HOW TO WRITE

SYNOPSIS
PRELUDE TO ARCHITECTURAL THESIS
2018 - 2019
WRITING SYNOPSIS
WRITING SYNOPSIS
HOUSING - Group Housing Schemes
- Gate Communities

TRANSPORTATION - Airport
- Railway Station
- Bus Terminus
- Cruise Terminal
- Metro Rail Stations
- Multi Node Transport Hub

RECREATIONAL - Sports Stadium

- Swimming Pool Complex
- Hotels/Resorts
- Sports/Cultural Hubs

ADMINISTRATION - Office Buildings/HQs

- Town/City Hall
- Civic Center

INDUSTRIAL - Manufacturing & Assembly Factories

EDUCATIONAL - School, College

- University Complex, Library

CULTURAL - Center for Performing Arts

- Museum/Art Gallery
- Convention Center

COMMUNITY FACILITIES - General Hospitals

- Specialty Hospitals
- Police/Fire Station
- District/High Court

SPECIAL CATEGORY - Cost Effective Housing

- Pre fabricated Structures
- Religious Buildings
- Sustainable/Energy Efficient Buildings
- Alternative Materials and Technologies
WRITING SYNOPSIS

■ Let’s take a quick recap on the knowledge you have gained so far!!!!
■ DCR
■ FSI
■ Plot Coverage
■ TDR
■ OSR
■ Difference between built up area and super built up area
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROPOSAL
■ Student Name, E Mail Address, Phone Number Date

■ Title of Thesis
■ Subtitle Phrase (Referring to conceptual goal, site and program)

■ EX: Emporium – Redefining shopping experience

■ EX: the BENCH – A resource center
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROPOSAL
■ Thesis Statement
■ Issues, Concepts, questions described in abstract terms
■ Discuss methods and types of inquiry to be employed
■ Terms of criticism (how is the project to be judged?)
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROPOSAL
■ Program
■ What inspired the selection of this project? How will the thesis project support the
thesis statement?
■ List major program activities and uses
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROPOSAL
■ Site
■ How was the site selected? How does the selected site support conceptual ideas for
the project?
■ Described the physical aspects of the site and the context
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROPOSAL
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROPOSAL
■ Technology
■ Discuss the issues that will be explored in the integration of building systems with
the design project
■ Can specific technologies be a means to understand the thesis issues and
concepts? How will these issues be relevant to the thesis statement
■ Discuss the methods and means of inquiry relevant to exploration of these
technologies
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROPOSAL
■ Context
■ Define the context of the site; including some or all of the following: cultural,
economic, historical, political and social
■ How does the thesis project fit into existing culture(s)? What other disciplines will be
explored to gain a better understanding of the issues?
■ How does the thesis fit into the larger issue of architecture in today’s society?
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROPOSAL
■ Resources
■ Identify at least two sources, including non-architectural research to support the
thesis
■ Inspiration – list a minimum of three projects that will influence the approach to the
thesis project
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROPOSAL
Bibliographical Information
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROGRAM
■ The “Thesis Program” must include your preliminary research dealing with the thesis
idea, case studies and the site, an assembled bibliography of your reading in
support of your research, a detailed work schedule by review dates, and a detailed
statement of work to be presented during the reviews and the viva-voce
■ The statement of work to be completed can be amended during the course of the
pre-thesis and thesis in discussions with the thesis coordinator and the respective
guides.
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROGRAM
■ DESIGN BRIEF – Every successful project starts with the preparation of a precise
design brief. The design brief shall help the students to critically analyze their topics
and approach the same in a professional manner.
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROGRAM
■ SITE ANALYSIS – The students are expected to present a detailed Site Analysis
depicting the physical characteristics of the site, manmade and natural features,
and visual analysis portraying probable focal points or vistas. Site Analysis shall also
include topography, climatic factors, implications of land use, traffic and
transportation systems, utilities and services etc.
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROGRAM
■ SPATIAL REQUIREMENTS – Based on the non-architectural resources (as indicated
in the Synopsis), the students shall have a fair idea about the spatial needs. This
shall further be refined based on the inferences from the literature and live case
studies.
.
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROGRAM
■ LITERATURE CASE STUDIES – A minimum of TWO literature case studies is expected
out of the students. Specifics shall be in terms of appropriateness to the chosen
topic, analysis and detailed inference of the chosen studies. Upon completion of
literature study, the spatial requirements shall be refined
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROGRAM
■ LIVE CASE STUDIES – A minimum of TWO live case studies is MANDATORY for each
student on his/her chosen topic. Appropriateness of case study shall be adhered to.
Upon completion of live case study, the spatial requirements shall further be refined
WRITING SYNOPSIS

THESIS PROGRAM
■ STANDARDS FOR PLANNING – The students are required to go through the
necessary standards, local bye-laws and Development Control Regulations (DCR)
and correlate the same with their literature and live case studies
 ARCHITECTURAL
BUILDING
PROGRAMME &
DESIGN RATIONALE
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
■ ARCHITECTURAL PROGRAMMING BEGAN WHEN ARCHITECTURE BEGAN!!!
■ ARCHITECTURAL PROGRAMMING – research and decision making process that
identifies the “scope of work” to be designed
■ In simpler words – “…Programme is what happens on or within a building, site or a
wider area…”
■ Is there a difference between a “Project Brief” and a “Building Programme”???
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
“…. A programme is
never neutral… The
first thing an architect
needs to do is to
dismantle that
programme and
redirect it….”
Bernard Tschumi, Architect
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
■ More the scale of the project is, more complex the building programme is
■ May different techniques to think through these complexities
■ The simplest way to define and further redefine an architectural building programme
is to understand “the project” by breaking it into “ELEMENTS”
■ From a relatively simple starting point, we “UNPACK” the programme as we delve
deeper into the project and as we build more complex understanding of the
requirements
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
ELEMENT LEVEL 1
Key Use - Stadium

ELEMENT LEVEL 2
Key Zones – Public & Private

ELEMENT LEVEL 3
Individual Spaces – Ticketing booth, aisles
etc
 ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
ELEMENT LEVEL 1 – Key Use
Gives the general understanding of
the building use
Encompasses and roughly sets out
the range of activities that take
place and the users you need to
consider
ELEMENT LEVEL 2 – Key Zones
Allows you to begin to understand
the general relationships and
spatial requirements of the building
or the site and develop an overall
strategy for proper fit
Consider the “drawcard element”
mostly aligned to Level 1 [field or
pitch], Front of House, Back of
House, Amenities, Entry, Exit etc
ELEMENT LEVEL 3 – Indi Spaces
Programme is finally broken down
into each individual space but with
the benefit of Level 2 – helps us to
understand interrelationships
Make sure to account for all
requirements and the needed
flexibilities
Rethinking of Level 2 will happen
here in terms of grouping and
distributing spaces
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
■ DESIGNING FOR THE PROGRAMME

Form Fit Flow Function Furnishing

After the process of ELEMENTING, begin thinking through what your design needs, wants or
could do to the programme through design….
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
■ DESIGNING FOR THE PROGRAMME
– Building programme should be considered very early on in the design process
owing to its complexity – DIAGRAMS must play a major role.
■ Bubble Diagrams – to understand how zones or areas of different activities might
relate or overlap
■ Cluster Diagrams – Relation of programmatic zones – adjacent or supporting space
– efficiency in building services
■ Sectional Zone Diagrams – Vertical spaces and the movement between spaces
■ 3D massing / Stacking Diagrams – understand the mass and volumes
■ Cross Programming Diagrams
■ Inversion Diagrams
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME
■ BUILDING PROGRAMMING METRICS
– Types of spaces frequently used in the building type
– Space criteria [no of persons per Sft]
– Relationship of these spaces with functions
– Typical metrics like FSI, Plot Coverage and other restrictions to be followed
– Typical cost per Sft for the building type
– Typical site requirements for the project
– Technical, mechanical, electrical, security and other issues unique to the project
type
– Approximate schedule for the chosen project
– Block models, site models, study models etc including contour analysis
– Risk mitigation and analysis
DESIGN RATIONALE

■ A design rationale is an explicit documentation of the reasons behind decisions

made when designing a system, project or a product
■ “Design Rationale” documentation which shall include the following:
– The reasons behind a design decision
– The justification for it
– The other alternatives considered
– The tradeoffs evaluated
– The argumentation that led to the decision
DESIGN RATIONALE

A design rationale is the explicit listing of

decisions made during design process, and the
reasons why those decisions were made. Its
primary goal is to support designers by
providing a means to record and communicate
the argumentation and reasoning behind the
design process – Refer to works of W R Kunz
and Horst Rittel on argumentation
DESIGN RATIONALE

■ http://www.anamiljacki.com/wp-content/content/Article_Praxis8.pdf
■ Rem Koolhaas and Bernard Tschumi
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
PROGRAMME & DESIGN RATIONALE

Q??
WRITING SYNOPSIS

Good luck to
all!!!