Architecture Commons^™

The Myth Of ‘Mare Nostrum’: Themes And Exhibitions, Legacy And Experimentation In The Construction Of Mediterranean Fascist Italy, Aurora Roscini Vitali

Artl@s Bulletin

This essay aims to analyse the ways in which the myth of the Mare nostrum entered into the artistic iconography of the early twentieth century. It was highly amplified during the Fascist regime thanks to some relevant graphic works, monumental commissions and, above all, temporary exhibitions that were characterized by a propagandistic overtone. The representation of a Mediterranean (in fact Italian) common identity became a fundamental part of a pervasive political strategy. The stylistic choices were conditioned both by the need to emphasize the glorious return of “Latinness” and the incardination of the “new” fascist modernity.

Humanizing Brutalism: Graphics To Identify, Inform, Orient, Interpret And Inspire, Whitney Perkins

UMassBRUT Community

Despite the reputation of Brutalist architecture being somewhat cold and imposing, the original interiors of these buildings were often covered in brightly-colored signage. In the process of renovating Paul Rudolph's Claire T. Carney Library at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, designer Whitney Perkins drew upon the colors and graphics of the 1960s and 70s in order to construct a bold program of wayfinding, signage and tapestries for the building. This talk looks at some of the influences and processes involved in designing and fabricating this signage.

Humanizing The Brutalist Interior: The Renovation Of Paul Rudolph's Claire T. Carney Library At Umass Dartmouth, Kelly Haigh, Ben Youtz

UMassBRUT Community

Members of the team that worked on the renovation of the Claire T. Carney Library, designed by Paul Rudolph and completed in 1972, share their design solutions for maintaining the integrity of the architecture and fostering an interior that is welcoming of its occupants. Discussions focus on interior attributes, human occupants, color, light and texture as approaches to humanize the massive concrete attributes that are notorious of Brutalist structures.

Humanizing The Brutalist Interior: Inspiration. Collaboration. Transformation, Leslie Saul

UMassBRUT Community

This talk covers the process behind the design of the fabric and textiles that were added to UMass Dartmouth's iconic Claire T. Carney Library during a $48 million dollar renovation of the Paul Rudolph building, completed in 2012. Interior Designer, Leslie Saul, describes how she drew inspiration from both UMass Dartmouth's genesis as a textile college and Rudolph’s original color palette to create eye-catching interior furniture and carpets in order to humanize this particular Brutalist interior.

Interior Materiality, Kutay Guler

NPP eBooks

The knowledge of materials and finishes is the bridge that links conceptual design to real-world application. It is among the core content of virtually all interior architecture/design curricula, moreover, access to up-to-date information on emerging technologies and trends is a key exigency for the contemporary designer. Accordingly, this book is authored to form a comprehensive resource for the “hows” and “whys” surrounding the functional and aesthetic contributions of a wide selection of materials and finishes used in multiple spatial design contexts. The knowledge base presented here is not only useful in shaping spatial experience, ensuring occupant well-being, and employing sustainable …

Mélange De Motifs: Custom Pattern Designs Inspired By The Interiors, Architecture, And Gardens Of Vaux-Le-Vicomte, Jill Christine Harmon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

How can a historic precedent be successfully employed to inform modern design? History will always provide a degree of influence in contemporary design. In design, a historic precedent can be the backbone of a creative concept and stands as a relevant and informative aspect throughout the project. The precedent acts as a basis in developing designs with substance and meaning and is a fundamental practice in architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design. Delving into the history of Vaux-le-Vicomte, often referred to as Vaux, provided three relevant aspects which compose the historic precedent for this MFA project. First, the creative initiative …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Covid-19 Infection Control On Visual Art Installations In Hospitals With Pediatric Patients, Shannon Kimich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 infection control on visual artwork in pediatric hospitals and hospitals caring for pediatric patients. The study involved five hospitals in three southern America states and addressed visual artwork and art installations. The researcher administered an internet-based survey to participants in job functions related to hospital administration, environmental services, and project management across the facilities and received participation from 18 respondents. Additionally, telephone interviews were conducted with three participants with the job titles project manager/analyst, child-life specialist, and environmental services director. Survey questions were designed to examine visual art programs in selected children’s hospitals …

Web-Based Ives For User Experience Evaluation In The Architecture Studio, Faithful Oladeji

Frameless

Research on the use of immersive virtual environments (IVEs) in architectural design has rapidly permeated the practice for the last few decades, largely driven by a single prospect: the possibility of sufficiently simulating the genuine interactions and experiences of a design well before it is actually built. The implications of this achievement when fully realized would revolutionize the profession, effectively igniting a new period of David Harvey’s space-time compression in the industry, such that IVEs would enable designers to, symbolically, cross temporal distances, and bring a legitimate experience of their final products to the present, at any point in their …

How Mixed Reality Will Impact Product Design, Wyatt Coe

Frameless

Mixed reality technology promises to merge our digital and physical worlds, unlocking new realms of experience and design. Designers must consider how this will impact future products and experiences now, to identify the most desirable solutions and applications of this technology. The capability of software to simulate reality could fundamentally shift the way we produce and experience physical and digital products, allowing for simplified physical products that support digital experiences.

Physical To Virtual: A Model For Future Virtual Classroom Environments, Stephen J. Fink

Masters Theses

Virtual reality is a technology that has seen unprecedented growth since the turn of the century with increasing applications within business, entertainment, and educational applications. As virtual reality technologies continue to develops and markets expand, the world may see an increased demand for virtual classrooms: virtual environments (VEs) that students may access through immersive virtual reality technologies to receive guided instruction, conduct simulations, or perform tasks typical in a classroom setting. While many studies document how virtual reality is beneficial to educational processes, there is little discussion on how virtual environments should be architecturally designed. Thus one may hypothesize that …

The Literary Controversies Of Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling, Victoria Duehring

The Forum: Journal of History

This literary review will focus on Michelangelo’s most significant work of color: the Sistine ceiling. Michelangelo’s work has spawned a plethora of literature, but this paper will focus on three main controversial topics: assistants (or lack thereof), the ignudi’s purpose, and restoration. I will also apply a psycho-historical approach to these controversies and identify potential avenues for future research.

Mapping The Case Study Houses: Translating History Via Design, Samuel L. Person

University Honors Theses

In this paper, I detail the process of creating a book titled The Case Study Houses: A Field Guide, a project meant to fill a gap in the scholarship on the Case Study Houses, one of the most influential architectural programs of the 20^th century. I provide an overview of existing scholarship on the program, in addition to its shortcomings, and how my project addresses these by translating that body of work into an approachable, modern, yet no less informational format. My research process involved concatenating various informational sources into one cohesive whole that provides a standardized presentation …

Inevitable Associations: Art, Institution, And Cultural Intersection In Los Angeles, 1973–1988, Liz Hirsch

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Inevitable Associations: Art, Institution, and Cultural Intersection in Los Angeles, 1973-1988 considers alternative institutions and cultural intersections in bicentennial-era Los Angeles. I look at the spatial, social, and artistic convergence of Los Angeles artists rarely seen as allied, through close examination of alternative cultural infrastructure that came out of a federal jobs program called the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) and cohered around a building located at 240 South Broadway in downtown. I use the model of association—alliance through shared purpose—to demonstrate moments of convergence and interconnection. Through an analysis of the formation of Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), …

Compromised Values: Charlotte Posenenske, 1966–Present, Ian Wallace

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Fabricated in unlimited series and sold at cost, the sculptures produced by Charlotte Posenenske between 1966 and 1967—modular wall reliefs, interactive cubic structures, and tubular geometric units whose installation requires collective decision making—were meant to confront both the artwork’s commodity status and the limitation of its consumption to a privileged elite. Nevertheless, Posenenske’s work has been effectively recuperated by the art system: first, in the 1980s, through a series of exhibitions and publications organized by her estate; and second, with her inclusion in Documenta 12 in 2007, which reintroduced her work to the market. Since the artist’s death in 1985, …

Design And Culture: A Transdisciplinary History, Maurice Barnwell

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Design and Culture: A Transdisciplinary History offers an inclusive overview that crosses disciplinary boundaries and helps define the next phase of global design practice. This book examines the interaction of design with advances in technology, developments in science, and changing cultural attitudes. It looks to the past to prepare for the future and is the first book to offer an innovative transdisciplinary design history that integrates multidisciplinary sources of knowledge into a mindful whole. It shows design as a process that expresses goals through values and beliefs, functioning as a major factor in contemporary cultural life.

Starting with the development …

The Role Of Aesthetics In Classroom Design: Implications For Engagement And Equity, Giuliana Barraza

Master's Theses

The desire for achieving greater equity in education has been a prevalent topic of research, with many studies indicating that the current education system in this country is designed in a way that exacerbates initial inequities and has a negative impact on student motivation and engagement (EOCD, 2012). While existing scholarship mostly discusses equity and engagement through the lens of curriculum and instruction, the power of physical classroom environments and aesthetic elements present in those environments is less explored. With student populations becoming more diverse, there is a greater need for new tools for teachers to utilize in pursuit of …

The Adobe Frontier, Christopher J. Gauthier

Theses and Dissertations

The Adobe Frontier is a documentary film about Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello—together known as “Studio Rael San Fratello” —and their work connecting contemporary technology with the legacy of pottery making and adobe architecture in the Southwest United States.

Art And Empathy: Self Discovery In A Dark Forest, Younser Lee

Graduate School of Art Theses

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 40 million people report feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress as the world moves at an increasingly rapid pace and faces unprecedented challenges. However, many ignore these negative thoughts and fail to acknowledge them as a serious issue. My art, which shares my own experiences, creates safe, cathartic places for viewers to think about their own emotional experiences. Crucial to this process is my use of daily objects and the creation of individualized, participatory, and multisensory experiences.

My art relates to daily life and the negative emotions that we experience daily. I …

Architectural + Language: Breaking Barriers And Creating Cultural Dialogue, Maria De Los Angeles Delgado Bailon

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

When I was 11 years old, I moved back to the United States, after having spent my whole childhood in Ecuador, my parents native land. I was moving back to the land of opportunity in the search for the so called ‘American Dream’. It was difficult to leave and move to a new place where we did not know anyone or have anything, but just the idea of a going back to my hometown piqued my curiosity and excitement. I remember very vividly, the day I left Ecuador. I remember telling myself to be happy, because this was a moment …

Space-Praxis: Towards A Feminist Politics Of Design, Mary C. Overholt

Masters of Environmental Design Theses

Outside of the academy and professionalized practice, design has long been central to the production of feminist, political projects. Taking what I have termed space-praxis as its central analytic, this project explores a suite of feminist interventions into the built environment—ranging from the late 1960s to present day.

Formulated in response to Michel de Certeau’s theory of spatial practices, space-praxis collapses formerly bifurcated definitions of ‘tactic’/‘strategy’ and ‘theory’/‘practice.’ It gestures towards those unruly, situated undertakings that are embedded in an ever-evolving, liberative politics. In turning outwards, away from the so-called masters of architecture, this thesis orients itself toward everyday practitioners …

Understanding Spaces Of Abandonment Through Virtual Frameworks In Landscape Architecture, Aus Perez

Honors Theses

In recent years, design professionals have implemented many contemporary landscape architecture projects across the United States. With a primary goal of returning nature to urban environments, contemporary landscape architects and other transdisciplinary partners work diligently to sculpt physical spaces that reflect the human-living experience. However, a leap into the world of video game design could allow landscape architects and urban planners to more freely create virtual social environments to address rising issues of abandonment in today’s urban and rural spaces. Video game mechanics and methodologies can be used extensively in the disciplines of design that value participatory processes, like landscape …

Researching Current Data Trends And Amenities To Improve The Community And Wellbeing In Higher Education, Michaela Gensler, Shayla Gardner, Brooke Ward

Undergraduate Research Conference

The interior design students goal was to design a new residence hall and dining facility for the SFASU campus. The design intention was to create functional spaces that allow student collaboration and motivate social interactions, while providing features that enhance student academic success and personal development.

Quantitative and qualitative data was collected by conducting surveys regarding the current housing and dining facilities on campus. Results from the current student’s surveys and from interviews of student/staff members on campus allowed the team to create the most functional plan. Researching current trends and amenities offered at campuses across the country assisted in …

Pediatric Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic: Design Focus On Invisible Disabilities With Sensory Sensitivity, Shelbi Boehme

Student Research Symposium

The focus of this research presentation is to design a Pediatric Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic in Logan, Utah providing diverse therapy spaces for children diagnosed with a range of disabilities. The American Disabilities Act (ADA) implemented some good generic standards for accessibility for persons with physical disabilities, but what about universal design for all disabilities? Designing spaces for a Pediatric Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic involves researching many different types of disabilities that would be treated at the facility. Particularly invisible disabilities such as Autism, Multiple Sclerosis, Asperger Syndrome, and Traumatic Brain Injuries. These types of disabilities are often left out when designing …

Athenian Graffiti And The Right To The City: The Illegal Practice Of Public Space Reclamation, Lillia Schmidt

Senior Theses and Projects

Graffiti is not often thought of as a positive tool for change, especially in the era of urban neoliberalism. Rather, it is regarded by such forces as harmful to the urban fabric, a signifier of urban decline and a crime progenitor. While neoliberalization threatens the authenticity of the urban through privatization and appropriation, graffiti has the potential to reclaim and reappropriate public urban spaces. How can graffiti be used as a tool to enforce Lefebvre’s theory of authentic urban space? Simultaneously, how does graffiti combat the processes of urban homogenization and commodification at the hands of the state and the …

Holy Frit, Michele M. Desmarais

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Holy Frit (2021), directed by Justin Monroe.

The Eight Grids: A New Method To Enhance Students’ Sketching Skills In The Schools Of Architecture, Mohamad Tohme

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Sketching is one of the required courses for architecture and design students in higher education since it is considered a necessary skill for architects and designers. However, the lack of visualization skills and practice, students were met with difficulties in grasping the complex concepts of this course, concurrent with the teachers’ lack of familiarity with the various methods. The aim of this paper is to find a new method that allows students to carry out their sketches by examining the problems faced by first-year undergraduate students at the Faculty of Architecture, Design & Built Environment in BAU, Lebanon. To achieve …

Manuscript For Aesthetic/Design Guidelines For Campus Master Planning Bethel University, Wayne Roosa, Eugene Johnson

Art and Design Faculty Works

This document is the manuscript version before graphic design and copyediting. Follow this link to see the final version.

The situation that inspired and drove these aesthetic guidelines for campus master planning were unique to the history Bethel University and Seminary. By the early 1960s, Bethel was outgrowing its site on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul. The opportunity to purchase 160 acres in Arden Hills arose and the leap of faith was taken to buy this land and relocate. But it was not that simple. More was involved than mere practical problems of too-little space solved by an abundance …

Aesthetic/Design Guidelines For Campus Master Planning Bethel University, Wayne Roosa, Eugene Johnson

Art and Design Faculty Works

Table of Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

The Need for Aesthetic Guidelines for Campus Master Planning The Purpose and Use of this Document

Aesthetic Guidelines: “Suggestions Concerning the Character of the New Campus,” by Eugene Johnson (1963) (original version without annotations) . . . . . . . 5

Eugene Johnson’s, “Suggestions Concerning the Character of the New Campus” (with annotations, a history of interpretation and use) Annotations …

Critical Spatial Practices: A Trans-Scalar Study Of Chinese Hutongs And American Alleyways, Gregory Marinic, Rebekah Radtke, Gregory Luhan

Interiors Faculty Publications

Across time and cultures, the built environment has been fundamentally shaped by forces of occupancy, obsolescence, and change. In an era of increasing political uncertainty and ecological decline, contemporary design practices must respond with critical actions that envision more collaborative and sustainable futures. The concept of critical spatial practice, introduced by architectural historian Jane Rendell, builds on Walter Benjamin and the late 20th century theories of Henri Lefebvre and Michel de Certeau to propose multi-disciplinary design practices that more effectively address contemporary spatial complexities. These theoretical frameworks operate through trans-scalar means to resituate the built environment as a nexus of …

Archaeology Of The International Space Station, Justin Walsh, Alice Gorman, Wendy Salmond

Art Faculty Data Sets

The explicit goal of the International Space Station Archaeological Project (ISSAP) is to provide an understanding of material culture as a key component of life in space, on par with the research by biomedical and psychological scholars that has been ongoing since the 1960s. We take as our inspiration a phrase first used in the National Academy of Sciences report Human Factors in Long-Duration Spaceflight, which described a crewed spacecraft as “a microsociety in a miniworld” (Lindsley 1972, 23). One of our primary methods is the cataloguing of people and elements of material culture (objects and built spaces) from photographs …