Examination of the Interaction Process between Architecture Students and Supervisors in the Thesis Studio

Abstract

This paper aims to criticize the current supervision process in the undergraduate thesis project in the architecture program to reveal philosophical contradiction exists in the schools of thought. The architecture programs have adopted an apprenticeship style of education as a tradition that is called learning by doing even in the thesis projects. However, new schools of education and thought are looking for more students’ freedom and flexibility. A qualitative method with focus group workshops and group reporting techniques was applied in the research to discover the opinions of the thesis students about the supervisors and their own works and progress. Data was extracted from the reports of the students. The findings reveal that the students received guidance for the design process and outputs. However, they faced problems in keeping ownership of the thesis project idea, communication, interaction, and motivation with the supervisors. The power of the supervisors over the students resulted in changing the projects, crits, and outputs in the absence of clear guidelines in more personal manners. In conclusion, thesis projects include complicated processes that need clear guidelines and training for supervisors, even undergraduate theses in architecture departments. Despite the apprenticeship tradition in architecture education, new findings in education recommended a knowledge-based orientation for the supervision process.