The Master of Architecture experience culminates with the thesis review. A year in the making, thesis review comprises roughly 60 heart-pounding, spirited and transformative minutes. It is a composite of skill, design thinking and interpretation wrapped in a meaningful, often personal self-directed design project. Students work under the guidance of a faculty thesis committee of three—from thesis match to presentation—to create a written and illustrated document that encapsulates their unique vision.
Since the School’s founding, hundreds of theses have been presented at MAPP. They have covered a chockablock list of topics—sports related, social issues, green spaces, brown spaces, underground, above ground, sustainable industrial and agricultural, music and arts. “I think the best theses are the ones that explore ideas,” says Professor Emeritus Karl Du Puy,” who has advised and seen many theses presentations over his 35 years of teaching. “So many times, people just want to do a thesis that is perfect. And by definition, a thesis almost can’t be perfect. It has to take positions and, sometimes, to clarify those positions, the alternative has to be pursued.”
Scroll through the slides above to see this year's thesis projects.