Architecture Commons^™

Applying Information Technology To Decision-Making: The Epa Geobook Applied To Greenway Planning, Margaret Ann Ely

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the role information technology could play in the planning process, by studying the role GeoBook played in its application to greenway planning. Technology has continued to advance through the years, so it is important that the planning process incorporates these technologies so as to become more proficient at making decisions. Because our natural resources are limited, we have the responsibility to steward them to the best of our ability and to make the most educated decisions possible. By incorporating modern science into land-use decisions, decision-makers can make more informed decision. This thesis …

The Portable Particular: An Integral Theory Of Place, Arthur Paul Butts

Masters Theses

Tadao Ando’s statement takes a step toward addressing the inherent paradox of the theory of critical regionalism: How to create architecture that is both universal and regional? In other words, how to create architecture that is both portable and particular?

The theory of critical regionalism evolved as a reaction to the architecture of the International Style. With an onslaught of International Style buildings beginning in the 1930s, the importance of creating a connection between building and site was lost. Ian McHarg states: “Architects since the outset of Modern architecture have been anti-ecological…the International Style proclaimed that modern buildings are all …

Building Perceptions, Andrew Michael Parks

Masters Theses

Throughout the histories of modern architecture and modern landscape design, two distinct yet broad schools of thought have existed: the intellectual, or rational, and the experiential, or empirical. Intellectual works require a previously acquired knowledge of the analogy, symbol or representation which was used to rationalize each design move. By contrast, in experiential works, human emotions and senses are realized and are given hierarchical precedence in the thought processes of design. The current growth of both techniques of presentation and representation via digital technology as a generative means of creating architecture has taken the inhabitants out of the design process …

Towards An Architecture Of Engagement, Cassius Merrill Moter Iv

Masters Theses

Architecture of experience transforms the user of a building into an active participant of architecture, reawakening the user to the built environment. The prevalence of architecture as a sign for the purpose of commodification has in part led to a “state of distraction” (Benjamin) that needs to be refocused to make more valuable constructs.

To make this transformation one must become, according to Rainer Rilke, “as fully conscious as possible of our existence.” Our lives are experienced in culturally constructed space, both physical and conceptual, yet based in the extramental. It is not merely a mental projection; it is based …

Weaving: Redesigning The Post Colonial Town Through African Cultural Traditions, Henry Walela Musangi

Masters Theses

“They [Africans] look upon their native arts and crafts primarily as the ‘locus’ of their national consciousness. In spite of a violent urge for the new, for progress and for high living standards, more and more of their valuable, innate culture and customs now are being reflected upon in new light, finding their own voice in the form of a new, healthy and surprisingly expressive art.”

“The ‘new’ is cleansed from any cliché imitating a style.

The ‘new’ does not evolve from cheap modernism.

The ‘new’ functions according to the climate and the situation.

The ‘new’ proves to have an …

Generation Of Architectural Form: Standardization And Adaptation, Sungmo Park

Masters Theses

“The form of an object is a diagram of forces; in this sense, at least, that from it we can judge or deduce the forces that are acting or have acted upon it; in this strict and particular sense, it is a diagram.” –D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson, On Growth and Form

Throughout architectural history, architects have made efforts to develop a diversity and efficiency of form to adapt to the natural environment. A prominent issue that has developed from this is what are the factors that have influenced and become form generators?

D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson, in On Growth and Form, …

Vision In Architecture, Sabrina Russell

Masters Theses

The way in which people see and perceive things varies with each individual. Although, it is possible to focus the individuals attention in a particular way causing them to have various perceptions of the same view. The gaze is an element that has been studied and analyzed in numerous medias. Each medium has found a way to manipulate or control the individuals gaze making it possible to convey a meaning or feeling through the use of this technique (see figure 1). In having some control over the gaze of the onlooker designs can be formulated that best stimulate the attention …

Putting The Pieces Together: Engaging The Part To Create The Whole, Matthew Paul Johnson

Masters Theses

Architecture shapes and defines the spaces of our everyday life yet we rarely pay any attention to it. The fact that we are not engaged with our surroundings has been called by some an atrophy of experience caused by technology and, more specifically, by the ever expanding ability to reproduce and distribute images and information on a massive scale.

For some, such as Walter Benjamin, this atrophy of experience is related to the decay of what Benjamin calls the ‘aura’ of a work of art. The aura is what allows us as human beings to connect and relate to the …

Intertwining, Alyson Laun

Masters Theses

From Vitruvius’ Ten Books on Architecture to Wagner’s conception of the Gesamkunstwerk, many would agree that each area of art should influence the others. By narrowing my study to the relationship of architecture and music, I will explore in depth how music can directly influence the design, in form and experience, of architecture.
There are two ways to understand the interactions of music and architecture. The analogical is concerned with the artist’s intention and technical procedure. Often, we think of the Pythagorean philosophy concerning the mathematical relationships that both music and architecture employ. These include, but are not limited to, …

Mutualism In Architecture: An Architecture Of The In-Between, Vivian Ann Workman

Masters Theses

Architecture is a system of complex relationships. Embodied within architecture are ideas concerning built and natural form and how these two types of form interact to produce what we define as architecture. Built form without natural form is building. Natural form without building is landscape. It is this in-between area where architecture lies. Mutualism is a process by which two seemingly opposite organisms interact in such a way as to benefit one another. It is through this approach that architecture can aspire to be more than a building.

Mutualistic architecture, by its very nature, is a holistic system with the …

Transit Oriented Development, Park And Ride, And Transit Station Placement Along Bus Rapid Transit Corridors: A Study Of The Sevier County, Tennessee Route, Melany Strike Noltenius

Masters Theses

This study analyzes the current land use practices along the proposed Sevier County Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route from Interstate 40 through Sevierville and Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The study then provides direction in the possible placement of transit oriented developments (TOD), park and ride lots, and transit stations along the route based on population levels, commuter travel patterns, and employment nodes. The current zoning practices and regulations of each town along the proposed BRT are reviewed to see what changes need to be made to allow for TODs, park and ride, and transit stations.

An Analysis And Case Studies Of Community Development And Economic Development And Their Relationship To Planning, Stacey U. Tucker

Masters Theses

This study began as an exploration of the fields of Economic Development and Community Development. By researching an extensive selection of literature, the two terms were defined and the disciplines expounded upon. The two were then compared and contrasted in their relationship to each other and their relationship to the field of Planning. A matrix was developed from the literary findings of the various functions of each field in relation to several community issues.

Eight cities, selected from two population groups and four regions, were examined as case studies, to compare the functions of actual Community Development, Economic Development, and …

Selected Projects: The Architecture Of Bruce Mccarty (Exhibition Catalogue), Bruce Mccarty, Sam Yates, Thomas K. Davis, Marleen Kay Davis, Doug Mccarty, Robert Holsaple, Dean J. Almy Iii

Ewing Gallery of Art & Architecture

Exhibition catalogue published to accompany the 2004 Ewing Gallery exhibition, Selected Projects: The Architecture of Bruce McCarty.

McCarty (1920 - 2013) was a noted American modern architect who designed many buildings in Knoxville and on the UT Campus. These include the Lawson McGlee LIbrary, the Knoxville City County Building, Clarence Brown Theatre, the University of Tennessee Humanities COmplex and the University of Tennessee Art + Architecture Building.