Architecture Commons^™

Increasing Stimulation | Decreasing Progression: The Built Environment’S Impact On Alzheimer’S And Dementia, Tracy Chin

Honors Capstone Projects - All

With people living longer lives, the population of elderly is increasing at significant rates. Currently 5.3 million suffer from Alzheimer’s in America and 35 million people worldwide. The disease is one that deteriorates brain cells which in turn affects everyday thinking, behavioral problems, and results in a reduced mastery of one’s environment. The current typology is one that has been designed along the same premises of medical institutions and hospitals. The configuration results in narrow corridors and confined, unlit spaces that lead to disorientation and fear—exacerbating both physical and mental symptoms of the disease.

In addition to memory, sensory losses …

Silicommon: A Library Complex And Center For Technology Start-Ups In Palo Alto, Ca, Morgan Shaw

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Abstract not included

‘Capital’ City: Creating An Approach To Urban Development In A Monumental City, Lindsay H. Davis

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Washington DC is the political capital of the country, nestled within a working city. It is under international scrutiny everyday, acting as the face we show the world. A recent development in the center city showed the world our view on future

urban development, as the historic Chinatown was completely demolished to make way for new condos and a convention center, leaving a single street for nostalgia. Is this how we should think about our cities futures? As architects, we often become obsessed with the details of our designs, forgetting the larger forces that impact these projects, or that they …

Urban Fabrication: The Architectural Heightening Of The Urban Tactile Sensibility A Fiber Arts Fabrication & Exhibition Center In Dublin, Ireland, Elizabeth Fallon

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The discipline of fiber arts has been in existence since the beginning of civilization to produce both functional equipment as well as aesthetically driven art pieces. The craft, at times highly specialized, often produces elements at the scale of the human body, due to the personal level by which fiber artifacts are produced. The making of artifacts and implementation of fiber art strategies have simultaneous cultural, environmental, formal, and gender-related relationships and implications. The design, construction and experience of buildings and inhabitable space at all scales can benefit from these relationships.

It is the contention of this thesis to merge …

The Architecture Of Terroir: A Phenomenological Approach To The Design Of A Winery, Marina Gabriela Betti Albiero Brink

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The process of winemaking is a complex one that engages all the senses. Grapes are harvested at their optimal point for making wine. This is determined by the human touching of the grape still on the vine. In fermentation, the temperature of the room is critical in determining the quality of the wine produced. While aging, the smell and color engage the senses in testing the wine’s development. Tasting is not only a final step but also one that occurs throughout the winemaking process. In most instances, the sensory experience associated with winemaking is exclusive to the winemaker. I am …

Theatre For A New Theater: A Play On Architecture, Alexander Coulombe

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Not Included

Urban Farming Mumbai, Ankur Patel

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Abstract not included.

Theatre For A New Theater: A Play On Architecture, Alex Coulombe

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The project entails transforming a former military fort into a theater. The scopic parameters native to both fort and theater can provide a field of operation for an architecture that simultaneously mobilizes and exposes the machinery of spectacle. In tandem, amplifying and distorting existing conditions of the fort and repurposing them for a theatrical program can provide catalytic parameters for design that are typically absent when designing from a clean slate.

Architecture For Disparate Communities In Transitional China: Urban Housing Stitch For Chinese Migrant Workers And City Dwellers In Rapidly Urbanizing Cities, Jennifer Hoi Ling Ha

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Problem:

Two housing types in China’s urban cities serve two specific demographics, the city dweller and the migrant worker. The high-rise and the urban village reside on the same block of land but cannot coexist. In order to save the urban villages from being demolished and to keep the migrant worker population within the city, there needs to be a more appropriate and aggressive housing concept to address China’s “changing contemporary social reality” between the two demographic.

Methodology:

The first step is to understand the two typologies of housing. Through the study of migrant housing typologies in different major …

Articulation Of Deaf And Hearing Spaces Using Deaf Space Design Guidelines: A Community Based Participatory Research With The Albuquerque Sign Language Academy, Charlene A. Johnson

Architecture and Planning ETDs

The purpose of this project is to conduct Community Based Participatory Research exploring how articulation between deaf, hard of hearing and hearing students at the Albuquerque Sign Language Academy can be enhanced using Deaf Space Design Guidelines in the school facility. The ASLA is a Bilingual school with an ASL and spoken English curriculum. Unlike traditional schools for the deaf, the ASLA enrolls deaf, hard of hearing and hearing children in a multicultural environment, which includes Deaf Culture among the cultural identities. Five qualitative research methods were used with participation from mostly hearing ASLA staff, faculty and parents. The ASLA …

Charleston History Through Architecture: Educating Students About Historic Preservation, Cultural Heritage, And Social History In Charleston, South Carolina, Katherine Leslie Stamps

Master of Science in Historic Preservation Terminal Projects

No abstract provided.

Funding Sustainable And Humanitarian Architectural Projects, Joslyn R. Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this project is to identify sources of funding for sustainable building projects and create a catalog of the findings. This study targeted the nonprofit, humanitarian, and private organization sectors with the goal to encourage subsequent projects that may positively impact the quality of life for people in need.

It has been predicted that in the next 25 years 75% of America's built environment will be either new or renovated. The downside is that new buildings cause substantial ecological damage due to the extraction of materials and account for as much as 40% of all greenhouse gases. As …

Historical Restoration Of Usu's Passive Recreation Garden, Jeremy Nelson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Laval Morris was the founder of the Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning

department at USU. He is an important figure in the history of our university the state and

intermountain region. One of the last remaining landscapes that he designed for the university is

USU’s Passive Recreation Garden.

Over time the garden has become degraded, overrun by invasive plants and was almost

completely destroyed in 2004. It is important to preserve and restore this garden because of its

importance to Laval and to the history LAEP at Utah State University.

My thesis is a documentation of the gardens importance and …

The Soundscape Planning Of Mountain Park In Holyoke, Massachusetts, Brian Clayton Giggey

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The soundscape of a place is simply its acoustic environment, with the listener situated within the center of the sonic landscape (Porteous and Mastin, 1985). Soundscapes can be adjusted with proper planning, site analysis and design. Often overlooked by design and planning professionals, sounds are a part of the biological, social and spiritual context which needs to be considered if good outdoor environments are to be provided (Hedfors, 2003). With its close proximity to the Whiting Street Reservoir and Holyoke Range, Mountain Park provides a terrific opportunity for an outdoor amphitheater, a cultural resource deeply needed in Western Massachusetts. Significant …

Greenspace Conservation Planning Framework For Urban Regions Based On A Forest Bird-Habitat Relationship Study And The Resilience Thinking, Sadahisa Kato

Open Access Dissertations

The research involves first conducting a "case study" of ecological data and applying the results, together with the resilience concept, to the development of a greenspace conservation planning framework for urban regions. The first part of the research investigates the relationship between forest bird abundance and the surrounding landscape characteristics, especially, forest area and its spatial configuration in urban regions at multiple scales. The results are similar for simple and multiple regression analyses across three scales. The percentage of forest cover in a landscape is positively correlated with bird abundance with some thresholds. Overall, the percentage of forest cover in …

Utilizing Jicarilla Apache Knowledge To Enrich The Watershed Watch Program Curriculum For The Benefit Of The Jicarilla Apache Youth, Rebecca Rae

Architecture and Planning ETDs

The thesis explores the notions of decolonization, Indigenous knowledge, and empirical knowledge of place as a foundation for implementing Jicarilla Apache knowledge into the Watershed Watch Program. Two lesson plans were created utilizing Jicarilla Apache stories and knowledge to teach Jicarilla Apache youth about the water cycle, plants, and culture. By connecting Indigenous teachings with western scientific teachings Jicarilla Apache youth will gain a greater understanding of the natural environment with relevance to their heritage.

Building Energy Labeling: A Path To Improved Energy Performance For Commercial Buildings, Ronald Nelson

Architecture and Planning ETDs

Architects, engineers, and builders have a unique opportunity to lead society and the economy through the current difficult times. Since studies show that buildings account for nearly half the nations energy consumption, our power derives from our ability to dramatically cut the energy consumption through energy efficient refurbishment of the vast existing building inventory and through energy efficient designs for new construction. This conservation has an amazing threefold benefit: through reduced consumption we extend the life of our limited natural resources; through reduced consumption we reduce our emission of greenhouse gases and thus reduce the threat of climate change; and …

An Exploratory Study On Energy Consumption Of Energy Star And Non-Energy Star Homes, Prajakta Kulkarni

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The reduction of energy consumption is one of the economic necessities in the United States due to depleting energy sources in the world. The construction industry is stepping forward to reduce the energy consumption of buildings by efficient designs or by constructing buildings with energy efficient materials and features. In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE) introduced the Energy Star Program to promote energy efficient products with the same or improved services. According to the EPA, Energy Star homes, which use these products, will consume 20 to 30 percent less energy than non-Energy Star …

The Integration Of Biomimicry Into A Built Environment Design Process Model: An Alternative Approach Towards Hydro-Infrastructure, Timothy Lee Albertson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Current methods and processes that support the planning, design and construction of a sustainable built environment include ambiguous principles (Roseland 2000), lack feedback loops (Van Bueren and Jong 2007) and lack a common language between disciplines (Brandon et al 1997). As a result of 3.8 billion years of "research and development" (evolution), nature provides a set of design blueprints that may be used to guide us to create elegant, sustainable, and innovative designs for human technologies (Benyus 1997). The field of biomimicry analyzes nature's best ideas and adapts them for human use (Benyus 1997). The built environment could benefit from …

Retrofitting Existing Commercial Buildings In The Desert Southwest To Be Energy Efficient, Andrea Lee Wilkins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research proposes recommendations specific to the desert southwest for retrofitting existing commercial buildings. A dry, arid region such as Las Vegas, Nevada must contend with different ecological concerns than other parts of the United States. The city of Las Vegas sits in a valley in the Mojave Desert of the Southwestern United States and has a population of over 2.5 million inhabitants. The Las Vegas summers are rather hot and frequently exceed 100 degrees F, while the winters are usually mild, about 60-70 degrees F with cool nights. The state of Nevada receives an average of four inches of …