Preparing a Thesis Proposal

The PUP Thesis Project is a two-fold undertaking by the graduating students of BS Architecture. The Thesis would be a Research / Design Project with a research project focusing on any architectural concept / ideas / principles / design approach that would be applicable to the Design Project. The research undertaking would generate new ideas in designing particular building types that would make the design endeavor more innovative and creative.

Research and Design both involve processes of discovery that would lead to new knowledge. Furthermore, Design is closely associated to Creativity. “Being creative is seeing the same thing as everybody else but thinking of something different.” It can be defined as the ability to take existing objects and combining them in different ways for new purposes. Creativity can produce novel and useful ideas and solutions to everyday problems and challenges.

The Research Project is aimed at gaining knowledge that would upgrade the quality of our built environment and for the advancement of the architectural profession. The Design Project, on the other hand, is viewed as an activity that would generate proposals in changing something that already exist into something better.

The first step in the Thesis Project is the preparation of a Thesis Proposal. The students will have to identify possible design projects to work on as well as introduce the research project that they will relate to the design project. This is not an easy task and before a student can come up with a credible proposal, one should have done the following:
• develop a perspective about the breadth, depth and scope of architectural discipline
• develop an awareness of general issues, opportunities, and concerns within the discipline through readings of articles concerning current architectural practices
• choose an area of specialization from the general issues and concerns.
• become familiar with specific issues, opportunities, and concerns within the area of specialization
• develop queries that speculate on the issues, opportunities, and concerns within the area of specialization

The student can start initially by identifying an issue of local, regional, national or even global concern as starting points for determining a specific research problem, say Housing Backlog. The next question would be - why is there a housing backlog? It continues with a search for possible cause to the problem that could have architectural significance – it is due to the inadequacies of conventional building materials and systems to cope up with house production targets. The problem now has become an architectural concern. A possible architectural intervention can be deduced from the above statements – House production rate can substantially increase if housing components can be standardized. With that, the general problem has now been reduced to an architectural problem focusing on the derivation of standards for housing components. This can still be, however, trimmed down to a more focused and specific derivation of standards for low-cost housing components.

From the above process, a possible Design Project could be “A Housing Prototype for a Low-Cost Community for North Rail Settlers” and the Research Project could be “Derivation of Standards for Low-Cost Housing Components”.

Other example of Thesis Projects that could be similarly undertaken is as follows:
1. Proposed Marikina Center of Performing Arts (A Neural Network Analysis of Auditoria Design).
2. The SM Call-Center Complex (An investigation of indoor environmental factors that may influence comfort and health of workers in office buildings)
3. School for the Deaf and Blind (Design of technology-based learning environments)
4. Redevelopment of Tahanang Walang Hagdan (Modeling human expertise in designing building solutions for homes of persons with disabilities)
5. Proposed Quezon City Jail (An Analysis of the Physical Environment in Juvenile Justice Facilities: the Physical Environment in a Complex System)
6. The Intramuros Hotel (Acknowledging and evaluating the social and aesthetic values of heritage landscapes)
7. The Mactan Meditel (Thermal comfort and hybrid ventilation)
8. Sports Medica Mall (An integrated medical, sports and shopping complex)

The PUP Architecture Thesis Projects seeks to support and enhance the study of sustainable and energy-efficient building practices in Architectural Education. Thesis students are encouraged to explore the use of new materials and strategies for building, and the integration of aesthetics and technology for high-performing, cutting edge architecture.

The objective of this integration is to encourage students and develop excellence in architectural planning and design that integrates environmentally responsive design strategies.