Architectural Design Studio (ADST) 690

Architectural Design Studio 690: Diploma Project is the final project of your educational experience in the architectural design studios, leading to the GDA. This project can be either a building design or a research project. The diploma project connects architectural theory and practice through the advanced study of professional and cultural issues that give purpose and meaning to design.

For example, a building design project may resolve an existing problem through a new and innovative project or design solution, while a research project may involve academic research and critical analysis of a theoretical problem, with the goal of developing a solution with application beyond a single project and which is of use to other practitioners in the field. For ADST 690, either kind of project must involve a critical analysis of the problem, which is an essential skill for architects.

The diploma project may be one of the following:

• a building design with a thoroughly analyzed complex functional program that you have developed or
• a research project that you have initiated

You have a choice which of these two projects to undertake, but the specific topic must be approved by your instructor.

A research project may or may not involve a design component involving a building or space in the traditional sense. It may include research into building science, building technology or building materials, the development of a new building typology, a prototype, a set of guidelines, a set of policies, or another architectural topic. You must find a suitable project that will provide an effective solution to a problem.

If your diploma project will result in a building, the following written documents must be prepared:

• statement of intent
• project proposal
• project program
• final presentation

You are responsible for conceptualizing, framing, and realizing the project under the supervision of your instructor, the director of the RAIC Centre for Architecture, and the external advisor(s) requested by you and approved by the instructor and director.

Throughout this course, you must maintain a sketchbook capturing personal engagement with the studio, thoughts and observations on you work and that of others, design explorations you considered and abandoned, your interactions with critics and fellow students, and questions that remain unanswered. The sketchbook is a required element of all design studio courses.

You are encouraged to engage your instructor often throughout the course. Their experience and knowledge will be a valuable resource as you develop your design thinking, and they will act as a sounding board for your design ideas.

You are required to develop a personal archive on your computer to store materials that are pertinent to your studies. This can include images, texts, scanned drawings, models, and websites. If this is your first course using a personal archive at Athabasca University, please carefully read Archives and Collections. It will familiarize you with concepts behind a personal archive and with design, organizational tools, and formats that can help you achieve a workable collection. Your personal archive will be central to your studies throughout the program and to your ongoing career.

During the first 13 weeks, you will be asked to share your work in progress with your instructor and the other students in the studio. This weekly session is the equivalent of a desk critique (a session during which the architecture student sits down with their instructor to review their designs) given in a face-to-face studio.

These interactive meetings will be held in an online environment that includes video conferencing, audio conferencing, and social media, and will allow the instructor to provide feedback in the form of sketches beside or as a layer over your work. This is intended to be a productive working session much like you would experience in an architect’s office. You will receive a full set of instructions for connecting to the virtual studio.