k Ht comes fo doing a B. Arch, Thesis, students are usually bontronted with fats of confusions and ditemmas. This article has tried to cover some of ne commonly raised ‘issues but at the same time olsoiais that the issues are exhaustive and complete. This article is based on the conversation With the people associated with 8. Arch, Thests Program in various architectural colleges in Kathmandu. The views presented by the speakers are straightforward and are presented in the form of 2 discourse without editing vrei flavor. For the sake of clarity, readers are advised that the ante is to be read as @ whole and not in parts. The opinions expressed in this article are endorsed speciticaly by the respective «niervieweo, Any opinion altering those presented in this article are equally welcome for the enelit of B. Arch, education and will be ‘bubiished in further issues of Vaastu, B.Arch, Thesis - what is it? Thesis in B.Arch, Program has been a mandatory requirement as a partial ‘ulfttment in getting the Bachelor degree in Architecture. It is only in the faculty of architecture that the thesis program has een introduced in Bachelor iovel. Down the fines, there are opinions on what it ts, why it 18 called thesis, and what its ‘implications im architecture education ave Ac, Bibhutiman Singh gives a rather ‘conceptual commentary on B.Arch. Thesis ~ "Architecture is one of the subjects where the amount of indeterminacy is high wile ‘echnicality is less. That is why students are Normally stuck when it comes to transiate indeterminate ideas into communicable ‘erms. Architecture is a mysterious subject in which much of intution and subjective factors are involved. Thus, on an abstract philosophica! level, thesis could be an allempt to reduce the indeterminacy percentage and increase the technicality Percentage to an acceptable fevel so that it can be communicated to prospective listener or reader” On scholar’s terms Prat, Tiwati comments ~"B.Arch. Thesis is basically a design AN ANNUAL JOURNAL OF AREHITEGTURE: thesis, Why It is called thesis, might be because it is the summary of the acquisition of knowledge gained through ‘whatever the student has leartin last four? five year period. So why not call it a project? It might be because in architecture, the design is unicue; there is some kind of creativity involved, and the student needs to phllosophize it in some ‘way but, though tis nat essentially a new knowledge, it is some kird of new presentation af idea," A. Biresh Shah & Ar. Dipak Pant add, istorically, in gurukuls, stidents are required to display their best skls that they hhave achieved curing their stay. Thesis can bbe seen in analogy to that culture, Thesis is also an opportunity to articulate and claily ‘the different issues and ideas betore Siepping into the actual profession A, Bijaya Krishna Shrestha shares ~ “is identtying existing problems and issues in a given time period. We have te prove and show that the givon solution is the best ‘one, and for that it needs to be research based or analysis based. A student of architecture needs to look at architectural solution, which includes no: only the physical environment but also the linkages of the same with the socio-economic cuitural-humBn component. The output of ‘thesis might not necessarily be only the Physical design. It could also have Concepts and ideas or, in some zases, just uidelines. The most important part at thesis is the meaningful contribution it makes and not the graphics” On Choosing Thesis Topic ‘Advising that the studants should lake up ‘he topic/subject in which they tool they are ‘good at, Prof. Tiwari says ~ "Though the choice of thesis topic Is related to what you have achieved, the project could be something which you think ycu can do better. That could be from technology aspect, structure aspect, services aspect, design philosophical aspect, some aesthetic aspect, even elements. If you ‘want to demonstrate that you have learnt 2 Int about 0.9. mathematics in architecture, then may be geometric planning becomes the kay in thinking pracess or in Hentiying the thesis topic. Projects could be bulling dominated or planning éominated or others etc. But as this is architectural thesis, it essentially has to have certain bulding design component.” At. Bibhutiman Singh comments that students are confused in chausing thesis topic because of the lack of inspiration, Students do not find any topic inspiring enough to be taken as thesis topic. inthis ‘mater, professors and teachers have a big role in helping the student realize thelr area of interest. Ar, Purna Krishna Dongal shows what is being done in Kathmandu Engineering College, "We have set up a thesis nerforma sort of questionnaire forthe sludent to solf-assess his/her fel of intorest and way (of approach. This isa system derived trarn foreign university but is useful. Students sometimes have to explore new topics that have nevar been tried before. Eg. @ crematorium” What should be the size of the thesis project? There is @ general agreement that poor emphasis of the academy/department on size of the project has created @ lot of Confusion in students. Prof. Tiwari argues — “Way be that question has come abaut because there has been 2 general tendoncy to think of a project as big when it has a certain sqm. Area which is really riot a parameter. Very huge som. atea project can be very smal project in terms of design anc Ideas, e.g, aircraft hangor where there is ‘whole lot of space but design component ‘might be less. What makes a project tig or small is Its scope which is not always elated to planning and organization of space. it might well be related ta detiling, ‘construction, structures, and some simple aesthetic philosophies like use of brick or even product design, At. Bibhutiman Singh admits ~ “On the matter of size, college policy or guide's interest of priory can make a difference But students have to be guided not dictated, Even in the small subject you can {0 into enough detail to justly it as 2 thesis topic. E.g. Design of green house could be 1200 sq.ft but it might have ather largeISSUE issues as an eco friendly house or as an anvironmental house. The area could be small, but the philosophy behind it could be garth shattering.” A Blrash Shab is ile critical about the rostriction on (ho matter of size, - * The size is imelavant. It is more viable that should establish broad performance tora and allow cortain fexbilty within a limit, This approach might give interesting thesis topics. Even small topics can incorporate intensive research components and-detailings but may nat fulfill the minimum limit of built up area set by faculty. There wil be a risk of distortive performance in such restrictions. Students vill jumble all the non-praductive and non ympatible spaces, just to pet the bull up space limits,” Choosing topic in terms of new building typology Typology can be in various parameters* says Prot, Tiwari, “Normally we are taking about functional typalagy, like shopping center, school etc, Thatch buildings could be another typology but in, material perspective. But whether it addrosses th issue that the student has in his mind or not is the most difficult par, 1 don't find siudents exploring the lopies trom the perspective - what / am good at. It is the Tact of life that different people have cifferent interests. Architecture Is suci 4 wide discipline that you can talk about social relationships. and you can also talk about relalion belwean brick and mortar All of them are there, somninere or the other, whereas thesis can be related to one aspect. Lel's say a typology in terms of nov office systern, Somebody might have Inesis on secretarial building for Nepal \Wherner Singha Durbar is a suable kind oF civil servant oifice for Nepal or nat? You ‘can ask questions and dovelop entirely new system. You can say thal-there will be no table & chair sysiem because we have come ‘rom the culture of sitting on the float. This does not mean that in modern times, people have ta sit on floor and work, but mademism might be related to how ‘you do something in tems of space." Real vs, Imaginary Project jects: need not be real, ~ comments Prot. Tiwari, “They can be hypothetical also. By hypothetical, they are actually saying that there is ro client. E.g. if the Dioject is ‘Monument for Democracy af Nepa, it might not be just hypatheticat there right be some conceptual things invaled, Students have done their studias in Ievious years and fiom there they might v Aga Tu teain thal the teacher could have defined the proect beter or they actually di better but wore unfariy marked because the teacher was looking for something ase. So sludents can take-up those projects and give a second took; redesign the content {of the project) and redesign the building also, Many students pick their topics from cifice allaciments (practicum) because that is where they are expased to practical problems that were not dealt in class. Buti we look at who has don well inthe thesis, ‘we find that those who picked the practical projects normaly did not da wall because thay were ral train fo da that — they were trained to observe the problem but not necessarily Lo soe it IF we lok atthe foreign universities, usually there are two Kinds of projects that are done well One might be the real project but clone vary diferente. the student takes ‘he design ofan existing buling and feels that i can be designed better. The otner would be ta design radically diferent kind of building, eg. “Centre tor Raising Consciousness”. tis not just tying to find a aiferent & unique name forthe building but the reflections ean be found in terms ot form, material, or may be in terms of composition of spaces also.” ‘8s a thesis process, issues are more important than the topie ise says Ac Bijaya Krishna Shrestha, “it can be based on the current burning Issues and needs 9, Urban disaster management, traffic chaos, shelter tor people displaced by aisaster of political problem, earthquake te.” On Creativity Broadly there fs @ common agreement that in architecture, creativty is not only related ta built form or aesthetics, as it is ‘commonly thought al. "But students also have to see’- says Ar. Dipak Pant.” where they wisi to explore creativity ~ whether it is the praduct ar the thesis as a process that he/she is trying to make creative. In terms of thesis a5 an academic exercise ~if the idea that is picked at the begining is Consistently lad Io 2 logical & satisfactory ‘end is what makes it ereative.” Prof Tiwani further adds ~ "Creativity is often misunderstoad as being related ta just aesthotics, form or architectural philosophical aspects. It could even be falated to aspects like construction, technolagies, use of services ofc. E.g. Air Conditioning (AC) in buildings can be creatively used in diferent ways. Approach i an AC engineer might not be creative because he is not supposed to create but to apply his technique. But an imaginative approach will be t start thinking what this air conditioning is ~ it takes air trom somewhere, cools i, reshons It or heats i and throws it somewhere else. The thenry might be used in planning forms. Some designers have used fountains as part ol the building and which is simply & cooing system af tat AC. They ate not wiling to play with AC machines. That kind ol creativity can be appte to all kinds of areas from graphics to busing services or may be energy. i we stert thinking that in ture the buildings wil be energy sensitive and ‘nat just fated to functions ~ a goa thesis can be done out ofthe idea. The building will be devised according to how the energy wil fw. Ep, electrical enerny can be laid out through cables almost every ‘where, But f we nave other kind of energy whici does not run through these cables the whole idea of the building might change." Inferring to architectural design, A; Bish Shab slates thal any architectural create buuleng is nothing but a product of sinete effort towards its solutions. Such offorts give a coherent understanding and iuenmfication of the problem and ting to solve it with that knowledge base, i assists in presenting the solution ina noble ‘way, a creative bulling emerges. I this fundamental process is lacking in desion, people resort to articulation of forms and fancy shapes. The school we designed Some 20 years ago and to design the same today as the problems have changed and so al the solutions wei demand a noble and creative approach. He tucther comments ~ "Any foo! can be original: far more dificult tobe creative. Originally and creativity are quite diferent things, ny deliberation towards the bizare forns Is nothing but an effort to become original ~ it has nothing to-do wih creatity Even a simple straight building has myriad of issues that comand creative approach, Tha ill oF even ostentatious buildings might shaw the inifference on the designers part. Bulldings designed wit incteronce will be treated with indifference by the users, Ac Purma Krishna Dongol takes creativity as being synonymous to innovation and poinis that Creativity Hes not ie doing difforent things, but in doing things aitfernty. He further says that in thesis pevaling trends have to be. studied and future projected ~ that is where te eee approach of the students i required Ona siifar ine, Ar haya Ksshina Shrestha agrees that creativity is bringing out a meaningful conclusion. Creativity can be searched in how the students nave identified & analyzed the problems. t thir ‘way of identilying the problems is fine research methodology i ie, research data is authentic then their thesis. will automaticaly be good, I process is good, AN ANNUAL JOURNAL OF ARGHITEETURE————AN ANNUAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE. the product should automatically be creative On the Role of Guide Prot. SA Tivari views that guides can affect the thesis outcome but they will not materially change it — but they might help {o crystallize the outcomes. itis the student who should know how to do it better because he has chosen the topic thinking that he wants to show certain things. He continues ~ “Sometimes thesis can end up with things with which the guide might lotally disagree, and even the good students fai. tt is because the student is convinced that what he is doing is right and is so adamant to change that the system does not recognize his goodness, E.g. a thesis on something which could Not be built ar has a lot of structural problems might be rejecied on structural {ground but there might be other guides who think that this 18 the food for thought for engineers and architect shauld not bother too much abaut it. The guide's Impact will be very wide, especially when ‘he student is very weak. He is not to force ‘the student in the direction that he wants, In the end, he should see to it that the student gets the respoctable output and is ‘not misled.” At. Bibhutiman Singh believes that the ‘thesis guide, above al, should be able to Inspire the student otherwise there is no feason forthe students fo be enrolled in the institution, There are open universities these days, where students got their degree from distant learning. But they are missing a ‘reat thing which can be achieved from the live interaction with their guides, Ar. Bilaya Krishna Shrestha paints to what is happening in foreign universities. He says — “Fist thing is the inforrnation, 0.9, library. joumals etc. are easily available, Besides ‘there are clear guidelines an what students, teachers and guidas should do. When these two things are there, it becomes easier for everyone to take the thesis in the right course. In some cases, experienced guides can show the students where 10 {ind the right information or tell them the areas which need (0 be researched, In places lke Nepal, where information is hard {0 got, guides should understand their responsibilities in helping the students to bring out a meaning(ul result,” Ar, Birosh Shah & Dipak Pant think that the guide allocation to the student by alphabetical order as problematic. They propose the idea of broad categorization al ‘the thesis topic, which might help in allocating the suitable quide to the topic. On Research Research component in thesis has been a Subject of much thought ancl somtimes, 2 matter of great contusion. Prof. Tivari views ~ “Essentially, research for thesis is done to know what are some of the departures in design thal you want to establish of how you want to start. Eg case study is one kind oF research method vwthieh might he very good for typological buildings. Thete may be many cases tha student can choose from and learn how athers have done In case study, the case i analyzed in some thematic areas, e491 terms of environment, larning, circulation efficiency or cost or even material Funotional arrangement sould be another basis of study, 0.9. the siudy on why certain rooms ate on ground tloor and certain on the fist floor might estabiish ‘What the besis for that vertical dispersal is. Thematic areas could be vatiod like aesthelic design, construction, oF energy On that basis you try to evaluate & find out wat wil be the basis for your design, Essentially, itis not an evaluation of the cases but ils conclusions which ean be used for design purposes. But we shawo >be anare thai not al designs can be done by just case stuties, 0.9. far buildings hich do nol exist thece sng nae yg ase studies aad which might require a aitferent kindof study.” ‘x. Bibhutiman Singh takes research as a matter of reducing the amount of inceterninacy ancl increasing the level of communicabilty. E.. it someone takes up old peoples” home 28 a thesis, i he/she could just list out cifferont design parameters based on certain categorization, @.9. according to the educational level economic level, level of physica disabiity or according ta the social ove, then he/she can take sub catagories for these groups and get so-many parameters by permutation and. combination that he/she wil amie at much clearer terms. This wil lessen the confusion, and hapetully the level of confidence wl ise Because ofthe lack at proper environment or infrastructure for research, the scope at individual research in B. Arch Thesis is doubtful Instead. Singh turns for the trapdmurn iteration and socialization with tifferent people and says that it wall bring cut lot of iieas. He adds ~ “Every thesis has to have a biy component of hypothesis, Certain things are assumed (other things being equal) and based on that the design solutions are explored Doing the thesis with cent per cent authentic data is like taking up 2 professional project. So as to make a thesis as open as possible and enriched with vated meanings, te level of indeterminacy has to be as much as possible.” He advises that the academy should fosier a lot vf ISSUE imagination in the students, because for the actual practical experimentation the ‘a whale lie ahead of them, On a scho note, he states that in the profes architects are bound by circumstances but they should come to ter circumstances without with ight of thet hos that they have nurtured during tho acadomic years. Being involved with the B, Arch Curticuluin, Ar. Biresh Shab & Ar. Dipak Pant view that itis the nature of thesis thal will dictate the type and area of research, Ar. Dipak Pant further adds —"From what hhas been seen so fa, normally the students ate prone to folow the prescribed paliern of procedure ~ lilerature review, ‘questionnaire survey, data analysis tc. tis the problem in the form of question that the student is trying ta seek the answer, which might tead the students to a type of research methodology. There is @ risk snecilying methodolugy right in the beginning (even befase specifying the problem) because later it might become imperative to cambine various methodologies to elicit mare autientic information.” At, Bijaya Krishna Shrestha says that research lies in establishing an analytical framework which is achieved aller identifying Issues, literature review. case studies etc. Ai the end of analytical par Need to come up with three issues planning and design principles, lesson: learnt (iterature review and case studies) and finalized areas for design, On Gas Study “Case studies are done to create «utiple covtdences for the design being done as a part of research analysis” - says A. Bjaya krishna Shrestha, “Literature reviow is general but case stuaies are done. for specific conditions.” Fam nis past thesis experience as a supervisor, he comments “Most students jump tothe case studies as soon as the thesis topic is finalized, wich is a wrong practice. Before doing case studies, students shoulé get acquainted with two things ~ fst is the issues to be adiressed for the related thesis topic. and second is the literature review 40 find out ‘ferent aspects or the important points (0 ok for in the thesis. I is about idontitying key issues and making a theoretical analylical framework. This would make case studies simpler and easy an what ta do or what to look for; what are the issues hat need to be explored and wha’ measures are to bo taken,” ‘Apparently, case studies are misunderstood by the students” — Prof, Tiwari says ite weary. Most students just {0 and look at an existing building - that is v Agaigi Tr ui ISSUE ‘ot @ proper way of doing case study. By ‘efintion, case means the case of a good design or the case of a horrible ane, He continues ~ “In research method case study method is applied only in two situations: one, when we have many cases at the same kind. We pick & analyses the extreme cases - very good ar very bad, not average ones. The other kind Is wien there is one single case. Eg. if we have to look at the tourist behavior in Mangal Bazaar, there is just one Mangal Bazaar to study, ‘We may enquire why case study became so much of a fixture of academic instfution. 18 this the influence by Master architects? They were the pioneers in the field, and were supposed to be good. Unfortunately, today we are fearing from ‘crappy masters’ ~ someone who even don't do design and that somehow becomes a case! That's why case studies are not able to impress these days. Gut if wo take the extreme case — thal could be of the master's who did it. E.g, for modern architectural idioms, you might look at Gauci’s bulging which might nat appeal to vou from aesthetic perspective but what might appeal to you is his time,” Another academic viewpoint on case study 's presonted by Ar. Biresh Shah by saying that case study basically is a design research ~ it gives the necessary input for bonverting the program into actual design, Virtaly anything trom anywhere can be Sludied that wil reinforce the input forthe pure design. There could be partial and “ragmentary studies, ‘Case Study is just ike when meeting @ person, what you want to talk ta tim about, You just want f0 see his face or whether you want to laik about his tite tistory’, exemplities Av. Bibhutiman Singh and hints that the students should be prepared and have to identity what aspect of the case/subject he/she is going ta study. Ar. Purna Krishna Dongol, on the other hand, views that the literature reviow is done to know what the requirements are, ‘while case studies are done to study what ‘he drawbacks in the design are, He also passes a note of caution that normally tho case study is done in local level while the proposal (inthe form of design) could be ‘universal (intemational) so while doing the case study, the student has to see for the nee of the topic On ‘issues’ ~ Design issues / Thesis issues Issues are by defintion, says Prof, Tiwari, a forthcoming question ar 2 debate or some idan or expression which is debatatle or some questions that do not have a readymade answer from within the system, He continues ~ “There could be design issues (raised by certain case studies), technological issues etc, E.9. whether Supermarkets and small shops can go together could be an issue - ft works may be because the supermarket is right next to the shopping streets in the Newroad, but ‘whether it works in a building ar not could ‘bo another issue. So issues are essentially some question, some controversies oF problems that are observed. In a thesis, there has to be an issue because if there is ro problem then there is no solution." Prof. Tiwari views that there are various methods applied in design and depending upon wich method is used, issues right be different. He exalains ~ “We ara usually using heuristics to reduce the design problem as you go on. The problem Is not finally solved like 2+ 2 = 4 in mathematics but it gets somewhere closer {0 it, but how close depends upon what You think is clase. While designing, we do io & fro movement - we do something, then look at it and if is not good, we go back and do something alse. in doing so. we are actually comparing it with something else. In architecture, itis more like pattern matching where a pattern is ‘matched in terms of space, circulation ete like jigsaw puzzle. As for case study, itis @ ‘ationalist method. You study something and try to analyze & identify what the problem with the design is. You use that ‘analysis and try to synthesize in your own design. Sometimes you do a story line design 2g, there is a student who joins in class one and goes through two, three, four and finally graduates in ten years. $0 thera is a sequonce. in fac, there isa story happening for everyone. Yau could design justto fit that stay.” On a similar note, Av. Biresh Shah views ‘issues 2s goveming elements for any thesis ‘and says that issues and problems are nothing but ‘setting a stago' for thesis - 2 foundation. No creativity can be explored if thesis lacks issues. He further adds ~ “Issues are identified in the course of research, we convert them into problems and which then give us the suggestions. ‘We are dealing withthe issues wile dealing with the problems.” ‘At Puma Krishna Dongol says that design issues are nothing but the rationale given by the case study. A, Bijaya Krishna Shrestha stresses that while finalizing the design topic itselt students should know what important issues that he will be dealing with e.g. in School design ~ how to make educational institution sustainable tram psychological perspectives or from thal of learning Drocess or education system. All the igsues cannot be addressed al once, so which ‘issues nead to be addressed first must be AN ANNUAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITEcTURE——— identified e.g. issues in elderly hora - lighting and ventilation, fee of steps or use cf ramp ete. Psychological needs of senior citizen or environmental psychology could again be a naw issue On Design Process Ar Bibhutiman Singh takas the idea of breaking down the design process into its constituents as impractical one. He theorizes "There are two schools of thoughts - from botlom up or top down, The lalter approach is the more usual & conventional one, starting with broad Conceptual level down to the minute details. But al the same time, e.g. in ‘designing a house, you could start wih the design of plumbing. This is the bottom up approach and can be an interesting design approach Sometimes it is like learning to rldo a bieycle. A person might not know how. to Tide a bicycle unt he learns i, and ance he learns i, he will never forget it. He does not care what centripetal force or centrifugal force is acting in it, he just does cycling But then if he knows the mechanics of cyoling, though he may nat know how to ride if, he might invent a now type of bioycle, Ifa certain topic is broken down into is constituent parts, though one may not necessarily have practical knawledge, but his knowledge of constituent parts will give him the knowledge of first principles that will lead him to innovations. So, in design process we need both approaches Norrally this is where people are confused bout ~ e.g. whether to take an artistic approach or technical appraach. We need bath.” Prof, Tiwari generalizes the theory of design rocess an more academic terms — Basically tor any design process, the project problem must be defined and the departure to solve those problems noeds to be established. Starting from few key aspects, finally the problem has to be solved in all aspects. Detine your problem, Idenity the key issues and find out what re some of the ways for resolving those issues. You can always do analysis & synthesis kind of things, While you are doing the case study/research, first principle research method can be applied, 2g. a thesis on Meditation conter can start by enquiring wt is meditation, what kinds of the spaces are needed for the meditation etc. There is always that frst person who designed the meditation center and who ‘might have thought that way, when there were na cases to study. He might have the material or the function and have tried to ‘put up his bulging accordingly, So design ‘process differs depending upon what you have. Ultimately when it comes to close thecircle, the process is similar = approximating the solution. We have to ask whether we have reached where we wanted to reach, or does the solution satisty the objectives that we have set?" On the Expectation of Jury There is a general agreement that the expectation of the jury difers from person ‘0 person. Prof. Tiwari clarifies ~ *Normally thay are thinking of innovation, Often good jurors are those who can see those innovations. They might realize that the student has tried to co something, maybe he didn't co too well but he has something there and has tried ta be creative in some way. Certainly, they are not expected to discuss on the requirements or something Which has been settled long ago. He has to Judge the architectural dea that has been put up. Architectural ideas are spectrum of Ideas. Sometime it might be presentation ‘ideas. We might dismiss it as drafisporson's approach, but we may find architects who ‘make radically different presentations and that might be their contribution, Anything now is expected that may be in social aspects, form or characterization, But fis not necessary that all jurors nave to agree wit the idea. But this happens with every architect. You are not supposed to agree with each other or else there is no Innovation. So agreement isnot what the jury should be seeking, Sometimes criticism is misunderstood; it should rather be rendered positively.” Ar. Bireshi Shah & Ar Dipak Pant both agree that the expectation in the jury Is a Subjective matter. They add ~ *For us, itis the consistency ~ how clear is the project, what is the approach, how research has been done, how design has been developed - a growth that shows the consistent & sincere effor.” Ar Dipak Pant continues ~ *Basicaly, the projact needs to bbe completo in avery respect. Physically saying, some students may not have completed plan or section, some may end up with half rendering etc. It Is not the ‘matter of how many sheets but of the basic minimum works (in the form of sketches, drawings etc.) to express the idea effectively. Throughout the process, the ‘overall work should display the sincerity of the student in terms of the time available, ° Having appeared as a juror in numerous ‘occasions, Ar. Bibhutiman Singh shares his experience ~ “Personally, | would go more for open ended questions. The drawings will obviously be Seen but | wouldn't go in ‘rival details ike the wicth of corridor. Ideal only on broader conceptual level and wish to discuss on such topics. That's why | call it @ hypothesis; it should be on broad Conceptual level only, so that the person —— AN ANNUAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE: ISSUE a who reads the thesis could draw out his own open ended interpretations. Such thesis are more interesting which ‘more unanswered questions rather than calving just specific solutions, e.g. in designing a cup, giving the design salution ‘to milimeter accuracy is not the thesis. You should rather deal the cup in philosophical ‘or broad conceptual level, for instance, the cup is a container having half mass and half void. That way people who look at it ‘can design ther own type of cup. A. Baya Krishna Shrestha states his expectation as a juror in clear terms = “Thesis consists of oral presentation, Graphical presentation and report wating, 1 look for three things in thesis ~ analysis (process, identifying issues, case study analysis, essons learnt from qualitative and quantitative data, how the student has formulated the areas, finalized the activities ‘and refined the evidences on what he has proposed, the analytical capabilly and the authenticity of the data); presentation lechniques (how the student explains his Droject in 15-20 mins, students’ capablity and technique to explain clearly what has been done in skx months); report writing (which is mostly not given emphasis, It is ‘more important than the oral presentation because oral presentation wil not include everything that has been done but the report is comprehensive and can be accessed for cillerent data & Information any time in the futur).* ‘At. Pura Krishna Dongol says that thesis valuation has a subjective element - fargely depends on the defense judgment, But basically, how skilfully the student has tackled the problem and how he/she tas Presented the solution balancedly is obviously seen, On Repori/Literature 'A report should be abla to fully express the idea” - says Prot, Tiwari, “It is important, may be not from the guide's/ teacher's perspective, but for juror that is what they read and get an idea trom Report is just another way of communicating and expressing your ideas to the juror and other readers whe want to ‘now about te design, Prof. Tivacl comments on the prevailing trend of disregarding the erature for the sake of graphics and remarks — “Architecture studonts always have this problem, They always think that iis just a design; they don't nave the idea what Glesign is. They thnk iis ust a graphic space, Graphic space nead not be good space, though it might look good in drawing. Sometime you can have graphic design a8 @ term - Eg. from the plan of school we can tell thal iis @ school ~he layout of the class & the way things have ben done tells how that school is being ‘un, That is 2 very graphic way, and not |ust presentation,” A, Biresh Shah is frank about the lack of weightage given to the report, “lt has only remained as a formality. Report in isell could be a creative and meaningful exercise for sludants. Students don't do analytical sketches — they find easy way by pasting the direct information trom eigtal sources, There are many theses where esearch component is much stranger — ven bigger than design component. This has to be reflected in the report. tt Is not necessary to make numeraus pages; a smal port could be effectively arganizad, ‘ypitying the report according to the categorization of theses will help in affective expression of ideas and thereby effective transmission of information. This will again help in better organization of ‘port. An effective report is a great asset not only to the reader as 2 resource material but also to the student who writes it because in making a sincere report, his! her own understanding & knowledge on the subject is being developed. Ar, Bibhutimian Singh thinks that whether People read it or not, bul as a thesis, Students must virte dawn what they fee, ‘what they are inspired by, what they cid, ‘how the design solution came about, what are future possibilties etc. ll such aspocts could only be expressed in repart Everybody Is drawn by the graphics ‘doesn't mean thatthe value af the report is diminished. He remarks that generally people don’t read the text and give marks by looking only at the drawings ané presentations. Al the same time, reports of thé students themselves normally suffer ‘rom bad grammar and horrible syntax, He thinks the report is good if itis presented in a very short and sweet way using maximum graphical methods, ‘A. Biya Krishna Shrestha, on the other hhand, points that instead of quoting the direct information, students should process it before presenting iti the report ~ that way he/she will ave his/her input as ‘an analytical exercise, On Presentation Guidelines “Guidelines are for comparative purpos ~ says Prof. Tiwari, "Facully has the responsibility to make sura that everyone is presented on a comparable basis. If we don't give the guideline, there might be variety of media and presentation techniques. They could be marvelous but ‘then they might give an unfair advantage or an unfair disadvantage to someone. £5 somebody else might know how io do ‘those things, but might not have used it~ ISSUE peclly the quidlines, may y simple. That's the safest of comparing standaré, But there have when students don't follow ti nus sit mean thal we reject he whole thing but that is Up to i sk. The guidelines can n vork within a safe limit. To nls i helps, probably ft doesn’t help ry good students. But guidelines cannot ait design tok poor, Guideline always Helps in the comparative process cause If hore is no there is petition ermational ons Have guidelines. Guideline fe loose but itis always there. 1 the competitions defying ke a student average nigh technology can nat hide a sub standard ‘content. Evory thesis has its own imitation, 1.9. not everything can be shown in the PowerPoint, and @ great many things will be better presented inthe form of drawings. Besides there is always the time factor in the matter of presentation and students have 10 decide on their mode of presentation axcordingly.” Issues that have emerged fram these tsoussions are diverse and, on many account, rather subjective. The interpretations aunt the fessons that cout be fearnt trom these issues may vary. Resolving tho difference in the opinions of sludents. teachers, jurors and even volessionals sight he teu especialy in (Based on the interviews by Gyanendra Shakya, Manindra Shrestha & Padmeadra Prasad Shrestha. They are graduates from Institute of Engineering, 10E) (Footnotes) Prof. Dr. Sudarshan Raj Tiwari, Ar Biresh Shah and Ac Deopak Pant have been supervising 8. Arch, Thesis at Institute of Enginoering,Tribiunwan University. Dr, Baya krishna Shrestha is a thesis guide at NEC, Pokhara University and Khowpa Engineering College, Purbanchal University At, Bibhuti Man Singh is 4 practicing architect and has been a thesis juror @ several times. Ac Putna-rishna Dongat is Ar ices Shah & Ar. Dipak Pant agrée with @ subject tke architecture. But until a Head of Department nf Department ot Tiwari“ ttle flevblity should have common denominator is sought trough Architecture at Kathmandu Engineering een there, bul Ion much ffeecor is not open discussions ark forums on issue tke College esitasle hocause it wil create confusion & this, it will always remain a matter of °7""** ‘culty in the evaluation. Technology contusion, To give a safer landing to Howls be inioligantly used but m should —BATeR. Thesis, the stucionts showid try 10 ‘iat overrule our ides. should not be eitserve the goodness of al these aspecis pol or made a Barrier. A superior and find ¢heir reHlections in their thesis works Rene shrest ‘Tribhuvan University Affiliate KATHMANDU ENGINEERING COLLEGE Striving Towards Excellence in Engineering Education KEC | Kalimati ener Offered BE. Electronics Capacity Duration 1324 years 88 4 years 21 4 years 5 years 30 2 years os) Tel: 4284902, 4280011 an anuaL wourNat of ancHirecruge———