Architecture Commons^™

Rehabilitation Of The Street: Design Strategies To Increase Diversity In Downtown, Atlanta, Abigail Akridge

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Streets in Atlanta have become exclusionary to one or more functions, uses, and communities. Streets dominated by a single demographic or function contribute to urban decline. Such streets lack diversity in activities and uses, leading to increased crime, decreased engagement, and a dying urban fabric. Architects play a crucial role in reversing this trend by designing with a focus on streets’ implications and the needs of diverse communities. By prioritizing diversity and inclusivity in street design, architects can foster a thriving urban environment. The goal of my thesis is to propose an urban design process centered on the street section, …

Beyond The Visual: The Impacts Of Urban Soundscapes On Landscape Design And User Experience, Beth Sipzner

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

The purpose of this research is to examine how visual stimuli affect an individual’s perception of the soundscape. Soundscapes are the acoustic environment perceived by people, whose character is determined by the action and interaction of natural and human factors (Maffei & Masullo, 2019), also understood as the overall sound environment perceived by people. By understanding user perception and preferences, designers can create more aesthetically pleasing spaces that align with the sounds of urban life. The research poses two questions: (1) What are aural and visual elements that impact urban soundscape experiences? and (2) How do aural and visual stimuli …

Making Pla(Y)Ces: Softening The City Through Play, Shivani Pinapotu

Masters Theses

Cities that grow naturally over time integrate spaces of gathering that allow for serendipitous happenstance. However, the cities we design today instruct and codify through intentional planning and design; they assign use, hardening specific function to place. Such strategies lead to spaces devoid of spirit, inculcating in city-dwellers to a sense of disconnect from the city.

In contrast to this, the places we make as children, express our intuitive, direct, and unselfconscious relationships with space and one other. These spaces embody softness through their malleability and adaptability, borrowing from the world around them and imbuing the ordinary with imagination. …

Public-Ish, Aliah Werth

Masters Theses

Climate change affects public space, and architecture must establish tenets that prioritize pedestrians in this difficult era. Greywater re-use can be a mechanism for creating shade, and in turn, public space.

As heat waves grow more intense, the vast swaths of asphalt that connect commercial zones pose greater risks to public health and to urban vitality. This thesis records the typical material, spatial, and lived conditions of strip malls in urban heat islands, and demands more from infrastructure in public-ish space.

Heat violence weaves through Los Angeles’ built form. Parking space minimums, required setbacks, and height restrictions pull buildings away …

Evanescent: Animating Space, Kyle Servando

City and Regional Planning

A redesign of the open space of The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA into an plein air gallery for the public to be their own artists.

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

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.

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 …

Asylum In America: Designing A Relief Center For Social Integration, Edgar Plascencia

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

On the east side of Atlanta, near Krog Street Tunnel, a Vacant Freight Container parking consisting of 70 acres divides local communities from one another. Also contributing to this divide in this part of the city is a major artery Dekalb Avenue as well as the major rail infrastructure that travels through Atlanta. Due to the Sites Elevated from the ground Concrete pad, this accentuates even more how this site is interrupting the local society in the area.

Since the area of this part of town is lively and flourishing thanks to markets, business, residency and the beltline activating the …

Festive Space, John C. Goddard

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Atlanta struggles with a challenge for its citizens in the form of pedestrianism. Over time, the city’s infrastructure has morphed into one that encourages vehicular movement. This leads to a breakdown in the use of streets for pedestrians outside of their strictly desired destination. Eventually this compounds to encourage against socialization. Furthermore, citizens may be affected mentally and emotionally when they come in contact with people less frequently. The design idea of this thesis revolves around creating incidental spaces in people’s path of travel that encourage stopping and even socializing. Revitalization helps not only the pedestrian scene, but also with …

Core Connections: Stitching Together The Heart Of Atlanta Through The Redevelopment Of Underground Atlanta., Amari Parrish

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The heart of Atlanta, a prosperous tourist destination brimming with life, has found itself containing areas that have been commercially cut off from inner-city connections in contradiction to being in a heavy transit area. Atlanta’s longstanding history of inhabiting smaller sub-cities inside a larger context that houses a constantly growing population has become overshadowed by traffic, underutilized spaces that create massive voids, and fragmentation which prevents the city’s unification. Core Connections focuses on creating a mixed-use development comprised of parking, retail, and office that reconnects the surrounding contents of Downtown Atlanta and repairs the area as the city’s core. Core …

Growing Pains: Toward A Coalition-Based Theory Of State Land Use Policy, Patrick Rochford

Honors Projects

In the decades following World War II, mass suburbanization remade the American landscape. While suburbs accounted for 83% of the nation’s growth between 1950 and 1970, cities bled their populations and natural resources dwindled. Treating the postwar era as a critical juncture, this thesis examines the political history of twentieth-century state land use policy to illuminate how competing interests have shaped policy outcomes across the United States. Specifically, the paper seeks to explain the passage of statewide growth management and smart growth programs. After providing a history of American suburbanization, the paper considers an emergent challenge to the postwar growth …

Rekonceptualizmi I Hapësirës Urbane Përmes Qasjes Minimalistike, Dardan Paloka

Theses and Dissertations

Zonat urbane janë një grup i ndërtimeve dhe hapësirave me aktiviteteve të ndryshme. Hapesirat e zbrazëta ndërmjet strukturave të këtyre ndërtimeve, shpesh shihen si efekt anësor, dhe mbesin te neglizhuara. Ky fenomen i gabur shfaqet si shkak i planifikimit të gabuar, menaxhimit të dobët të hapësirës ndërtimore, dhe koordinimit të dobët të ndërtesave me njëra tjetrën. Për shkak të mungesës së funksionit në këto hapësira, qytetarët tentojnë t'i përceptojnë si hapësira të vdekura dhe të pamundshme për tu shfrytëzuar¹. Duke marrur parasysh kërkesat e mëdha në qytet për hapësira të lira ku mund të mundësohet banimi, humbja e …

Projektimi I Ndërtesës Së Tipit Simbiotë “Symbiotic Tower”, Rrustem Gogaj

Theses and Dissertations

Njerëzit kanë nevoja të ndryshme të jetës, një vend për të jetuar, një vend për të punuar dhe një vend për të blerë. Larmia e këtyre nevojave ndikon në kërkesat hapësinore për aktivitete, atehërë në menyrë që të rritet efikasiteti i këtyre nevojave, nevojitet një hapësirë që është në gjendje të akomodojë disa funksione njëkohësisht. Projektimi i ndërtesës multifunksionale na bënë të mundur për t’i bashkuar disa funksione në të njejtën kohë në një ndërtesë. Duke dizajnuar një ndërtesë të tillë multifunksionale e cila synon të sigurojë një hapesirë që është në gjendje të përmbushë nevojat njerëzore dhe të sigurojë …

“Don’T Make Fun Of The Residents!” Revisiting The Sunbelt’S Vanishing Communities: Mobility And Suburban Development, 1900-1990, Jerry D. Wallace

History ETDs

“Don’t Make Fun of the Residents” examines home ownership and suburban development over the last one hundred years in the borderlands, American West, and Sunbelt regions. In this dissertation I argue that mobility shaped urban planning, neighborhood design, and architectural identity in the Sunbelt over the course of the twentieth century. “Don’t Make Fun of the Residents” places architectural identity at the center of this dissertation discussion to understand the origins of the Sunbelt as a geographic and intellectual space. I focus in particular on smaller cities in the intermountain West---New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, and California---an area that has …

Building With The Floods, Kim Khanh Quan

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Throughout Vietnam's wet season, flooding is a reality that residents face annually. Vietnam's wet season is known to cause serious detriment to communities, and severe weather conditions are becoming more frequent due to climate change. The annual high tides are rising every year. Flooding within dwellings can already reach up to waist or shoulder height and even beyond. Blocking the floods with dikes and other structures can only help to an extent. Water will go somewhere. Elevating a structure also has a limit - many residents have already elevated the ground level of their home to the maximum height that …

Proposal For A High Tunnel At Delaney Community Farm, Michael Rh Pham

City and Regional Planning

This paper is a case study of an urban agriculture operation in Aurora, Colorado that focuses on providing refugees with food and work that contributes to a sense of community connectedness and pride. The paper is also a proposal for a high tunnel system that could extend the growing season of the farm and provide unique opportunities for urban farmers to learn about emerging resiliency based food production practices.

Chinese Gardens: Solutions For Urban Nature Deficit, Zachary K. Warner

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

Research shows that time spent in nature is good for human health and well-being. However, as the world’s population becomes more concentrated in urban areas regular time in nature, especially extended time, is becoming more difficult to have. On the other hand, Chinese gardens can provide one solution to this problem because they have a unique way of providing a naturalistic space within a small area. Despite this fact, there aren’t many Chinese style gardens outside of China. Therefore, the objective of this thesis was to identify possible barriers to using Chinese garden design principles and construction techniques, then address …

Urban Inter-Space: Convergence Of Human Interaction And Form, Clayton Beaudoin

Masters Theses

How can the convergence of human interaction and form activate underused spaces and catalyze future community developments?

Architecture is defined by human needs, such as that of shelter, comfort, and place. However, we as humans have other needs; the need to create, to make, to play, to thrive, to inhabit, and to interact. The interaction between humans and architecture can serve as fuel to answer the question of how these ideas converge. This thesis examines the dynamic between humans and architecture, and how this interaction can catalyze future change by creating space and place utilized within the underused areas of …

The Yamanote Loop: Unifying Rail Transportation And Disaster Resilience In Tokyo, Mackenzie Wade

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

As climate change and population growth persist, and as the world rapidly urbanizes, major cities across the globe will face unprecedented strains. The risk of devastating impact from natural disasters increases in areas with a growing concentration of people. Megacities in Asia are the most at-risk of natural disasters, given their geographic location and high population density. With the highest projected population growth in the world, Asian cities must quickly expand and adapt their existing infrastructure to accommodate the transforming global conditions.

A remarkable anomaly amongst Asian megacities, Tokyo, Japan is effectively adapting to its earthquake-prone environment. Within the last …

Guaya Symbiosis, Diana Gil

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Located two degrees from the equator, west of the Amazon rain forest, and perched between the Guayas River and the Pacific Ocean, an Ecuadorian city named Guayaquil is home to the most bio-diverse environment in the world. In Red Book of Endemic Plants of Ecuador (2000), biologist Lorena Endara’s research was cataloged providing evidence that Ecuador has the highest concentration of species biodiversity. Based on this seminal report, the Ecuadorian government amended its constitution so the Red Book would be accepted as a governmental document, which was an important step for conservation planning and policy (2012). Unfortunately, the uncontrollable urban …

Inner City Artscape, Michelle Nguyen

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The research of this project deals with multiple disciplines such as art, culture, and social connection that ultimately benefits human development and well-being. Through the architectural urban design of the main street of Hapeville, GA, this thesis aims to solve the issues of vitalization and attraction to a main city street in a design of a residential community to activate public spaces through the work and input of the creative class and local community. Ultimately, this redesign of the main street will be a catalyst of economic growth and well-being of the local community, revitalizing a home into an urban …

Re-Place The Big Box, Matthew C. Harkin

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Within the suburban environment of the United States it is not uncommon to see a large big box store, centered upon the landscape without rhyme or reason in relation to the local physical or social attributes. These big box stores are not designed at all. They are cookie cutter buildings, copy and pasted structures that give no regards to their context. The mass is plopped onto the site, and surrounded by parking, roads, and barriers cutting the shopping center off from pedestrian access and its general surroundings. These commercial zones do not hold a sense of place, but rather are …

Intermodal Transit Terminal: Integrating The Future Of Transit Into The Urban Fabric, Guy Vigneau

Masters Theses

The very foundation of transportation relies on its ability to efficiently move people and goods through a transitional space. Transportation hubs are key to achieving this goal. However, many transit terminals are outdated or poorly designed to fit the needs of the modern world. At the core of this thesis are two overarching questions. First, how do we design intermodal transit terminals so that they successfully integrate into an existing urban fabric? Second, how do we design for innovative modes of transportation, such as hyperloop technology? This thesis explores how architectural design can recover existing transit connections within an urban …

Improving Bicyclist And Pedestrian Safety In Riverside, Ca, Ryanne Browers

City and Regional Planning

There is great potential within the City of Riverside to increase the number of pedestrians and bicyclists. Currently, the largest barrier to this increase is user fear for health and safety. The geographic location of Riverside, which funnels pollutants from the Greater Los Angeles Area into the region, contributes to the region having very few good air days. This creates a barrier between those who potentially would walk or bike from actually doing so due to health risks.

The City of Riverside has identified in its Bike Master Plan that it currently has twice as many bicyclists than the national …

Urban Stitch: A Game In Section, Jesse Garner

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

A city begins as a small, centralized community where everybody knows each other. Social events take place in the city square, or even on sidewalks, creating a street culture. As a city grows, so does the demand for larger roads, and eventually highways. In the late 1940’s President Eisenhower initiated the interstate system, capable of handling large amounts of traffic, creating connections to larger cities with economic centers. Over the next forty years, the interstates were installed across the United States, either bypassing, or crossing through cities. Although necessary, at what point does the interstate, if taken through a major …

Skater Conscious, Jeremy Bowen

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Skateboarding is made possible by the built environment, but without architecture necessarily being designed for its occurrence. Without knowing it, designers have created environments that facilitate a social and artistic culture to thrive. And this has happened – for the most part – in leftover pieces of landscape, infrastructure, and urban settings. Skaters move through and experience space in unique ways. While their boards enable this experience, there is more; most spaces are not designed for them – and some are even designed to keep them out – but, nevertheless, skaters persevere through invention and creativity. Skaters actively search for …

Little Big Planning: A Millennial Planner's Take On Small Town & Rural America, Jeffrey M. Setterlund

City and Regional Planning

When you work as a city or regional planner for a local community, the challenge is to find solutions to small town and rural problems without utilizing almost any of the high-density, mixed use principles you learned in university. However, what I have come to find is that what I thought was the most challenging aspects of my career is often the most rewarding.

Proposal For An Advanced Structural Elective Pertaining To Fire Protection, Avery James Kwong, Taylor Sanchez, Lindsey Macdonald, Alvaro Gonzalez

Architectural Engineering

ARCE 401 Fire Protection is a class that will finally give ARCE students an introduction to fire-resilience and its major importance in the structural and planning spheres. The class would have a structural emphasis along with interdisciplinary qualities, unlike the graduate classes offered in the CE and ME departments. ARCE 401 covers a broad spectrum of topics and is meant to bring ARCE students closer to a comprehensive understanding of the overall work environment.

Adhocracy, Sara Denney

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Adhocracy Sara Denney The Situationists of the 1960’s were cultural revolutionaries critical of passive consumerism and encouraged the reawakening of everyday life. In the spirit of the Situationists, and operating as an “ad-hocing” machine, this project proposes a machine to repurpose objects of everyday life -- reimagining what things might become and transcending limits of their inherent definitions. Why can’t a stroller be a shower head? Categories by default create opposing forces within a situation. Arthur Rimbaud, a French poet who influenced situationist thought, coined the quote “Il faut changer la vie”, “we must change life”. By freeing things from …