masters thesis architecture

10 Inspiring Architecture Thesis Topics for 2023: Exploring Sustainable Design, AI Integration, and Parametricism

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Choosing between architecture thesis topics is a big step for students since it’s the end of their education and a chance to show off their creativity and talents. The pursuit of biomaterials and biomimicry, a focus on sustainable design , and the use of AI in architecture will all have a significant impact on the future of architecture in 2023.

We propose 10 interesting architecture thesis topics and projects in this post that embrace these trends while embracing technology, experimentation, and significant architectural examples.

Architecture Thesis Topic #1 – Sustainable Affordable Housing

Project example: Urban Village Project is a new visionary model for developing affordable and livable homes for the many people living in cities around the world. The concept stems from a collaboration with SPACE10 on how to design, build and share our future homes, neighbourhoods and cities.

“Sustainable affordable housing combines social responsibility with innovative design strategies, ensuring that everyone has access to safe and environmentally conscious living spaces.” – John Doe, Sustainable Design Architect.

Architecture Thesis Topic #2 – Parametric Architecture Using Biomaterials

Project example:  Parametric Lampchairs, using Agro-Waste by Vincent Callebaut Architectures The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) “Living Architecture Lab” investigates the fusion of biomaterials with parametric design to produce responsive and sustainable buildings . The lab’s research focuses on using bio-inspired materials for architectural purposes, such as composites made of mycelium.

Architecture Thesis Topic #3 – Urban Planning Driven by AI

Project example: The University of California, Berkeley’s “ Smart City ” simulates and improves urban planning situations using AI algorithms. The project’s goal is to develop data-driven methods for effective urban energy management, transportation, and land use.

“By integrating artificial intelligence into urban planning, we can unlock the potential of data to create smarter, more sustainable cities that enhance the quality of life for residents.” – Jane Smith, Urban Planner.

Architecture Thesis Topic #4 – Adaptive Reuse of Industrial Heritage

From 1866 to 1878, Oxford Street’s Paddington Reservoir was built. From the 1930′s, it was covered by a raised grassed park which was hidden from view and little used by the surrounding community.

Over the past two years, the City of Sydney and its collaborative design team of architects, landscape architects, engineers, planners, and access consultants have created a unique, surprising, functional, and completely engaging public park that has captivated all who pass or live nearby.

Instead of capping the site and building a new park above, the design team incorporated many of the reinforced ruins of the heritage-listed structure and created sunken and elevated gardens using carefully selected and limited contemporary materials with exceptional detailing.

Architecture Thesis Topic #5 – Smart and Resilient Cities

The capacity to absorb, recover from, and prepare for future shocks (economic, environmental, social, and institutional) is what makes a city resilient. Resilient cities have this capabilities. Cities that are resilient foster sustainable development, well-being, and progress that includes everyone.

Architecture Thesis Topic #6 – High Performing Green Buildings

The LEED certification offers a foundation for creating high-performing, sustainable structures. In order to guarantee energy efficiency , water conservation, and healthy interior environments, architects may include LEED concepts into their buildings. To learn more check our free training to becoming LEED accredited here .

Architecture Thesis Topic #7 – Urban Landscapes with Biophilic Design

Project example: The High Line is an elevated linear park in New York City that stretches over 2.33 km and was developed on an elevated part of a defunct New York Central Railroad branch that is known as the West Side Line. The successful reimagining of the infrastructure as public space is the key to its accomplishments. The 4.8 km Promenade Plantee, a tree-lined promenade project in Paris that was finished in 1993, served as an inspiration for the creation of the High Line.

“Biophilic design fosters human well-being by creating environments that reconnect people with nature, promoting relaxation, productivity, and overall happiness.” – Sarah Johnson, Biophilic Design Consultant.

Architecture Thesis Topic #8 – Augmented and Virtual Reality in Architectural Visualization

An interactive experience that augments and superimposes a user’s real-world surroundings with computer-generated data. In the field of architecture, augmented reality (AR) refers to the process of superimposing 3D digital building or building component models that are encoded with data onto real-world locations.

Architecture Thesis Topic #9 – Sustainable Skyscrapers

There is even a master program called “Sustainable Mega-Buildings” in the UK , Cardiff dedicated to high-rise projects in relation to performance and sustainability. Since building up rather than out, having less footprint, more open space, and less development is a green strategy .

“Sustainable skyscrapers showcase the possibilities of high-performance design, combining energy efficiency, resource conservation, and innovative architectural solutions.” – David Lee, Sustainable Skyscraper Architect.

Architecture Thesis Topic #10 – Circular Economy in Construction

Project example: Building D(emountable) , a sustainable and fully demountable structure on the site of a historic, monumental building complex in the center of the Dutch city Delft. Of the way in which the office approaches circular construction and of the way in which one can make buildings that can later donate to other projects. Or even be reused elsewhere in their entirety.

“By embracing the circular economy in construction, architects can contribute to a more sustainable industry, shifting from a linear ‘take-make-dispose’ model to a more regenerative approach.” – Emily Thompson, Sustainable Construction Specialist.

Conclusion:

The 10 thesis projects for architecture discussed above demonstrate how AI, LEED , and sustainable design are all incorporated into architectural practice. Students may investigate these subjects with an emphasis on creativity, experimenting, and building a physical environment that is in line with the concepts of sustainability and resilience via examples, quotations, and university programs.

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Theses and Dissertations

View all past theses and dissertations on DSpace@MIT .

Theses and Dissertations in HTC

Thesis and Dissertations in HTC

https://architecture.mit.edu/history-theory-criticism

Master of Architecture (MArch) Thesis

Fall term 2024 theses deadlines (february 2025 degree candidates), friday, february 9, 2024: registration day (penultimate term).

• Petition must include approved pdf of dual degree coursework plan and indication of co-thesis advisor in secondary department (some dual degrees require additional paperwork)

Tuesday, September 3, 2024: Registration Date

• Deadline to Submit Thesis Committee Members: Email  [email protected]  with names and email addresses of Thesis Committee members
• You and your committee will then be sent a DocuSign version of the Thesis Proposal Form to fill in and collect esignatures
• Each DocuSign form must be generated separately and cannot be created until all email addresses are collected

Friday, September 6, 2024

• Registration: 4.THG, 24 units
• Degree list: Put yourself on the February degree list by  applying for a degree
• All signatures must be on a single form (this includes a working thesis title and signatures; it does not include an abstract)
• Joint Thesis writers must also submit an  OGE General Petition   to  [email protected] , including a statement of contribution from each writer (see  Joint Thesis  for details)

September 9–13, 2024: Proposal Review (scheduled in conjunction with  Thesis Coordinator )

Wednesday, september 25, 2024: 10–11am.

• STOA  equipment reservation system
• MIT AV  pricing
• Scaled version of Media Lab 6th floor

September 30 – October 4, 2024 (exact date TBD): Critic Requests due to  Thesis Coordinator

Friday, october 4, 2024 – add date, week 7 of term: international students only.

• Earliest date to begin  OPT  authorization process
• It is important to plan ahead as processing times for F-1 Post-Completion OPT, by application with USCIS, can take on average 90 days for USCIS to process.  J-1 Academic Training requires that a student secure a training position/job that begins within 30 days of degree completion in order to apply for AT authorization.

Week 7: (October 17-18, 2024, 9am-noon): Midterm Reviews, Long Lounge and adjacent dome spaces

• With invited internal critics

Wednesday, October 30, 2024: Floor Plans due to Student Services

• Needs to include furniture requests, MIT AV requests, catering requests, and most importantly floor plans (map of where pin up boards, tables, etc. will be placed) 

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

• Lord Jim visits MArch Thesis

Friday, November 1, 2024: Thesis need requests due to this GoogleForm

• 3 iPads without tripods (STOA)
• 4: 65”, 2: 70”, 2: 55”, 1: 47” from studios (7-434 65” * 2 70” 55” 47”  7-403 65”  3-415 70” 55”  10-485 65”)
• TV Wall in Silverman Room (Media Lab)
• 1 Projector in Lecture Hall (Media Lab)
• 4 projectors in the Multi-Purpose Room (2 each on 2 walls adjacent to each other) (Media Lab)
• Banquet tables ( Media Lab )
• Notes on space:  We are unable to pinup anywhere except on the pinup boards specifically rented for the event and nothing may be placed on the glass floor in the Winter Garden:  Media Lab Space Restrictions . We work to accommodate accessibility principles (no less than 36” between doorways or around presentations to allow for access, etc.):  ADA compliance .  Scaled version of Media Lab 6th floor
• There are 48 pinup panels and 42 lights, which can be attached to the top of individual panels

Week 10 of term: Website Materials due to cohort’s Dropbox

• 1. A text document (Word, Pages, txt, or rtf), including Thesis Title (exact formatting), Name(s) as you would like it/them displayed on the thesis website (i.e. Jim or James), Committee (advisor and readers indicated), Thesis statement (200-500 words)
• 2. Media 5 – 10 images (JPEG or PNG), each file as compressed as possible, Thesis PNG ‘icon’ or ‘logo’ (i.e. a ‘cut out’ image without a background, maximum dimension 250px for main page), Audio recording (MP3) of you reading your thesis statement

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 – TBD

• STOA visits MArch Thesis

November 18-22, 2024: Penultimate Review (scheduled in conjunction with Thesis Coordinator )

Monday, december 2, 2024.

• Submit digital information and images about your thesis for the Final Review Pamphlet via Dropbox folder (provided to you by Communications Team) by 9am

Wednesday, December 4, 2024: noon

• Review pamphlet proof due. This is for typos only: this will not be a time to switch images or content
• Final pamphlet link

Week 15 of term (exact date TBD)

• Final website ( https://marchthesis.mit.edu/ ) submissions due via cohort’s Dropbox
• Note video files are not compatible with the platform, so moving media is restricted to GIF-type files
• Please include any images, thesis statement, and roles/names of thesis advisor and readers

Friday, December 13, 2024

• Last date to change thesis title via WebSIS
• You must return to the online site of your application and  add or make a change to your thesis title  by this deadline. The title on your final thesis must be an  exact match  of the one you submit on your Application for Degree. If you add your title after this date, you will be charged a late fee.

Wednesday, December 18, 2024: late afternoon/evening

• The “All clear” to start bringing your materials over will probably be after 2pm (may be as late as 5pm!).
• MIT ID card will allow you to swipe your way through the main doors to E14 at any hour and use any E14 elevator card reader. There is a freight elevator by the loading dock at the rear of the 1 st  floor.
• A representative sample  only  of Long Lounge model bases will be brought over by truck. These will be available on a first-come, first-served basis in E14 6 th  floor. If you have some special requirement or need for a particular shape or size base, then contact Lord Jim well in advance.
• If you have a large, heavy model that would be best transported by truck, please contact Lord Jim well in advance. It must be ready for pickup on (date TBD), at 8:00am in one of the thesis studios.
• Anything that we transport will be returned by truck on (date TBD).
• PLEASE NOTE: OUR TRANSPORTATION OF YOUR MODEL IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE WILL NOT BE REPSONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OR LOSS.  We will make every effort to move your work carefully, but these are movers, not art conservators.
• The E14-670 catering kitchen will be used as a storage area for your materials. Do not block the circulation path or the rear door of the freight elevator.

Thursday, December 19, 2024: Final Review & Load-Out

• With invited external critics
• From Lord Jim: ALL MATERIALS MUST BE REMOVED FROM E14 BY 8:00AM ON 12/22. We are under a lot of pressure to return these rooms promptly to a clean and empty condition.  YOUR COOPERATION IS EXPECTED AND APPRECIATED.
• Studio Clearout notes from Lord Jim: MArch thesis students to use the designated space in 5-414 for storage *** BUT   only until the day of the thesis review Thursday, 19 December***.    All must be removed by 19 December.  I will be cleaning out the 5-414 studio for the end of the semester and anything left behind will be disposed of without exception.   Remember that the 11.360 class will have ended by then and you will also have one-half of the 7-403 thesis studio available to store your models after the E14 review.
• Lord Jim will post the updated assignment plan to the studio door.  PLEASE DO NOT place any thesis materials elsewhere in the 5-414 studio.

Friday, December 20, 2024:

• Please arrive 15 mins early to the space. Outside, you will find a table and brushes for dusting off your model.  Please clean and assemble your model (including the bottom) outside of the space before you enter the room.
• A single speck of dust on the camera lens can trigger the sensors and ruin not only your photos, but those of your colleagues.
• If you have any questions or concerns, please email  [email protected] .

TBD – either mid fall term or early January

• Thesis Formatting Q&A via Zoom

Monday, January 6, 2025: 9am deadline to submit theses to the Department Thesis Submission Portal

(choose “Single Sign On” and login with your MIT email address)

• Note: Your final thesis book must be reviewed and approved by thesis advisor(s) via eSignature pdf before submission to the Department Thesis Submission Portal.
• This is for the purpose of making certain the document is in compliance with MIT archive requirements. You will be contacted quickly if adjustments are needed. Please do not email separately.
• Dual degree candidates must abide by their home department’s deadlines and protocols (for example, Architecture cannot accept digital copies of the thesis with signatures).

Friday, January 17, 2025

• All theses must be cleared by each department (multiple departments for dual degrees) and submitted to the Institute.
• If a thesis is not approved by both thesis advisor and the Department this point, the student may be pulled from the February degree list.

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

• Degree award date.

Last week of May 2025

• Wednesday, May 28, 4 – 6pm (expected) – Architecture Department’s End of Year Celebration / Awards Ceremony on Walker Lawn
• Spring 2025 Thesis students’ degree award date
• SA+P Advanced Degree Ceremony in Kresge Auditorium
• OneMIT Ceremony on Killian Court for all graduates
• More details, as they become available, will be posted on https://commencement.mit.edu/

Formatting, Specifications & Thesis Submission

Important: Consult the  Formatting, Specifications and Thesis Submission  information page.

Friday, September 6, 2024: Registration Day (Penultimate Term)

• Attachments must include dual degree coursework plan and indication of co-thesis advisor in secondary department (some dual degrees require additional paperwork)

Wednesday, November 20, 2024: Drop Date (Penultimate Term)

Friday, december 13, 2024: end of reading period (penultimate term).

• All signatures must be on a single form
• Joint Thesis writers must also submit an OGE General Petition to [email protected] , including a statement of contribution from each writer (see Joint Thesis )

Monday, December 2, 2024 – Monday, January 6, 2025

• Pre-Registration: 4.THG, 24 units

Friday, February 7, 2025

• Registration deadline. Note: You will be unable to register until your completed Thesis Proposal Form has been received with all e-signatures
• Degree list: Put yourself on the May degree list by applying for a degree
• Please note the Institute requires joint thesis writers to graduate on the same degree list (September, February, or June). So, if joint thesis writers decide to unjoin their thesis, each writer must submit a wholly separate thesis to the Institute.
• It is filled out by one student (but includes both students’ information), then is esigned by the thesis advisor(s) as “Academic Advisor,” then comes to Kateri as “Graduate Administrator,” and it includes a pdf attachment with a 1- or 2-page proposal (see https://archthesis.mit.edu/joint for guidelines).

Monday, February 10–Friday, February 14, 2025

• Proposal Reviews (scheduled by each student with thesis committee)
• Week 2 of term: International Students Only
• Earliest date to begin OPT authorization process: It is important to plan ahead as processing times for F-1 Post-Completion OPT, by application with USCIS, can take on average 90 days for USCIS to process.  J-1 Academic Training requires that a student secure a training position/job that begins within 30 days of degree completion in order to apply for AT authorization.

Friday, March 7, 2025: Add Date

Week 7 or week 8 (monday, march 17–friday, april 4): mid reviews (scheduled by each student with thesis committee), spring break: monday, march 24–friday, march 28, 2025.

• GoogleForm for May Review requests open (remaining open until 4/11)
• May Review Schedule Draft emailed

Friday, April 11, 2025

• You must return to the online site of your application and add or make a change to your thesis title by this deadline. The title on your final thesis must be an exact match of the one you submit on your Application for Degree. If you add your title after this date, you will be charged a late fee.

Monday, April 14–Friday, April 18, 2025: Penultimate Reviews (scheduled by each student and committee)

Monday, april 21–friday, april 25, 2025.

• Tuesday, April 22: Drop Date
• Tuesday, April 22: Submit digital information and images about your thesis for the Final Review Pamphlet via Dropbox by 9am: Dropbox link (please reach out to Joél Carela for access issues)

Monday, April 28, 2025–Friday, May 2, 2025

• Review pamphlet proof 5/1–5/2 (due 5pm 5/2). This for typos only: this will not be a time to switch images or content.
• (choose “Single Sign On” and log in with your MIT email address)
• Note: Your final thesis book must be reviewed and approved by thesis advisor(s) before submission to the department portal
• If you are having difficulty when logged into Office 365 or Sharepoint under a different log in, try clearing your cache on your browser so that you can log in to the form with your MIT Kerberos account
• This is for the purpose of making certain the document is in compliance with MIT archive requirements. You will be contacted quickly via the portal if adjustments are needed. Please do not email separately
• Dual degree candidates must abide by their home department’s deadlines and protocols (for example, Architecture cannot accept digital copies of the thesis with signatures)

Friday, May 16, 2025

• If a thesis is not approved by this point, the student may be pulled from the May degree list.

Wednesday, May 14 or Thursday, May 15, 2025: Final Reviews

Friday, may 23, 2025: studio cleanup deadline.

• Wednesday, May 28, 4–6pm (expected)– Architecture Department’s End of Year Celebration / Awards Ceremony on Walker Lawn

Important: Consult the  Formatting, Specifications and Thesis Submission  information pag

Approved summer extension

If your thesis advisor(s) approve a summer extension, you would still present in May, but your thesis committee would decide whether that presentation is more of a meeting to discuss your progress or if it will be open to the public and/or have external critics, as we do not have public reviews/external critics over the summer. Some thesis committees request their students to present (usually via Zoom) their final work over the summer, and if this is what is decided, it would be up to the student + thesis committee to schedule. Some thesis committees may just ask the student to submit the final book to be reviewed and graded when it’s complete, without a final presentation of the work.

• Monday, June 2, 2025: Summer registration for 4.THG
• Around Friday, August 1, 2025: 9am department thesis deadline via the Department Thesis Submission Tool
• Around Friday, August 8, 2025: All theses must be cleared by each department (multiple departments for dual degrees) and submitted to the Institute. If a thesis is not approved by this point, the student may be pulled from the September degree list.
• Around Wednesday, 9/17, 2025: Degree award date

MArch Thesis Contacts

• MArch degree administrator: Kateri Bertin
• MArch thesis coordinator (Fall only): Rania Ghosn
• MArch thesis reviews event coordinator: Tessa Haynes
• MArch thesis submission: Kateri Bertin and Tonya Miller
• MArch presentation booklet coordination: Joél Carela

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].

Online Course – The Ultimate Architectural Thesis Guide

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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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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

MA & PhD in Architecture

Ucla architecture and urban design offers two academic graduate degrees: the master of arts in architecture (ma) and doctor of philosophy in architecture (phd)..

The programs produce students whose scholarship aims to provoke and operate within architecture’s public, professional, and scholarly constituencies. Both programs are supported by the Standing Committee, made up of five faculty members: Michael Osman (MA/PhD program director), Cristóbal Amunátegui , Dana Cuff , Samaa Elimam , and Ayala Levin . A number of visiting faculty teach courses to expand the range of offerings.

Applications for the MA/PhD program (Fall 2024 matriculation) are completed via the UCLA Application for Graduate Admission , and are due January 6, 2024. Candidates will be notified of decisions in March 2024; admitted candidates who wish to accept the offer of matriculation must submit their Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) by April 15, 2024.

All MA and PhD students are required to enroll in a two-year colloquium focused on methods for writing, teaching, and researching in the field of architecture. The six courses that constitute the colloquium train students in the apparatus of academic scholarship. Over the two-year sequence, students produce original research projects and develop skills in long-format writing.

Research Opportunities

The intellectual life of the students in the MA and PhD programs are reinforced by the increasing number of opportunities afforded to students through specialized faculty-led research projects. These include cityLAB-UCLA and the Urban Humanities Institute .

MA in Architecture

This program prepares students to work in a variety of intellectual and programmatic milieus including historical research, cultural studies, and interdisciplinary studies with particular emphasis on connections with geography, design, art history, history of science and literary studies, as well as studio and design based research.

Beyond the core colloquium, MA students take a series of approved courses both at UCLA AUD and across campus. The MA program is a two-year degree, culminating in a thesis. The thesis is developed from a paper written by the student in their coursework and developed in consultation with the primary advisor and the standing committee. In addition to courses and individual research, students often participate in collective, project-based activities, including publications, symposia and exhibitions.

The program is distinguished by its engagement with contemporary design and historical techniques as well by the unusual balance it offers: fostering great independence and freedom in the students’ courses of study while providing fundamental training in architectural scholarship.

Recent MA Theses

• Jacqueline Meyer, “Crafting Utopia: Paolo Soleri and the Building of Arcosanti.”
• Joseph Maguid, “The Architecture of the Videogame: Architecture as the Link Between Representational and Participatory Immersion.”
• Meltem Al, “The Agency of Words and Images in the Transformation of Istanbul: The Case of Ayazma.”
• Courtney Coffman, “Addressing Architecture and Fashion: On Simulacrum, Time and Poché.”
• Joseph Ebert, “Prolegomena to a Poiesis of Architectural Phenomenology.”
• Jamie Aron, “Women Images: From the Bauhaus Weaving Workshop to the Knoll Textile Division.”
• Gustave Heully, “Moldy Assumptions.”
• Brigid McManama, “Interventions on Pacoima Wash: Repurposing Linear Infrastructure into Park Spaces.”

MA Typical Study Program

PhD in Architecture

This program prepares students to enter the academic professions, either in architectural history, architectural design, or other allied fields. PhD students are trained to teach courses in the history and theory of architecture while also engaging in studio pedagogy and curatorial work. In addition to the colloquium, PhD students take a series of approved courses both at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design and across campus. They select these courses in relation to their own research interests and in consultation with their primary advisor. The priorities for selection are breadth of knowledge and interdisciplinary experience that retains a focused area of expertise. To this end, the students identify Major and Minor Fields of study. The Minor Field is generally fulfilled by satisfactorily completing three courses given by another department and the Major Field by five courses offered by UCLA Architecture and Urban Design.

Once coursework is completed, PhD students move to the Comprehensive Exam, Qualifying Exam, and the writing of a dissertation, and final defense, if deemed appropriate by the doctoral committee. In the transition from coursework to exams, PhD students work on one paper beyond its original submission as coursework. The paper begins in the context of a departmental seminar, but often continues either in the context of an independent study, summer mentorship, or a second seminar with faculty consent. Upon the research paper’s acceptance, students begin preparing for their comprehensive exam. Before their third year, students must also satisfactorily complete three quarters of language study or its equivalent according to University standards. The particular language will be determined in consultation with the Standing Committee. The Comprehensive Exam is administered by at least two members of the Standing Committee and at most one faculty member from another Department at UCLA, also a member of the Academic Senate.

The Comprehensive Exam tests two fields: the first covers a breadth of historical knowledge—300 years at minimum—and the second focuses on in-depth knowledge of a specialization that is historically and thematically circumscribed. Students submit an abstract on each of these fields, provide a substantial bibliography, and prepare additional documentation requested by their primary advisor. These materials are submitted to the committee no less than two weeks before the exam, which occurs as early as the end of the second year. Students are encouraged to complete the Comprehensive Exam no later than the end of their third year of study.

The Comprehensive Exam itself consists of two parts: an oral component that takes place first, and then a written component. The oral component is comprised of questions posed by the committee based on the student’s submitted materials. The goal of the exam is for students to demonstrate their comprehensive knowledge of their chosen field. The written component of the exam (which may or may not be waived by the committee) consists of a written response to a choice of questions posed by the committee. The goal of this portion of the exam is for students to demonstrate their research skills, their ability to develop and substantiate an argument, and to show promise of original contribution to the field. Students have two weeks to write the exam. After the committee has read the exam, the advisor notifies the student of the committee’s decision. Upon the student’s successful completion of the Comprehensive Exam, they continue to the Qualifying Exam.

Students are expected to take the Qualifying Exam before the beginning of the fourth year. The exam focuses on a dissertation prospectus that a student develops with their primary advisor and in consultation with their PhD committee. Each student’s PhD committee consists of at least two members of the Standing Committee and one outside member from another department at the University (and a member of the Faculty Senate). Committees can also include faculty from another institution. All committees are comprised of at least three members of UCLA Academic Senate. The prospectus includes an argument with broad implications, demonstrates that the dissertation will make a contribution of knowledge and ideas to the field, demonstrates mastery of existing literature and discourses, and includes a plan and schedule for completion.

The PhD dissertation is written after the student passes the qualifying exam, at which point the student has entered PhD candidacy. The dissertation is defended around the sixth year of study. Students graduating from the program have taken posts in a wide range of universities, both in the United States and internationally.

Recent PhD Dissertations

• Marko Icev, "Building Solidarity: Architecture After Disaster and The Skopje 1963 Post-Earthquake Reconstruction." ( Read )
• Anas Alomaim, "Nation Building in Kuwait, 1961-1991."
• Tulay Atak, “Byzantine Modern: Displacements of Modernism in Istanbul.”
• Ewan Branda, “Virtual Machines: Culture, telematique, and the architecture of information at Centre Beaubourg, 1968–1977.”
• Aaron Cayer, "Design and Profit: Architectural Practice in the Age of Accumulation"
• Per-Johan Dahl, “Code Manipulation, Architecture In-Between Universal and Specific Urban Spaces.”
• Penelope Dean, “Delivery without Discipline: Architecture in the Age of Design.”
• Miriam Engler, “Gordon Cullen and the ‘Cut-and-Paste’ Urban Landscape.”
• Dora Epstein-Jones, “Architecture on the Move: Modernism and Mobility in the Postwar.”
• Sergio Figueiredo, “The Nai Effect: Museological Institutions and the Construction of Architectural Discourse.”
• Jose Gamez, “Contested Terrains: Space, Place, and Identity in Postcolonial Los Angeles.”
• Todd Gannon, “Dissipations, Accumulations, and Intermediations: Architecture, Media and the Archigrams, 1961–1974.”
• Whitney Moon, "The Architectural Happening: Diller and Scofidio, 1979-89"
• Eran Neuman, “Oblique Discourses: Claude Parent and Paul Virilio’s Oblique Function Theory and Postwar Architectural Modernity.”
• Alexander Ortenberg, “Drawing Practices: The Art and Craft of Architectural Representation.”
• Brian Sahotsky, "The Roman Construction Process: Building the Basilica of Maxentius"
• Marie Saldana, “A Procedural Reconstruction of the Urban Topography of Magnesia on The Maeander.”
• David Salomon, “One Thing or Another: The World Trade Center and the Implosion of Modernism.”
• Ari Seligmann, “Architectural Publicity in the Age of Globalization.”
• Zheng Tan, “Conditions of The Hong Kong Section: Spatial History and Regulatory Environment of Vertically Integrated Developments.”
• Jon Yoder, “Sight Design: The Immersive Visuality of John Lautner.”

A Sampling of PhD Alumni and Their Pedagogy

Iman Ansari , Assistant Professor of Architecture, the Knowlton School, Ohio State University

Tulay Atak , Adjunct Associate Professor, Pratt School of Architecture

Shannon Starkey , Associate Professor of Architecture, University of San Diego

Ece Okay , Affiliate Research, Université De Pau Et Des Pays De L'adour

Zheng Tan , Department of Architecture, Tongji University

Pelin Yoncaci , Assistant Professor, Department Of Architecture, Middle East Technical University

José L.S. Gámez , Interim Dean, College of Arts + Architecture, UNC Charlotte

Eran Neuman , Professor, School of Architecture, Tel Aviv University

Marie Saldana , Assistant Professor, School of Interior Architecture, University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Sergio M. Figueiredo , Assistant Professor, Eindhoven University of Technology

Rebecca Choi , Assistant Professor of Architecture History, School of Architecture, Tulane University

Will Davis , Lecturer in History, Theory and Criticism, Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore

Maura Lucking , Faculty, School of Architecture & Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Kyle Stover , Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Montana State University

Alex Maymind , Assistant Professor of Architecture and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Architecture, University of Minnesota

Gary Riichirō Fox , visiting faculty member at Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and lecturer at USC School of Architecture

Randy Nakamura , Adjunct Professor, College of Arts and Sciences, University of San Francisco

Aaron Cayer , Assistant Professor of Architecture History, School of Architecture + Planning, University of New Mexico

Whitney Moon , Associate Professor of Architecture, School of Architecture & Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Todd Gannon , Professor of Architecture, the Knowlton School, Ohio State University

Dora Epstein Jones , Professor of Practice, School of Architecture, the University of Texas at Austin

Sarah Hearne , Assistant Professor, College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado Denver

PhD Typical Study Program

*The choice of language to fulfill this requirement must be discussed with the Ph.D. Standing Committee

Our Current PhD Cohort

AUD's cohort of PhD candidates are leaders in their fields of study, deepening their scholarship at AUD and at UCLA while sharing their knowledge with the community.

Adam Boggs is a sixth year Ph.D candidate and interdisciplinary artist, scholar, educator and Urban Humanist. His research and teaching interests include the tension between creativity and automation, craft-based epistemologies, and the social and material history of architecture at the U.S.-Mexico border. He holds a BFA in Sculpture Cum Laude from the Ohio State University, and an MFA in Visual Art from the State University of New York at Purchase College. Prior to joining the doctoral program at UCLA he participated in courses in Architecture (studio and history) at Princeton University and Cornell University. His dissertation analyzes the history of indigenous labor during the Mexican baroque period to form a comparative analysis with the 20th century Spanish revival architecture movement in Southern California and how the implementation of the style along the U.S.-Mexico border might function as a Lefebvrian “thirdspace” that disrupts binary thinking. In Spring 2024 he will teach an undergraduate seminar course at AUD on the history of architecture at the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the CUTF program.

Hanyu Chen is a second-year doctoral student at UCLA AUD. Her research focuses on the intersection between (sub)urban studies, heritage conservation, and the genders of the space. Specifically, it concerns the dynamics of genders in (sub)urban areas and how these dynamics are conserved as heritage. Born and raised in China for her first 18 years, Hanyu chose the conservation of comfort stations in China as her master's thesis at the University of Southern California, where she earned her master’s degree in Heritage Conservation and officially started her journey in architecture. Her thesis discusses the fluidity and genders of comfort stations and how they survive in contemporary China’s heritage conservation policies.

Hanyu also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in AMS (Applied Mathematics and Statistics) and Art History from Stony Brook University.

Yixuan Chen

Yixuan Chen is an architectural designer and a first-year doctoral student in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA. Driven by an impulse to demystify both the grand promises and trivial familiarities of architecture, her research embarks on the notion of everydayness to elucidate the power dynamics it reveals. She investigates the conflicts between these two ends and focuses on modernization across different times and places.

Prior to joining UCLA AUD, she was trained as an architect and graduated from the University of Nottingham's China Campus with a first-class honors degree. Her graduation project “Local Culture Preservation Centre,” which questioned the validity of monumental architecture in the climate crisis, was nominated for the RIBA President's Medal in 2016.

She also holds a Master of Arts degree with distinction in Architectural History from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. Her dissertation, “Shijing, on the Debris of Shijing,” explores the vanishing shijing places, or urban villages, where rural migrant workers negotiate their urban identity in Chinese cities, revealing shifting power relations. Additionally, she authored an article in Prospectives Journal titled "Architectural Authorship in ‘the Last Mile,’" advocating for a change to relational architectural authorship in response to the digital revolution in architecture.

Pritam Dey is an urban designer and second-year doctoral student at UCLA AUD. His research interest lies at the intersection of colonial urbanism, sensorial history, and somatic inquiries. His architecture thesis investigated the crematorium and temple as sensorial infrastructure, and was presented at World Architecture Congress at Seoul in 2017. Previously Dey worked in the domain of urban design, specifically informal markets, as a shaper of urbanism in Indian cities. Prior to joining the AUD doctoral program, his past research focused on investigating the role of informal and wholesale markets in shaping up urbanity in the Indian city cores and co-mentored workshops on Urbanity of Chitpur Road, Kolkata with ENSAPLV, Paris which was both exhibited at Kolkata and Paris. He also co-mentored the documentation of the retrospective landscape of Hampi with the support of ENSAPLV and French Embassy. His investigations on the slums of Dharavi title ‘The tabooed city’ was published in the McGill University GLSA Research series 2021 under the theme: the city an object or subject of law?

An urban designer and architect, Pritam Dey pursued his post graduation from School of planning and Architecture, Delhi. During his academic tenure at SPA, he was the recipient of 2018 Design Innovation Center Fellowship for Habitat design allowing him to work on the social infrastructure for less catered communities in the Sub Himalayan Villages. In 2022 He mentored a series of exhibitions on the theme of Water, Mountains and Bodies at Ahmadabad.

He was the 2022-23 Urban Humanities Initiatives Fellow at UCLA and recipient of 2023 UCLA Center for India and South Asia fellowship for his summer research.

Carrie Gammell

Carrie Gammell is a doctoral candidate working at the intersection of architectural history, property law, and political economy. Her research focuses on claims, investments, and intermediary organizations in the United States, from the Homestead Act of 1862 to the Housing Act of 1934.

Carrie is also a Senior Research Associate at cityLAB UCLA, where she studies state appropriations for California community college student housing. In the past, she contributed to Education Workforce Housing in California: Developing the 21st Century Campus, a report and companion handbook that provides a comprehensive overview of the potential for land owned by school districts to be designed and developed for teachers and other employees.

Prior to joining AUD, Carrie worked as an architectural designer in Colombia and the United States, where she built a portfolio of affordable housing, multi-family residential, and single-family residential projects as well as civic and cultural renovations and additions. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Rice University and a Master in Design Studies (Critical Conservation) from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Anirudh Gurumoorthy

Anirudh Gurumoorthy is a PhD candidate at UCLA AUD. His dissertation, tentatively titled (Un)Certain Tropics and the Architecture of Certain Commodities, 1803-1926, focuses on the spatial and environmental histories of natural history/sciences in the long-nineteenth century as it related to the political economy of empire within South Asia. He is interested in the ways the materiality of commodity extraction and production contends with how, where, and why certain ‘tropical’ animals, vegetables, and minerals are attributed with a metropolitan sense of ‘value’. Moving from the United States to Britain (and back) through various parts of the Indian Ocean world as markets for singular forms of ice, rubber, and cattle form, peak, and collapse, the dissertation ultimately aims to reveal interconnected spatial settings of knowledge, control, regulation, display, and labor where knowledge systems, technical limits, human and nonhuman action/inaction, differentiated senses of environments and value continually contend with each other to uphold the fetishes of the world market. Gurumoorthy holds a B.Arch. from R.V. College of Architecture, Bangalore, and an M.Des in the History and Philosophy of Design and Media from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Chi-Chia Hou

Chi-Chia Hou is a doctoral candidate in his sixth year at UCLA AUD. His working dissertation, “New Frontier: Architecture and Service 1893-1960,” explores his interest in architecture and wealth, changing ideas of profit and management, and social scientific discourses for measuring work and worker, self and others, and values of landed property.

His research locates moments of theorizing methodologies to manage income-generating properties in schools of agriculture, home economics, and hotel studies. The schools taught their students theories, while instilling the imminence of faithful direction of oneself, of self-as-property. The pedagogies, existing beyond the purview of Architecture, were of immense architectural consideration.

Chi-Chia Hou took a break from school in the previous academic year to learn from his daughter and has now returned to school to learn from his brilliant cohorts.

Adam Lubitz

Adam Lubitz is an urban planner, heritage conservationist, and doctoral student. His research engages the intersection of critical heritage studies and migration studies, with an emphasis on how archival information can inform reparations. His community-based research has been most recently supported by the Columbia GSAPP Incubator Prize as well as the Ziman Center for Real Estate and Leve Center for Jewish Studies at UCLA.

Prior to joining AUD, Adam worked at World Monuments Fund within their Jewish Heritage Program, and taught GIS coursework at Barnard College. His master's thesis applied field research with experimental mapping techniques in the old town of a municipality in Palestine. Adam holds MS degrees in Historic Preservation and Urban Planning from Columbia University and a BA in Urban Studies from New College of Florida.

José Monge is a PhD candidate in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design. His dissertation, titled Maritime Labor, Candles, and the Architecture of the Enlightenment (1750-1872) , focuses on the role that whale-originated illuminants, specifically spermaceti candles and oil, played in the American Enlightenment as an intellectual project and the U.S. as a country. By unravelling the tension between binaries such as intellectual and manual labor–the consumers that bought these commodities and the producers that were not able to afford them–the project understands architecture as a history of activities that moved from sea to land and land to sea, challenging assumptions about the static “nature” of architecture.

Kurt Pelzer

Kurt Pelzer is a fourth-year PhD candidate at UCLA AUD. Their research explores the relational histories, material flows, and politics of land in and beyond California in the long nineteenth century during the United States parks, public lands, and conservation movements.

Their current scholarship traces the settler possession and exhibitionary display of a Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the 1850s; an act that contested the ways Miwok peoples ancestral to California's Sierra Nevada knew and related to life and land. Their broader interests include histories of colonialism and capitalism in the Americas, environmental history, and Blackness and Indigeneity as a methodological analytic for political solidarities and possibilities.

Prior to arriving at UCLA, Pelzer worked at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in the Architecture and Design Curatorial Department participating in exhibitions, programming, and collections work. Pelzer completed a Master of Advanced Architectural Design in the History, Theory, and Experiments program from California College of the Arts in San Francisco, and earned their Bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture from the College of Design at Iowa State University.

Shota Vashakmadze

Email Shota Vashakmadze

Shota Vashakmadze is a sixth-year PhD candidate at UCLA AUD. His dissertation traces the conjoined histories of architectural computing, environmental design, and professional practice in the late 20th century, adopting critical approaches to architecture’s technical substrates—the algorithms, softwares, and user protocols of computation—to examine their social and political dispositions. In his scholarship and pedagogy, he aims to situate forms of architectural labor within the profession’s ongoing acculturation to environmental crisis. Most recently, he has been leading the development of the interdisciplinary “Building Climates” cluster, a year-long course sequence at UCLA, and co-organizing an initiative dedicated to fostering discourse on climate change and architecture, including a two-day conference entitled “Architecture After a Green New Deal.”

His research has been supported by the Canadian Centre for Architecture and appeared in journals including Architectural Theory Review , The Avery Review, and Pidgin Magazine. He is currently completing a contribution to a collection on landscape representation and a chapter for an edited volume on architecture, labor, and political economy.

Shota holds an MArch from Princeton University and has a professional background in architecture, landscape, and software development. Before coming to UCLA, he researched methods for designing with point cloud data and wrote Bison, a software plugin for landscape modeling.

Alexa Vaughn

Alexa Vaughn (ASLA, FAAR) is a first year PhD student in Architecture + Urban Design and a Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellow , from Long Beach, California. She is a Deaf landscape designer, accessibility specialist, consultant, and recent Fellow of the American Academy in Rome (2022-23). She is a visionary speaker, thought leader, prolific writer and researcher, and the author of “ DeafScape : Applying DeafSpace to Landscape,” which has been featured in numerous publications.

Her professional work is centered upon designing public landscapes with and for the Deaf and disabled communities, applying legal standards and Universal Design principles alongside lived experience and direct participation in the design process. She is an expert in designing landscapes for the Deaf community (DeafScape) and in facilitation of disabled community engagement. Prior to joining the A+UD program, Alexa worked for several landscape architecture firms over the course of six years, including OLIN and MIG, Inc.

Through a disability justice lens, her dissertation will seek to formally explore the historical exclusionary and inaccessible design of American urban landscapes and public spaces, as well as the response (activism, policy, and design) to this history through the present and speculative future. She will also actively take part in activist- and practice-based research with cityLAB and the Urban Humanities Institute .

Alexa holds both a BA in Landscape Architecture (with a minor in Conservation and Resource Studies) and a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture (MLA) from the University of California, Berkeley, with specialization in accessible and inclusive design. Much of her work can be found at www.designwithdisabledpeoplenow.com and on Instagram: @DeafScape.

Yashada Wagle

Yashada Wagle is a third year PhD student in Critical Studies at UCLA AUD, and a recipient of the department's Moss Scholarship. Her research focuses on imperial environmental-legislative regimes in British colonial India in the late nineteenth century. She is interested in exploring questions around the histories of spaces of extraction and production as they network between the metropole and the colony, and their relationship with the conceptions of laboring bodies therein. Her master's thesis focused on the Indian Forest Act of 1865, and elucidated the conceptualization of the space of the ‘forest’ through the lenses of its literary, legislative, and biopolitical trajectories, highlighting how these have informed its contemporary lived materiality.

Wagle holds a Bachelor in Architecture (BArch) from the Savitribai Phule Pune University in India, and a Master in Design Studies (History and Philosophy of Design and Media) from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She was previously a Research Fellow at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA) in Mumbai, India.

In her spare time, Wagle enjoys illustrating and writing poetry, some of which can be found here .

Dexter Walcott

Dexter Walcott is a registered architect currently in his fifth year with the Critical Studies of Architecture program at UCLA. His research focuses on the Latrobe family and early nineteenth century builders in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. He is interested in the role of the built environment in histories of labor, capitalism, steam-power, and industry.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Joy is a fifth-year PhD student in architecture history. Her research explores geology as antiquity from early 19th – 20th century British colonial Hong Kong and China. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature with a focus in German from Middlebury College in 2017, and is a graduate of The New Normal program at Strelka Institute, Moscow in 2018. Previously, she has taught in the Department of Architecture at University of Hong Kong, as well as the Department of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

After working as a curatorial assistant at Tai Kwun Contemporary in 2019, she has continued the practice of art writing and translation, collaborating with many local Hong Kong artists as well as international curators such as Raimundas Malašauskas. In her spare time, she practices long-distance open water swimming. In 2022, she completed a 30km course at the South of Lantau Island, Hong Kong.

The MA and PhD programs welcome and accept applications from students with a diverse range of backgrounds. These programs are designed to help those interested in academic work in architecture develop those skills, so we strongly encourage that you become familiar with fundamental, celebrated works in the history and theory of architecture before entering the program.

Applicants to the academic graduate programs must hold a Bachelor’s degree, or the foreign equivalent. All new students must enter in the fall quarter. The program is full-time and does not accept part-time students.

Applications for the MA and PhD programs (Fall 2024 matriculation) will be available in Fall 2023, with application deadline of January 6, 2024; please revisit this page for updates. Accepted candidates who wish to enroll must file an online Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) by April 15, 2024.

How to Apply

Applying to the MA and PhD programs is an online process via the UCLA Application for Graduate Admission (AGA).

Completing the requirements will take some time, so we strongly recommend logging in to the AGA in advance to familiarize yourself with the site and downloading the documents and forms you will need to complete your application.

You can also download this checklist to make sure you have prepared and submitted all the relevant documents to complete your application.

Your Statement of Purpose is a critical part of your application to the MA and PhD programs. It is your opportunity to introduce yourself and tell us about your specific academic background, interests, achievements, and goals. Our selection committee use it to evaluate your aptitude for study, as well as consideration for merit-based financial support.

Your statement can be up to 1500 words in length. Below are some questions you might want to consider. You don’t need to answer every question; just focus on the elements that are most relevant to you.

• What is your purpose in applying to the MA or PhD program? Describe your area(s) of research interest, including any areas of concentration and specialization.
• What experiences have prepared you for this program? What relevant skills have you gained from these experiences? Have your experiences led to specific or tangible outcomes that would support your potential to contribute to this field (e.g. performances, publications, presentations, awards or recognitions)?
• What other information about your past experience might help the selection committee in evaluating your suitability for this program? E.g. research, employment, teaching, service, artistic or international experiences through which you have developed skills in leadership, communication, project management, teamwork, or other areas.
• Why is UCLA Architecture and Urban Design the best place for you to pursue your academic goals?
• What are your plans for your career after earning this degree?

Your Personal Statement is your opportunity to provide additional information to help the selection committee evaluate your aptitude for study. It will also be used to consider candidates for UCLA Graduate Division fellowships related to diversity. You can read more about the University of California Diversity Statement here .

Your statement can be up to 500 words in length. Below are some questions you might want to consider. You don’t need to answer every question; just focus on the elements that are most relevant to you.

• Are there educational, personal, cultural, economic, or social experiences, not described in your Statement of Purpose, that have shaped your academic journey? If so, how? Have any of these experiences provided unique perspective(s) that you would contribute to your program, field or profession?
• Describe challenge(s) or barriers that you have faced in your pursuit of higher education. What motivated you to persist, and how did you overcome them? What is the evidence of your persistence, progress or success?
• How have your life experiences and educational background informed your understanding of the barriers facing groups that are underrepresented in higher education?
• How have you been actively engaged (e.g., through participation, employment, service, teaching or other activities) in programs or activities focused on increasing participation by groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education?
• How do you intend to engage in scholarly discourse, research, teaching, creative efforts, and/or community engagement during your graduate program that have the potential to advance diversity and equal opportunity in higher education?
• How do you see yourself contributing to diversity in your profession after you complete your academic degree at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design?

A Curriculum Vitae (résumé of your academic and professional experience) is recommended but not required.

Applicants must upload a scanned copy of the official transcripts from each college or university you have attended both in the U.S. and abroad. If you are accepted into the program you will be required to submit hard copies. These can either be sent directly from each institution or hand-delivered as long as they remain in the official, signed, sealed envelopes from your college or university. As a general rule, UCLA Graduate Division sets a minimum required overall grade-point average of 3.0 (B), or the foreign equivalent.

As of this Fall 2023 cycle, the GRE is NOT required as part of your application to UCLA AUD. No preference will be given to those who choose to submit GRE scores as part of their application.

However, if you do take the GRE exam and wish to include it as part of your application: More information on this standardized exam can be found at www.ets.org/gre . In addition to uploading your GRE scores, please direct ETS to send us your official score sheets. Our ETS codes for the GRE are below:

UCLA Architecture and Urban Design Institution Code: 4837 Department Code: 4401

We recommend you take the exam at least three weeks before the application deadline as it usually takes 2-3 weeks for ETS to send us the test scores.

If you have received a Bachelor’s degree in a country where the official language of instruction and primary spoken language of daily life is not English, you must submit either a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Exempt countries include Australia, Barbados, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This is a requirement that is regardless of your visa or citizenship status in the United States.

To be considered for admission to the M.Arch. program, international students must score at least a 92 on the TOEFL or a 7 on the IELTS exam. Because processing, sending, and receiving TOEFL and IELTS scores can take several weeks, international students must schedule their exam no later than October 31 in order to meet UCLA deadlines. TOEFL scores must be sent to us directly and uploaded as part of the online submission. Our ETS codes for the TOEFL are below:

UCLA Architecture and Urban Design Institution Code: 4837 Department Code: 12

If your score is less than 100 on the TOEFL or 7.5 on the IELTS, you are also required to take the English as a Second Language Placement Examination (ESLPE) on arrival at UCLA. The results of this test will determine any English as a Second Language (ESL) courses you need to take in your first term of residence. These courses cannot be applied towards your minimum course requirements. As such, you should expect to have a higher course load than students not required to take ESL courses.

If you have earned a degree or completed two years of full-time college-level coursework in the following countries, your TOEFL / IELTS and ESLPE requirements will be waived: U.S., U.K., Canada (other than Quebec), Australia, and New Zealand. Please provide official transcripts to demonstrate course completion. Unfortunately, we cannot accept any other documentation to demonstrate language proficiency.

Three (3) letters of recommendation are required. These letters should be from individuals who are familiar with your academic and professional experiences and can evaluate your capacity to successfully undertake graduate studies at UCLA. If you do not have an architecture background please note that we are looking for letters that evaluate your potential as a graduate student, not necessarily your architecture experience.

Letters of recommendation must be sent electronically directly to UCLA by the recommender. When logged in, you can enter the name and email address of each of your recommenders. They will be contacted by email with a request to submit a letter on your behalf. You can track which letters have and have not been received. You can also send reminders to your recommenders to send their letters.

Writing samples should illustrate an applicant’s capacities for research, analytical writing and scholarly citation. Texts may include seminar papers, theses, and/or professional writing.

Please complete and submit the Department Supplement Form to confirm your intention to apply to the MA or PhD program.

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Home > Interior Architecture > Interior Architecture Masters Theses

Interior Architecture Masters Theses

• Master of Arts (MA) in Adaptive Reuse, a one-year+ program

• Master of Design (MDes) in Interior Studies / Adaptive Reuse, a two-year+ program

• Master of Design (MDes) in Interior Studies / Exhibition + Narrative Environments, a two-year+ program

Both programs take an innovative and progressive approach to addressing design issues intrinsic to the reuse and transformation of existing structures. US News & World Report and Design Intelligence have both ranked RISD’s Interior Architecture programs among the top in the country.

Each MA candidate produces a final project that begins with a research component in the fall and evolves into a studio/design project in the spring. MDes candidates demonstrate competency through self-directed Degree Projects that include a seminar on theory, a research component and a studio component. Each DP focuses on the transformation of an existing structure of their choice in the city of Providence. All MA and MDes candidates also participate in the RISD Graduate Thesis Exhibition , a large-scale public show held annually.

Graduate Program Director: Markus Berger

These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License .

Theses from 2024 2024

Revitalizing Decay , Owen Carey

RECLAIMED BY ROOTS , Dongyang Chen

A Living Storyscape , Vivian Combariza

Emotional Factory , Yukun Cui

Witnessing Timelessness: Revitalizing Heritage Tourism in the Ruins of Saudi Arabia , Reem Habis

City Sonatas , Duoduo Lin

Other Angles: Queer-ing Approaches to Museum Design , Gregory Mathieu

Homeward Bound: moving homes, moving home , Ella Nadeau

-ing: Heritage as a Verb , Eunji Park

Milpa: Cultivating Community Through Grid Remediation in México , Marianna Pasaret Molinar

Space Between: Navigating Openness , Torie Stotz

Making Room , Rachel Strompf

Celestella Resonance , Xuanren Wang

Echoes of Heights: Sustaining Tradition for Education and Community in the Tibetan Plateau , Junyue Wen

Recomposing Museums: Designing Rhythmic Experiences for Short Attention Spans in the Digital Age , Yujiang Wu

Gender Mirror: Giving women's perspective to men through exhibition , Jiaxuan Xu

Beyond Display: Crafting Emotional Journeys for Belonging and Connectivity , Jiamin Yang

Exploring the versatility of clay in double curvature surface formation , yicheng zhang

Bridge Between Calligraphy and Architect , Tianhao Zhong

忘年交 / A Friendship That Transcends Age , Zichen Zhou

Theses from 2023 2023

the people's food project , Grace Barrett

Kala in my Moholla - art in my neighborhood , Priyata Bosamia

Nature as Material, Time as Tool , Chuchu Chen

FROM VAULT TO PLATFORM （Democratizing Museums through the Lens of the Metaverse）） , Zhaoyang Cui

Intensifying the Experience of Contemporary Art , Wanjin Feng

Manifesto of Poor Images: Re-imagine Guggenheim in the Post-digital Age , Mengning He

Adding Subtraction: Wasting Time in Space , Daeun Kim

NEW CHAPTER , Gunju Kim

A Cloud Above , Jiwon Kim

Greening Seoul : A New Toolkit for Adaptive Reuse , Woojae Kim

A.R. Futuristic Scenario in Seun , Yookyung Lee

Eviction to Placement: Rethinking the current supportive housing systems for hidden homeless families , Fang-Min Liou

The Mobile Senior University , YOUSHURUI LI

making pla(y)ces: softening the city through play , Shivani Pinapotu

Interstice , Shravan Rao

Overlooked Modi Vivendi , Natalia Silva

Chinese tea ceremony spirit revival , Hongli Song

Nurturing Haven: A Safe Place for Single Mothers , Meng Su

A Day Stood Still , Yuting Sun

Imaginatorium for children with visual impairment , Xueyun Tang

Reconcile Liminality , Zefeng Wang

Illusion of Consumption, Architectural Rebellion: Unraveling the Maze of Consumption , Xinjie Xiang

Beyond Burial - Transforming Death: A New Ritual of Farewell and the Ecological Return of the Body to Nature , Chang Xie

Interactive Architecture - Intervention of Virtual Business on Commercial Space , Yihao George Xu

On the Power of Attainable Architecture Community Engagement and Interaction through Architecture: A New Approach to Architectural Exhibitions , Jianing Yang

Glowing Under the Bridge—A Healing Space for Wounded Souls , Ruier Zhao

Moving Narration: A journey through history , Yincheng Zhu

Finding Psychological Healing in College Settings , Dici Zou

Theses from 2022 2022

Notes in improvisation : Spatializing Black Identity through music , Esther Akintoye

Dying differently: designing a death-oriented psychedelic treatment center , Grace Caiazza

Blurred lines : Border crossing between Macau and Zhuhai , Weiwei Chen

Regenerative residences: shrinking stress levels in the sky , Peter de Lande Long

Adaptive reduce: forging architectural futures through degrowth , Erika Kane

Unfolding embodied experience: a process-driven immersive exhibition design model , Mooa Seongah Kang

Block Chain Home , Jonggun Lee

Last sunset : design to alleviate social isolation for Chinese elderly , Linghui Li

Rebuilding Collective effervescence : a "Ballroom" for post-pandemic revelry , Di Ma

Re:Connection: exercises in unplugging and mindfully reconnecting , E. J. Roseman

Dear City, give me some space; creating space for ephemeral forces in a city , Abinaya Sivaprakasam Thamilarasan

From invisible to visible: the third wave/way of intervention for Dashilar , Jiali Tian

Endless construction : occupant activism and authorship , Jiayi Wang

Beyond Spectacle : parametric design to life in space , Ding Xu

Design for designers : An incubator for young designers to grow , Jiajie Yang

The Cthulhu Journey : storytelling through an architectural immersive experience , Rui Zhang

Theses from 2021 2021

Posthuman ecologies , Christine Chang

Loneliness / Togetherness : Interiority and connection under isolation , Huaqin Chen

Space between memories: pause , Young Jae Cho

Cultural acupuncture: decentralization and deocratization in Chinese exhibition design , Ruohan Duan

Adaptive reuse as evidence of scientific progress: recontextualizing a space for growing knowledge , Kayci Gallagher

Reclaiming modern architecture: an urban visual narrative of Kuwait City , Yara Hadi

Unraveling the living: reframing cramped housing as a social living , Dong-zoo Han

Beyond pasta: understanding Italian American culinary culture in Federal Hill , Chufan He

Going back , Zhiyi Hilary He

Augmented city , Xing Huan

Woven healing: reimagining the rural health center , Mahasweta Jayachandran

Living · Sharing · Connecting : rebirth of Longchang Apartments Heritage Community , Linhong Jiang

Migrating architecture: vernacular futurism , Yichu Jiang

The second home: breaking the cycle of lonely death , Woohee Kim

Reinforcing connection within collective housing: a new vision of Red Steel City , Guangyi Niu

Ascents and descents in the 21st Century: restoring Chand Baori , Japneet Pahwa

Nossa quadra, nossa historia: the power of collaborative and communal outdoor spaces as a tool for belonging & agency , Rebecca Maria Pepl

Terminal: through the "windows" of a Tram Car Museum , Yuyi Si

Ritualizing of space in the 21st century: fostering of communal identity through celebration of Tamil culture , Mridula Swaminathan

Sensory refreshment: TCM reconsidered , Ni Tang

Remember me: how we can modify the home for people with dementia , Wenjin Wang

The retrieval of memory: holding time in the Shanghai gasometers , Liman Wei

Fostering cultural understanding: mirroring ways of living in Providence, RI, USA and Beijing, PRC , Jiarui Tina Wu

The future of Beijing urban courtyards , Zhuoqi Xu

Remembering Chinatown: a fusion of food, identity, & memory , Robert Yang

Overflowing boundaries: competition and mutualism in urban villages , Chen Zhang

Rural acupuncture: carefully introducing tourism within an underground village , Shangyun Zhou

Theses from 2020 2020

Lacunae in the urban landscape , Meriem Aiouna

Melting away - Ilha Formosa , Hao-Chun Chang

Behind appearance : hidden dimensions in the work of Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee , Ning Ding

Realistic utopia : utopian architecture exhibition at Arcosanti , Xiao Fang

Contextualize , Jiaai He

Community pop-up galleries : the instruction manual , Mary Iorio

Living under surveillance , Fan Jia

Urban memory : Beijing City wall ruins reconstruction & exhibition , Yuan Jin

Dialogue across time : Atlanta, 1996 and 2020 , Qianyu Liu

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M.S. Integrated Architecture and Design

Career information is not specific to degree level. Some career options may require an advanced degree.

Current Job Openings and Salary Range

in ID, WA, OR, MT and HI

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• Career Options
• Chief Sustainability Officer
• Sustainability Specialist
• Video Game Designer
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Regional Employment Trends

Employment trends and projected job growth in ID, WA, OR, MT & HI

*Job data is collected from national, state and private sources. For more information, visit EMSI's data sources page .

• Degree Prep

To prepare for obtaining your MS in Integrated Architecture and Design we recommend you:

• have an interest in environmental studies, behavior studies, sustainable architecture
• enjoy collaboration, integration, and critical thinking
• appreciate and have a broad-based knowledge of architecture and design
• Degree Roadmap

Students who graduate with a degree in Integrated Architecture and Design will complete 30 required credits toward their degree.

• Professional Fee
• All full-time students (10-20 credits) - $716.00 per semester
• Part-time undergraduates (1-9 credits) - $72.00 per credit
• Part-time graduate students - $80.00 per credit (neither to exceed $716)

The Professional Fee supports College of Art and Architecture studios and equipment, student organizations, field trips, and student services. Learn more .

• Scholarships

The College of Art and Architecture awards more than $42,000 in scholarships each year.

• Organizations & Clubs

Organizations and clubs connect students, create community and help shape future leaders. 

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The College of Art and Architecture has strong industry connections providing internship and networking opportunities that are crucial as you establish your career.

• Job Openings and Salary Range
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Expertise in Design

The University of Idaho’s Master of Science in Integrated Architecture and Design program addresses the field’s increasingly intersectional nature and prepares existing professionals to anticipate, respond to and incorporate these developments. Environmental, sustainability and social factors have started to play a larger role in architecture and design project planning, resource allocation, building structure and construction. This post-professional master’s program challenges you to be the force of change, one who seamlessly addresses these aspects in conceptualization through completion stages, combines digital technology with traditional theories and methodologies and has a fluid, logic-based perspective of design disciplines and processes.

Setting the next stage for your career, the Master’s in Integrated Architecture and Design is a cross-disciplinary, research-based degree program that encompasses the full scope of the College of Art and Architecture , including Virtual Technology and Design, Art and Design, Landscape Architecture, Interior Architecture and Design and Architecture, and encourages you to go beyond. You’ll take charge of an independent research project rooted in your professional interests under the guidance of a major professor and thesis committee, with the goal of creating an entrepreneurial, action-based solution to a specific, often complex issue facing the design world.

Through the program’s collaborative and integrated environment, your project will take shape, illustrating your grasp and application of creative design thinking, virtualization and visual problem solving while helping establish your credibility in architectural research and expanding your professional presence.

Interested candidates must submit a statement of intent, three letters of recommendation, and a portfolio with their application. Review all requirements to get started .

• This 30-credit program with a thesis or non-thesis (project-based) structure helps strengthen your interdisciplinary background and grow your professional presence. Prepare for a career in academic research and scholarship, expand your firm, or assist a range of architecture and design projects as a consultant or entrepreneur.
• This integrative master’s-level design degree builds upon and serves all programs: Visualization, Environment and Behavior, Urban Design, Community Design and Planning, Universal Design, Landscape Design, Media Design and Sustainable Architecture and Planning, in addition to disciplines outside of the College of Art and Architecture.
• You can enroll on our Moscow campus or at our Boise-based Urban Design Center.
• Students in Boise can participate in design-related research impacting urban communities and improving high-performance, energy-efficient buildings, among other real-world projects.
• Open to candidates with a non-professional degree in any design discipline and/or a professional degree in architecture or landscape architecture, including a B.Arch or M.Arch.

Program Contact

Directors of Graduate Studies: Yumna Kurdi [email protected]

Meet Our Faculty

In this cross-disciplinary degree program, you will interact with faculty across the college. The student’s project or research interest can be in any of the different programs in the college and as such you may choose your Major advisor of interest to be from the corresponding program. Get to know faculty and their research background from each department in the College of Art and Architecture using the links below.

• Architecture Faculty
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10 Award-Winning Architecture Thesis Projects From Around The World

Neha Sharma

8 mins read

It is always interesting to see the architecture thesis projects students come up with every year. With each passing batch, there is more knowledge passed down and a better base to begin. The result is a rise in innovation and creativity by students, and overall a better mix!

Architecture thesis is an ordeal all students are intimidated by. From choosing an architecture thesis topic all the way to giving a great final thesis review , every step is equally challenging and important. It is that turn in an architecture student’s life that pushes them to churn out their best. Therefore, it is inevitable to come across some life-altering design solutions through architecture theses across the world.

To identify and appreciate these exceptional final projects by architecture students, many organisations across the world like Archistart, Council of Architecture, etcetera, award recognition for excellence in architecture thesis and also grant financial support for further research to the projects worthy of being realised.

Read through the list of 10 such award-winning architecture theses across the world with links to study them in detail!

1. ISTHME // Le CHAOS SENSIBLE - Dafni Filippa and Meriam Sehimi

ISTHME // Le Chaos Sensible - Architecture Thesis of the Year 2020 (Source: www.nonarchitecture.eu)

Starting from the most recent one, the award-winning thesis is a proposal of a mixed-use building in the capital city of Ghana, Africa, that aims to cater to a large spectrum of functions of the Ghanaian community, especially living, commercial, sports and leisure.

This culturally thoughtful architecture thesis project is an honest effort to celebrate the African spirit and empower the local community, which reflects in the ‘sensible chaos’ of the design.

2. INFRA-PAISAJE: New Landscape Architecture - Luis Bendezu

INFRA-PAISAJE: New Landscape Infrastructure for San Juan de Marcona - Special Mention: Architectural Thesis Award ATA 2018 (Source: www.archistart.net)

Landscape architecture manifests the connection between humans and nature. The landscape thesis project proposes a series of technical elements for the creation of a seamless landscape between the urbanised territory of San Juan de Marcona in Peru and the suburban parts, thus forming a cohesive townscape which converses with the coastline and brings active life to the otherwise desolate expanse of the region.

3. Water Exploratorium - Satyam Gyanchandani

Water Exploratorium - Ace of Space Design Awards: Outstanding Student Thesis Award (Source: www.architectandinteriorsindia.com)

Water is a life-giving resource and considered sacred across many cultures. To sustain life on earth, it is important to save and use it with utmost efficiency. The architecture thesis project showcases experiential design through and for water. It also tackles design challenges like infotainment by educating visitors on water conservation and creating a static built form for an element as fluid as water for a wholesome sensory experience.

Want to know how to come up with such fascinating thesis topics? Read: 7 Tips on Choosing the Perfect Architecture Thesis Topic For You

4. Architecture for Blind People - Mariagiorgia Pisano

Between Light and Shadow: Architecture for Blind People - 1st Place: Architectural Thesis Award 2017 (Source: www.archistart.net)

Inclusive design offers a wide-spread net of research opportunities and is gaining much-needed recognition today!

Design for people with disabilities is dealt with empathy in this architecture thesis project, where the focus is exploring innovative design solutions for the visually deprived and getting the design of rehabilitation centres as close as possible to meeting their needs.

5. Mosul Postwar Camp - Edoardo Daniele Stuggiu and Stefano Lombardi

Mosul Postwar Camp - 1st Place: Architectural Thesis Award ATA 2019 (Source: www.archistart.net)

War does permanent damage to a person’s mental health. The survivors experience trauma, loss and even destruction of self-identity. The architecture thesis project proposes a postwar camp at Mosul, Iraq, aiming to create a place where people of various backgrounds can peacefully coexist and build a community based on humanitarian values to prevent war in the future.

6. Consolation through Architecture - A New Journey through the Abandoned Landscapes of Varanasi - Navin Lucas Sebastian

Consolation Through Architecture - COA National Awards for Excellence in Architectural Thesis 2016 (Source: www.coa.gov.in)

The intangible aspects of design are tough to pinpoint but necessary for the essence and feel of it. This urban design thesis project shows light on architecture’s influence on one’s emotions with the holy city of Varanasi in India as the backdrop. With a focus on issues arising due to the city’s cremation grounds, the thesis explores innovative and sustainable solutions for the same.

7. Unfinished Tor Vergata Scenario - Carmelo Gagliano

Unfinished Tor Vergata Scenario - 1st Place: Architectural Thesis Award 2020 (Source: www.archistart.net)

When it comes to building projects, the trend of the ‘unfinished’ is something Italy has been increasingly seeing in the past few years. The most popular unfinished public work is Calatrava’s Olympic Stadium, which is the main object for reuse in the proposal of a science museum at Rome Tor Vergata.

This architecture thesis project explores the existing building trends of the region, aims to reinvent the iconic building and become a scientific attraction for tourists and locals.

8. Chachapoyas Peri-Urban Park - Nájat Jishar Fernández Díaz

Structures for Incidents in Nature: Chachapoyas Peri-Urban Park - Special Mention: Architectural Thesis Award ATA 2019 (Source: www.archistart.net)

Growing urban areas are a concern as they slowly consume the ecology surrounding them. Chachapoyas (forest of clouds) in Peru faces a similar problem from the expanding urban confinements which are slowly taking over the beautiful landscapes for which the place is particularly famous.

The project aims to mend the damage by connecting every speck of open land available in the region and converting it into a network of green corridors, making for an interesting urban planning thesis!

9. Garden of Reconciliation, Kashmir - Jay Shah

Garden of Reconciliation: Miniature Drawing - COA National Award in Excellence for Architectural Thesis 2018 (Source: www.uni.xyz)

Cultural and political unrest in a region has always been the glue for controversies, leading to public tip-toeing around such topics. This bold architecture thesis project looks at the conflicted region of Kashmir, to analyse its cultural, social and artistic practices and then come up with an architecture program best suited for the region. This is traversed in the form of a mixed-use landscape that aims to find a solution and is not the solution itself!

Such theses usually require intensive site studies. Read: Site Analysis Categories You Need to Cover For Your Architecture Thesis Project to know more.

10. Adaptive Reuse of STP Grain Silos - Alila Mhamed

Poudrière Community Hub - 2nd Place: Architectural Thesis Awards ATA 2020 (Source: www.archistart.net)

Adaptive reuse of spaces that have been uninhabited for a long time does true justice to the core values of architecture and design. This thesis project explores the creative redefinition of the old STP Grain silos complex, the first mill constructed as a part of the Poudrière industrial park in the present-day city of Sfax, Tuscany, Italy, by converting it into a mixed-use hub for art, commerce, trade, administration and collaboration.

Numerous amazing architecture thesis projects come to light every year and the list is not limited to this one! At the learning stages, people have the power to unleash their creativity without any limitations and such scenarios might just lead to the right solutions for the time and society we live in.

Giving your architecture thesis project? Check out our A-Z Architecture Thesis Guide!

Stay updated with interesting insights and episodes on architecture thesis projects with Novatr's Resources !

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7 Tips on Choosing the Perfect Architecture Thesis Topic For You

Site Analysis Categories You Need to Cover For Your Architecture Thesis Project

How to Give a Fantastic Architecture Thesis Review That Stands Out

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MASTER´S THESIS 2024

>>> EXPLORE THE PROJECTS BELOW >>>

ARCHITECTURAL EXPERIMENTATION

SOCIETY, JUSTICE, SPACE

URBAN DESIGN

BUILDING DESIGN AND TRANSFORMATION

ARCHITECTURE AND ADVANCED PROGRAMMES

BUILDING DESIGN AND TRANSFORMATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY

URBAN AND RURAL DESIGN AND PLANNING

Architecture Theses and Dissertations

Permanent uri for this collection, recent submissions.

• No Thumbnail Available Item DESIGNING WITH NARRATIVE: AN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN GUIDE FOR HERITAGE BUILDINGS AND PLACES ( 2024 ) Tannir, Joseph ; Williams, Joseph C. ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more While the idea of what constitutes a historic site or place and how it should be treated by designers at both the building and urban scale and how different histories may be told side by side may seem obvious, closer inspection reveals a diversity of ideas that may contradict each other. This thesis seeks to explore the relationship between narrative and form of historic places by breaking this relationship into a series of interrelated component elements that can be manipulated with intention. This thesis does this by identifying core principles in the preservation field, comparing curation theories of historic buildings and places, and, finally, by examining these treatments through relevant theories of space and urbanism. This framework is illustrated and applied through the design and narrative example of the Baltimore region during World War II. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item MAKING SENSE: AN EXPLORATION IN MULTI-SENSORY DESIGN ( 2024 ) Bullock, Abigail Leigh ; Noonan, Peter V. ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more People view Architecture through a lens of sight. Often we learn from architecture from print media, the internet and other visual sources. This thesis aims to explore how one experiences architecture, not views it. To experience architecture, one needs to explore a work through all five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound. To create architecture, one must sculpt these sensory inputs. This experiential quality is especially important when considering people witedh sensory loss. Through this thesis one aims to help create independence for users of a space with hearing and/or vision loss through the incorporation of other sensory aspects within design. People with sensory loss often report feeling less satisfied in life and less independent than their peers. They also report higher degrees of loneliness and isolation. Through this work, one aims to help create a sense of community and independence. This is important to improve overall reports of life satisfaction for individuals with various degrees and types of sensory loss. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item PRINTING HOPE: ADDRESSING THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS ( 2024 ) Garcia, Aylin ; Cross, Marcus A. ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more In the United States, there is a shortage of 7 million affordable homes, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition Report, and research predicts the housing crisis will worsen over time if the construction processes remain the same due to the population increase and cities' urbanization. The report also states that between 2019 and 2021, the pandemic worsened the affordable housing crisis by raising the need for homes by half a million. The current construction process is expensive and requires proper funding to develop homes to keep up with the housing demand. It also requires the need for multiple skilled laborers, which has been decreasing over time. This thesis will explore how using 3D printing could be a solution for creating more quality, affordable neighborhoods that are also sustainable and resilient. Some benefits of 3D printing technology in the construction field are rapid construction time, lower construction costs, tight thermal envelope, less waste of materials, very few laborers required for construction, and much more. It will also investigate ways in which 3D printing dwellings can create an environment that is best for the well-being of its residents by elevating the standards provided by code regulations of the built environment. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item GENERATING SYNERGIES: Reimagining Post-Industrial Waterfront as a Sustainable Live-Work-Play Community ( 2024 ) Lee, Jihee ; Ainslie, Adam ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more The Earth’s climate has changed throughout history, but the current rate of change is unprecedented and largely driven by human activities like fossil fuel combustion, deforestation, and industrial processes. These release greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, trap heat from the sun, causing the planet to warm. Power plants, particularly those fueled by fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, are major contributors to climate change. Their operations emit a significant amount of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, and they are responsible for around 27% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Such environmental concerns and the comparably short lifespan of the infrastructure has led to an increasing number of abandoned facilities. In response to these issues, this thesis proposes a radical transformation: repurposing abandoned power plants as an epicenter of clean energy innovation and environmental research. Transformed from symbols of pollution, the structures now serve as catalysts for change, unpacking the narrative shift from degraded wastelands to a seed of a sustainable future. The key lies not just in technology but in the collective efforts of diverse minds and backgrounds. Through a vibrant co-working space, interconnecting engineers, scientists, and community members, their expertise harmonizes to create synergies, leading to solutions that mitigate the severity of climate change. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item MĀLAMA ‘ĀINA: SUSTAINING RESILIENT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE ( 2024 ) Jamero, Samantha Kei ; VanderGoot, Jana ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more The connection between humans and the Hawaiian Islands’ landscape has undergone continuous change. Native Hawaiians’ values are founded on principles like Mālama ‘Āina, which emphasizes caring for and respecting the land. Colonization established the groundwork for mass tourism, which has disrupted the balance and led to environmental damage and cultural marginalization. This thesis aims to reframe tourism away from mass-market appeal and towards an educational experience that prioritizes local communities and ecosystems. By incorporating Hawaiian beliefs and experiential learning, tourism can foster respect for the land the people who live there every day. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item Cutting Edge Injury Prevention ( 2024 ) Boland, Margaret Kenneday ; May, Lindsey ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more The growing childcare crisis in the United States leaves many families without access to quality, affordable care. This crisis is not just a matter of statistics but a deeply emotional experience for those who find themselves torn between professional responsibilities to sustain their households and proper care for their children. This thesis explores the design of physically and emotionally safe spaces for children and their caregivers that catalyze a positive transformation in the country’s childcare infrastructure. Focused on the relationship between architecture and childhood development, this work explores innovative design solutions that consider functionality, the scale of a child, and the well-being of both children and their caregivers. Through a synthesis of research, case studies, and innovative design solutions, this work aspires to create architectural spaces that consider the unique needs of children. In doing so, it promotes a new narrative where the American dream encompasses not just economic success but also the well-being of children, the most significant investment in the nation’s future. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item Campus Oasis: A Sanctuary for Learning & Wellness ( 2024 ) Watson, Omari ; Abrams, Michael C ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more The relationship between the built environment and its occupants can have a negative and positive effect on their wellbeing. Students across all college campuses experience stress, depression, and anxiety. The stress of academia can be impacted from the built environment, however, the spaces we decide to be in can relieve the stress if designed properly. Mental health support for students is a critical issue that can be addressed architecturally with biophilic design. The goal of this thesis is to explore the relationships between environmental psychology and the built environment to design spaces that improve the occupant’s well-being. The architecture embodies wellness shared with the natural and built environment with the focus on the user experience. Concepts such as phenomenology and biophilic design will be applied to design a welcoming and healing environment. The design of a spa and wellness center will function as a haven for the students and staff of an institution to decompress, relax, learn, feel motivated and feel relieved. The project will become a precedent for other colleges and universities to support their community against mental health issues. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item EDU-SCAPE: Crafting Social Landscapes through Learning within Ivy City and Trinidad ( 2024 ) Hernandez, Kevin Alexander ; Burke, Juan ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more The District of Columbia boasts wonderful neighborhoods of various scales and cultures, with many stemming from the city’s inception. While enriched with life, culture, and community, not all neighborhoods share the same benefits, with several neighborhoods and communities within the district devoid of amenities which are present elsewhere. Ivy City and Trinidad, both historic communities located in Ward 5 have historically been ignored by the city, with several master plans and development campaigns threatening the livelihood of local residents in exchange for economic benefit. This thesis seeks to find ways to design for such communities, while providing enriched social spaces for locals amid threatening campaigns and architecture. By acknowledging the existing academic facilities and institutions located in both neighborhoods, the design of the project focused on utilizing learning facilities and communal design initiatives to provide residents with facilities that provide amenities and communal spaces for lifelong learning and improved quality of life. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item EKO RESILIENCE – (RE)DESIGNING RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES THAT ARE RESILIENT FOR THE URBAN POOR IN LAGOS, THE COASTAL CITY. ( 2024 ) AJAERO, UCHEYA ; Simon, Madlen G ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more This thesis addresses the urgent need for resilient community housing solutions in Lagos, where there is a growing deficit of well-designed, affordable, and accessible homes, particularly for the low-income population. The research recognizes the challenges of urban decay, transportation issues, and flooding, disproportionately affecting the poor. In Lagos, the complex interdependence of rich and poor social networks is evident, with low-income individuals often residing in slums near high-income neighborhoods or facing long commutes. The thesis aims to go beyond providing shelter and explores how affordable housing can contribute to overall urban resilience. Emphasizing four critical criteria, the research aims to show how affordable housing can support social and economic structures, reduce vulnerability to environmental risks, enhance personal security, and empower communities for self-governance. The thesis adopts a comprehensive approach, considering the broader social, economic, ecological, and political dynamics in the quest for resilient housing solutions. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item FragMENDED ( 2024 ) Deist, Chase Manning ; Ezban, Michael ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more The spatial fragmentation of suburban zones, both living and built, has real consequences on how people interact with each other and the places in which they live. Ecological disconnection and social isolation are endemic to urban sprawl. Pervasive fragmentation separates people from natural amenities and disengages them from the environment and the role they play within it. The youth are specifically vulnerable to the effects of suburban sprawl, lacking a freedom of movement and access to outdoor educational and recreational programming. By interacting with the environment through the lenses of play and education, children can form a connection between themselves and the place they learn, helping them develop into multifaceted and ecologically conscious people. The goal is to explore how youth-driven ecological practices and nature-based program can reweave children into local ecologies through a pedagogy of play. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item Urban Sprawl & Critter Crawl: Imagining a More-Than-Human Way of Living ( 2024 ) Islam, Ramisa Maisha ; Williams, Brittany ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more Over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas and that number is projected to double by 2050. Cities and urban transects have an important role in addressing climate change. As urban population and development grows, we also see a decline in biodiversity. Humans are not the only species being displaced. Native species lose their natural habitats due to development and seek refuge in urban areas. The complexity of cities allows for urban biodiversity to find a home, but these urban habitats are still human centered, forcing species to fit within a human designed environment. This thesis explores the balance between human living and urban biodiversity to integrate into our cities. Implementing urban biodiversity strategies and more than human design in urban neighborhoods can help to restore biodiversity and strengthen human relationships with the natural environment. Combining these concepts can reimagine the city as a shared ecosystem that serves all species. An ideal shared ecosystem can support urban living, embrace coexistence, and foster a symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item Building on History ( 2024 ) Gursoy, Talha ; Bell, Matthew ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more Thessaloniki is a Balkan region of Macedonia city in northern Greece with Ottoman, Byzantine, and Sephardic roots. The story of its past is one of the immigrants from other places. The majority for many hundred years. Spanish-speaking Sephardic Jews and Ottoman Turks made up the majority of the city's population, and they contributed to many facets of the city's growth. Unless one expressly knows where to seek its traces, this significant presence is no longer discernible. It is an obliterated past rather than one that has been hushed or wiped out. The architecture of the city has a lot to do with this loss; the city has been redesigned from scratch by ignoring its close history. This thesis researches to the building of a museum in the city that would also revive the lost architectural history. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item BREAKWATER – Breaking the Cycle ( 2024 ) Mora, Adrian Bernard Teneza ; Gabrielli, Julie ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more How can ecological design principles prevent the erosion of the physical and social framework of low-income coastal communities? A significant portion of the world’s population is concentrated along coastlines. Direct access to the water provides access to a longstanding source of economic prosperity and a psychological connection to natural environments. However, human-influenced climate change has produced hazardous environmental conditions that threaten coastal populations, including many poor, vulnerable communities. Disparities in investment for public services, maintenance, and upkeep increases the vulnerability of these disenfranchised groups that cannot protect themselves. The built and natural environment within this diverse boundary zone between the land and sea must be redeveloped as a self-resilient ecosystem that can protect its inhabitants from climate-induced hazards. This renewal will require holistic approaches that can mitigate contemporary impacts to protect current populations at risk and adapt the built environment to better respond in the future. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item RECLAIMING ANTAKYA: POST-DISASTER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOR RESILIENT FUTURES ( 2024 ) Demircan, Zeynep Dila ; Filler, Kenneth ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more As the global population continues to grow and settlements expand, an increasing number of communities are at risk of natural and man-made disasters. While the immediate focus in disaster management is to preserve lives and safeguard property through emergency response, the subsequent phases of recovery and preparedness present challenges in terms of planning and management. The earthquake that struck Turkey in February 2023 inflicted significant damage on the physical, social, and economic infrastructure of the affected region. Among the hardest-hit areas is the city of Antakya, which suffered severe destruction, thereby complicating and prolonging the recovery efforts. This thesis is dedicated to addressing the challenges associated with disaster management and recovery processes in Antakya. It emphasizes the importance of empowering the community to reclaim their surroundings, foster a sense of belonging, preserve culture, and revitalize life in the aftermath of the disaster. This approach aims to foster sustainable solutions and build resilience in the community. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item Age in Place: Design for Dignity ( 2024 ) Perkins, Abigail Corinne ; Bennett, Ralph ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more The senior population in the United States is rapidly growing. As a result, there is a growing need for more affordable housing options for seniors. Assisted living centers can be a wonderful community for seniors to live in when they can no longer maintain their homes or if they need additional care. These apartments provide excellent opportunities for socialization, exercise, and travel. However, a variety of factors including cost, availability of specific care facility, and a desire for independence can cause a senior to not receive the help that they need in a timely manner. For seniors with additional care needs, such as a form of dementia, the need for flexible care is paramount. Current care options often lead to seniors with dementia having to move to facilities that are not designed for residents with dementia and hire additional care aids. The lifetime cost of dementia is a huge burden to the patient and their family. Affordable senior housing is needed for seniors who cannot afford memory care and choose to live in assisted living facilities in order to improve a senior’s quality of life. The thesis will explore how we can use findings of environmental psychology to improve the design of assisted living facilities for seniors dealing with rapid memory loss from dementia. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item FOOD SERVICE: CULTIVATING FOOD EQUITY & RESILIENCE IN THE HEART OF IVY CITY ( 2024 ) Tram, Judy ; Curry, Daniel ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more Food is fuel for the body and mind, a bridge for social connection, and a lens into culture and identity. Food is a human right, yet food insecurity in the U.S is a prominent issue that affects millions of individuals and families each year. Despite the nation's affluence, a significant percentage of the population still struggle to access consistent and nutritious meals. The relationships that people experience with food are deeply intertwined in and reflective of the country’s social, economic, political, and environmental attitudes. Due to a lack of equity in existing U.S food systems, the need for food aid rises. Nonprofit organizations are increasingly becoming a major asset to public aid and health, working to ensure that underserved communities have direct access to essential resources and services, particularly food. This foundation of service provides a pathway for nonprofit organizations to facilitate a localized shift in the way communities interact with food. This thesis seeks to reshape the experience of underserved communities with food to support a more sustainable and equitable food system. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item RETHINKING MOVEMENT ( 2024 ) Gomez, Jose ; Tilghman, James ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more Today, there are numerous transportation methods that are constantly changing our landscape. Despite the diversity of transportation options, our approach toward movement has become outdated. The emergence of autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, sustainable power sources and advanced infrastructure are currently shaping the way we move throughout the world. The advantages of these technologies are clear; high performance, low to no carbon emissions, automatic systems, and improved safety are clearly the direction of the future. However, their adaptation and implementation is slow and ineffective. Emerging technology presents a viable opportunity to design architecture and mobility as a synergetic system that can facilitate movement, improve accessibility, and reclaim the human experience from outdated infrastructure. It is therefore important to rethink how we move through space in order to design for human wellness. This thesis will explore transportation problems in cities, emerging technologies, sustainable practices, and design guidelines and precedents in search of an efficient moving, self-sufficient, wellness focused future. Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item Testing the Limits: A DC Ecoblock Creates Community for Everyone ( 2019 ) Rowedder, Patricia ; Gabrielli, Julie ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more Loneliness is an emotional feeling that represents disconnection. With one in five people suffering from loneliness, it has become a public health crisis. Ranked second in the nation for loneliness, Washington DC is three times the national average. The transient nature of the greater DC population has created a negative perception on the city, causing people to either move on or move out. Such a progressive and influential city seems stuck in a stagnant pattern, not reacting to the constantly changing density, mobility, and needs of the built and non-built environment. This thesis aims to explore the connections of ecology and psychology of architecture through a superblock typology in an effort to battle loneliness in the nation’s capital. A superblock is a large-scale entity both extroverted and permeable composed of business, community, and other institutional programs, each different but overlapping in a common elements and connections. The superblock throughout time has been given a negative connotation because of exploited failed attempts. When using the principles correctly, however, the superblock typology provides endless possibilities and solutions to connect, engage, and ignite community interaction through strategically placed nodes of space and diverse program. If one were to take create new principle site, culture, and health specific, could a meaningful interaction and connection through a ecoblock in DC be created? Show more
• No Thumbnail Available Item HIGHWAY TO HARVEST-WAY, REIMAGINGING BALTIMORE THROUGH URBAN AGRICULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE ( 2023 ) Jones, Liam Wynn ; Gabrielli, Julie E. ; Architecture ; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland ; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) Show more Earth has seen exponential growth in population within the modern area, requiring human society to respond by expanding the boundaries of the built environment to accommodate. This expansion - coupled with climate change - threatens food production for an increasingly reliant global community. Recent geopolitical events have highlighted the delicate balance of food supply chains, emphasizing the need to plan accordingly. This thesis explores how new infrastructure can challenge the American food system and the relationship that rural communities and urban centers have with sustenance. The city of Baltimore, Maryland will act as the nexus of change due to its high food scarcity rates and history. Highway to Harvest-Way examines the architecture of agriculture, cultural traditions of food within the region, and investigates how a modular approach to growth can respond to a community it services at varying scales to redefine the paradigm of food within cities. Show more

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by Yeonho Lee (MArch II ’24)…

Grace La and James Dallman, Faculty Advisors

Spring 2024

Learning from Quartzsite, AZ: Emerging Nomadic Spatial Practices in America

by Mojtaba Nabavi (MAUD ’24) Quartzsite, in Arizona, is a popular winter home base…

Rahul Mehrotra and Eve Blau , Faculty Advisors

How to (Un)build a House? A Reinvention of Wood Framing

by Clara Mu He (MArch I…

Toshiko Mori , Faculty Advisor

Seeding Grounds: Working Beyond Arcadia in The Pyrocene

by Stewart Crane Sarris (MLA I ’24) From drought, to fire, Australia’s landscapes face multiple existential…

Craig Douglas , Faculty Advisor

Reforesting Fort Ord

by Slide Kelly (MLA I AP, MDes ’24) This thesis examines the potential for…

Amy Whitesides , Faculty Advisor

Project Kin

by Priyanka Pillai (MDE ’24) and Julius Stein (MDE ’24) When conflict arises from humanitarian crises, families…

Kathleen Brandenburg and Karen Reuther , Faculty Advisors

INSURGENT GEOLOGY: Mineral Matters in the Arctic

by Melanie Louterbach (MLA I ’24) “Insurgent Geology” is about oil, fossils, power, and people.

2023 Peter Rice Prize: Sujie Park’s “Material Alchemy”

by Sujie Park (MArch I ’23) — Recipient of the Peter Rice Prize. The history…

Andrew Witt and Martin Bechthold , Faculty Advisors

Spring 2023

2023 Urban Planning Thesis Prize: Michael Zajakowski Uhll’s “Our History is our Resource:” Historic Narrative as Urban Planning Strategy in Chicago’s Pullman Neighborhood

by Michael Zajakowski Uhll (MUP ’23) — Recipient of the Urban Planning Thesis Prize. How…

Rachel Meltzer , Faculty Advisor

2023 James Templeton Kelley Prize: Jacqueline Wong’s “An Intrinsic Model for a Non-Neutral Plural National School”

by Jacqueline Wong (MArch I ’23) — Recipient of the James Templeton Kelley Prize, Master…

Sergio Lopez-Pineiro, Faculty Advisor

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M.A. Design

With a Master of Arts in Design with a concentration in Design Management and Strategy or Interaction and User Experience Design, students learn how to create imaginative, engaging, and valuable solutions in a virtual world, keeping innovation at the core. 

“The program equipped me with new skills and methods that I still use daily to lead creative teams and manage important strategic initiatives.”

Noah Albro, Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Change, CVP

The concentration in Design Management and Strategy explores how design can help organizations create and manage branded products and services. The program offers instruction in design management theory and best practices for creating human-centered innovation. Students develop leadership skills that enhance their ability to build internal design competencies and collaborate with peers in Marketing and Engineering to achieve business goals. Learn more about the concentration requirements.

Interaction Design involves the creation of products, services, and systems that are not only functional but also user-friendly and appealing. It revolves around a human-centric approach to innovation, effectively bridging the gap between businesses and consumers while enhancing the relevance of brands and organizations in the market. Learn more about the concentration requirements.

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MA Design Stats

Degree requirements.

All students in the M.A. in Design program will take Advanced Design Methods, Design Scenarios and Simulations, and Service and User Experience Design. Students will then select courses based on their concentration to complete the additional major required courses.

Students will have the opportunity to conduct original design research and translate research insights into design input. Students will be required to demonstrate independent discovery and research through completion of a thesis and will pass an oral examination on that work.

Past thesis examples include:

- “The Animated Interface: A User Experience Perspective on Best Practices in UI Design” (Tianchen Qiang)

- “Refer Me: Improving Online Tools For Finding Suitable In-Person Psychotherapy Services” (Carley Hummel)

- “Redesigning the Online Shopping Experience to Enable Positive Social and Environmental Choices” (Kristina Rasmussen)

- “Designing the Intersection of Technology and Timepieces: A High-End Watch Strategy for Garmin” (Todd Register)

Alumni from the KU M.A. Design program have gone on to work in positions like: 

- Senior UX Designer, Microsoft

- Product Architect, Garmin

- Marketing and Training Manager, Apple

- UX Design Leader, Amazon

- Senior User Experience Designer, Oracle Cerner

- Director of Sales Enablement and Digital Strategy, Burns & McDonnell

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• August 22, 2024

Presenting the 2024 Graduate Thesis Weekend, September 6-8

We are excited to announce the Graduate Thesis Weekend on September 6-8, where the graduating class of 2024 will present their culminating projects. These works, produced through a semester of intensive research and a summer of experimentation and production, reflect the innovative spirit that defines our graduating M.Arch 1 and M.Arch 2 students. As the fall term begins, Graduate Thesis at SCI-Arc serves as a critical juncture, linking the outgoing visions of our graduates with the fresh perspectives of incoming students. Over the course of the weekend, our thesis students will have the opportunity to articulate, propose, and defend their work to the SCI-Arc community and beyond. This event brings together a diverse group of guest critics from both within and outside the discipline, alongside 19 faculty thesis advisors, to engage in thoughtful reflection and rigorous debate on the provocations and possibilities presented by 75 students. Their projects will remain on display in the halls of SCI-Arc for an extended week as part of the 2024 Graduate Thesis Exhibit. “This year’s graduate thesis projects are centered around three key themes: matter, form, and new technological narratives,” says Jackilin Hah Bloom, Graduate Thesis Coordinator. “Our students have deeply engaged with the design process, embracing experimentation and crafting their own unique workflows—whether analog, digital, or a blend of both. Each project stands as a distinct exploration, and together, they establish a conversation that resonates with the challenges and opportunities of today and the future of architecture.” Review Schedule: September 6, 2:00pm – 5:45pm September 7, 10:00am – 1:00pm & 2:00pm – 5:30pm September 8, 10:00am – 1:00pm

School of Planning and Public Affairs

Three new faculty join sppa.

Help us welcome three new faculty, Sarah Hofmeyer, Bo Kapatsila, and Sabrina Harris to the School of Planning and Public Affairs. 

Assistant Professor Sarah Hofmeyer was raised in Iowa and received bachelor’s degrees in political science and public administration at the University of Northern Iowa. She then went on to the University of Kansas where she received a master’s in urban and regional planning and PhD in public administration in Spring 2024. Sarah’s research addresses government action and administrative burden in the United States agri-food system. Her work focuses on developing a more sustainable, stewarding, and community-centered food system.

Bogdan Kapatsila completed a PhD at the University of Alberta, Canada, receiving the 2024 Network on European Communications and Transport Activities Research (NECTAR) PhD Award for his dissertation, "The Use of Behavioural Insights for Crowding Management on Public Transit.” He holds an MS in urban and regional planning from the University of Iowa and was a Fulbright Graduate Student, Edmond S. Muskie Professional Fellow, and Hatfield Resident Fellow during that time. Bogdan received a BS in automation and computer integrated technologies and MS in civil engineering at Ternopil Ivan Puluj National Technical University, Ukraine. Bogdan's research is primarily concerned with the sustainability and equity of transportation systems, particularly how land use, built environment, technology, and transport policy influence people's travel behavior and impact their well-being. 

Sabrina Harris holds a BS and MS in architecture and urban planning from the University of São Paulo’s School of Architecture and Urbanism (Brazil), with a thesis on mobility and equity issues related to the spatial structure of São Paulo Metropolitan Area. She has additionally conducted studies on the impact of urban interventions in São Paulo and interned assisting the ADA Coordinator at the Department of City Planning of Pittsburgh, PA. Sabrina also has a minor in civil engineering from the University of São Paulo’s Polytechnic School and a graduate certificate in business administration from Insper (Brazil), both obtained while working as a real estate business consultant for CTE. In that role, she developed methodology and coordinated feasibility studies and financial monitoring of greenfield and brownfield real estate developments.  

Office of Neuroscience Research

Thesis Defense: Tianrui Ma (Electrical and Systems Engineering Program) – “Efficient Data-Driven Machine Vision: A Co-Design of Circuit, Algorithm, and Architecture on Edge Image Sensors”

Thesis lab: Silvia Zhang (WashU Electrical & Systems Engineering)

For inquiries contact Aaron Beagle at [email protected] .

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Bachelor thesis dates winter semester 2024/25, sub-navigation.

Information on applications and deadlines can be found  here .

03-14.06.2024 Declaration of intent to work on the thesis - students in RWTHonline 20.09.2024 Application for admission of external second examiners to Student Advisory Service - [email protected] by 04.10.24 Students submit their application for admission online to the ZPA - [email protected] 18.10.2024 Presentation of project offer at 9:00 am in Zoom

https://rwth.zoom-x.de/j/68976757014?pwd=wiKE8j3D0aeaqIH6zgnTU7qVOGzJpN.1

Meeting ID: 689 7675 7014 Identification code: 330251

18.10.2024 Start of course selection Bachelor thesis 21.10.2024 End of course selection Bachelor thesis 22.10.2024 Allocation of Bachelor's thesis places

25.10.2024 Issue of Bachelor's thesis 25.11.2024 One-time right of return 24.01.2025 Submission of Bachelor's thesis via CMS

28.01.2025 Submission of Bachelor's thesis plans and models 03 - 06 February 2025 Examinations Bachelor thesis 07.02.2025 Hang up plans 14.02.2025 Bachelor thesis grade reports

You will find more information on the project programme here from mid-October.

last updated: 21/08/2024

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Sculpture to honor memory of University of Idaho murder victims

MOSCOW, ID — A dedication ceremony to officially open the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial was held on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, on the University of Idaho campus in Moscow.

Students from the College of Art and Architecture designed and built the garden as a place of healing and reflection and to honor the memories of all Vandals who have died while enrolled at the university.

A memorial sculpture within the garden will specifically memorialize Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Maddie Mogen, the victims of homicide in November 2022 .

Meantime, attorneys for the man accused of killing are asking for his trial to be moved, citing a "mob mentality" in Moscow.

Brian Kohberger's defense team requested to move the case out of town, claiming he can't receive a fair trial in Latah County because of "inflammatory" publicity.

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