Architecture Commons^™

Rethinking Human-Local Wildlife Relations, Yin Chan

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

The plight of suburban wildlife receives considerably less attention than that of exotic or endangered species despite facing similar threats due to the decline of their natural habitats as humans expand upon them. From the perspective of a reflective practitioner, this paper provides new avenues to rethink current views on human-local wildlife relations and answer some of the difficult questions surrounding the topic. The methodology of Action Research is employed to explore concepts relevant to human-local wildlife relations. A synthesized practical framework integrating Action Research with Permaculture Design is proposed to create models for mutually beneficial coexistence between local wildlife …

Reimagining The Role Of Physical Space In Future Human Thriving, Adrian Young

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

As a positive psychology practitioner and residential planner, I divide energy and effort into two distinct fields; one focused on human welfare and the other on optimal aesthetics and functionality of our physical surroundings. This text explores a philosophical shift in motivation for space design prompted by the experience and new potential that result from COVID-19. Rather than space as a means to epitomize style and serve utility, I urge considering the full complexity of the human experience and what would be most conducive to general well-being as a new leading priority. What influence can environmental design bring to generalized …

Constructing Spaces, Deconstructing Meaning: An Examination Of Architecture And Labor At A 17th-Century New Mexican Ranch, Katherine A. Albert

Graduate Masters Theses

There are few archaeological studies of the architecture of 17th-century New Mexican ranches (estancias) due to the paucity of surviving examples. Even fewer archaeological treatments of architecture from 17th-century New Mexico consider the cost of constructing estancias in terms of resource and labor extraction. Using a variety of methods to analyze archaeological evidence from LA 20,000, as well as comparative research of reports from other 17th-century colonial sites, this study presents a hypothetical reconstruction of the three main structures at LA 20,000—the house, the barn, and the corral—and provides estimates of the total quantity of materials and labor needed to …

Design For Living Complexities, Peter J. Taylor

Working Papers in Critical, Creative and Reflective Practice

Lectures from a 12-session course that addresses the intersection of design with critical thinking. Design in this course means intentionality in construction, which involves a range of materials, a sequence of steps, and principles that inform the choice of materials and the steps. Design also always involves putting people, as well as materials, into place. This happens by working with the known properties of people, as well as the known properties of material, and trying out new arrangements to work around their constraints (at least temporarily). Critical thinking, as I define it, involves understanding ideas and practices better when we …

Seeing Red: Characterizing Historic Bricks At Sylvester Manor, Long Island, Ny 1652-1735, Martin John Schmidheiny

Graduate Masters Theses

The goal of this project is to develop a basic material characterization of the bricks excavated at the site of Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island, New York. In the early Manor period of 1650-1690, this early Northern provisioning plantation supplied Barbadian sugar operations and pursued mercantile interests independent of state control. Accounting for the range of production defects and material characteristics of the bricks suggests on-site or local manufacture as a regional ceramic industry developed. Qualitative visual analysis and petrographic thin-sections were used to characterize the internal composition, variation and production evidence in the bricks. Interpreting the results of this …

Data Recovery Excavations Of The Carriage House, Greenhouse, And Greenhouse/Carriage House Well At Gore Place, Waltham, Massachusetts, J.N. Leith Smith, Christa M. Beranek, John M. Steinberg, Michelle G. Styger, Heidi Krofft, Rita A. Deforest

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Excavations and ground penetrating radar at Gore Place in Waltham, Massachusetts, examined the original 1793 carriage house site, the 1806 greenhouse, and the greenhouse/carriage house well, all associated with Christopher and Rebecca Gore. The carriage house was moved in 1968, and its cellar was filled at that time. Mechanical removal of the fill in a portion of the carriage house cellar revealed that the lower portion of at least the rear (north) foundation wall is well preserved along with the cellar floor. Documentary evidence indicated that the carriage house cellar had been used for manure (compost) preparation, while the first …

Results Of Archaeogeophysical Surveying At The Great Friends Meeting House In Newport, Rhode Island, John M. Steinberg, Brian N. Damiata, John W. Schoenfelder, Kathryn A. Catlin, Christine Campbell

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Archaeogeophysical surveys were carried out in October 2010 over a 30 x 50 m grid that was established immediately to the north and west of the north end of the Great Friends Meeting House (GFMH) in Newport, RI. The surveys were conducted using a Geonics EM-38 RT ground conductivity meter and a Malå X3M Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system that was equipped with 500 and 800 MHz antennas. In addition, a resistance survey was performed over a much smaller central area using a Geoscan RM15 resistance meter. From this work three types of geophysical anomalies have been identified: those associated …

Loring-Greenough House, North Yard Archaeogeophysics, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, John M. Steinberg, Christa M. Beranek, John Schoenfelder, Kathryn A. Catlin

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

An archaeogeophysical survey was carried out in May 2010 using Geonics EM-38 RT and a Malå Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system with a 500 MHz antenna over an 28x26 m grid immediately northeast of the Loring-Greenough house in Jamaica Plain, MA. Three major anomalies were identified. These anomalies have not been ground truthed, but they appear to be archaeological features. First, we suggest that there is builders trench just north of the house. Second, we suggest that there could be three east-west garden paths or other landscape features about 30 cm below the surface crossing the entire length of the …

Documentary Research And Archaeological Investigations At The Waite-Kirby-Potter Site, Westport, Massachusetts, Katharine M. Johnson, Christa M. Beranek, Kathryn A. Catlin, Laura W. Ng

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Research on the Waite-Kirby-Potter house in Westport, Massachusetts, included mapping historical resources visible on the surface and excavating 25 test pits and units near the house foundations in the fall of 2009. Field investigations were complemented by extensive documentary research including a complete chain of title and genealogical research on the three families who have owned the property between the late 17th century and the present. The visible historical features include elements associated with the former stone ender (the standing stone end and chimney, an adjacent brick chimney, and a stone-lined cellar hole), stone walls, a 19th-century barn foundation, a …

Archaeological Site Examination Of The Field East Of The Grapery/Greenhouse, Drive Circle, Straight Walk, And South Lawn At Gore Place, Waltham, Massachusetts, J.N. Leith Smith, Christa M. Beranek, John M. Steinberg

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

A landscape restoration plan for the 45-acre historic estate of Massachusetts governor and United States senator, Christopher Gore and his wife Rebecca, recommended archaeological investigations to identify the location, character, and integrity of Gore-period features that could potentially be included in restoration efforts. Investigations began in 2004, focusing on better known landscape elements including the carriage drive, carriage house foundation, greenhouse, vegetable and flower gardens, and the site of the grapery/fruitwall (Smith and Dubell 2006). The 2008 investigations focused on the new site of the carriage house (reported under separate cover) and on lesser known elements of the estate that …

The Transitional Museum As Urban Parasitism, Jorge Capetillo-Ponce

Sociology Faculty Publication Series

In a recent talk at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, I presented to the public an initial approach to the concept of the Transitional Museum, one that I have developed over time in collaboration with Mauricio Rodriguez-Anza and Vivianne Falco. This concept grew out of our efforts at defining the main features and goals of the new Anza Falco Museum of Art and Design, and particularly out of our struggle with the word "alternative" as an all-embracing, defining category with the necessary components to project to the world a unique and interdisciplinary style both in its architectural form …

Athletics & Recreation Master Plan Sub‐Committee Final Report, Charlie Titus, Terry Condon, Chris Fitzgerald, Ken Mcbryde, Robert Burgess, Shaun Curry, Laurie Milliken, Chris Sweeney, Pavel Braude, Ryan Norton, Jack Looney, Susan Wolfson, Jain Ruvidich‐Higgins

Campus Master Planning Publications

In 2000 the Athletics & Recreation Department at UMass Boston Implemented a five year strategic plan that would more realistically align sports sponsorship with available financial and facility resources. We reduced the number of sports sponsored from 20 to 14 maintaining 7 sports for women and 7 sports for men. The only sports maintained without a facility were Men’s baseball and Cross Country Track. We eliminated football, swimming and indoor & outdoor track and field for men and women.

Since 2005 The Athletics & Recreation Department has been focused on University wide transition and planning efforts. In that period we …

Final Report Of The Information Technology Subcommittee For The Campus Master Plan, Apurva Mehta, Ramakrishna Ayyagari, Eric Berry, David Cesario, Christine Depalma, Peter Fejer, Meghan Flynn, Kitty Galaitsis, John Jessoe, Lusa Lo, Daniel Ortiz-Zapata, Virginia Perelson, Mike Pollard, Kathleen Polley, Jamie Soule

Campus Master Planning Publications

Through its work, data collection, outreach, and careful review of various studies and information, the committee is led to conclude that as it moves forward with implementation of its Master Plan, UMass Boston has a tremendous opportunity to plan for and design spaces that support and promote the learning, teaching, and research requirements of the campus community. It is hoped that the recommended guidelines and standards outlined in this report will assist and inform the planning and design of new and renovated campus facilities and specifically address the technological needs of classrooms, laboratories, offices, informal study areas, and social spaces …

Investigating The Heart Of A Community: Archaeological Excavations At The African Meeting House, Boston, Massachusetts, David B. Landon, Teresa Dujnic, Kate Descoteaux, Susan Jacobucci, Darios Felix, Marisa Patalano, Ryan Kennedy, Diana Gallagher, Ashley Peles, Jonathan Patton, Heather Trigg, Allison Bain, Cheryl Laroche

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

In collaboration with the Museum of African American History, an archaeological research team from the University of Massachusetts Boston carried out a data recovery excavation at the African Meeting House on Beacon Hill. The African Meeting House was a powerful social institution for 19thcentury Boston’s free black community. The site played an important role in the abolition movement, the creation of educational opportunity, and other community action for social and political equality. The Meeting House was originally built in 1806, and renovations in preparation for the 2006 bi-centennial celebration prompted an investigation of areas of the property to be impacted …

Report On The Archaeological Site Examination Of The Entrance Drive, Carriage House, Greenhouse, Vegetable Garden, Flower Garden And Grapery At Gore Place, Waltham, Massachusetts, J.N. Leith Smith, Gregory Dubell

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Alandscape restoration plan for the 45-acre Gore Place property in Waltham and Watertown, MA, calls for restoration of grounds, gardens and structures to depict and interpret the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century occupation of Massachusetts governor and United States senator, Christopher Gore, and his wife, Rebecca. The restoration plan includes archaeological investigation to help identify the location and integrity of six historically documented features on the Gore Place grounds. Blocks and transects of shovel test pits at 5, 10 and 20 meter intervals along with 1 x 1 m excavation units and trenching were employed in the archaeological site examination …

Phase I Archaeological Intensive Survey Of Hassanamesitt Woods Property, Grafton, Massachusetts, Jack Gary, Stephen Mrozowski, David B. Landon

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

The Center for Cultural and Environmental History conducted a Phase I archaeological intensive survey of the Hassanamesitt Woods property in Grafton, Massachusetts from October 2004 through January 2005. Documentary evidence has suggested that the property may contain remains of the church for the Praying Indian village of Hassanamisco, established by John Eliot in 1660. Historical deed research has also placed several Nipmuc families on the property in the early 18th century, suggesting the area was resettled by the original inhabitants of Hassanimisco in the aftermath of King Philip's War. Throughout the course of the 18th and 19th centuries the property …

Masscap And The Caa Role In Advocating For Change, Joseph Diamond

New England Journal of Public Policy

Cites the efforts of the Massachusetts Association for Community Action Inc. and community action agencies (CCA) to alleviate poverty in the state. Programs offered by CCAs that aim to improve the quality of life of low income people; Efforts of the organization to call for changes in federal and state policies directed to the poor; Details of several initiatives assisted by the organization; Support for the adoption of the Massachusetts Self-Sufficiency Standard.

Community Action In Massachusetts, Jim Canavan

New England Journal of Public Policy

Evaluates the contribution of community action agencies (CCA) in alleviating poverty in Massachusetts from its creation during the term of former U.S. President Lyndon Johnson until 2004. Description of the programs to the poor offered by CCAs; Operation of CCAs across the state; Affordable housing offered by the CCAs.

Archaeological Site Examination, North Yard Of The Loring-Greenough House, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, J.N. Leith Smith, Katherine Howlett

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

A phased program of stabilization and restoration for the Loring-Greenough House and property located in Jamaica Plain, a suburb of Boston, MA, called for reconstruction of porches, construction of an entrance walk and new foundations for the carriage house. This program also included landscaping and rehabilitation of garden plantings in the north yard. Archaeological testing was conducted to identify cultural resources that would be impacted by the proposed project and to search for evidence of early garden features that could be used to guide landscape restoration. The first phase of research focused on house porches, walkway installation and foundation work …

Managing Sprawl In The Land Of Unintended Consequences, Robert S. Bucci

New England Journal of Public Policy

Americans witnessing the bulldozing of their country’s pastures, farmlands, and sensitive habitats to erect suburban housing tracts and commercial centers have come to realize that the remaining open land may be too precious to waste. Residential and commercial development is no longer quickly embraced to stimulate economic progress and prosperity. Municipalities are learning that development often extracts a price — sometimes the loss of community character and local charm, sometimes tax revenues that fall short of increased expenditures, and sometimes just plain ugliness. Responding to the new reality, many community officials have initiated unilateral ordinances regulating the development of open …

The Legacies Of Deindustrialization And The Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, Douglas M. Reynolds

New England Journal of Public Policy

Creation of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and release of a master plan for cultural and physical resource development is creating a new standard for private, local, state, and federal partnerships. Actions by the Corridor's partners are shaped by both past and contemporary economic development issues. Using tools of humanistic inquiry — history, economics, preservation, sociology, political science — for social and economic purposes signifies far-reaching shifts and possibilities for public planning and policy philosophies in both public and private agencies.