Postgraduate Course: Architectural Design Thesis Report (ARCH11297)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Through a series of lectures, workshops and tutorials, Architectural Design Thesis Report supports students in producing a comprehensive thesis document that argues for and critically appraises the architectural design projects developed over the course of the last one year (modular pathway) or two years (integrated pathway) of MArch study. Taken in the final semester of the programme, the course also asks students to demonstrate and reflect upon how key professional competencies (contextual and architectural knowledge; design; research and evaluation; management, practice and leadership; professionalism and ethics) have been addressed and integrated in their design work, in these projects and across the programme. |
| Course description |
The Architectural Design Thesis Report course supports students in analytically and logically synthesising documentation that encompasses a range of architectural issues, reflecting on the research and design processes undertaken in the development of a major architectural design thesis and across the MArch Programme. It supports students in taking responsibility for design decisions in relation to the associated social and environmental effects, and in positioning their work and nascent practice beyond the institution.
The course supports, through design tutorials, the careful and critical articulation of the student's architectural design thesis, understood as the series of projects designed over the course of the last one year (modular pathway) or two years (integrated pathway) of MArch study. The resulting Design Thesis document explains how theoretical, environmental, material, spatial, historical, cultural, technological, social and ethical considerations have informed the student's design work, decisions, methodologies and practice at different scales. Foregrounding the complexity of architectural design and the need for highly contextual and nuanced responses, the course guides students in acknowledging the trade-offs and negotiations required to develop 'good' buildings.
The thesis is a fully referenced academic document, which must observe all relevant protocols as set out in the briefing materials, but should also be a designed object; it must be presented as a sophisticated publication-standard document, with an approximate length of 2500 words.
Through the preparation of 4 select drawings and reflections this course also provides an opportunity for students to reconsider and supplement the knowledge acquired over the course of their academic trajectory in relation to the ARB Competency Outcomes. This is also an opportunity for students to address, and demonstrate competency in, any ARB Outcomes that might be pending due to previously failed learning outcomes. The course is delivered through a careful sequence of specialist lectures, tutorials and workshops taking place once weekly for the duration of the semester.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | The Architecture Design Thesis documents may be printed and exhibited as part of the ECA Graduate Show; this will be partially funded, but depending on the format of these documents students may incur printing costs over and above this partial funding. Please budget for £80. |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Communicate, critically appraise and argue the rationale of a design proposal using text and images, in dialogue with contextual, professional and theoretical concerns.
- Demonstrate and evaluate the integration, through architectural design, of knowledge in technological and environmental strategies, and in architecture's professional, social and economic contexts.
- Identify, understand, and reflect upon professional priorities, values, and Competency Outcomes as relevant to the student's work and learning.
- Prepare, through transferable design skills and techniques, a coherent and sophisticated graphic document that structures and communicates ideas effectively and consistently using diverse media.
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Reading List
Studio themes change on an annual basis and are determined by the studio leaders in dialogue with Course Organiser and Programme Director. The Architectural Design Thesis Report reflects the content of the Architectural Design Studio and tailored reading lists are issued as part of the studio briefing documents. Examples of texts supporting the development of the Report are:
Agrest, Diana, Architecture of Nature/Nature of Architecture (ORO Editions, 2022)
Akboy-lk, Serra, Crafting the Architectural Measured Drawings, The Plan Journal 2 (1): 39-61, 2017.
Flores i Prats Architects, Sala Beckett: International Drama Center: Rehabilitation of the Former Cooperative Pau i Justícia, Poblenou, Barcelona (Direcció de Serveis Editorails, 2020)
Ingraham, Catherine, Architecture's Theory (MIT Press, 2023)
Moe, Kiel, Unless: The Seagram Building Construction Ecology, Printed (Actar Publishers, 2020)
Mommersteeg, Brett, Variations of a Building (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023)
Sennett, Richard, The Craftsman (Allen Lane, 2008)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Aspiration and Personal Development: Ability to identify individual learning needs and understand the personal responsibility required to prepare for qualification as an architect.
Reflection: Ability to review and critically appraise decisions and outcomes, recognising how architectural projects and solutions might be considered and reformulated in relation to professional responsibilities, values and competencies.
Communication: Ability to evaluate and apply a comprehensive range of visual, oral and written media to test, analyse, critically appraise and explain design proposals.
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| Keywords | design thesis,competency drawings,practice reflections |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Simone Ferracina
Tel:
Email: simone.ferracina@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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