Architecture Commons^™

Architecture In Archaeology: An Examination Of Domestic Space In Bronze Age Mesopotamia, Megan E. Drennan

Honors Scholar Theses

The study of architecture within archaeology has not had a direct, well-defined history nor a singular academic pursuit. Yet over time, four branches have developed; they examine: 1) the object itself; structures as artifacts, 2) activity areas within a structure, 3) the specific way in which a building confines space, and 4) the relationship between human behavior and architecture.

This investigation surveys domestic space in the Bronze Age Mesopotamian urban centers of Tell Asmar, Nippur, and Ur. The analysis uses methods from the study of space, such as space syntax, access analysis, and visibility angles, to demonstrate the probability of …

Piece To The Puzzle: Sustainable Elements Fitting Together, Heather C. Nelson

Theses from the Architecture Program

Sustainability, green, and eco-friendly are very popular topics right now. Those words and many like them are being used in almost every industry. But it’s not just a trend, it’s a necessary movement. Using green building elements as a starting point for design, just as site, typology, and clients’ request are used, is how a sustainable building is created. These elements must be adjusted for every site because local materials, climate and community all play a role.

Deep investigation of the projects context is important. There are many factors of the site to consider. Physical aspects while important are just …

Future Bionic, Ryan J. Huber

Theses from the Architecture Program

Future Bionic is a study into how biological processes can be reinterpreted and applied to revolutionize the idea of performance in buildings. The term bionic refers to the combining of a natural system and a mechanical system or technology [bionics]. Biomimicry refers to the copying or imitation of a natural systems processes [biomimicry]. Future Bionic is a hybrid of both concepts, in which I am looking at how principles of bionics and biomimicry can be used to design a built environment that begins to blur the edges between the natural and man-made world. Both bionics and biomimicry can be used …

Dwellevator, Jacob A. Slobodnik

Theses from the Architecture Program

dwellevator (dwel-uh-vey-ter) -noun 1. a rehabilitative response to homelessness 2. the rehabilitation of derelict grain elevators

rehabilitate (ree-hu-bil-i-teyt) -verb 1. to restore to a condition of good health, ability to work, or the like.

It is estimated that there are over 3 million homeless individuals in the United States at any given time. Today’s homeless are far different than those of the past. History would have it that many of the past homeless were vagabonds looking to escape the rigid constraints of society, in search of a life with no rules, no restrictions, and most importantly, no responsibilities. The majority …

Icontinuum, Andrew S. West

Theses from the Architecture Program

Many old Olympic stadiums are “white elephants” because they are valuable and the owners cannot dispose of them, but the cost of upkeep is out of proportion. This was proven to be a problem in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics: Beijing National Stadium costs $9 million to maintain annually and there was not a permanent tenant slated to use the facility. The stadium has seen only two major events since the Games concluded. This is a problem. This project proposes an Olympic stadium that is designed with a secondary purpose. London has already taken steps to improve the problem …

Connection Through Creation Of Place: A Multimodal Center For Downtown Omaha, Bradley R. Isham

Theses from the Architecture Program

Proposals and advocates for the reestablishment of the Omaha Streetcar have been around since the program was first ended in 1955. Similarly, regional passengers through Omaha once experienced both the Union Station (Durham Western Heritage Museum) and the Burlington Station, both were praised for their architecture, ease and comfort of travel. Passenger rail today operates at only a fraction of what it used to. A strong opponent to the railroad has always been the automobile. The automobile with its freedom and speed of technology has quickly surpassed the train and has quickly surpassed the train and has taken full control …

Economy Obsolete, Ashley K. Byars

Theses from the Architecture Program

NAS Alameda_Economy Obsolete:

Obsolescence: a decline in the value of equipment or of a product brought about by an introduction of new technology or by changes in demand.

Obsolescence is a term of growing importance in the global economy today due to advancements in technology, changing economic conditions and evolving cultural and social desires. One does not have to search the city, the web, or even one’s immediate neighborhood very thoroughly before running across discarded cell phones, microwaves, and other common household goods. Once an object is outdated, it is replaced with its successor and abandoned. Personal consumer items are …

Drivethru 2050, Thomas W. Weingarten Jr.

Theses from the Architecture Program

This thesis explores the architectural ramifications brought about by increased integration of our changing personal vehicles and the emerging business model of locally incorporated drive-thru/online shopping.

Site 27th & Capital Parkway, Lincoln, NE

Goals Building Integrated Vehicular Shopping

Short Term Create an architectural system for retail development that is more conscious of the personal vehicle and associated vehicular land uses (i.e. parking)

Long Term Reduce the need for under-utilized parking “dead-space” at retail destination centers

Bleeding Edge, C. Brett Rottinghaus

Theses from the Architecture Program

Memorial Stadium can be a better contributor to it’s environ’s. The stadium currently is the largest element on the University of Nebraska at Lincoln’s Campus; however, it is used the least. In the year 2009 it was used for 12 events most of which were Cornhusker football games. Other events include a Larry the Cable Guy comedy show and State High School tournament finals. The circulation around the stadium is dynamic in the sense that it has a high level of fluctuation in its traffic. The traffic is either High density or low. I call this being turned into a …

Riparian Efformation, Laura C. Brodersen

Theses from the Architecture Program

This thesis deals with two widespread issues facing contemporary society and the environment which it finds itself: 1. It is often assumed that what and where one calls home is straightforward, that our sense of home and identity are singularly rooted in a local place. Rather than being seen as an integral aspect of social life, mobility has been regarded as a special and temporary phenomenon classified under such headings as migration, refugee studies, and tourism. But increasingly, modern forms of dwelling, working, and playing involve circulating through a geographically extended network of social relations and a multiplicity of widely …

Hot Rod Theory, Ryan D. Henrickson

Theses from the Architecture Program

This thesis investigation will focus on the cultivation of a new design theory as a third option focusing on the area amongst the existing strategies of Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse. Preemptively before the theory can be developed, an understanding of the term Hot Rod must be clearly understood to fully realize the merits it may hold for architecture. The link between Hot Rod and Architecture as a generative exploration, from which architecture can relate specifically, brings out their historical significance. Both of which have individually shared and lost within a subculture to mainstream cultural transition.

Understandably, with the usage …

Aim - Austin Intermodal Transit Center, Nathan E. Bicak

Theses from the Architecture Program

This project will propose a new intermodal/multimodal center for the city of Austin, Texas that will serve both transit needs as well as social functions. Through research and programming it will become evident what types of spaces are necessary to carry out the latter.

Austin is currently in the process of researching and engineering a mass transit system for its ever-growing transportation needs, specifically a light-rail system. In the late 1960s Austin’s population was roughly what Lincoln’s is today, about 250,000 people. The greater Austin area now totals more than two million people. Through the course of this growth, little …

Una Semana De "Pico Y Placa", Fernando Carrión Mena

Fernando Carrión Mena

Ha concluido la primera semana de aplicación de la restricción vehicular denominada “pico y placa” en la ciudad de Quito y con ello se pueden empezar a realizar algunas evaluaciones, aunque todavía preliminares. Como punto de partida general se puede decir que los resultados iniciales se presentan satisfactorios y positivos en muchos campos.

Quizás el más importante tenga que ver desde la perspectiva cualitativa. En esa línea se debe remarcar que la ciudadanía quiteña si colabora y participa de las políticas públicas; muestra de ello son las sanciones aplicadas a las personas que no sabían, no lograron organizarse o simplemente …

Structural Damage Detection Robust Against Time Synchronization Errors, Guirong Yan, Shirley J. Dyke

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Structural Damage Detection based on Wireless Sensor Networks Can Be Affected Significantly by Time Synchronization Errors among Sensors. Precise Time Synchronization of Sensor Nodes Has Been Viewed as Crucial for Addressing This Issue. However, Precise Time Synchronization over a Long Period of Time is Often Impractical in Large Wireless Sensor Networks Due to Two Inherent Challenges. First, Time Synchronization Needs to Be Performed Periodically, Requiring Frequent Wireless Communication among Sensors at Significant Energy Cost. Second, Significant Time Synchronization Errors May Result from Node Failures Which Are Likely to Occur during Long-Term Deployment over Civil Infrastructures. in This Paper, a Damage …

Universality And Its Discontents: The Louvre And Guggenheim Abu Dhabi As A Case Study In The Future Of Museums, Catherine R. Skluzacek

Art and Art History Honors Projects

The contemporary museological community faces increasing competition in the global marketplace to prove its relevance. Accordingly, franchises of leading institutions will now appear in Abu Dhabi, UAE, that approach this problem by presenting art in a comparative international perspective rather than as fragmentary narratives of disparate cultures. Furthermore, shifts in state financial support and the purposes of collecting within museum institutions have led to the adoption of administrative policies like those used by multinational corporations. This new model of museological practice presented by the Louvre and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi resolves the paradox of protecting cultural diversity within universal museums.

El Refugio: Una Realidad Del Encuentro De Dos Países Asimétricos, Fernando Carrión Mena Arq.

Fernando Carrión Mena

Las fronteras en la actualidad son expresiones de realidades múltiples, al extremo de que en una frontera se pueden encontrar varias en simultáneo; porque se trata de la confluencia de situaciones asimétricas y heterogéneas. No solo que existen diferencias frente al otro distinto, sino que también se presentan una multiplicidad de aristas, tales como: económicas, políticas, sociales y culturales. De allí que las políticas que se diseñen deban seguir esta lógica plural y no continuar con el error de tener una sola propuesta para la totalidad y que ésta sea elaborada de manera distante de la frontera y con desconocimiento …

El Riesgo Lo Construye El Déficit De Desarrollo. Entre Haití Y Chile, El Ecuador, Fernando Carrión Mena Arq.

Fernando Carrión Mena

En estos últimos cinco años se han producido tres de los diez sismos más fuertes que se han registrado a lo largo del mundo en 110 años, lo cual muestra el incremento de los fenómenos y sus intensidades que, a su vez, producen un aumento vertiginoso de los impactos de la población y en la economía.

En El Límite De La Vida: La Violencia Fronteriza, Fernando Carrión Mena Arq.

Fernando Carrión Mena

En el Ecuador existe la percepción generalizada de que la frontera norte es una zona altamente violenta, producto de la contaminación del conflicto militar y de la alta delincuencia que se vive en Colombia. Es decir, que la violencia viene de afuera y que no es ecuatoriana. Dicha noción es más notoria cuando aparecen olas delincuenciales en Quito o Guayaquil, que disparan inmediatamente la atención de los medios de comunicación y de los voceros gubernamentales para explicar el hecho a través de la violencia existente en el país vecino y de la frontera como puerta de entrada. De allí, la …

El Centro Histórico Como Objeto De Deseo, Fernando Carrión Mena Arq.

Fernando Carrión Mena

El centro histórico -como un todo- es el espacio público por excelencia de la ciudad y, por tanto, el elemento fundamental de la integración fundamental de la integración social y de la estructuración de la ciudad. Como eso no ocurre en la actualidad -dado que existe una agorafobia- el centro histórico aparece como objeto del deseo y como un proyecto de escala variable, según su significado patrimonial. De esta conclusión matriz devienen otras de no menor valor como son: - Con el nuevo patrón de urbanización en América Latina -de introspección cosmopolita- la ciudad construida adquiere una nueva función y …

Bs News May/June

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.