Architecture Commons^™

Designing Complex, Interactive, Architectural Systems With Cias-Dm: A Model-Based, Human-Centered, Design & Analysis Methodology, Joe Manganelli

All Dissertations

The built environment increasingly contributes to improving human health, well-being, and performance in measurable, predictable, and tailorable ways. Achieving high-performance environmental systems requires real-time-interactive sensing, monitoring, actuation, and communication subsystems, as well as real-time interactions of these environmental systems with their users and other internal and external systems. Developing theories, constructs, methods, and tools necessary for designing such high-performance, complex, interactive systems is an active area of research.

This dissertation focused on methods and tools for representing the cognitive and physical affordances of complex, interactive, architectural systems (CIAS). The Complex, Interactive, Architectural Systems Design Methodology (CIAS-DM) was proposed as a …

A Study Of The Aiken-Rhett Stew Stove, Julia Anne Tew

All Theses

The stew stove found in the kitchen of the Aiken-Rhett House in Charleston, South Carolina is a rare and well-preserved example of antebellum stew stove technology. This masonry stove was installed in the main kitchen of Governor William Aiken in 1858 and contains six cast iron stew holes and a set kettle. Masonry cook stoves appeared in the United States as early as the mid-eighteenth century. Stoves like this were not an American invention. A French device known as the potager is the predecessor and inspiration for such devices. This potager eased the cook's labors in preparing meals and offered …

Creating Tradition: Change Ringing And The Myth Of The 'Holy City', Charlotte Hewitt Causey

All Theses

This thesis analyzes the recent creation of tradition surrounding church bells and bell towers in Charleston, South Carolina. Church bells have been a significant feature of Charleston’s aural landscape since the mid-eighteenth century when St. Michael’s hung a ring of bells in the tower that still dominates the intersection of Meeting and Broad Streets. The histories of four churches, St. Michael’s (1751), the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul (1811), St, Matthew’s Lutheran (1867), and Grace Episcopal (1846) affirms the important role that bells played for these congregations. The bells installed in these churches and the uses to which …

Ubiquitous Libidinal Infrastructures Of Urbanism: The Fringing Benefits Of Rhetorics In Architecture, Lauren Mitchell

All Dissertations

Big-box culture - generally thought of as sprawl - is often suppressed or ignored within architectural design curricula. The overwhelming pervasiveness of big-box culture threatens the foundation of our discipline. We turn away, though it generates the context for many lives to happily unfold in this country. We remain only partially engaged with big-box because we do not fully understand its complexity. We argue with it, but at cross-purposes. This trans-disciplinary project brings rhetorical scholarship to bear on big-box culture. Emphasizing pedagogy, it offers architects and urbanists opportunities to design with more awareness about the ubiquitous, what drives it, and …

Design And Evaluation Of A Nonverbal Communication Platform Between Assistive Robots And Their Users, Anthony Threatt

All Dissertations

Assistive robotics will become integral to the everyday lives of a human population that is increasingly mobile, older, urban-centric and networked. The overwhelming demands on healthcare delivery alone will compel the adoption of assistive robotics. How will we communicate with such robots, and how will they communicate with us? This research makes the case for a relatively 'artificial' mode of nonverbal human-robot communication that is non-disruptive, non-competitive, and non-invasive human-robot communication that we envision will be willingly invited into our private and working lives over time. This research proposes a non-verbal communication (NVC) platform be conveyed by familiar lights and …

The Charleston Trussed Roof: A Study Of The Development And Implementation Of A Structural Solution From 1740-1820, Pamela Marotta Kendrick

All Theses

Charleston, South Carolina is renowned for the impressive churches, civic buildings, and mansions which line its historic streets. Although scholars have studied many of these famous structures in depth, the roof framing methods used to construct these large buildings has rarely been studied or documented. Where documentation exists it is rudimentary at best, often only identifying the overall form of the roof or the material used for the roof covering. The truss roof system was designed to accommodate buildings with a spans greater than twenty five feet wide. The implementation of these truss roof designs enabled the construction of Charleston …

Quantifying Visitor Impact And Material Degradation At George Washington's Mount Vernon, Laurel Lynne Bartlett

All Theses

Over one million visitors per year traverse the visitor path through George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. Increased visitation has tested the limits of the architectural materials and created the single most threatening source of degradation. While the history of Mount Vernon is dotted with attempts to mitigate damage caused by visitors, scientific analysis of the dynamic impacts to the historic fabric is needed to preserve the integrity of the preeminent national house museum. The following thesis presents a holistic analysis of visitor impact and material degradation occurring at Mount Vernon.
Visitor impact issues are acknowledged at historic sites around …

The Financial Impact Of Historic Preservation Easements On Encumbered Property Appreciation Rates In Charleston, Sc, Julianne W. Johnson

All Theses

As a response to recent legal pressures directed at donors of historic preservation easements, this research examines the often ignored, potential long-term financial impacts of easement and covenant encumbrances on residential properties in the Old and Historic District in Charleston, South Carolina. To address the concerns and questions emanating from both preservation and economic viewpoints an unbiased, empirical study analyzing the long-term financial implications an easement encumbrance has on real estate property values is necessary. The annual appreciation rates of all single-family residences in Charleston's Old and Historic District were compared to answer the question: Is there a long-term financial …

Holding The Process Accountable: An Exploration Of New Housing Developments And Place In Cukurcayir, Turkey, Beyza Sen

All Theses

Housing environments are the places where its residents spend most of their time in. In Turkey, housing types that have been built in the past have over time. Especially during the past decade, due to the concentration of people in the city centers and the nations goals on housing developments have resulted in dense and tall apartment buildings to be built in newly developing cities. This study exemplifies the current planning practices and its effects on housing environments and place. The reasons why this study is focusing on the housing environments are: housing environments represent the culture and society, people …

Beyond Drawing The Line: A Study Of The Edge Structure Of Boston's Emerald Necklace, Priyanka Vankina

All Theses

Landscapes are mosaics of patches and corridors which are formed by hills, different soils types, vegetation patchiness, natural disturbances and human activities. As humans have developed, the patches and corridors have become fragmented and edges have been created. These edges become the critical points of interaction for wildlife with their surroundings. This is especially true in urban areas where development has created harsh edge environments.
This study investigates the edge structure of Olmsted's Emerald Necklace to understand how edges can be designed to create habitat for wildlife in urban areas. The Emerald Necklace is located in Boston, MA and was …

Neighborhoood Snapshot Inventories: A Study Of The Cooper River Bridge Tax Incremnent Financing District, Rebecca Anne Quandt

All Theses

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is one of the most widely used economic development tools in the nation. In 2008, Charleston, South Carolina, designated the Cooper River Bridge neighborhood (CRBN) as its fourth TIF district. The planning process is now underway, and many large redevelopment projects have already started construction. Private investors will receive funding to develop vacant lots and revitalize dilapidated properties, and the City will benefit economically from new property taxes added to the revenue roll. City officials have anticipated the economic change this TIF district will provide, but have they properly anticipated the changes that will occur to …

Noiseless, Automatic Service: The History Of Domestic Servant Call Bell Systems In Charleston, South Carolina, 1740-1900, Wendy Danielle Madill

All Theses

Shortly before Europe's industrial revolution, tradesmen discovered an ingenious way to rig bells in houses to mechanize communication between homeowners and their servants. Mechanical bell systems, now known as house bells or servant call bells, were prevalent in Britain and America from the late 1700s to the early twentieth century. These technological ancestors of today's telephone were operated by the simple pull of a knob or a tug of a tassel mounted on an interior wall. Bell-pulls increased privacy for both servants and their employers by separating both parties by the length of a bell wire, but they also increased …

The United Order Of Tents And 73 Cannon Street: A Study Of Identity And Place, Mary Margaret Schley

All Theses

One hundred years ago, a group of African-American women assembled in Charleston, South Carolina under the name of the United Order of Tents of J.R. Giddings and Jollifee Union. The only organization of its kind, the United Order of Tents is a secret society comprised and operated solely by African-American women. The Order traces its roots back to the operations of the Underground Railroad in Norfolk, Virginia. The founder of the organization, Annetta M. Lane, assisted slaves during their escape from the South through their journey on the Railroad. After emancipation, Annetta Lane and United Order of Tents co-founder, Harriett …

Adaptive Use Potential Of Kitchen And Carriage Houses Toward Smart Growth Goals In Charleston, South Carolina, Elizabeth A. Shaw

All Theses

Growth and historic preservation are typically framed as being mutually exclusive. Since growth is inevitable, it behooves cities and towns to focus on growth that collaborates with preservation. This can successfully be achieved by creating plans that use existing infrastructure, promote mixed-use neighborhoods, and encourage sustainable building efforts. In Charleston, the main dwelling of an individual lot was often accompanied by separate outbuildings such as carriage houses, kitchen houses, privies, and laundry buildings. Many of these out buildings remain, and provide an opportunity to create sustainable smart growth and sensitive density.
This thesis analyzes the way property owners in two …

Designing For Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Optimized Liveworkplaylearn Environments, Lisa Marchi

All Theses

Facilities for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) have the potential to enhance the quality of life through the built environment and the comprehensive services they provide. In the United States, there are few facilities that exist, many of which focus on disabilities, thus rendering the facility an accommodator rather than an enabler. According to Sherry Ahrentzen, PhD, and Kim Steele:
'Architects and housing providers have little familiarity in how design can best accommodate and ameliorate the challenges and conditions faced by adults with autism...' (Ahrentzen 2009)
This project aims to create a series of design guidelines that are informed …

The Stonecutters And Tomb Builders Of Lafayette Cemetery No.1, New Orleans, Louisiana, Emily Anne Ford

All Theses

This thesis explores the building history of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, established 1833. The historic cemetery, located in what is now the Garden District of New Orleans, Louisiana, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, but has continued to experience preservation issues concerning its traditional above-ground tombs and other landscape features.
By investigating the building methods and background of the historic craftsmen who helped develop Lafayette No. 1, the cemetery will be better understood and, thus, better preserved. A combination of structural surveys and archival research, this thesis constructs a dimensional portrait not only of specific …

Cultivating America's Working Lands: A Study Of The Sociocultural Value Of Family Farms, Katherine Lloyd

All Theses

Our ability to produce food in a sustainable, healthy and humane manner is threatened, both in the United States and on the global scale. This difficulty is exacerbated by expected population growth, creating a need for 60% more food worldwide by 2050 to feed a population of 9.3 billion (United Nations Chronicle, 2012). How we produce food affects local economies, the cultural vitality of communities, and the health of regional ecosystems. Industrial or conventional agriculture is damaging all three of these systems, by draining local economies through corporate business practices, isolating farmers and attributing to rural population losses, while depleting …

The Urban Environment As A Barrier To Historic Preservation: A Mitigation Plan For Falmouth, Jamaica, Daniel Heinz Watts

All Theses

The principle question asked in this thesis is can widespread historic preservation occur in Falmouth, Jamaica without improvements to the town's urban environment? The question will be answered by researching the condition of Falmouth's historic district in light of its history, economic decline and current challenges. Background analysis revealed that the town has been economically stagnant for more than a century, that this weakness has incidentally allowed it to retain the largest collection of Georgian-era structures in the Caribbean, but has also led to a continuing decline in the condition of historic resources faster than preservation efforts can provide remediation. …

Understanding Architectural Iron Conservation: Corrosion Studies At Fort Sumter National Monument, Amy Elizabeth Uebel

All Theses

Iron is one of the most overlooked materials in architectural conservation. Its status as a functional construction material, rather than a decorative element, often makes iron the least understood material by architectural conservators. As historic metal becomes increasingly significant in the built environment, new approaches must be developed in order to better predict and understand the corrosion process. The behavior of corrosion has been extensively studied in the engineering and conservation communities, but the two fields have developed different approaches to iron conservation. Typically, engineers classify corrosion on a macroscopic scale, while conservators approach iron on a microscopic level. Both …

Generating Recreation, Transforming Communities: Utilizing Transmission Power Line Corridors In Regional Greenway Design, John Pay

All Theses

Utilizing existing transmission power line corridors and increasing their uses through the implementation of an infrastructural recreational element helps to preserve existing natural areas while increasing the recreation amenities in the areas. These corridors, often considered an eyesore to many, provide an opportunity to become beautiful public greenspaces which can act as recreational amenities, economic drivers, and providers of alternative transportation infrastructure. With the use of transmission lines being a necessity in supplying the energy needs of nearly all regions of the United States, the adaptability of this greenway system, model can be adapted by other communities throughout the country …

A New Clinical Model For Primary Care: A Critical Component Of Healthcare Innovation Zones, Judith Crews

All Theses

The overall aim of this research and design project is to develop a primary care setting that responds to the current changes in the healthcare system and accommodates predicted developments in the future. It takes advantage of opportunities created by the Affordable Care Act and initiatives started under the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. One of these includes the creation of Healthcare Innovation Zones as a way to bring integrative, comprehensive health services to a wider population through the network of a teaching hospital, physicians, and other clinical entities. The proposed ambulatory care setting is a model for …

Systematic Comparison Of Two Habitat Connectivity Modeling Approaches: Least Cost Path And Circuit Theory, Adam Rose

All Theses

Intensifying human development requires landscape-level planning to restore connectivity to fragmented and ecologically isolated habitats. The rapidly growing field of conservation planning has produced a variety of approaches to modeling habitat connectivity. The objective of this research is to inform the choice and use of appropriate software packages for connectivity conservation planning. I focused on comparing two prevalent approacheds, 1) least cost path, patch-patch modeling using CorridorDesigner software and 2) electrical circuit-theory based approaches for patch-patch and 'all points' connectivity using Circuitscape software. Additionally, I compared two dominant connectivity modeling approaches: 1) the focal species approach and 2) a generalized …

The Best Brick House In All The Country: Documenting The Structural Evolution Of Medway, Mount Holly, South Carolina, Neale Canter Nickels

All Theses

This thesis represents the assembly of physical architectural analysis, archival investigation, and the study of the work of previous historians on the subject of the main house at Medway Plantation. Medway is a property whose origins can be traced back to the seventeenth century. Since then, it has changed form many times. A great amount of research has been conducted on Medway by historians, both amateur and professional. Few, however, if any have ever been able to study Medway with the stucco removed from the exterior and walls and floors exposed on the inside.
This was the impetus for researching …

Remembering The Legacy Of Coastal Defense: How An Understanding Of The Development Of Fort Moultrie Military Reservation, Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, Can Facilitate Its Future Preservation, Karl Philip Sondermann

All Theses

This thesis examines the landscape evolution of the one hundred and twenty year history of Fort Moultrie Military Reservation (FMMR), Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, one of the United States' Twentieth Century coastal defense installations. During the first half of the century, these technologically advanced fortifications protected the country's coasts as the nation emerged as a world power. When World War II's technological advances made these installations' obsolete, most were quickly converted into new military or government operated public uses. The remainder, including FMMR, was sold after the war to the public, before the limited protections of the National Historic Preservation …

Transforming Urban Brownfields: Creating Natural Communities Through Successful Stormwater Management And Bioremediation Strategy, Yang Song

All Theses

Brownfields are a crucial issue for the 21century's urban development. To successfully restore brownfields and transform them into comfortable and enjoyable environments, we have to study how to mitigate contamination issues related to soil and stormwater. Three bodies of knowledge are studied in the literature: natural community restoration, urban brownfield restoration, storm-water management. Then, these areas are researched through case studies focusing on topography design, plant adaptation, and treatment wetland. The findings are in the form of descriptive design guidelines addressing six factors: spatial experience, stormwater collecting, natural succession, plant and species diversity, habitat creation, treatment, and cleaning. The recommendations …

A Feasability Study For Local Food System Application Of A Peer Group Lending Microfinance Model, Anna V. Whitener

All Theses

Economic development has evolved since the Great Depression era in the United States from a stance of pure “smokestack chasing” to a more diverse set of strategies aimed at business retention and expansion. One method that has been successfully used domestically and internationally is the use of microloans to finance small businesses. One major component of microfinance strategies used abroad that allows for lower transaction costs is the use of Peer Group Lending Programs (PGLPs). This paper first reviews the cited social, political, and financial reasons for the lack of such programs in U.S. microfinance initiatives. It simultaneously addresses why …

Windfall Payment Decision-Making: A Case Study Of Pennsylvania Counties Receiving Funds From The Natural Gas Impact Fee (Act 13), Corey Scott Young

All Theses

Given the economic ‘boom’ and ‘bust’ cycle associated with natural resource extraction, the decision to spend or save the revenue generated by such activity (which is considered a financial windfall), has important policy implications. Two streams of literature exist which help to explain and predict the behaviors of those facing such payments. One of these streams contends that the size of a windfall payment is inversely related to consumption. More specifically, this stream posits that as the size of a windfall in proportion to an individual or household’s budget increases, consumption of the windfall decreases. This study attempted to test …

Planning Bicycle Infrastructure Based On Quickest Route Method, Olena Tokmylenko

Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

Current bicycle models assume average speed along the route and among routes and travel time is proportional to distance. There is no method that determines realistic cycling time based on change in speed due to topography. Our research proposes a model for the development of bicycle infrastructure based on reducing travel time and level of difficulty. We identified that topography, human power, and riding speed have strong relationship and we developed bicycle travel time model where speed is a function of human power and topography. We solved the shortest route problem with time impedance where time was computed based on …

A Downtown Revitalization Study For Woodruff, South Carolina, Alyson Leslie, Annemarie Jacques

Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

Woodruff is a small town in South Carolina that has declined since the closing of two major textile mills in the 1980s that once were its economic drivers. Economic decline has led to the physical deterioration of the buildings and streetscape elements on Woodruff’s Main Street. The conditions of a town’s Main Street reflect the identity of the town as a whole, particularly in a town the size of Woodruff with a total land area of 3.9 square miles. A component specific to Woodruff that emphasizes the necessity for a high quality downtown is the high volume of daily traffic …

Cultivating America's Working Lands: A Study Of The Sociocultural Value Of Family Farms, Katherine Lloyd

Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

Our ability to produce food in a sustainable, healthy and humane manner is threatened, both in the United States and on the global scale. This difficulty is exacerbated by expected population growth, creating a need for 60% more food worldwide by 2050 to feed a population of 9.3 billion. How we produce food affects local economies, the cultural vitality of communities, and the health of regional ecosystems. Industrial or conventional agriculture is damaging all three of these systems by draining local economies through corporate business practices, isolating farmers and attributing to rural population losses, while depleting natural resources and polluting …