A thesis project is usually a very important and defining point in the course of every architecture student. What happens when you get yourself into a situation with the most difficult thesis guide on purpose? You had hoped that you’d get to learn a lot under their guidance, which you did eventually. But, it’s quite an interesting experience altogether when you and your best friend land yourselves in this setup and can only hope to pass and graduate. Can the experience of this one-semester be so impactful in your life?
It is The Day
It was the day of our final thesis jury. We all know how that goes now, don’t we? Unless you’re someone who knows exactly what you’re supposed to be done with by the deadline and actually adhere to that strict schedule without any procrastination since you like to be on top of your game. I, on the other hand, was overworked, with my sheets still printing, a model at the back of my car, which could only be called one as it was a compilation of 3D objects over a 2D plane, and a poker zombie face which made clear that I hadn’t slept for more than 24 hours.
But, above all, was the anxiety, will I pass? I wasn’t worried about the external jury panel, but whether I had managed to get past it internally. I knew I could have handled it with the external jury, I had good base knowledge, I had made it on my own through the entire process with the guidance of one of the most respected guides of the institute. But the only question that remained was if I had passed in my internals? I had never been one of the toppers, but at the same time, I was sincere enough to learn through the process and be consistent.
As I drove to my college, with all this rushing through my mind, I kept hearing the words she had asked me the day we had submitted our topics, “Did we just make a huge mistake?” to which, I had then replied, “Oh don’t worry, even if we have, I am sure we’d learn a lot out of it”. Little did I know then, that those exact words would haunt me for that entire semester, even more so, on the day of my final jury.
I should’ve known better
Me and my best friend. We had always been in separate sections but used to do everything together. Studying for the exams, taking each other’s opinions about our design projects, we even interned in the same city. This was our time. We had made it to the final stage of our graduation and had the thesis topic submission forms in our hands. both of us had two topics that we had to submit – one that wasn’t mainstream but we really wanted to do translating to – which we wouldn’t get for sure and one which was safe and we would get because nobody else had taken it up.
However much we were prepared for this, our dilemma was the list of our desired guides that we had to submit. We had put down two names each, depending on the projects we had chosen and who we thought would match our wavelength. One name remained and we sat there contemplating if we should write his name or not.
Undeniably, he was a legendary faculty, very particular about work, punctuality, and since he was so experienced, very set in his ways. Someone, we could learn a lot from and if we could work well with him, our projects could shine bright. At the same time, everyone knew that it wasn’t the easiest ride with him, every year at least one or two students would not make it through if they didn’t deserve it. And he wasn’t afraid of doing it.
We NEED to do this
We got what we wrote, having no idea of what was ahead of us. We had willingly stepped into the trap that everyone wished to stay away from. It was almost like two misfits in a group of overachievers. We had never felt so out of place as we did in that last semester. I can say with so much confidence today that we literally EARNED each attendance every day. We would rush through the roads, the canteen to reach the studio right in time and we would see our other batchmates having the time of their lives, working on their independent thesis projects with freedom of time utilization and discussions.
To us, even the regular discussion sessions seemed equivalent to juries, in fact, we were more afraid of those than the actual juries. We kept trying hard, to put our best foot forward, yet somehow at the end of every session, we were left questioning our capability to get through this. Being the only two odd ones out, who were also seen together all the time, we sure made an impression on him. Maybe, this time it was us who would be the black sheep of the lot. Since he was the most respected, experienced, and senior faculty at our institution, his word was the last word at every jury.
It wasn’t that we didn’t work hard, or we didn’t take his critique seriously. We worked hard. We put our best efforts in, as much as we could. But sometimes, if the way of working, approach, or the way of thinking differs, it makes a huge difference, and that is exactly what happened. Other groups were terrified of that one jury in which they would have to present their designs to him, but for us, every jury was that jury. Finally, one day he actually summoned the two of us and said it. This year we could be the chosen ones. The glorious two, who would be along with those great battle heroes who tried their best, did all they could, but eventually fell in the battleground before winning the war.
The Final Countdown
I was dreading this day. Being among the first roll numbers, I had to put up my sheets and model ready for the jury. Agh, I remember how people were speechless looking at my model. Not because it was made very skillfully, but well, because it DID look like I had made it myself. I didn’t have the greatest skill set for model making. I had never made one since my third-semester final design jury and had always relied more on 3D views.
But this time, I wasn’t taking ANY chances. I wanted every mark to pass this. He too, had a very disappointed look on his face as he looked at my model for the first time, a look to which I had grown used to by this time and wasn’t much surprised with. Suddenly at that moment, he announced that the final internal marks were on display, the ones who hadn’t made it, were not allowed to present their project to the external. My heart sunk. That was the moment of truth.
Nervously, I approached the board and looked for our roll numbers. We did it. We made past the semester we had struggled with throughout. I called her and gave her the good news. Much to our surprise, this time the entire group and us, the black sheep, had survived the battleground.
All’s well that ends well
That was the most relaxed I had felt before an external jury in my entire graduation. After putting this entire experience behind, today it has become an album of cherished memories. I can almost hear “We are the champions” by Queen when I think of the moment I had seen the results. So do I say that how great a learning experience it was and what all we learned from him was priceless and the knowledge that we gained is irreplaceable, which was something I had thought I’d probably have earlier on? Maybe yes, but in a very different context.
Today, very honestly, apart from the architectural design and logistical knowledge, the lesson I hold very close to my mind is that sometimes we come across people who have a very different system of working, who’s methods would be entirely different from ours and who would expect different things from us than the kind of things we can deliver. But, do we give up working in the field if we come across such people? Do we say no, we can’t? These are the people who compel us to grow in very unfamiliar ways, which we may not have even thought of.
These experiences are often the toughest and most memorable ones. They leave us with a new threshold and a wider horizon of ways of working, tolerance, patience, and perspective. We laugh about each day that we had spent in that duration today, remembering him and how terrified we used to be of him, but we sure did come out of it as much well-prepared Architects, who hope to further better and excel themselves in this ever-evolving and challenging field.
