Digital Commons Network^™

Architectural Synergy: A Facility For Lifelong Learning In Academia And Practice, Ryan Rendano

Masters Theses

Historically, a disconnect has existed between the education and practice of architecture. Architectural education has long prided itself on the value of creative problem-solving, research, and the fine arts. In contrast, the practice of architecture has evolved to emphasize technical knowledge, specialization, communication, business, and collaboration. This disconnect has led education to miss opportunities to teach students business skills and knowledge required for the workplace, and allowed practice to lose sight of the importance of artistry and research. Architecture educators, students, and practitioners each have a unique set of knowledge and skills to offer the other, and a corresponding set …

Architectural Representation And The Dragon’S Lair In Beowulf, Margaret Heeschen

Masters Theses

Since the early twentieth century, the dragon’s lair of Beowulf has been primarily associated with the early megalithic mounds of northern Europe. This interpretation of the space, however, does not account for the many contradictions present in the poet’s descriptions. In order to fully understand the quiddity of the dragon’s lair, we must resolve three major issues with previous interpretations: the use of rare words with unclear meanings, contradictions in descriptions of the physical space, and an assumption by scholars that the poet is describing a single type of space identifiable in the historical record. By addressing each of these …

The New Parallel: Urban And Agrarian Political, Environmental, And Architectural Landscapes Of The Demilitarized Zone, Robert Vincent Truka

Masters Theses

North and South Korea share the most heavily armed military border in the world. Technically both sides are still at war dating back to 1950. The 38th parallel, also known as The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a 156-mile long by 2.5- mile wide border condition with over two million plus known landmines buried with-in its boundaries. The Juxtapositions of the financial, political, economical, and military modalities could not be more drastically different between North and South Korea. North Korea is a communist autocratic military dictatorship and has one of the worlds lowest Gross Domestic Products (GDP). South Korea is a …

Pro Bono Publico: The Architect As Developer, Daniel Hurshel Hodge

Masters Theses

The profession of architecture now encounters a precarious economic landscape because of the separation of economy and the value chain. Architecture has historically succeeded on the backs of its craftspeople and the intangible tangibility of its productions. Yet, in our current economic era, where everyone is disconnected from value creation and imbibes value through the medium of brand, architecture has responded with niche reforms and feeble assertions of legitimacy. What follows is a reevaluation of its professional values in a valueless climate. From the standpoint of the architect, coupling its systemic elements with that of the real estate developer may …

Hudson Health Corridor: Redefining The Workforce Housing Community, Brianne Michelle Burdy

Masters Theses

Neighborhoods slated for redevelopment and revitalization within urban centers are often overtaken by luxury development due to the incentives and benefits related to return on investment in these relatively ignored areas. Developers tend to create housing that will attract higher incomes in order to gain higher returns, resulting in the creation of an exclusive area marketed to particular groups within a certain income bracket. These areas then grow in popularity, continuing to attract upper class residents, and increasing the income level of the area. The result of this type of development displaces those who previously occupied these areas because they …

Rigs Of Refuge: Spatial Agency And Its Role In Conflict, Brittany Lauren Mcgraw

Masters Theses

Architecture is an inherently political endeavor. As such, designers should carefully consider the spatial dialogue that the built environment creates between those who control spaces and those who use them. In times of crisis, this dialogue often ceases to be an equal exchange, pushing users’ needs aside and exerting authority in the most expedient way possible.

This thesis proposes that amidst settings of conflict, hyper-responsive architectural systems can counteract landscapes of authority by returning spatial agency to users. As the means of providing such a system, oil rigs should be repurposed as a network of deployable crisis response hubs.

Logistical Bodies Of Fulfillment, Michael Steven Frush

Masters Theses

existence occurs in a spatial assembly of multiple scalar experiences that is intensified and brought to perception by the exponential advancement of a virtual extension.

the physical realm that human cognition experiences acts as a bound container influenced by natural law and trusted forces. the virtual realm exists as a medium through which linkages are made that suppose unseen law, forces, and connections. the human existence experiences an interface between the multiplicities of the physical and the virtual. as technologies advance exponentially the recognition of a multiple temporality is intensified by digital networks and spatial extensions. the trusting of physical …

Integral Perspectives, Henry Brian Cheek

Masters Theses

Integral Perspectives is a method to architectural design that encompasses four different approaches. The four approaches, or perspectives, I chose to focus on include: Cultural, Experiential, Performance, and Systems. Designing with each of these perspectives in mind, I intend to create a more holistic and integral design solution. My thesis explores this methodology using the affordable housing crisis in Nashville, TN.

Z-Cube: Mobile Living For Feminist Nomads, Zi Ye

Masters Theses

Homes proclaim our social standing and reflect the trend of the times. This project seeks to explore and redefine the relationship between modern homes and modern women who strive for mobile life styles.

Modernism and globalization have brought us a new way of living that could have never been imagined before— our workspace and homes are no longer limited to a specific unit but have extended to the entire globe. The physical changes compelled by modernity have also complemented the changing role of women. Since the beginning of the 20th century, modern women have expanded their lives outside of their …

Designing Symbiosis For The New Church Community, Evan Janes

Masters Theses

Religious architecture has historically played a primary role in both the study and the development of architectural practices and theories. Undoubtedly, this influence is tied to the position which religious institutions have historically held in shaping cultural values. However, American culture has transitioned into a position where religious organizations are often no longer the primary authority for determining cultural, social, and interpersonal values for many Americans. Additionally many individuals have, for one reason or another, become uncomfortable or feel unwelcome in traditional church structures due to the historical hierarchies associated with them, the innate formality of the spaces, the perceptions …

Regional Expression In The Renovation Of Remote Historic Villages, Jie Chen

Masters Theses

Due to the fast-pace of urban development, there is a large demand for labor in big cities in China. Also, because of a huge income gap between countryside and cities, an increasing number of youths in rural areas have chosen to leave their homes and transfer to the cities causing a rapid decline of population and the vacancy of properties. This phenomenon is referred to as “Hollow Village”. Especially in case of some remote historic villages, due to labor turnover, villages which has precious historic and culture value are abandoned and stopped from development. Only children and elders are left …

New York City 2050: Climate Change And Future Of New York | Design For Resilience, Abhinav Bhargava

Masters Theses

The escalating temperature, annual precipitation, sea level rise and carbon footprint will likely lead to an unimagined future which does not have a bright side. With the rise in carbon footprint particularly due to greenhouse gas emissions, burning of fossil fuels and change in land uses; carbon dioxide is 40% higher as compared to era before Industrial Revolution.

The constant increase in temperature is melting the glaciers and increasing the sea levels. The Hudson River is estimated to rise by 1.5-2ft by 2050, directly affecting the low-lying areas of Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. Amongst the multiple coastal cities …

Collective Consumption : A Game For Living, Zachary Rochman

Masters Theses

“The time-lapse fluctuation of our societal floor plan has accelerated. Now you can almost watch the walls go up and down in real time.” -Rem Koolhaas, Elements

There is an efficient and beneficial way to collectively consume resources, but our houses and apartments do not function this way. The commons still exist, but their locations are sparse and specific. What if we established communal spaces that connect private dwellings and blur the lines between them? What new responsibilities and freedoms would arise? If we establish new commons and new abilities to share spaces and resources, we can help alleviate the …

Embedded Processors On Fpga: Hard-Core Vs Soft-Core, Vivek J. Vazhoth Kanhiroth

Masters Theses

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are integrated circuits (ICs) that can be reprogrammed by the consumer after manufacturing. They are based on a matrix of configurable logic blocks connected via programmable interconnects that enables the designer to quickly recreate hardware circuits. In the past, FPGAs were primarily used for prototyping and debugging purposes. However, with their increased popularity, many commercial products now incorporate FPGAs.

In the late 1990s, FPGA vendors introduced System-on-chip (SoC) devices that housed one or more hard-core processors and an FPGA fabric on a single IC to allow for more complex designs that involved hardware and software …

Archaeological Evidence Of Architectural Remains At Fort St. Joseph (20be23), Niles, Mi, Erika K. Loveland

Masters Theses

Throughout New France, Native and non-Native peoples frequently interacted as a result of French colonialism. These prolonged relationships affected the ways in which people identified themselves and others around them. To explore this dynamic process, historical archaeologists can examine the material culture left behind. Architectural remains are particularly informative because inhabitants construct their buildings in accordance to their needs and cultural values. Fort St. Joseph, an eighteenth-century mission, garrison, and trading post, is utilized as a case study to examine architecture and how it was employed to express identity. Daily interaction between Native and French peoples in the fur trade …

Volatile Domesticity, Rebecca Charlotte Gillogly

Masters Theses

Architecture exits within a Myth of Permanence. I am seeking to destabilize this myth with the addition of a Volatile Domesticity; a system of living that is unstable in nature and through its instability, seeks to break apart the illusion of permanence of the built environment and our relationship to it. Volatile Domesticity can be achieved by implementing tactics of Active Temporarily and Siting.

The Myth of Permanence is the pervading myth that what we build, who we are, and where we stand are permanent, unchanging facts. The Myth can be exemplified in monuments we never imagined could crumble, thirty …

Developing Maker Economies In Post-Industrial Cities: Applying Commons Based Peer Production To Mycelium Biomaterials, Grant R. Rocco

Masters Theses

Our current system of research and production is no longer suitable for solving the problems we face today. As climate change threatens our cities and livelihoods, the global economic system preys on the weak. A more responsive, equitable, and resilient system needs to be implemented. Our post industrial cities are both products and victims of the boom-bust economies employed for the last few centuries.
While some communities have survived by converting to retail and services based economies, others have not been so fortunate and have become run-down husks of their former bustling selves. The key to revitalizing these cities is …

The Role Of The Architect In The Process Of Development, Christopher Alan Owens

Masters Theses

Population growth and cars have caused cities to sprawl from their downtown cores, resulting in a landscape of low density building. Far too often the empty lot at the edge of the city or along a highway attracts the next opportunity for development, furthering the gap between residential and commercial zones. The profession of architecture recognizes that urban site selection and mixed-use programming is vital to the social and financial health of a city, though it typically only participates in the design of the building. However, the visionary training and practice of architecture places the architect in a unique position …

Legacy And Dwelling: The Role Of Manufactured Housing In Central Appalachia, Steven Mark Whitmore Ii

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the power of architecture to raise the standards of dwelling in a region where housing conditions, economic stability, and environmental consciousness is considerably lower than the rest of the United States. Historically, many towns and cities in Central Appalachia were developed by coal companies as ‘coal towns’. Considering the diversity of workers in these communities, the coal industry is largely the platform for the cultural identity of Central Appalachia. As a result of coal depletion in the US, and increased regulations of pollution by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), coal companies across the region are closing mining …

Network-Based Development In Chattanooga, Tennessee: Processes And Potentials, Kathryn Ansley Taylor

Masters Theses

Chattanooga is a city of networks. The goal of this project is to provide examples of how developers, by tapping into Chattanooga’s most vital networks, can create buildings that speak to the city’s unique character, build interest in the city, and foster a stronger future for Chattanooga.

Chattanooga has four networks that serve as its backbone. They are the Cultural Network, the Blue Green Network, the Fiber Optic Network and the Dwelling Network. These networks are linkages between people and places, bound by common hopes and affinities. They are platforms for social connection, economic growth and physical change.

Three developments …

Design Of Children's Event And Cutural Center In Osu, Accra, Ghana, Rudi Somuah

Masters Theses

Osu, a district in central Accra, Ghana, is known for its busy commercial enterprises, countless restaurants and vibrant nightlife. Osu remains prominent in Ghana and also globally for a variety of reasons. One of such reasons is that it is arguably Ghana's most contemporary setting; second to no other location in the entire country. Osu is also the site of Ghana's seat of government- The Colonial era Christiansburg Castle which houses the president’s office and official residence. The town also plays host to several western diplomatic missions and embassies including the American Embassy. In addition to its 5 star hotels, …

Membranes And Matrices: Architecture As An Interface, Nayef Mudawar

Masters Theses

What are the implications of digitalization on the role of architecture and our understanding of space? The digital experience is one that is highly customizable, responsive, and interactive. Physical buildings strive to become more connected to their environments and their users, by incorporating these same qualities. Traditional building methods and design principles produce static structures with a defined function and program, an approach which is in conflict with virtual space where functions which once were separated now easily flow and merge into one another. Buildings have the potential to become even more situated within their local by incorporating ideas of …

Reconnecting Mill Communities: An Architectural Intervention In Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Ronald Bujold

Masters Theses

For nearly a century, once prosperous mill communities throughout New England have struggled to adapt to ever-changing societal, cultural, and economic conditions. This project explores an architectural intervention for Fitchburg’s Rollstone Hill neighborhood, which seeks to reverse this trend by deploying a design strategy that begins with repurposing a 60,000 square foot mill. This strategy focuses on utilizing the fundamental and existing components of these planned communities—people, infrastructure, and economics—to cultivate the design and the relationships necessary to reconnect this neighborhood to the modern world.

Utopia In The Apocalypse: Creating A Framework Of Survival Systems, Bryan E. Toepfer

Masters Theses

As medicines continue to evolve, as well as our tendency to misuse and abuse them, viruses become more and more resilient. While the flu is largely an inconvenience which at its worst may result in a missed day of work, it bears the risk of returning to the days of old when it was a terminal disease. With the imminent risk of resistant super viruses emerging,New York Cityhas taken precautions to prepare for the worst case scenario. If deemed necessaryNew Yorkhas plans to completely quarantine and isolate the city from the world. This provides us with the perfect opportunity to …

Parametric Tools In The Design Process, Robert B. Marcalow

Masters Theses

The recent revolution in digital design tools is having a sea-change effect on the way buildings are designed. As the design process becomes increasingly automated, the focus of architectural expertise is shifting from the execution of drawings to the parametric definition of space and form. In other words, the architect will define a complex set of rules that, when entered into a program, create a building. This design process, coupled with digital fabrication, allows for control of the final product in ways that were previously impossible for designers. However, there is still much to learn about the ways these new …

The Community Cohesion Trail Of Brattleboro, Vermont, Patrick C. Kitzmiller

Masters Theses

The focus of this thesis is the creation of a series of architectural installations, bridges and gardens that link together via a pedestrian/bike path to connect the urban center of Main St. in Brattleboro, Vermont with the municipal park on the western end of town known as Memorial Park.

This thesis argues that the vast majority of community interactions take place along the sidewalks of the urban downtown, and in certain centers of activity in and around the area, such as Memorial Park. Thus, these two places have been chosen to test whether architecture can be used to bridge the …

Bridging The Gap: Community-Oriented Transit Development, Matthew C. Jones

Masters Theses

The bedroom community has become a prevalent and oft-criticized part of the modern architectural landscape. These suburban towns have continually grown radially outward from major cities across the nation since the end of the Second World War. While these suburbs have served to fulfill housing needs and wants of society, pressure to develop has often forced this growth to occur at a much more rapid rate than a traditional community. This rapid development has led to poorly implemented infrastructure, especially with regard to walkability and public transportation, which has fallen short of meeting the needs of users. These solutions in …

Reconsidering The Community Center - Restorative Strategies Within Existing Frameworks, John Gilbert Iii

Masters Theses

The overarching goal of this investigation is to determine how an existing building of spatial and programmatic rigidity can serve as a framework for designing a more integrated center for personal and community development. This project is an exploration of what a building can evolve into after its "shelf-life" has expired, with the aid of a reconsidered architectural vision. Formulated within criteria individual to its context, it is intended to be an investigation of possibility and the testing of a nascent potential, not an attempt to serve as a prescriptive, panacea solution. It is an examination of a creative vision …

Make A Delirious Noise: Improvising Urbanism In New Orleans, Louisiana, Jason Michael Stark

Masters Theses

Decades of poor urban design choices and a lack of attention to the characteristics of communities have played prominent roles in the fracturing of urban communities and the relegation of those without means to the edges of the urban fabric: poverty and powerlessness abetted by geographic location. Rather than “restitching” the urban whole back together, I argue that progress can be made through the generation of local nodes of identity: a polynucleated urban condition. The development of spaces to magnify community identity with respect to localized characteristics produces a community focus to replace the unattainable (for those without means) city …

Carbon-Neutral Design Guidelines For Medium Density Urban Areas In Warm-Humid And Cool-Dry Climates, Jennifer Delane Stewart

Masters Theses

This thesis combines Architecture 2030’s carbon-neutral performance targets with the SmartCode transect-based development principles, to generate guidelines for design of medium-density carbon-neutral districts. The topic examines these guidelines in medium density planned and built sites (transect types T4, General Urban Zone, and T5, Urban Center Zone) in representative cities within a cool-dry climate (IECC climate zone 5B, Denver) and a warm-humid climate (IECC climate zone 3A, Atlanta). The thesis assumes that a carbon-neutral district is more effective and potentially easier to achieve than designing independent carbon-neutral urban buildings. Within an urban context, it is now possible to connect buildings to …