Architecture Commons^™

Tree Preservation And Its Impact On Residential Development And Real Estate Value, Melissa Gerstle

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Mature trees create more attractive residential neighborhoods and contribute a significant amount to the resale value of a home (Benotto, 2002). According to the National Arbor Day Foundation, one mature tree can amount to at least $10,000 of a home's resale value and will typically account for 15 percent of the property's value (Benotto 2002). In addition, the combined economic value of a street lined with mature trees is greater than the net sum of the value of the individual trees (Benotto 2002). While large, mature trees add substantial economic value to a residential development, tree growth is a slow …

The Relationship Between Designed Urban Environments And Skateboarding In Downtown Fort Worth, Nicholas Glade Nelson

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Cities are a collection of designed environments. In turn, these environments consist of parts that vary in scale from districts to light fixtures. The design of outdoor urban environments is a dynamic and collaborative process of arranging these parts to create places with purpose. Evidence of this can be found in the numerous professions that participate in the design of urban environments (Eckbo, 1964). Such is the case in the city of Fort Worth, Texas. With many participants, often unilaterally, contributing to the design of built urban environments, not all of the ensuing results are intentional. The objective of this …

The Development And Testing Of The Academic Information System Survey, Lionel Plummer

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

The Academic Information System (AIS) is a database for academic administrators and educators in landscape architecture programs which are members of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), an international organization based in the United States. The system and its associated survey are designed to provide them with the ability to store and organize a variety of data on the way in which they prepare individuals to become landscape architects. The system also enables these educators to compare and contrast their institution with groups of other institutions. The goal of the system's creators is to establish the most complete …

The Relationship Between Designed Urban Environments And Skateboarding In Downtown Fort Worth, Nicholas Glade Nelson

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Cities are a collection of designed environments. In turn, these environments consist of parts that vary in scale from districts to light fixtures. The design of outdoor urban environments is a dynamic and collaborative process of arranging these parts to create places with purpose. Evidence of this can be found in the numerous professions that participate in the design of urban environments (Eckbo, 1964). Such is the case in the city of Fort Worth, Texas. With many participants, often unilaterally, contributing to the design of built urban environments, not all of the ensuing results are intentional. The objective of this …

The Search For Appropriate Form: The Relationship Between Landscape Architecture And Art In Three Time Periods, Elizabeth Matlock

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Art and landscape architecture are both a means through which man can explore the natural world around him; they provide an opportunity for self expression and reflection. This thesis is based on the hypothesis that several times throughout history landscape architects and designers have looked to art for inspiration in times of change within the profession and that as that relationship evolved the roles have reversed. In the past landscape architects and designers have looked to art for inspiration, now artists are looking to landscape architects for inspiration and form determination. Three periods of history exemplify this changing relationship: the …

Tree Preservation And Its Impact On Residential Development And Real Estate Value, Melissa Gerstle

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Mature trees create more attractive residential neighborhoods and contribute a significant amount to the resale value of a home (Benotto, 2002). According to the National Arbor Day Foundation, one mature tree can amount to at least $10,000 of a home's resale value and will typically account for 15 percent of the property's value (Benotto 2002). In addition, the combined economic value of a street lined with mature trees is greater than the net sum of the value of the individual trees (Benotto 2002). While large, mature trees add substantial economic value to a residential development, tree growth is a slow …

The Development And Testing Of The Academic Information System Survey, Lionel Plummer

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

The Academic Information System (AIS) is a database for academic administrators and educators in landscape architecture programs which are members of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), an international organization based in the United States. The system and its associated survey are designed to provide them with the ability to store and organize a variety of data on the way in which they prepare individuals to become landscape architects. The system also enables these educators to compare and contrast their institution with groups of other institutions. The goal of the system's creators is to establish the most complete …

The Search For Appropriate Form: The Relationship Between Landscape Architecture And Art In Three Time Periods, Elizabeth Matlock

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Art and landscape architecture are both a means through which man can explore the natural world around him; they provide an opportunity for self expression and reflection. This thesis is based on the hypothesis that several times throughout history landscape architects and designers have looked to art for inspiration in times of change within the profession and that as that relationship evolved the roles have reversed. In the past landscape architects and designers have looked to art for inspiration, now artists are looking to landscape architects for inspiration and form determination. Three periods of history exemplify this changing relationship: the …

A Search For Creative Class Trail User Experiences Along The Katy Trail, Shirley Jane Mathews

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

This research focused on preferred urban trail attributes and related these to restorative places and user experiences. Focused interviews were employed in the study. Restoration was shown in aspects of naturalness and excitement. Responses to the interviews indicated that a convergence of multiple physical features contributed significantly to a user's restorative experience on the trail, especially where tree canopy was juxtaposed with distant views and there were connections to active urban villages. Where the trail did not enhance the user experience the trail was not seen as contributing to the community in a significant way. Themes emerged from the focused …

Application Of The Historic Preservation Index Strategy To Historic Vernacular Landscape, Sonal D. Parmar

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

The aim of this study is to form a matrix for the understanding and preservation approach for Historic Vernacular Landscapes applying the Historic Preservation Index strategy. The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) Historic Landscape Initiative (HLI), which promotes responsible preservation practices that protect the nation's designed landscapes, is developing an index of historical designed landscapes. The goal of the index is to create a comprehensive, searchable database for prioritizing and realizing future nominations for the National Register of Historic Places. This study evaluates the ongoing process for creating the index for historical designed landscapes on parameters identified by the National …

Evaluating Methods For Developing A Vision As They Apply To Small Landscape Architecture Firms, Gregory Allen Cuppett

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

This research started on a quest for information about the future. Not a future based on information from the past or even the present but a visionary look at the future. There are many parts to strategic planning. One part of the strategic planning process is the creation of a vision. There are different processes used facilitate this kind of visionary thinking. The literature in landscape architecture is limited on this subject creating a need to look at business and futurist literature. The question is what steps of the different visioning methods in the business community best apply to the …

Art And The Built Landscape In The Central Business District Of Dallas: Influences From An Identifiable Era In The Late Twentieth Century, Lara Moffat

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

In the mid to late 1970s, Dallas' emergence as a center of culture and art became outwardly evident in the urban landscape. International and local designers were commissioned to make their mark on the grided environment; Dallas City Hall was the first major development during this period. Internationally acclaimed architect I.M. Pei's inverted pyramidal structure and ceremonial plaza were soon followed by Carpenter Park with its noteworthy environmental art piece 'Portal Park Slice' by Robert Irwin. Significant human communities typically have a collection of spaces that are both private and public, mostly privately funded but publicly used. In the sites' …

Art And The Built Landscape In The Central Business District Of Dallas: Influences From An Identifiable Era In The Late Twentieth Century, Lara Moffat

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

In the mid to late 1970s, Dallas' emergence as a center of culture and art became outwardly evident in the urban landscape. International and local designers were commissioned to make their mark on the grided environment; Dallas City Hall was the first major development during this period. Internationally acclaimed architect I.M. Pei's inverted pyramidal structure and ceremonial plaza were soon followed by Carpenter Park with its noteworthy environmental art piece 'Portal Park Slice' by Robert Irwin. Significant human communities typically have a collection of spaces that are both private and public, mostly privately funded but publicly used. In the sites' …

A Search For Creative Class Trail User Experiences Along The Katy Trail, Shirley Jane Mathews

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

This research focused on preferred urban trail attributes and related these to restorative places and user experiences. Focused interviews were employed in the study. Restoration was shown in aspects of naturalness and excitement. Responses to the interviews indicated that a convergence of multiple physical features contributed significantly to a user's restorative experience on the trail, especially where tree canopy was juxtaposed with distant views and there were connections to active urban villages. Where the trail did not enhance the user experience the trail was not seen as contributing to the community in a significant way. Themes emerged from the focused …

Urban Essentials, Ruthie G. Gould

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Industrial development throughout the world has led to a global society. Although sharing of information and technology is beneficial in many ways, these global means have also created many issues that are not always contributing to economic and social societies. International business is not only unsustainable for environmental reasons, but it also often means that many unethical decisions are made for the purposes of cheap labor, mass revenue, and other un-amiable intentions. The Urban Essentials project’s purpose is to create an urban area that searches for a solution against these capitalistic means of business. This idea is realized in the …

Contrarian Urges, Jason W. Cave

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Historically, the default space of architectural design has been one of neutral Cartesian coordinates. However, in other design fields, (such as aeronautical, automotive and naval) the design space is conceived as an environment of forces and motion such as flow, turbulence, viscosity and drag. Architecture, as a static object, has much to gain from a design process that con¬ceives of form in a virtual environment in motion.

The focus of this thesis will be to develop an iterative architectural design process that utilizes techniques in animation software. The purpose of generating architectural form through animation software is to allow architectural …

Cardiac Resuscitation: Examining Rural Heartland Development Through An Ecological Lens, Jay D. Anderson

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Throughout southwest Iowa, prime farm land is being sold and then purchased by local real estate developers. These developers are creating housing clusters throughout the countryside, especially in the rural Loess Hills area. These housing clusters have similar covenant restrictions imposed by the developers, but few if any address larger and more critical architectural, social, environmental and ecological issues. Recently one of these developers purchased some land from my family for this very reason. Knowing what will happen to this land, I chose to devote my efforts in order to provide a better, more eco-friendly solution to the inevitable consequences …

Eduvironments, Mathew T. Smith

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

The goal for the middle school is to create a place which first looks at the way in which we learn and then uses these findings in its design decisions in a way which will best maximize a students ability to learn not only in an educational sense, but physically and more importantly socially.

Submercial: Research At Its Closest Proximity, Kristin L. Ubben

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Located off the coast of Northern California, just west of Eureka and Humboldt Bay, it is the intention of mine to design a site specific research facility to primarily study oceanic activity. Responding to the planet’s current environmental conditions, I feel it necessary for solutions to manifest themselves within the realm of sustainable, as well as in an interest for future energy sources. The planet’s oceans hold one possible answer for this. By committing to a project that focuses on researching water at an extremely close proximity, it will also strive for the ability to be dependent on water for …

Adaptability In Architecture, Lucas J. Kielion

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

For too long, architecture has stood as an expression of permanence, recording a specific moment in history. This project begins with an idea that the adaptation of architecture is eminent, thus changing the process in which we design. The information age resulted in a highly mobile society, where modernization became more generic, the specificity of place changed, and time became more abstract. Mechanic invention supplied ‘generic’ standards to improve common application for tools. Strategies of a general building system could be familiarized with a local place, inherent with the idea of versatility. Through this design, it is important not to …

Adaptation: Reunion Square, Paul D. Becker

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

The intent of this project is an adaptive reuse of the Reunion Building on the city campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The purpose of this scheme is to allow the student to gain additional expertise in the fields of historic reuse, adaptive reuse, and historic preservation as an exploratory exercise into a possible career path. In addition to the exploration of an adaptive reuse, the student intends to focus on the research of architectural precedent, investigating the personal design process through drawings and diagramming in the digital and physical systems, and visual and verbal presentation skills.

School At The Zoo: Enhancing Education Through Site And Design, Jolene L. Santema

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

As the concern for quality public education In America continues to grow, parents, educators, and citizens seek alternative methods for meeting students' needs. My Intent for this design thesis project is to explore one such method: the placement of an educational facility In a non-traditional setting. Whether or not this method actually Improves public education is not the focus of my project; instead, the development and design of a facility that promotes learning, encourages conservation, enhances creative problem-solving and forward thinking, and integrates real world situations In an educational context is the focus of my thesis. The fulfillment of these …

Overlooked By The Skyscrapers: The Creighton University Ballpark Complex, Kristopher M. Tourek

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

At the Collegiate level, a stadium represents more than just a sporting event. The stadium has grown to become a symbol of university pride and often reflects its accomplishments. The proposed project involves combining sports and entertainment in order to create a Baseball Stadium that will serve as home to the Creighton University Baseball team. The first intention is to generate a building that exhibits the connection between the experiences of a game with the architecture of a stadium. The secondary objectives are 1)Establish the stadium to be a source of civic pride in Omaha, 2)Design the stadium to be …

Re-Define Urban: Investigating The Nature Of The Rural Midwest Cities And Their Urban Environment, Bruce A. Yoder

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

The project will be examining the current master plan of Red Oak, IA to focus in on a deteriorating portion of the city just south of the original town square. There are several buildings being placed on the national record for historic buildings and the area surrounding these buildings is in poor condition. The Thomas D. Murphy Calendar Building is one that is currently being renovated into a large assisted living complex and will serve as a catalyst for new development in the surrounding neighborhood.

The Site in question will have a broad master plan performed to identify both the …

Bien-Ètre: Transcending Into The Reflective Moment, Michael L. Bettis

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

My THESIS PROJECT IS AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLORE THE USE OF ARCHITECTURE IN DEFINING PRIVACY AND CREATE A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT WHICH ASSISTS THE HUMAN BODY IN ACHIEVING SELF AWARENESS, SELF CONSCIOUSNESS, AND SELF REALIZATION WHICH SUPPORT ACHIEVEMENT OF A REFLECTIVE MOMENT. THE VEHICLE FOR THIS PROCESS IS A COED SPA LOCATED ON NORTHERLY ISLAND ACROSS THE BAY FROM CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. I HAVE USED A VARIETY OF APPROPRIATE SOCIO/PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND PROCESSES IN CON.JUNCTION WITH A SERIES OF THRESHOLDS AND SPACES IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT TRANSCENDENCE INTO THIS REFLECTIVE MOMENT.

I HAVE CREATED AN ARCHITECTURAL FORM THAT IS BOLD AND …

The Ritual Experience, John F. Walker

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

What initially attracted me to this project was a combination of several factors. The first be¬ing that I have had a growing interest in the de¬sign of religious structures, wondering why are churches designed the way that they are? How do a religious affiliation’s beliefs affect the de¬sign of a place of worship, and how are they reflected in the place of worship?

Regarding the site that was chosen, Messiah Lutheran Church has recently gone through a strategic planning process and, within the last couple weeks, has adopted a new strategic min¬istry plan document. A vision statement within this document …

_Reinterpreting The Hutong, Allison F. Struck

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

China is a nation growing at an alarming rate economically, socially, and structurally. It is expanding so rapidly that cities literally emerge overnight. However, Chinese architecture is caught in a very evident struggle between the past and the future. The past presents them with a long tradition of Imperial architecture in which spaces were emphasized rather than buildings. Construction consisted mainly of wood, and buildings were presented in a horizontal layout. This contrasts deeply with the steel “western” skyscrapers being constructed at a furious rate today. So, how can a culture with such a rich history of traditional building reject …

Surface Awareness, Evan M. Gunn

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

My design thesis is an exploration of surface articulations through digitally fabricated constructs. One of the most fundamental acts of architecture has been the construction of a surface to delineate a territory. How architects conceive and make surfaces is primary to my investigations. Most certainly, it begins with the ability to invent new surface qualities through the act of making an inherently two-dimensional material into a three dimensional construct. The designer’s ability to invent new surface qualities and ultimately experiences is directly related to their ability to work with materials. My personal belief is that the architect should have knowledge …

Biodynamic Dwelling Picking Up The Trailer Trash, Amber A. Ellett

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

BIODYNAMIC DWELLING is a graduate design thesis which explores the current status of the “mobile home,” its ubiquity, and its history, ultimately seeking to innovate this commodified housing type. Millions of Americans reside in “mobile” residences of varying types, harbored in an environment which is neither healthy nor appropriate in a post-fossil fuel era where energy independence is paramount.

As the most humane and personal of all built spaces, the dwelling affords the unique position to at once provoke, question, and inform the position of architecture within the realm of society. This proposal for a biodynamic dwelling—at once both bioclimatic …

What Is The Generative Role For Music In Architecture?, Cole A. Wycoff

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

The origin of my design thesis project interests had its first identifi able origin on November 2nd, 2006, shortly after attending a lecture on the life and works of Antoine Predock. Predock talked in great detail about not only his designs, but also his design process. The descriptions he provided of his methods and creative intuition began an internal assessment of my own design process, which, in fact, is where this thesis investigation begins. Methodology is central to this framed investigation, and the design thesis project will allow me to develop a latent and more implicit design thinking regarding architecture. …