Z Architecture Thesis Guide !

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20 Types of Architecture thesis topics

An architectural thesis is perhaps the most confusing for a student because of the range of typologies of buildings that exist. It also seems intimidating to pick your site program and do all the groundwork on your own. While choosing an architectural thesis topic, it is best to pick something that aligns with your passion and interest as well as one that is feasible. Out of the large range of options, here are 20 architectural thesis topics .

1. Slum Redevelopment (Urban architecture)

Slums are one of the rising problems in cities where overcrowding is pertinent. To account for this problem would be one of great value to the city as well as the inhabitants of the slum. It provides them with better sanitation and well-being and satisfies their needs.

2. Maggie Center (Healthcare architecture)

This particular typology of buildings was coined by a cancer patient,  Margaret Keswick Jencks,   who believed that cancer-treatment centres’ environment could largely improve their health and wellbeing by better design. This led a large number of starchitects to participate and build renowned maggie centres.

3. Urban Sprawl Redesign (Urban design)

The widening of city boundaries to accommodate migrants and overcrowding of cities is very common as of late. To design for the constant urban sprawl would make the city life more convenient and efficient for all its users.

4. Redesigning Spaces Under Elevated Roads and Metros (Urban infrastructure)

A lot of space tends to become dead space under metros or elevated roads. To use these spaces more efficiently and engage them with the public would make it an exciting thesis topic.

5. Urban Parks (Urban landscape)

Urban parks are not only green hubs for the city, which promotes the well-being of the city on a larger level, but they also act as great places for the congregation and bring a community together.

6. Reusing Abandoned Buildings (Adaptive reuse)

All buildings after a point become outdated and old but, what about the current old and abandoned buildings? The best way to respond to these is not by demolishing them; given the amount of effort it takes to do so, but to enhance them by restoring and changing the building to current times.

7. Farming in Cities (Green urban spaces)

With climate change and population on the rise, there is statistical proof that one needs to start providing farming in cities as there is not sufficient fertile land to provide for all. Therefore, this makes a great thesis topic for students to explore.

8. Jails (Civil architecture)

To humanize the function of jails, to make it a place of change and rehabilitation, and break from the stereotypical way of looking at jails. A space that will help society look at prisoners as more than monsters that harm, and as fellow humans that are there to change for everyone’s betterment.

9. Police Academies (Civil architecture)

Academies that train people to be authoritative and protective require spaces for training mentally and physically; focussing on the complexity of the academy and focussing on the user to enhance their experience would work in everyone’s favour.

10. High Court (Civil architecture)

Courtrooms are more often than not looked at as spaces that people fear, given the longevity of court cases. It can be a strenuous space; therefore, understanding the user groups’ state of mind and the problems faced can be solved using good design. 

11. Disaster-resilient structures (Disaster-relief architecture)

Natural disasters are inevitable. Disaster-resilient structures are build suitably for the natural disasters of the region while also incorporating design into it, keeping in mind the climatic nature of the location.

12. Biophilic design (Nature-inspired architecture)

As humans, we have an innate love for nature, and the struggle between integrating nature and architecture is what biophilic design aims towards. To pick a topic where one would see minimal use of natural elements and incorporate biophilic design with it would be very beneficial.

13. Metro stations and Bus terminals (Transportation spaces)

Bus terminals and metro stations are highly functional spaces that often get crowded; and to account for the crowd and the problems that come with it, plus elevate the experience of waiting or moving, would contribute to making it a good thesis topic.

14. Airport design (Transportation spaces)

Airport designing is not very uncommon; however, it is a rather complex program to crack; thereby, choosing this topic provides you with the opportunity to make this space hassle-free and work out the most efficient way to make this conducive for all types of users.

15. Sports Complex (Community architecture)

If your passion lies in sports, this is a go-to option. Each sport is played differently, different materials are used, and the nature of the sport and its audience is rather complicated. However, to combine this and make it a cohesive environment for all kinds of users would make a good thesis topic.

16. Stadium (Community architecture)

Unlike a sports complex, one could also pick one sport and look at the finer details, create the setting, and experience for it; by designing it to curate a nice experience for the players, the public, and the management.

17. Waste-recycling center (Waste management)

Reducing waste is one of the most fundamental things we must do as humans. Spaces where recycling happens must be designed consciously. Just like any other space, it has been given importance over the years, and this would make a good thesis topic to provide the community with.

18. Crematorium (Public architecture)

Cremation of a loved one or anyone for that matter is always a rather painful process and a range of emotions is involved when it comes to this place. Keeping in mind the different types of people and emotions and making your thesis about this would mean to enhance this experience while still keeping the solemnity of it intact.

19. Museums (Community architecture)

Museums are spaces of learning, and the world has so much to offer that one could always come up with different typologies of museums and design according to the topic of one’s interest. Some of the examples would be cultural heritage, modern art, museum of senses, and many more.

20. Interpretation center (Community architecture)

An interpretation center is a type of museum located near a site of historical, cultural, or natural relevance that provides information about the place of interest through various mediums.

References:

• 2022. 68 Thesis topics in 5 minutes . [image] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NczdOK7oe98&ab_channel=BlessedArch> [Accessed 1 March 2022].
• Bdcnetwork.com. 2022. Biophilic design: What is it? Why it matters? And how do we use it? | Building Design + Construction . [online] Available at: <https://www.bdcnetwork.com/blog/biophilic-design-what-it-why-it-matters-and-how-do-we-use-it> [Accessed 1 March 2022].
• RTF | Rethinking The Future. 2022. 20 Thesis topics related to Sustainable Architecture – RTF | Rethinking The Future . [online] Available at: <https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-fresh-perspectives/a1348-20-thesis-topics-related-to-sustainable-architecture/> [Accessed 1 March 2022].
• Wdassociation.org. 2022. A List Of Impressive Thesis Topic Ideas In Architecture . [online] Available at: <https://www.wdassociation.org/a-list-of-impressive-thesis-topic-ideas-in-architecture.aspx> [Accessed 1 March 2022].

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Flora is a student of architecture, with a passion for psychology and philosophy. She loves merging her interests and drawing parallels to solve and understand design problems. As someone that values growth, she uses writing as a medium to share her learning and perspective.

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Dissertations at UCLA and Beyond

• Center for Research Libraries (CRL) Foreign Dissertations Search the CRL Catalog for dissertations already held at the Center. If a foreign dissertation is not at CRL, UCLA's Interlibrary Loan Service will request that CRL acquire it for your use. This special issue of Focus on Global Resources describes CRL's extensive collection of foreign dissertations.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations This international organization promotes the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic analogues to traditional paper-based theses and dissertations in order to more effectively share knowledge.

Selected Dissertations — Architecture and Urban Design

• Architecture
• The search for a theory in architecture : Anglo-American debates, 1957-1976 / Louis Martin. Thesis--Ph.D.; Princeton University, 2002.
• Affordable Housing in High Opportunity Areas : Insights for Fair Housing Advocates / by Emmanuel Proussaloglou Thesis--M.U.R.P.; University of California, Los Angeles, 2023.
• Connecting Pico : a study of alternatives to re-knit the Pico Neighborhood that was divided by the I-10 freeway in Santa Monica, California / by Cecilia Garcia Urban Planning Project (M.A.)--UCLA, 2010.
• Streetscape improvement recommendations: CRA/LA Cleantech Corridor / by Daniel Caroselli Urban Planning Project (M.A.)--UCLA, 2011.
• Politics and the adoption of local development policies in Southern California cities / by Todd Andrew Donovan Dissertation--Ph. D.; University of California, Riverside, 1991.
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Finding Architecture Dissertations & Theses: Home

Theses & dissertations @ princeton and elsewhere.

Princeton Specific

Dissertations & Theses : Covers scholarship from most U.S. universities with some international coverage. Full text coverage begins with 1997+ but indexing includes scholarship dating back to 1861. To search PU Dissertations, follow this link   to a subset of the Proquest Dissertations. 

SoA Design Theses: The School of Architecture maintains an archive of student theses from 1930s through the present. To search the index of projects or access the collection, contact the Visual Resources Curator . This collection includes both graduate and undergraduate projects. 

Princeton Senior Theses Database : A search catalog of senior theses written from 1929 through the present. Approximately 60 000 records are included but not all departments are represented (SoA is). Searchable by author, advisor, department, or year. The Mudd Manuscript Library collects and maintains the primary copies.

SoA Library Senior Thesis Collection :  The School of Architecture Library has a small subset of SoA senioir theses.  These essays can be found in the library Main Catalog by an author search or by a call number browse search for "Sen. Th." Many of these theses have not been formatted for primary copy but rather include color images, fold-outs, dust jackets, etc. This small collection does not circulate. 

Architecture Theses & Dissertations Beyond Princeton

Harvard's Graduate School of Design : A guide for finding masters theses and doctoral dissertations specific to the GSD. 

MIT Architecture Dissertations & Theses : A basic list organized by author of the thesis or dissertation. Each entry includes the title of the work, brief "where are they now" info, and links to the works in MIT's Barton catalog.

UC-Berkeley's Guide to Architecture & Environmental Design Theses and Dissertations: Explains how you can find these works in the UCB system.

Architecture Association's School of Architecture Theses: Theses can be searched via the online catalogue by selecting the 'AA Theses' menu option from the upper left-hand drop-down menu.

Georgia Tech College of Architecture Theses & Dissertations Database

UMass-Amherst's Architecture Masters Theses Collection

Illinois Institute of Technology's College of Architecture Thesis Collection

UIUC's Depts. of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning Checklist: l inks to pages with basic details about theses, projects, and dissertations from the Departments of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning up to 2006 (update pending). THis link will take you to the dedicated Landscape Architecture Thesis Database .

Institutional Repositories or Scholarly Commons - freely accessible research archived and disseminated

eCommons@Cornell : The OPEN collection is available to the general public, including the full text. The CLOSED collection is not available outside Cornell and only the citation and abstract are available at Cornell.

Scholarly Commons - Univ. of Pennsylvania : Browse and in some cases access the full text to theses and dissertations from Penn programs and professional schools.

Other Resources

ADT (Australiasian Digital Theses Program) : This search portal provides searching, browsing, and access to theses and dissertations produced in Australia.

Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertacoes : A search tool for accessing theses and dissertations produced in Brazilian universities.

Cybertesis : Sponsored by UNESCO and Fonds Francophone des Inforoutes, Cybertesis is a project between the Université de Montréal, the Université de Lyon2, the University of Chile and 32 universities of Europe, Africa and Latin America . Simultaneous searches through a single Web interface may retrieve more than 50.000 full text theses stored in 27 different servers and university repositories, by means of the use of OAI protocol (Open Archives Initiative) as a service provider (metadata harvesting).

DART-Europe E-theses Portal : A discovery service for open access research theses awarded by European universities.

DiVA : This portal provides access to dissertations, theses, and research publications written at 26 institutions in Scandinavia.

EThOS : Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS) offers free access, in a secure format, to the full text of electronically stored UK theses--a rich and vast body of knowledge.

Foreign Doctoral Dissertations Database : The Center for Research Libraries has more than 800,000 cataloged foreign doctoral dissertations representing more than 90 countries and over 1200 institutions.

Index to Theses: A comprehensive listing of theses with abstracts accepted for higher degrees by universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland since 1716. 589,028 theses in collection (355,862 of which have abstracts)

NARCIS: This search portal provides access to theses and dissertations produced in the Netherlands, as well as access to a variety of other research and data sets.

National ETD Portal (South Africa): This search portal provides access to dissertations and theses produced in South Africa.

RCAAP - Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal: The RCAAP 's mission is to promote, support and facilitate the adoption of the open access movement in Portugal. RCAAP The project aims to: increase the visibility , accessibility and dissemination of academic activity and Portuguese scientific research , facilitating the management and access to information about scientific production and integrate Portugal into a set of international initiatives.  This portal offers a  union catalog with digital contents from more than 30 institutions.

Theses Canada : A union catalog of Canadian theses and dissertations, in both electronic and analog formats, is available through the search interface on this portal.

• Last Updated: Dec 18, 2023 3:32 PM
• URL: https://libguides.princeton.edu/arch_theses

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2020 Student Thesis Showcase - Part I

Have you ever wondered what students design in architecture school? A few years ago, we started an Instagram account called IMADETHAT_ to curate student work from across North America. Now, we have nearly 3,000 projects featured for you to view. In this series, we are featuring thesis projects of recent graduates to give you a glimpse into what architecture students create while in school. Each week, for the rest of the summer, we will be curating five projects that highlight unique aspects of design. In this week’s group, the research ranges from urban scale designs focused on climate change to a proposal for a new type of collective housing and so much in between. Check back each week for new projects. 

In the meantime, Archinect has also created a series featuring the work of 2020 graduates in architecture and design programs. Check out the full list, here .

Redefining the Gradient by Kate Katz and Ryan Shaaban, Tulane University, M.Arch ‘20

Thesis Advisors: Cordula Roser Gray and Ammar Eloueini / Course: 01-SP20-Thesis Studio

Sea level rise has become a major concern for coastal cities due to the economic and cultural importance tied to their proximity to water. These cities have sustained their livelihood in low-lying elevations through the process of filling, bridging, and raising land over coastal ecosystems, replacing their ecological value with infrastructures focused on defining the edge between city and nature. Hard infrastructures have been employed to maintain urban landscapes but have minimal capacity for both human and non-human engagement due to their monofunctional applications focused on separating conditions rather than integrating them. They produce short-term gains with long-term consequences, replacing and restricting ecosystems and acting as physical barriers in a context defined by seasonal transition. 

To address the issues of hard infrastructure and sea level rise, this thesis proposes an alternative design strategy that incorporates the dynamic water system into the urban grid network. San Francisco was chosen as the location of study as it is a peninsula where a majority of the predicted inundation occurs on the eastern bayside. In this estuary, there were over 500 acres of ecologically rich tidal marshlands that were filled in during the late 1800s. To protect these new lands, the Embarcadero Sea Wall was built in 1916 and is now in a state of neglect. The city has set aside $5 billion for repairs but, instead of pouring more money into a broken system, we propose an investment in new multi-functional ecologically-responsive strategies. 

As sea levels rise, the city will be inundated with water, creating the opportunity to develop a new circulation system that maintains accessibility throughout areas located in the flood zone. In this proposal, we’ve designed a connective network where instance moments become moments of pause and relief to enjoy the new cityscape in a dynamic maritime district. 

On the lower level, paths widen to become plazas while on the upper level, they become breakout destinations which can connect to certain occupiable rooftops that are given to the public realm. The bases of carved canals become seeding grounds for plants and aquatic life as the water level rises over time. Buildings can protect high-risk floors through floodproofing and structural encasement combined with adaptive floorplates to maintain the use of lower levels. The floating walkway is composed of modular units that are buoyant, allowing the pedestrian paths to conform and fluctuate with diurnal tidal changes. The composition of the units creates street furniture and apertures to engage with the ecologies below while enabling a once restricted landscape of wetlands to take place within the city. 

The new vision of the public realm in this waterfront district hopes to shine an optimistic light on how we can live with nature once again as we deal with the consequences of climate change.

Unearthing the Black Aesthetic by Demar Matthews, Woodbury University, M.Arch ‘20

Advisor: Ryan Tyler Martinez Featured on Archinect

“Unearthing The Black Aesthetic” highlights South Central Los Angeles’s (or Black Los Angeles’s) unique positioning as a dynamic hub of Black culture and creativity. South Central is the densest population of African Americans west of the Mississippi. While every historically Black neighborhood in Los Angeles has experienced displacement, the neighborhood of Watts was hit particularly hard. As more and more Black Angelenos are forced for one reason or another to relocate, we are losing our history and connection to Los Angeles.

As a way to fight this gentrification, we are developing an architectural language derived from Black culture. So many cultures have their own architectural styles based on values, goals, morals, and customs shared by their society. When these cultures have relocated to America, to keep their culture and values intact, they bought land and built in the image of their homelands. That is not true for Black people in America. In fact, until 1968, Black people had no rights to own property in Los Angeles. While others began a race to acquire land in 1492, building homes and communities in their image, we started running 476 years after the race began. What percentage of land was left for Blacks to acquire? How then can we advance the development of a Black aesthetic in architecture?

This project, most importantly, is a collaboration with the community that will be for us and by us. My goal is to take control of our image in architecture; to elevate, not denigrate, Black life and culture. Ultimately, we envision repeating this process in nine historically Black cities in America to develop an architectural language that will vary based on the history and specificities of Black culture in each area.

KILLING IT: The Life and Death of Great American Cities by Amanda Golemba, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, M.Arch ’20

Advisors: Nikole Bouchard, Jasmine Benyamin, and Erik Hancock / Independent Design Thesis

For decades, post-industrial cities throughout the United States have been quietly erased through self-imposed tabula rasa demolition. If considered at all, demolition is touted as the mechanism for removing unsightly blight, promoting safety, and discarding the obsolete and the unwanted. Once deemed unworthy, rarely does a building survive the threat of demolition. 

In the last decade, the City of Chicago has erased over 13,000 buildings with 225 in just the last four months. Not only does this mass erasure eradicate the material and the spatial, but it permanently wipes the remnants of human bodies, values, and history — a complete annulment of event, time, and memory. 

But why do we feel the need to erase in order to make progress?

Our current path has led to a built environment that is becoming more and more uniform and sterile. Much of America has become standardized, mixed-use developments; neighborhoods of cookie-cutter homes and the excessive use of synthetic, toxic building materials. A uniform world is a boring one that has little room for creativity, individuality, or authenticity.

This thesis, “KILLING IT,” is a design proposal for a traveling exhibition that seeks to change perceptions of the existing city fabric by visualizing patterns of erasure, questioning the resultant implications and effects of that erasure, and proposing an alternative fate. “KILLING IT” confronts the inherently violent aspects of architecture and explores that violence through the intentionally jarring, uncomfortable, and absurd analogy of murder. This analogy is a lens through which to trace the violent, intentional, and premature ending and sterilization of the existing built environment. After all, as Bernard Tschumi said, “To really appreciate architecture, you may even need to commit a murder.”1 But murder is not just about the events that take place within a building, it is also the material reality of the building itself. 

Over the life of a building, scarring, moments in time, and decay layer to create an inhabitable palimpsest of memory. This traveling exhibition is infused with the palimpsest concept by investigating strategies of layering, modularity, flexibility, transparency, and building remains, while layering them together to form a system that operates as an inhabitable core model collage. Each individual exhibition simultaneously memorializes the violence that happened at that particular site and implements murderous adaptive reuse strategies through collage and salvage material to expose what could have been.

If we continue down our current path, we will only continue to make the same mistakes and achieve the same monotonous, sterilizing results we currently see in every American city and suburb. We need to embrace a new path that values authenticity, celebrates the scars and traces of the past, and carries memories into the future. By reimaging what death can mean and addressing cycles of violence, “KILLING IT” proposes an optimistic vision for the future of American cities. 

• Tschumi, Bernard. “Questions of space: lectures on architecture” (ed. 1990)

A New Prototype for Collective Housing by Juan Acosta and Gable Bostic, University of Texas at Austin, M.Arch ‘20

Advisor: Martin Haettasch / Course: Integrative Design Studio Read more: https://soa.utexas.edu/work/new-prototype-collective-housing

Austin is a city that faces extreme housing pressures. This problem is framed almost exclusively in terms of supply and demand, and the related question of affordability. For architects, however, a more productive question is: Will this new quantity produce a new quality of housing? 

How do we live in the city, how do we create individual and collective identity through architecture, and what are the urban consequences? This studio investigates new urban housing types, smaller than an apartment block yet larger and denser than a detached house. Critically assessing existing typologies, we ask the question: How can the comforts of the individual house be reconfigured to form new types of residential urban fabric beyond the entropy of tract housing or the formulaic denominator of “mixed-use.” The nature of the integrative design studio allowed for the testing of material systems and construction techniques that have long had an important economic and ecological impact.

“A New Prototype for Collective Housing” addresses collectivity in both a formal and social sense, existing between the commercial and residential scales present in Austin’s St. John neighborhood as it straddles the I-35 corridor; a normative American condition. A diversity of programs, and multigenerational living, create an inherently diverse community. Additionally, a courtyard typology is used to negotiate the spectrum of private and shared space. Volumes, comprising multiple housing units ranging from studio apartments to four bedrooms, penetrate a commercial plinth that circulates both residents and mechanical systems. The use of heavy timber ensures an equitable use of resources while imbuing the project with a familiar material character.

ELSEWHERE, OR ELSE WHERE? by Brenda (Bz) Zhang, University of California at Berkeley, M.Arch ’20

Advisors: Andrew Atwood and Neyran Turan See more: https://www.brendazhang.com/#/elsewhere-or-else-where/

“ELSEWHERE, OR ELSE WHERE?” is an architectural fever dream about the San Francisco Bay Area. Beginning with the premise that two common ideas of Place—Home and Elsewhere—are no longer useful, the project wonders how disciplinary tools of architecture can be used to shape new stories about where we are.

For our purposes, “Home,” although primarily used to describe a place of domestic habitation, is also referring generally to a “familiar or usual setting,” as in home-base, home-court, home-page, and even home-button. As a counterpoint, Elsewhere shifts our attention “in or to another place,” away. This thesis is situated both in the literal spaces of Elsewhere and Home (landfills, houses, wilderness, base camps, wastelands, hometowns) and in their culturally constructed space (value-embedded narratives determining whether something belongs, and to whom). Since we construct both narratives through principles of exclusion, Elsewhere is a lot closer to Home than we say. These hybrid spaces—domestic and industrial, urban and hinterland, natural and built—are investigated as found conditions of the Anthropocene and potential sites for new understandings of Place.

Ultimately, this thesis attempts to challenge conventional notions of what architects could do with our existing skill sets, just by shifting our attention—Elsewhere. The sites shown here and the concerns they represent undeniably exist, but because of the ways Western architecture draws thick boundaries between and around them, they resist architectural focus—to our detriment.

In reworking the physical and cultural constructions of Homes and Elsewheres, architects are uniquely positioned to go beyond diagnostics in visualizing and designing how, where, and why we build. While this project looks specifically at two particular stories we tell about where we are, the overall objective is to provoke new approaches to how we construct Place—both physically and culturally—within or without our discipline.

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