Architecture Commons^™

Windows Of Opportunity: Addressing Climate Uncertainty Through Adaptation Plan Implementation, Yaser Abunasser, Elisabeth Hamin, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

There is a pressing need for municipalities and regions to create urban form suited to current as well as future climates, but adaptation planning uptake has been slow. This is particularly unfortunate because patterns of urban form interact with climate change in ways that can reduce, or intensify, the impact of overall global change. Uncertainty regarding the timing and magnitude of climate change is a significant barrier to implementing adaptation planning. Focusing on implementation of adaptation and phasing of policy reduces this barrier. It removes time as a decision marker, instead arguing for an initial comprehensive plan to prevent maladaptive …

A Vision For The Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club, Ivette Banoub, John E. Fries, Tara Lynn Gehring, Madeline Jacknin, Jane M. Schonhaut, Alexander R. Train

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

The goal of Planning Studio is to develop a student’s techniques for collecting, analyzing, synthesizing spatial and non-spatial data and presenting that collective data in a manner (i.e., report, video, presentation, charettes) that is understandable to academics, professionals, and the public. Planning Studio allows students to integrate knowledge from coursework and research, and apply such knowledge to resolving representative planning problems. At UMASS Amherst, these problems are found in neighborhood, rural, urban, and/or regional settings. In Fall 2013, the course completed three projects: Master Plans & Land-Use Elements, the Revitalization of the Lower Worthington Street District (Springfield, MA), a Vision …

Ipswich River Watershed - Planning And Designing Green Infrastructure Networks, Samantha R. Anderson, Alyssandra Black, Ngoc Xuan Doan, Trudy M. Hall, Keith W. Hannon, Irene Estelle Miller, Colin N. O'Donnell, Amanda Lynn Rookey, Yan Xu

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

This project focuses on the Ipswich River Watershed in the suburbanizing North Shore region of metropolitan Boston. The Ipswich River is one of the most threatened rivers in the United States due to increased development and drinking water withdrawals from neighboring towns that impact the water quality and quantity. In order to address these environmental issues, this studio developed a green infrastructure plan for the watershed that proposes protecting open space within water resource areas, preserving wildlife habitat areas, and creating recreational linkages. Each student in the course developed a focus area at the local scale to illustrate implementing green …

Revitalization Of The Lower Worthington Street District (Springfield, Ma), Karl S. Allen, Mark D. Berube, Calliope E. Bosen, Gregory Robert Lewis, Alexander Casey Mello, Caitlin Anne Michniewicz, John Armando Rosa, Sarah Spencer, Stacy E. Wasserman

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

The goal of Planning Studio is to develop a student’s techniques for collecting, analyzing, synthesizing spatial and non-spatial data and presenting that collective data in a manner (i.e., report, video, presentation, charettes) that is understandable to academics, professionals, and the public. Planning Studio allows students to integrate knowledge from coursework and research, and apply such knowledge to resolving representative planning problems. At UMASS Amherst, these problems are found in neighborhood, rural, urban, and/or regional settings. In Fall 2013, the course completed three projects: Master Plans & Land-Use Elements, the Revitalization of the Lower Worthington Street District (Springfield, MA), an Asset …

An Evaluation Of Master Plans And Their Land-Use Elements, Karl S. Allen, Ivette Banoub, Mark D. Berube, Calliope E. Bosen, John E. Fries, Tara Lynn Gehring, Madeline Jacknin, Gregory Robert Lewis, Alexander Casey Mello, Caitlin Anne Michniewicz, John Armando Rosa, Jane M. Schonhaut, Sarah A. Spencer, Alexander R. Train, Stacy E. Wasserman

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

The goal of Planning Studio is to develop a student’s techniques for collecting, analyzing, synthesizing spatial and non-spatial data and presenting that collective data in a manner (i.e., report, video, presentation, charettes) that is understandable to academics, professionals, and the public. Planning Studio allows students to integrate knowledge from coursework and research, and apply such knowledge to resolving representative planning problems. At UMASS Amherst, these problems are found in neighborhood, rural, urban, and/or regional settings. In Fall 2013, the course completed three projects: Master Plans & Land-Use Elements, the Revitalization of the Lower Worthington Street District (Springfield, MA), an Asset …

Remembering Paul Procopio - Compendium, Julius Gy. Fábos, Nicholas T. Dines

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

This tribute to Paul Procopio started after the visit of Nicholas Dines, Julius Fábos and Mark Lindhult after Paul's funeral ceremony with the aim of creating a more complete picture of Paul's important role in shaping the emerging Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning after the retirement of Ray Otto in 1965. The assembled reflections represent the comments of contemporaries, colleagues, former students, and current department faculty, as well as those from his daughters.

This compendium will be made available to the University of Massachusetts Library and will be added to Paul’s papers, which will serve to inform our …

Climate Change Adaptation: A Green Infrastructure Planning Framework For Resilient Urban Regions, Yaser F. Abunnasr

Open Access Dissertations

The research explores multiple facets of a green infrastructure planning framework for climate change adaptation in urban regions. The research is organized in three distinct, but related parts. The first develops an adaptation implementation model based on triggering conditions rather than time. The approach responds to policy makers' reluctance to engage in adaptation planning due to uncertain future conditions. The model is based on planning and adaptation literature and applied to two case studies. Uncertainty during implementation may be reduced by incremental and flexible policy implementation, disbursing investments as needs arise, monitoring conditions, and organizing adaptation measures along no-regrets to …

Social Vulnerability, Green Infrastructure, Urbanization And Climate Change-Induced Flooding: A Risk Assessment For The Charles River Watershed, Massachusetts, Usa, Chingwen Cheng

Open Access Dissertations

Climate change is projected to increase the intensity and frequency of storm events that would increase flooding hazards. Urbanization associated with land use and land cover change has altered hydrological cycles by increasing stormwater runoff, reducing baseflow and increasing flooding hazards. Combined urbanization and climate change impacts on long-term riparian flooding during future growth are likely to affect more socially vulnerable populations. Growth strategies and green infrastructure are critical planning interventions for minimizing urbanization impacts and mitigating flooding hazards. Within the social-ecological systems planning framework, this empirical research evaluated the effects of planning interventions (infill development and stormwater detention) through …

Community Commons: An Analysis Of The Gullah Communities Of South Carolina, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

Descended from slaves brought to the southeast United States between the early 17th and mid 19th centuries, the Gullah-Geechee of South Carolina and Georgia in the United States, have developed distinctive, culturally-expressive creole communities. Juxtaposed against their ancestor’s plantation slave villages, present-day settlements reveal deliberate creations of community and strong connections to place. The Gullah concept of place and community also includes an understanding of the land as commons that is at odds with the dominant culture in the United States.Under slavery the Gullah lived in rigidly geometric settlements. Although this was the only settlement pattern the slaves had experienced, …

Golden Age Lessons For A Twenty-First Century Golf Course: Applying The Lessons Of The Masters Of Golf Course Architecture To A Present Day Course, Alexander H. Von Plinsky Iv

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The design process behind a golf course is unlike other landscape architecture design processes. The interaction of a golfer with the course is much more engaging and active than a park goer's interaction with a city park. For this reason this project has delved into the tenets behind the golf course design process, using as guides the great designers of the Golden Age of Golf Course Design. The results indicate that there are five primary design tenets that form the framework of a successful golf course design project. Similar to the circular system design process found elsewhere, the five tenets …

2013 Proceedings Of Fabos Conference On Landscape And Greenway Planning, Mark S. Lindhult

Mark S Lindhult, FASLA

The Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning is held every three years to bring together experts who are influencing landscape planning, policy making and greenway planning from the local to international level. The papers contained in this book highlight recent trends and expand the literature about landscape and greenway planning and describe how different countries are approaching greenway planning and tailoring them to each country’s unique geographical, cultural, and political circumstances.

Place-Making In The Regional Landscape, Site Planning For Fieldstone Farm | Princeton, Ma, Samantha R. Anderson, Ivette Banoub, Ngoc Xuan Doan, Trudy M. Hall, Keith W. Hannon, Irene Estelle Miller, Colin N. O'Donnell, Amanda Lynn Rookey, Yan Xu

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

Fieldstone Farm, is located on Route 62, Hubbardston Road, just a few miles beyond the historic west village of Princeton, MA. The historic dairy farm is a landmark in town, with its grand white colonial home, massive, yet sadly abandoned, red cow barn, and stone-edged irrigation pond flanking the main road. When Ruth Smith passed away in 2012, concern spread over the future of the extensive farmland. The extended Smith family is currently in discussions with developers, and the site is being tested for development potential. Over 100 acres of meadows, successional fields, woodland, and wetland are up for review …

The Revitalization Of Springfield’S North End - Envisioning New Housing And Places To Live, Work And Recreate, Samantha R. Anderson, Ngoc Xuan Doan, Ivette Banoub, Keith W. Hannon, Trudy M. Hall, Irene Estelle Miller, Colin N. O'Donnell, Amanda Lynn Rookey, Yan Xu

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

This report summarizes the results of a seven-week design studio in our Landscape Architecture Program and engaged experts, stakeholders and medical students of the Memorial Square Neighborhood, in conjunction with planning officials from the Springfield Office of Planning and Economic Development. The project brought students and local export together in a supportive and constructive atmosphere of reciprocal learning.

The proposals seek to connect the powerful economy of the medical sector with the rich culture of the North End to create a more balanced social and economic climate. More spatial, green connections of the hospitals with local businesses on Main Street …

La 494li - Senior Capstone Landscape Architecture Studio, Lawrence, Massachusetts, Joseph A. Agrillo, William Cody Black, Nic M. Brown, Phil John Cassidy, Run Chen, Theodore D. Chesbro, Patrick W. Corey, Krystal A. Ford, Jay M. French, Thomas John Frontera, Kathleen Lauren Haas, Thomas F. Holt, Alexander Jardin, Da Hee Lee, Henry C. Puza, Sean J. Regnier, Charles M. Richard, Eliza H. Rodrigs, David William Ross, Stphen Sanborn, Phil M. Schweiger, Patrick Sephton, Julia Rose Sim

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning ~ Senior Capstone Lawrence Greenway Proposal ~ Lawrence, Massachusetts

Landscape planning crosses scales from regional to site specific, taking a real world problem to creative sustainable solutions. An introduction to design research methods, inventory and assessment models and techniques for policy planning, regional scale design proposals, and site selection for particular development types. Implementation of a greenway solution

Instructors:

Robert L. Ryan, Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning

Ethan Carr, Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning

Teaching Assistant Samantha Anderson

Exploring Sites Close To Home: Installations Along The Connecticut River, Caryn Brause

Caryn Brause

Understanding the intertwined relationships that constitute a “place” involves studying that place at a series of scales. This paper focuses on work completed during the Fall 2011 third semester undergraduate studio at the University of Massachusetts that employed making at a variety of scales to engage students in a close study of their local environment. One pedagogical goal of the third architectural studio is to move students from formal abstraction toward the expressive potential of actual architectural construction. This semester acts as a bridge between the more focused projects of first year studios and the independent projects of the final …

The Window Unit: Low-Tech Animal Husbandry In The High-Rise, Carey Clouse, Zachary Lamb

Carey Clouse

Like humans, animals have also witnessed a steady shrinking of their territory, space, or landscape of inhabitation. The Window Unit creates individualized animal habitats that take advantage of the human environment in a way that allows for a mutualistic relationship. Chickens, bees, and fish gain a useful and previously uninhabitable space in the air, their living quarters curiously fastened to a window ledge via a simple and solid steel armature.

Healing In A War Torn Nation: Cultivating A Restorative Environment In Afghanistan, Ryan P. Ball

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The Afghanistan world that many westerners imagine is one of a war-ravaged and depraved land littered with danger and peril where individuals struggle in daily survival. The concept is not too distant from the truth. Afghanistan has spent the better part of its history engaged in war both externally and internally. Constant turmoil has left the country in a state of social, political, ecological, and medical turmoil and stress.

The country once again finds itself in a state of repair. Much of this effort is focused on fighting disease through increased healthcare and education. Many recent advances in healthcare have …

Umass Amherst Collections 2013, Ludmilla D. Pavlova-Gillham, Elizabeth R. Dumont

Campus Planning Master Plans

During the Campus Master Planning effort the need to better understand and plan for the UMass Amherst collections was identified and an ad-hoc committee was created to help advance a better understanding of the existing collections and how best to plan for the future. The committee was comprised of Directors/ curators of campus academic collections, Campus Planning staff and other related campus professionals. The first task of the committee was to develop a basis for creating a planning framework for the academic collections. The Committee defined existing collections and set a framework and common language that enabled the classification and …

Campus-Wide Parking Vision Plan, Dennis Swinford, Niels P. La Cour, Vhb

Campus Planning Master Plans

The University of Massachusetts Amherst Parking Vision Plan is a key component of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus Master Plan 2012. With the campus in the midst of a $1 billion capital improvement program, the Campus Master Plan looks 40 years into the future, matching academic vision with upgraded facilities to strengthen the sense of community and enhance the campus's beauty. The Parking Vision Plan articulates a parking system vision and guiding principles that support the vision of the Master Plan; it institutes a blueprint for parking-related decisions and policies on the UMass Amherst campus. The report discusses …

University Of Massachusetts Amherst 2012-2021 Capital Improvement Projects, Douglas Vigneau, Juanita Holler, University Of Massachusetts Building Authority, John Mathews, Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, Ezra Small

Campus Planning Master Plans

In 2013 the University of Massachusetts, on behalf of the University of Massachusetts Building Authority and Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), submitted an Expanded Environmental Notification Form for the University's 2012 - 2021 Capital Improvement Plan to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office (MEPA).

Taken individually, the majority of the Projects, comprising of 13 building/space, 7 site/landscape, and 5 facility/ utility scale improvement projects, do not require MEPA review as most of the Project sites are confined to infill areas on campus that are currently or …

Planning For Campus Collections 2013, Ludmilla D. Pavlova-Gillham, Elizabeth R. Dumont, Dennis Swinford

Campus Planning Reports and Plans

During the Campus Master Planning effort the need to better understand and plan for the UMass Amherst collections was identified and an ad-hoc committee was created to help advance a better understanding of the existing collections and how best to plan for the future. The committee was comprised of Directors/ curators of campus academic collections, Campus Planning staff and other related campus professionals. The first task of the committee was to develop a basis for creating a planning framework for the academic collections. The Committee defined existing collections and set a framework and common language that enabled the classification and …

Umass Amherst Green Building Guidelines 2013, Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, Ted Mendoza, Ezra Small, Patricia O'Flaherty, Nariman Mostafavi, Mohamed Farzinmoghadam, Somayeh Tabatabaee Pozveh

Campus Planning Reports and Plans

Facilities & Campus Services, Sustainable UMass and Campus Planning support sustainability and energy conservation initiatives by providing in-house resources to campus staff as well as designers and contractors working with the University. The UMass Amherst Green Building Guidelines provide a framework for approaching new construction and major renovation projects at UMass Amherst that are undergoing LEED certification by focusing the conversation on green building aspects that are most important to the campus. They are intended to be the beginning of a dynamic conversation between designers, environmental consultants and constructors, university stakeholders, and users of new high performance buildings.

Core-House: A Proposal For Re-Inhabiting Underused Buildings, Thom P. Barry

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis is an exploration of how small independent residential units added one at a time can offer old buildings and the cities they are in the opportunity to gradually grow and change – in a way that isn’t presented by the typical double-loaded corridor build-out.

The first component of this exploration is a modular unit that can be brought into existing buildings and assembled in a flexible layout. This House acts as a ‘Core’ that provides basic shelter, warmth, and a place to sleep and prepare food; the density of this unit allows the surrounding square footage to be …

Energy Efficiency Programs At All Utilities: An Analysis Of The Factors That Lead Electric Utilities To Invest In Energy Efficiency, Christopher J. Pletcher

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

While the utilization of energy efficiency has grown in recent years, it has not been distributed evenly across the country. In some states, over 2% of a utility’s budget is spent on energy efficiency; in other states that number is 0. Much of the growth in energy efficiency has been due to state policies and the development utility-level energy efficiency programs. Yet, all utility programs are not created equal. Because they are often exempt from state regulation (and therefore state energy efficiency policy), publicly-owned utilities have traditionally lagged behind IOUs when it comes to EE programs.

This research quantifies energy …

Negotiating Postwar Landscape Architecture: The Practice Of Sidney Nichols Shurcliff, Jeffrey Scott Fulford M.D., M.P.H., M.L.A.

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

While documentation of the work of a select group of modernist landscape architects of the mid-twentieth century is available, little is known about the professional contributions of transitional landscape architects active in the period following World War II. Using selected projects framed by existing literature covering contemporary social, economic, political, and artistic influences, this study examines the career of one such transitional figure, Sidney Nichols Shurcliff (1906-1981). Project descriptions and analysis measure the scope of Shurcliff's work and the degree to which he contributed to the discipline and its transition to modernism, thereby augmenting the history of landscape architecture practice.

Riverside Brewing Facility: The Sustenance Of Water Allocation, Ryan T. Luczkowiak

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Water is the most vital resource on Earth. We are facing a global water crisis and the time has come to investigate how we can cope with this issue at a local basis. We live in a culture that is facing economic recessions and is striving for a developmental change. In the advancement of our technological age we are looking for new innovative means of development. Our existing infrastructural conditions cannot handle the sort of social shift we are striving for. We have to become sustainable but the most important is the allocation of water. The issue I am addressing …

Of Dirt And Decomposition: Proposing A Place For The Urban Dead, Katrina M. Spade

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The intent of this thesis is to challenge our society’s existing options for the care and processing of the deceased, and to design a space and a ritual which are both deeply meaningful and ecologically beneficial. The community for whom this architecture is designed currently lacks the religious or cultural rituals which would otherwise guide them through the process of laying of their loved ones to rest. For this community, both traditional burial and cremation are devoid of meaning and culturally irrelevant ways of dealing with the deceased, in addition to being unnecessarily wasteful processes. Likewise, the community for which …

A Sustainable Urban Village For The "Six Corners" & "Old Hill" Neighborhoods Of Springfield, Massachusetts, Patricia O'Flaherty

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In the United States, traditional urban centers, particularly in the Northeast, have suffered from neglect, dilapidation, and the general decay of their built environments over the last 50-60 years. Corresponding with this on the social side are increased poverty, unemployment, crime, and the disruption of the family unit.

Our current knowledge of the disciplines of architecture and sustainability can be applied to a built solution that will yield a greater public good. Good design can improve the lives of people by creating homes, neighborhoods, and villages that are comfortable, secure, and sustainable for all of the activities that make life …

Wind Power, Public Power: Evaluating Public Participation In New England Land-Based Wind Development, Gwen M. Miller

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Wind energy is a means of energy production without carbon emissions, facilitating regional and national energy security. While there are currently no offshore wind farms in the United States, there has been growing success in building land-based wind capacity. Within the wind industry, there is a call for a streamlined permitting process, as well as an objective evaluation of current stakeholder processes. Within city and regional planning, the stakeholder process and public participation in general have long been subject to research and discourse, as scholars and practitioners alike seek to identify and typify what exactly makes public participation robust or …

Architecture For A New Food System- An Investigation Into Healthy Eating Through Architecture, Emily M. Gasperetti

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis seeks to explore the impact that architecture can have on peoples' relationship with food. The industrialization of American society over the past two centuries has distance people from the source of their food; this distance has significantly contributed to an overall decreased in American health. The concept of this thesis is that architecture can have a positive impact on peoples' relationship with food and thereby help improve the health of a community.

I chose a site on the outskirts of Glens Falls, New York to locate my project, the Glens Falls Good Foods Collective. This site is ideal …