Architecture Commons^™

Agrarian Ruins, Zebulun J. Lund

Theses from the Architecture Program

This thesis is an investigation into the architectural value of agrarian ruins and aims to begin to communicate those through architectural drawing. In the 21st century, ruin obsession is increasingly aimed at ruins of a more recent time, often that of the dying industrial city. This study shares in the impatience and enthusiasm for ruins of the culture we live in and has turned to the ruins of abandoned farm buildings. Consequently, this has studied the potential values offered by barns, sheds, and chicken coupes, alike. This was accomplished first through countryside tours from locals in Gosper County, followed by …

Possibilities In Post-Digital Architecture, Kathryn J. Horn

Theses from the Architecture Program

This thesis aims to define and understand the post-digital within architecture, beyond its critical contribution to the realm of architectural imagery. The theory that is developed, argues that a post-digital practice of utilizing sourced material can contribute to the discipline of the design of architectural elements, components, and spaces as much so as it may contribute to the development of architectural imagery. Despite the atmosphere of difference that characterizes the contemporary debate over the definition of the digital condition, there is shared agreement that the post-digital indeed reigns as the hallmark of a contemporary era that establishes itself as after-digital. …

Reconstructing Space, Kaitlin L. Frankforter

Theses from the Architecture Program

This thesis will discuss spacial manifestations of the physical, phenomenological, existential, and imaginary.

I became interested in these spacial manifestations because of the lack of qualities I have personally experienced within “architecture”, notably local “architecture”. And I began to deal with these manifestations using 35mm film photography, for me using film and the camera allowed me to look at and understand what these spaces and qualities were really telling me.

This project has consisted of multiple performances with which I have deployed several traditional and non-traditional methods of working such as : slow moving drawings, full scale hard line drawings …

The Ne[X]T Generation Learning Environments: Influences On The Future Design Of Educational Spaces, Bryan Hill Perez

Theses from the Architecture Program

Over the past 100 years, there have been significant changes in many aspects of our lives, from the way we communicate to the way we work. One aspect that has seen minimal change is the way we learn – In classrooms with rows of desks and chairs facing the front, where a sole instructor disseminates knowledge the class as a whole. As the next generation of students is entering college, it has become apparent that there is a disconnect in the way this generation behaves, interacts, and learns and the typical school infrastructure and pedagogy of today. The design of …

Home-By Us: Togethernest Alternative Practice, Kristen M. Schulte

Theses from the Architecture Program

Responding to the affordable housing crisis, the proposed practice leverages tools typically associated with internet-based startups and technology companies to assemble teams and build efficiencies into the building procurement process. This approach facilitates access for an income demographic that would not normally engage an architect. Through a process like online dating, the practice assembles small groups of owner-developers to design, finance, and build their own homes. Participating households are advised on location and project approach based on their self-reported preferences; and matched with others with similar preferences. Collaborative mass customization of each home is achieved through a mix of online …

Retail Without Walls: The Built Impacts Of A Post-Spatial Retail Reality, Matthew Richard Kreutzer

Theses from the Architecture Program

Retail Without Walls: the built impacts of a post-spatial retail reality seeks out a better understanding of the physical outcomes of a retail environment that is rapidly changing and adapting to the demands of an increasingly digital consumer. As studies have repeatedly shown, foot traffic in malls and other physical stores continues to decline, which can be attributed to the rise of online platforms of retail.

Much of the thought going into the future of retail has been directed at understanding how the present store may adapt to suit the needs of a changing consumer buying process. Companies driving these …

[Un]Building The Rural: The Strategic Subtraction Of Sidney, Nebraska, Caitlin E. Tangeman

Theses from the Architecture Program

This thesis focuses on the decline of rural communities and how rural decline might be addressed through design.

Rural decline is a phenomenon affecting rural territories around the globe, including the Great Plains. Rural decline has been caused by a number of factors, perhaps the most persistent being the reliance on an economy that is not diversified. In the Great Plains, agriculture is typically the main source of economic income, with a significant portion of the region’s counties depending on agriculture. Mechanization of agriculture through increased technology has eliminated many jobs in the agriculture industry, since higher yields can be …

The Communication Of Design To Non-Experts: An Investigation Into Effective Methods Of Communicating Design Through Drawing Styles, Jerry M. Hiler

Theses from the Architecture Program

Communication between designers and their client has always been an essential element in the design of buildings and interior spaces. This communication occurs in various different ways, but the key method of a designer communicating their space is through their drawings. Clients come from many different backgrounds and many may not have the training or experience that allows them to fully understand what they are seeing in the drawings being presented and as such can be considered non-experts. A majority of drawings are typically presented and developed in two-dimensions which can be confusing for non-experts to understand since they rarely …

Architectural Presence, Kendra Lee Heimes

Theses from the Architecture Program

Architecture plays a fundamental role in the fight against language extinction. Not only does it house the effort to document and revitalize languages, it can create architectural presence (design that makes the invisible visible) that better enables minority language communities to narrate, remember, and communicate their stories, memories and histories while collectively building upon them. Creating architectural presence is crucial to the best outreach practices of language documentation and revitalization.

Changing Permanence, Matthew R. Kreutzer

Theses from the Architecture Program

Architecture and buildings are looked at as “permanent” and “stable” objects within society, and yet almost everything about them change over their lifetime. All the individual pieces that make up a building are replaced, renovated, or upgraded as time goes on and still the building as the whole remains. This interesting dynamic of a static object containing a constantly changing system is something often overlooked within the design process.

The majority of buildings today are made to suite the particular interests of the present with little thought given over to the needs of the future. This mentality has recently begun …

Architecture Through The Senses, Hannah E. Schurrer

Theses from the Architecture Program

Current academic environments do not allow Children with Sensory Processing Disorder(spd) to function at an appropriate degree. They are either isolated in an environment which caters to their needs or are vulnerable in the uncontrollable environment of the “real world”.

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a condition that exists when sensory signals don’t get organized into appropriate responses. It’s a neu­rological “traffic jam” that prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information needed to interpret sensory information correctly. A person with SPD finds it difficult to process and act upon information received through the senses, which creates challenges …

Transportation Urbanism, Shane A. Labenz

Theses from the Architecture Program

The purpose of this thesis exploration is to propose a new type of building development in order to enhance the abilities of the current building and transportation infrastructure so that it is better able to serve the future of the city. Therefore, the product of this thesis should be able to consider the projected growth of the city the development serves, and be able to reduce the effects of suburban sprawl by encouraging more dense development patterns at the periphery of the city.

The new development to be proposed should focus itself along unused or under-utilized land with direct connections …

Reprogramming Inner Suburbs, Matthew D. Goeser

Theses from the Architecture Program

The ramifications of suburban sprawl and the American dream are widespread and numerous. In a modern society where the preconditioned value of a three-car garage, large, private backyard and detachment from the city center outweighs the possible shortcoming of suburbia, there is an increasing need to reevaluate the way in which our cities grow. With suburbia already having a strong footing in the way that modern America operates, we have come to an age where it is more feasible to mend our cities through suburban intervention than reshape the entire system of American values. Urban sprawl has become a matter …

System Autonomy: A New Condition Of Space, Grayson D. Bailey

Theses from the Architecture Program

This thesis began with an interest in au­tonomous communities, and a question of how to consider and form the most basic meaning of ‘sustainability’, which is the ability to sustain. As simple as the word seems, the perspectives on how it is applied are diverse and connected to many abstract concepts, such as the ones investigated throughout this book. The expected resultant of the thesis was aug­mented multiple times, and the very scope of what was being researched also reori­ented based on the inevitable following of the rabbit hole.

The part and parcel of this work has a sense of …

Modern Vernaculars: The Utility Of Place-Centric Design, Christopher C. Rokahr

Theses from the Architecture Program

For the majority of human existence, vernacular evolution has been the primary means through which technology has progressed. Said progress is the result of a collective intellectual effort amongst generations of a specific people. The resulting vernacular artifacts are highly refined domestic objects of utility, reflective of the cultural practices and place centric stimuli from which they derived. Despite their modest appearances, the value of these vernacular objects in the greater scheme of human progress is undeniable. Given the value of their contribution, it is discerning that vernacular evolution has all but ceased in the developed world. The following thesis …

Workplace Ecosystem, Justin R. Langenfeld

Theses from the Architecture Program

The modern workplace is a fluid world that must react to quickly changing business, social, and technological climates. The most successful companies figure out ways to remain flexible by sharing resources and flexible workspace either with other companies or within the departments of their own organizations. While many small companies look to business incubators for such support, and large companies possess the infrastructure to create their own flexible work environments, there are companies in between that do not normally have access to such support systems. This project looks to create a “workplace ecosystem” that brings together such diverse company types …

The Contribution To And Affect Of Design And Architecture On Health & Activity Promotion (H&Ap) In The Workplace, Krystal L. Schumacher

Theses from the Architecture Program

Expanding the research and awareness on the contribution to and affect of design and architecture on health and activity promotion in the workplace (h&ap) is essential in moving forward in the design of working environments. As humans, we spend the majority of our time indoors, for an average American adult he or she spends the majority of the day in a working environment. The impact that our spaces have is much deeper than the aesthetic. Our environments can depict how we act, feel and operate based on the design of our surroundings. Through this research, the goal was to study …

Transforming Architecture: Engaging The Built Environment, Ryan G. Hier

Theses from the Architecture Program

Contemporary society is transfixed by the newest piece of technology. More often than not these devices serve as commodities; eliminating a certain amount of burden from daily life. The architectural realm is no different. Building design decisions are constantly scruti­nized by their ability to perform, with respect to energy consumption and conservation. However, there is a different type of building performance worth considering: the act of transformation. Transformable architecture has the abili­ty to change structure, space, and function through physical movement of the architecture.

In an age where technology suc­ceeds in disengaging humans from interaction with each other, it can …

Boomtown: A Momentary Community, Elizabeth G. Hawks

Theses from the Architecture Program

“Gillette Syndrome” describes a condition within a city undergoing rapid growth, usually due to the introduction of a new industry within the city or more specifically, the extraction of a newly discovered natural resource. Symptoms of the syndrome are an increase in crime and decay within a city and a decrease in community identity.

Global oil prices continue to rise as the resource becomes more difficult to extract from the earth’s layers. The new price of oil necessitates the extraction of crude through methods that were previously too expensive to justify.

These new methods are utilized for extracting oil in …

A Walk Around Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda, Daniel C. Scott

Theses from the Architecture Program

Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda aims to become a national center of distinction, a thriving new district in Bermuda, and a flagship in the economic regeneration of the West End. It will be a place unlike any other in Bermuda, offering cultural, residential, office and tourist amenities that are rooted in the fabric of Bermuda, and the diverse and vital history of the Royal Naval Dockyard.

Building on its history, and preparing it to fulfill its full potential for the future the Dockyard will need to transform to meet the changing needs of Bermuda’s economy. With a weakening tourist industry and …

Water And The Architect: Architecture As Decentralized Water Management, Daniel A. Williamson

Theses from the Architecture Program

Water is the essence of life, a material, a resource, a commodity. It is volatile, fragile, devastating, nourishing and is ultimately spatial. The design of how water spatially inhabits, flows, and interacts with our built life has seen many forms, functions, systems, failures and successes. Over the course of history those who have had the opportunity to define our relationship with water has spread across numerous disciplines, and touched many professions. The architectural relationship with water has seen an unfortunate bifurcation over the past two centuries. It is this separation of architecture from adequately and actively engaging water management, primarily …

Lexiconic: Reading The Edifice, Amanda L. Mejstrik

Theses from the Architecture Program

Language has undergone an evolution similar to architecture. Both have been defined through multiple styles which have a tendency to change and reestablish themselves based on popular culture, eventually permeating through society, while subsequently losing momentum and necessity. In the same way that architecture has transitioned through time based on a societal importance of efficiency, economy, and effectiveness, language begins to assume a new oratory standard.

Old English begat Middle English begat Modern English

Victorian Style begat Modernism begat Structural Expressionism

These entities have become representative of our culture throughout the ages and have reached a point of abbreviation so …

Terra[Form], Michael G. Harpster

Theses from the Architecture Program

This project generates an alternative model of high-density development for emerging metropolitan areas that increases the intensity of use and overall density of a site while simultaneously producing new types of public open space.

Focused intently on ways in which urban form influences or impacts a city’s consumption of energy and resources, the project can be understood as a formal approach to sustainability in which basic formal or tectonic properties are examined in favor of technological building systems.

Ultimately, the project redefines the relationship between the park and the city, creating a network of public open spaces through the intensification …

The Emergent In-Between, Gregory R. Gettman

Theses from the Architecture Program

As walkability becomes a more critical aspect of the organization of urban environments, it is essential that architects engage in the development of the spaces people actually occupy (the ‘in-between’) as well as the relationship between the programs they border. Using walkability as a catalyst, this thesis seeks to design a system for growing new urban tissue. Within that tissue are networks and proximities of activities that define the means and destinations of walking, as well as the spatial condition that makes the condition appealing for walking. Such a system should be able to define and optimize program organizations and …

From Carson Pirie Scott To City Target: A Case Study On The Adaptive Reuse Of Louis Sullivan’S Historic Sullivan Center, Lisa M. Switzer

Theses from the Architecture Program

This study provides an in-depth exploration of the adaptive reuse of one of Chicago’s most iconic structures over the course of a year from the Summer of 2011 to the Summer of 2012. The Sullivan Center was converted from a mid-scale retailer to City Target. Through extensive interviews with the Target development team, Chicago city officials, historians and Landmark Commission representatives this study documents the conversion and identifies the successes and opportunities of the project. The study follows the project from design development to completion, and provides insight on the local community perspective on the development.

Advisor: Mark Hinchman

Agri-Remnant, Audrey Burns

Theses from the Architecture Program

Along the lonely stretch of Highway 69 just west of the York and Seward county line close to Gresham, Nebraska, lies a site which has become of keen interest in my search. Two decrepit barns, placed irregularly on the site, have fallen victim to neglect. Most likely the owner of the land has erected newer steel structures to hold his equipment and is letting time be the only factor in the process of deconstruction to these barns.

Constructed entirely of lumber and fasteners, and constructed by the handiwork of the landowner, these barns are some of the few remaining salvageable …

Women's Specific Soccer Training Facility, Tockook Sabrina

Theses from the Architecture Program

My original intentions were to focus on healthy eating and designing a building that corresponds to the concept of cooking. Diving deeper into the concept I had come to discover the correspondence was not reaching the level that I desired. I knew that I enjoyed the concept of healthy nutrition, and exercise has been a constant theme in my life as well. This lead me to deal more stickily with nutrition and exercise.

Personally I have played soccer for 16 years of my life, and soccer was the first idea that came to my mind when thesis projects were first …

Harvester 1.0, Andrew Sorensen

Theses from the Architecture Program

One critical topic has always remained constant throughout the life of this thesis: efficient and multi-functioned urban land use.

It began with the questioning of golf courses and how much land they consumed for typically only a single, recreational function. After realizing the more direct and architectural programmatic relationships, the project shifted to the incorporation of farming into the urban environment while also linking it to today’s growing digital infrastructure needs. This thesis is a means of exploration through process and not necessarily an end result. The questions and potential that this project raises about the architectural relationships is what …

Altruistic Infrastructure, Derik Eckhardt

Theses from the Architecture Program

The evolution and expansion of cities necessitates a concurrent proliferation of the modern tools of growth. These tools, or infrastructure, are currently programmed to perform one functional operation, when in reality their presence alone brings forth consequences in our urban fabric. That is, they mark, divide, and obstruct movements in the city while simultaneously creating peripheral spaces of marginality. Furthermore, in developing countries cities struggle to expand while providing adequate infrastructure. The provision of infrastructure has the opportunity to be an architectural contribution beyond the current model of idiosyncratic structures.

How do pieces of infrastructure adapt to provide more than …

Vertical Void, Trumble Maura

Theses from the Architecture Program

As architects, we continue to add enclosed spaces to the market in every city on a nearly daily basis, yet millions of square feet of viable, designed space lie empty around the world. While the responsibility of the surplus of leasable square feet is most often assumed to be shouldered by the real estate market, as designers, we must as some point begin to ask ourselves if the blame for the continued ignorance of this issue of vacancy cannot be laid at our feet. Spatial needs change with the economy, technology, and social needs, but have they changed so much …