Olga Zakharova is a recent M.Arch graduate of Princeton University School of Architecture. Archinect was able to chat with Zakharova and learn about her experiences as a student who was graduating during the pandemic. Her exploration of urbanism and the historical organization of buildings, spaces, and landscapes emphasizes on the "industrialized past" of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood.
Zakharova shares with us the focus of her thesis and the pivot points she made when adjusting her model-specific project to fit a digital narrative. One of the many students whose final year was impacted by the abrupt transition towards remote learning amid the pandemic, Zakharova offers a resilient perspective. "A thesis project is not just another studio project. I would say it is more of a territory for one to discover future areas of research, passions, and career interests."
Archinect's Spotlight on 2020 Thesis Projects: 2020 has been an extraordinarily challenging year for architecture graduates. Students were displaced as schools shut down, academic communities had to adapt to a new virtual format, end-of-year celebrations were canceled or changed dramatically, and now these students are graduating into an extremely challenging employment market. To support the 2020 class we're launching a summer series of features highlighting the work of thesis students during this unique time of remote learning amid COVID-19. Be sure to follow our 2020 thesis tag to stay up to date as we release new project highlights.
Briefly describe your thesis/final project and your inspiration.
My thesis project is a design for a heritage complex featuring an outdoor waterfront theater that is located in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. The complex itself is an urban scale intervention formed by a theatrical orchestration of buildings. The buildings themselves could house various programs, including a museum, administrative facilities, and performance spaces. However, the building exteriors are a representation of a historical street appearance of Williamsburg at the turn of the century.
The idea to focus much of the project design on the industrialized past of the area came when I was presented a summary of the site’s history by collaborator and archaeologist Dominic Bush. The stage component is a two-street historical scenography and the views of the stage from the seating area are precisely projected in alignment with Manhattan’s skyline, with the city serving as a backdrop. Additionally, much of my research also addressed the study of Renaissance theaters and theories of perspective that were a major source of inspiration.
My thesis project was always intended to center on physical model making [...] It was around 3 weeks before the opening of our post-professional group exhibition when Princeton School of Architecture officially closed its access to the wood shop and metal shop facilities [...] things changed drastically for myself, which forced me to be more creative and quick in decision making at that moment.
How did your thesis change as studios transitioned to remote learning?
My thesis project was always intended to center on physical model making. Many of the paper conceptual models were done early on, but my goal was to have three large scale basswood models that were planned to be exhibited at a gallery space in Manhattan.
It was around three weeks before the opening of our post-professional group exhibition when Princeton School of Architecture officially closed its access to the wood shop and metal shop facilities. Therefore, things changed drastically for myself, which forced me to be more creative and quick in decision making at that moment. I am thankful to my academic advisor Cameron Wu who helped me work through these new working conditions and supported me along the way.
A thesis project is not just another studio project. I would say it is more of a territory for one to discover future areas of research, passions, and career interests.
The school provided an opportunity to feature our exhibition in form of a virtual show that you can see here: unbuildingbuilding.princeton.edu. My project then took a drastically different form, featuring hand-drawn renderings, 3D computer models, and digital animations. Yet, I believe this still communicated the project’s original ambitions and ideas. However, I am planning to finish the physical basswood models when facilities are reopened.
...in these unprecedented times, I think students have to be able to maneuver through any environment of change.
Theatrical Urbanism: Concept Model Video. Courtesy of Olga Zakharova.
Any tips for students working through their thesis?
I would suggest that students work through problems creatively and most importantly let their thesis project be a testing ground for defining architectural arguments that they are interested in exploring after graduation. A thesis project is not just another studio project. I would say it is more of a territory for one to discover future areas of research, passions, and career interests.
However, in these unprecedented times, I think students have to be able to maneuver through any environment of change. I highly suggest embracing one’s design skills, learning new software, continue creating and fabricating within your at-home work space.
Katherine is an LA-based writer and editor. She was Archinect's former Editorial Manager and Advertising Manager from 2018 – January 2024. During her time at Archinect, she's conducted and written 100+ interviews and specialty features with architects, designers, academics, and industry ...
11 Comments
All the world's a stage
Looks like Cameron has taken his GSD geometrical focus to Princeton.
i miss seeing him around
no mention of rob krier, huh?
Can't really pinpoint it but had to think of Gehry's Loyola Law School.
beautiful paintings, i think in this context a fine example of how unplanned processes often yield the richest results.
it's striking how much the work seems to revive the neorationalism of rossi just after it seemed totally irrelevant and unloved. i'm curious if that was intentional - ir maybe focusing on italian renaissance spaces automatically leads to this result.
nice job anyway. the de chiroco sense of emptied cities is very suited to these times.
The interest in Rossi... I love Rossi but as an inspiration it's like being interested in Shakespeare. It's difficult to put yourself in that same league without coming off as superficial. Rossi is a mile deep. Given all the hubbub
at Princeton regarding plagiarism–the former Dean being fired for not citing Wikipedia–the presentation technique of the theater is directly lifted from the work of Patrick Hughes. (An aside... Hughes was married to the wildly entertaining and eccentric Molly Parkin. Check her out! ha) Hughes's technique is called Reverspective. Here is his Vanishing Venice. Did the student give credit to the inventor of this technique??? People have published papers in scientific journals on it.
That video absolutely resembles the stuff on Hughes' website. Maybe she came up with on her own though - it's not something fundamentally hard to imagine, and certainly relates to renaissance techniques of perspective. Plus, his work is gimmicky and he comes off as an oddball hack trying to argue for a degree of importance that's eluded him. I find it wonderful he has a wall of shame on his own commercial site. http://www.patrickhughes.co.uk/about/imitators/
midlander, Hughes is a great wit and student of optical tricks. I think you need to consider Princeton academic standards: The most important thing to know is this: if you fail to cite your sources, whether deliberately or inadvertently, you will still be found responsible for the act of plagiarism. Ignorance of academic regulations or the excuse of sloppy or rushed work does not constitute an acceptable defense against the charge of plagiarism. As a Princeton student, you’re expected to have read and understood the University’s academic regulations as described in this booklet and in Rights, Rules, Responsibilities. In fact, you must type the following sentence and sign your name on each piece of work you submit: “This paper represents my own work in accordance with University regulations.” For electronic submissions, you may type your name preceded by the notation /s/, which stands for “signature.” This signed pledge symbolizes your adherence to the University’s core values of honesty and integrity in intellectual work.
I enjoy the images. They are very good. What is the rubric for a thesis? If it is to build upon others' work, then Freeland and Buck have taken Hughes's mantle and run with it. Here is one of their self titled "one liners" movie where the ends of a linear Hughes-like object are attached and it is rotated. Here is a photo of the object they made. It is brilliant.
Again, what is the rubric? As far as Rossi goes... Italian history is about layering and, in the famous example of Lucca's central square, maintaining the presence/form of architecture that no longer exists–he called the preponderance of type. America is about obliterating its past or attempting to wipe it clean like in Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. We have the remains of a native mounds left around St Louis but most were bulldozed and none were incorporated into contemporary use. Anyway, the images are well done and I wanted to clarify that. Also, is the author of the review familiar with Hughes's work?
Princeton academic standards:
The most important thing to know is this: if you fail to cite your sources, whether deliberately or inadvertently, you will still be found responsible for the act of plagiarism. Ignorance of academic regulations or the excuse of sloppy or rushed work does not constitute an acceptable defense against the charge of plagiarism. As a Princeton student, you’re expected to have read and understood the University’s academic regulations as described in this booklet and in Rights, Rules, Responsibilities. In fact, you must type the following sentence and sign your name on each piece of work you submit: “This paper represents my own work in accordance with University regulations.” For electronic submissions, you may type your name preceded by the notation /s/, which stands for “signature.” This signed pledge symbolizes your adherence to the University’s core values of honesty and integrity in intellectual work.
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