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

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architecture diploma thesis

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 topics

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.

Parametric lampchairs 16

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 topics

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.

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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.

5ebaa250e7d0b pexels photo 169677

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.

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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 .

Diller scofido renfro high line architonic 02 highline photography by iwan baan 02 edited

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.

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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.

Green buildings header

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.

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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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architecture diploma thesis

Writing an Architecture Thesis: A-Z Guide

architecture diploma thesis

ishika kapoor

14 min read

January 5, 2022

blog

Table of Contents

How to Choose Your Architecture Thesis Topic

As with most things, taking the first step is often the hardest. Choosing a topic for your architecture thesis is not just daunting but also one that your faculty will not offer much help with. To aid this annual confusion among students of architecture, we've created this resource with tips, topics to choose from, case examples, and links to further reading!

[Read: 7 Tips on Choosing the Perfect Architecture Thesis Topic for you ]

1. What You Love

Might seem like a no-brainer, but in the flurry of taking up a feasible topic, students often neglect this crucial point. Taking up a topic you're passionate about will not just make for a unique thesis, but will also ensure your dedication during tough times.

Think about the things you're interested in apart from architecture. Is it music? Sports? History? Then, look for topics that can logically incorporate these interests into your thesis. For example, I have always been invested in women's rights, and therefore I chose to design rehabilitation shelters for battered women for my thesis. My vested interest in the topic kept me going through heavy submissions and nights of demotivation!

Watch Vipanchi's video above to get insights on how she incorporated her interest in Urban Farming to create a brilliant thesis proposal, which ended up being one of the most viewed theses on the internet in India!

2. What You're Good At

You might admire, say, tensile structures, but it’s not necessary that you’re also good at designing them. Take a good look at the skills you’ve gathered over the years in architecture school- whether it be landscapes, form creation, parametric modelling- and try to incorporate one or two of them into your thesis.

It is these skills that give you an edge and make the process slightly easier.

The other way to look at this is context-based , both personal and geographical. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you have a unique insight into a particular town by virtue of having spent some time there?

• Do you come from a certain background , like doctors, chefs, etc? That might give you access to information not commonly available.

• Do you have a stronghold over a particular built typology?

3. What the World Needs

By now, we’ve covered two aspects of picking your topic which focus solely on you. However, your thesis will be concerned with a lot more people than you! A worthy objective to factor in is to think about what the world needs which can combine with what you want to do.

For example, say Tara loves photography, and has unique knowledge of its processes. Rather than creating a museum for cameras, she may consider a school for filmmaking or even a film studio!

Another way to look at this is to think about socio-economically relevant topics, which demonstrate their own urgency. Think disaster housing, adaptive reuse of spaces for medical care, etcetera. Browse many such categories in our resource below!

[Read: 30 Architecture Thesis Topics You Can Choose From ]

4. What is Feasible

Time to get real! As your thesis is a project being conducted within the confines of an institution as well as a semester, there are certain constraints which we need to take care of:

• Site/Data Accessibility: Can you access your site? Is it possible to get your hands on site data and drawings in time?

• Size of Site and Built-up Area: Try for bigger than a residential plot, but much smaller than urban scale. The larger your site/built-up, the harder it will be to do justice to it.

• Popularity/Controversy of Topic: While there’s nothing wrong with going for a popular or controversial topic, you may find highly opinionated faculty/jury on that subject, which might hinder their ability to give unbiased feedback.

• Timeline! Only you know how productive you are, so go with a topic that suits the speed at which you work. This will help you avoid unnecessary stress during the semester.

How to Create an Area Program for your Architecture Thesis

Watch SPA Delhi Thesis Gold-Medallist Nishita Mohta talk about how to create a good quality area program.

Watch SPA Delhi Thesis Gold-Medallist Nishita Mohta talk about how to create a good quality area program.

Often assumed to be a quantitative exercise, creating an area program is just as much a qualitative effort. As Nishita says, “An area program is of good quality when all user experiences are created with thought and intention to enhance the usage of the site and social fabric.”

Essentially, your area program needs to be human-centric, wherein each component is present for a very good reason. Rigorously question the existence of every component on your program for whether it satisfies an existing need, or creates immense value for users of your site.

To this end, you need to create three lists:

• A list of proposed spaces by referring to area programs of similar projects;

• A list of needs of your users which can be fulfilled by spatial intervention.

• A list of existing functions offered by your immediate context.

Once you put these lists side-by-side, you’ll see that you are able to match certain needs of users to some proposed spaces on your list, or to those in the immediate context.

However, there will be some proposed spaces which do not cater to any need, and needs that are not catered to by any of the spaces. There will also be certain proposed spaces which are redundant because the context already fulfils that need.

This when you remove redundant spaces to create ones for unmatched needs, and viola, you have a good quality area program!

Confused? Here’s an example from the above video. Nishita originally intended to provide a typical eatery on her site, which she later realised was redundant because several eateries already existed around it. In this manner, she was able to fulfil the actual needs of her users- one of which was to be able to rest without having to pay for anything- rather than creating a generic, unnecessary space.

How to Identify Key Stakeholders for Your Architecture Thesis

“A stakeholder? You mean investors in my thesis?”, you scoff.

You’re not wrong! Theoretically, there are several people invested in your thesis! A stakeholder in an architectural project is anyone who has interest and gets impacted by the process or outcome of the project.

At this point, you may question why it’s important to identify your stakeholders. The stakeholders in your thesis will comprise of your user groups, and without knowing your users, you can’t know their needs or design for them!

There are usually two broad categories of stakeholders you must investigate:

• Key Stakeholders: Client and the targeted users

• Invisible Stakeholders: Residents around the site, local businesses, etc.

Within these broad categories, start by naming the kind of stakeholder. Are they residents in your site? Visitors? Workers? Low-income neighbours? Once you’ve named all of them, go ahead and interview at least one person from each category!

The reason for this activity is that you are not the all-knowing Almighty. One can never assume to know what all your users and stakeholders need, and therefore, it’s essential to understand perspectives and break assumptions by talking directly to them. This is how you come up with the aforementioned 'List of Needs', and through it, an area program with a solid footing.

An added advantage of carrying out this interviewing process is that at the end of the day, nobody, not even the jury, can question you on the relevance of a function on your site!

Why Empathy Mapping is Crucial for Your Architecture Thesis

Okay, I interviewed my stakeholders, but I can’t really convert a long conversation into actionable inputs. What do I do?

This is where empathy mapping comes in. It basically allows you to synthesize your data and reduce it to the Pain Points and Gain Points of your stakeholders, which are the inferences of all your observations.

• Pain Points: Problems and challenges that your users face, which you should try to address through design.

• Gain Points: Aspirations of your users which can be catered to through design.

In the above video, Nishita guides you through using an empathy map, so I would highly recommend our readers to watch it. The inferences through empathy mapping are what will help you create a human-centric design that is valuable to the user, the city, and the social fabric.

Download your own copy of this Empathy Map by David Gray , and get working!

Beyond Case Studies: Component Research for your Architecture Thesis

Coming to the more important aspects, it’s essential to know whether learning a new skill will expand your employability prospects. Otherwise, might as well just spend the extra time sleeping. Apart from being a highly sought-after skill within each design field, Rhinoceros is a unique software application being used across the entire spectrum of design. This vastly multiples your chances of being hired and gives you powerful versatility as a freelancer or entrepreneur. The following are some heavyweights in the design world where Rhino 3D is used:

Case Studies are usually existing projects that broadly capture the intent of your thesis. But, it’s not necessary that all components on your site will get covered in depth during your case studies.', 'Instead, we recommend also doing individual Component (or Typology) Research, especially for functions with highly technical spatial requirements.

For example, say you have proposed a residence hall which has a dining area, and therefore, a kitchen- but you have never seen an industrial kitchen before. How would you go about designing it?', 'Not very well!', 'Or, you’re designing a research institute with a chemistry lab, but you don’t know what kind of equipment they use or how a chem lab is typically laid out.

But don’t freak out, it’s not necessary that all of this research needs to be in person! You can use a mixture of primary and secondary studies to your advantage. The point of this exercise is to deeply understand each component on your site such that you face lesser obstacles while designing.

[Read: Site Analysis Categories You Need to Cover For Your Architecture Thesis Project ]" ]

The Technique of Writing an Experiential Narrative for your Architecture Thesis

A narrative? You mean writing? What does that have to do with anything?

A hell of a lot, actually! While your area programs, case studies, site analysis, etc. deal with the tangible, the experience narrative is about the intangible. It is about creating a story for what your user would experience as they walk through the space, which is communicated best in the form of text. This is done for your clarity before you start designing, to be your constant reference as to what you aim to experientially achieve through design.

At the end of the day, all your user will consciously feel is the experience of using your space, so why not have a clear idea of what we want to achieve?

This can be as long or as short as you want, it’s completely up to you! To get an example of what an experience narrative looks like, download the ebook and take a look at what Nishita wrote for her thesis.

Overcoming Creative Blocks During Your Architecture Thesis

Ah, the old enemy of the artist, the Creative Block. Much has been said about creative blocks over time, but there’s not enough guidance on how to overcome them before they send your deadline straight to hell.

When you must put your work out into the world for judgement, there is an automatic fear of judgement and failure which gets activated. It is a defensive mechanism that the brain creates to avoid potential emotional harm.

So how do we override this self-destructive mechanism?

As Nishita says, just waiting for the block to dissolve until we magically feel okay again is not always an option. Therefore, we need to address the block there and then, and to systematically seek inspiration which would help us with a creative breakthrough.

This is where the concept of Divergent and Convergent Thinking comes in.

• Divergent Thinking: Say you browse through ideas on pinterest to get inspired. If you’re in a creative rut, do just that, but don’t worry about implementing any of those ideas. Freely and carelessly jot down everything that inspires you right now regardless of how unfeasible they may be. This is called Divergent Thinking! This process will help unclog your brain and free it from anxiety.

Snippet from the video explaining divergent and convergent thinking.

Divergent and convergent thinking.

• Convergent Thinking: Now, using the various constraints of your architecture thesis project, keep or eliminate those ideas based on how feasible they are for your thesis. This is called Convergent Thinking. You’ll either end up with some great concepts to pursue, or have become much more receptive to creative thinking!

Feel free to use Nishita’s Idea Dashboard (example in the video) to give an identity to the ideas you chose to go forward with. Who knows, maybe your creative block will end up being what propels you forward in your ideation process!

How to Prototype Form and Function During Your Architecture Thesis

Prototyping is one of the most crucial processes of your architecture thesis project. But what exactly does it mean?

“A preliminary version of your designed space which can be used to give an idea of various aspects of your space is known as a prototype.”

As Nishita explains in the video above, there can be endless kinds of prototypes that you can explore for your thesis, and all of them explain different parts of your designed space. However, the two aspects of your thesis most crucial to communicate through prototyping are Form and Function.

As we know, nothing beats physical or 3D models as prototypes of form. But how can you prototype function? Nishita gives the example of designing a School for the Blind , wherein you can rearrange your actual studio according to principles you’re using to design for blind people. And then, make your faculty and friends walk through the space with blindfolds on! Prototyping doesn’t get better than this.

In the absence of time or a physical space, you may also explore digital walkthroughs to achieve similar results. Whatever your method may be, eventually the aim of the prototype is to give a good idea of versions of your space to your faculty, friends, or jury, such that they can offer valuable feedback. The different prototypes you create during your thesis will all end up in formulating the best possible version towards the end.

Within the spectrum of prototypes, they also may vary between Narrative Prototypes and Experiential Prototypes. Watch the video above to know where your chosen methods lie on this scale and to get more examples of fascinating prototyping!

How to Convert Feedback (Crits) into Action During Your Architecture Thesis Project

Nishita talks about how to efficiently capture feedback and convert them into actionable points during your architecture thesis process.

Nishita talks about how to efficiently capture feedback and convert them into actionable points during your architecture thesis process.

If you’ve understood the worth of prototyping, you would also know by now that those prototypes are only valuable if you continuously seek feedback on them. However, the process of taking architectural ‘crits’ (critique) can often be a prolonged, meandering affair and one may come out of them feeling dazed, hopeless and confused. This is especially true for the dreaded architecture thesis crits!

To avoid that, Nishita suggests capturing feedback efficiently in a simple grid, noting remarks under the following four categories:

• Amplify: There will be certain aspects of your thesis that your faculty and friends would appreciate, or would point out as key features of your design that must be made more prominent. For example, you may have chosen to use a certain definitive kind of window in a space, which you could be advised to use more consistently across your design. This is the kind of feedback you would put under ‘Amplify’.

• Address: More often, you will receive feedback which says, ‘this is not working’ or ‘you’ve done nothing to address this problem’. In such cases, don’t get dejected or defensive, simply note the points under the ‘Address’ column. Whether you agree with the advice or not, you cannot ignore it completely!

• Explore: Sometimes, you get feedback that is totally out of the blue or is rather unclear in its intent. Don’t ponder too long over those points during your crit at the cost of other (probably more important) aspects. Rather, write down such feedback under the ‘Explore’ column, to investigate further independently.

• Consider: When someone looks at your work, their creative and problem-solving synapses start firing as well, and they are likely to come up with ideas of their own which you may not have considered. You may or may not want to take them up, but it is a worthy effort to put them down under the ‘Consider’ column to ruminate over later!

Following this system, you would come out of the feedback session with action points already in hand! Feel free to now go get a coffee, knowing that you have everything you need to continue developing your architecture thesis project.

How to Structure Your Architecture Thesis Presentation for a Brilliant Jury

And so, together, we have reached the last stage of your architecture thesis project: The Jury. Here, I will refrain from telling you that this is the most important part of the semester, as I believe that the process of learning is a lot more valuable than the outcome. However, one cannot deny the satisfaction of a good jury at the end of a gruelling semester!

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ARCHITECTURE DIPLOMA PROJECTS - A MODEL OR A COMPETITION. FROM CRITIC TO ARCHITECTURE - RESULTS AND SYNTHESIS IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

Profile image of Marina Mihaila

2018, CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURES. FROM OBJECT TO TERRITORY

If architecture could be understood as a generic term and seen as a structure, a thinking module of conceiving objects, so the Architecture of Architecture how might be perceived? Could formative education from architecture field be a way to "architecture"/ structure Architecture? The result analysis on the diploma projects could be a verifying instrument for sketching the future priorities and of new educational abilities to train. Misunderstandings from the students projects within the architecture education that are proving our results are not at the best level but equally the successful results of the students could set a high level of architecture school to be proud of. On the other direction, exhibitions with best diploma projects (two sessions of annual public defense having international jury) prove some durable principles implementing for forming abilities and demonstrating the necessary competencies for a sustainable thinking for the future architect, product of school of architecture. More, the development of the two editions of the international competition for architecture diploma projects EAM-European Architectural Medals for the Best Diploma Projects (EAM BDP)-organized by UAUIM / IMUAU in partnership with AEEA and ACE, value besides the abilities formation needed for the architect profession, also a synthetic decisional and critical thinking upon premises organizing, formulating questions and of the correlated decisions for targeting a final notable result. Concluding, architecture critic could be the applicable basis of a succinct analysis-included critic for the priority defining level of school of architecture, towards the model of conceiving of a project to diminish errors and prevent risks. The result of a critical analysis in forming abilities and demonstrating competencies could constitute a system of verification-communication on multiple levels of few common managerial and curricula's principles implication, simple in appliance, with multiple targets, for a sustainable professional space-time, and for rethinking a system of educational products: project-student-future professional-architectural community. Cuvinte cheie: diplome, arhitectură, model, rezultate educația universitară, UAUIM

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Thesis project / Project Thesis

As the culminating effort for the Master of Architecture degree, a “Thesis” entails multiple expectations. It is a demonstration not only of competency and expertise, but of originality and relevance. A thesis is an opportunity to conceive and execute work that is both a specific project (delimited in scope, with a specific set of appropriate deliverables) as well as a declaration of a wider “Project” (possessing disciplinary value, and contributing to a larger discourse). This class will address both valences of the architectural  “project,” while providing space for students to develop methodological approaches for their own thesis.  Over the course of  a series of lectures and seminars, we will study the theory and practice of the architectural thesis by examining its institutional history and disciplinary development, in order to understand the conventions and possibilities of the format. In workshop sessions, as preparation for their own theses, students will work towards the articulation of their topics. This will include: identifying relevant precedents and existing literature; defining a site and program (however broad); and working through first iterations of working methods.  With these efforts, the aim of the course is for students to be equipped to undertake a thesis project in every sense.

Theses and Dissertations

architecture diploma thesis

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

architecture diploma thesis

architecture diploma thesis

Diploma Thesis

10th semester

Course Code number:

Dept 1: “Architectural Design”

Dept 2: “Urban and Regional Planning”

Dept 3: “Architectural Language, Communication and Design”

Dept 4: “Technological Cutting Edge Compositions”

Course Type:

Design and Theory

Teaching Direction Content:

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Architecture Masters Theses

Architecture Masters Theses

RISD’s Master of Architecture program is one of the few in the US embedded in a college of art and design. Here, architecture is taught in a way that understands the practice of design and making as a thoughtful, reflective process that both engenders and draws from social, political, material, technological and cultural agendas. The program aims to empower students to exercise their creativity by understanding their role as cultural creators and equipping them to succeed in the client-based practice of architecture.

The degree project represents the culmination of each student’s interests relative to the curriculum. A seminar in the fall of the final year helps focus these interests into a plan of action. Working in small groups of five or six under the guidance of a single professor, students pursue individual projects throughout Wintersession and spring semester. Degree projects are expected to embody the architectural values that best characterize their authors as architects and are critiqued based on the success of translating these values into tangible objects.

Graduate Program Director: Hansy Better Barraza

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

Theses from 2024 2024

Reform Craft | Re-Form Clay , Katherine Badenhausen

Narrative Structures , Theodore Badenhausen

Room to Grieve: The Space of Solace in Public Life , Lauren Blonde

Frontier: Land, Architecture, and Abstraction , Jacob Boatman

Rhythm of Space , Brian Carrillo

Searching for the Hyperobject: Crystals as Transscalar Vehicles , Jay Costello

Unconditioning Air , Weijia Deng

(Matter)ial Revolution , Aleza Epstein

Building the Body , Jasmine Flowers

House Calls , Gregory Goldstone

Culinary community: Collaborative Relationship Building through Improvisational Fine Dining , Victoria Goodisman

Textile Tectonics: Shaping Space Through Soft Studies , Lela Gunderson

Hong Kong’s Architectural Resistance: Practice Through Research , Jingjing Huang

“Modern Nomads”: Unfolding Domesticity , Yifan Hu

Mind Follows Matter , Fiona Libby

Curb Appeal , Eric Liu

Dreampool , Xia Li

Atelier Interloper , Isabel Jane Marvel

Entre Manos Y Barro: Innovando Con Tradición , Jose Mata

Patchwork: 76km between Juárez and El Paso , Naheyla Medina

The Dollhouse , Kristina Miesel

A Dispatch from the Site Office , Adrian Pelliccia

Infinite Plane: Metaphysical Architecture + Digital Space , Isabella Ruggiero

Icons of Solitude: Peace, Quiet, and the Urban Condition , Jack Schildge

Beyond the Idle Machine: Spatio-Subjective Architecture , Andrew Schnurr

snowstorm , Caleb Shafer

Corner Revolution: Beyond “skynet”, Brightening Grey space and Building Security , Caimin Shen

Living Surfaces , Ryan R. Sotelo

THE RUNIS: HOW CAN SOCIAL REMIDATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL REMEIDATION BE LINKED THROGUH ARCHITECTURE? , Tayu Ting

Entropic Accumulation , Abby Tuckett

What does water want? , Julia Woznicki

Design With Decay , Charlotte Wyman

LifeLink , Yuan Yuan

Architecture As A Carbon-Based Practice , Qixin Yu

Theses from 2023 2023

Ghost Hotel , George Acosta

Cohabitation x Adaptation, 2100: A Climate Change Epoch , Kyle Andrews

Reintroducing Hemp (rongony) in the Material Palette of Madagascar: A study on the potential of Hemp Clay components and its impact on social and ecological communities. , Henintsoa Thierry Andrianambinina

Norteada- En Busca De un Nuevo Norte. Cocoon Portals and the Negotiation of Space. , Kimberly Ayala Najera

Decolonial Perspective on Fashion and Sustainability , Haisum Basharat

Psychochoreography , Nora Bayer

Whale Fall·Building Fall , Jiayi Cai

Means and Methods: Pedagogy and Proto-Architecture , Daniel Choconta

The Miacomet Movement , Charles Duce

Unpacked: Consumer Culture in Suburban Spaces , Jaime Dunlap

you're making me sentimental , Chris Geng

Myths, Legends, and Landscapes , Oromia Jula

Old and New: Intervention in Space and Material , Yoonji Kang

Urban Succession: an ecocentric urbanism , Anthony Kershaw

An Architect's Toolkit for Color Theory , ella knight

WAST3D POTENTIAL , Andrew Larsen

Sustainable Seismic Architecture: Exploring the Synergy of Mortise-and-Tenon Joinery and Modern Timber Construction for Reducing Embodied Carbon , Cong Li

Recipes for Building Relationships , Adriana Lintz

Water Relations, Understanding Our Relationship to Water: Through Research, Diagrams, and Glass , Tian Li

Exploring Permanent Temporariness: A Look into the Palestinian Experience through Refugee Camps , Tamara Malhas

A Study of Dwelling , Julia McArthur

Appropriate that Bridge: Appropriation as a way of Intervention , Haochen Meng

Toronto Rewilded , Forrest Meyer

Confronting and Caring for Spaces of Service , Tia Miller

Reorientation , Soleil Nguyen

The De-centering of Architecture , Uthman Olowa

[De]Composition: Grounding Architecture , Skylar Perez

Soft City: Reclaiming Urban Public Spaces for Play , Jennifer Pham

We Have a (Home) - Co-operative Homes for Sunset Park , Lisa Qiu

The Incremental Ecosystem: Hybridizing Self-Built + Conventional Processes as a Solution to Urban Expansion , Shayne Serrano

Liberdade para quem? - Layered Histories , Vanessa Shimada

Tracing as Process , Lesley Su

The Design of Consequences , Yuqi Tang

On the Edge of the "Er-Ocean" State , Mariesa Travers

Beyond the White Box: Building Alternative Art Spaces for the Black Community , Elijah Trice

Translational Placemaking: The Diasporic Archive , Alia Varawalla

Unearthing Complexity: Tangible Histories of Water and Earth , Alexis Violet

Ritual as Design Gesture: Reimagining the Spring Festival in Downtown Providence , wenjie wang

Spatial Reveries , Alexander Wenstrup

Public-ish , Aliah Werth

Phantom Spaces , Craytonia Williams II

Navigating Contextualism: An architectural and urban design study at the intersection of climate, culture, urban development, and globalization Case Study of Dire Dawa , Ruth Wondimu

Green Paths - On the Space In-Between Buildings , Hongru Zhang

Blowing Away , Ziyi Zhao

Uncovering Emotional Contamination: Five Sites of Trauma , Abigail Zola

Theses from 2022 2022

Revisionist Zinealog : a coacted countercultural device , Madaleine Ackerman

Reengineer value , Maxwell Altman

Space in sound , Gidiony Rocha Alves

Anybody home? Figural studies in architectural representation , David Auerbach

An atlas of speculating flooded futures ; water keeps rising , Victoria Barlay

Notes on institutional architecture ; towards and understanding of erasure and conversation , Liam Burke

For a moment, I was lost ; a visual reflection on the process of grief and mortality within the home , Adam Chiang-Harris

Remnants , Sarah Chriss

A thesis on the entanglement of art and design , Racquel Clarke

Community conservation & engagement through the architecture of public transportation , Liam Costello

Sacred pleasures : a patronage festival of the erotic and play , David Dávila

Caregivers as worldbuilders , Caitlin Dippo

Youkoso Tokyo : Guidebook to a new cybercity , Evelyn Ehgotz

Home: a landscape of narratives ; spaces through story telling , Tania S. Estrada

A digital surreal , Michael Garel-Martorana

Moving through time , Anca Gherghiceanu

Rising to the occasion : a resiliency strategy for Brickell, Miami , Stephanie Gottlieb

Food for an island : on the relationships between agriculture, architecture and land , Melinda Groenewegen

Towards a new immersion , Kaijie Huang

Astoria houses: a resilient community , James Juscik

Healing the Black Butterfly: reparation through resources , Danasha Kelly

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How To Choose A Thesis Topic For Architecture

1.recognize what motivates you.

When selecting a thesis topic for architecture, consider what inspires and motivates you. If a subject or potential project sparks your interest, then use that as a starting point. Consider the different aspects of the architecture discipline that you are passionate about, such as structure, materiality or sustainable practices. Identify whether the topics you are interested in are the latest trends, established focus areas or something with a historical context.

2.Analyze Your Skillset

3.research possible thesis topics.

Conduct research prior to selecting your thesis topic. View previous year’s thesis projects to gain a better understanding of the depth and types of research undertaken by architecture students. Read through industry journals, magazines and online articles. Explore the current architecture debate, analyzing what is relevant and trending in the landscape of architecture.

4.Think Practically

5.seek out experienced advice.

Involve faculty members and seek out advice from experts in the field of architecture who can provide you with knowledgeable insight. A range of people, from academics and industry professionals to construction personnel and even your family, could provide valuable input regarding your topic selection.

6.Write A Working Thesis Statement

Following research and consultation, form a working thesis statement for your architecture topic. This statement should define what you propose to research and explain the outcomes that you wish to achieve by the end of your thesis project. Ensure that your statement is positive, concise and free from the use of jargon.

7.Collaborate With Peers

Discuss your thesis topic, research and intentions with fellow peers to leverage their feedback and ideas. This collaborative environment, however, mustn’t distract you from the focus of your sequence. Stick to what motivates you as outlined in point one, and filter any potential ideas through the prism of your skillset as addressed in point two.

8.Review and Finalize

Additional section 1: collect information and data.

Collecting relevant information and data is a key part of choosing a thesis topic for architecture. Firstly, research the background of the potential problem or solution you want to address. Considering what data is already available and any potential sources can be valuable in this exercise. Acquire comprehensive and up-to-date sources of information to support the content of your thesis. Rely on information from a range of people who have experience in the topic, such as past architecture students, industry professionals or construction personnel. Secondly, build a bibliography of key literature and articles that are relevant to the chosen topic. Thirdly, develop a timeline for data collection, which helps you to stay organized and meet deadlines. Lastly, ensure that data is collected ethically and in an appropriate manner for the project.

Additional Section 2: Study Similar Thesis Topics

Studying and reviewing similar thesis topics can facilitate in choosing an appropriate thesis topic for architecture. Firstly, assess the topics that have been explored in the past to determine what topics have been explored and what topics have gained traction in terms of gaining recognition. Secondly, exploring existing research can provide insight into potential research directions, methodologies and approaches. Thirdly, assess the potential of projects that have been successful compared with those that were unsuccessful. Lastly, review the latest trends and breakthroughs in the architecture discipline.

Additional Section 3: Refine Your Thesis Idea

Additional section 4: refine your research methodology.

Refining the research methodology of your thesis is an important step in choosing a thesis topic for architecture. Firstly, determine the research approaches you are going to use, such as quantitative or qualitative methods or a mix of both. Secondly, ascertain whether the chosen research methods best serve the research topic. Thirdly, identify any potential limitations or constraints on the research, such as availability of data or access to key informants or locations. Fourthly, develop an appropriate research plan to ensure effectiveness and accuracy of the work. The research plan should include the methods to be used in the research, the research design and the data analysis protocol. Lastly, make sure that the research plan is up-to-date, ethical and feasible within the available timeframe and resources.

Anita Johnson

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Best 170 Architecture Thesis Topics For All Students

architecture thesis topics

Architecture thesis topics may be difficult to find because there are so many subjects and possible topics. However, good thesis topics for architecture are the ones that you have a personal interest in. Before picking architecture thesis topics, you also need to ask yourself if the topic is significant or realistically doable.

Choosing Thesis Topics For Architecture

Architecture thesis projects topics, master of architecture thesis topics, industrial architecture thesis topics, institutional architecture thesis topics, sustainable architecture thesis topics.

What is the best way to choose dissertation topics? This guide will highlight how to pick interesting architectural thesis topics. Here are some factors to consider when searching for architecture thesis project ideas :

Pick a Topic That Interests You

While picking creative architecture thesis topics, you need to opt for a topic that you are personally interested in. You can easily get bored with your undergraduate architecture thesis projects, that is why you need something that you are passionate about. It will help you to stay motivated and inspired to create a unique project.

Set a Small Scope

It can be tempting to pick dissertation topics in architecture that are too expansive. This reduces the delivery time. It is safer to start with a simple version of the topic and includes some complexity later if necessary.

Find Architecture Thesis Topics That Reflect Your Skills

Everyone has unique skill sets that they have developed over time. There is no single person who is perfect at everything. When you know your technical and creative capabilities, you will be able to pick thesis topics in architecture that employs your expertise.

Can You Find Enough Research On The Topic?

Unusual architectural thesis topics require lots of research and analysis before starting. Therefore, it is essential to pick an area of study with a substantial amount of work already done. It will help you to easily analyze, compare, and draw conclusions.

Balance It Between Art And Science

While searching for architecture dissertation topics, students often dig themselves a grave. They tend to view the project as a culmination of a long program rooted deep in art and theory. You need to pick a topic that balances art and science. It shouldn’t be too abstract, so your teacher will know that you understand the issues raised.

Don’t Forget To Tie It To Your Plans For The Future

Your architecture thesis topics should be aligned with your plans. It should reflect your experience or interest in a specialized subject. It will play an important role as a part of your portfolio.

Pick Architecture Thesis Topics That Solve A Real Problem

Your thesis topics architecture ideas shouldn’t just be theoretical, they should also solve a real-world problem. The world struggles with several issues, such as population growth, climate change, and a lack of proper distribution of resources. So, find a topic that can solve a socio-environmental problem using design intervention.

  • Creation of affordable housing
  • Development waterfront property
  • Airport functioning
  • Heritage museums
  • Skyscraper design
  • Cinema and theatre architecture
  • Suburban homes for multi-families
  • Multimedia film city
  • Gaming and Animation studio
  • Aquarium-Aqua display and design
  • Marine park design
  • Lightning excellence center
  • MTRS study and station
  • Modern art museum
  • Convention center
  • Automobile training center
  • Archaeological survey institute
  • Luxury beach-facing apartments
  • The bus terminal with a commercial complex
  • School of art & design
  • Cruise terminal design
  • Bio-climatic buildings
  • Media center
  • Cricket stadium display
  • Disaster management institute
  • Resort design
  • Polo retreat
  • Television and film institute
  • The transit system as well as the possible improvements
  • Educational Institute for all rural children
  • A local heritage site
  • The lighting system in the Egyptian Pyramids
  • Film city studios, gaming area as well its structure
  • Underwater restaurants in different parts of the globe for light, electricity, and sanitation.
  • The transformation node found at the Lancaster
  • The heat/cooling systems in beach huts
  • Checking pressure and oxygen levels for building tourists spots
  • Fashion Fiesta Paris
  • The Golden Gate and architecture
  • An archaeologist’s point of view of China from a survey of China
  • WHO’s headquarters and renovation
  • The ideal environment for a Rehab
  • Russian fairytale-style homes and huts
  • A clear insight into the auto industry
  • Installing swimming pools in a mall
  • Training centers for adults in Texas
  • Buildings for religious purposes
  • Comparing contemporary vs. traditional housing
  • Deconstructing a typical school to make room for collaboration and creativity
  • Apartments for couples
  • Multifamily suburban homes
  • The power of air: leaving closed windows for good
  • Semidetached and row houses
  • Staying on the budget while creating an architectural masterpiece
  • Single-family suburban homes
  • Hotels and residence
  • Single-family country homes
  • Developing healthy living spots in third-world countries
  • Design of Ruled Surfaces.
  • A method to design the kinetic planar surface using mathematical tessellation techniques.
  • Waterfront development of an exhibition center
  • Bio-inspired design for adaptable structures
  • Construction of time conception
  • A critical view of architecture – is it sustainable?
  • Analytical studies of design potentials in architecture
  • Determination of the concept of place in the built environment’s reproduction process
  • Aqua display/Research Center
  • Forest Research/Training Institute
  • Archaeological Survey of Canada – Research and Training Institute
  • Luxury Sea-front Studios at Ottawa
  • Digital Morphogenesis as well as Its Implementation
  • Bio-climatic Tower
  • Mass rapid transit system study and station
  • Designing organic structures to withstand time
  • Showing culture in structures
  • Maximizing size in miniature apartments
  • Architectural trends at most transportation hubs
  • Redefining a city with architecture
  • Renovating century-old structures without losing the culture
  • Outdoor architecture: creating getaways in small backyards.

A master of architecture qualification provides students with the relevant knowledge, skills, and values needed to enter the architecture sector and pursue opportunities and careers in this profession for master thesis help . It focuses on developing the ability to adapt to change in the diverse and critical world we live in. students are allowed to create a speculative and reflective relationship to their work.

  • The introduction of biotechnology in architecture design for adaptable structures.
  • An analytical assessment of mathematical organization methods in active flat surface plans.
  • The consideration of soil and terrain conditions to determine adequate story building locations.
  • A conceptual method for the outline and fabrication of cultural centers and foundations
  • Finding the importance of a town or county’s various buildings and structures.
  • A critical analysis of the architectural techniques used to construct the lighting within the ancient pyramids of Giza.
  • An evaluation of the restaurants near the coastline in various areas of the country with important consideration on plumbing, air supply, and lighting.
  • An analysis of China’s Great Wall with consideration of the structure’s historical significance.
  • Understanding the impact of certain architectural codes and protocols on the environment.
  • The possibility to achieve inexpensive house construction plans in first-world countries.
  • Why do the majority of third-world countries have substandard housing structures?
  • A case study on the significance of all learners of architecture in the profession.
  • An analysis of the primary conditions that affect buildings in places that are susceptible to earthquakes.
  • Building methods and consideration for constructions with the ability to endure natural disasters.
  • A detailed report of the Twin Towers and the popularity of skyscraper construction.
  • The significance of applied science in defining modern housing from traditional examples.
  • Using records in architecture to understand the history of the profession.
  • A critical analysis of architectural photography.
  • The evaluation of cost considerations in architectural specifications and estimations.
  • What motivates different architectural drawings and concepts.
  • Case studies on sustainable modern design structures.
  • The importance of digital mapping and concepts in architecture.
  • Methods of limiting energy loss.

Industrial architecture is a branch of architecture that is used for the design of industrial buildings. These buildings need to be designed with consideration of their main purpose, which is to process raw materials. Their designs need to prioritize safety and optimal function over aesthetics and exterior appeal.

With the increased evolution taking place in technology today, industrial buildings and their designs need to adapt and keep up. This is why it calls for more research and consideration since industrial buildings are a need for modern society.

  • Waterfront development – Beach convention and exhibition centers.
  • Design of ruled surfaces.
  • Construction of time conception in the architectural realm.
  • A critical view of sustainable architecture.
  • Determination of Place concept in the reproduction process of the built environment.
  • Analytical study of the design potentials in kinetic architecture.
  • Is deconstructive architecture useful?
  • How did brutalism and contemporary architectures influence the world?
  • Current trends in parametric architecture.
  • How will traditional industrial structures be made more environmentally friendly and sustainable?
  • Industrial architecture’s evolution.
  • A critical analysis of the Dockland building, Germany.
  • What purpose does industrial architecture play in creating a safe environment?
  • Where do the professions of car construction and manufacturing come together?
  • Industrial architecture during the industrial revolution.
  • Evaluation of daylight in office buildings.
  • Analysis of different lifestyle interactions.
  • The purpose of reinforced concrete skeleton systems and earthquake’s effect on them.
  • The future of architecture with the consideration of space exploration.
  • The purpose of environmental science and social anthropology in architecture.
  • Making architecture design studios relevant in the technological era.
  • Extra skills are necessary for working on complex architectural projects.
  • How collaboration is helping architectures achieve complex structural needs.

This is the branch of architecture that deals with environmental, social, and economic factors. This profession is based on various rules and traditions that were passed down for centuries. It grants architects the ability to find new ways to innovate the architectural industry.

Over time, the design for buildings all over the world evolves and is influenced by different cultures and styles. This can give the structure of the building different meanings and provides various opportunities to discuss its design and reason to be built.

  • Theme parks and attractions
  • Religious buildings
  • Auditoriums
  • Sport facilities
  • Art galleries
  • Cultural centers and foundations
  • School and universities
  • Bars and discotheques
  • Shopping malls
  • Theaters and cinemas
  • Restaurants
  • Transportation thesis on airports
  • Train stations
  • Urban transport
  • Promenades and streets
  • Urban parks
  • Stores and showrooms
  • Peripheral parks
  • Urban monuments and land art

Sustainable architecture is the use of various plans and techniques to withstand the negative effect on the environment of modern man-made structures. Architects would take all aspects of the project, from landscape to water drainage, and determine the best way for the building to function with the least impact on the environment. These buildings and designs need to ensure that they are functional, appealing to the eye, and have as little carbon footprint as possible.

  • Neighborhood development
  • Community garden concepts
  • Waste recycling facilities
  • Heritage building restoration
  • Rehabilitation housing
  • Riverfront development
  • SMART village
  • Net-Zero energy building
  • Bermed structure
  • Regenerative design
  • Urban Agriculture center
  • Revitalizing abandoned mills and processing buildings
  • Eco-tourism facilities
  • Revival of an old building
  • Repurpose a building
  • Redevelopment of a slum
  • Vertical farm
  • Wetland restoration
  • Energy efficiency in buildings
  • How the location of the building is necessary for sustainability

Picking one of the topics above may help you get a head start on your paper. However, if you still need dissertation writing help, you can find professionals to help you with fresh ideas to work on.

Are you stuck with writing your thesis? Just enter promo “ mythesis ” – that’s all you need to get a 20% discount for any architecture writing assignment you might have!

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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 six faculty members: Michael Osman (MA/PhD program director), Cristóbal Amunátegui , Dana Cuff , Samaa Elimam , Salmaan Craig , and Ayala Levin . A number of visiting faculty teach courses to expand the range of offerings.

Applications for the MA/PhD program (Fall 2025 matriculation) are completed via the UCLA Application for Graduate Admission , and are due January 6, 2025. Candidates will be notified of decisions in March 2025; admitted candidates who wish to accept the offer of matriculation must submit their Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) by April 15, 2025.

architecture diploma thesis

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

FALL
290 Colloquium (-)
000 Elective in Critical Studies (-)
000 General Elective (-)
WINTER
290 Colloquium (-)
000 Elective in Critical Studies (-)
000 General Elective (-)
SPRING
290 Colloquium (-)
000 Elective in Critical Studies (-)
000 General Elective (-)

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

FALL
290 Colloquium (-)
000 Elective in Critical Studies (-)
000 General Elective/Language* (-)
WINTER
290 Colloquium (-)
000 Elective in Critical Studies (-)
000 General Elective/Language* (-)
SPRING
290 Colloquium (-)
000 Elective in Critical Studies (-)
000 Thesis/Language* (-)

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

FALL
597 Preparation for Comprehensive Exam (-)
WINTER
597 Preparation for Comprehensive Exam (-)
SPRING
597 Preparation for Comprehensive Exam (-)

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.

architecture diploma thesis

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.

architecture diploma thesis

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

architecture diploma thesis

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.

architecture diploma thesis

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

architecture diploma thesis

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

architecture diploma thesis

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

architecture diploma thesis

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

architecture diploma thesis

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.

architecture diploma thesis

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

architecture diploma thesis

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

architecture diploma thesis

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

architecture diploma thesis

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

architecture diploma thesis

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

architecture diploma thesis

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.

architecture diploma thesis

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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A4TC 2021 | Architecture Thesis Competition

A4TC 2021 | Architecture Thesis Competition - Image 1 of 1

  • Published on October 05, 2021

The first edition of Archiol’s Architecture Thesis Competition.

Architecture thesis, the ultimate yet the preliminary test of the student being molded as an architect, the initial years that contribute into forging a designer that eventually formulates a collaboration of all the wisdom accumulated over the academic years, the inventive years which birth the composition of the incomprehensible ideas, known as thesis.

A4TC is an international architecture thesis competition that aims at promoting the amazing ideas nurtured with extensive research and thoughts. An acknowledgment of the efforts and creativity presented as the Architecture thesis by the future of architecture.

A competition designed to present your unimaginable and problem solving architectural ideas at a global scale.

A4TC is considering architectural thesis of the past decade (2011-2021).

Timeline: All deadlines are 11:59 PM UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)

Prizes: Total prize money of $1000 will be awarded to our top 3 winners. Certificate of Achievement Interview Publication

Registration & submission details: ELIGIBILITY • A4TC_2021 is open to architecture students/architects of all nationalities and institutions. • Thesis conducted in the calendar year 2011-2021 are eligible to participate • Undergraduate/Bachelors and Graduate/Masters Thesis

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: • Presentation Board (Max. 2) • Format (Landscape, A4 / details in the submission kit)

Registration Deadline

Submission deadline.

This competition was submitted by an ArchDaily user. If you'd like to submit a competition, call for submissions or other architectural 'opportunity' please use our "Submit a Competition" form. The views expressed in announcements submitted by ArchDaily users do not necessarily reflect the views of ArchDaily.

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15 Architecture Thesis Topics for Urban Architecture

architecture diploma thesis

Urban Architecture has consistently been a trending architecture thesis topic among the students. And before we go deep into the variety of topics that can be used we must understand what exactly is Urban Architecture?

One could say urban architecture refers to any building type that establishes an appreciable relationship with its surrounding context, the built environment , and the community itself. It comprises buildings that are mostly located in urban areas, are accessible, and are meant to serve the public at large. Its purpose hence would be to make society better. Indeed, people are indeed strongly affected by building forms and facades. According to research, the main cause of ‘social stress’ in urban environments is often the absence of social bonding and interconnection in city landscapes . Design that stimulates social and urban cohesion is hence, very important for good community living. This is where urban architecture comes in; a holistic approach to the subject may result in projects like iconic skyscrapers or even residential developments . However, the focus revolves around enhancing the experience of people who are connected to the architecture.

When choosing to do a architecture thesis project on the subject of urban architecture, one needs to understand the platitude of areas and scopes encompassed by the field. There are indeed endless possibilities and avenues to explore that intend to serve the interests of the public, and also make community life better.

Before you delve into the list of topics of urban architecture to choose from, make that:

  • You understand the subject thoroughly. Choose a topic relevantly and appealing to your interests, especially prospects, masters, or a job.
  • You discuss it with your thesis advisor so that he can comprehend your intent and help you through the course of the project .
  • The topic does not necessarily have to be unique. It also should not be something that has been tried and tested far too many times.it is because your work is what would represent you. Make sure, it speaks of who you are and what you want to do.

Here are a few options for viable architecture thesis topics that you could choose to look at.

1. Low-cost housing | Architecture Thesis

As more and more people are moving to dense urban cities like New York , in search of a better quality of living and opportunities, the city population is on the rise. As is the cost of living, making low-cost housing a dire need of societies, as low-income residents have limited choices for affordable living. When affordable housing complexes were being constructed ever since the mid-20 th century, these projects were often seen as monumental solutions to provide economical living spaces to large groups of people. Hence, even with the best of intentions of the designers, the imposing towers often turned out to be negligent of human scale, and were often more inhospitable and discouraging for communities, leaving them feeling more isolated and unwelcome.

However, a rising interest in the area since recent years has seen a rise in alternative solutions to the outdated models. Low-cost, affordable housing is not seen as merely buildings creating decent spaces for living, but also using sustainable building features to reduce costs, maintenance and to help improve the quality of life and belongingness for residents, allowing them to feel more connected to not just the resources, but also to communities and the spaces outside.

15 thesis topics for urban architecture - Sheet1

2. Art and Heritage museum

To design a building that is important not only for the preservation of the history of the community but to also integrate members of the community and to what they share. This topic uses a method that looks at the study not only qualitatively, but also based on a theoretical foundation, with the acute understanding that comes from familiarizing oneself with concepts and standards of museums, exhibition spaces, contextualism, and exhibit care and preservation.

The project should not only focus on respecting the importance of the historical context, but also ensure that it avoids the damage of pieces of its past. It should shed light on the concept of the museum itself, the types of functions and activities it would encourage, the form and physicality of the building, and the interconnectivity between different elements of the museum . The journey of a user and the enriching experience that the museum provides, concerning its displays but to communal spaces of social interaction and discussion should also be of high value when taking this topic.

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3. Airport of Urban Architecture Thesis

Many countries in the world, including the USA, are suffering from outdated aviation infrastructure, with most airports being more than 40 years old, and a lot of money being spent on the revamp, expansion or construction to meet the challenging new needs of today. Design-wise, architects need to not only provide solutions for the necessary functioning and program of the airport , but also to enhance the experience of travel for the visitors, which includes interesting features for wayfinding, atriums for nature incorporation and natural light, state-of-the-art visual elements, and huge spaces for sightseeing and rest, as well cultural experiences which encapsulate the context of the airport, gardens, and desert landscapes. The project area also has a lot of potential for experimentation with physical form and modelmaking, which could induce a sense of awe for the public at large.

The functional aspects, of course, include catering to huge parking spaces, checking and security posts, luggage management areas, lobby areas, airport maintenance spaces, airplane ramps, and cargos, and many others, as well as allowing for the potential for future expansion. Thus, airports not only present an interesting challenge for a thesis topic but are also one that provides extensive avenues to understand the flexibility of a space which is in fact the cardinal space a visitor comes into contact with when entering a new city or a country. Hence, holding great social importance. The change seen in recent airport designs does indeed seem like a promising area to work in.

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4. Cinema and theatre architecture

Cinemas and theatres are interesting places, where the anticipation to experience is just as important as the actual film or performance itself. This is why the design and nature of the building hold such great importance.  It should in some way, either reflect the magnitude of the experience that it would showcase, or subdue itself against the marvel of the performance . Either way, it should be taken as a work of art, as architectural icons as done so in the past, which communicate the spirit of the times through the design.

The building requires a careful understanding of the program; it features their relationships with one another, the type of circulation from one space to another, and the allowance of gathering spaces with technical ones as well. The seating arrangement, sound buffering, technical knowledge must be handled as meticulously as possible, as close attention to the sound, visuals, and theatrics are what greatly enhance the experience of the performance. This is why this is also a very fascinating topic, for a building that integrates different groups of society and brings them together to experience a shared feature.

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5. Skyscraper design | Architecture Thesis

Living in a time when the competition to rise, to go higher, and to reach greater heights resonates with the fact that there is an ever-increasing desire to build very tall buildings. By definition, a skyscraper is a building that exceeds 330 feet in height. Yet the contemporary approach is not only to reach unattainable heights in construction, but it is also to rejuvenate thinking abilities, and present inventions with cutting-edge designs, that also meet the function of the building with elegance and pride. From encompassing different architectural movements like art deco and modernism, skyscraper designs also look at the intensive technical understanding of how high-rise work, the relationship of functionality between different floors, structural knowledge, and the municipalities that come with handling such delicate tasks.

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6. Suburban housing community

Suburban homes provide an avenue to understand a huge sector of society without directly destroying existing structures. They should be able to cater to the needs of the ever-changing dynamic of the public, to provide a potential for future expansion, and to provide an environment of ownership that allows for a comforting feeling of belongingness that leads to greater social integration.

The nature of the task often involves dealing with multiple stakeholders that are directly associated with such regions, including developers and the municipal government. Therefore, this subject involves a meticulous understanding of the way rules and regulations work, sizing, areas and appropriate zoning, transportation, and also a critical comprehension of the associated infrastructure required to cater to the needs of residential living, and of course, the quality of life.

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7. Marine park design of Urban Architecture

Projects paying attention to marine life can help bring new life into waterfront areas and can also provide a point of interest for the entire region itself. There exists in our society an absence of awareness regarding marine ecosystems, especially informal sectors, which has resulted in a lack of opportunities, care, and resources available for marine life. Thus, a thesis project on this topic would not be addressing the administrative concerns related to marine life, but could also cater to providing a recreational public space , where visitors can appreciate and interact with marine life along with exhibition spaces intended to create awareness for the general public.

Whilst taking the project a step ahead, a proper research institute could also be designed to further the knowledge available of the oceans and the organisms that inhabit them. These institutes with research facilities and equipment could provide areas for analysis, experimentation, and research for discovery. Thus, this project would not only help educate the public at large, but help generate revenue as a popular tourist attraction, and plant seeds for much-needed research of marine life.

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8. Convention center of Urban Architecture

A convention center is a public building of urban architecture meant to convey ideas and knowledge. It is also perceived to be more like the expansion of a town hall, where people having shared interests, goals, though, religion, or professions, could gather to interact, communicate, learn, and make decisions regarding the public realm. Hence, it is a space that caters to large groups of people, providing them with communal spaces that encourage different uses as well as appropriate exhibition spaces. 

Furthermore, since a convention center is meant to act as a medium for discourse, the first thing to consider is to develop a concept that would intend to attract people. It should have easy accessibility, be welcoming and fascinating and its spaces should be able to provide the necessary means for it to function efficiently and effectively. 

15 thesis topics for urban architecture - Sheet8

9. Library of Urban Architecture Thesis

In the modern age of digitalization, the internet and technology have greatly transformed the manner in which we consume information. With this rapidly changing paradigm, the traditional function of a library is put on a pedestal and called to question. While it is true that the physical collection of books in a certain environment as compared to quick access to data using the internet does question the sustainability of a public library and the resources it offers, we must also keep in mind that a library also functions as a flexible space, that can be transformed to an active social space, agent for interaction and societal growth.

It must not only be considered to be a space that allows access to information, but also an environment that encourages discourse, communication, and exchange of meaningful ideas between people from different ages and social groups. With this in mind, a public library must be considered as one of the most democratic building types available, and one that has huge potential to add value to community development, growth, resource, and service. Therefore, with the sensitivity that comes with designing a library comes great responsibility, and this must be looked at as an area with the potential to be explored as a vital public asset.

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10. School of art and design

Projects that are practical solutions to community needs also have greater impacts on communities socially as well as economically. A thesis of urban architecture at a School for Art and Design could immensely help in this regard. It would only provide a platform for artists, architects, students, and citizens from various fields and social groups to gather and interact, share ideas and learn through conventional as well as modern ways and activities. This center would also enable these artists to share and exhibit their work and experiences through exhibition spaces, seminars, events, and conferences with members of their own community and the wider world through event halls, conference rooms, and libraries for research and learning.

With a learning institute as part of the program, the center would also allow aspiring artists to develop skills through formal training as well as informal activities. Thus, this institute would help create inclusivity in society but integrating different groups of people with a shared interest throughout the day and hence, year. It would also act as a viable magnet for social interaction between professionals, beneficial for the community and the campus. This, in turn, would enhance and regenerate the urban fabric, add depth to the context of the city and help drive the society forward in a positive direction. A thesis conducted on this topic, therefore, would allow you to look at art as a potential field to a group and bring communities together to appreciate the marvel that is an art and its ability to create change in the contemporary world.

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11. Bus terminal cum commercial complex

Transit facilities are indeed one of the most important and vital functions of a city itself. They constitute some of the most important goals of the city and its government by inviting a large number of people to the city, merges different groups of crows, and bring in opportunities of work and living for the masses, thus building the scope of urban architecture. Therefore, smooth and better transit provides ground for future development and helps the urban fabric to grow incredibly. Transit not only improves the urban squares and nodes, and provides a push to less developed areas to allow them to be at par with the rest of the city.

Understanding the scope of development associated with a bus terminal with a commercial complex attached as an additional function thus presents itself as an interesting topic to pursue. It would not only group different travelers with one another but also with the locals, allowing them to appreciate and value local culture and tradition, as well as activities that integrate the urban living community.

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12. Sports stadium of Urban Architecture

A stadium is one of the building typologies that have the power to shape the city or town it is located in. it not only helps put the city on the maps but also establishes an identity for the community and provides a tourist attraction and a focal point in its landscape. It is thus, a huge actor of theatrics that represents the output of a sport, and has a significant role for the city with regards to politics, geography, as well as socio-economics.

Thus, a sports stadium should not be looked at as a revenue-generating machine, but a building type that should be sustainable, iconic in design, with strong structural understanding for it to be considered a marvel in civic urban architecture. It requires a comprehensive understanding of various issues related to planning and design, which also cater to increased interaction and ease of access to its activities, and the environment is contained and encouraged.

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13. Resort design | Architecture Thesis

A resort is a place that caters to accommodation, leisure, and recreation. It provides for a variety of activities and luxury in scenic areas and is able to house different groups of people together. Some facilities provided include rooms or huts, swimming pools , sports grounds, gyms, fine dining areas, halls for events, and many others.

Resort tourism is an area that is rapidly gaining popularity. It has a lot of municipalities involved that are often delicate in nature so as to provide high levels of comfort for its users. Therefore, it often talks about large scales, an attractive form that is meant to attract the general public, and advanced equipment and management strategies. It is indeed an interesting topic to consider when one wants to work on an area that not only deals with program efficiency but also the psychological impacts of effective design strategies. 

Sheet13

14. Religious buildings

An architecture thesis of urban architecture on religious buildings is a fascinating area to work on. It provides an avenue to create places with identity and an environment that awakens the senses and the emotions, enhances the experience, and provides a platform for spiritual practice. It should be kept in mind that the metaphysical concerns and experiences can largely be enhanced using effective space strategies that will come with a keen understanding of spatial and urban architecture.

Thus, space aims to heighten the experience of religion and spirituality and tends to cater to the tangible and intangible aspects of architecture, that involve senses. It is, therefore, a great challenge for architects to design spaces for religious activities, but also one that provides that greater amount of emotional appraisal. The modern religious building not only functions as only a religious center but also provides opportunities for people to come together and engage in communal activities. This is another aspect that architects need to consider when designing religious centers for contemporary times.

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15. Educational Institute for rural children

With the understanding that urban architecture paves the way for enhancing the educational process with effective plan strategies and expression of detail, the topic provides an opportunity to explore this area with the development of an educational institute for rural children. This would not only emphasize the importance of education for all sectors of society but would allow meaningful involvement of the community for development projects meant to improve the quality of life for the rural sectors.

The planning involved would recognize the basic functions needed to run a school, especially in a rural setting with a standard of quality education kept in mind. There is an urgent need for developers to look at this area in society, as existing schools do not meet the typical standard, which in turn affects the educational lives of its students, making them unable to perform effectively to become important assets for their society. Thus, this topic for social responsibility helps to integrate schools and the community, with the building serving as a reflection of ideas of both its place and time through its design, concept, and function.

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An Architect by profession, a writer, artist, and baker by interest, Amna Pervaiz sees Architecture and Urban Planning as a multifaceted avenue allowing her to explore a plethora of disciplinary elements. She sees the field as an untapped canvas; a journey she hopes would one day lead her towards social responsibility and welfare.

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    The main "educational" part includes diploma's and thesis's works and projects, methodic materials, training programs and tasks, student's documents and etc. ... Museum has issued series of brochures named "Masters of Moscow architectural school" and also 2 issues of collection "Moscow Architectural Schools" (Historical datas ...

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