Architecture Commons^™

Community Identity: Place And The South Knoxville Waterfront, Nicholas Joseph Burger

Masters Theses

“With the loss of tactility and the scale and details crafted for the human body and hand, our structures become repulsively flat, sharp-edged, immaterial, and unreal” (Holl 29). Our built environment is full of constructs which are unsuccessful on a number of levels proving why it is critical to concentrate on a sense of place and identity. A great place is described as one where people gravitate towards, a place for everyone, something that is memorable, and a space which evokes a story (Placemaking Is...). South Knoxville, Tennessee, the selected site of this thesis, will test the concept of place …

Stream Of Change: An Urban Stream Resurgence Through A Water-Centric Approach To Redevelopment, Jessica Graydon Taylor

Masters Theses

The relationship between cities and streams has historically been one of conflict. Streams are dynamic systems that do not conform to the rigid physical boundaries that characterize urban development. Past solutions to adapt streams to the urban landscape included altering stream paths and confining them to concrete channels and pipes to control localized flooding so that valuable land could be used for the construction of buildings and infrastructure. The increase in impervious cover and the rapid conveyance of stormwater to receiving streams typical to urban development has resulted in the “urban stream syndrome”, a consistently observed ecological degradation (Walsh et …

Forgotten Infrastructure: The Future Of The Industrial Mundane, Whitney Ann Manahan

Masters Theses

The typical cycle of industrial use, disuse, and abandonment is no longer acceptable or feasible. This thesis investigates phased remediation and conversion of petrochemical structures and their respective sites with the intention of increasing both the socioeconomic vitality and environmental quality of the area.

The oil silo is an intriguing object and industrial artifact. Being close to one of these massive structures is captivating and there is something truly exciting and thought provoking about inhabiting a space that was clearly not meant for humans. These are qualities that provide opportunities to connect people with a site and create a place …

Layers Of Staro Sajmište [Re]Opening Dialog, Jared Samuel Wilkins

Masters Theses

This research analyzes and tests the application of a process driven memorial intervention on the contested territory of Staro Sajmište, Novi Belgrade’s former 1937 International Exposition Fairgrounds that was adapted into a concentration camp in 1941. Today, Staro Sajmište exists as makeshift living for an impoverished community. Traditional memorial and conservation efforts have been attempted on the site over the last 60 years; however, none have achieved an appropriate depth of impact. I propose to revisit Staro Sajmište through an intervention not recognized as a literal memorial, but rather as the transformation and re-appropriation of the urban fabric into an …

Constructing Terroir: Architectural Mitigation In Mono-Economies At Risk To Climate Change, Geneva Margaret Hill

Masters Theses

Climate change will have enormous implications for the future of architecture and design at all scales. Architectural discourse has recently focused mainly on preparing major cities to become the future sustainable centers of living for the world. Little has been discussed, however, about the future of smaller communities on the periphery and the implications of their loss to the diverse American cultural landscape.

Napa Valley contains many communities threatened by a changing climate. Napa Valley plays a major role in America’s culture as the heart of American winemaking. The success in Napa Valley wine is deeply rooted to the soil. …

Addressing Nature Deficiency With Outdoor Classrooms, Leah Ann Sullivan

Masters Theses

Currently, a vast majority of elementary aged children are nature deficient. [1] They attend six to eight hours of school five days a week, have limited independent outdoor access due to safety concerns (example: congested neighborhoods with high traffic volume, a fear of being kidnapped, crime rates), health concerns like asthma, and spending more time indoors with technology devices. Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, explains, "Nature-deficient disorder describes human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses." [2] This lack of …

Integrating Engineering And Social Aspects In Selecting Stormwater Control Measures (Scms), Maudy Indriani Budipradigdo

Masters Theses

The Low Impact Development (LID) approach to stormwater management is rapidly becoming the required replacement for the traditional approach of development design, solely for peak runoff attenuation. Stormwater Control Measures (SCMs) used in LID designs are some combination of physical structures and /or agronomic practices designed to capture runoff, remove pollutants, promote groundwater recharge, and protect receiving streams from channel degradation. The LID approach has been studied and documented in many journals and design manuals, but we know of no comprehensive study that combines the engineering (hydrologic performance requirements) and social aspects (complementary requirements) of the approach. SCMs have historically …

The Campaign For Urban Eco-Literacy: Communicating Ecological Principles In The Urban Landscape, Whitney Suzanne Tidd

Masters Theses

Though built by humans, a native species to the planet, the city is often seen as something unnatural. Cities are perceived as being separate from nature. Humans may think of “nature” as places that are separate from where they live and work. Organisms thrive and biological processes persist in urbanized environments in spite of the concrete, air, water pollution, dense human population and otherwise seemingly harsh conditions. This condition of the city as nature illustrates the ecological principles of survival, adaptation and resilience. Through a deeper understanding of these complex interconnections between other organisms, our physical surroundings and ourselves, we …

Adaptive Golf Course Redevelopment: Identity And Balance, Timothy Joseph Lysett

Masters Theses

Unknown to much of the general public, the golf industry is currently in a state of ongoing retraction. One of the many outcomes of this retraction is the closing of hundreds of golf courses across the country, leaving many residential communities that where designed around these open green spaces lacking an integral part of their identity. The Calusa Country Club Community of Kendall Florida, is one such place.

Like many closed golf courses throughout the United States, Calusa is currently caught in a state of limbo. As the centerpiece of a master-planned residential community developed in 1970, the golf course …

Red Bird Water Kiosk Pavilion _ Clean Water Clean Life, Garrett Keyes Nelli

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Architecture has the power to strengthen community bonds, support a healthy life style and enrich individual lives. The Red Bird Water Kiosk seeks to achieve all three of these on the site of the Red Bird Mission campus, located deep in the Appalachian Mountains of Clay County, Kentucky. This is an area where most live below the poverty line, and about 64 percent of water sources are contaminated. As a result, lack of clean water has forced many locals to turn to unhealthy living standards. Because of these conditions, the county ranks as one of the poorest in the nation, …