Architecture and Design Seniors Showcase Ambitious Thesis Projects
On Saturday, May 23, 2026, three advanced architecture/design students presented their thesis projects.
Farhad Mirza, faculty member in design, said, “These projects exemplify what students can do while working across the curriculum.”
Tisa Shrestha '26’s project, “The River the City Forgot,” focused on flood-related disaster adaptation on the Kodku River Bank in Lalitpur, Nepal.
“My research began after witnessing the devastating monsoon floods that hit Kathmandu Valley,” said Shrestha.
The disaster claimed more than 200 lives and many livelihoods in September 2024. She began to question when and why the region’s celebrated monsoon season and its rivers became a threat to the agricultural valley. She explored key drivers—including encroachment, effluence, non-native vegetation, and subsidence of land, all problems induced by haphazard urbanization.
“Seeing the consequences firsthand and understanding the deep-rooted issue, I also explored smaller-scale, place-based solutions through infrastructural and landscape interventions to repair and reduce the impact of future floods,” she said.
“Así Es Como Vivimos [This Is How We Live]” by Ash Lopez '26 examined communal and familial architectural knowledge based on a home in Retalhuleu, Guatemala.
“Redraw” by Julia Chow '26 reimagined Tong Lau (唐樓), a typical mixed-use, multi-story housing type found in Hong Kong.
Each student produced a booklet to help guide viewers and audiences through their project, and each student worked on physical interactive models, drawings, and (in two cases) digital models, maps, drawings, and even a soundtrack of interviews conducted with people related to the project.