Architecture Commons^™

Evaluation And Improvement Of The Design 4 Every Drop Course, Kenzy Fogle

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Utah and the greater Intermountain West are experiencing a water crisis. Many factors are contributing to this situation, including an arid climate exacerbated by climate change, rapid population growth, and a high-water-demanding landscape typology. Landscapes currently consume an estimated 60-80% of Utah’s potable water, representing a significant opportunity for water savings. However, changing the traditional water-dependent landscape typology requires educating the public regarding water-wise landscape design processes, best practices, and implementation approaches. Utah State University is the land grant university for Utah and home to one of the oldest Landscape Architecture departments in the Intermountain West. Utah State University’s community …

Artificial Intelligence In Landscape Architecture: A Survey Of Theory, Culture, And Practice, Phillip J. Fernberg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This dissertation explores the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in shaping the landscape architecture profession. It looks at how AI has evolved in the field, its current influence, and its potential to change research, teaching, and professional practice. The research includes a detailed review of existing literature to identify trends in AI applications and gaps in knowledge. It also examines landscape architects' attitudes towards AI, revealing a mix of enthusiasm for its benefits and concerns about its impact on creativity and design processes, and proposes new ways of thinking about and working with AI. The work brings a unique perspective …

Designing Resilient Communities: Landscape Architecture Strategies To Counteract The Urban Heat Island Effect And Enhance Thermal Comfort In Vulnerable Neighborhoods In Dallas, Texas, Angelica E. Villalobos

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

As cities continue to expand and temperatures rise, extreme weather conditions become more frequent (Tan et al., 2009). This urban heat phenomenon significantly impacts the environment and the health and well-being of living organisms, including humans (Bullard, 2011). Unfortunately, those who live in poverty are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of urban heat island-induced heat (Balbus & Malina, 2009). To address this issue, this research evaluates landscape architecture design strategies that mitigate the urban heat island and enhance thermal comfort in vulnerable suburban neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas. Recommendations are provided for enhancing resident thermal comfort in single-family residential neighborhoods, …

Design Guidelines For Homeless Shelter And Resource Center Site Plans, Samuel Johnson

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Homelessness is one of the most pressing humanitarian issues facing the country today. Lack of affordable housing, among many other complicating factors, have led to many cities scrambling to find both short-, middle-, and long-term solutions to the issue. The Covid-19 pandemic added a disruption in services, critical record-keeping, and data-gathering, which has further confounded experts looking for an effective path forward. As it stands, there is a significant gap in academic research addressing best practices for shelter site design, particularly as it relates to landscape. The role of landscape and greenspace within and around a shelter is not well …

Reflecting On Design: A Study Of The Relationship Between Beginning Landscape Architecture Students’ Graphic Skills And Self-Efficacy Through Hybrid Assessments And Reflective Writing, Rachel Michelle Nobles

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the connection between self-efficacy, reflective writing, and graphic quality inside a first-year Landscape Architecture design studio. Reflective writing and self-efficacy can be studied to better understand how to motivate students within a design studio. Bandura (1977) defines self-efficacy as the belief in one’s own capabilities relating to motivation, behavior, and environment. Reflective writing is overlooked as a mode of advancing knowledge in the design process (Lousberg, 2019). The data were collected with pre- and post-semester Likert scale questionnaires, graphic skill-building tests, and reflective writing. To determine growth, the pre-and post-Likert-type questionnaires and …

Community Space Planning And Design Guide For Enhanced Wildfire Resilience In Heber, Utah, Devin Macfarlane

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

The wildland urban interface (WUI) is the fastest growing land type in the conterminous United States. These areas are prone to catastrophic wildfire events. In response to rapid population growth, Heber City, Utah is planning a significant amount of development within the WUI. This thesis project is aimed at proactively addressing wildfire risk in the WUI of Heber through two main strategies: regional geospatial planning and public space design to create wildfire resilient communities. Researching principles of wildfire adaptive practice and planning for defensible space led to the development of a list of criteria. This list was developed in the …

Contemplative Nearby Nature: A Design Proposal For Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, Russell Corbin

Pomona Senior Theses

In this Environmental Analysis thesis project, I analyze what contemplative landscapes are, why they are important, and how to design them, and then implement those learnings in a design proposal for a contemplative landscape at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park. In addition to this writing component of the thesis, I created diagrams, drawings, section renderings, a plan, and two 3d models that all help inform the intentions, meaning, and components of my design. These elements have been woven into the writing and attached as additional documents. Five key contemplative design elements have been identified which I hope can prove useful for …

Healing Gardens For Assisted Living Facility At Cortland Acres, Thomas, Wv, Pooja Keshav Pawar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The affection humans feel for nature is called biophilia. Connecting with nature helps in healing. The connection with nature can be established by incorporating biophilic elements like air, water, plants, and views of nature into the design. (Kellert,2018). According to Kaplan’s Attention Restoration theory, exposure to nature improves focus and the ability to concentrate. (Kaplan,1989)

Connecting with nature provides to be helpful in health care facilities for frail elderly, people with Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias, Hospice care facilities, Mental and Behavioral Health Facilities, and Assisted living facilities. (Marcus,2013)

The aim of this project is to create comfortable, safe, and accessible …

Feeling At Home: Working With The Rhythm Of The Day To Support Seniors In Urban Villages, Guoxi Zhou

Masters Theses

My focus is on the continuously growing aging population. We know the world is rapidly aging. We know countries and cities are experiencing a demographic shift. But we keep neglecting and underestimating those changes. Cities do not pay attention to and prepare for the needs of the elderly. Given that China has a huge number of seniors living in the city, I am working on the topic of how landscape architecture can support the seniors’ needs within the city’s aging population in Shenzhen. Using the urban Village of Gangxia in Shenzhen, China as a testing ground, in my thesis, I …

Mutable Landscapes: Diversity Through The Lens Of The Earth's Biomass, Ilya Iskhakov

Masters Theses

This thesis explores conditions of mutability in the landscape through the lens of the Earth’s biomass, particularly the living beings whose systemic, functional and aesthetic values are misrepresented or undervalued. Relegated to the abandoned, derelict and forgotten landscapes, the presence of these living things has often come to represent decay, blight, lack of resources, and care. However, in the light of the global environmental crisis and in search of viable solutions to clean up the environment and curb greenhouse gas emissions, it has become apparent that the spontaneous, opportunistic qualities of these living beings can provide unparalleled opportunities to do …

The Second Identity: The Human-Otters Ha-Ha - Utopia For Urban Animals, Yuxin Zhang

Masters Theses

The question of proportion between humans and urban animals is always existed but had been ignored for a while. Through COVID19,the early balance, which human as a dominant sign in the urban area seems been slightly broken and many “invisible” animals start to show up. This makes me think that is there another living mode between humans and animals.

The thesis project locates in Singapore. Asa country around by water, Singapore has countless river canal, with some of the rivers are more residential and quieter, some are famous hot tourism point. However, some of the rivers are similar, which because …

Regional Food Self Sufficiency: New Visions For Productive Landscapes, Yiling Wang

Masters Theses

Food is an important resource for the survival and development of civilization. Its potential is so huge that it affects physical and mental health in an individual sense, and it affects landscapes and even public relations in a social sense. For most people, having food is never a problem that the importance of food is overlooked. However, the right to food is not equal. There are still a considerable number of people have low food access, which means…, and they may also be forced to be in an unbalanced diet leading to health problems such as obesity. A large amount …

Optics / Perception / Experience: Regenerating Agricultural Landscape Through Railways, Tianyi Xie

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between two large infrastructure systems: the railway and agriculture. It’s becoming increasingly important as unhealthy nation-wide industrial agriculture is destroying people’s health and decreasing the long-term capacity of sustainable production of food. In the discipline of landscape architecture, there is a necessity to reform our thinking to match the modern-day development in population growth, transportation and mass production. There exists vast farmlands outside our city, which support our city life with energy and food sources. How could we get people to understand its significance? In chapter I and II, the history of agriculture and railway …

Virtuality, Reality, Community, Siqi Rao

Masters Theses

With the popularization of the Internet and the development of technology, virtuality has penetrated into our lives and has taken up an increasing proportion of our time. However, while bringing convenience and benefits, virtuality also brings many problems, such as polarization, radicalization, cyber violence, and social isolation. In the face of these problems caused by virtualization, this thesis studies the importance of the sense of place in a community and uses some virtual technologies to enhance real-world relationships, working to alleviate problems caused by virtualization. At the same time, it explores the role of virtual tools in shaping the sense …

Eco-Waste: Household Waste Material Flows In A Circular Economy, Erqi Meng

Masters Theses

The thesis aims to contextualize household waste on the more complete material flows it belongs to, including reciprocal relations between its landscapes of production and landscapes of landfill. Current one-way processes of waste treatment are repositioned within more circular economies which, it is argued, may also bring ecological benefits to our cities. The study focuses on a local community at Mount Hope district in Providence, RI. As part of a wider landscape framework that includes a study on consumer behaviour, a series of modular strategies are developed based on this community’s main characteristics, with an eventual goal of integrating community …

Fluid Ground: Imagining A Floating Future For Tuvalu, Yuxi Liu

Masters Theses

Climate change is posing great challenges to Tuvalu, a small archipelago in the center of the Pacific Ocean. With low elevations above sea level, poor soil, and limited land resources, Tuvalu is considered to be one of the smallest countries in the world, as well as the most vulnerable nation under climate change. About 2000 years ago the seafaring Pacific Islanders inhabited the archipelago and developed its unique culture following the fluid geographies of atoll islands––a culture that was once associated with the notion of paradise, and which gradually faded away with the arrival of western colonizers in the 19th …

Affordable Green: What Cause Landscape Gentrification And How We Deal With It, Siyu Pan

Masters Theses

The topic of this thesis is to figure out how landscape gentrification happened and what we can do to decelerate the process. The first phase of this thesis includes a brief introduction and definition to the term “Gentrification“, its history and the process. Discussions about how such a situation would influence communities and related people would also be mentioned in this part. The last part in this phase is the analysis of some recent research about gentrification world wide. The second phase is a transition from gentrification to landscape gentrification. This part analysis of the cause and effect of landscape …

Land, Labor, Water: An Agricultural Commons In The Central Valley Of California, Jacob Lightman

Masters Theses

An Agricultural Commons in California's Central Valley examines the spatial and structural relationships between food systems, the ecologies that support them, and the unincorporated farming communities in The Central Valley. Current industrial practices in The Central Valley deplete water resources, deplete topsoil, create toxic living conditons for local communities, and undervalues farmlabor. Further pressures from climate change will inevitably cause greater instability in this food system and greater injustices towards the local communities and ecologies. The Central Valley is already a commons for Americans, as it supplies the majority of our year-round produce. Through a reevaluation of the idea of …

Across The Boundary: Addressing Segregation Along Transportation Infrastructure, Ruochen Wang

Masters Theses

Across the United States, we can see examples of cities where highways and railways pass between two ethnic communities or through communities of color and are used to further divide and segregate cities. Increasingly we are seeing a new typology of landscape architecture projects to transform, redesign, or remove transportation infrastructure to help ameliorate the negative impact of transportation infrastructure on neighboring communities and support public uses. However, these projects often lead to gentrification, whereby surrounding housing prices rise, and the original residents are displaced or lose their sense of belonging. The goal of my research is to understand how …

Driftscape: Maximize Urban Space Uses In The Context Of Densification, Sida Zhang

Masters Theses

This study aims to explore a systematic method to stimulate and maximize the use of the urban space in the context of urban densification, expanding urban space usage in the dimension of time and space. In this context, urban space is reclaimed as the notion of overlap between public and private space in urban figure-ground.

The research focuses on Providence as a study area that encompasses different transects of the urbanized American city and faces typical densification issues. It has strategically turned the issue of densification into opportunities for improving social interactions and space utilization. The “Driftscape” principle with its …

Wandering Land: Landscape On Space Station, Xin Wen

Masters Theses

When the exploration of the universe and the colonization of the universe are getting more and more attention, this thesis book focuses on the question of “What role will landscape play in space resettlement?”, and conducts research and design based on this, trying to explore the possible landscape attempts and experiences on space stations in the future.

This thesis starts with the background research of space habitats and clarifies the definition and advantages of the space station landscape. And through the study of the physical models of the future space station, Stanford Torus was selected as the subsequent design site. …

Negative Carbon Growth In The Atmosphere: To Reverse The Growth Of Carbon In The Atmosphere Through Urban Reforestation, Hanchao Zhang

Masters Theses

Since the industrial revolution, with the expansion of cities, the global climate problem has become increasingly serious. The world is paying more and more attention to carbon emissions, and many landscape projects also take emission reduction and carbon sequestration as concepts. But there seems to be a lack of quantitative research in the field of landscape architecture. According to the global goal of net-zero by 2050 and emission reduction plan of Providence, RI, this project started with calculating how much carbon dioxide needed to be removed by biomass in order to achieve net-zero. It puts forward the requirement for urban …

Conserving Water Through Modular Planting Design: Water-Wise Templates For Ogden's Residential Front Yard Landscapes, Jessica Clements

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

Due to the arid climate of the Wasatch front and the projected population growth in the next thirty years, water conservation is essential. Consequently, because the landscape consumes 60% of Utah residences’ purified drinking water, water-wise landscaping needs to be a priority. This thesis creates water-wise landscape templates that can be applied to the front yards of Ogden rental properties using a modular planting method. This study determines best practices by researching topics such as water-wise plants for Northern Utah, templates utilized in other areas, modular planting, and existing organizations with similar goals. This results in a user-friendly guide that …

Playground And Garden Design: Troy Christian Early Childhood Education Center, Gabriella Spatz

Honors Projects

The following project is a result of a study of the existing playground and garden at Troy Christian Early Childhood Education Center (TC ECEC) in Troy, OH. The TC ECEC Director wanted research, marketing standpoints, and a re-design for their playground and garden which led to an academic and professional collaboration that crosses into multiple project typologies. The Director consulted with the researcher, Gabriella Spatz, to create a list of necessary inclusions in both spaces which led to proposed floor plans and visuals of the playground and garden respectively. The designs sought to answer two research questions:

1. “What playground and …

Dynamic Landscape: The Theatre Of Time Unfolding, Mo Kong

Masters Theses

Human’s particular perspective and scale couldn’t allow them to perceive the ever-changing quality of the landscape through their senses. As landscape architects, we lack tools to communicate and work with not only time but typically experiment with the representation of time in physical landscape images. To create a dynamic experience, what tools of representation allow landscape architects to respond to time? This thesis explores many different types of representational techniques in terms of videos and drawings and uses them in a series of experimentation back and forward to make the unfamiliar familiar. The goal of the thesis is to build …

Thiết Kế Cho Gia Tài Nông Nghiệp: Cho Khu Tôi Ở Nu Ô Linh Đông - Designing For A Living Agricultural Heritage: For My Vietnamese Neighborhood In New Orleans East, Nguyệt Nguyễn

LSU Master's Theses

ABfdSTRACT

Versgggailles in New Orleans East is home to one of the densest populations of Vietnamese outside of Việt Nam. Following the Việt Nam War in 1975, thousands of refugees fled the country and several hundred were resettled in this neighborhood. Over time, community members rooted in a sense of home through tangible and intangible means in the landscape. Elders grow vegetables, herbs and fruit from Việt Nam in yards and vacant lots. Neighbors and and amenities are within walkable distance. The Catholic church is a focal community hub. Language and tradition are practiced at the family and the community …

How Virtual Reality Impacts The Landscape Architecture Design Process At Various Scales, Drew M. Hill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the field of landscape architecture, the use of virtual reality (VR) is increasing as a tool for visualization and presentation in the late stages of the design process. Many of the benefits that make VR valuable in the later stages of the design process suggest that VR may also be valuable when used in earlier stages such as analysis and concept development. However, existing research does not provide a detailed study of design within VR during those early stages. Recent advancements in technology allow the potential to bring significant changes in the way that design-related professionals collaborate and design. …

Film For Landscape Architecture : Learning From Alfonso Cuarón's Roma, Ramon Solis

Masters Theses

Introduction:

How can film inform landscape architectural thinking? In narrative film, we are spectators of unfolding space. In landscapes, our bodies enable us to author its unfolding.

In many ways, film is a well-suited and under-theorized territory for landscape. Its intersections are not without precedent, and in the following pages, I hope to describe the experiments, failures and potential scenarios I have uncovered for future practitioners of landscape architecture. A secondary intention of this thesis is as an articulation of my own practice, walking toward disciplinary edges, but always looking back to landscape architecture.

Site:

Roma (2018), directed by Alfonso …

Regeneration Of Memory And Home : Rebuilding Urban Resilience And People's Mental Perceptions After The Camp Fire In Paradise, Ca, Xinye Xie

Masters Theses

We are losing, we are forgetting, we are moving forward, we are adapting to the dynamic world. Just like the growth and regeneration circle of the forest, cultures, and cities are all regenerating themselves based on what they have, what they have lost, and what has been erased. Memories of the past are essential parts of our modern society; they reflect our current situation and are also a metaphor of the future.

As designers, when facing a landscape which has been partially ruined or erased, how can we help people to reconnect themselves with what has been erased, rebuild their …

Recovery In Reverse, Shiyu Bei

Masters Theses

This project provokes awareness of natural resources protection in Tibet, and it raises questions about its political, environmental, and cultural impact. Through constructing a 2.5 km wall out of pre-cast concrete blocks over a long period of time, it works to provoke people both on-site and off-site.

The wall acts as a new injury to the land just like the extraction of resources from the earth again and again. Starting with another wound, I am hoping to raise awareness of the status of this landscape, helping it to recover in reverse. When facing this large international issue, I am not …