showusyourthesis

[showusyourthesis]

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[showusyourthesis]

Douglas Wright / Victoria University of Wellington

SANNZ is back with more from VUW! This week we talk to Doug about his exploration of the backcountry both through his thesis and in his free time. Using a narrative process he’s creating a series of design interventions along a tramping route in the Tararuas. 

SANNZ | Hey Doug! What is your thesis all about? 

Doug |  I’m looking in to how architecture can curate our experience of a large environment to facilitate placemaking. Basically, exploring the overlapping fields of sense of place, experience and site specific design. Through a narrative methodology, I’m designing a series of interventions along the Southern Crossing tramping route in the Tararuas.

SANNZ | Who is your supervisor and why did you choose to work with him/her?

Doug | Maibritt Pedersen Zari – Can’t say I chose her - that’s just who I was allocated. With that said, it has been a good match and I think we have similar views of the role and importance of architecture.

SANNZ | When you started your Masters just over a year ago at the start of fourth year, did you think your thesis would take this direction?

Doug | To some extent yes. I’ve always loved the backcountry, huts and experiencing architecture beyond the visual façade. It has taken quite a while to figure out how to knit these together and the way it has developed over the year definitely wasn’t foreseen.

SANNZ | What are your plans for next year?

Cycling! The current plan has me cycling from Copenhagen to the top of Norway stopping and experiencing some buildings along the way as well as appreciating the natural beauty and culture of Scandinavia. I feel like it’s a good time to get a break in and make the most of working holiday visas while I can.

SANNZ | Do you feel that architecture school has prepared you for the realities of working in the industry?

Doug | Not really, but I don’t think that should be the goal of university. How are we going to advance research if we are embedded directly within the profession? I think the critical thinking, development of creativity and knowledge of myself has been invaluable and will be in any profession. It would be nice to be able to get an architecture job and start paying off my rather large loan at some point though…  

SANNZ | Do you work while studying/how many hours? How do you find the balance?

Doug | I was in the first semester, but I decided I would rather focus on getting the thesis done and have time to get outside and have some fun. I’ve got a great balance between uni and life at the moment and that means I’m in a good mental space.  

SANNZ | What coffee has fuelled your degree and where do you usually buy it from?

Doug | I enjoy my coffee, and especially the faff you can get into brewing a good cup. We are spoiled with good coffee round our campus but Coffee Supreme beans are always a goer to for me. I bring them back to uni and brew through a V60.

SANNZ | What keeps you occupied outside of study?

Doug | It seems filled with biking, rock climbing and tramping for the most part. Anything in the hills away from the city seems to keep me sane. It’s always nice to disconnect, take a pause and appreciate where we live.

SANNZ | What do you enjoy most about architecture school? Or, what will you miss the most about architecture school when you leave?

Doug | The backwards ‘A’ on the outside, the morning sun breaking through the concrete V structure as you enter the building, the sounds that fills the void in the atrium as the day progresses, the crackle of pipes as you ascend up to the first year studio, the changing view of Wellington that appears as you move up the stairs in relationship to the static window on 5th floor.

Oh and the people in studio of course - we have been through a fair bit together and they’re always up to have a chat.

SANNZ | What inspires you?

Mainly the people in my daily life. My flatmates and their work ethic, my friends and their positivity for life, my family and their unfailing support. If you surround yourself with inspiring people, life is pretty exciting.  

In terms of architecture though I recently discovered Rick Joy – his designs keep blowing me away. Then there’s always Peter Zumthor, Steven Holl and Ian Athfield who never fail to not impress. I think the artists, Richard Serra and James Turrell are also pretty inspiring to me. All those listed seem amazing at creating experiences within space which is what interests me most about architecture.  

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Chiara Shim / Victoria University of Wellington

Following the University of Auckland’s lead, Show Us Your Thesis is making a come back at Victoria. To kick it off, we talk greyhounds, coding and aquariums with Chiara. 

SANNZ | Hi Chiara! What’s your thesis all about?

Chiara | It’s a creative body of work that explores how hue, saturation and brightness can replace physical materials to evoke emotion and responses, and it’s in mixed realities.

SANNZ | Who is your supervisor and why did you choose to work with them?

Chiara | I kind of have 3 supervisors, my main supervisor is Tane Moleta and my other supervisors are Marc Aurel Schnabel and Andre Brown. So Tane Moleta is my main supervisor, and he’s really great because he’s open to ideas and I really wanted to be supervised by someone who was really interested and enthusiastic about what I wanted to do, and yeah that’s why I’ve got Tane!

SANNZ | When you started your Masters just over a year ago at the start of fourth year, did you think your thesis would take this direction?

Chiara | Probably not, I didn’t think it would take such a digital direction, but now its not only digital but also analog, so it’s kind of mixed but I knew that I wanted to do all kinds of new things in my thesis year, all these different things and put them together and some of them don’t make sense, so maybe in a way I thought it might be in this direction. I also didn’t expect to be learning how to code, but it’s always a fun challenge to learn new skills!

SANNZ | What are your plans for next year?

Chiara | I want to work in a firm, hopefully in Wellington, but I’ll just have to see what happens, can’t plan too much!

SANNZ | Do you feel that architecture school has prepared you for the realities of working in the industry?

Chiara | I mean I wouldn’t really know, because I haven’t worked properly in the industry, but I’ve worked over summer in firms. I think that it would prepare me a decent amount, but you know you can learn how to do stuff but you’ve got to actually do it before you know if you can, if that makes sense.

SANNZ | Do you work while studying/how many hours? How do you find the balance?

Chiara | I tutor, I’ve tutored every semester of masters, and it’s about 8 hours a week and it’s pretty easy to manage but it means that sometimes I have to work later, or work at home or work on weekends, to help make up for the lost hours.

SANNZ | If you could design a building anywhere in New Zealand, what type would it be and where?

Chiara | I think Wellington really needs an aquarium, just like lots of fish. Plus there would be lots of blue, which is so relevant in terms of my thesis - blue girl! Napier has an aquarium but Wellington needs one too [laughs]. 

SANNZ | Have you got a particular site in mind? 

Chiara | Even in Island Bay could be kind of cool, because they have the marine reserve. It could be a non-traditional aquarium, like a nature reserve, ethical something or other… conservation.

SANNZ | How do you ‘switch’ your brain off after a long day at uni?

Chiara | I don’t really switch it off but I’ve learnt to slow it down. I do that by just doing other stuff, like anything, I have a dog, pat him. You can find me going for long nature walks on the weekend or getting sweet treats with my archi pals. Oh and I also like to cook!

SANNZ | Teach me something I don’t know.

Chiara | Greyhounds are the oldest dog, they were the first dog recorded and that was in the bible. I didn’t phrase that well but they are the oldest breed of dog!

SANNZ | Wow!

Images of work + Verbatim the Greyhound provided by Chiara Shim

Interview by Alice Cooke

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Fritha Powell / The University of Auckland

After too long of a break, Show Us Your Thesis is back at the University of Auckland! First up is Fritha Powell, who gave us some fantastic insight into her process, how it’s developed, and some words of wisdom for future thesis-goers.

SANNZ | Hi Fritha! What’s your thesis all about?

Fritha | My thesis is about a very reflective process of how I draw and approach architectural drawing. It’s important to state that this wasn’t a design thesis, it clings to architecture but exists as an interdisciplinary document. It hovers around the spatiality available in drawing and the action of inhabitation of that which is constructed on the page. As the thesis develops it becomes about the action of drawing without a page. Rather the creation of an installation made from fabric and projection becomes an inhabitable drawing. Throughout the whole process I was keeping track of the lines I was drawing as a conversation of generated between the line in architecture and the line outside of architecture, as I began to draw from poetry, song, film and art.

SANNZ | Who is your supervisor? Was there a reason you wanted to work with them in particular?

Fritha | My supervisor is Marian Macken, who wouldn’t want to work with her?!

SANNZ | True! So where did the process start for you?

Fritha | Where I started was the collection of women’s architectural drawings around New Zealand, it is about noting this lineage but in a student proposition overlaying myself and swaying away from the normative.

The making, writing and construction is incredibly feminine and personal. Threads of making become knotted as loose strays and frayed pieces were tied together to form this thesis. It was always going to be making-rich as I was drawing before even picking up a book; the making has informed the entire direction of the thesis.

SANNZ | Did you have a rough idea about the scope of your thesis going into it?

Fritha | I knew a few things before I began, did I know the scope NO, and I still think my scope is changing. I think one of the first things I knew coming into this year is that I wasn’t interested in a building or following a similar layout to previous design briefs, don’t ask me why. I also knew that the aspect of the design process I enjoy the most was always the beginning doing I guess the conceptual drawings or model makings before launching into the architecture and my favourite papers were always my GEN papers based entirely on drawing. I guess I spent a year doing that…

SANNZ | Can you give us an overview of your methodology? Has it changed significantly over the course of your thesis year?

Fritha | Since completing my thesis, even the thought of sitting down putting pen, well, pencil: my preferred choice, to paper and simply drawing sends my brain into over-thinking mode. Thesis has pulled apart, shifted, altered, matured, dissected everything I thought I knew about drawing. It’s funny I began resistant to the computer; I find the most enjoyment working away from the digital but ended up spending weeks on an animation and projection which was completely foreign. I even dabbled into completing a series of digital drawings. Thesis is unbelievable; Marian and I laughed a lot when digital drawings were mentioned.

SANNZ | Amazing, so do you find now that you’ve completely challenged and unpacked drawing media through this process you still favour it? If you were to do it all again do you think you’d find yourself turning to digital media earlier on?

Fritha | If I was to do it all again I think I’d do a completely different thesis! Things are always changing. That doesn’t really answer that question does it. No probably not, I think a part of me was aware that the thesis I choose to pursue was enriched with methodologies of working that won’t be used as much in practice.

SANNZ | Now that you’re just about finished, what comes next?

Fritha | Not this question! I was secretly hoping that I could make it through this interview without having to construct an answer, simply because I just don’t know. All I do know is that after five-and-a-half years of study I have a very neglected bank account which needs some T.L.C. The easy answer is of course architecture, but this for me brings about a sense of unease, which I don’t solely blame on my thesis but I think it has a large part to play.  

In all honesty, completing this thesis, especially in the form of an exhibition, was perhaps one of the most pleasurable times I have had during my time at Architecture School. Does this mean a career in curation? Or branching out… who knows. I even talked about further study… my bank account says otherwise. What thesis year has given me is acknowledgement that I have a huge area of interest outside of architecture, if nothing else it will be a responsibility of mine to keep this interest alive and fueled.

SANNZ | Lastly, what advice would you give to those of us who are embarking on our own thesis journeys soon (or not so soon)?

Fritha | Be fluid. You’ll come in hot (some of us do) with a set idea, thinking you know your work, know how you work, can see your final presentation complete. You’ll be wrong. I honestly think, having talked to several thesis students, that thesis is this forever-changing academic pursuit. Where my thesis began is miles away from where I have finished; it’s still changing and I’m six weeks away from completion. Even now I look at the work I produced at the beginning and the work I produced towards the end and the change is phenomenal, I don’t recognise it as my own.

I just had to go with the flow along the way and trust in the result.  We have heard it all before but everything really will be ok.

Keep your other interests alive. I was always running and swimming through Uni and aswell as keeping me sane other interests are as equally valuable. Look after youself, be interesting, in all aspects.

Have fun, do what you love to do, do it fucking well and laugh lots.

Images of work provided by Fritha Powell

Interview by Tane Pamatatau-Marques

Fritha photographed by Valentina Espinoza Caćeres

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Icao Tiseli / The University of Auckland

This week SANNZ talks to the lovely Icao Tiseli about her thesis, which deals with visualizing the indigenous perspective of her culture through the unique topographical mapping of her mother’s Tongan island.

SANNZ: Irrelevant but necessary question; what would your Patronus charm be?

Icao: Yes! [laughs] Okay, so I did Pottermore and they said my Patronus was a “Stag”!

SANNZ: In short, What is your thesis about?

Icao: It deals with mapping as a transformative agent within typography.

SANNZ: Why do you think it’s so hard to talk about your own thesis?

Icao: It is difficult, my project is based around maps, so my first obstacle when I conceived of this idea was trying to find the validity of these maps. The real question was, is it really important? It was a very humbling moment, where I kind of saw my project from the outside, acting as my own worst critic. What is the relevance of this? I unpacked that importance of that and it came out of two things. Within my body of work, within architecture, the environment has played a huge role within each of my design proposals. Realising and understanding that, came about by going back to my mother’s Island twenty years after I was there. It was a very personal moment, where having witnessed this space on this island and most importantly the stories; understanding those which I had grown up hearing. With the absence of my grandparents who used to tell them, I felt like I was reconnecting with a part of myself and everything came together and begun to make sense. But the importance of the maps and the landscape in my thesis is to unlock those different types of potentials. Maps are quantified, they are measured. Whenever we go to a place, it is intangible qualities which connect us to that space. It is the way people function, it’s your favourite store, it’s the way these places are in Summer, or in Spring that makes you feel a sense of place. I think these qualities of gaining a sense of place are not tangible through a map. I want to reveal these qualities.

SANNZ: What inspired you to choose this topic?

Icao: The Island that I went back to, it’s just so magical. I’m very much driven by the indigenous perspective on everyday life there. I want to investigate how the culture of the people work and how they perceive their own sense of place.

SANNZ: Tell me about your supervisor and why you chose to work with them?

Icao: My Supervisor is Mike Austin, who actually happens to be a very happy accident. I initially was hesitant to work with I’m since I never had so before but he always knows what to give me for each stage of the process. By some chance, having worked with him, we discovered that he had also traveled to the exact Island I was basing my thesis around in the eighties, so looking back I always view getting Mike as just a happy accident. I think our planets are aligned [laughs].

SAANZ: How have you felt about pursuing just ONE topic for the whole year?

Icao: With thesis topics, I find that they are very revealing about an individual. For some, it’s broader issues that they focus on with just one topic. For me, it’s all the subconscious elements I’ve picked up from architecture school gradually amalgamated into this nice package which I’m dealing with right now which is landscape and the environment followed by storytelling.

SANNZ: When tackling a design, what is your approach in the conceptual stage?

Icao: I first started out by drawing a map, with all the theory emerging after. I did know was dealing with the indigenous perspective, therefore, I knew I needed a hands-on approach to media. It thought printing would be a good approach, then I briefly contemplated laser-cutting before realizing that I should use the technique of carving. I wanted to pick out areas I wanted to visit as they reflected an interesting typography and personally carved it; leaving room for creativity to flourish, interpreting the typology as I wanted to view it. This is all before I even re-visited the Island.

SANNZ: How has your process changed since your first preliminary crit?

Icao: I realised the aerial view is a Western perspective. How our people used to navigate was through a ground plane; this personal experience resulted in my day-to-night maps. I wanted to capture with these maps what It must feel like to transition from day to night, experientially for the people. As I interrogated more I realised the compass too is a Western construction, therefore I had to create my own compass. With all my supported texts, I had to begin to rely on mythology and folklore to assist me in understanding how people discussed land, the environment, sea, and sky. I discovered that Traditionally in Tongan words; North and South is not Traditional and so I had to use Hahake and Hihifo (East to West) and  I placed myself as if I were living in that time, utilizing light and shadows to display moments of the day, with at night; opening them up to the stars; aiding human navigation. I’ve utilized mapping as an illustrative expression in order to assist me in my narrative of how people perceive site, place, and land; with architecture coming after to facilitate those types of concerns.

SAANZ: How do you feel the University of Auckland Architecture school has set you up for the industry?

Icao: Ooh, that’s a loaded question [laughs]. In terms of the industry, classes like ArchPRM (Professional Studies) in conjunction with simply putting yourself out there and attending industry lectures, talks, and events, certainly have I feel. These are the things we interact with to better understand, at this stage, the correlation of what we’re doing in relation to practice. However, in regards to preparation for practice; I feel we are not equipped enough for the technical side of design.  Our school is definitely more design-oriented and to be honest, I wouldn’t change it. Critical thought is one of the most valuable things I’ve learned from this school.

How you take an idea, and where that idea will lead you and that’s the most exciting thing. The process is more than the result. The architectural realm tells us that we should have a perceived ending but I feel like the richest projects bloom at different stages. It’s all about understanding the process where your project should go as this is the point where negative feelings of insecurity about where one’s project breeds from. The school should definitely acknowledge the beauty of different processes and the fact that their level of articulation occurs at a different time.

SAANZ: Advice to those who will be in your shoes a year from now?:

Icao: I think we should understand that if we reach fifth year as architecture students, you should understand by now what type of worker you are. For me, I know when I’ve hit a wall to a point where it’d literally going nowhere. At these points, I take the breaks that I need and once I do so, I return to my work. 

I leave room for adapting and have understood how to not be too hard on myself if I didn’t do the day as well as I had hoped. It’s also about working through your stress whilst understanding where you’re emotions emerge from. Identifying issues that at times, may arise out of the blue and there is only so much you can do. At the end of the day just have a wine if you feel super wound-up, have a chat with a friend, go and get some family time; hug a tree, cuddle an animal, etc. Do what you need to do to get the time that you need for yourself.

SAANZ: What music has been the soundtrack to your thesis so far?

Icao: I listen to a lot of 2000’s Hip Hop but generally whatever I like. I’ve recently listened to J. Cole’s KOD album (which is super, super great) but in Heritage for some reason, I had Frank Ocean’s “Blonde” on repeat. Before that, I was listening to a lot of Cuban music, although it was a bit counter-productive [imitates dance].

SAANZ: What have been some moments of fruition during your thesis?

Icao: I had a recent one. I was in the same stage I am now where I was writing some of my thesis chapters, one of which deals with the concept of time. I just unlocked that the procedures that I’ve been practicing with time are not traditional. I’ve just realized how we perceive time is a self-contained period. When a Chief dies; age dies, therefore there is a new age, new time, etc. In Western culture, time is linear, so by revealing these things I find myself trying to unpack the idea even further.

SAANZ: What are you going to miss the most about the Architecture school when you leave?

Icao: Learning! I love learning [laughs]. I just love the staff too and my peers. Those people who have nurtured me through this journey and have guided me through it. They were the ones that made me fall in love with the school in the first place.

SAANZ:  What are your hopes for next year and what aspect of architecture do you want to be pursuing?

Icao: I don’t know yet, I’m willing to learn. I have no preconceptions or expectations of where I should and shouldn’t go. I’m gonna come in as a blank canvas, as I feel like my world’s gonna be rocked again by starting from the bottom and I’m open to that struggle. I can’t go in with preconceived notions of how it will go, because I’ll be disappointed. I’m gonna try and view it all as an experience and see where I land.

Interview by Valentina Espinoza Caceres & Jonah Tan

Photography by Valentina Espinoza Caceres

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Varun Saxena// University of Auckland

This week SANNZ talks to Varun Saxena about his unique approach to finding value within practice and telling the story of craft, specifically through the creation of a wine tasting experience on Waiheke Island intended to bridge the gap between the maker and the consumer.

SANNZ: In short, what is your thesis about?

VS: My thesis is about how can we find value in the things that we practice and how can we get better at telling the story of our craft. That's the overarching question, the project vehicle through which I am testing these ideas is through the design of a wine tasting experience on Waiheke Island. It's a series of wine tasting spaces which bridge the gap between the winemaker and the wine consumer and gives them an experience which engages with the terroir of the site and the practice of winemaking.

SANNZ: What inspired you to choose this topic?

VS: I am quite interested in how a craftsman can engage directly to the people who respond to their craft. How can that interaction be made better so that the person that is receiving the craft can truly understand the work that has gone into it? I am interested in bridging the gap between the consumer and the maker.

SANNZ: Tell me about your supervisor and why you chose to work with them?

VS: My supervisor is Mike Davis. I picked him because I spoke to his previous students and they had nothing but good words for him, and speaking to people who have had him as a tutor previously said he provides real direct advice, which is something I need. But after having him I realised he doesn’t tell you what to do, but makes you confident in your ability more than anything.

SANNZ: How has the Iberia trip, and the Alpine tour affected your work?

VS: Being exposed to different building typologies and methodologies which we aren't used to here. It was all similar but different. Spain was all about history, and the Alpine tour was more contemporary and featured tucked away places. It’s influenced my work in the way that I am now more open to change, and that there is so much possibility out there and it's ok to change your ideas and the way you think.

SANNZ: Throughout your time at the architecture school did you always think your thesis was going to have this topic? Have you touched on these topics and techniques in previous Design papers?

VS: I had no idea what my thesis was going to be about, I think I just began one day. I really wanted to go on the Alpine trip and thought there would be a lot of wineries as there was in the Iberia trip, and it’s such a rich typology filled with so much possibility and not really tied down to anything in particular. I had no idea that it would evolve to this whole thing about practice and value. I really got to explore my own practice, specifically drawing, which is the way I work and I didn't realise it would become such a key point for my thesis. It was only when I reflected on my previous work and really looked at how I started each design paper. Drawing became a real key thing. It was like ‘how can I explore my own craft through my thesis?’

Image of overlaying technique

Bank of concept sketches, exploring tectonic forms, spatial compositions, and terrain

Site visit studies, investigating how wine tasting experiences vary across Waiheke.

Overlaying conceptual diagrams on site plan of Goldie Estate on Waiheke, Through exploration of the craft of drawing, the outcome of the practice became a representation of organizational diagrams overlaid with experiential drawings.

Conceptual planning, further exploring craft of drawing, using layering of tracing paper and varying line-weights and media, ink pen and pencil 

SANNZ: When tackling a design, what is your approach?

VS: Hand drawing, specifically. What I sketch is plan-based drawings. Mapping out ideas, concepts, and relationships. They are quite abstract but they do inform a tectonic structure in the quality of the drawings.  Thickness, lightness in the drawings, and fluidity in the lines dictate circulation through spaces the composition between drawn elements would inform where each programme would sit on the site. When I translate it into architecture I've found that there’s a shift in media. I would transfer onto Rhino, and rationalise my drawings into an architectural form.  However, in the representation of the architecture through conventional drawings, I try to retain the quality of my hand drawings, mostly in my sections and plans  in the final images.

SANNZ: Do you work whilst studying? How do you balance work and study?

VS: Balance is key to a successful thesis I feel, but I do find it a struggle to find time for everything. I previously worked in retail during my BAS and I started to seriously look for architecture work in third year because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue a the Master's degree or not. I started working at a small residential practice over the summer, as well as working for a medium sized commercial firm, so two different scales of architectural practices, and they both told me to get my Master’s degree, so as not to be in the position where you realise ‘I actually want to be an architect’ but I can’t because I don’t have my Master’s. After working in the medium sized firm for two years I could see my future in terms of what I could be doing when I graduate, but at that point I actually started to get more interested in project management and design management because I felt like that was truly where my skillset and passion lies. I’m a really holistic person and that reflects in my drawing practice as well. It was a big self-revelation moment. I figured out how I work best and wanted to find a job that addresses my skills and thinking abilities, so I emailed one of the biggest project management firms in NZ (RCP),  told them my situation and they said sweet, come on board. And it was pretty good timing because they’re currently managing some quite big projects within Auckland CBD such as Commercial Bay in Britomart, AT CityRail etc. I’m really glad to be in a place whose vision is about creating value beyond expectations and that lines up pretty well with my thesis.

SANNZ: Are you going to be working there full time next year?

VS:Yeah, I hope so. Working part time you don’t really get the full scope of the project and although I work every day, it’s only 3 hours a day, so it’s not one of those places you can go into for one day a week because things change really quickly which is quite different to my experience working in an architecture firm. But they’re pretty understanding with my thesis work load at the moment. They’re a good mix of architects as well as engineers, they’ve all been through it, they understand the situation so they’re pretty flexible.

Extraction of architecture in 3D using Rhino. The shift in the media allowed me as the craftsman to evolve my drawing practice as well the design of the architecture. Representational section showing hand drawn qualities in digital render, bringing in materiality and light conditions

SANNZ: Listen to whilst doing work?

VS: I’ve got a pretty broad range but I’m a bit of a hip-hop head so lots of hip hop and trap, recently like lo-fi instrumentals on Youtube which keeps you going. But then to mix it up I enjoy listening to Arabic instrumentals or Spanish guitar. I’m trying to get into podcasts but I feel like music is my default go-to.

SANNZ: What are you going to miss the most about the Architecture school when you leave?

VS: Getting to see everyone very day, but it’s been different because people haven’t shown up this year. Shout out to the Bay of Baes! People you work around are the ones you form the strongest friendships with, but our year is so open, you can walk from end to end [of studio] and have a yarn with anyone, that’s probably the best thing.

SANNZ: Words of wisdom for those yet to undertake their thesis?

VS: I guess to look at what you’ve done previously, and when you’re starting just to take a moment of pause, don’t get too caught up about thinking about something to do for the rest of the year because 90% of the time it’s going to change. See where you’re at and what you’ve done so far and let that guide you to where you want to be going.

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Anna Constable // Victoria University of Wellington

After visiting New York City for an internship before starting 4th year, Anna Constable thought she was just like the other millions of people that visit the bustling metropolis, hailing a yellow cab, munching on bagels and NY Pizza , photos on top of the Rock. She didn’t know it then but fast forward a year, Anna’s trip to the Big Apple has been the catalyst for the direction of her Master’s thesis. Anna’s thesis explores New York’s privately owned public spaces and investigates the current tension of private ownership. Click the link below to find out what this Cantabrian thinks of the changing city of Christchurch, why working at the University’s Resource centre is ideal while studying and why she’s having to wrap up her thesis in record time.

SANNZ: In 20 words, what is your thesis about? (this is quite short, maybe a couple of sentences?)

Anna Constable: My thesis looks at New York’s Privately Owned Public Spaces, and proposes that human agency lead design can engage public space to benefit the urban environment, and investigates the current tensions of private ownership.

SANNZ: Who is your supervisor and why did you choose to work with him/her?

AC: Joanna Merwood-Salisbury. Her research explores the design of public spaces and buildings in modern cities and the socio-political contexts in which they are conceptualized and used. She is highly intelligent and has written a lot on Chicago and NY, I have a lot of respect for her, and she definitely knows more about my thesis topic than I do!

SANNZ: When you started your Masters just over a year ago at the start of fourth year, did you think your thesis would take this direction?

AC: No I didn’t, I visited NY for a summer internship before starting 4th year, not knowing that I would do my thesis on the city. But when searching for a research topic, I came across these Privately Owned Public Spaces that have been built since the 60’s and creates 80 acres of public space throughout Manhattan and the topic developed upon talking to Joanna.

SANNZ: Thats so cool. How was living in New York? Did you have much time to explore the city?

AC: I was living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and working in Union square, so was able to explore both Manhattan and Brooklyn alot. Site visits through the firm also took me to The Hamptons and some ridiculous apartments in the city.  It was also thanksgiving during that period so was able to have some time off work, but for me the best way to explore the city was almost avoiding the tourist things, and immersing myself with living and working there. I fell in love with the city, so can't wait to go back.

SANNZ: Word is New York is expensive, How did you find the price of living compared to Wellington's reasonably high costs?

AC: I was lucky enough to have my sister in NY, so I was staying with her. But yes, NY is very expensive.

SANNZ: What are your plans for next year?

AC: I have booked a trip to South Africa which involves finishing my thesis a bit earlier than everyone else. But I plan on getting a job and sticking around Wellington for one more year before moving overseas to work and travel.

SANNZ: Do you feel that architecture school has prepared you for the realities of working in the industry?

AC: It definitely teaches you how to think of structure and details of a building, but for me, University has been a place which harbors creativity, before the workforce teaches you the more practical specifics.

SANNZ: Do you work while studying/how many hours? How do you find the balance?

AC: I have worked at the Resource Centre at uni since first year. It’s such a dream job while studying, as they employ students and work around your timetable and classes. I can also do my own uni work at the same time on the computers, which makes balancing work at studying a lot easier. It’s around 10 hours a week, with more hours available around holidays

SANNZ: What coffee has fueled your degree and where do you usually buy it from?

AC: Customs lemon honey ginger 

SANNZ:  Where are you from? What’s your opinion of the architecture or built environment there?

AC: I am from Christchurch. The city is definitely changing, and with a lot of construction happening at the moment, there are these huge contrasts between the old and the very shiny and new. Throughout the CBD though, there are these facades that are held up by containers, so I am interested to see if there will be some buildings which incorporate both.

SANNZ: What work hours do you keep? / How do you feel about potentially moving into a 40-hour work week?

AC: I try to work 9-5 weekdays and avoid weekends, as balancing studying with personal life is hugely important for me and getting through this 9 month thesis. So the main difference for me moving into the workplace will be being able to switch off at 5pm, as currently my mind is constantly thinking about my thesis.

SANNZ: What is your favourite time of day?

AC: I am not a morning person, so anything but.

SANNZ: Who is your biggest support person at the moment?

AC: My flat has been a great support system, we have all been living together for a few years now, and they are a great break from the university environment, and keeping everything light-hearted.

[showusyourthesis]

Edward Duncan // University of Auckland

This week SAANZ speaks to master photographer Edward Duncan about his thesis, which concerns the visual representation of architecture through varying media and how this affects and influences our design methods. Using an iterative process of switching between digital and analogue, Edward uses photography and modelling in order to investigate the parameters of representation within the architectural process.

SANNZ: In short, what is your thesis about?

ED: The first part is about our dependence on representation of architecture to experience and learn about [architecture] itself, how this affects us when we design, and how it’s different to experiencing a building in person. The second part is using the Alpine study tour from earlier this year as a project vehicle for investigating the experience and documentation of the previous points. This part relates our study tour to the Grand Tour, the journey that wealthy Britons did through early modern Europe, mainly to Renaissance Italy, and which produced a large amount of hugely influential drawings that precipitated the Classical Revival and a whole lot of associated architecture (especially Palladian) in Britain and America. The third part is creating architecture using investigative models, and drawing from this material to explore all of those previous parts, like the effect of this media on how we design.

SANNZ: Why do you think it’s so hard to talk about your own thesis?

ED: Because you know your work the best and therefore you know it’s weaknesses and even though theoretically it should be easy to talk about it because you can avoid talking about those weaknesses, sometimes you get impostor syndrome and think “what the f**k am I doing in a masters program? I don’t feel like I’m qualified to be here.” Partly it’s the fact that it’s self directed and it’s so personal because, even if you feel the content itself isn’t personal, you set the direction.

SANNZ: What inspired you to choose this topic?

ED: Because I love photography and this is a way of using photography as a mode of investigation, and because I’m also really interested in how media affects how we think in general, whether it’s the news or ArchDaily or whatever else.

SANNZ: Tell me about your supervisor and why you chose to work with them?

ED: I’ve got Chris Barton and he's fantastic, I had him in 4th year for an architectural criticism paper where we discussed and argued about different works of architecture, a sort of architectural debate. He’s very supportive, even when neither you nor him are sure where you’re going.

SAANZ: How do you feel about having to pursue ONE topic for the whole year?

ED: A year is both a blessing and a curse because it means you can go overseas and take your time working out what you want to do and you feel like you have all the time in the world - and then you realise you actually don’t.

SANNZ: When tackling a design, what is your approach?

ED: Usually it involves reading and research to start off with, then writing stuff down and drawing and then inevitably it ends up on the computer whether it’s collage or Illustrator or Rhino. But it always comes back out at some point, hand drawing is always better to get ideas down. The design here is all about the process, it’s photographing and sketching the building and then reinvestigating those models and photographing them, turning them into digital models and then creating further models from the digitisation. It’s looking at how the constant back and forth between the digital and analogue effects that representation.

SAANZ: And when you put those models together, is it just because they look good aesthetically or is there a method to it?

ED: Some of them are less about trying to formally represent buildings and more about the images displayed on them, usually these ones are existing buildings but made with varying degrees of accuracy from photos or Google Maps and analysing the result of that. There’s imagery impressed on these that recalls the visit, like a hand blown up to be the size of the wall, feeling the surface of the building. And then there are the ones which everyone finds the most interesting, which are the crazy collages of random (or not) bits cut out and glued together that sometimes make very little conventional architectural sense. And that is the part that is trying to work out why we design in the way we do, with respect to photos and media.

SAANZ: How do you feel the University of Auckland Architecture school has set you up for industry?

ED: I think it’s helped immensely, and I always think the debate of whether or not the school has prepared you for industry doesn't go in the direction it should. We’re not here for them to teach us Revit or whatever, we’re are at a school to learn how to think, not to learn a set of applicable skills but a way of understanding the built environment, and the world.

SAANZ: Do you think you’re going to use this design method that you have explored/ created in the future?

ED: Possibly, I mean it makes interesting stuff. I think I’ll always be conscious of it, or at least the thinking behind it, but then the way I see it is that your thesis is just the latest thing you’ve done, it’s not the most important thing you've done. Maybe it is. But it doesn't have to be.

SAANZ: Listen to whilst doing work?

ED: I used to listen to a lot of podcasts but they're difficult to listen to while you're writing, and flicking between writing and design a lot means that I tend to not listen to nearly as many as I used to. Music? Anything that is not in the Top 40. Or death metal. SAANZ: What about Lorde? ED: Yeah she’s cool. SAANZ: But she’s in the top 40. ED: Shit.

SAANZ: What have been some fruitful moments in your thesis?

ED: Going overseas on the Alpine tour, definitely. But there are no ‘aha’  moments as such. Just a long slog. Actually nah, there have been some, though I think the ‘aha moment’ thing is a bit of a myth. Usually when you have an ‘aha’ moment you say ‘oh yes!’ and then later realise it’s not as intelligent as it seemed at 2 in the morning.

SAANZ: What are you going to miss the most about the Architecture school when you leave?

ED: The people! Seeing everyone, every day.

[showusyourthesis]

Joe Batchelor // Victoria University of Wellington

Sharing the same initials as renowned botanist Joseph Banks, it wouldn’t be a silly thought to assume that Joe Batchelor was following down a similar career path. Surrounded by numerous assortments of pot plants in studio, this architecture student explores how we consume architecture over the genuine experience. Click the link below to find out what this young man from the ‘Naki wants to do next year, why he enjoys his supervisor’s ‘no Bullsh*t’ approach and what he’ll miss about architecture school.

SANNZ: In 20 words, what is your thesis about? (this is quite short, maybe a couple of sentences?)

Joe Batchelor: I’m exploring architecture which privileges the photograph over the genuine experience - I.e. If architecture was a basic b*tch how would it look and what would it do.   

SANNZ: Who is your supervisor and why did you choose to work with him/her?

JB: Sam Kebbell. I chose Sam because I appreciate his no bulls*it approach to teaching. He calls it as he sees it, and I much prefer it that way. The arguments, I mean `critical discourse’ we have are valuable in preparing for crit. Also I respect his constant reminders that buildings are our language as architects, and that whatever ideas or theories I have, it is the architecture should speak, not me.

SANNZ: When you started your Masters just over a year ago at the start of fourth year, did you think your thesis would take this direction?

JB: More or less. Of course there have been surprises and diversions along the way. But I knew I would make models, and yeah, I made models.

SANNZ: Where are you from? What’s your opinion of the architecture or built environment there?

JB: The Naki, specifically New Plymouth. The architecture there is pretty standard, no different to any other NZ town really, but we do have the recently completed Len Lye Centre which is really well designed. I do rate the urban planning however, the city centre was supposed to be located 10km north at the mouth of the Waitara river, but the Maori land wars prevented this from happening. This resulted in the city stretching along a really rugged but beautiful part of the coast. The coastal walkway capitalised on this creating a stunning pedestrian link 13km long which hugs the water’s edge, it’s ideal for walking, skating and biking. Everyone should come for a visit, not for the built environment, but for the natural environment. It’s the perfect playground for outdoor activities, and is the only place I know in NZ that you can go surfing and skiing in the same day.

(Editor note: Possible to ski and surf in Timaru on the same day.) 

SANNZ: What are your plans for next year?

JB: The basic idea is to save up and go on an O.E. I plan on helping build my sister’s house over summer. Might also look for an arci job because there seems to be plenty of work around.

SANNZ: Do you feel that architecture school has prepared you for the realities of working in the industry?

JB: I don’t think I could design a proper building, but yeah, sure I feel prepared. For a while I felt really disillusioned with my education in terms of its relation to practice. But I’ve come to realise it’s a good thing, I’m glad we focus on the more artistic and theoretical aspects of architecture at uni. I think while practicing is the best time to learn all that boring stuff, when someone is paying you.

SANNZ: Do you work while studying/how many hours? How do you find the balance?

JB: I do a couple hours tutoring each week, the rest I spend working on my thesis. When I say working I really mean yarning and watching YouTube though, I guess that’s balance?

SANNZ: How do you feel about potentially moving into a 40-hour work week?

JB: 40 hours sounds leisurely, but I will miss being able to take time off whenever I want.

SANNZ: What music or artist has helped you get through architecture school?

JB: Anything jazz, rap or soul, Tom Misch is the go to, he kind of encompasses it all. These albums have been on repeat lately; Tyler the Creator -Flower Boy, SZA -Ctrl & Mac Demarco – This Old Dog

SANNZ: What do you enjoy most about architecture school? Or, what will you miss the most about architecture school when you leave?

JB: Access to the workshop equipment and the extremely knowledgeable technicians. The resources we have here are epic, and although there is small fee it still the cheapest laser cutting or CNC time you’ll ever get.

SANNZ: Where can we go to see more of your stuff?

@flatlandd on Instagram, new post every day, check it out

[showusyourthesis]

Hee Jin Elizabeth Cho &  LiWen Choy // University of Auckland

This week, SAANZ talks to resident power couple and fashionistas of the level 5 studio LiWen Choy and Hee Jin Elizabeth Cho. LiWen is exploring the ‘search for the subjective viewer’ though methods usually involved with film production and cinematics, while Hee Jin Elizabeth is primarily concerned with the value and commodification of air and how this can be translated architecturally.   

SANNZ: In short, what are your theses about?

E: Mine is a playful architectural response to the recent commodification of resources where NZ, Australia, and Canada are selling cans of fresh air to polluted regions of China. It’s centred around the idea of putting value on the often forgotten element of air.

L: In short, my thesis is about the search for the subjective viewer in architectural representation through a narrative and storytelling.

SANNZ: What inspired you to choose these topics?

E: Throughout the past four to five years I’ve always been concerned about representing immateriality and things that you can’t see. At the beginning of this year I was initially focused on experiential groundlessness but then I had this shift into an obsession with air and putting value on it.  

L: I think the reason I’m interested in these ideas is the ability of the medium of storytelling to connect emotions with how you experience space and that also plays throughout a lot of films that I’ve watched. Spatial expression in cinema is just so much more true to how someone embodies a space and how they live day to day, that idea is so powerful that I want to bring that into the way I represent my designs.

SANNZ: Tell me about your supervisor and why you chose to work with them?

L: I’m working with Eu Jin Chua right now, he was the last one on the supervisor list so as I was going through everything I thought “I gotta find the right fit” and I feel like he’s the older version of me, as an academic. Over the past 30 years he’s gone into studying cinema and film and I have a lot to learn from him.

E: My supervisor is Michael Milojevic, and the main reason I chose Michael, firstly was because he was on the Alpine trip with us at the beginning of the year for the study tour, and at the beginning I was really concerned about groundlessness and he had a general paper on ‘ground’ so I thought, if I’m going to remove ground, first I must know ground.  He has such vast knowledge and it’s been working very well.

SANNZ: We know you have both travelled this year and previously during your studies, has the overseas experience had any effect on your work?

L: The short answer is definitely yes, especially the previous tour that I went on [Iberia, 2015]. It really changed how I approach design in the sense that I’m not out to design objects that end up on the page as this beautiful render, just being immersed in how much buildings actually affect and reflect the culture. It put so much more weight to what I was doing when I put pen to paper, it was the process of getting myself into that and being on those sites made me want to get into that process.

E:  It’s the same with me, the Alpine Tour 2017 was the first time I actually went overseas, I’ve only ever been to Korea and New Zealand and I hadn’t experienced such scale of architecture and it definitely did shift my view of the design process and even my own experience.

SAANZ: How do you feel about having to pursue ONE topic for the whole year?

E: I actually love it. Especially because it’s something we’ve chosen ourselves and I feel it’s where my passion does lie, so it’s really exciting to be able to focus on just that and delve completely into it for the entire year.

L: I didn’t exactly know what my topic was going to be so for me it was more like pursuing a chain of different topics and halfway through the year I’m now comfortable in what I’m doing.

SANNZ: When tackling a design, what is your approach?

E: I find that I write a lot to begin with, especially because with my design right now is air and it’s something that I don’t want to attempt to visualise. I feel I’ve done that through past work in editing my writing to culminate in design conclusions.

L: I think it’s something that requires you to reverse engineer the past four years and how you work. A pattern for me is whenever I read a brief I tend to have lots of images that I immediately think of and it helps to start sketching those in perspective, it helps me to scratch the edge, get it down on paper so I can stop worrying about it and then those ideas might come back later on, they might not, that’s just how I like to get started.  

Below- Images of LiWen’s thesis process

SANNZ: How do you feel University of Auckland Architecture school has helped you for entering the industry in years to come?

E: I think the school definitely allows you to search for your own means of working and they definitely support you with that, through which you find your own roots and processes.

L: I think coming into architecture school I was quite closed, I was quite a private person and that’s because I didn’t really understand myself or the way I worked. What’s really helped me is the process of becoming more honest with myself, and with my tutors as well, and what’s been the greatest merit for me is at the start of every design brief I’m completely transparent and tell the tutor what I’m trying to achieve during the semester and then straight away they realise that that’s something they can really support you in. It became a lot more productive process. I think it’s what you make it. Some students might take advantage of things that others might not. The resources are there, it’s what you make of it

SANNZ: What are your plans for next year?

E: I’m not sure where I’ll be located but I will be working in an architecture office. Right now I’m working part time in an office with Tim Mein, and I’m enjoying that.

L: I’m hoping to get into production design and into the film industry and I’ve been recently getting into motion design and motion graphics, so I’m trying to bring my portfolio up to that level.

SANNZ: Do you work while studying? How do you manage a work, life, social, and in your case, relationship balance?

E: Right now I’m working two days a week and for me it’s not too difficult because my boss recognises that I have a lot of workload with thesis and he’s done it himself so I’ve got good flexibility with my work hours. In terms of relationship balance, if I’m not at work then I’m in studio and [LiWen’s] in studio and we try to fit in coffee breaks and occasional movies and such.

SANNZ: Do you ever use each other as platforms to test ideas, bounce concepts off one another etc.?

L: It was a little bit tough to begin with because we were both quite private people, we both had our ways of working and there was a bit of friction to begin with but after we got interested in each other's projects we built on that in a certain way. It’s like a work-life integration: you don’t try to compartmentalise things into different areas of your life, but if you act seamlessly you don’t feel like you have to be a different sort of person.

SANNZ: Who is your music artist of choice when doing architecture work?

E: For me, I listen to music and I’ve had the same playlist for the past four and a half years!  I usually just pick one song and that’s it for the day. My favourites are ‘Nude,’ ‘There There,’ and ‘Present Tense’ from Radiohead.

L: John Mayer has gotten me through University emotionally, but when I’m designing I listen to podcasts about anything.  

SANNZ:  What have been some fruitful moments in your thesis?

L: I’ve been working on storyboarding the sites and the people and how they interact with the space , specifically on the study tour. That’s how I got started and it’s given me the opportunity to discover the emotional relationship between the user and the building instead of just designing from plans and sections, those things are really objective so I wanted to take a more subjective approach to see how I could design something.

E: Along with writing I’ve been using casting and collage and image processing from those casting images because I’m talking about air and gradients, so it's the only medium that can portray that transitional quality.

Below- Images from Elizabeth’s Thesis process

SANNZ: As two resident fashionistas of studio, can you tell us a bit about your style and how it’s developed over your time at University?

L: I think you feel once you move on from first year you really have to dress the part, at the time you wore what you thought was great: I think I wore chinos and jandals which apparently was horrible but I only found out how horrible it was long afterwards. My wardrobe has gone very neutral over the years and now I dress for comfort and in something that’s easy to match or pair.

E: I go for a consistent palette in my wardrobe so that you can pick out anything that goes together.  

[showusyourthesis]

Andrew Frankum // Unitec Institute of Technology

This week SAANZ talks to Andrew Frankum - insane model making junkie - from UNITEC about the nuances (good and bad) faced thus far in his undertaking of a Masters thesis in Architecture. We talk to him about what the real ‘essence’ of his explorations are about and what he hopes to take away from this year now that most of it is gone!

SAANZ I What is your Thesis about?

ANDREW I My thesis is about investigating the potential of digital tools in directing how we might design for a sensitive and natural environment - the translation of cyber into physical - and how this relationship might be exploited so as to leave the smallest footprint on our lands.

The way we currently build as an industry prioritizes the built over the land upon which the built sits. We wipe whole slopes clean to make way for flat concrete slabs and footings. I’m calling for a more awareness and more consideration of that ground. Architecture must respond to the ecosystems and environments that support it a lot more intimately, respectfully, and sensitively.

Photo: Digitally mapping and charting existing rock formations

SAANZ I What made you pursue this topic?

ANDREW I The polar nature of designing purely on the computer versus designing purely with my hand and eye fascinates me! Although the project I am undertaking right now is along the same train of thought, the project I initially wanted to do was just mess around with various hand tools and digital tools and see what they did. Turns out you have to do more than just mess around to become an architect.

I suppose a huge part of your thesis is about finding how you can actually start to apply your interests practically in the field and make something out of it. Took me a while.

SAANZ I What sort of tools are you exploring?

ANDREW I  CNC routers, Drones, photogrammetry to generate 3D models and gather tonnes of data for a given site (Hole in the Rock in this case). Sounds expensive, I know, but the project requires engagement and physical use. My aim at the end of the day is to learn and explore them.

What I think is really cool though is that these digital tools are not as automated as one might think them to be. In reality, there is a lot of time spent understanding how they work, testing, failing, testing again – basically learning all the nuances of these specialized gadgets. Once you start translating what you have put into the computer into physical models, an in-exhaustive process of becoming aware of how each variable changed effects the end product starts..alongside millions of hand touch ups!

Photo: Drone survey excursion ( ft. good weather )

SAANZ I That sounds insane...What has been your approach to maintaining sanity?

ANDREW I Chocolate! And keeping company. I try to connect with as many people I can within the industry who can teach me anything about my project - drone surveyors, trusts, engineers, geologists are all part of that list as their insight is invaluable. It helps me get away from my own little bubble and my own way of thinking in order to try alternative methods of engagement and learning. I am trying to treat this project as an opportunity to learn as opposed to pressure to design. But the chocolate works better.

SAANZ I Last question, how do you feel about having to pursue ONE topic for the whole year?

ANDREW I **Sighs heavily** Sometimes the progress is really slow. I swear I’ve made a whole lot of to-do lists that I haven’t really done. But I truly think doing a thesis is a great opportunity to get out and really push your limits. It’s a whole year with no obligations to clients or tutors, an opportunity to work on whatever you want and work on it intensively! It’s great when you think about it in theory… but there is undoubtedly a lot of paranoia and agitation that comes with undertaking a thesis about the validity of your work. You learn a lot despite it – just have to do those to-do lists.

SAANZ I Have you started designing? 

ANDREW I Maybe.. Maybe not. 

[showusyourthesis]

Ged Finch // Victoria University of Wellington

While the majority of thesis students are letting their most elaborate dreams and ideas run wild, few are imagining how we would ever destruct them. Enter Ged Finch. The Man with the plan to reduce the amount of waste that our construction industry causes. Ged’s thesis looks at ways the architecture industry can scale back the amount of waste it produces, before during and after the construction process with innovative methods.  Read on to find out how this man from the Deep South finds Sci-Fi audio books helpful, what he has learnt from working in studio, and what gets ‘freaky’ after 1am. 

SANNZ: In 20 words, what is your thesis about?

Ged Finch: I’m looking at what it means to ‘architect’ in a circular materials economy - i.e. a world where we don’t throw anything out

SANNZ: Who is your supervisor and why did you choose to work with him/her?

Ged: Guy Marriage. He is just utterly fabulous. His ‘prac-ademic’ background means that all of the design experimentation is evaluated both from a “struth, that looks cool!” and a “yeah but how water tight is it?” point of view (Marriage, 2016). He has a ‘hands-off’ / you-do-you approach to supervision, he lets us make mistakes and will reel us in if we go to far of course. We have fantastic conversations about his Grand Designs fame as well as the endless list of pioneering student projects he has been a part of (First Light, Warrender Studio etc). Best of all you can feel that he is genuinely interested in the work and what it could mean for the industry - which is real motivation to work harder and produce better results.

SANNZ: When you started your Masters just over a year ago at the start of fourth year, did you think your thesis would take this direction?

Ged: Absolutely not. I was (and perhaps still am) madly in love with Peter Wood. I really just wanted to make weird abstract dystopian physical models for the rest of my architecture school life and thought that Peter’s interpretation of the physical model process was just superb.

Ironically what made me change my mind was building models in 4th year and realising just how much waste we as architecture students produce. This tickled the ‘greenie’ in me and I haven’t really looked back.

SANNZ: What are your plans for next year?

Ged: Up until the start of this year I had my hopes set on Weta Workshop as a set designer. However my research has highlighted just how much work there is for us to do as an industry with regards to reducing waste. Its pretty hard to stomach that 50% of all the world's waste comes from buildings.  This has really motivated me to go looking for a role where I can use this new knowledge to begin to influence how we build. Kieran Timberlake Architects in Philadelphia are the world leaders in this sort of work so that would be a dream, but there are also firms much closer to home (such as Studio Pacific) who are actively looking at material life cycles.

SANNZ: Do you feel that architecture school has prepared you for the realities of working in the industry?

Ged: In many ways, yes! I spent 2 months in Malaysia over summer working as an intern in two medium sized firms. Even with the massive culture shock and language barriers I felt like everything had a sense of familiarity to it. I spent 4 weeks detailing a car park and although the whole process was fairly mind-numbing the research and documentation skills all came straight from 2nd and 3rd year construction papers. Everything from the coffee culture to the total disregard for sleep seemed right on par with architecture school.

SANNZ: Do you work while studying/how many hours? How do you find the balance?

Ged: I’m an all or nothing kind of person so will spend at least 50 hours a week ‘thesising’. This probably isn’t very healthy but it does mean the work keeps moving forward. I also tutor between 6 and 8 hours a week and thoroughly enjoy it. After spending hours alone lost in research where it feels like you know absolutely nothing, tutoring made me realise just how much ‘learning’ had happened over the past 4 years. I’m also all about having a fixed routine through the week and find that tutoring really helps to cement this.

Please answer three or four more of the following;

SANNZ: What music or artist has helped you get through architecture school?

Ged: I am a huge audio-book fan. Generally I listen to philosophy based science fiction. It sounds boring (and it probably is) but it can be fascinating and really inspiring for design based problems. Lots of the work tends to deal with place and identity - both fundamental architectural ideas. A personal favourite is the Xenocide (written by Orson Scott Card).

SANNZ: Where are you from? What’s your opinion of the architecture or built environment there?

Ged: Home is the deep south - a small town called Alexandra in Central Otago. Alexandra is about an hour from Queenstown and shares a very similar landscape. It is a breathtakingly beautiful place but with a rapidly growing population that is unfortunately causing irreversible damage to the environment. In many ways the ‘built environment’ in this place is literally a scar on the landscape and not something to be proud of. As a result I believe that one of the architects key responsibilities is mediating the impact of humans and population growth on the natural environment.  

SANNZ: How do you ‘switch’ your brain off after a long day at uni?

Ged: Ok, so this is pretty weird but I usually fall asleep listening to talk-back Radio. My friends have told me this is something only old people do… but honestly if you really want to know what the other half thinks listen to late night talk radio - things get a bit freaky after 1am.

SANNZ: What inspires you?

Ged: As an undergraduate I never worked in Studio - I was lucky enough to be an RA in a Hall of Residence with heaps of space to work and free heating. However, I regret that and over the past two years have spent a lot more time working at University and absolutely love it. My classmates are full of endless inspiration - a 10 minute chat with someone at the laser cutter can result in 2 weeks of investigation that you had never even considered. My ‘stream-mates’ (Mitch, Lisa and Nick) have had a huge influence on the direction of my work, they happily let me know when i’ve done something stupid, and constantly inspire me to keep refining the outputs. I feel extremely lucky to be surrounded by such a talented group of future architects/designers/humans!

[showusyourthesis]

Minji Han // University of Auckland

Following the completion of the recent mid year reviews at the University of Auckland, many students are successfully honing in on the real ‘essence’ of their theses and getting stuck into their production and process of work. One of these students is Minji Han, furniture extraordinaire and eternal workshop occupant who is exploring concepts concerning the occupation of small spaces, the buried and the underground in the form of a Korean cemetery within Auckland City, addressing issues of identity and confinement.

SANNZ: What are you looking at in your thesis?

MINJI: My thesis really began when I started watching an episode from the TV show Black Mirror [White Christmas], where a man is imprisoned in a confinement cell but it wasn't physical, it was a figment of memory, in the future. So that got me initially interested in memory, and how you can make spaces in your head using memory, which followed into looking at confinement cells in general. Then I studied a documentary called ‘Herman’s House’ which described a man who had been in solitary confinement for four years and then explained what his dream house would be. Just hearing what he made from his mind, his idea of what a house is, was so interesting because what he designed was in fact a prison cell - the exact copy of what he was living in.

SANNZ: Have you touched on these topics before, and is this a general theme in your work?

MINJI: I’ve always been interested in the human rights of prisoners and what happens to them when they’re confined for 23 hours a day. It’s not good for anyone to be in that kind of environment because they’re supposed to be interacting with people. I am really interested in how humans interact in small spaces. How small is too small?

 SANNZ: With all of these ideas and research, what has your approach been to making a thesis?

MINJI: I try to draw, a lot. For me I start with drawing and making models, and that’s the only way I’ve been able to progress throughout my time in university.

  SANNZ: Tell me about your supervisor and why you chose to work with them?

MINJI: My supervisor is Michael O’Sullivan, who I worked with in third year. And I knew that he understood how I work and the expectation he had in terms of using the workshop as opposed to the computer. He’s very hands on, and in his paper I learnt that I am very hands on as well. So when it came to this year I just thought that naturally it was the right fit.

 SANNZ: I know that you have traveled this year, can you tell us how your travels have impacted the role of identity in your work?

MINJI: I went to Korea, which is where my parents are from. In a way it was an opportunity to take a break from my thesis, but when I came back from Korea I realised what I saw on the trip was linked to what I had produced before I left, which was a series of iterations of the cells in watercolour. During the trip I visited my great-grandparents grave at the local cemetery, and while I was there, I didn't think it had anything to do with my thesis. But afterwards, I looked over my photos and realised there is a definite link with the ideas of the prison and the buried, the underground.

SANNZ: And how has the cemetery of your great grandparents come into your work now?

MINJI: I’m currently looking at the idea of building a cemetery in the centre of Auckland City, combining the Korean culture. Peter Wood was one of our critics last week and he advised me to ‘just be crazy and design just for Korean people,’ but I’m not entirely sure yet, I’m still playing around with different ideas.   SANNZ: Around the studio everyone admires your beautifully made chair, would you be able to tell us more about that?

MINJI: I have actually put my own story to it, but Michael wanted all of us to design four chairs each for the critics to sit on. So it’s like an arena where these critics are forced to sit down and listen. For me, it was playing on the idea of control and confinement as these chairs I’m designing are to my own body measurements. For my comfort rather than their comfort. It’s influenced by Korean vernacular architecture. It has no visible screws and the structural support comes mostly from the joinery. And I’m also playing with the idea that it is a Korean influenced design but the material is Kauri, which is a NZ material. I guess the chair is like me, Korean but born here, somewhere in-between.

 SANNZ: What do you listen to when you do architectural work?

MINJI: I actually listen to podcasts, I love podcasts. Recently I listened to ‘S Town,’ it’s amazing! I’d tell you what it is about but I don’t want to ruin it for you, you have to listen to it!

 SANNZ: What has been a design precedent for you?

MINJI: George Nakashima, he’s a Japanese furniture designer. I wish he was Korean so I could integrate his identity into my work!

 SANNZ: What is it about the cemetery that you want to challenge or showcase?

MINJI: The whole idea of a picnic where we don't consider the cemetery as an uncomfortable place. It’s just a location where you’re having a daily hang out, at this site, and it’s fine. Your enjoyment at the grave is making the dead happy. You don’t have to be so down.

 SANNZ: Do you work whilst studying? How do make a good life balance?

MINJI: I work in a furniture store in the weekends. They do Kauri and Rimu Furniture so that’s where I got my materials from. Sometimes it can be annoying because the weekends are when you want to take a full day to work on your design, but in the overall scheme of things it works out just fine.

 SANNZ: How you think your skills have developed over your years in architecture?

MINJI: Sometimes I don’t realise that I've picked up any skills until I look at what I produced in first year. You gain skills without even knowing!

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Genevieve Walshe // Victoria University

This week SANNZ talks to Genevieve Walshe who is exploring how cohousing can be translated into an urban context for Wellington. Coming from an rural community has significantly influenced Gen’s perceptions of space and access to the outdoors. Read on to find out about her experience as an intern, where she hopes to be in two years time and the idea of ‘what is in common’. 

Student Architecture Network New Zealand: In 20 words, what is your thesis about?

Genevieve: My thesis is exploring how two Viennese cohousing precedents, Sargfabrik and Miss Sargfabrik, can be translated for a Wellington urban context.

SANNZ: Who is your supervisor and why did you choose to work with him/her?

Genevieve:  My supervisor is Mark Southcombe, and I decided to work with him as his architectural focus is also on cohousing, medium density housing, sustainability and affordability. Mark also completed a research sabbatical last year in Europe, where he research and analysed various cohousing models, including Sargfabrik and Miss Sargfabrik.

SANNZ: When you started your Masters just over a year ago at the start of fourth year, did you think your thesis would take this direction?

Genevieve: No, although my field of research has remained the same, I had not previously considered the importance of issues including privacy modulation, density and the idea of ‘what is in common’. This development came about through literature review, on cohousing and opportunities for social interaction.

SANNZ: Do you feel that architecture school has prepared you for the realities of working in the industry?

Genevieve:  I completed an internship in Auckland over the summer, and quickly realised that although I have learnt valuable design skills through architecture school, I felt that I was not well prepared for the documentation required for resource and building consent drawings. However, I acknowledge that this is something that I will learn by doing in practice.

SANNZ: That’s really interesting. So the big question I’m sure everyone has been asking you; what are your plans for next year?

Genevieve: Next year I plan to move back to Palmerston North, and work in an architectural practice. This will allow me to save money in order to travel overseas in 2019, where I plan to live and work as an architect in Europe for a few years.

SANNZ: So Palmy is where you are from? What’s the built environment like there?

 Genevieve: I am from a really small town called Hunterville, near Palmerston North, in the central north island, which has a population of 400 people. I grew up on a farm, and I really do believe that this has influenced the way that I look at and design architecture, regarding perception of space and access to the outdoors.

 SANNZ: Do you work while studying? Is find the balance difficult?

Genevieve: Yes I do, I work one day a week in a retail job which I find to be a nice break from architecture school. It is nice to be able to have a break, where you really can’t think about university work.

SANNZ: What music or artist has helped you get through architecture school?

Genevieve: ODESZA has definitely been on repeat during the hard times at architecture school, when i’m sick of everything else, that always what I choose.

SANNZ: Your only about a third of the way through your Thesis but what will you miss the most about architecture school when you leave?

Genevieve: I’m really enjoying the studio environment in thesis year, so I’ll definitely miss that! I hadn’t really realised how many good friends I have made through this degree, until I started thinking about it all wrapping up so soon… cheesy I know!

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Show Us Your Thesis #3

Undertaking a thesis from any professional background comes with its own set of hurdles that range from mastering academic stalking, avoiding motivational clichés, making font decisions, becoming a citation ninja, and most importantly getting over regular bouts of ‘mid-thesis crises’ – the mid-semester holidays being a beacon for the onset of the very same. Regardless of the time, it might still seem appropriate to ask, “How did you start your thesis” for we can all agree that the first few months are really all about going down every path but the one that you need to be walking on. This week we will catch up with Cam, Pedro, Marisha, Edward, and Harry from Unitec to gain insight and nod in agreements over undoubtedly common struggles.

CAMERON MCLEOD II Although I have had my research question – How can the soon to be defunct Huntly Power station be repurposed to provide for the positive growth of the community’ - mulling around in my head since mid last year, my programme had been unclear till about a few days ago. The gap in between the two has been a time to explore what the problem really is. ‘HOW does one re-use spaces?’ being the primary question. However, the scale of the project is so ginormous that to begin contemplating ‘how’, I had to first understand the sheer size of the ‘what’.

Exploring the vast volumes and sizes has been my first point of experimentation.  This is done through photography, atmospheric sketching on site, but most effectively through repeatedly drawing sections of various existing volumes and dividing them into smaller spaces to a scale I can comprehend occupying. These visual explorations have become a means of not only dwelling on the possible functions that could inhabit the boundaries drawn, or exploring human scale; but a means of generating a conscious understanding of how these superimposed boundaries within the total volume could exaggerate and communicate the power this piece of existing architecture holds in understanding the history of an NZ industry. 

Image: Sectional explorations of Huntly Power station, Cameron McLeod.

PEDRO WEBER II Conducting research has not at all been the linear process I would have thought it would be. I began with reading screeds about my topic: Incremental housing to promote economic and social development. That became very complicated early on as there was so much content, and so many sub-topics; politics, urban design, approach variations, housing protocols, law etc. It was overwhelming to think about everything at once.

Very quickly I began translating this information into words – following a disciplined reflection period every time something new was learnt or a new connection to the topic made. This reflection was then translated into a mode I could understand, diagrams and visual mind maps connecting all the dots together- an exercise to quickly recap everything I had learnt so far at a glance which I know will help me in developing a methodology by which I aim to approach designing my explorations.

Image: Diagrammtical reflections of design stratergies; Pedro Weber

MARISHA AYA II My design project, which looks at how urban infrastructure is implemented into what we may call ‘developing’ countries in order to ‘modernize them’, started off with analyzing screeds of council regulatory and requirement documentations to do with facilitating water infrastructure in India. This got very cumbersome and boring ridiculously fast, within the first few weeks actually. In order to take my mind off the draining pattern of recording statistics and methodologies, I started collaging and diagramming existing water towers from around the world whenever I found myself twiddling my thumbs at my desk - a method of pure collection and reflection to help develop focus on the topic and nothing else. All of them put together side by side actually generated something surprisingly engaging, triggering new channels of thought and inspiration every time it is revisited.

Two tone documation of existing water towers - volume + structure, Marisha Aya

EDWARD NIDDRIE II My first step in addressing my thesis -‘Taking into consideration its fundamental principles, how can the quarter acre be adapted to suit the current architecture situation (of housing) in New Zealand?’ – was to develop an experiment of sorts which would allow me to analyze a set of systems I am interested in comparing. Deciding on changing variables, fixed constraints, and most importantly being completely clear about what it was that I was testing against these variables was the first step, after which the mode of testing became relatively clear. It can be broken down like this:

What am I testing: • Developer point of view • Environmental point of view • A happy medium between Developer and Environment • Natural progression (Where no active intervention is made in the industry)

Fixed constraints: • Size of plot – Quarter Acre • Dwelling compartments: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom etc.

Changing variables: • Density • Outdoor space • Green space

Turn that into a table and document each iteration and you have a thesis in your hands.

Precedent Experiment documentation typology vs. self directed iterative visual experimentation, Edward Niddrie

HARRY ZHAO_II _Mapping and reading is all I have done these last few months. My research question falls along the lines of how architecture can occupy the urban void help Auckland to grow up (pun intended). A lot of the anxiety of finding the reason for why I wanted to do what I wanted to do was exhausted in developing the research question itself. I developed a theoretical basis first, reading and reflecting on why radical utopian projects always seem to fail when it comes to translating them into the real built fabric we occupy. This first step triggered interest in analysing how Auckland CBD is actually formed and where it has left room for radical insertions. This analysis was done through extensive statistic hunting and charting the findings across a crazy number of maps, in turn generating comparisons between one pocket of the CBD to another. The most fascinating conclusion drawn from these visuals was how similar to the suburbs our CBD is, when comparing occupancy levels.  Can we even call it a CBD? 

Mapping of residential occupation levels in Auckland CBD, Harry Zhao. 

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Show Us Your Thesis #2

There has been a productive buzz amongst the 5th years at Auckland Uni. After wading through the initial task of ‘starting a Thesis,’ people seemed to pick themselves up by investigating their topics in a variety of ways. This week concluded the first set of Mid Semester Crits; one of the first times where some of them spoke publicly about their unique topic. Every Thesis student at UoA has the freedom to investigate any topic of their choosing. Although this can be both a blessing and curse, it has resulted in some impressive creativity thus far. This week we catch up with Ping, Leena and Agustin to see what their first moves were after deciding a topic.

SANNZ: How did you start your thesis?

Ping Ang: After choosing to investigate, ‘How can scent be used as an architectural mechanism to provoke emotions, memories and associations to foster an individual experience,’ my process began with digesting all the research I had found.  I classified my research into 4 booklets so I could collate and visually diagram or interpret that vast amount of information into what I found useful. The first book was on Perfumery so I established context through history, looked at methodologies in perfume engineering and then critically analysed themes in a cultural reference - Perfume the movie. From there I wanted to explore this digested information in an architectural mode, for me that was modelling and tactile exploration.

I began to put what I researched into practice by using the same perfumery methods but applying it to architectural materials such as plaster, timber, wax and fabrics to experiment with how they could react to scent infusion. From here it was easy to get swept into making multiple collections and playing with mixing two materials or scent and colour; trying to manipulate perception or discover new opportunities. The result is a bunch of scentful objects ranging from little bars, sticks, wax cups, to scent swatches on ply or soaked fabric

Leena Kheir: My thesis topic is about proposing a (North) Sudanese architecture that is borne out of an intimate understanding of the land’s history, politics and unique culture and social mores. The current architecture in the main cities of Sudan, is standard Post-Colonial European buildings that in no way represent the nuanced, complex culture of the region.

Upon selecting this project I knew I needed to engage with my Sudanese friends and family living abroad and in Sudan. I knew that tapping into the international Sudanese network could put me in contact with people who would prove to be incredible resources throughout the duration of my research. So, the logical next step - I created a Facebook group. On the group’s wall, I wrote up a summary of what my topic is and why I added each person. I then invited them to add people they think would be interested in the topic or could contribute in anyway to my research – whether by recommending articles or just

engaging in relevant discussions on the topic with me and others in the group. Within the first day or so the group blossomed, and word spread within the community so that my initial twenty people became thirty and then forty and now sits just under sixty. The page has become a forum for discussion and a place where architects and Nubian enthusiasts have contributed article recommendations and advice. I have found that the page has forced me to take pause and reflect as much as possible on my thesis, because I post regular updates to keep the members posted. It has been such an invaluable way for me to engage with the wider Sudanese community in a way I never have before.

Agustin Fabillaran: I’m focusing on queer and feminist theories. I began by reading novels, articles and watching videos. Once I’ve got the basic knowledge, I started to paint images and create models. Through producing work in relation to my topic, I’ve discovered the concept of concealing and revealing which was reoccurring in the research. It was evident that people conceal and reveal their identities in different settings. So I’ve used this strategy in model making form to develop my idea. Moving one from thing to another, keeping the same idea with me, the whole way by manipulating it in the same method towards my images and models. I have re-photographed and made into three-dimensional images and then the 3D images are photographed and brought back into the same movement again, so I’m constantly doing the same idea in new ways.

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How do you begin a Thesis?

With only one month barely gone, our current cohort of 5th year Master’s students have hit the ground running finding a thesis topic that will keep them occupied for the next 12 months. Over the next few weeks, SANNZ will be talking with a range of 5th year students from VUW, Unitec and UoA to ask them “How are you starting your thesis”?  Read on to find out how the students at Vic have been making air visible, reading about cross cultural urbanism has been boring, and how this first month, for some, is leading to an existential crisis. 

SANNZ: How are you starting your thesis?

Ben Everitt: I began reading about my topic: Cross Cultural Urbanism, and representations of Japanese and New Zealand culture within urban spaces. Unsurprisingly that task became very boring, very quickly, so I switched to making composites of aerial images from different landscapes and cities. It was an exercise to quickly communicate the contrast in culture, landscape and urbanism between the two countries through images.

Tasenka Guilford: My thesis has begun through the methodology of design as research approach. So instead of conducting literature reviews or researching case studies I have literally been trying to “make air visible” through a series of installations. These have then been reflected upon to help the iterative progression.

Henry Dickson: I’ve started my thesis by just doing a lot of reading. This isn’t necessarily a process that I recommend because it means that a week or two before the first review I’ll suffer some kind existential crisis once I realize that I’ve got nothing to show. This will probably mean that I will have to revert back to applying misunderstood theories to some bits of cardboard that I stuck together. But on the other hand, to just let the reading take me to weird places while trying to figure out how any of it relates to architecture, has been really liberating. So I think I’ll just keep reading for a bit longer.

Tom Lock: By simply asking, who am I? What are my hobbies, passions, challenges and how can it help our community? By extracting what means most to me through a visual log, it has helped uncover what it is that I can do for the community. The following year will ask how architecture can help to promote positive mental well being for Wellington students.

Charlotte Hughes-Hallett: It begins with a problem. By digging into all the knowledge that had been acquired over the past four years there was a curious theme that I inherently always addressed but only at a face value. Now being granted 9 months to formulate a solution we have the opportunity to immerse ourselves into the complexity of a chosen problem/topic. But nothing was going to prepare me for the magnitude of existing knowledge.  Thus, I have found it imperative in the primary stages of my thesis to position myself within the topic’s existing “body of knowledge”.  Put simply, I’ve started my thesis with copious amounts of reading, writing and drawing.