Defining Limitations for a Thesis Project | Thesis Guidelines

How to define limitations for your thesis Project?

Earlier we have discussed the following:

  1. Introduction to Thesis Project
  2. Guidelines for the assessment of the Final Project
  3. Thesis topic selection

Now we shall move on with a discussion on “Defining Limitations for a Design Thesis”.

Once the topic has been selected, you have to define the extent of your work. There is a lot of information that exists regarding a particular topic and you cannot include all.

Urban Design Problem | Washington DC
Urban Design Problem | Washington DC

For example:

You chose to design a Mini-town. The project area spans upto 220 acres minimum for a project like this. So you have to be very well aware as to where you would limit the scope of the project.

In my opinion, for a Mini-town project, you would have to limit your scope upto Master planning level. Detailed concepts and Master plan would be the most important. After you are done with it and you have time left for the project deadline, you could design a few specific structures in the project that you want to give emphasis on.

Narrow down your requirements to specifics to help you define your limitations. Collect data which you really need.

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Topic Selection for Thesis Project | An approach to a Design Thesis

An approach to a Design Thesis | Thesis Guidelines

Earlier, we discussed the following:

  1. Introduction to Thesis Project
  2. How to work on a Thesis Project?

Now we shall mover on with a discussion on “Topic selection for Final Year Thesis”.

Topic Selection for a Thesis Project

  • Selecting a topic is based on many factors.
  • Your mind should be geared towards serving your own needs rather than wandering astray with some foreign ideas. To be able to provide better solutions within the existing framework. You have to be practical in your approach, then only you can strive for genuine solutions.
  • Select a topic of your choice based on some hard facts like some problems that require immediate attention.
  • Architectural fantasies can be pursued provided that your approach is right (The process of Research). It is through the thesis project that students are weaned away towards independent decision making and set up.
Divisions under which your  Thesis Project topic might fall
Divisions under which your Thesis Project topic might fall
  • Do not waste too much time in selecting a topic and do not allow any pseudo-intellectual to confuse you. A small project will enable you to get into the details while larger projects have their own limitations of time and procedure. Therefore you have to restrict the scale of your project to enable you to justify detailed design investigations. You must remain within your scale of design continuum.

How to work on a Thesis Project? | Final Year Architectural Thesis

Guidelines for assessment for a Final Thesis Project

In the earlier article, we discussed “What is the role of a Final Year Architecture student and his perspective towards carrying out his Thesis Project“.

  • The mental attitude of a student, how much of studentship does he maintain.
  • His understanding of Architecture and his capacity to portray his ideas in visual/graphic/oral form.
  • Level of curiosity translated in terms of his grasp of the ‘process of research’. Searching the past and the present in terms of ideas.
  •  The importance of History cannot be stressed more. The ability to read, write and draw the level of confidence required to initiate a study, the ability to discuss the necessary information from amongst a plethora of literature and knowledge, to define the limitations without getting lost in the world of information.
  • To direct his ideas and knowledge for the betterment of communities and society at large. We are not supposed to, nor should we try to, be designing for exotic locations. Our orientation should be our own nation and from there on define the locality and the community.
  • You would be designing for an American/British/Indian Climate with all the accompanying factors of Economic, Political, social, legal, environmental and cultural. So try to design and improve your own living conditions through indigenous materials, methods and designs suited to the your region of study.
  • To get away from the “Drafting Board” style of designing in two dimensional sterility. Architecture is not for a visual sense alone and that too on a drawing board minus the experience of space.
  • Architectural Design apart from its visual experience has to cater to other senses of touch. Sound and smell also. Most of our Architectural experience is tactile (sense of touch) and yet we hardly consider it in our designs.

Thesis Guidelines | Final Year Student and his Thesis Introduction

Architectural Education | A Final Year Student and his Thesis Introduction

After five years of Architectural Education here are a few points to ponder and respond.

There is no way we can compress five years of a romantic tryst with Architecture into a few short sessions. But the experience of space is something like fishing – There is an ocean of knowledge where time and again, you have to throw hook, line and sink, and be able to satisfy one’s need. Therefore, don’t worry about the past. I am still learning what a LINE is, and I am not being modest.

Introduction to Architectural Thesis Project
Introduction to Architectural Thesis Project

The immediate task, of any final year student is his thesis. This pervading topic dominates all others in its intensity. It is here that the student goes through a final test for competence and it is this issue which becomes a tool for punishing recalcitrant students for their ‘past misdeeds’. But let me tell you something – Out in the market place – neither academicians nor practicing Architects ever would look at your grades. It is only the quality of your work which is seen through your portfolios and Reports. So don’t worry about your grades.

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