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Masters Thesis with real clients?
Hello all,
This is my first time posting, so please bear with me! I am considering thesis topics for my final year, next year, and have stumbled across a potentially interesting, potentially idiotic option. A yoga community and retreat centre where I travel annually for a weekend retreat, is considering a new building and some site work for their large 60+ acre site. It is not a tropical vacation kind of place, more like a working farm in the boonies.
I think I would have enough for a thesis here - not sure the exact statement, but along the lines of "how can architecture provide access to spirituality in a chaotic world?" Does this seem like an approvable topic?
More than this, I am wondering if anyone has any thoughts on doing one's student thesis with actual clients? The expectations would have to be clearly defined from the outset, I am not working for them, simply using their input as a basis for program and user needs/requirements. Whether the end results are usable to the community or if it comes to a actual commission is not really a worry. Hopefully, at the very least, I can provide them some rendering images to use for fundraising purposes.
Any major conflicts or pitfalls you would forsee or caution against would be much appreciated.
Thanks. m.
The work of dealing with real world matters e.g. budget, code, client management might overwhelm your effort or limit your project to a practical design that doesn't attempt to investigate issues about architecture that theses typically delve into.
Of course, it is totally possible to do a successful thesis project that both handles real world matters with aplomb and takes the opportunity to explore something with singular focus.
One topic may be a means of construction or fabrication, or a unique means of project delivery necessitated by your very specific circumstances. Or as you suggested, it could deal with site and program in a novel manner. I just think that it would be a missed opportunity if the thesis project turns out to be a commercial piece of work that any architect could have produced. Not to mention, it might run counter to your school's pedagogy.
What does your faculty or advisor think about your proposal?
Thank you for the feedback monosierra.
Those 'real world matters' you mention are for sure my concerns about doing it this way as well; however, the budget, code etc should always be considered, IMHO, even when doing student work. Obviously not be to the same extent as an actual project, and I don't think I would get bogged down by that if my intentions are expressed clearly to the group ahead of time. They would not be getting working or permit drawings from me at the end of the process!
I appreciate your comments about a missed opportunity; I hadn't thought about it that way. I also haven't discussed this with anyone in the faculty yet, since I am a ways away from starting thesis. That's a great place to start, so I will definitely do that soon.
Thanks again and I welcome additional thoughts from anyone else who has an opinion!
m.
You should discuss this with your academic advisor. Different schools have different policies regarding theses. At most this would not be approvable as you've stated it - not because of the real-life clients aspect, but because what you've proposed is a question not a thesis. A thesis is a statement of a theory that you intend to prove (or disprove). You need more than a topic and a question. You need to propose a theory, and a course of action through which to investigate that theory.
Fair enough. Thanks for the feedback!
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