the dissertation - an architecture student's handbook

[...]... (AIA) in the USA, or the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in the UK, or the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) in Australia If no dissertation means no degree, then it can also mean no professional qualification For those wanting to be professional architects, doing the dissertation is in many countries not a matter of choice The Handbook. .. kinds of architecture – from the Roman architectural theorist Vitruvius to the modern Robert Venturi some of the most important and influential works of architecture have been books and other kinds of writing.1 Indeed, without these words there would be no buildings, no architects and no architectural study A dissertation is (wordy) architecture made of words It is a way of conceiving and producing architecture. .. strongly indeed to the student’s own studio work The essential thing to bear in mind here is that the word-based work should not be a commentary on the design-based work, and nor should the design-based work be simply the supporting visual evidence for the word-based work Rather words and designs should be used as equivalent and inter-related ways of exploring the same subject matter Other work You will... about the same length as a typical section or chapter With these comparisons in mind, take some time to note the range and organisation of the argument, the kind of depth that you will need to go into, and the types of evidence and documentation referred to Everyday life Architecture does not exist only in the studio and architectural school, but is also out there in the city, on the streets, on the. .. do you want to adopt? Will you have the time and resources to carry them out? Will they show what you want them to show? What point of view about architecture does the use of these methods imply? Personal Writing Another kind of architectural writing is the highly personal one, where the author takes a highly subjective and often quite poetic approach to architecture Examples here range from the journalistic... significance of this architecture when it was built? Has this significance changed over the years? What is its significance today? Questions of reception and experience ● ● ● ● What is the architecture like to look at? Can you experience the architecture other than by looking? Is it different on the inside? Is it different when you move around? 24 The Dissertation ● ● ● ● Is it different in the flesh... separate ‘ideas book’ (see below) Many people find it easiest to keep their notes using a normal-sized pad of paper, and then to transfer pages into a ring-binder at the end of each day This system has two main advantages: ● ● Pages can be rearranged in the ring-binder at a later date to suit the development of your ideas and the structure of your dissertation Only the paper pad has to be carried with... projects By the way, although most architecture schools have very broad definitions of an acceptable dissertation, the one kind of subject that many do entirely ban is the dissertation about yourself: writing directly solely about your own design work is not normally acceptable On the other hand, some of the developments in those dissertation which artfully blend both design-based and word-based work... kind of choice, and this can be an important advantage To help you make your choice, you might like to consider the following Knowledge Obviously it is a good idea if your tutor knows something about the kind of dissertation you want to write However, just like you, even a large group of tutors cannot between them be an expert and authority on absolutely everything, and they consequently cannot be expected... their field by all means go ahead and capitalise on your good fortune Beware, however, that such people are not always the best supervisors Just because they themselves think profoundly and write beautifully does not mean 14 The Dissertation that they will necessarily help you to do the same They may also be less accessible, being constantly called to other conferences, teaching at another institution, . Zimbabwe. Alvin Foo Tze Yang 176 A Society in Transition: the Social and Spatial Production of the Aged Identity in the Changing Landscapes of Care Environments Alexander Franklin 191 The Architecture. that the word-based work should not be a commen- tary on the design-based work, and nor should the design-based work be simply the supporting visual evidence for the word-based work. Rather words. from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN-13: 97 8-0 -7 50 6-6 82 5-5 ISBN-10: 0-7 50 6-6 82 5-3 Printed