Architecture Commons^™

Cover, Uncover: The Changing Face Of Architecture On Locust Street, Cora Trout

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

Locust Street was once a vibrant banking and commercial district in downtown St. Louis. Today, it is an untidy collection of new, old, dilapidated, semi-intact, restored, and vacant buildings punctuated by crumbling parking lots and garages threatening imminent collapse. To understand why, we must reassemble Locust Street. As St. Louis watched its wealthy, white population flock to the suburbs at mid-century, the revitalization of the decaying urban center became one of the city’s primary preoccupations. Beginning in the early 1950s, a calculated and conscious physical transformation of the central business district began, lasting through the 1960s. This essay, which integrates …

The Evolution Of Chinese Supermarkets In North America: An Alternative Approach To Chinese Supermarket Design, Ruoxin Lin

Masters Theses

This thesis begins by investigating the evolution of traditional Chinese markets to Chinese supermarkets in North America. By charting the trends of these structures in shop floor layouts and site approaches, a hybridized architecture is uncovered. Then, through the design of a contemporary Chinese supermarket in Philadelphia, PA, the thesis demonstrates how values of identity and cultural awareness can be brought into dialogue with architectural trends.

Uncovering Emotional Contamination: Five Sites Of Trauma, Abigail Zola

Masters Theses

“Emotional contamination,” describes residual feelings associated with a space where a negative or tragic event occurred to an individual or group either personally, historically, or politically. Emotional contamination affects people’s associations with place and informs their willingness to spend time in them. This project considers a set of design principles rooted in uncovering and acknowledging the lifespan of a site, and considers how this acknowledgment can exist as an urban system rather than an individual architectural artifact. My thesis work analyzes five case studies in Berlin where political and economic factors determined the result of intervention, and how these sites …

Translational Placemaking: The Diasporic Archive, Alia Varawalla

Masters Theses

Globalization and mass migration has propelled a hybrid existence, as individuals that occupy multiple geographies we live in a constant state of translation. Our museums and cultural institutions are in opposition to this; static, preserved and de-contextualized. At the intersection of printmaking and architecture, this thesis proposes a living archive to document the collective migratory journey across sites, materials, and hybrid identities. A network of centers for knowledge sharing and production centered on India and its diaspora. As art practices and people migrate, cultural production evolves with its context, gaining new meaning as it changes hands generationally and globally.

Charleston, Sc Boarding Houses 1840-1880: Prevalence, Placement, And Character, Holly Adington

All Theses

While it is well known that boarding was a widely used practice in growing urban centers of the United States such as Boston and New York City during the nineteenth century. Boarding has not garnered the same level of attention in rapidly expanding Southern cities during this time. This is partially due to the delayed industrialization of the South. However, industrialization did occur in cities such as Charleston, South Carolina, and the increasing number of workers flooding into the city meant boarding became an attractive solution. The purpose of this thesis is to add to the basic understanding of the …

Exploring Methods Of Adaptive Reuse As A Means Of Reviving Abandoned Spaces, Joshua Davids

Honors Projects

This interdisciplinary project explores cases of building abandonment as well as adaptive reuse projects. Building abandonment is analyzed for its causes and influences, with adaptive reuse also discussed as a means to revitalize these abandoned spaces. The end of the project includes a small-scale design concept for the renovation of unused spaces in Bowling Green State University's Founders Hall.

Da Ste Zhivi I Zdravi: May You Be Alive And Well An Exploration Into Play, Ruination, And Preservation, Levana Elena Rashba

Senior Projects Spring 2023

My thesis explores unconventional architectural representation and themes through the lens of memory and play. I am drawn to the everyday, less heroic moments of architecture and to the celebration of lived life. I use the thematic structure of play throughout my project as a way to approach a site and rethink its space, history, and meaning. The surface is the site with which I am operating, inspired by motifs of weathering, pastiche, palimpsest, and collage to illustrate fractured memory and layered histories. These approaches manifest in a memory map informed by two walks I took this February with my …

Genius Loci: Capturing The Distinctive Roman Spirit Through Pochoir, Carlee Mcguire

Interior Design Undergraduate Honors Theses

This capstone explores the concept of genius loci through photographic and artistic exploration and does so through a lens of study set on Rome, Italy. The first major goal of the process has been to discover the elements, moments, physical textures, and other design elements that comprise the genius loci of a city or space. The second goal has been to partake in a process that can be used by myself and other designers in efforts to make more conscious design decisions — gaining a better understanding of ‘sense of place’ can assist designers in straying from globalized, placeless design.

"A Beauty In The Kitchen": The Introduction Of The Cookstove As A Mechanism Of Change In Charleston's Historic Kitchens, Maria Short

All Theses

While Charleston’s historic houses have long captivated visitors, scholars, and preservationists, the architecture of these properties’ kitchens and the ways people cooked in these historic spaces have long been overlooked, in part because their historic fabric has often been obscured by later alterations or demolition. While interpretation of these historic spaces in certain house museums, such as the Nathaniel Russell House or Heyward-Washington House, now include information on the lives of the enslaved who cooked in these kitchens, the understanding of cooking technology, specifically the transition from hearth cooking to cooking on cookstoves, in Charleston remains largely unstudied. In the …

The Social Network Of Early American Architecture: A Network Analysis Of Early Architectural Training In And Out Of The Lowcountry, James Mcenerney

All Theses

The contents of this thesis contain research conducted over a 9-month span surrounding the nature of architectural education in the late American Colonial Period, progressing into the Early Republic. Themes such as early European influences, 17^th and 18^th century art and architecture schools of Dublin, Ireland and Paris, France, and early American drafting schools/apprenticeship societies are analyzed. This paper, first, seeks to document the scholarly dialogue surrounding the ways in which early American architectural practitioners were educated, and in what ways this training was manifest in their physical designs. With a timeframe of approximately 1770 to 1830, 23 …

Case Studies On Architecture And Economics Of Public Housing, John Kent

Honors Projects

Public is an historical and contemporary issue faced by many cities. Many new developments often include plans for some form of public or affordable housing. The purpose of this paper is to explore a few case studies in public housing through the lens of community development, architectural and urban design, and economic investment. The selected projects included: Pruitt-Igoe in St. Louis, Missouri (1954), Cabrini Green in Chicago, Illinois (1962), Karl Marx Hof in Vienna, Austria (1930), Caoyang New Village in Shanghai, China (1951), and various Soviet housing projects in the former Soviet Union (1922-1991). Historical and contemporary research was used …

A Comparison Of Preferences: Testing The Correlation Between The National Register Of Historic Places And The South Carolina Picture Project, Vito Scocozzo

All Theses

Current affairs relating to the architectural stylings of federal buildings have sparked discussions regarding the preferences of the American people for different styles of architecture. Studies have identified a disconnect between the preferences of the general public and professionals who work with the built environment. This thesis seeks to continue these discussions and better understand how they relate to historic preservation by answering the following question: Do the historic resources and buildings nominated to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) by historic preservation professionals directly compare to the historic resources identified by a wider public base as represented by …

“Don’T Make Fun Of The Residents!” Revisiting The Sunbelt’S Vanishing Communities: Mobility And Suburban Development, 1900-1990, Jerry D. Wallace

History ETDs

“Don’t Make Fun of the Residents” examines home ownership and suburban development over the last one hundred years in the borderlands, American West, and Sunbelt regions. In this dissertation I argue that mobility shaped urban planning, neighborhood design, and architectural identity in the Sunbelt over the course of the twentieth century. “Don’t Make Fun of the Residents” places architectural identity at the center of this dissertation discussion to understand the origins of the Sunbelt as a geographic and intellectual space. I focus in particular on smaller cities in the intermountain West---New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, and California---an area that has …

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.

Border Town: Preserving A 'Living' Cultural Landscape In Harlingen, Texas, Shelby Parrish

Masters Theses

The preservation of cultural landscapes takes an understanding of a region’s shared history, their sense of place, and the sensory and spatial behavior of their appropriated spaces. That being said preserving cultural landscapes in urban areas can be especially challenging. They are constantly growing and evolving which requires special considerations to avoid suffocation of the space and the inhabitants’ spatial behavior. The practice of preserving cultural landscapes on an urban scale has been relatively lacking in the United States. The same preservation strategies are used for various types of cultural landscapes that have their own characteristics and stories. Different tactics …

Remembering The City: An Augmented Reality Reconstruction Of Memory, Power, And Identity In Ho Chi Minh City Through Cartography & Architecture, Thuy Dinh

Senior Independent Study Theses

Cartography and architecture are official channels that facilitate remembrance in Ho Chi Minh City. Maps and buildings serve as sites for actors of memory to manipulate the city's narratives and shape its collective identity. Power enables the production of space and knowledge through sites of memory. The ruling regimes of Ho Chi Minh City have leveraged control over the natural environment and the local population to create new forms of materials that propagate their ideologies and ideals for the city. Alterations to the natural and built environments in the city legitimize the authorities' official narratives for its history and future …

Cedar Hill: A Case Study In Preservation And Education In A Digital World, Lin Barnett

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Visit Cedar Hill (now Annandale-on-Hudson) as it stood over a century ago, reconstructed in virtual reality. This interactive project retells an important aspect of Hudson Valley History, its mill communities, which do not get preserved in the archeological record and are not as closely maintained as its neighboring communities of Bard College and Montgomery Place. The project analyzes the structures' changing purposes, as well as their changing architectural qualities, to trace the story of the hamlet's decline.

From The Church Of Disco To Waterfront Ruins: An Analysis Of Gay Space, Liam Nolan

Senior Projects Spring 2019

My senior thesis is an analysis of gay space from the late 1970s to 1980s New York, and I’m questioning how themes of private vs. public, accessibility, race, and economic status dictated where one searched for gay self-expression and community in the built environment. In order to understand how queer spaces functioned architecturally and socially, I’ve chosen to research two opposites: The Saint and the west side piers. The former was a private club in New York City from 1980-1988 and was considered to be the “Vatican of Disco” with a planetarium that could hold over a thousand men, two …

Design Guidelines: A Practical Guide To Preserving The Historic, Cultural, And Architectural Heritage Of Gladewater, Texas, Conor Herterich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In October of 1930, Columbus Marion Joiner’s oil rig, “Daisy Bradford No. 3,” blew a gusher of oil high into the East Texas sky. The subsequent storm of economic activity that resulted from the discovery of the East Texas oilfield irrevocably changed the built environment of many small towns in the region, including Gladewater, Texas. Oil money that flowed into the city funded a flurry of building projects in the 1930s and 1940s that left an indelible mark on the landscape of Gladewater’s downtown area. Unfortunately, a lack of oversight, planning, and guidance has since led to the deterioration of …

The Hutongs Blooming 08, L Khawn Din

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

China’s rapid development has altered the city’s landscape on a massive scale, continually eroding the delicate urban tissue of old Beijing. Such dramatic changes have forced an aging architecture to rely on chaotic, spontaneous renovations to survive the ever-changing neighborhood. In addition, poor standards of hygiene have turned unique living space and potential thriving communities into a serious urban problem. Hutongs are gradually becoming the local inhabitants’ dumpster and the haven for the wealthy. The hutongs blooming 08, will be inserted into the urban fabric, structure like clouds, attracting new people, activities, and resources to reactivate entire neighborhoods. They exist …

[Re]Defining Chandigarh, Dhruvee Patel

KSU Journey Honors College Capstones and Theses

Chandigarh is the first planned modern city in India as a symbol of nation’s faith in the future designed by Le Corbusier in 1951 in the East Punjab. Through investigation it became apparent that Le Corbusier proposed design principles for Chandigarh that were already theorized for Bogota in Colombia and Marseille in France following his concept of Radiant village that was never built. His design for Chandigarh was more of a prototype model, which failed to capture the spirit of Indian culture and community, making it harder to navigate and familiarize with the city. If architecture is a reflection of …

[Re]Defining Chandigarh, Dhruvee Patel

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Chandigarh is the first planned modern city in India as a symbol of nation’s faith in the future designed by Le Corbusier in 1951 in the East Punjab. Through investigation it became apparent that Le Corbusier proposed design principles for Chandigarh that were already theorized for Bogota in Colombia and Marseille in France following his concept of Radiant village that was never built. His design for Chandigarh was more of a prototype model, which failed to capture the spirit of Indian culture and community, making it harder to navigate and familiarize with the city. If architecture is a reflection of …

Urban Identity, Mustapha A Farrakhan Williams

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …

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 …

De-Westernizing The Far East, Jericho K. Kakaio-Edwards

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Isolated by the Tibetan highlands which frame Yunnan’s northwest fringes, the ethnic minorities who call the region home live in rural settings ranging from rice-terraced fields to tropical forests; lifestyle unchanged for hundreds of years. However, with globalization causing an exposure to western standards of living, in conjunction with the country’s predisposition towards all things foreign, the people of Yunnan have begun forgoing generations of vernacular architecture in favor of modern materials and regionally defunct construction methods. Here, we will seek to address this foible of architectural development by offering theoretical construction methods for housing types found throughout the region, …

Colonization To Construction: Bridging The Gap Between Ancient Chamorro, Spanish Colonial & Modern Architecture On Guam, Dominic J. Lizama

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Guam is an island in the Marianas that, over time, has experienced a rich cultural history brought about by its exposure to colonization, natural disasters, warfare and the continual influx of people and culture. Therefore, the architecture that exists on the island is one that divides itself into four distinct styles with each as a response to external forces that affected the island. By researching each of these styles, one is able to fully understand the holistic view of Guam’s history in order to design architecture that reflects the past with anticipation for the future. This thesis works to explore …

Architectural Constructions Of Memory & The Ruin In Post-1989 Berlin, Gilda Hanna Gross

Senior Projects Spring 2016

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College.

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 …