Architecture Commons^™

Photography, Architecture, And Environment: An Architectural Analysis Of Edward Ruscha’S 26 Gasoline Stations, Rebecca Tonguis

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

This presentation explores Edward Ruscha’s photobook 26 Gasoline Stations through an architectural lens. Specifically, it treats Ruscha’s work as historic evidence of how consumption, industry, and commodity have infiltrated all kinds of environmental contexts through architectural manifestations. Known for being the first artist’s book, 26 Gasoline Stations ambiguously exists as both fine art and documentation of everyday conditions, with the overall graphic character highlighting its perceived focus on overarching narrative. Since gasoline stations are the primary subject of each of the 26 photographs, the subject of this work is arguably architecture, suggesting that the historic relationship between mass gas consumption—or …

Park Access And Quality In Mountain West Cities, 2023, Maryam Raja, Julia Salangsang, Vanessa M. Booth, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet presents data from a 2023 publication from The Trust for Public Land ParkScore® Index1 which provides data on public parks for the 100 largest cities in the United States. The fact sheet includes park scores for the cities in the Mountain West states of Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. This fact sheet expands upon a previously published fact sheet on park access and quality from 2020.

Urban And Community Tree Cover In The Mountain West, Zachary Billot, Zachary Walusek, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet examines data on tree cover and impervious cover in urban land for the United States and for the five states in the Mountain West: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The original report includes data for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Toxic Glacier: Confronting Our Society's Consumerism Culture, Valeria Otero Lopez

Architecture Senior Theses

This thesis is situated in the scenario of a dysfunctional society in which States refuse to cooperate with one another, and every State refuses to import NYC’s waste.

I’m proposing the implementation of a waste treatment plant that processes waste into a “Toxic Glacier” in Central Park, which was originally developed as a place to escape from the overcrowding and polluting streets. Because of the tremendous size this would conquer, there is nowhere in NYC to execute the project but the park.

This project uncovers the City’s hidden motives for concealing waste from its inhabitants. It questions the City’s intentions …

Law School News: Joyce And Bill Cummings Of Cummings Foundation To Deliver Keynote Address At Rwu Commencement 4-20-2023, Jill Rodrigues

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Attitudes, Perceptions, And Walking Behavior In A Chinese City, Yingying Lyu, Ann Forsyth

Geography & Planning Faculty Publications

Introduction: An increasing number of studies discuss the relationship of walking with attitudes and perceptions. However, the findings are not consistent, and few studies have examined the relationship between walking and attitudes to overall mobility and multiple modes. In this paper, we contribute to these debates by exploring the relationship between walking for transport and broad attitudes to urban mobility and transport modes. Methods: Using a clustered random sample survey conducted in a second-tier city in China (N = 1048), we hypothesized that people with different attitudes have different amounts of walking for transport. Data analysis methods involved descriptive statistics, …

Landfill Suitability Analysis Using Gis (Geographic Information System) And Ahp (Analytic Hierarchy Process): A Case Study Of Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, Sunah Moon

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses and Student Projects

The objective of this study was to identify and prioritize the potential sites that are the most suitable to host landfills using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. First, the criteria that influence in a decision-making process of landfill placement in social, environmental, and physical perspectives were established, and the area was assessed based on the grading structure of each criterion on a scale of 0 to 10. The second step was the main process for the study using the AHP. Thirty-two experts who work as planners, engineers, landfill staff, and environmental …

Growth: Expanding The Nature Of Cities, Collin R. Meusch

Masters in Architecture Program: Theses

This thesis aims to define and explore why it is absolutely necessary for cities to accommodate higher densities of people and incorporate the natural environment within the built environment. As urban populations continue to grow at rapid rates, the threat of losing our ties to the natural environment looms on the horizon, but presents architects with an opportunity to help combat this problem. This thesis aims to critically examine strategies for rethinking the architecture of cities, strategies that include both accommodating higher numbers of people and presenting people with the opportunity for frequent exposure to nature within the context of …

Architecture Of Narrative, Yinem Day

Architecture Senior Theses

A historic building should be adapted to the existing context and its character should be encouraged to evolve and transform. The addition and intervention to existing building is an inventive and creative process which provides great opportunities to transform an obsolete building into a propelling agent through particular ways, although at the same time restricted by numerous limitations. Architecture should become a tool of highlighting the relationship between the old and new and a bridge that connects the past, present, and future, becoming a point in the timeline of a place and culture. Also, visual storytelling displays a history of …

School: A Community And Environmental Resource, Samantha M. Kelley

Architecture Theses

Schools play an important role in the lives of children, and can play a larger role in the broader community. Throughout history, schools have existed that have been connected to the environment, whether it was to simply provide children with the opportunity to spend time outside, or to teach students about the natural world. With the state of climate change that exists today, connecting students to the environment is of utmost importance. Students must understand the environment, in order to appropriately understand the threat of climate change, and ultimately take action to combat it.

Schools are an ideal location to …

Architectural Ecotone: The Edge Effect, Holly Metzger, Tara Nuqul

Architecture Senior Theses

This thesis aims to study the relationship between architecture and its environment. Specifically, this thesis will explore symbiotic relationships between architecture and surrounding ecosystems in many different terrains. Iceland presents a particular important case for this idea because it is a hotbed of geological activity. The country itself is a patchwork of desert, glaciers, geysers, lava fields and active volcano, which has led to Iceland developing intelligent systems of vernacular architecture throughout history to mediate this environment.

This thesis studies systems of domestic vernacular architecture by examining the qualities and characteristics of craft, materiality, structure, and a symbiotic relationship to …

What You Don’T See, Brent Sturlaugson

Architecture Faculty Publications

Follow the supply chains of architecture and you’ll find not just product manufacturers but also environmental polluters and elusive networks of financial power and political influence.

Challenging The Pattern, Gary Thurston

Architecture Thesis Prep

Christopher Alexander and Yona Friedman suggest the architect is necessarily limited in his or her ability to construct the built environment for all people, or should be limited in favor of participation of the non-architect. While I agree that all parties of the world should take part in design and construction, I assert that architects through their training are better equipped to design and construct our built environment and in this sense, I am directly challenging the claims made by Alexander, et al.

Regenerative Refugee Housing: Creating Temporary Housing With Low Environmental Impact, Erika Guldner

Architecture Thesis Prep

Refugee settlements often have a negative environ­mental impact; by promoting options for sustainable development from the outset, this can be avoided. A plan for a refugee settlement was made, along with a plan for the individual residential units. To expedite the construction process, units were divided into compo­nents. These components could be easily assembled on site. Once the refugee settlement is no longer needed, components can be used for other purposes, such as, affordable housing or the components themselves can be broken down to be either recycled or used for other purposes.

A Simulation-Assisted Workflow For Outdoor Thermal Comfort Design In Downtown Syracuse, Pouya Zhand

Architecture Senior Theses

Cities are not just about the buildings and skylines. Cities are also about the space be­tween buildings (the ground in figure-ground). More importantly and fundamentally cities are about people and the life that happens between buildings. Simulation tools can inform the design of attractive public spaces by pro­viding insight about the environmental conditions.

Sustainable Architecture Design: Environmental And Economic Benefits, Michael Babcock

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis examines the movement of environmentalism, and its impact on architecture and construction. During an interview with a professional architect, a basis for research of sustainable design was devised, when he explained that “good” architecture attempts to holistically integrate the external and built environment. Presently, the main measurement for sustainability is energy efficiency. Therefore, architects constantly implement new technology in an attempt to unify both the external and built environment in an energy efficient manner. Furthermore, this thesis provides an environmental and financial cost analysis of implementing sustainable design and build. Research shows that the life cycle and up-front …

Memory + Architecture | The Act Of Forgetting, Mariel Mora Llorens

Architecture Senior Theses

This thesis proposes the activation and repurposing of buildings associated with traumatic memories as a means of studying the ways in which architecture embodies memories and aids in the process of forgetting. Architecture and the built environment are linked to the creation and recollection of memories because they trigger four of the senses that are related to memory.

To forget is an active, not passive endeavor. Conscious forgetting is not an act of erasing memories, but transforming them by removing the emotional responses that are produced by our recollection of these memories. Like memories in our brains, buildings that have …

Sustainable Architecture Design: Environmental And Economic Benefits, Michael Babcock

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis examines the movement of environmentalism, and its impact on architecture and construction. During an interview with a professional architect, a basis for research of sustainable design was devised, when he explained that “good” architecture attempts to holistically integrate the external and built environment. Presently, the main measurement for sustainability is energy efficiency. Therefore, architects constantly implement new technology in an attempt to unify both the external and built environment in an energy efficient manner. Furthermore, this thesis provides an environmental and financial cost analysis of implementing sustainable design and build. Research shows that the life cycle and up-front …

Divisible Cities, Noel Brady

Other resources

No abstract provided.

Affect Of Space: Nature Connectedness, Christian Lee

Architecture Senior Theses

This research will be mainly focused in promoting connectedness with nature through control of light. The “house” will be used as a connector in restoring the relationship. It is because the “house” is not just a shelter, but something more. It is the place where people, consciously and unconsciously, engages with one’s inner mind. It is not only “a machine for living in”, but also a connector linking between the inner world and nature. It is full of sensual quality which could mentally affect dwellers. However, the consequences of modernization are driving people’s focus away from material object of aesthetic …

Towards A Collective Spatial Form:An Analysis Of Achill’S Deserted Village, Noel Brady

Conference papers

This paper examines an earlier study by Bob Kingston and along with onsite observations develops an environmental theory behind the particular siting and location of the deserted village in Achill, Ireland. The paper relies on the survey conducted by Kingston in the first instance but then by translating the material into a different format has concluded on statistically significant evidence of willful and careful planning and design in the construction of the houses.

Neutra's Pedagogic Designs, Sarah Sheridan

Conference papers

Richard J. Neutra’s seminal model schools are generally disregarded in critical literature, yet the underlying preoccupations were significant. Based on exploration of contemporary themes in medicine, education and architecture, one favoured preoccupation of Neutra’s is nature. He concludes that its potency is manifold, suggesting that exposing children to nature in an experiential way could contribute to their health, well-being and education. His model school design became the idea manifest, placing particular responsibilities on the form to achieve these ideals. However interrogation of Neutra’s forms in context reveals a lingering sense that the ideals are not always achieved. Neutra suggests particular …

Encouraging Creativity In The Workplace Through The Physical Environment: Focusing Of The Office Workstation, Dale R. Landry

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

People can be creative anywhere but how can designers and organizations encourage this process to occur at an office workstation through the physical work environment? This four stage study investigated what Interior Designers, experts in a field that judges creativity, felt they needed to enhance their creativity while occupying a workstation in a commercial or home office.

An exploratory mixed method of social science qualitative and quantitative research was employed that applied methodological triangulation validating the data through cross verification of codes produced through the narrative process that were perceived to influence the creative phenomena in office workers. In stage …

Environmental Architecture: Environmental Discovery Center On The Woonasquatucket River, Nathan Bonaiuto

Architecture Theses

The Woonasquatucket River Environmental Discovery Center (WREDC) is a place where students of the environment can enjoy a natural space within their own community. It provides a much needed connection to a site which, for far too long has been off limits to the community. As a potential learning environment for young students, the WREDC becomes a platform for a sustainable lifestyle. In this place we learn about the past, connect it to the present, and allow for change in the future.

This thesis is about making these connections of past and future through the current constructs of the Social, …

No Child Left Inside: Environmental Education Through A Reciprocal Relationship Between Architecture And The Natural World, Leah Kleinman

Architecture Senior Theses

"Through a reciprocal relationship between architecture and the natural world, this thesis contends that environmental education programs can teach children to appreciate and preserve our natural environment. Architecture becomes an instructional tool itself and a way of experiencing the natural world while sustaining it and providing a healthy and comfortable setting in which to learn and have fun."

Building A Sustainable Housing Environment, Shanna Telesco

Architecture Thesis Prep

"There are three major factors being studied throughout this exploration: sustainability, housing, and the environment. Each factor can be carefully examined separately under its own terms, but ultimately, the goal of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of their possible integration within the processes of architecture.

My housing project seeks to integrate and improve the existing methods of sustainability that have evolved in architecture by carefully considering renewable resources found in nature, especially the sun, air, and water."

Green Reintroducing Nature To The City, Andrew Cunneen

Architecture Thesis Prep

"The architecture of present day America reflects the way in which we give little consideration to the impact that built forms have on the environment. American cities are expanding beyond their former limits into the natural environment previously untouched by built form. It is important for us to foster a sense of environmental concerns in an age of increasing development and advancements. While technology continues to progress it seems that these advancements are applied to everything but architecture. We have designed ways to get more mileage out of a tank of gas, and created appliances that reduce our electric consumption, …

Public Private Partnerships And Sustainability Principles Guiding Legislation And Current Practice, Brenda Ryan

Reports

No abstract provided.

Preliminary Assessment Of Client Interest In And Needs Of The New England Environmental Finance Center, New England Environmental Finance Center, University Of Southern Maine

Planning

The New England Environmental Finance Center (NE/EFC) has been conceived as a knowledge-based clearinghouse, training, and change-agent program aimed at helping EPA's constituencies find financially successful approaches to environmental improvements. The NE/EFC will develop approaches to needs of particular priority in New England and potentially useful throughout the nation; share such approaches through the EFC national network; and help make tools from that network accessible throughout New England. In 1999 we began exploring with potential users how this ninth of the nation's EFCs might best address the region's needs. The assessment continued through the Muskie School's EFC proposal to EPA …

Urbanism - Toward A More Humanized Environment, Norman Pressman

School of Architecture - All Scholarship

Pressman discusses the nature of urban environments and the implications for Human interaction and occupation within them.