Architecture Commons^™

Artificial Islands In The South China Sea, Aaron Holmes

OSR Journal of Student Research

The purpose of this study was to understand the value and implications of artificial islands constructed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the South China Sea. Qualitative analysis was used with the available literature, sources, and treaties of the topics concerned. The paper concludes that the PRC gains many benefits primarily within the realm of energy security and explores what effects they may

The Face That Launched A Thousand Ships: Helen Of Troy In The Poetry Of Atwood And Tufts, Alea Walstrom

OSR Journal of Student Research

This paper considers the transformation of Greek myth over time, how character’s attributes change over time, and ultimately how contemporary poets employ these myths. The myth of focus in the paper is that of Helen of Troy and the depiction of her character throughout the many years and variations of the myth. Her character is then considered in the contemporary feminist poetry of Carol Tufts and Margaret Atwood.

Visualizing And Querying Community Survey Data With Google Maps®, Christopher J. Seeger, Craig Hertel

Christopher J. Seeger

This article describes how an online survey was enhanced using Google Maps® to visualize public concerns regarding a community's water/sewer quality while revealing patterns that could indicate a potential source of the identified problems. Online surveys have become part of the standard toolkit for many County Extension Offices; however, these tools are limited when it comes to surveys involving geospatial information. Through a few simple steps when developing the survey, collected data can be converted for use in a GIS or online geospatial viewer.

Empowering Newcomers With Low-Tech Workshops And High-Tech Analyses, Katia Balassiano, Christopher Seeger

Christopher J. Seeger

Newcomer participation in governance is a common goal, but many traditional venues and mechanisms designed to facilitate inclusive decision-making remain inaccessible. We present a case study that uses low-tech participatory mapping workshops to help newcomers learn where people go to discuss local affairs and access information. We then analyze the workshop data with a dynamic, high-tech, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) spatial modeling process. The maps generated can be used to identify more inclusive venues for public meetings. This article describes the replicable workshop methodology, analytic tools, and benefits that result from using the two in concert.

I-Walk: An Innovative Approach To Community Walkability, Christopher J. Seeger, Catherine J. Lillehoj, Alan D. Jensen, Suzy Wilson, Lydia R. Levinson

Christopher J. Seeger

One way of combating rising obesity rates and decreasing physical activity levels among children is to promote active transportation to and from schools. The award-winning I-WALK program provides a comprehensive framework for addressing community walkability and related infrastructure. The program uses a unique and innovative methodology that combines volunteer data collection workshops; classroom-based teacher tallies; and a dynamic Web-based survey that brings parents and children together to discuss school transportation issues. The program's success demonstrates the benefits of coalition-building and community-based participatory research approaches to designing healthy and safe local environments.

Empowering Newcomers With Low-Tech Workshops And High-Tech Analyses, Katia Balassiano, Christopher Seeger

Christopher J. Seeger

Newcomer participation in governance is a common goal, but many traditional venues and mechanisms designed to facilitate inclusive decision-making remain inaccessible. We present a case study that uses low-tech participatory mapping workshops to help newcomers learn where people go to discuss local affairs and access information. We then analyze the workshop data with a dynamic, high-tech, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) spatial modeling process. The maps generated can be used to identify more inclusive venues for public meetings. This article describes the replicable workshop methodology, analytic tools, and benefits that result from using the two in concert.

Evaluating Adaptability, Rebecca E. Robinson

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis aims to understand the process of adaptive reuse from the point of view of an owner and architect while uncovering the difficulties faced in schematically assessing existing building value and determining steps needed to preserve structures for continued occupation. This thesis will look at three approaches to the redevelopment of an existing building located in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn District, each proposing a different degree of deconstruction while measuring the associated short-term capital and long-term operational cost of the building owner. A new metric is proposed to facilitate building evaluation and cost projection that is organized around six ...

Reconstructing Space, Kaitlin L. Frankforter

Theses from the Architecture Program

This thesis will discuss spacial manifestations of the physical, phenomenological, existential, and imaginary.

I became interested in these spacial manifestations because of the lack of qualities I have personally experienced within “architecture”, notably local “architecture”. And I began to deal with these manifestations using 35mm film photography, for me using film and the camera allowed me to look at and understand what these spaces and qualities were really telling me.

This project has consisted of multiple performances with which I have deployed several traditional and non-traditional methods of working such as : slow moving drawings, full scale hard line drawings photographic ...

The Ne[X]T Generation Learning Environments: Influences On The Future Design Of Educational Spaces, Bryan Hill Perez

Theses from the Architecture Program

Over the past 100 years, there have been significant changes in many aspects of our lives, from the way we communicate to the way we work. One aspect that has seen minimal change is the way we learn – In classrooms with rows of desks and chairs facing the front, where a sole instructor disseminates knowledge the class as a whole. As the next generation of students is entering college, it has become apparent that there is a disconnect in the way this generation behaves, interacts, and learns and the typical school infrastructure and pedagogy of today. The design of schools ...

Architectural Ghosts: Storytelling And The Architectural Imaginary, Zoë Lynne Cope

Theses from the Architecture Program

In my various experiences with architecture while studying abroad, designing in studio, travelling, and through work experiences, I have become interested in investigating those peculiar moments wherein architecture seems to evade rational description; where it seems almost as though it is not real.

This project was designed as a means by which to explore those specific though difficult to articulate times wherein the experience of a space seems removed from its representation and articulation. Architectural objects themselves are seemingly only one character in the conditional alignments between the visible and invisible aspects of the social imaginary that generate our understanding ...

Home-By Us: Togethernest Alternative Practice, Kristen M. Schulte

Theses from the Architecture Program

Responding to the affordable housing crisis, the proposed practice leverages tools typically associated with internet-based startups and technology companies to assemble teams and build efficiencies into the building procurement process. This approach facilitates access for an income demographic that would not normally engage an architect. Through a process like online dating, the practice assembles small groups of owner-developers to design, finance, and build their own homes. Participating households are advised on location and project approach based on their self-reported preferences; and matched with others with similar preferences. Collaborative mass customization of each home is achieved through a mix of online ...

Agrarian Ruins, Zebulun J. Lund

Theses from the Architecture Program

This thesis is an investigation into the architectural value of agrarian ruins and aims to begin to communicate those through architectural drawing. In the 21st century, ruin obsession is increasingly aimed at ruins of a more recent time, often that of the dying industrial city. This study shares in the impatience and enthusiasm for ruins of the culture we live in and has turned to the ruins of abandoned farm buildings. Consequently, this has studied the potential values offered by barns, sheds, and chicken coupes, alike. This was accomplished first through countryside tours from locals in Gosper County, followed by ...

[Un]Building The Rural: The Strategic Subtraction Of Sidney, Nebraska, Caitlin E. Tangeman

Theses from the Architecture Program

This thesis focuses on the decline of rural communities and how rural decline might be addressed through design.

Rural decline is a phenomenon affecting rural territories around the globe, including the Great Plains. Rural decline has been caused by a number of factors, perhaps the most persistent being the reliance on an economy that is not diversified. In the Great Plains, agriculture is typically the main source of economic income, with a significant portion of the region’s counties depending on agriculture. Mechanization of agriculture through increased technology has eliminated many jobs in the agriculture industry, since higher yields can ...

Retail Without Walls: The Built Impacts Of A Post-Spatial Retail Reality, Matthew Richard Kreutzer

Theses from the Architecture Program

Retail Without Walls: the built impacts of a post-spatial retail reality seeks out a better understanding of the physical outcomes of a retail environment that is rapidly changing and adapting to the demands of an increasingly digital consumer. As studies have repeatedly shown, foot traffic in malls and other physical stores continues to decline, which can be attributed to the rise of online platforms of retail.

Much of the thought going into the future of retail has been directed at understanding how the present store may adapt to suit the needs of a changing consumer buying process. Companies driving these ...

Possibilities In Post-Digital Architecture, Kathryn J. Horn

Theses from the Architecture Program

This thesis aims to define and understand the post-digital within architecture, beyond its critical contribution to the realm of architectural imagery. The theory that is developed, argues that a post-digital practice of utilizing sourced material can contribute to the discipline of the design of architectural elements, components, and spaces as much so as it may contribute to the development of architectural imagery. Despite the atmosphere of difference that characterizes the contemporary debate over the definition of the digital condition, there is shared agreement that the post-digital indeed reigns as the hallmark of a contemporary era that establishes itself as after-digital ...

Evaluating Decline: An Assessment Of Variables Correlated With Shrinking Rural Communities, Aubrey Christensen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

Researchers have long sought to understand the relationship between rural population decline and the factors causing variations from time to time and from place to place (Albrecht, 2010). However, few studies have made comparisons at the local level or developed appropriate regional or place-based metrics. The purpose of this project was to determine which local-level factors and variables correlate with rural population decline and to provide recommendations based on those findings.

This project analyzed the relationships between 2000-2010 population trends and a variety of demographic, economic, and biophysical factors specific to rural communities throughout the state of Utah. A community-level ...

Offshore R+D Facility, Philip A. Marble

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Design a Research + Development facility that merges with a functional Oil Rig. This center will house both a Marine Research Center and Oil rig Research + Development center. Both of these facilities will be in a separate structure than the Oil Rig but will have a connection back to the Living Quarter.

Sustaining Independence: An Architectural Proposal For Fostered Youth, Karlla Oliveira

Master of Science in Architecture Theses

The social aspect of sustainability is often neglected when environmental and economic targets in architectural practice and education are prioritized. This thesis investigates how architecture can have a positive impact on the life of those experiencing the most inequitable position of society: the homeless. Several studies have shown a strong relation between chronically homeless adults and youth departing the foster care system, therefore this thesis focuses on exploring the housing component for a prevention program for at-risk of homeless former foster care youth. This study aims to introduce a site selection methodology and housing model approach for supportive transitional living ...

Secret Place: Generated From Place And Non-Place, Zeyue Zhang

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

My thesis explores the nature of place today. Looking for the living condition in future, there are about more than 70% of the world's population that will be urban by 2050. I look to explore a place (in a dense urban area) for city people can get a respite from the daily chaos and feel, experience, and discover "a sense of calm". This I define as the "Secret Place". The Secret Place also comes from the study of "Place" and "Non-Place", which is basically distinguished by one question: if the quality of the space could resonate with or has ...

Post-Olympic Stadium: Life Following The Games, Louis Lim

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The post-Olympic Stadium is one of the greatest gems to be conceived from the Olympic Games and the quality of life for the city following it depends on how we can reuse the stadium when the torch goes out. In this study, strategies for adaptability will be analyzed for application to an existing post-Olympic stadium.

The urban fabric is where the stadium makes a negative impact: the displacement of local residents preceding and the urban voids proceeding the Olympic Games. It not only creates a physical void, but also a social void. Neighborhoods can be divided and the local community ...