Navigating Contextualism: An Architectural And Urban Design Study At The Intersection Of Climate, Culture, Urban Development, And Globalization Case Study Of Dire Dawa, 2023 Rhode Island School of Design
Navigating Contextualism: An Architectural And Urban Design Study At The Intersection Of Climate, Culture, Urban Development, And Globalization Case Study Of Dire Dawa, Ruth Wondimu
Masters Theses
This thesis investigates architectural typologies that have dominated the world especially in the context of Ethiopia. It critiques the de-contextual nature of the modernist and related typologies through the lens of climate, socio-economic fabric, and urban design. It then focuses on Dire-Dawa University, located in the eastern part of Ethiopia, by investigating the authenticity, functionality, and contextuality of the architectural designs as well as their relationship with the people, urban landscape, and culture. Finally it provides design interventions that mitigate the climate related problems through local solutions.
Exploring The Potential Of Pavegen’S Kinetic Energy Generating Floor For Sustainable Energy Solutions: A Proposal For Cal Poly Slo, 2023 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Exploring The Potential Of Pavegen’S Kinetic Energy Generating Floor For Sustainable Energy Solutions: A Proposal For Cal Poly Slo, Brandon J. Cuneo
Construction Management
This paper proposes the installation of Pavegen's kinetic energy generating floors at Cal Poly’s campus as a sustainable energy solution. Pavegen has developed a pioneering technology that converts footsteps into clean and renewable energy. The versatility of these floors is demonstrated through successful implementations in various settings, such as transportation hubs and public spaces, generating power from foot traffic. Collaborations with Schneider Electric, installation at Dupont Circle, and integration at Heathrow Airport showcase the potential for sustainable urban infrastructure. This paper outlines research conducted on Pavegen and similar solutions, including communication with company representatives and examining proposed installation locations at …
Attainable And Sustainable Home Building Solutions, 2023 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Attainable And Sustainable Home Building Solutions, Katrina Matthews
Construction Management
Sustainability has fortunately been a recent concern in the construction industry as climate change continues to impose potentially insurmountable threats to the global environment. Although many new methods have been adopted in efforts to lessen the adverse environmental effects of construction-related activities, as a society, we still have much room for growth as the built environment accounts for almost 50% of global emissions. Many changes and standards must be adopted to make these solutions efficiently beneficial. To set industry standards, we must start with the most basic form of construction- residential building. This report covers two attainable framing solutions for …
City Farm Slo Garden For All Accessible Planter Beds, 2023 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
City Farm Slo Garden For All Accessible Planter Beds, Allison C. Wild
Construction Management
This paper outlines the design, coordination, and construction efforts to build the Accessible Planter Boxes for the City Farm SLO’s Garden for All. The Garden for All was a concept created by the City Farm SLO staff to meet the need for an accessible learning space for students. The full design for the Garden for All also included mobile benches and tables, a shade structure, and decomposed granite pathways that were completed by other students. This project included the construction of 6 raised planter beds of differing heights and designs. Each planter bed was approximately 10 feet long and varied …
Eviction To Placement: Rethinking The Current Supportive Housing Systems For Hidden Homeless Families, 2023 Rhode Island School of Design
Eviction To Placement: Rethinking The Current Supportive Housing Systems For Hidden Homeless Families, Fang-Min Liou
Masters Theses
This thesis focuses on repurposing unoccupied office space into affordable housing systems tailored to meet the unique needs of homeless families. Families with children make up 36 percent of the homeless population overall and children’s homelessness status is almost always “hidden." Architecture and design can play a vital role in addressing social inequity by creating improved living environments for the houseless community through adaptive reuse of underutilized space situated within dense urban areas with the greatest access to resources to support these families, evoke feelings of comfort, security, and hope.
The following thesis accommodates three basic needs of homeless families: …
Incentivizing Electric Vehicle Adoption Through State And Federal Policies: Reviewing Influential Policies, 2023 University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Incentivizing Electric Vehicle Adoption Through State And Federal Policies: Reviewing Influential Policies, Joshua Sabata, Subhaditya Shom, Ahmad Almaghrebi, Anne Mccollister, Mahmoud Alahmad
Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications
All-electric vehicles (EVs), battery-powered EVs (BEVs), and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVS) are gaining market share and increasing in popularity with the buying public because the battery range (longer) and cost (lower) have reached sweet spots, the charging infrastructure is more robust, and concern with global climate change is high. In 2013, only 100,000 EVs were sold in the United States, but by 2022, approximately 800,000 have been purchased. A similar growth is seen in EV supply equipment (EVSE), i.e., EV charging stations, with 19,742 documented EV charging station locations in the United States in 2013 to 50,054 documented EV charging …
Out-Of-Plane Flexural Behavior Of Insulatedwall Panels Constructed With Large Insulation Thicknesses, 2023 Calder Richards Structural Consulting Engineers
Out-Of-Plane Flexural Behavior Of Insulatedwall Panels Constructed With Large Insulation Thicknesses, Jacob Luebke, Fray F. Pozo-Lora, Salam Al-Rubaye, Marc Maguire
Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications
Insulated concrete sandwich wall panels (ICSWPs) are gaining popularity as energy regulations become stricter worldwide. ICSWPs are now being constructed with thinner wythes and thicker insulation to keep up with the changing market, which is reducing material costs and increasing thermal and structural efficiency. However, there is a need for adequate experimental testing to validate the current design methods for these new panels. This research aims to provide that validation by comparing the predictions of four different methods with experimental data obtained from six large-scale panels. The study found that while current design methods adequately predict the behavior of thin …
Optimization Of Plastic Waste Integration In Cement Bricks, 2023 The British University in Egypt
Optimization Of Plastic Waste Integration In Cement Bricks, Yara Salah El-Din El-Metwally
Architectural Engineering
Implementing plastic waste in construction materials is a sustainable disposal method to overcome plastic pollution. The current study aims to optimize the integration of plastic waste in cement bricks regarding their thermomechanical properties in order to develop an eco‑friendly building material. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high‑density polyethylene (HDPE) partially substituted cement with different ratios (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 20%). The type that achieved better thermomechanical performance further replaced the other brick components; sand and coarse aggregates to determine the optimum replacement scenario and best design mix. Laboratory experiments have been carried out to measure the compressive strength, indirect tensile …
Outdoor Artificial Lighting Effects On Livability Of Pedestrian Paths In Urban Heritage Context, 2023 PhD Candidate, Faculty of Architecture - Design and Built Environment, Beirut Arab University, Lebanon
Outdoor Artificial Lighting Effects On Livability Of Pedestrian Paths In Urban Heritage Context, Chirine Traboulsi, Aya Hassoun, Mostafa Rabea, Mary Felix
BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development
Lighting is an important ecological factor that influences individuals’ outdoor activities as well as the development of livable communities in cities. Artificial outdoor lighting is vital in improving the quality of urban open places throughout the nighttime and has a significant impact on the pedestrians' night-time perception and mental safety. This study aims to uncover whether outdoor lighting has indeed an effect on the livability of the pedestrian paths of a community and if so, what is the optimal design that fits an urban heritage setting. The research employs a mixed methods approach, where both qualitative and quantitative methods are …
Towards Urban Biodiversity: Simulating Design Parameters For Wildlife-Inclusive Green Infrastrcuture, 2023 PhD Candidate, Faculty of Architecture - Design & Built Environment Beirut Arab University, Lebanon
Towards Urban Biodiversity: Simulating Design Parameters For Wildlife-Inclusive Green Infrastrcuture, Alisa Abdulghany, Baher Farahat
BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development
As of 2021, more than half of the global population resides in urban areas. This resulted in an overwhelming footprint affecting species habitat areas leading to biodiversity loss. By definition, urban biodiversity is the diversity of living things within the urban realm. By providing chances for habitat as part of new developments, preserving on-site habitats, and attempting to connect with the local ecosystems, we can help promote biodiversity. Green infrastructure (GI), which includes all semi-natural areas in the urban context, can serve as a vessel for biodiversity. Therefore, the problem can be defined by the urban footprint that expands on …
Upgrading Heritage Urban Public Spaces By Using Recycling Waste Plastic Materials, 2023 PhD Candidate, Faculty of Architecture - Design and Built Environment, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon
Upgrading Heritage Urban Public Spaces By Using Recycling Waste Plastic Materials, Aya Mostafa Hassoun, Mostafa Khalifa, Eslam M. Elsamahy, Khaled El-Daghar, Mary Felix
BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development
In low-income countries, population expansion and urbanization bring challenges of inadequate living standards to the fore. Some of the issues could be solved if well-functioning plastic recycling systems were built. To reduce the environmental burden and improve the overall situation in dense cities, the already existing local informal waste treatment system, which is widespread in many low-income nations, needs to be developed with efficient sorting and composting solutions. A case study is carried out in the city of Mina, Lebanon, with the goal of establishing a viable decentralized recycling plastic pavilion material. The effort aims to lessen the climate harm …
A Day Stood Still, 2023 Rhode Island School of Design
A Day Stood Still, Yuting Sun
Masters Theses
The Brooklyn Navy Yard is an important industrial historic site in New York City. It was established in the 1810s as a private shipyard and became a military property in the late nineteenth century. It provided significant production capacity for the Pacific battlefield during World War II. After the war, the entire campus closed in the 1960s as military orders declined and transportation changed. The Brooklyn Navy Yard was later sold to New York City and repurposed.
After the city government took over the park, unlike other industrial sites that were developed as real estate, manufacturing is still the main …
To Open A Clearing: Cultivating Spaces Of Endurance In The Upper Amazon, 2023 Yale University
To Open A Clearing: Cultivating Spaces Of Endurance In The Upper Amazon, Brunno De Melo Meirelles Douat
Masters of Environmental Design Theses
To effectively challenge the policies of extraction implemented by late liberal regimes, the Waorani communities from Upper Amazon have devised spatial strategies to defend their traditional territory. By re-examining the concept of the contact zone and unfolding settler and Indigenous literature, spatialities, and worldviews, this thesis suggests the concept of forest Clearings as a means to explore spatial forms of endurance.
Clearings emerge within the Amazon in sites where encounters between divergent worldviews embody otherwise modes of existence. Through a series of fieldwork reflections, these Clearings are perceived as spaces where ontological negotiations are more likely to occur, strategies of …
Operation Summer Care: Territories Of The Stewardship-Hospitality Complex, 2023 Yale University
Operation Summer Care: Territories Of The Stewardship-Hospitality Complex, George Papamattheakis
Masters of Environmental Design Theses
Operation Summer Care studies the expanding interest that the hospitality industry takes in the biogeophysical environment. Natural surroundings have long been an essential operational precondition of tourism in the global sunbelt, but contemporary environmental anxieties increasingly motivate different strata of hosts to take a more active role in environmental management. Usually the domain of the state, biogeophysical entities and their spaces—plants and animals, sand formations, wetlands, entire ecosystems and protected areas—are measured, ordered, and managed by actors adjacent to the tourism industry. At the same time, the socio-technical mechanisms of environmental intervention and calculation are conveniently framed as practices of …
Southern Sustainability: An Examination Of Waste Management Mechanisms Within The University Of Mississippi Community, 2023 University of Mississippi
Southern Sustainability: An Examination Of Waste Management Mechanisms Within The University Of Mississippi Community, Haley Clift
Honors Theses
The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and study local mechanisms surrounding waste management at The University of Mississippi. The research study gathers quantitative and qualitative research to make conclusions about sustainability and recycling practices on The University of Mississippi's campus. The thesis discusses whether those practices are effective for those in The University of Mississippi's community based on the data collected and research conducted. The researcher also offers proposals for the University of Mississippi community based on the research conducted.
The gap that exists in the waste management processes at The University of Mississippi was addressed by blending …
Wasteful To Useful: Investigating The Metamorphosis Of Textile For Construction Methods, 2023 Kennesaw State University
Wasteful To Useful: Investigating The Metamorphosis Of Textile For Construction Methods, Elizabeth Rodriguez
Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year
Every year, the average American generates over 80 pounds of textile waste. Since the 1990s, consumer behavior has shifted as mass production of items has become the norm. Production of clothing alone already impacts the environment as it requires immense amounts of chemicals, energy, water, and other natural resources. So, when consumers throw away clothing and brands decide to discard overproduced items, it ends up in landfills where it takes over 200+ years to decompose. Furthermore, a large percentage of unwanted clothing will be sent off to third-world countries to try to resale or recycle. Yet, the amount being imported …
Origami In Design : How Can Origami Inform The Design Of The Kinetic Façade System?, 2023 Kennesaw State University
Origami In Design : How Can Origami Inform The Design Of The Kinetic Façade System?, Nicolas Ackerman
Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year
The present goal as a designer is to create a very thoughtful building that presents itself as a visual identity for our built environment. One of the intentions of the design is to not impact more into the co2 emissions. With 40 percent of the 75 percent annual global Greenhouse emissions coming from building operations, (Architecture 2030), we as designers must shift from a formal to a performance-based architecture. An architecture that instinctively addresses reduced energy consumption and therefore lower CO2 emissions through the integration of passive design strategies. In order to compete in a future with CO2 reduction, we …
Manufactured Exurbia, 2023 Kennesaw State University
Manufactured Exurbia, Elijah Swift
Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year
This project redefines the identity of the manufactured housing typology by conceiving of more adaptable structural configurations which provide a framework for breaking the conformity of mass production and mass consumption to give the residents true economic prosperity through control of the 3-D manufacturing process of their homes. Manufactured housing, formerly known as mobile or trailer homes, is one of the most vulnerable housing types in the United States during a severe weather event. This is due to the mass industrial production of a structural composition that is rather suited for permanently fixed construction, leading to fragility in their assemblage …
Chattahoochee River Front Design: Sustaining A Lost Culture Through Environmental And Social Stewardship Of Native American, 2023 Kennesaw State University
Chattahoochee River Front Design: Sustaining A Lost Culture Through Environmental And Social Stewardship Of Native American, Dalvin Ross
Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year
How vital is Native American culture in understanding the history and synergy between the social, natural, and built environments? The identity of indigenous people in North America has been stripped and forgotten over years. It is critical to promote rediscovering their ideologies through the establishment of a cultural center which features the architectural contributions of the Native Americans. This undergrade thesis focuses on the city of Atlanta, which has cultural remnants of the first inhabitants of this land. Still, it’s relevance in the community or architecture in Georgia is often overlooked. The Chattahoochee River is a natural tourist attraction, located …
The Art Of Detailing: An Exploration Of Watercolor, 2023 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
The Art Of Detailing: An Exploration Of Watercolor, Torrey Tracy
TFSC Publications and Presentations
Second Annual University of Arkansas Teaching and Learning Symposium: Sharing Teaching Ideas
Department of Interior Architecture and Design, Fay Jones School of Architecture
Special thanks to Cat Wallack, Architectural Records Archivist, Mullins Library and Reagan Walters, Bachelor of Interior Design, 2021