Architecture Commons^™

Biking In Indianapolis: An Ethnographic Analysis Of Obstacles And Solutions, Emory Lietz

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Indiana is known as the ""Crossroads of America"" for its historic investment in vehicle infrastructure. This focus on automobiles has shaped Indianapolis's urban landscape, to the dismay of many cyclists. Based on semi-structured interviews with a range of stakeholders in the Indianapolis cycling community, including urban planners, bike commuters, IndyGo employees, city government officials, and bike advocates, this project identifies and evaluates the current barriers that prevent Indianapolis residents from riding their bikes. These obstacles, which include infrastructural, safety, and social factors, make it more difficult than it ought to be to bike in Indy.

For my thesis project, I …

What You Ignore At Work May Harm You: The Effects Of Light, Design, And Nature, Shelby L. Beutel

BU Well

This paper looks into the effects of light, design, and nature on employees by incorporating environmental health and environmental design research into useful suggestions for the employee and the employer. The “fit” between a user and their work space has been elaborated on in recent years, and it has been shown that insufficient lighting can cause poor fit and consequential draining of energy and productivity. In the healthcare setting, medication errors have been linked to the amount of lighting within a hospital and to the variable amount of daylight throughout the year. While there is not a quick and easy …

Teaching Old Buildings New Tricks: Benefits Of Retrofitting Indianapolis Buildings With Green Roofs, Sarah Elizabeth Strobl

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Not your basic rooftop garden, green roofs contain growing media and are planted with various types of vegetation. Green roofs can be either intensive, with soil depths above 6 inches and increased size and attractiveness of vegetation, such as trees and shrubs, or extensive, with soil depths between 2-6 inches and low, moss or grass-like plants that require little care (Getter et al. 2009, Indianapolis DPW 2008, Obemdorfer et al. 2007, US DOE 2004).

Although green roofs are initially more expensive than traditional roofing techniques due to the cost of additional materials, the long-term cost savings are high and can …