The Fourth year of the architecture tripos provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate their ability and creativity in design and professional competence as well as giving opportunity for study. Both studio and dissertation projects make use of the knowledge and skills developed in first three years of the degree and the nature of the projects will be determined by the student’s interests
The emphasis in this year is on research led exploration of architecture and design. Students choose design projects and dissertations topics based on their own interests and work closely on them with research and design supervisors, bringing together all the skills and knowledge they have acquired. They will be expected where appropriate to liaise with professional and consultants and to be able to carry out work independently and in teams.
There is one compulsory paper, Professional Practice, which covers aspects of the economics and finance of architectural projects and looks at the legal aspects in greater depth. Students are free to sit any other papers in the Architecture and Design Triposes and are encouraged to explore lectures and other papers offered by the University that might be relevant to their chosen areas of exploration. Students are appointed supervisors for their studio and dissertation projects.
The MArch involves the production a single sophisticated design project which is developed over the whole year, working with supervisors and consultants that demonstrates a clear grasp of design principles and will involve drawings, models and presentations. The project gives students an opportunity to explore themes and ideas and demonstrate the skills they have learned in previous years.
The dissertation gives students the opportunity and freedom to research in greater depth an area that they are particularly interested in. The choice of subjects is very wide and limited principally by the availability of a supervisor who is knowledgeable in the particular topic. Recent dissertations have focused on subjects raised in the different lecture courses (either questions concerning Environment, Structures and Construction or the History and Theory of Architecture), as well from issues that have emerged from work in the studios. Projects can involve testing structures or measuring, or they can involve fieldwork in the UK or abroad or they can be entirely based on documentary sources. The 7,000-9,000 word dissertation is handed in at the beginning of the Easter Term.
This course is designed to provide a thorough grounding in the professional side of design practice, including running a business, finance, law and legislation, proving students with a firm grounding for entering design practice and towards professional accreditation.