Architecture Commons^™

Community Development In Emerging Cities: A Case For Lagos,Nigeria, Olaoluwa Olakunle Silva

Masters Theses

Urban spatial expansion resulting from urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is growing and will not stabilize in the near future. Sub-Saharan Africa’s urban growth rate is climbing faster than developing economies. Efforts should be concentrated on accommodating this phenomenon through the promotion of sustainable urban planning and development.

Relying on secondary data, this research examines models of indigenous Sub-Saharan African urban forms and residential architecture vernacular to understand these forms and their characteristics, and how these models and associated management, design, and planning principles can be adopted in a contemporary context. Also, studies of established indigenous building materials and technology, …

Compound City: Social, Economic, And Environmental Impact In The Production Of Generative Urban Space, Nathan Jones

Architecture Senior Theses

"Compound City" will focus on the implementation of an open source, social infrastructure, as a methodology in addressing the on-going urban crisis in Lagos. Dealing primarily with urban informality, Lagos will serve as a theoretical testbed, providing a natural precedent in which to test these ideas. How can open source technologies - softwares & hardwares - subvert or embrace existing infrastructures/processes as a means of alleviating inadequate living conditions? Identifying the coincidental pressures in Lagos will help establish project parameters, driving the development of design criteria to be addressed by the new, open source, platform.

The City Is My Church: Presence And Identity For The Small Urban Congregation, Andrew Scalisi

Architecture Senior Theses

The phenomenon of church renting has grown out of necessity for small urban congregations. Churches are holding worship services in public and private places with greater regularity than some might think. It is not uncommon today to see portable church signs outside of unconventional places on Sundays. In Manhattan in particular, there is a greater need for rentable space as many congregations are struggling to find a permanent home due to density, finances, availability and politics. Typically, congregations rent until they can attain a permanent facility or develop a congregation large enough to support one. However, exercising this option comes …

Ciudad Disidente: Addressing Social And Infrastructural Deficiencies In Villa Salvador-- Part 1, Victoria Brewster

Architecture Senior Theses

Within the next twenty years, the Global South will account for 95% of urban growth, and nearly half of that will be within the informal sector.1 The population living within slums is expected to increase to two billion people by 2030, and if left unchecked, it may reach three billion by 2050.2 This extreme growth requires an URGENT response in order offset its adverse effects on the urban environment. Thus far, architects’ interventions in informal settlements have focused almost entirely on designing housing in order to improve the quality of life, and to meet the demands of the growing population. …

Ciudad Disidente: Addressing Social And Infrastructural Deficiencies In Villa Salvador-- Part 2, Victoria Brewster

Architecture Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

The Plots Of Alexanderplatz: A Study Of The Space That Shaped Weimar Berlin, Carrie Grace Latimer

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper explores Alexanderplatz during the Weimar Period in Berlin. It is looked at from three different perspectives: historical urban plans, Alfred Döblin's novel Berlin Alexanderplatz, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 1980's film adaptation of Berlin Alexanderplatz. Through these three mediums, an argument forms that Alexanderplatz functioned as both a major transit space for movement of transportation and pedestrians, but also the transit space for the movement of ideas and information.