The Dissertation: A Guide for Architecture Students

by Iain Borden, Katerina Rüedi Ray

Overview

The Dissertation is one of the most demanding yet potentially most stimulating components of an architectural course. This classic text provides a complete guide to what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and what the major pitfalls are.

This is a comprehensive guide to all that an architecture student might need to know about undertaking the dissertation. The book provides a plain guide through the whole process of starting, writing, preparing and submitting a dissertation with minimum stress and frustration.

The third edition has been revised throughout to bring the text completely up-to-date for a new generation of students. Crucially, five new and complete dissertations demonstrate and exemplify all the advice and issues raised in the main text. These dissertations are on subjects from the UK, USA, Europe and Asia and offer remarkable insights into how to get it just right.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138168510
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/02/2015
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Iain Borden is an architectural historian and urban commentator. He is currently Vice-Dean for Communications at The Bartlett, University College London (UCL), UK, where he is also Professor of Architecture and Urban Culture. He graduated from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1985 and went on to complete a masters degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA, and another masters degree and a PhD at UCL. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Katerina Rüedi Ray is Director Emerita of the School of Art at Bowling Green State University, USA. From 1996 to 2002 she was the Director of the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. She studied architecture at the Architectural Association in London, and has a masters and a doctoral degree in architecture from the University of London. She taught architectural design and theory in the UK at the Architectural Association, The Bartlett and Kingston University before taking up her positions in America.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 1.01 Why Write a Dissertation? 1.02 The Handbook 2 Starting 2.01 What is a Dissertation? 2.02 Selecting a Dissertation Subject 2.03 Assessing a Dissertation Subject 2.04 Choosing and Working with a Supervisor 2.05 Writing a Proposal 3 Researching 3.01 What is Research? 3.02 Historical and Critical Methodology 3.03 Research Techniques 3.04 Libraries and Archives 3.05 The Internet 4 Writing 4.01 Structuring a Dissertation 4.02 Working Methods 4.03 Illustrations 4.04 Referencing 4.05 Bibliographies 4.06 Plagiarism 4.07 Submitting a Draft 4.08 Word-Processing 4.09 Alternative Dissertations 5 Presenting 5.01 General Presentation 5.02 Illustrations 5.03 Computer Software 5.04 Assessment Criteria 5.05 Oral Examinations 6 Afterwards 6.01 Further Research and Study 6.02 Publications 6.03 Troubleshooting 7 Dissertation Examples 7.01 Joseph Godlewski, "Alien and Distant: Rem Koolhaas on Film in Lagos, Nigeria." 7.02 Ocean Howell, "The ‘Creative Class’ and the Gentrifying City: Skateboarding in Philadelphia’s Love Park." 7.03 Mairi Johnson, "Once Upon a Sign: Relationships of Architecture and Narrative in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum." 7.04 Joanna Rapp, "A Geometrical Analysis of Multiple Viewpoint Perspective in the Work of Giovanni Battista Piranesi: an Application of Geometric Restitution of Perspective." 7.05 Amy Thomas, "‘Mart of the World’: an Architectural and Geographical History of the London Stock Exchange."

Editorial Reviews

‘"Architecture made of words" is how the authors of The Dissertation describe their subject. Students are guided through the whole process, from choosing a subject right through to troubleshooting and trying to publish. Borden and Rüedi Ray are full of sage advice and helpful tips and, most usefully, their new edition provides five real dissertations demonstrating the variety of research and writing possible. Lucid and sensible, this is an essential guide for all architectural students.' - Professor Mark Crinson, University of Manchester

'An invaluable reference guide packed with useful advice and supported with inspiring and informative examples. This book should be required reading for anyone about to navigate the challenges of writing a dissertation.' - C. Greig Crysler, Associate Professor of Architecture and Arcus Chair, College of Environmental Design, UC Berkeley

From the Publisher