Architecture Commons^™

Physical Accessibility And Historic Preservation In Historic House Museums Of The Southeast, Abby Milonas

All Theses

Museums are a public good, as they provide educational recreation and preserve cultural history, and so it is crucial that they are physically accessible to as many visitors as possible. The aim of this study was to understand what architectural features of historic house museums are the least accessible and what has been done to ameliorate these challenges. The survey used in the study was developed using the guidelines for making historic buildings accessible as described in the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards. It was distributed by email to representatives of 220 historic sites, of …

Reconcile Liminality, Zefeng Wang

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the concept of liminal space as a metaphor for the current transition to the digital era. We are not fully prepared for what the future holds. Fears and worries surrounding rapid development are amplified by the potential for social problems. However, by examining human development in history, we can gain insight into our current situation and start a discussion about where we are headed. The objective of this proposal is to create a space that eases concerns about the arrival of the new digital age. This is particularly relevant to Japan, which is now at a digital …

From Vault To Platform （Democratizing Museums Through The Lens Of The Metaverse））, Zhaoyang Cui

Masters Theses

The modern history of art viewing moves from private collections to public museums, and the modern museum arises with an intention to encourage a broad range of visitors. However, if we look at the reality of museum access, especially in the digital era, when the methods of attaining knowledge and information have grown ever stronger, it is easy to notice the single-direction circuit of information in the operation of museums from curators to the public, which seems outdated in the times of social media, AI and metaverse. Even if a broad range of visitors enter the museum, the information they …

Beyond The White Box: Building Alternative Art Spaces For The Black Community, Elijah Trice

Masters Theses

BASED ON THE SYSTEMIC BIASES AND LACK OF SUPPORT FOR BLACK ARTISTS & DESIGNERS IN THE PRIMARY ART MARKET, THIS STIGMA DISCOURAGES BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES FROM PURSUING A CAREER IN THE CREATIVE ARTS. MY GOAL IS TO UNDERSTAND THE UNDERLYING ISSUES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THIS DISPARITY, BY ANALYZING THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF BALTIMORE CITY AS A CASE STUDY.

City As Cemetery, Siqiao Zhao

Masters Theses

The traditional funeral service industry has enormous environmental and financial costs. In contrast, green burial, and Natural Organic Reduction (NOR), accelerate the human body’s degradation and reduce toxic substances in the land, assuming responsibility for our burden on the earth. They provide a gateway between us and the processes of nature and ask us to set aside self-consciousness to accept our oneness with the universe. By gifting our bodies back to the earth, where decomposition enriches soils and nurtures the growth of other life forms, we honor those who have transitioned to another state by continuing the cycle of renewal. …

Liquid Border, Yingfan Jia

Masters Theses

A River is a mighty and constantly-evolving force, leaving behind an intricately designed and constantly changing system. Not just a river, the Rio Grande stretches all the way from Colorado before intersecting with the US-Mexico Border in southern Texas - a point where the powerful forces of nature now merge with a clearly-defined political boundary. The outcome of this is a unique ecological niche, which may often go unnoticed despite its distinctiveness.

Texas is famous for its farms and ranches, and the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas was once an agricultural hub. However, urbanization and the depletion of water …

Water Relations, Understanding Our Relationship To Water: Through Research, Diagrams, And Glass, Tian Li

Masters Theses

As I observe the different ways human civilization interacts with water, I reflect on how I have interacted with it personally, in Califronia and Hawai’i. I also learn about the largest water-controlling infrastructure in China and its effects on the land and people. In Providence, I notice the infrastructure around the canal that keeps the water in. This relationship to water is unique to a post-colonial world where water is a commodity in which we spectate. What relationships did people have with water before we polluted the waters and created all this concrete infrastructure around it?

Through listening to Lorén …

We Have A (Home) - Co-Operative Homes For Sunset Park, Lisa Qiu

Masters Theses

The thesis believes that the speculative nature of land as property is at the root of the rising cost of quality living space. The combination of profit-driven market force and policies has produced inequality in the accessibility of property ownership.This reality is entangled with a culture that perceives exclusive rights and private ownership as superior to sharing for almost everything, especially the home.

This project believes affordable urban density can be achieved in a city like New York by pushing forward a sense of possibility and desirability in collaborative efforts to create and manage homes. These homes will not be …

Eviction To Placement: Rethinking The Current Supportive Housing Systems For Hidden Homeless Families, Fang-Min Liou

Masters Theses

This thesis focuses on repurposing unoccupied office space into affordable housing systems tailored to meet the unique needs of homeless families. Families with children make up 36 percent of the homeless population overall and children’s homelessness status is almost always “hidden." Architecture and design can play a vital role in addressing social inequity by creating improved living environments for the houseless community through adaptive reuse of underutilized space situated within dense urban areas with the greatest access to resources to support these families, evoke feelings of comfort, security, and hope.

The following thesis accommodates three basic needs of homeless families: …

A Day Stood Still, Yuting Sun

Masters Theses

The Brooklyn Navy Yard is an important industrial historic site in New York City. It was established in the 1810s as a private shipyard and became a military property in the late nineteenth century. It provided significant production capacity for the Pacific battlefield during World War II. After the war, the entire campus closed in the 1960s as military orders declined and transportation changed. The Brooklyn Navy Yard was later sold to New York City and repurposed.

After the city government took over the park, unlike other industrial sites that were developed as real estate, manufacturing is still the main …

124 Notebooks, Andrea Lerner

Theses and Dissertations

124 Notebooks is a documentary about Brazilian architect and urbanist Jaime Lerner.

In 2010, two Brazilians were included in the TIMES Magazine list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, the ex and now re-elected president, Luiz Inacio da Silva, known as Lula, and the Architect and Urbanist Jaime Lerner. Lerner was listed among the 25 most influential thinkers for his 40 years working with urban sustainability, starting in the 1970s with his urban revolution of a once obscure city in Brazil, Curitiba. Curitiba is where I am from; Jaime Lerner is my father.

In 124 Notebooks …

Designing For Mass Customization Housing Through Generative Design, Tania Salgueiro

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research proposal aims to investigate computational design strategies for sustainable, affordable, and more equitable housing. The study will focus on the use of generative design tools, such as parametric modeling, rule-based modeling, and optimization, to aid architects and designers in creating custom housing complexes for single families in small and medium urban lots. The goal is to develop a computational method that considers sustainability, affordability, and long-term usage parameters to create housing designs that meet the desired spatial qualities. The research question asks how generative design tools can support designers in approaching affordable housing given the increasing demand for …

A Narrative Research Study On How Brazilian Women Executives Build A Sense Of Community And Belonging When Transferred To The United States, Silvia Regina Siqueira

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to the American Immigration Council (2021), 14 percent of the United States population is foreign-born. Immigrants have enriched American culture and enhanced our influence in the world. People feel a need to belong and have an inherent desire for deep, lasting, and meaningful connections (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Research suggests that humans are fundamentally and pervasively motivated by a need to belong and the desire to form and maintain enduring interpersonal attachments (Allen, Kern, Rozek, McInerney & George, 2021). These authors also define immigrants’ sense of belonging in terms of how they make sense of their social identification with …

Guiding The Future Of The Cache County Fairgrounds, Logan Hall

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

The County fairgrounds have been a fixture in Cache Valley, Utah for over 100 years. They provide a valuable resource to the community. Effective planning can ensure the appropriate use of this public asset and prevent underutilization. Modern design guidelines have been developed for other fairgrounds in the Intermountain West, but not the Cache County fairgrounds. This research is focused on developing a contemporary visioning plan to guide the growth and future of the County fairgrounds, create design guidelines for future development, and maximize the fairground’s economic potential. The methodology used to develop this plan involved an extensive review of …

We Are Gullah: A Community Approach To Preserving Gullah Geechee Historical Sites Of Significance, Peter Gaytan

All Theses

The National Register of Historic Places is an inventory established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 that identifies architectural and archaeological sites significant to American history. The National Register was created to encourage the documentation, evaluation, and protection of America’s historic resources. Over 96,000 historic properties, sites, and structures are currently listed on the National Register. Despite the number of historic places listed on the National Register there is still an overwhelmingly low number of sites listed on the National Register relating to underrepresented communities. This thesis assessed the definition of significance laid out in the National Register …

Making Nature Accessible: Building An Accessible Wellness Retreat Within Nature For People With Physical Disabilities And Their Communities, Jenna Morell

Capstone Projects

Nature impacts our lives in such a way that it can be incredibly detrimental to our health and wellbeing to be away from nature (1). Nature helps us heal faster, relax more, and just generally lead a more well-rounded life (2). It provides an opportunity to feel the sun on our face, breathe fresh air, and get the exercise we need. When deprived of these experiences, our bodies truly suffer (1). People with physical mobility limitations suffer from mental health issues at a much higher rate (3), this issue is often exacerbated by the fact that much of the built …

Arquitectura Agrourbana. Desarrollo De Un Centro Agrícola Para Alimentar Y Conectar Comunidades En Soacha., Santiago Felipe Mendieta Cristancho, Sergio Esteban Cardona Cárdenas

Arquitectura

En el contexto desafiante de Soacha, un municipio que enfrenta problemas críticos relacionados con la seguridad alimentaria y el bienestar comunitario, se presenta el proyecto de "Arquitectura Agro-urbana". Este proyecto consiste en la creación de un Centro Agrícola en el casco urbano de Soacha, con el propósito de abordar la problemática alimentaria y fomentar la interacción social. Soacha, caracterizada por un rápido crecimiento urbano, se encuentra en una situación donde el acceso a alimentos de calidad es caso. Esta propuesta busca no solo resolver esta crisis, sino también integrarse en la comunidad. La participación activa de la comunidad es fundamental, …

Strategies For Revitalized Immigrant-Owned Small Businesses To Sustain Growth Following Emergencies, Goi Jooyul Yol

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic revealed obstacles for immigrant small business owners (ISBOs) to sustain growth. ISBOs need strategies for growth sustainability following emergencies because United States immigrant-owned small businesses accounting for 28% of the main street businesses, declined by 36% in revenues between January to April 2020 due to the pandemic. Grounded in the entrepreneurial ecosystem framework and business continuity management model, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies four South Dakota ISBOs used to revitalize their businesses to ensure sustainable growth after the COVID-19 emergency. Data were collected by conducting semistructured interviews and reviews of organization …

The Lived Experiences Of Black Women Pursuing Managerial Positions In Corporate America, Edo Linette Branch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The cultural and historical background of Black women represents unique complexities in the journey to management. The specific problem was that Black women often faced more gender and racial biases while advancing into management positions in corporate America than their White male and female counterparts. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black women advancing into management positions who face more gender and racial biases than their White male and female counterparts in corporate America. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was the intersectionality of gender and race. The research question …

Exploring Secondary Teachers’ Efficacy In Using Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In The Classroom, Romanus Sylvester Leonce

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractCulturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) is an approach to teaching that emphasizes teaching within the culture of the student. Culturally relevant pedagogy is proposed to help African American students increase reading achievement, yet research shows it is sometimes unclear to teachers how to implement CRP in their classrooms. Understanding teachers’ efficacy in using CRP and perceptions of CRP is important because it has been linked to increasing student reading achievement. A basic interpretive qualitative study was conducted using Bandura’s social learning theory (SLT) . In this study, 10 secondary school teachers and administrators were interviewed. All the participants in the study …

The Lived Experiences Of Black Women Pursuing Managerial Positions In Corporate America, Edo Linette Branch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The cultural and historical background of Black women represents unique complexities in the journey to management. The specific problem was that Black women often faced more gender and racial biases while advancing into management positions in corporate America than their White male and female counterparts. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black women advancing into management positions who face more gender and racial biases than their White male and female counterparts in corporate America. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was the intersectionality of gender and race. The research question …

Arquitectura Para El Crecimiento Productivo Rural: Planta De Biotransformación De Residuos Orgánicos A Proteína Animal, Karen Valentina López Vanegas, Natalia Bernal Montoya

Arquitectura

El Municipio de Icononzo, Tolima tuvo un papel importante en la época de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Colombianas (FARC), debido a que funcionaba como corredor estratégico para conectar diferentes zonas del país, por tal motivo luego de la firma del acuerdo se generaron lineamientos para alcanzar una paz estable y duradera. Hoy en día funciona como un territorio que acoge a comunidades en proceso de reincorporación. Proyectos productivos como la mosca soldado negra son creados por la comunidad reincorporada que reside allí, por ende, la investigación tiene como propósito estudiar las problemáticas espaciales, culturales y socioeconómicas en el territorio para …

Centro De Memoria, Educación Y Reconciliación Reuniendo Fragmentos En Icononzo, Camila Andrea Martínez Díaz

Arquitectura

El municipio de Icononzo, a pesar de poseer abundantes recursos naturales y un potencial para el desarrollo social, enfrenta un conflicto interno generado por el abandono estatal y las secuelas del conflicto armado colombiano. Esta situación ha limitado las oportunidades educativas y laborales, y ha dado lugar a la intolerancia y tensiones entre los reinsertados y la comunidad local; además de una decadencia en la calidad de vida de ambas partes. Este proyecto tiene como objetivo diseñar estrategias que promuevan la paz y la reconciliación, con el propósito de impulsar el desarrollo social y cumplir las metas establecidas por la …