Architecture Commons^™

Lot 30: Rerouting Suburbia, Daniel A. Siedhoff

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

In architectural practice professionals deal with a number of fascinating issues daily. From clients to contractors, politics to energy concerns, material usage to money management, architects of the world have the amazing task of delivering a product that influences the physical and mental environments of its users. Evolving from a conversation regarding urban sprawl and suburban housing, this project is aimed at finding a way to inform as well as plant a seed of impact in our rapidly expanding cities. Whereas in local contemporary developments like Fallbrook, (a residential development on the northwest side of Lincoln) the single family house …

Eco-Lodge Lumahai, Dustin L. Wekesser

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Every year, millions of vacationers escape their daily routines to find peace and relaxation in tropical locations that differ from the worlds they come from. Vacations are becoming more elaborate and the list of destinations is continually being enlarged as the availability of air travel reaches more and more places. Yet as commercialism enters these regions and investors begin cornering the market, the essence of these once exotic locations seems to get overlooked and in time, ultimately forgotten. Places that once consisted of straw huts and bamboo bungalows are now being confronted with crude, insensitive designs that neglect the landscape …

A Bus Center, Troy D. Keilig

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Bus stops and bus shelters vary throughout the world reflecting the environment around them and the needs of the community. From a hard stick in the ground in India, hammocks hanging from a tree in Galapagos, or a rounded glass and steel structure in London; bus stops are simultaneously a gathering place and a place to depart from, a place to watch others and a place to be watched, a place to be protected from the elements while being integrated into the environment. Bus stops are both the beginning and the end.

Doug Suisman (1997, pg. 80) has called bus …

Scattered Responses From Suspended Reflector Panels With Rounded Edges, Jonathan Rathsam, Lily M. Wang

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Sound reflections from most finite surfaces, such as overhead reflector panels, include a component known as edge diffraction. Edge diffraction is the scattered energy required to maintain a continuous sound field despite the discontinuity in acoustical impedance presented by the scatterer. Edge diffraction can interfere with primary scattered energy to produce comb filtering at receiver locations. Several decades ago, the effect of changing the edge profile of loudspeaker boxes was investigated with the goal of producing a smoother frequency response. By rounding the edges of loudspeaker boxes, the edge diffraction could be decreased noticeably [H. F. Olson, J. Aud. Eng. …

Investigations Of Multi-Channel Auralization Technique For Various Orchestra Arrangements, With Phase-Shifted String Sections, Michelle C Vigeant, Lily M. Wang

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

An orchestra can be simulated in room acoustics computer modelling using a variety of methods, ranging from a single omni-directional source to individual sources of all instruments. This study utilizes the method of individual sources for each instrument, but with reduced source representation for the string sections. The anechoic recordings used in this investigation are five-channel recordings, which capture the source directivity of the individual instruments. For each string section, the individual anechoic recordings were phase shifted several times, up to 23 ms, and combined to create a single recording for use in the simulations. An orchestra was simulated in …

Scattered Responses From Suspended Reflector Panels With Rounded Edges, Jonathan Rathsam, Lily M. Wang

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Sound reflections from most finite surfaces, such as overhead reflector panels, include a component known as edge diffraction. Edge diffraction is the scattered energy required to maintain a continuous sound field despite the discontinuity in acoustical impedance presented by the scatterer. Edge diffraction can interfere with primary scattered energy to produce comb filtering at receiver locations. Several decades ago, the effect of changing the edge profile of loudspeaker boxes was investigated with the goal of producing a smoother frequency response. By rounding the edges of loudspeaker boxes, the edge diffraction could be decreased noticeably [H. F. Olson, J. Aud. Eng. …

Investigations Of Multi-Channel Auralization Technique For Solo Instruments And Orchestra, Michelle C Vigeant, Lily M. Wang, Jens Holger Rindel

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Computer modeling of room acoustics is a useful tool in the design of acoustically sensitive spaces and an important outcome from these programs is auralizations. This study examined the perceived changes in realism and source width when listening to multi-channel auralizations compared to single channel auralizations for both solo instruments and a full orchestra. The first experiment, which examined subjective judgments of auralizations made from solo instruments, showed that perceived realism increased as the number of channels was increased from one to four to thirteen, while the relationship between source width and number of channels was less clear. In the …

In.Form: The Journal Of Architecture, Design, And Material Culture, Volume 7 (2007), Katie Swoboda , Editor, Peter Bissen , Editor, Rachel Reed , Assistant Editor

In.Form: The Journal of Architecture, Design, and Material Culture

Contents:

The Artistic Expression of Architecture. Anita Powell
On the Artifice of Art. Amir Ameri
Traversing Disciplinary Boundaries: Augmenting Speculative Vision through Installation Practice. Dee Nicholas
Visual Systems and Lighting Design. James Clar
Adventures in Biourbia. Elva Rubio and Michael Hanley
The Art of Architecture and Art. David Cronrath
The Art of Experiential Spaces. Kurt Schlough
Probes: Merging Artistic Thinking with an Architectural Methodology. Chris Ford
Sketching with Stones. Will Wittig
Demimonde: The Art of Architecture. Pablo Castro and Jennifer Lee
Public Works. Projects in Play. Eric Howeler and J. Meejin Yoon
Call For Papers for Volume 8.

In.Form Staff …

Parametric Methods: Wyoming Renovation, F. Britt Woolf

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Primacy will be given to the objective of rediscovering process through utilizing parametric methods for design thinking. What will be explored is the relationship between thinking and doing in architecture, proposing a process which does not separate one from the other but instead removes the distinction between the abstract and the pragmatic. Through these considerations, an emphasis will be placed on processes themselves including; data collection, environmental analysis, scenario prototyping, manufacturing and fabrication methods, material production and assembly techniques. Each one of these processes has a relationship to parametric methods. Parametrics communicates and responds to these processes in an effort …

Learning From The Pass, Kylee M. Anderson

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

My project is not one which can be presented simply as a design issue and an appropriate architectural solution. There are many architectural issues raised throughout the project and the goal is not to wholly solve them but to bring the issues to light and to analyze and interpret them in hopes of reaching some greater understanding of architecture’s role in a physically unstable environment.

I first became interested in the topic of architecture and natural disaster in the year following Hurricane Katrina. There seemed to be a lot of ideas on how to rebuild the gulf coast and repair …

Rancho Siloe’ | Instituto Misionero Transcultural, Jeff H. Davis

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

“Rancho Siloe’,” as called by the missionaries of New Tribes Mission-Mexico, is a missionary training school named for its place, Siloe’: a 19 acre piece of ranch land North of Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Still in its infancy with only 15 students, the current school is a composition of need based additions created over the time of its existence. Its future student population and rate of growth are unknown.

As a non-profit Christian mission organization, NTM-Mexico relies on donations and voluntary labor to sustain Rancho Siloe’s construction. Some of these volunteers bring with them professional experience, while others are often …

Reuse & Reinterpretation, Lisa M. Satter

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Throughout many areas of the country, buildings are beginning to fall into disrepair and abandonment. Due to changing technologies, requirements, and adjacencies, these buildings are being demolished and replaced with new structures. Previously, much of the effect of abandonment was only felt in cities large enough to accommodate warehouses or industrial buildings. However, more recently smaller communities have begun to reach the same problems of empty buildings falling into disrepair. Schools are especially at risk of this fate. Various issues can cause these schools to become abandoned, including a lack of space for increased numbers of students, a lowering enrollment …

[Re]Considering The Refugee Camp, Matthew C. Stoub

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Abstract:

Conflict and disaster occurs throughout the world every day. The aftershock of these situations gives rise to millions of stateless persons: refugees. Today, the Camp is virtually synonymous with refugee situations. These institutional establishments are intended as a transitory center for sustaining life until the inhabitants can safely Return home. The tangible reality of these situations is that they become permanent fixtures in the landscape. The current system of warehousing refugees in overpopulated wastelands creates a strong dependence for the victim upon humanitarian aid. The camp is seen as unwanted, parasitic, and as a necessary evil.

Utilizing a diagrammatical …

Re Use Ful, Aaron P. Tvrdy

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

My terminal project is an exploration of reusing materials, developed in prototype and implemented into a practical scenario as part of an effort to limit waste in our society.

Limit the amount of waste we produce by reusing materials rather than discarding them.

I believe that the amount of waste we produce is a serious issue that must be addressed through creative reuses instead of larger landfills. I will utilize reused materials to create architectural components that can be adapted and inserted into any design solution. If we can gather materials in bulk that typically get discarded as waste, we …

In The Loop: Infrastructural Landscape In Chicago's Urban Core, Erin E. Mumm

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Transportation facilities are compelling architectural structures because they are not built as a destination but rather as a facilitator towards its inhabitant’s destination. People from every background interact through chance encounters within transportation facilities. Because these facilities are not considered destinations their upkeep is often neglected and architectural aesthetic is not always a major concern for their design. This is most likely due to the fact that these structures are often funded by the local or national government and as long as these facilities continue to function at a mediocre pace, authorities find no reason to improve upon it. However …

Designing An Urban Meditation Centre, Joliette M. Gadeken

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

When we, as students, design architecture we tend to conceptualize built space as form and gesture - as one grand, unified whole. However, that is not how the built environment is experienced. Architecture exists not simply as architectonic expression or as conceptual meaning, but also as an experienced series of physical spaces connected to each other and to their surroundings by the movement of people through these spaces. In approaching this project, I chose to experiment with a process based on designing spaces in much the same way that they are experienced. The entire development of this project was informed …

[Urban]_Design , Jason M. Goetsch

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Design is a term that is used often in our culture. It is often thought of as a thing; an image or duplication of something seen elsewhere. There is often a heavy influence from popular culture and advertising telling us what is “designed”; what is fashionable. I am arguing that design is not an object, rather it is an ideal; a process. It is defined as “to have a goal…intent.” I intend to show the benefits of design by showing the economic, ecological and social impacts that “good” architecture can have. The extra time and expense of design not only …

[ N O D O ] Creating Destination At The Pedestrian Scale, Douglas E. Nielsen

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

The trend of development in the United States, since the advancement of the automobile, has been away from the city core. It is no longer necessary to live and work in close proximity to one another. Shopping is done less frequently and entertainment is not confined to a one-mile walking radius. Suburbia has replaced the historic downtown districts. Four lane highways have replaced bike lanes, and sidewalks are developed more to follow code than to produce a mode of transportation. Cities are experienced at forty miles per hour; shops and restaurants gain notoriety and exposure by large signs and advertising …

Memorial_Museum For The Vietnamese Expatriates In America, Tam Minh Vo

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

IMPETUS
Over the past 30 years, Vietnamese expatriates living all around the world continue to struggle with their collective identity. These people loss their original authentic government, have a “home” that they cannot live in and carry a nationality that they can no longer affirm. Nonetheless, these Vietnamese, including myself, are segregated citizens resettling amongst many countries. I fear that these issues about the Vietnamese can potentially be damaging to the vitality of future Vietnamese-American generations. Although, I believe these issues can be harmonized with serious commitments to unify these enclaves of displaced Vietnamese.

IMPLEMENTATION
In early 2005, Immigrant Resettlement …

Light Everlasting: A Concert Hall For St. Olaf College, Elizabeth A. Leach

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

St.OlafCollege is a small, private Lutheran college with, among other programs, a lively, well-respected music program of which I have first-hand knowledge. It is a school where one-third of the 3,100 students are involved in at least one music ensemble. The problem is that the campus does not have an adequate performance space for the numerous quality musical events that happen on campus throughout the year. My project will attempt to solve this problem by providing a concert hall for this campus where music is such an important part of the school's identity and the daily campus fabric.

Since I …

Kansas City Riverfront District: Mixed-Use Urban Development Of Brownfield Site, Detlef W. Diercks

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

The project proposed is to implement a master plan for an existing brownfield site. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated due to real or perceived environmental contamination. Vacant industrial sites, gas stations, commercial buildings and sites with asbestos and lead based paints, as well as, methamphetamine labs can all fall under the heading of brownfield.

This project will be developed in phases. The first phase sets out to understand the design implications that result from the remediation of brownfield sites. I believe that the impact of a remediation will leave …

Hadrian's Wall Museum , Matthew T. Whaley

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

The remains of Hadrian’s Wall constitute the greatest Roman frontier in all of Europe. The stones left behind tell the story of Roman Britain, and provide the physical evidence of one of Rome’s greatest engineering triumphs. Despite this, visitation to the wall has been falling over the past thirty years. The numerous museums that exist along the wall are not linked with each other and are operated independently—a fact that leads to a spirit of competition rather than cooperation. The exhibits at the museums themselves typically focus on archeological finds at their respective sites, rather than the stories behind them. …

Lot 30: Rerouting Suburbia, Daniel A. Siedhoff

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

In architectural practice professionals deal with a number of fascinating issues daily. From clients to contractors, politics to energy concerns, material usage to money management, architects of the world have the amazing task of delivering a product that influences the physical and mental environments of its users. Evolving from a conversation regarding urban sprawl and suburban housing, this project is aimed at finding a way to inform as well as plant a seed of impact in our rapidly expanding cities. Whereas in local contemporary developments like Fallbrook, (a residential development on the northwest side of Lincoln) the single family house …

[Re]Engaging The Urban Poverty Challenge, Jeremy A. Emerson

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Today about 1 billion people, one in every six human beings, live in what the western world calls “slums.” Nations such as Mexico face an incredible challenge: millions of people don’t have a decent place to live. But the problem is more than just a housing shortage; urban poverty is exacerbated by residential segregation within cities. Designers must engage the challenge to create extremely low-cost housing that can be a real means of overcoming geographic isolation.

Distribution Concourse: Concepts For A Post-Commericalized Landscape Within An Increasingly Networked Culture, Nathan P. Miller

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

DISTRIBUTION CONCOURSE is design research thesis which proposes a reconfiguration of large “emptied-out” blocks of commercial space. Space planning strategies which have led to the emergence of commercial artifacts, such as the dead mall, are evaluated against new commercial models which rely on distribution and digital networks.

Under the premise that digital commercial practices are changing how we consider the private-sector in relation to urban infrastructure, DISTRIBUTION CONCOURSE promotes a new urban organizational scheme which may thrive in post-commercialized areas of the city.

Services such as Amazon.com and the availability of wireless internet across entire city grids have made ambiguous …

Ignition: A Research And Design Center For Daimlerchrysler In Detroit, Mi, William J. Deroin

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

This Project was founded through the study and understanding of the parallel circumstances facing the automotive industry and architectural profession. Both fields are organized and structured in similar manners, and both share similar problems. Primary among them is the recent need to shift design focuses from viewing sustainable practices as necessary, a move unpopular among many designers and consumers because of the perception that with sustainable design comes a boring, unappealing design. This project will attempt to offer an architectural solution that through program (a design and research center for sustainable vehicles) and design, will challenge these stereotypes and blend …

Ager Apparatus, Alexander M. Jack

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Methodology: Agriculture is as indigenous to Nebraska as tall prairie grass. It was the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1850 that made over 10 million acres accessible to farmers. Dually, with the installment of the modern railroad, a network for the movement of Nebraska goods was founded. All this could not have been possible without the evolution of the agricultural machinery by modern invention. At the birth of the state, the steam tractor (an adaptation derived from locomotion) was a modern farmhand. This piece of machinery (that only pulled) spawned many tributaries of agricultural equipment today. GPS driven combines, plows, balers, and …

Reflector Responses: A Comparison Between Odeon’S Modified Ray Tracing Algorithm And A Filtered Boundary Element Method Model, Jonathan Rathsam, Lily M. Wang, Jens Holger Rindel, Claus Lynge Christensen

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

The biggest challenge for geometrical room acoustic computer models is to capture complex wave phenomena while maintaining the low computational load of the ray tracing algorithm. Special corrections must be added to the ray tracing algorithm to account for wave phenomena such as edge diffraction, which are ignored by classical geometrical acoustics. ODEON, a well-known geometrical computer model, is in the process of upgrading its ray tracing and scattering algorithm. The new algorithm allows users to specify transmission through reflector panel arrays. To aid in the development of ODEON’s new algorithm, its predictions are compared with predictions from a boundary …

Perceptions Of Quality Of Life, Sense Of Community, And Life Satisfaction Among Elderly Residents In Schuyler And Crete, Nebraska, Rodrigo Cantarero, James J. Potter, Christina K. Leach

Architecture Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

The purpose of this study is to identify key indicators affecting the elderly population's perception of Quality of Life (QoL) in two rural Nebraska communities--Crete and Schuyler. It also explores QoL indicators affecting their sense of satisfaction with living in the community and their perception of the town's sense of community. The current analysis is based on data obtained in two prior studies conducted by the authors. The results indicate that a majority of the elderly were satisfied. We also corroborated other studies' findings in which stress is negatively related to QoL. Finally, we confirmed a positive relation between strong …

Multifunctional Rural Landscapes: Economic, Environmental, Policy, And Social Impacts Of Land Use Changes In Nebraska, Twyla M. Hansen, Charles A. Francis, J. Dixon Esseks, J. Allen Williams Jr.

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The conversion of farmland near cities to other human uses is a global trend that challenges our long-term capacity to provide food, fiber, and ecosystem services to a growing world population. If current trends continue in the United States, the population will reach 450 million by the year 2050. At the same time, an accelerating change in land use will reduce today’s two acres per person of farmland to less than one acre per person. This is scarcely enough to produce food for our domestic population, without any food available for export – even assuming advances in technology. We need …