Draft Table of Contents

Six-Word Thesis Propoal

In the same vain as Six-Word Memoirs

PROGRAM
mass collaborative open source technology company

SITE
ever-changing urban location surrounded by transport

TECHNOLOGY
series of constantly evolving new developments

Craigslist style Thesis Proposal

PROGRAM
An as-yet unnamed mass collaborative open-source technology company's new office building. Due to its nature, it has little need for individualized spaces or overhead. With its ideas on work environment, is the building even necessary?

SITE
The building is located on the outskirts of downtown Columbus, adjacent to two major highways and the river. The ideas of transportation and movement and exchange are critical to the company.

TECHNOLOGY
The technological environment is always changing, whether green technology or internet technology. The company will adapt to the changes, and so should the building.

Thesis Proposal : Updated

TITLE
Imply: The Changing Role of Technology and Mass Customization and its Greater Implications on Design

THESIS ABSTRACT
Internet technologies have decreased the gaps in media, art, culture, music and technology in both good and bad ways. One can search the internet and find the same information in reputable sources they may have searched originally side by side with personal weblogs and biased sources they may have never heard of. Everything is immediately and infinitely available to everyone, as long as you know what to search for. These changing technologies have changed the way we work, play, shop, learn, keep in touch, and do business, and in turn I believe architecture should respond to this fundamental change in the way in which we live. This thesis will use the technologies put into place for constructing, shipping and assembling the prefabricated house kit in an educational building, and will begin to discuss advantages, disadvantages and potential issues related to technology.

THESIS STATEMENT
The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More describes a world where all media is equally accessible. Technology has allowed for a simple internet search to return The New York Times alongside the Warren, Ohio Tribune-Chronicle. Information is no longer bound by the constraints of shelf space or warehouse size, but instead is digitally infinite. Previously, to sell CDs in a music store, each CD had to sell a minimum of four times per quarter to earn its “rent” on a shelf. But the music store could realistically only have the 5,000 highest-selling albums on its shelves; the amount of revenue brought in by those 5,000 is nearly equal to if not less than the amount of revenue brought in by “The Long Tail,” those next 500,000 albums. The internet has brought those 500,000 albums to be equally weighted with the top 5,000 and equally accessible. This theory applies to books, magazines, video games, clothing, almost any aspect of daily life. The internet invites mass collaboration from sites like Wikipedia, YouTube, MySpace, and Google Blogger among many others. Anyone with an internet connection can create, add, or edit content, and possibly become famous in the process. The line between celebrity and citizen ceases to be as defined as it has previously been. Can these technological theories apply to architecture? And, can the architecture respond to the changing way in which we use buildings?

Thesis: Proposal: Take 1

1. TITLE
I don't quite know what my title is yet. I think I am still developing exactly what I am trying to accomplish, but it will be something along the lines of "Is Pre-fab construction desirable for an educational or institutional structure?" But, I think it will have to be more narrow than that. I want to know if it is more than desirable but also preferable.

2. ABSTRACT
Pre-fabricated housing is touted as the way the industry is moving. Tract housing is built so quickly and semi-efficiently, with basic designs and little customization that it does seem to be a step many builders would be willing to take. In other parts of the world, especially less populated countries and areas that don't have much in the way of construction or construction materials, it is more efficient and cost-effective to haul in pre-fabricated pieces and perform the simpler joinery on site. What if the pieces were more standardized to allow for a smaller catalog to create many different uses? Can the standard pre-fab house catalog be used to create educational or industrial structures?

Can pre-fab also begin to address other issues close to my heart, like combatting sprawl, creating spaces that are not only usable but address the needs of its occupants (now and in the future) by also being adaptable, and allowing for reuse after it has completed its life cycle. While I love (maybe hate is the better word?) the idea of planned obsolescence and would like to tie it into my thesis, I am not sure yet the role it would play.

Can The Long Tail (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Tail) apply to architecture? The notion that there can be an infinite number of options as defined by the user is very interesting to me. Where now instead of a few huge musicians there can be thousands of modestly successful musicians seems like it should translate well to architecture.

3. PROGRAM

The program will include indoor and outdoor spaces. We have recently worked on two new Columbus City Schools projects, so I could use their program requirements as a starting point if I choose to design an educational facility.

4. SITE

The site will be downtown Columbus. Images are forthcoming.

It is important to me that my thesis address an infill site as opposed to a more loosely zoned site. I think to properly test the ideas, the structure built must be more than one story, and also have a smaller or constricted footprint. If the building can work on a tough site, then I think it will be easier to theorize that it can work on other sites, similar or not.

5. TECHNOLOGY

Sustainability and adaptability are very important. If pre-fab truly is the future of construction, it is vital that it address these technological issues. Also, with technologies changing so quickly, buildings built just 15 years ago are becoming obsolete. (Anyone remember the name of the health center in Columbus, that just last year became obsolete after the city spent millions on the new facility 15 years ago? I think it was on the south side. Google is no help.)

6. RESOURCES

In addition to the basic bibliography below, I think a VERY valuable source will be the book that just came in the mail yesterday.
Refabricating Architecture: How Manufacturing Methodologies Are Poised to Transform Building Construction by Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake.

Thesis Beginnings

Planned obsolescence is the idea that things are designed to fail after their life cycle has completed. Instead of these things being adaptable, there is not further use or life for them, and you must either purchase the same item again or, in buildings, demolish them and start over. This idea applies to tract housing today, because as they are built quickly with cheap materials, they have a very short life cycle. I think this could apply to my thesis in that the prefab educational or institutional structures could be altered as their life changes.

In terms of hierarchy, the most important to me is to create something ADAPTABLE using PRE-FAB pieces. I think designing the pieces could be beneficial, however I do like the idea of creating an educational or institutional structure from pre-existing pieces. The second item of importance would probably be to reduce sprawl through this method of construction. Thirdly, to allow the project design to be driven by the user experience. And finally, if successful, what implications can it have on architecture as we know it today? Can "The Long Tail" play into commercial architecture?