IN-PERSON: Applying Education

Abstract

To graduate, most architecture students must devise, delineate, and successfully defend an original thesis. These studios are often conceived of as bridges to graduate study or practice, a summative opportunity to explore personal interests and make a meaningful contribution to the discipline. To foster a successful thesis program, schools must coordinate curricular pathways and channel faculty expertise to help students individually advance their own ideas while still meeting standards set by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. Small architecture programs outside major cities face additional challenges in offering these courses due to issues ranging from limited staffing (especially those engaged in design research or novel forms of practice) to restricted resource access. This paper explores a collaborative “hands-off” approach for teaching architectural thesis in rural contexts developed by a newly-hired assistant professor and tenured senior colleague adjusting to new teaching assignments. This pedagogical approach contrasts with “integrated” or “comprehensive” capstone studios that test students’ comprehension of technical building systems and design synthesis through visual and physical media. A critical difference between thesis and comprehensive studios is that comprehensive studios require instructors to shoulder much of the research and writing work central to the learning goals that shape the thesis setting. While students need not explicitly perceive this method as an intentional handoff, it requires substantially more instructor-to-instructor collaboration behind the scenes to achieve the best results. This unique teaching model disrupts precedent, continues to evolve, and is potentially helpful for many other learning environments.