Architecture Commons^™

An Adaptive Reuse Strategy: The Jerome Academic Commons, Lucas Hartman

Honors Projects

The William T. Jerome Library has towered over the campus of Bowling Green State University for over 50 years and while the academic and campus landscapes have changed greatly over those years, the Library has not always been able to keep pace with those shifts. After a study of the application of Architectural Adaptive Reuse on college campuses, it was determined that the Jerome Library could be a good candidate for this as well. Following a qualitative research study of interviews with Library and University staff, a conceptual design proposal focused on resources and collaboration was presented showing there is …

The Sea Ranch: Unforeseen Failures And Statewide Successes Of An Ecologically Conscious Coastal Community, Robert Daley

Senior Theses

The term “residential development” or “planned community” brings to mind images of a stereotypical suburbia. The planned community of The Sea Ranch, along the Sonoma County coast in Northern California is a direct challenge to the suburban ideal. Construction of the nearly 1500 homes began in the late 1960s and continues to present day. All of the homes must meet specific design requirements including being ecologically sound and they must fit within the landscape. The strict architectural elements is what provides the distinct look of the community. The construction of a housing development along a ten-mile strip of untouched and …

The Aesthetics Of Frank Lloyd Wright’S Organic Architecture: Hegel, Japanese Art, And Modernism, Kenneth Charles Dahlin

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

THE AESTHETICS OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE: HEGEL, JAPANESE ART, AND MODERNISM

by

Kenneth C Dahlin

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2018

Under the Supervision of Professor Robert Greenstreet, PhD

The goal of this dissertation is to write the theory of organic architecture which Wright himself did not write. This is done through a comparison with GWF Hegel’s philosophy of art to help position Wright’s theory of organic architecture and clarify his architectural aesthetic. Contemporary theories of organicism do not address the aesthetic basis of organic architecture as theorized and practiced by Wright, and the focus of this dissertation …

Audio To Architecture: House Music As A Form Generator, Polina Timchenko

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Contemporary music undergoes similar process of creation to that of the design process through computation and variation. House music as a representation of contemporary culture has a layered structure that allows specific characteristics to identify it as house music. Song components can vary and mix in different orders that form new dynamic compositions. I am going to explore the idea that every house music component can be translated into geometry with the use of parametric design techniques.

Frederic Lindley Morgan : Gentleman Architect And Reluctant Modernist., Lisa Grace Carpenter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Frederic Lindley Morgan, a major architect in Louisville,Kentucky, was born in Loda,Illinois in 1889. Morgan, in partnerships with other architects throughout his career, designed a variety of projects including homes, schools, churches, commercial buildings and even an airport. Morgan worked up until he died, in 1970, in Louisville. What makes Mr.Morgan's work distinctive is not the timelessness of his designs, nor the fact he was dubbed "Louisville's society architect," nor his lengthy 50 plus year career. Morgan had the ability to take his training, in combination with his talent and savvy business sense, and work successfully in a variety of …

Design Guidelines: A Practical Guide To Preserving The Historic, Cultural, And Architectural Heritage Of Gladewater, Texas, Conor Herterich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In October of 1930, Columbus Marion Joiner’s oil rig, “Daisy Bradford No. 3,” blew a gusher of oil high into the East Texas sky. The subsequent storm of economic activity that resulted from the discovery of the East Texas oilfield irrevocably changed the built environment of many small towns in the region, including Gladewater, Texas. Oil money that flowed into the city funded a flurry of building projects in the 1930s and 1940s that left an indelible mark on the landscape of Gladewater’s downtown area. Unfortunately, a lack of oversight, planning, and guidance has since led to the deterioration of …

Architectural Synergy: A Facility For Lifelong Learning In Academia And Practice, Ryan Rendano

Masters Theses

Historically, a disconnect has existed between the education and practice of architecture. Architectural education has long prided itself on the value of creative problem-solving, research, and the fine arts. In contrast, the practice of architecture has evolved to emphasize technical knowledge, specialization, communication, business, and collaboration. This disconnect has led education to miss opportunities to teach students business skills and knowledge required for the workplace, and allowed practice to lose sight of the importance of artistry and research. Architecture educators, students, and practitioners each have a unique set of knowledge and skills to offer the other, and a corresponding set …

Authentic Learning Environments: Designing A New Standard For Public Education, Stephanie Griffith, Stephanie J. Griffith

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The intention of this thesis is to explore the architectural problems of public primary school learning environments and propose possible solutions. This thesis draws from various public blog and public web article accounts and experiences of those working in or studying the institutions of primary education and the problems they are struggling to address. The architectural focus brings to light that while most educators argue that teaching can happen anywhere, this body of research will propose an optimal learning environment in which a set of ideal values are defined as authentic learning and is used to encourage and support a …

'Geaux Guard' And The Shift To The All-Volunteer Force: The Economics Of The Louisiana Army National Guard, 1973-1991, Titus L. Firmin

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

After the Vietnam War, increased defense funds assigned to the Army National Guard stimulated and supported small communities in Louisiana. Recruits from economically depressed regions lined up to join the Guard because of the competitive pay and the generous education benefits it offered. In the mid-1980s, when a state budgetary shortfall threatened to limit the stream of federal funds and close local armories, communities in Louisiana rallied to keep the doors of their armories open. This paper examines how the readiness efforts of the Louisiana Army National Guard affected the economies of small communities as defense dollars increased following the …

Profanation, Tsahi Zac H. Hacmon

Theses and Dissertations

This paper attempts to provoke an Israeli American dialogue that comes through profanity of conventional architecture. I am creating this dialogue by displaying two main subjects in proximity to each other: border architecture from Israel and institutional architecture or non-places in New York.

Surveilled, Rachel Swetnam

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Debord's "Society the Spectacle" and Delouze’s Deleuze's "Society of Control" both imagine a dystopian future for humanity in a world governed by excessive self-advertisement and mass surveillance. This thesis begins with the observation that, sadly, their two visions have become a reality. Current technologies log our movements through GPS satellite data, and photographs taken by closed-circuit security cameras, or by passers-by on a public street, are constantly cross-checked against databanks of previously-compiled biometric profiles. Every movement and transaction is digitized and recorded, accessible to ever-widening networks of information exchange and surveillance. These data-networks are altering the manner by which people …

This Is Not A Memorial, Kaitlin Burger

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

After the Vietnam / American War, both lives

and land were left devastated and still remain

scarred, acting as a tangible memory of the

violence that occurred on Vietnamese soil.

Craters the size of lakes cover the countryside.

People live daily with the injuries and birth

defects resulting from malicious warfare. Though

the fighting is over, the suffering is not. Also

left behind were thousands of pounds of unexploded

ordinance embedded into the landscape, waiting to

resurface. In many unfortunate cases, the

curiosity of children has lead them to these

brightly-colored objects and, thus, their death.

My architectural installation will …

Fault, Katharine Fritz

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

3,000 people died, 80% of the city was destroyed. On the morning of April 18, 1906 an estimated 7.9 magnitude earthquake echoed through the city of San Francisco. Waterlines, having been destroyed during the quake, resulted in a fire that engulfed the city and burned for 3 days after.Its epicenter was 3 miles off the coast of city surging waves of destruction from this center, this is the site of the first phased memorials designed along the San Andreas Fault system. This kinetic landscape of the San Andreas Fault stretches the length of californias coast continuously destroying and taking lives, …

Bio-Architecture Feedback Loop, Nicole Samuelu

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Biomimicry is the imitation of the models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems. There is an incredible opportunity for architecture to use biomimicry as a model for design in which a resulting architecture can become an operating part of its environment. While this project will consider the efficiency and beauty of nature, those elements will not be the focus. This thesis will aim to create a more cohesive relationship between architecture and its environment by treating the human-made structures as if they were a participating member of its habitat and part of the …

The Hutongs Blooming 08, L Khawn Din

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

China’s rapid development has altered the city’s landscape on a massive scale, continually eroding the delicate urban tissue of old Beijing. Such dramatic changes have forced an aging architecture to rely on chaotic, spontaneous renovations to survive the ever-changing neighborhood. In addition, poor standards of hygiene have turned unique living space and potential thriving communities into a serious urban problem. Hutongs are gradually becoming the local inhabitants’ dumpster and the haven for the wealthy. The hutongs blooming 08, will be inserted into the urban fabric, structure like clouds, attracting new people, activities, and resources to reactivate entire neighborhoods. They exist …

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 …

Interlace: Designing An Inclusionary Architecture For Alzheimer's Sufferers, Alexander Fashinasi

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis intends to address the increasing challenges the Alzheimer’s disease poses for our growing American population. The research begins by looking at the brain as a combination of components which make up the individual. Following this, the research compiles information on the Alzheimer’s disease and its symptoms, followed by an analysis of the built environments effects on the condition.

Through analysis of precedent cases and the combined Alzheimer’s research, I chose to propose an experimental community in which those with Alzheimer’s can live a life with greater autonomy while simultaneously slowing the progression of the disease. I place this …

[Re]Defining Chandigarh, Dhruvee Patel

KSU Journey Honors College Capstones and Theses

Chandigarh is the first planned modern city in India as a symbol of nation’s faith in the future designed by Le Corbusier in 1951 in the East Punjab. Through investigation it became apparent that Le Corbusier proposed design principles for Chandigarh that were already theorized for Bogota in Colombia and Marseille in France following his concept of Radiant village that was never built. His design for Chandigarh was more of a prototype model, which failed to capture the spirit of Indian culture and community, making it harder to navigate and familiarize with the city. If architecture is a reflection of …

Civil Architecture: The Neglected Youths (Adaptive Re-Use And Sustainability), Victor Chibuzo

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Civil architecture for the neglected youths is an attempt to address a social issue of the growing homelessness youth population through architecture in Atlanta Georgia region. Architecture establishes a platform to influence the way in which we interact with one another; However the commercial architecture of the 21st century has forged a boundary that encourages segregation of economic classes. These issues are apparent in gentrified areas. Characteristics of most of these gentrified communities include: sustainable designs, high standard of living, safety, etc. Sustainable designs can provide long run savings and cost-effectiveness in home energy usage but are mostly applied in …

Industrial Issues & Architecture, Nhac Le

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Thesis Summary: Industry-The economic activity concerned with the processing of massive raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories- has been created in the developed country in the 19th century. Because of the priority in the economy, Industry has been shifting around the world where it could take advantage of cheap raw materials, labors and open policy to growth. The rush of industry has been created a lot of negative impact on society and environment in developing countries. This thesis position itself within the realm of physical relocation of Western industry to propose an architectural and infrastructural response that raises …

Reawakening Quality In Architecture: A Contemporary Idiom Of Pattern Language, Christopher D. Richardson

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

“Life peeks out of a thousand masks, One of these is architecture.”

As technology advances forward architecture has continuously tried to find its place within the production of each new technology. This has led to thinking of architecture as causalities as an attempt to make it closer to a production line of efficient outputs. This has caused the problem a lack of evocation, the poetics, connection to memory, the idea of mind, body, and spirit being captured in the design.

This inquiry began by looking at a missed opportunity within Christopher Alexander’s work A Pattern Language. Pattern Language introduced the …

Geofutures L Urban Integration, Adam Leicht

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Bring nature back to the city. Integrate neglected migration patterns in sprawling cities such as Atlanta. Mend urban fragmentation. The purpose is to make a cleaner environment in the city. My project looks at the Anthropocene as a fence. And how place has been fundamentally “displaced”. Resulting in a boundary or separation between man and nature. To study and research the Anthropocene (age of man) and how man has taken over as the main force behind the change of the environment. Looking through an architectural lens of ecology, how can we use this lens to help us slow down society …

[Re]Defining Chandigarh, Dhruvee Patel

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Chandigarh is the first planned modern city in India as a symbol of nation’s faith in the future designed by Le Corbusier in 1951 in the East Punjab. Through investigation it became apparent that Le Corbusier proposed design principles for Chandigarh that were already theorized for Bogota in Colombia and Marseille in France following his concept of Radiant village that was never built. His design for Chandigarh was more of a prototype model, which failed to capture the spirit of Indian culture and community, making it harder to navigate and familiarize with the city. If architecture is a reflection of …

Transfused Architecture: Ascent Of A Developing World, Sandy Ferrier

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Because there is a lack of adequate health care facilities in developing countries, there is a substantial amount of unrealized, optimal health gains and effective, architectural interventions which are not fully realized. With 80% of its population living below the world poverty line, Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere. The United Nations Development Program’s 2014 report shows the extents of poverty at 75% mainly in the rural areas of Haiti. Only 25% of households benefit from adequate sanitation, thus people become more susceptible to infections and diseases. Reoccurring natural catastrophes have also dented the country's …

Fringe To Focus - An Inversion Of Peripheral Inhabitation, Matthew D. Mckim

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

A major issue currently facing Atlanta and many growing cities is the issue of displacement as a result of redevelopment. As cities grow and improve, homeless individuals living on the fringes of society are being forced to vacate and move on.

My thesis aims to identify areas where struggling people are at a heightened risk of being further displaced by the rapid redevelopment of ‘fringe’ areas. It seeks to provide a proactive response to mitigate the harm, while aiding in an active rehabilitation process for effected peripheral communities. I am proposing the concept of temporary centers that can be established …

Cultivated Edge: Mediating Rural And Urban Gaps In Informal Settlements, Camila Hellebuyck

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Usually when you think of agriculture, you think of a farm, of production and of profitability and not on how can cities benefit from these practices, specially informal settlements. Urban agriculture is practiced almost as a hobby in industrialized nations, but it’s a response to a need in developing countries. In the case of Ciudad Bolivar, an informal settlement on the edge of Bogota, Colombia, urban farming resulted from food scarcity and poverty. The project develops design placemaking strategies aimed at improving the built environment and, as a result, the social cohesion of the neighborhood. The thesis proposes a community …

Architecture Of Adaptation: Structure In Nature, Salman Sajwani

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The concept of a piece of architecture taking on adaptive qualities is based on the ability that a system can effectively respond to the environment and the evolving programs. Architects strive to create designs that respond to external changes, creating a challenge with kinetic and the immovable aspects of a building, which can be identified as the systems of walls, ceilings, and columns. This system however, creates the foundation of a successful built environment but also hinders the adaptive and flexible qualities. These systems are implemented permanently and confined to the site and program that has been defined to them. …

Modulating The Craft, Lee Martin

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Technology has brought a new paradigm to the act, art and Craft of Making. Digital technologies that utilize optimized production tools have transformed the traditional paradigm of the design-build construct. As new technologies have developed, most makers disregard the tools and skills of the past. Neglecting traditional craft has given rise to the term “fabrication.” Fabrication is a method of constructing which can be described as the absence of soul and character, in other words, one that is disposable in a contemporary culture. This thesis problematizes a design process between the Craftsman of pre-twenty-first century tool making, and those of …

Shrinking Cities In The Rust Belt: An Ecological Urban Design Intervention In Cairo, Illinois, Dakota Lewis

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Shrinking cities are those which have experienced sustained depopulation over time. This phenomenon typically occurs in industrialized countries around the world as a result of economic downturn, social tension, or climate related change. When depopulation occurs, remaining communities are often met with unsustainable conditions as they are forced to function in a city designed for many times their population. While these conditions could be seen as negative, this design thesis aims to re-frame urban shrinkage as a condition that reveals unprecedented sustainable design opportunities. The United States Rust Belt region contains many shrinking cities such as Cairo, Illinois which due …

The 21st Century Energy Hub, Farhaan B. Samnani

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Developing countries face problems like pollution, unsafe construction, poverty and lack of clean stable energy. These areas are the most in need of sustainable and net positive design since they lack the resources to design long-term solution. An architecture that can make energy affordable through onsite rapidly renewable resources, help reduce on site pollution and provide stable housing would be a welcome intervention. As we approach the new century, buildings will aim to become an energy hub. Cities do not look at a building as an energy source. Currently Energy production centers sit on the outskirts of the city. But …