Architecture Commons^™

We Have A (Home) - Co-Operative Homes For Sunset Park, Lisa Qiu

Masters Theses

The thesis believes that the speculative nature of land as property is at the root of the rising cost of quality living space. The combination of profit-driven market force and policies has produced inequality in the accessibility of property ownership.This reality is entangled with a culture that perceives exclusive rights and private ownership as superior to sharing for almost everything, especially the home.

This project believes affordable urban density can be achieved in a city like New York by pushing forward a sense of possibility and desirability in collaborative efforts to create and manage homes. These homes will not be …

Flows Of Sound “Harnessing Sound As Critical Urban Resources”, Zuan Lin

Masters Theses

Transportation infrastructure serves as a vital component essential for the efficient functioning of any city. Originally, the design of transportation arterial systems aimed to improve communication and facilitate movement between different regions. Whether catering to passenger or freight transportation, these arterial routes were designed to efficiently transport large volumes of people and goods, utilizing the rapid movement of vehicles within designated spatial corridors. Undoubtedly, transportation plays a significant role in promoting the physical and economic growth of cities. However, it is crucial to recognize that this very infrastructure can also lead to the fragmentation and isolation of communities situated along …

Infection-Free Landscape: Adaptable Urban Open Space Design During And After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Weirong Luo

Masters Theses

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the public perception, usage, and behaviors of urban open spaces. During the past three years, spatial measures to reduce the transmission of infection such as quarantine and social distancing have resulted in people’s isolation and reduction of daily physical interaction with others. Urban open spaces, including streets, squares, and parks, are outdoor urban spaces open for public access and recreation. From Frederick Law Olmsted’s design of New York’s Central Park to Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago, the United States has a long history of planning and designing the urban environment for better …

Urban Vine: Reimagine The Scaffolding As A Repair Opportunity To Transform The Ecosystem, Shuyi Guan

Masters Theses

Scaffolding has been used as a tool to remove, construct, or repair city infrastructure. It can also be conceived as a metaphor for city development and its continuing renovation. Scaffolding in New York City has become an urban problem because it is structurally unsafe, and the darkness it brings to the street is a perceived threat to the sidewalk commons. It makes the sidewalk become a negative space in between the building and the street and the street edge is less identifiable. These negative experiences cause walking on the street to be less comfortable.

Cities are in continuous transformation, both …

Manahatta, Nicholas Hinckfuss

Masters Theses

The explosive population growth of overly indulgent urban societies, in conjunction with the absence of systematic structures that alleviate human environmental impacts, contribute to unfavorable socio-economic consequences which actively interfere with the long-term prospect of human development. One of the hidden costs of the urban population boom is the alarming trend of infectious disease outbreaks. To meet the demands of an ever growing population, essential urban conditions such as green spaces, eco-infrastructure, and amiable living conditions are lacking from modern urban contexts. New York City, is the perfect example of a hyperly urban community that lacks an overall organizational strategy …

New York City 2050: Climate Change And Future Of New York | Design For Resilience, Abhinav Bhargava

Masters Theses

The escalating temperature, annual precipitation, sea level rise and carbon footprint will likely lead to an unimagined future which does not have a bright side. With the rise in carbon footprint particularly due to greenhouse gas emissions, burning of fossil fuels and change in land uses; carbon dioxide is 40% higher as compared to era before Industrial Revolution.

The constant increase in temperature is melting the glaciers and increasing the sea levels. The Hudson River is estimated to rise by 1.5-2ft by 2050, directly affecting the low-lying areas of Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. Amongst the multiple coastal cities …