In this thesis group, each student will construct a large model at roughly 100 x 100 x 100 cm (or max out at 48”x48”x48”). This studio calls for each thesis project to be articulated in the medium of architecture, completing the B.Arch degree with an oversized model. Additionally, each student will produce a large axonometric composite drawing that tells the story of the building.
While every student will be tackling a specific topic of their own choice, a thesis within an architecture school as a professional degree begs a key pedagogical question: do thesis projects have to use architecture to think about a societal issue? In this thesis group, we will answer this question with a hypothetical “yes”. While thesis is an excellent platform for a student to project concerns about the world beyond our discipline only, the medium of the output remains a subject of inquiry.
In the many chapters of architectural education past, the spectrum of output can exit architecture and transformatively articulate a thesis by way of an adjacent discourse. Bauhaus, for instance, ambitiously considered graphic design, furniture, fashion, and many other related disciplines to be welcomed allies. However, 1/4 of the way into the 21st Century, the possible outcome of what an architect can do is so rapidly expanding that one can be trained in architecture but be qualified as a professional in many other fields. In this thesis group, we simply want to give it a try: what if we actually did architecture, for a change?
