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Full-Text Articles in Architecture

Coliving: Bringing Social Spaces Back Offline, Helen Dymek Jul 2023

Coliving: Bringing Social Spaces Back Offline, Helen Dymek

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The way in which we construct our built environment defines how our community will engage with one another. Social spaces are the key to creating a healthy community. However, today, we are in crisis. In a society which is built on the pillars of freedom and independence, our social spaces are dying out. Social isolation is on the rise, a problem only accelerated by the recent pandemic. Today, many Americans (and much of the world) seek social connection through a screen. Instead of getting to know our neighbors, we spend more time watching videos of or talking to people who …


Stories Untold: Riddim Of A Contemporary Creole Architecture, Rolando Joseph May 2023

Stories Untold: Riddim Of A Contemporary Creole Architecture, Rolando Joseph

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis is about my interest in the architectural identity within the tropical region, specifically in the Caribbean on the island of Grenada. In this region, colonial and modern architecture have proliferated, often without adequately considering the local environment and its unique contexts. The people of this region have a distinct rhythm of life and a genuine appreciation of their local environment. This cultural rhythm can be seen in the annual celebration of the traditional carnival, filled with colorful costumes, jab-jab mas, and parades that bring the streets to life.

The intent of this thesis is to question the current …


Safer Favelas Through Urban Redevelopment: Keeping Kids Of The Street, And Away From Criminal Life, Thayna P. Rocha May 2023

Safer Favelas Through Urban Redevelopment: Keeping Kids Of The Street, And Away From Criminal Life, Thayna P. Rocha

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis investigates the complexity of a favela’s physical and social environment , and how urban redevelopment can improve crime prevention for youth .Favelas are informal settlements lying on the outskirts of brazilian cities. The favela of Grajau is located south of the city of Sao Paulo, and it is known for gang related violence, and high crime rates. Statistics show that an average of 240 homicides happen in the district of Grajau. Out of these 240 homicides, 104 are teenagers that were involved in gang related fights. A favela’s urban setting, and its’ lack of social programs have a …


Adaptive Assemblies: A Scalable Solution To Atlanta's Housing Crisis, Claudia Aguilar May 2023

Adaptive Assemblies: A Scalable Solution To Atlanta's Housing Crisis, Claudia Aguilar

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Our home city of Atlanta is experiencing levels of growth that surpass anything we have witnessed in the last century. It is projected that within the next ten years the city will grow by 2.5 million people to a population of 7 million. With the surge of population influx reaching a record high of 2% growth per year, the available housing is practically bursting at the seams. Supply is low and demand is high. In effect, the average one-bedroom apartment runs for 1,800 dollars per month. The city is desperately seeking new opportunities to provide affordable housing at an expeditious …


10 Minute City -Reinventing Ways To Move Around The City Via Scooter, Emily Melchor May 2023

10 Minute City -Reinventing Ways To Move Around The City Via Scooter, Emily Melchor

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Urban sprawl is an issue that many major cities in the United States are experiencing. The population rise in cities has contributed to their rapid growth, increased traffic, pollution, and the reliability on cars. These issues can slowly be tackled by addressing them in areas that are on their way to reaching the height of urban sprawl. An example of such an area is Gwinnett County located northeast of Atlanta. Gwinnett County is on its way to becoming one of Georgia’s most populated counties, according to MARTA Transit System. MARTA did such studies on Gwinnett because in 2018, MARTA along …


The Dwelling And The Shed: Redefining The Homestead, Ryan Mattox May 2023

The Dwelling And The Shed: Redefining The Homestead, Ryan Mattox

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The homestead is the frontier of exploration. It is the place that shows people can take care of themselves through self-sufficient means. This place also looks at making a more sustainable population. That is partly due to the individual needing to take care of the environment around themselves so that the environment can provide for them.

My thesis project will look to create a technological and sustainable residential module that can be replicated and modified to create community based on self-sufficiency by means of sustainability. To achieve this goal, my thesis will look at combining the architectural elements of the …


Accessory Dynamic Unit - The Accessory Home To Meet The Needs Of Our Time, Ryan Cheape May 2023

Accessory Dynamic Unit - The Accessory Home To Meet The Needs Of Our Time, Ryan Cheape

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Today, young professionals face increasing debt and uncertainty after graduating, elders aging in place are stuck with homes not suited to their lifestyle, and the rental market is becoming an essential source of income. The Accessory Dwelling Unit represents a solution to these societal issues. ADUs are separate units on the same lot as the primary home while containing full living functions. Space efficiency is paramount; therefore, each facet of the design needs to be multifaceted and reconfigurable. The idea stems from precedents throughout the 20th century, whether Corbusier’s “Machine for Living” to the work of Reyner Banham and Richard …


Storytelling Through Design: Using Elements Of Storytelling To Inform Architectural Narratives, Yonni Baker May 2023

Storytelling Through Design: Using Elements Of Storytelling To Inform Architectural Narratives, Yonni Baker

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Architecture along with other types of media, like films, novels, and games are all representational art forms that incorporate storytelling. However, in the field of architecture the art of storytelling could suggest a transformation into an idea of possibly making grand and shallow statements, and not taking into account the engagement between the user and the design. In recent time there have been architects who have addressed this issue and established standards of how architecture weaves in narrative and have even made comparisons to the other types of media. An example would be Narrative Architecture by Nigel Coates where he …


Architecture And Harm Reduction : An Unconventional Approach To Detox, Anna Studdard May 2023

Architecture And Harm Reduction : An Unconventional Approach To Detox, Anna Studdard

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Harm reduction is a principle that stems from countries like Denmark and Switzerland, that implements strategies to encourage safer drug usage, abstinence, and education for users. The National Harm Reduction Coalition implements nationwide programs for substance abusers, such as Syringe Service Programs, rehabilitation programs, detox programs, housing programs, drug testing facilities, services assisting sex workers, and administering Narcan for overdoses, to try to minimize some of the tragedies accompanying substance abuse. The counterpoint opinion of some countries or states is that providing services like needle exchanges and testing centers are encouraging drug usage and doing more harm than good. However, …


Reinventing Greyfields, William Jones May 2023

Reinventing Greyfields, William Jones

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Since the 21st century began, sports involvement within society has grown as sporting events have become significant spectacles. Thus, major stadia came to be to hold spectators. Unfortunately, many are on the city's outskirts due to the size of their parking lots, categorized as greyfields. Greyfields are 'Underused' land or a 'sea' of asphalt concrete. The problem of creating greyfields within cities harms the urban fabric and the actual relationship between the stadium and the city. They are creating a disconnection between the two. This proposal is to design an urban hub around a chosen existing stadium to enrich the …


Urban Integration, Daylan Cowart May 2023

Urban Integration, Daylan Cowart

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Human Scale has been incorporated into urban design for a long time. Now it seems as though the urban environment is going away from that. Buildings are getting taller, spaces are being designed for the sky and not the ground. This thesis will study and test ways of designing for pedestrian comfort, safety, and interaction, while activating an existing public space.


A Floating City_A Solution To Rising Sea Levels, Dalavanh Thanasouk May 2023

A Floating City_A Solution To Rising Sea Levels, Dalavanh Thanasouk

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Floating cities can be a solution to the rapidly rising sea levels (SLR) due to global warming. Today our coastlines and major cities are flooding due to SLR with tropical storms, flash floods, and heavy rainfall. These events are demolishing our current infrastructure and causing lives to be swept away underwater. The sudden shift in climate change demands our buildings to adapt. Land reclamation is a short-term solution to consistently flooding coastlines and eroding waterbeds. Flooding has caused communities to migrate to major cities, making them even more overcrowded. Expanding real estate on water is the only feasible option to …


Enabling The Intellectually Disabled Mind Through Architecture, Edward J. Voorhees Iv May 2023

Enabling The Intellectually Disabled Mind Through Architecture, Edward J. Voorhees Iv

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

According to the World Health Organization, roughly 10% of the world population live with mental disability or impairment (Fujira, 2005). For the intellectually disabled, finding a purpose and independence as one transitions into yound adulthood can prove troublesome given their unique shortcomings. In 2015, it was estimated 80,000 intellectually disabled adults were held on waiting lists for residential placement in government-funded programs that could take up to 10 years to complete. Autism Speaks approximates that this number will increase by half a million in that same time span (Lutz, 2015). A greater initiative must take place to assist these individuals …


Moving Gardens: Self-Sustaining Small Scale Housing, Shai Nibbs May 2023

Moving Gardens: Self-Sustaining Small Scale Housing, Shai Nibbs

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

In recent times, Tiny houses have become very popular and “the vast majority of tiny homes, 86%, are THOWs, or tiny houses on wheels” (Summers 8). Tiny houses on wheels often employ systems to allow for off-grid uses (such as solar panels or rainwater collection) but usually have a small capability to store fresh foods, which ties the user back to the grid through frequent store visits or hinders them in food desert areas. Food deserts are areas where low-income individuals need easy access to food retailers or supermarkets. In 2019, “17% of Americans were considered low-income and had little …


Wasteful To Useful: Investigating The Metamorphosis Of Textile For Construction Methods, Elizabeth Rodriguez May 2023

Wasteful To Useful: Investigating The Metamorphosis Of Textile For Construction Methods, Elizabeth Rodriguez

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Every year, the average American generates over 80 pounds of textile waste. Since the 1990s, consumer behavior has shifted as mass production of items has become the norm. Production of clothing alone already impacts the environment as it requires immense amounts of chemicals, energy, water, and other natural resources. So, when consumers throw away clothing and brands decide to discard overproduced items, it ends up in landfills where it takes over 200+ years to decompose. Furthermore, a large percentage of unwanted clothing will be sent off to third-world countries to try to resale or recycle. Yet, the amount being imported …


Lightning Up Lives - Architecture As Conductor, Andrea Suros May 2023

Lightning Up Lives - Architecture As Conductor, Andrea Suros

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Over the last eight years, millions of Venezuelans have had to get used to living between blackouts and electricity rationing. The causes of the crisis are multiple and complex and differ depending on whom you ask. The government rejects that there are problems in the electrical system and attributes the cuts to alleged sabotage, and the rationing to the drought and excessive demand. Electrical engineers attribute power outages to power generation deficits, on the one hand, and lack of system maintenance, on the other. Because of the situation with the electrical resource, the government shuts down the power for four …


Symbols Of The Sacred, Jonathan Leroux May 2023

Symbols Of The Sacred, Jonathan Leroux

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

In collaboration with the The King Center and Freedom Hall, Mountaintop Exhibition Hall is embedded in the heart of the Sweet Auburn District of Atlanta, in the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park. This center for creative expression honors artistic exhibits and performances dedicated to the nonviolent movement against injustice. This new intervention in the historical park promotes societal transformation and recurring visitation from the greater arts community.

This development began with research into phenomenology, with emphasis on an experiential approach to architectural design. Sensuality of experience lead to an exploration of Khôra: the third place; being beyond …


Embedding Wellness Center: An Architecture That Promotes Healing And Well-Being, Kathryn J. Folger May 2023

Embedding Wellness Center: An Architecture That Promotes Healing And Well-Being, Kathryn J. Folger

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Environmental stressors and psychological torments make going about daily life unbearable to handle for many within the United States. The attention and concern for mental health continues to rise, but there is a larger need for resources and infrastructure to give action to conversation. To address the residual statistics of anxiety and mood disorders from COVID-19, this project will offer an architecture which enables the healing process to begin and extend beyond the tangible limits of space. Mental health facilities can provide that environment. This facility will offer an environment of community specifically for those who deal with anxiety and …


Manufactured Exurbia, Elijah Swift May 2023

Manufactured Exurbia, Elijah Swift

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This project redefines the identity of the manufactured housing typology by conceiving of more adaptable structural configurations which provide a framework for breaking the conformity of mass production and mass consumption to give the residents true economic prosperity through control of the 3-D manufacturing process of their homes. Manufactured housing, formerly known as mobile or trailer homes, is one of the most vulnerable housing types in the United States during a severe weather event. This is due to the mass industrial production of a structural composition that is rather suited for permanently fixed construction, leading to fragility in their assemblage …


Chattahoochee River Front Design: Sustaining A Lost Culture Through Environmental And Social Stewardship Of Native American, Dalvin Ross May 2023

Chattahoochee River Front Design: Sustaining A Lost Culture Through Environmental And Social Stewardship Of Native American, Dalvin Ross

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

How vital is Native American culture in understanding the history and synergy between the social, natural, and built environments? The identity of indigenous people in North America has been stripped and forgotten over years. It is critical to promote rediscovering their ideologies through the establishment of a cultural center which features the architectural contributions of the Native Americans. This undergrade thesis focuses on the city of Atlanta, which has cultural remnants of the first inhabitants of this land. Still, it’s relevance in the community or architecture in Georgia is often overlooked. The Chattahoochee River is a natural tourist attraction, located …


Urban Anchors: Reviving The "Motor City", Alan Mota Lopez May 2023

Urban Anchors: Reviving The "Motor City", Alan Mota Lopez

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Currently, there are several large post-industrial cities around the world that are ridden with abandoned industrial buildings, these cities have also gone through a constant decline in population and culture while at the same time the rest of the world has done the opposite. The question at hand is what can be done for these cities to catch up with the successes of other major neighboring cities. The existing infrastructure and buildings left behind by these industries hold a great potential for re-development into proposed districts which would span a couple of blocks along a main street. The primary function …


Analogous Architectural Habitat, Brandon Watkins May 2023

Analogous Architectural Habitat, Brandon Watkins

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The rapid expansion of the urban landscape is destroying habitat and displacing native populations of organisms at an alarming rate. Disrupting bird migratory paths and the danger glazing poses to birds, lowering soil and water access, reducing pollinators are among the large number of issues caused by large buildings. Today's built environment accounts for 39% of carbon emissions globally and it is thought that by 2050 two thirds of the world's population will inhabit urban environments. This all means we must design structures that meet energy requirements while not just thinking about humans as the only occupants. It is our …


The Integration Of T.O.D. Principles In Relation To Built Form: Connecting Suburbia And Urbia, Kim Yen Banh May 2023

The Integration Of T.O.D. Principles In Relation To Built Form: Connecting Suburbia And Urbia, Kim Yen Banh

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Automobiles have been a growing part of our lives. We are left with the consequences of their effect on urban and suburban forms that are detrimental to human accessibility. Atlanta, deemed the poster child of urban sprawl, has made a major impact on neighboring cities, including Marietta, Georgia, which has a population of 60,687 (Data USA). Due to Marietta’s rapid urbanization and population density, the city will need to increase its accessibility and develop sustainable opportunities to meet residents’ needs.

As the city’s population grows and major universities such as Life University, Gwinnet College - Marietta Campus, and Kennesaw State …


Sustainable Urban Community, Camilo Gonzalez Contreras May 2023

Sustainable Urban Community, Camilo Gonzalez Contreras

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Atlanta has evolved into a single-occupant vehicle city resulting in downtown blocks devoid of any semblance of community and higher greenhouse gas emissions. In 1991, leading up to the 1996 Olympics, Marvin S Arington announced plans to demolish Techwood Homes, which at the time was the oldest federally subsidized housing community in the US (Marvin S Arington, 1991). Many other low-income housing developments were demolished during this time, including homes located in what is now Centennial Park. Program block voids began forming where black communities had previously stood. Corner stores, pharmacies, family practitioners, restaurants, and bars were replaced by a …


The Bahay Kubo Alternative, Reesa Winters May 2023

The Bahay Kubo Alternative, Reesa Winters

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis “The Bahay Kubo Alternative” aims to create an architectural solution that successfully provides alternative building methods, materials, planning, and strategy for current and future stilt homes in the Philippines.

The goal is to increase the longevity of stilt homes and give the residents a sense of ownership and belonging. Moreover, it incorporates adaptable design strategies that take future community growth as well as health & wellness into consideration. This thesis proposes modular stilt homes with alternative structures and designs to prepare the residents for natural disasters and provide them with cleaner environments.

Slums are a sad result of …


Filling The Gaps, Sam Walden May 2023

Filling The Gaps, Sam Walden

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Urban fragmentation caused by The Interstate Highway System’s top-down integration into Atlanta’s urban fabric can be redeveloped into a hub of pedestrian use and connectivity. This project seeks to address urban fragmentation by reprogramming existing architectural infrastructure into a symbiotic system of adaptive reuse and new development capable of growing between selected nodes to reclaim the many void spaces left in the wake of The Interstate’s planning and construction. To avoid past failures, we must ask, How can Atlanta’s existing architectural, infrastructural, and cultural capital be redeveloped to convert the divisive urban condition of our city’s roadways into a connective …


Modular Adaptivity : The Plug-In Apartment, Bryce Stegmayer May 2023

Modular Adaptivity : The Plug-In Apartment, Bryce Stegmayer

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Within current architecture, many buildings are seemingly just copies of an original design that hasn’t changed in the slightest in ages. It will be placed on a site and left there to fulfill its single purpose. When this purpose is done, the building will become vacant and will be an everlasting mark of how we don’t think ahead. I’ve come to know these buildings as “one and done” architecture. They are a contradiction to the concept of sustainability and lack any foresight for their future impact. This thesis is an approach to make a change to this previous way of …


Mutualism In Architecture, Tj Rottenberg May 2023

Mutualism In Architecture, Tj Rottenberg

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Mutualism is a term more commonly used in Ecology and can be defined as the relationship between organisms of differing species in which each benefit. In Architectural terms, Mutualism can be defined as the relationship between differing owners, buildings, typologies, or programs in which each benefit. A relationship already exists in many forms, but not always in a mutually beneficial way. I propose that architecture be designed and built in such a way that physical architecture relates to its surrounding infrastructure in such a way that creates a system or an ecosystem that is mutually beneficial.

In nature there are …


Remedy Space: A Children's Interactive Hospital Retreat, Ivanna Rodriguez May 2023

Remedy Space: A Children's Interactive Hospital Retreat, Ivanna Rodriguez

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

According to the American Cancer Society, the rate of childhood cancer is increasing, and about 10,470 children will have been diagnosed with cancer in 2022. Patients who respond best to treatment and recover faster are those who feel most comfortable in their environment. This success is a result of a mental and emotional response to the natural and built environment. How can an environment that is full of stress, anxiety, sickness, and sorrow allow any patient to feel comfortable? Hospitals are typically understood as environments where these intense negative occurrences happen and become places of low morale and mental health. …


Choreographic Urban Space, Maria Fernanda Lopez May 2023

Choreographic Urban Space, Maria Fernanda Lopez

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Plaza Baquedano is a major historic landmark located in the center of Santiago Chile. It has been the center point for all the mass gatherings in the city. For instance, people gather to celebrate large events such as Independence Day, have community dance performances, celebrate a soccer game victories and they also gather to stand up for what they believe in. Ever since the end of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973-1990), the people of Chile have been protesting for economic equality, affordable health care, educational rights and also for the 3095 men and woman that have disappeared during the dictatorship. After …