The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.
A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.
This week David and Marina discuss undergraduate architecture thesis projects and studios, covering the differences between thesis projects, capstone projects, and dissertations; how to select a thesis topic; how to choose the right studio/professor; the value of doing a thesis; the unique challenges of thesis; and more.
Highlights & Timestamps
The differences between thesis projects, capstone projects, and dissertations. (00:00)
The difference between a thesis project and a typical architecture project. (17:45)
“Any architecture project should have some kind of argument or statement behind it that is project-specific, that applies to the specificities of that project such as its building type, program, location, the people it’s for, or the scale of the project… There will be critical statements that are specific to all of those things. A thesis project however applies not just to one project. Its critique in some ways is field-wide. You’re taking a stance within the scope of the entire field or profession of architecture as opposed to just the one building you’re designing. (18:29)
A great architecture project will have within it both a project-specific thesis and a larger architectural thesis, or it will have a project-specific thesis that ties into or relates to a larger broader thesis and critique about architecture. This is what distinguishes good architecture, from Great Architecture—architecture that is movement creating and world-changing. (19:50)
Choosing the right thesis professor/studio. David and Marina describe their education experience leading up to thesis. (21:21)
Choosing a thesis topic or subject. David and Marina share their experiences. (32:25)
The first step I would take is to look back at the projects you’ve done over the past four years. Try and find the commonalities of the design responses or the positions you took in those projects and see the parallels between them. This will show what your interests were. Once you have that list of interests, try and ask yourself why those interests are there. What must have triggered them? Sometimes it’s due to more personal things such as your life, where you come from, or what you’ve been through. Thesis involves a lot of questioning throughout and the first step in finding a direction is asking a bunch of questions to yourself. If you’re in architecture there’s something that attracts you to architecture… there’s something that triggers you. You just have to find what those things are. (33:38)
Some of the unique challenges of thesis studio. The value of thesis. (47:00)
The goal should be for you to find out what’s your own process, your comfort zone, your tools, and what is going to be the most helpful for you in the next step in your life. That’s what thesis studio should be bringing… not particularly a beautiful building and maybe not a groundbreaking project. The core of what you should really be aiming for is challenging yourself in all the ways you can to see how far you can stretch yourself out, and see who you are then. (52:22)
Refining a thesis topic. Does a thesis have to be original? (54:40)
Balancing research, writing, and an architecture project. (01:17:30)
The purity of a thesis. Not forcing ideas. (01:22:43)
Thesis is not your Christmas tree where you’re putting all the stuff you want—taking all the things you are interested in and patch-working them in, is not the point. That’s not the point at all. It’s actually the complete opposite. It’s extremely focused, very minimal, and very true to itself… and that is actually much more complicated to do. (01:27:58)
Unpacking an interest to find a thesis topic. (01:34:10)
The end of a thesis project. (01:41:12)
Is a thesis project or a capstone project more valuable in preparing for professional practice? (01:48:25)
