THESIS | index

“Thesis: ‘As Necessary for the Health of the Institution as the Student’”

by Bruce Abbey

In Thresholds 12 (Spring 1996).

Abbey was long the director of thesis at Syracuse, where thesis was required of every BArch graduate.

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“The Profession and the Discipline of Architecture: Practice & Education”

by Stanford Anderson

Chapter 14 in Piotrowski and Robinson, eds., The Discipline of Architecture (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2001).

Distinguishes between the profession and the discipline of architecture, often with different goals and domains of knowledge. Encourages schools to explore the overlap of both.

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“The Anti-Thesis Pedagogy”

by Kenneth Frampton

In Thresholds 12 (Spring 1996).

Frampton feels a thesis is not appropriate for an MArch.

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“Does Design Equal Research?”

by Linda Groat and David Wang

Chapter 2 in Groat and Wang, Architectural Research Methods (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley 2013).

Defines differences and similarities of “Design” and “Research,” both in academia, and in the profession.

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What is Architecture Research?

by Linda Groat and David Wang

From chapter 1 “Scope of the Book” in Groat and Wang, Architectural Research Methods (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley 2013).

Chapter 1 outlines the book, including an important section on “Architectural Research” and strategies for how to start research work.

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Purpose of Research in Architecture

by Linda Groat and David Wang

From chapter 4 “What's Your Purpose? From Theory Building to Design Application,” in Groat and Wang, Architectural Research Methods (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley 2013).

Discusses how to frame research, including knowing the audience you want to reach, and knowing whether you are building a new theory, or applying an existing one in a different way.

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48-509 Syllabus, F13

by Kai Gutschow

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48-509 Schedule, F13

by Kai Gutschow

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“A Thesis”

by Mark Jarzombek

In Thresholds 12 (Spring 1996).

Attempts to define what makes a good thesis.

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“Architecture is its own Discipline”

by David Leatherbarrow

Chapter 5 in Piotrowski and Robinson, eds., The Discipline of Architecture (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2001).

In order to remain relevant, architecture must define its own discipline more clearly.

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“Disciplining Knowledge: Architecture Between Cube and Frame”

by Michael Stanton

Chapter 2 in Piotrowski and Robinson, eds., The Discipline of Architecture (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2001).

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“The Thesis, The Pendulum, and the Battlefield”

by Amir Ameri

International Journal of Art and Design Education 32, no. 4 (2013, forthcoming).

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“Revisiting the Architectural Thesis: Five Myths”

by Blaine Brownell

Architect Magazine blog.

Essay dispelling the five myths of the architectural thesis: the myth of linear process; the myth of complexity; the myth of the singular, synthetic solution; the myth of total originality; and the myth of playing it safe.

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The Craft of Research, Third Edition

by Wayne Booth, Greg Colomb, and Joseph Williams

Chicago, IL: Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing, 2008.

From the publisher, “The Craft of Research explains how to build an argument that motivates readers to accept a claim; how to anticipate the reservations of readers and to respond to them appropriately; and how to create introductions and conclusions that answer that most demanding question, ‘So what?’”

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“Revisiting the Discipline of Architecture”

by Thomas Fischer

Chapter 1 in Piotrowski and Robinson, eds., The Discipline of Architecture (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2001).

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Architectural Research Methods, Second Edition

by Linda Groat and David Wang

Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2013.

From the publisher, “This book’s unique coverage of research methods is specifically targeted to help professional designers and researchers better conduct and understand research. [...] In all, the book covers seven types of research, including historical, qualitative, correlational, experimental, simulation, logical argumentation, and case studies and mixed methods.”

Read excerpts online.

“Design Thinking”

by Imre Halasz

In Thresholds 12 (Spring 1996).

Halasz helped institutionalize MArch thesis at MIT.

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MIT’s Thresholds 12: What is a Thesis?

ed. by Frank Hekel and Robert Clocker

Spring 1996.

See especially: Bruce Abbey, “Thesis: ‘As Necessary for the Health of the Institution as the Student’”; Kenneth Frampton, “The Anti-Thesis Pedagogy”; Imre Halasz, “Design Thinking”; Mark Jarzombek, “A Thesis”

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“The Form and Structure of Architectural Knowledge: from Discipline to Architecture”

by Julia Williams Robinson

Chapter 4 in Piotrowski and Robinson, eds., The Discipline of Architecture (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2001).

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“On the Practices of Representing and Knowing Architecture”

by Andrezej Piotrowski

Chapter 3 in Piotrowski and Robinson, eds., The Discipline of Architecture (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2001).

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The Discipline Of Architecture

ed. by Andrzej Piotrowski and Julia Williams Robinson

Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2001.

See especially: Anderson, “The Profession and the Discipline of Architecture: Practice & Education”; Leatherbarrow, “Architecture is its own Discipline”; Stanton, “Disciplining Knowledge: Architecture Between Cube & Frame”

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How Architects Write

by Tom Spector and Rebecca Damron

New York, NY: Routledge, 2013.

See especially: “Theses”

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