Digital Commons Network^™

Encapsulated Fantasy:A Dystopian Future Of Segregation By Technology, Shihua Xuan

Architecture Senior Theses

Objects...previously only available through interpersonal relationships, such as daily food and sexual partners, can now be obtained extremely easily with the help of fast food and sex industries without any troublesome interpersonal relationships. At this point, it can be said that our society has been constantly moving towards animalization... - Azuma Hiroki, the post-modernization of animalization: Japanese society in the eyes of the otaku

In an era of losing the grand narrative and the development of technology in Japan, many people no longer search for life's meaning, easily amazed by superficial products created by the capital market. Desire describes a …

The Postmoder Hermits, Xuechen Li

Architecture Senior Theses

Metropolitan cities to grow at unfathomable rates, forming a new scale of geography know as Megaregions. And as these settlements continue to develop with the principal focus on the consequences of economy and environment, the psychological, mental health of the inhabitants becomes neglected. Japan, the archetypal example of a highly developed country, despite its economic and technological advantages, has been plagued by social isolation, suicides, and mental health issues among its people. With 541,000 young Japanese labeled as hikikomori, a term describing young people who isolate themselves in their rooms for months or years at a time, their memories of …

The Foreign Complex | A Cross-Cultural Vernacular, Dexter Cicchinelli

Architecture Senior Theses

This thesis investigates transforming a decommissioned military site into a productive part of its host nation’s context. Okinawa consists of a group of islands that make up the southern-most prefecture of Japan. MAP It is situated midway between Tokyo and Manila, and called the “keystone of the Pacific” by military planners because of its strategic location. AERIAL FLIGHT MAP It was the site of the devastating Battle of Okinawa in WWII which prompted an ongoing history of military intervention and occupation. TIMELINE Immediately after the war, displaced Okinawans were put in camps while the military claimed land for bases. Some …

The National Historic Preservation Act: Preserving History, Impacting Foreign Relations?, Mark P. Nevitt

Faculty Articles

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the highest political leader in Japan, shook his head in disbelief. His tenure as Prime Minister had been tense, partly due to the ongoing question of a replacement airfield for the U.S. Marines in Futenma. A predecessor, Yukio Hatoyama, also suffered political fallout stemming from his reversal of a public promise to find a replacement location for the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station. Prior to the Hatoyama administration, the Japanese government had selected a new location for the Marine Air Station, a remote area far removed from the busy city of Okinawa in Henoko. Moving …

Concept And Technique: How Traditional Japanese Architecture Can Contribute To Contemporary Sustainable Design Practices, Courtney Angen

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

No abstract provided.

Introductory Review To The Special Issue: Shrinking Cities And Towns: Challenge And Responses, Andreas Luescher, Sujata Shetty

Architecture and Environmental Design Faculty Publications

Cities and towns facing sustained population loss are being researched and discussed more than ever before. Once the focus of a relatively small group of architects and urban designers in Europe, these cities and towns are now being studied by scholars across the world. In a range of contexts - from a large, iconic city like Detroit, to a small village in Japan (described by Thomas Feldhoff in this issue), this phenomenon is being observed in unexpected places, and far more frequently than once imagined.

A wider population is engaging in this as well, as discussions of the future of …

Re-Active Architecture: Exploring The Japanese Educational Experience, John J. Baker

Architecture Theses

This design seeks to transform the Japanese educational experience through the use of architecture. The aim is to provide an alternative school that breaks from the uniformity of the current system and provides an educational environment that places an emphasis on interaction, community, and learning. The school would serve as a junior high school combined with a small community library. The school would accommodate 250-300 children. Ultimately, this school could serve as a model for future educational buildings within the Japanese educational system.

Ando: Inside Out, Noel Brady

Articles

Review of lecture by Tadao Ando Architect

Review Essay: National Traditions And Foreign Influences In The Architecture And Urban Form Of China And Japan, Carola Hein

Growth and Structure of Cities Faculty Research and Scholarship

Review of JEFFREY E. HANES, The City As Subject: Seki Hajime and the Reinvention of Modern Osaka. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. pp. xii, 348, bibliography, index; JONATHAN M. REYNOLDS, Maekawa Kunio and the Emergence of Japanese Modernist Architecture. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. pp. xviii, 318, bibliography, index; JEFFREY W. CODY, Building in China: Henry K. Murphy’s “Adaptive Architecture” 1914-1935. Seattle: University of Washington Press/The Chinese University Press, 2001. pp. xxiv, 264, bibliography, index; GIDEON S. GOLANY, Urban Design Ethics in Ancient China. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2001. pp. xvi, 312, bibliography, index.

Place And Collective Living, Madoka Yuasa

Architecture Senior Theses

"Japanese contemporary urban houses have list their traditional relationships to nature, to seasons, and to natural landscapes. And the urban landscape with respect to architecture in Tokyo is chaos. This situation is due to the rapid economic growth they followed in the process of modernization after WWII. In this project, I would like to propose a housing which reconnects people to their traditional cultural roots through intensifying sensorial experience within contemporary urbanity."

Urbanisms With Japanese Culture And Its Living Style, Madoka Yuasa

Architecture Senior Theses

"The current urban Japanese houses have lost its richness closely related to its nature, landscapes, and seasonal events which their traditional architectural spaces had an important role as a part of their lives. This situation is due to rapid economic grows they followed in the process of modernization after the WWII, and the urban situation with respect to architecture in their city is complex. In this project, I would like to propose a housing system that has their traditional design aspects to incorporate five senses with nature and also complex contemporary urban situation to enhance their livings."

A Flight Into Technology: An Investigation Of Building And Telecommunication Technology, Bruce A. T. Siska

Architecture Senior Theses

"A new physical infrastructure to support activities based on communications and the transmission of information is being developed. Part of this infrastructure includes the construction of "intelligent" buildings that are seen to play as important a role in improving of office workers as automation has played on the shop floor of manufacturing industry. The term "intelligent" is used to describe buildings which provide an adaptive environment of high quality, energy efficiency, security and safety, permitting optimized information flows - both internally and externally - so that its functionality is largely independent of location."