Planning, Preserving, And Increasing Accessibility: A Reflection On Going “Car-Free”, 2023 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Planning, Preserving, And Increasing Accessibility: A Reflection On Going “Car-Free”, Abigail J. Weizer
City and Regional Planning
This paper studies the accessibility of car-free areas to those with mobility impairments by examining three car-free and car-lite experiments in California. Whether slowly converted to car-free with long-term, careful planning, or expeditiously changed to car-free during the COVID-19 pandemic, these three car-free experiments show the shortcomings of planning for accessibility in car-free spaces, and how instead of improving accessibility, current planning practice often hinders it. This paper offers a deep-dive into the drawbacks and benefits of going car-free and the ethical and legal reasons why urban planners, designers, and policymakers must consider the accessibility of a space before planning …
Precious Plastics - Plastic Brick Machine Fabrication, 2023 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Precious Plastics - Plastic Brick Machine Fabrication, Timothy Ukaobasi Kanu, Evi Paraskevi Troulis
Architectural Engineering
The goal of this research is to determine the structural parameters of the recycled plastic polypropylene when molded into bricks resembling CMU blocks. To accomplish this, three mechanisms had to be assembled: the shredder, the injector, and the 1x1 mold. A tensile and compression test were to be performed on the plastic brick, and the values would be used to compare the tensile and compressive strength of PP plastic bricks, as well as their modulus of elasticity and stress vs. Strain performance. These values would be analyzed to determine whether it would be feasible to build an entire plastic wall. …
A Framework To Predict Variability Characteristics In Building Load Profiles, 2023 University of Nebraska–Lincoln
A Framework To Predict Variability Characteristics In Building Load Profiles, Sam Moayedi, Andrew Parker, Kevin James, Xiaoyue Cheng, Michael Hempel, Hamid Sharif, Mahmoud A. Alahmad
Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications
The expansion of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) has provided building operators and researchers detailed information on building energy consumption. The majority of AMI systems, however, record data at relatively low resolutions of 15, 30, or 60 minutes, due to cost, storage and bandwidth limitations. Emerging applications in power flow analysis, Quasi-Static Time-Series Simulation (QSTS), smart grid integration and load matching, however, require data at higher resolutions. Short-term energy demand can deviate significantly from long-term averages, with an unknown magnitude and frequency when only low-resolution load profile data is available. This paper presents a novel data-driven approach to predict characteristics of …
A Survey Of Universal Design At Museums: Current Industry Practice And Perceptions, 2023 Colorado Mesa University – USA
A Survey Of Universal Design At Museums: Current Industry Practice And Perceptions, Jennifer K. Fortuna, Kayleigh Thomas, Jenna Asper, Laura Matney, Kyra Chase, Stephanie Ogren, Julia Vandermolen
The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy
Background: Museums are key educational and cultural resources in the community, yet many are not accessible to visitors with disabilities. Universal design promotes products and environments usable to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of ability. This study explores current industry practice and perceptions of accessibility and universal design in a small sample of American museums. Suggestions for how occupational therapists can help museums go above and beyond ADA guidelines are provided.
Method: An 17-item cross-sectional survey was used to collect data. Twenty-five museum associations assisted with recruitment. A descriptive numerical summary and qualitative analysis were …
Integration Of Real-Time Semantic Building Map Updating With Adaptive Monte Carlo Localization (Amcl) For Robust Indoor Mobile Robot Localization, 2023 Universidad Pablo de Olavide
Integration Of Real-Time Semantic Building Map Updating With Adaptive Monte Carlo Localization (Amcl) For Robust Indoor Mobile Robot Localization, Matthew Peavy, Pileun Kim, Hafiz Oyediran, Kyungki Kim
Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications
A robot can accurately localize itself and navigate in an indoor environment based on information about the operating environment, often called a world or a map. While typical maps describe structural layouts of buildings, the accuracy of localization is significantly affected by nonstructural building elements and common items, such as doors, appliances, and furniture. This study enhances the robustness and accuracy of indoor robot localization by dynamically updating the semantic building map with non-structural elements detected by sensors. We propose modified Adaptive Monte Carlo Localization (AMCL), integrating object recognition and map updating into the traditional probabilistic localization. With the proposed …
Edra 54: Bibliography, 2023 Andrews University
Properties Of Cement Mortar Containing Recycled High-Density Polyethylene (Hdpe), 2023 The British University in Egypt
Properties Of Cement Mortar Containing Recycled High-Density Polyethylene (Hdpe), Amany G. Micheal Prof., Esraa Torky, Merna Amir
Centre for Advanced Materials
Millions of tones of plastic waste are generated globally and only less than 10 per cent has been recycled. It is crucial to segregate and circulate plastic waste and repurposing it for countless other uses. There are many ways to repurpose and reuse these discarded plastics. One use that can be examined is the use of plastic as partial sand replacement in mortar. To contribute to this important and valid discourse, the research studies the mechanical and thermal properties of recycled HDPE mortar as an active way of integrating plastic waste into the construction industry to partially eliminate some of …
From Silence To Forte: Developing An Inclusive Space For Persian Musicians To Flourish, 2023 Virginia Commonwealth University
From Silence To Forte: Developing An Inclusive Space For Persian Musicians To Flourish, Sholeh Salimi
Theses and Dissertations
Music serves as a reflection of culture and conveys various emotional and intellectual states, such as a nation's perspective, social attitudes, and historical background. However, the Iranian revolution in 1979 led to the ban of music by the new regime, limiting the output and audience for Iranian music. In addition, the emergence of Western music accessibility through technology posed challenges for traditional Persian music, and the government's restrictions on music further compounded the problem. To support and advance the preservation and dissemination of Iranian music, this study aims to explore how an interior designer can create a space that enables …
Water Analysis Of Various Issues: Local Issue: Beavers In Butler, 2023 Butler Board of Education
Water Analysis Of Various Issues: Local Issue: Beavers In Butler, Michael Konopinski
STEM for Success Showcase
In my 6th Grade Academic Technology Class, the students have been learning about various water issues that have taken place globally, nationally, and now locally. Students have analyzed interactive drought maps of our country, worked on inventions to help water scarcity in developing nations, and now students are currently researching and creating solutions to a local issue in our community. Currently, there is a beaver constructing a dam in our local river.
Students have researched, analyzed the area, and now are creating solutions to this unique situation. Upon completion of the research, finding the location of this issue using Google …
Our Journey To “Concourse D”: A Student-Developed Space For Creating, Collaborating, And Developing Community In The Library, 2023 University of Dayton
Our Journey To “Concourse D”: A Student-Developed Space For Creating, Collaborating, And Developing Community In The Library, Katy Kelly, Adrienne Ausdenmoore
Books and Book Chapters by University of Dayton Faculty
This case study describes an academic library’s student-developed communal space for the purposes of creating, collaborating, and project development. The story begins with an exciting process and partnership developed between University of Dayton (UD) Libraries and UD’s Institute of Applied Creativity for Transformation (IACT). An IACT experiential learning program led 12 students to research and reimagine the role of the campus library, which resulted in Concourse D, “where projects take flight,” a prototyped transdisciplinary project development studio. This mutually beneficial process led the library to a user-centric mindset as they reimagined space as service; patrons as creators; and a new …
Blue Carbon Science, Management And Policy Across A Tropical Urban Landscape, 2023 Old Dominion University
Blue Carbon Science, Management And Policy Across A Tropical Urban Landscape, Daniel A. Friess, Yasmine M. Gatt, Tze Kwan Fung, Jahson B. Alemu I, Natasha Bhatia, Rebecca Case, Siew Chin Chua, Danwei Huang, Valerie Kwan, Kiah Eng Lim, Yudhishthra Nathan, Yan Xiang Ow, Daniel Saavedra-Hortua, Taylor M. Sloey, Erik S. Yando, Hassan Ibrahim, Lian Pin Koh, Jun Yu Puah, Serena Lay-Ming Teo, Karenne Tun, Lynn Wei Wong, Siti Maryam Yaakub
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
The ability of vegetated coastal ecosystems to sequester high rates of “blue” carbon over millennial time scales has attracted the interest of national and international policy makers as a tool for climate change mitigation. Whereas focus on blue carbon conservation has been mostly on threatened rural seascapes, there is scope to consider blue carbon dynamics along highly fragmented and developed urban coastlines. The tropical city state of Singapore is used as a case study of urban blue carbon knowledge generation, how blue carbon changes over time with urban development, and how such knowledge can be integrated into urban planning alongside …
The Ephemerality Of Building: A Case Study Of Material Life And Reuse, 2023 Bard College
The Ephemerality Of Building: A Case Study Of Material Life And Reuse, John Brewster Loud
Senior Projects Spring 2023
Western colonialist architecture has a long and complicated relationship with its materiality and the surrounding ecosystem. For the past millennia, buildings and structures have permanently altered the landscape. These changes are not always bad. An ecosystem is constantly evolving, and sometimes these changes allow for growth and metamorphosis. In other cases, however, these colonialist structures can bring about ecosystem destruction and deterioration over time. Materiality and change are approached in this project as they relate to architecture. In Western architecture, materials are almost always new and standardized and have exact lengths and widths that can be ordered to certain dimensions. …
La Floresta; An Appreciation And Reimagination Of My Barrio, 2023 Claremont Colleges
La Floresta; An Appreciation And Reimagination Of My Barrio, Ana Rodríguez
Scripps Senior Theses
This thesis is a love letter to my barrio, La Floresta in Quito, Ecuador. I have divided it into three different sections: a creative writing piece where I walk readers through my barrio and my life in it, a historical section where I analyze its history and the reasons for its uniqueness and current identity, and finally a project proposal for a community center called "Casa La Floresta".
Contemplative Nearby Nature: A Design Proposal For Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, 2023 Pomona College
Contemplative Nearby Nature: A Design Proposal For Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, Russell Corbin
Pomona Senior Theses
In this Environmental Analysis thesis project, I analyze what contemplative landscapes are, why they are important, and how to design them, and then implement those learnings in a design proposal for a contemplative landscape at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park. In addition to this writing component of the thesis, I created diagrams, drawings, section renderings, a plan, and two 3d models that all help inform the intentions, meaning, and components of my design. These elements have been woven into the writing and attached as additional documents. Five key contemplative design elements have been identified which I hope can prove useful for …
Bicycling For Sustainable Urban Mobility: Comparing Urban Transformations In Paris And Bogotá, 2023 Claremont Colleges
Bicycling For Sustainable Urban Mobility: Comparing Urban Transformations In Paris And Bogotá, Luba Masliy
Pomona Senior Theses
Promoting cycling is one of the low-hanging fruits to decarbonizing transportation, with further extensive benefits to quality of life. The main deterrent to the adoption of cycling for transportation is the lack of safe and connected infrastructure. This thesis explores and compares the case studies of Paris and Bogotá, where cycling modal shares grew significantly within the last decade. Plans outlining ambitious goals around sustainable transportation were put in place, and total bicycle network lengths increased rapidly in both cities. My work focuses on examining policy and infrastructure developments that lead to increased adoption of cycling over time in Paris …
From Building To Dwelling: Unfolding Infinity Through Bioregional Fulfillment, 2023 Claremont Colleges
From Building To Dwelling: Unfolding Infinity Through Bioregional Fulfillment, Sanjana Bhatnagar
Pitzer Senior Theses
The causes of anthropogenic climate change touch every feature of our modern-day existences. Approaches to sustainability tend to focus on material actions, but unsustainable practices are guided by an ontological orientation of individuality and human exceptionalism. This thesis provides an alternate account of being that decenters individuality through weaving the metaphysics of Fazang of the Huayan School of Mahayana Buddhism with the metaphysics of Martin Heidegger. To encompass the whole of the relational network that constitutes and conditionally defines our existence, I expand Heidegger’s account of locales as relational sites which are put forth solely by humans to an account …
Redesigning Pitzer's East Mesa Parking Lot, 2023 Claremont Colleges
Redesigning Pitzer's East Mesa Parking Lot, Maisie Debruyn
Pitzer Senior Theses
Pitzer College’s East Mesa parking lot has been greatly outgrown and hardly adapted in its history. This thesis aims to redesign the lot as something highly usable for the present as well as the future needs of the school. At the core of the design are three design principles: Biophilic design, Human Centered Design, and adaptable architecture. I also pulled conceptual ideas from three precedent buildings from both on and off campus. The on-campus sites are Pomona’s “The Hive” and Harvey Mudd’s “Makerspace” and the off campus site is JaJa Architects’ PARK’N’PLAY. Utilizing each of the three principles in conjunction …
A Review On Sustainable Disposal Of Plastic Waste By Integration In Construction Materials, 2023 The British University in Egypt
A Review On Sustainable Disposal Of Plastic Waste By Integration In Construction Materials, Yara S. El-Metwally, Iman El-Mahallawi, Khaled M. Dewidar, Mostafa R. Refaat
Architectural Engineering
Over the last decades, plastic waste (PW) has increased exponentially and has become a serious threat to our planet, aquatic system and human health. Recycling or reusing PW in producing ecofriendly materials is an efficient solution to reduce plastic pollution and to minimize the depletion of raw materials as well. Previous studies have shown promising potentials of using PW in the construction sector, such as binder, aggregate, or substitute of cement and sand in concrete, brick or mortar. Laboratory results indicate that implementing plastic waste as aggregates in cement composites obtains higher thermal resistance and acoustical performance. However, a reduction …
Quantifying The Carbon Stored And Sequestered By The Trees On Pomona College’S Campus, 2023 Scripps College
Quantifying The Carbon Stored And Sequestered By The Trees On Pomona College’S Campus, Paola A. Giron-Carson
Scripps Senior Theses
We are experiencing a climate crisis that must be confronted with strategic mitigation. Pomona College contributes to the climate crisis through its emissions for which there is a baseline record. However there is no baseline record of the climate mitigation currently performed by the trees on Pomona’s campus through carbon storage. This study seeks to determine a current baseline quantity of carbon stored and sequestrated by Pomona’s trees as well as possible courses of climate mitigation for Pomona College to take. Initial information gathering was conducted through interviews with several stakeholders. This study was conducted using data collected prior to …
Evaluating Biophilic Design Characteristics In Lincoln Public Schools, 2023 University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Evaluating Biophilic Design Characteristics In Lincoln Public Schools, Sarah Burr
Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses
A mixed qualitative-quantitative study was conducted in Lincoln, Nebraska to observe and evaluate the biophilic design characteristics in Lincoln Public Schools (LPS). There is a significant lack of nature in urban environments, especially in older buildings and schools, therefore incorporating natural elements in school buildings can promote the success of students and contribute to improved well-being. The research question this study aims to address is: How and to what degree are Lincoln Public Schools integrating biophilic design characteristics in their high school buildings? Four high schools were toured utilizing an evaluation form with 10 biophilic design characteristics and a 5-point …