Architecture Commons^™

Festive Space, John C. Goddard

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Atlanta struggles with a challenge for its citizens in the form of pedestrianism. Over time, the city’s infrastructure has morphed into one that encourages vehicular movement. This leads to a breakdown in the use of streets for pedestrians outside of their strictly desired destination. Eventually this compounds to encourage against socialization. Furthermore, citizens may be affected mentally and emotionally when they come in contact with people less frequently. The design idea of this thesis revolves around creating incidental spaces in people’s path of travel that encourage stopping and even socializing. Revitalization helps not only the pedestrian scene, but also with …

Revitalizing Main Street, Usa: Recovering From The American Dream And The Destruction Of The Rural Main Street, Rebecca Virgl

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses and Student Projects

The American Dream is a national ethos that states any person, with enough hard work, can succeed in the United States; it is both critique of the pitfalls of capitalism and advocacy of the potentials the system offers. Over time, suburbia has come to represent the physical manifestation of the American Dream. In the world of planning and architecture, much discussion is given to the suburbanization of the United States. The relationship between the city and the suburb is well documented, and many plans for suburban improvements focus on making suburbs more like cities, where they are more walkable, dense, …

Material Contentions; Negotiating The Image Of Civic Space, Emmei Gootnick, Coumba Kante

Architecture Senior Theses

This thesis sounds the alarm on what protest has turned into today, and brings to light the misappropation of architectural objects in civic spaces. Through a meticulous collection and analysis of objects that have been appropriated for protest, we can establish the methods that led to appropriation in the first place , and subsequently re-appropriate in order to fabricate a new architectural environment. The fabrication of a new and morphed space can provide an environment where there is no need for physical extremes, instead providing a reconstructed atmosphere of contemporary protest that fosters true engagement, interaction, and expression.

Life On The Sidewalk: A Comparative Analysis Of Pratt Street And Park Street In Hartford, Connecticut, And Its Implications, Rocio Fernandez Gutierrez

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Law School News: National Housing Advocate Named To Lead Rwu's New Real Estate Initiatives 02/08/2022, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Brutalism And The Public University: Integrating Conservation Into Comprehensive Campus Planning, Shelby Schrank

Masters Theses

The University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Commonwealth’s flagship campus, is home to several Brutalist buildings. Similar to other buildings of this genre, they have gone unrecognized for their importance to the campus and their prominent architectural significance. Additionally, due to the ravages of close to 50 years of exposure coupled with limited maintenance and, in some instances, neglect they are now at a point where restorative maintenance is critical in ensuring their future contribution to the campus.

This thesis addresses the importance of creating a comprehensive, long-term plan for these buildings, by first looking to the University’s most prominent, yet …

Inner City Artscape, Michelle Nguyen

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The research of this project deals with multiple disciplines such as art, culture, and social connection that ultimately benefits human development and well-being. Through the architectural urban design of the main street of Hapeville, GA, this thesis aims to solve the issues of vitalization and attraction to a main city street in a design of a residential community to activate public spaces through the work and input of the creative class and local community. Ultimately, this redesign of the main street will be a catalyst of economic growth and well-being of the local community, revitalizing a home into an urban …

Springfield's Legacy: A Vision For A Transformative Transit-Oriented Union Station District, Keith Benoit, Nigel Cummings, Caitlan Davis, Kinjal Desai, Marcos Gonzalez, Jiaqi Guo, Anna Kellerman, Olivia Ashjian James, Bryce Lloyd-Hahn, Stephen Mccusker, Chris Ramage, Jessica Schottanes

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

This urban design studio developed concepts around equitable transportation Union Station in Springfield, Massachusetts. The work creates a vision for the Union Station District, a revitalized mixed-use walkable neighborhood adjacent to the restored transportation center. It emphasizes reusing the city’s historic street grid in new, forward thinking ways that enhance neighborhood connectivity. The plan creates physical and social networks that bring together diverse groups of residents and visitors. The Union Station District will be a place that offers a range of non-automobile transportation options to residents and visitors and will help transforming an area characterized by vacant lots and empty …

Retrieving Memories Of Alexandria's Past By Revitalizing The Heritage Of Kom El-Dekka, Dina Nassar, Riham Ragheb

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Across the history of dealing with problems of increasing poverty in historic city centers of developing countries, studies have indicated high levels of demand and strong support for urban revitalization projects compared to other solutions such as; relocation or clearance and redevelopment. In such historic inner city centers, heritage can become a driver for development. Revitalization projects that demonstrate a concern for affordability for less wealthy citizens has become the best alternative to meet the needs of the citizens and small businesses in such deteriorated areas in old city centers. Preparing Alexandria for the 21st century has to take into …

Potentials For Creative Urban Development At Kom El-Dekka- Alexandria, Dina Nassar, Riham Ragheb

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Can Alexandria lead a future as its bright past? To raise this question, it is important to understand its past and present. Alexandria is a Mediterranean city and the second largest city in Egypt after Cairo. It was home to the Ancient Pharos Lighthouse and Library of Alexandria. Alexandria was once, not only the center of its region, but of the entire world. Now, merely any physical evidence of this history exists. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Alexandria became known as a cosmopolitan center of Mediterranean culture, economy and trade. These unique layers of cultural identity are …

Transformation And Revitalization Approach Of Cultural Heritage In Prizren In The 20th Century, Bekim Ceko, Jusuf Xhibo

UBT International Conference

It is well known that cultural heritage is said to have never reached to now its source state. Over time they have undergone changes depending on the circumstances of the time. Changes and modifications that affect the monuments can be divided into two main groups. The first group comprises mainly privately owned buildings, especially residential buildings where the owners have made various arbitrary modifications depending on their needs. The second group includes state-owned public buildings or various religious-social communities that have served the general public.

Interventions in this group (second) were mainly carried out by the competent institutions that were …

Sustainable Communities, Fall/Winter 2010, Issue 21

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Re-Live Downtown Pine Bluff, Community Design Center

Project Reports

Once a prosperous cultural urban center in the Mississippi River delta, but now the nation’s second fastest shrinking city, Pine Bluff (population: 42,700) is Arkansas’ Detroit. Indeed, a study of black wealth conducted by famed sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois in 1899 found that Pine Bluff had the fourth highest rate of black wealth in the nation behind Charleston, Richmond, and New York City. The school’s community design center prepared a downtown revitalization plan, Re-Live Downtown Pine Bluff, a housing-first initiative focused on building neighborhoods around downtown “centers of strength”. While the revitalization approach is triaged around a …

Myers Street Streetscape Plan, Nathan J. Manning

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

The Scott’s Addition neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia has faced growing density and redevelopment as the neighborhood has become an appealing place to live, work, and play. Myers Street sits directly East from most of Scott’s Addition and has historically housed many industrial businesses. The street is rapidly transforming as many commercial/retail businesses are moving into the corridor. Streetscape redevelopment of the corridor will cause a need for complete streets infrastructure allowing the street to be a safe place for all people, urban design to provide visual aesthetics, and sustainable water runoff catchments to help displace stormwater to name just a …

Revitalization Of The Kokalari Estate Within The Historic Context Of Gjirokastra, Severin Karl Valentin Queck

UBT International Conference

In the historic center of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Gjirokastra lie the remains of one of the town’s most notable family-residences. Built in 1883, the edifice owns an extraordinary composition for the late Ottoman period. Today the ruin is a memorial site dedicated to Musine Kokalari, who spent her youth in Gjirokastra. She was declared a “National Heroine” years after her death in 1983 for her defiant stand against the totalitarian regime. This paper exposes the factors, which endanger the monument and explicates the necessary operations for a successful revitalization following the ideas of Arjeta Kokalari, curator of …

Revitalization Of New Dinamo Factory Through The Urban Agriculture, Françeska Delia, Ariana Neprvishta

UBT International Conference

The country's industrialization recognized its peak during the '60s and' 70s. Industrial constructions served as catalysts for the construction of several new housing blocks in Tirana. Around these industrial areas were built dedicated dwellings mainly for the workers' families. After the total abandonment of these structures, the industry was no longer the main revenue generator in the country, so Albanians turned to private activities.

For seven to eight years, we have turned attention to these factors from these areas and abandoned structures. The first is the private factor, which has begun to reuse some of the areas in these areas. …

Adaptive Reuse Of Warehouses In Relation To Neighborhood Cohesion And Identity: A Case Study Of New Orleans, Oklahoma City, And Minneapolis, Sarah Tappe

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Historical industrial warehouse districts in American cities have a unique and interesting history because of their rapid development and, in most cases, a subsequent neglect. However, because of its historical significance, its usual central location within the city, and architectural features, the warehouse district has become a focus for revitalization. Warehouse districts already have a historic identity and a cohesiveness in urban fabric and building typologies, but what are the effects of adaptive reuse in relation to the identity of the buildings and the district? In this thesis, three cities (New Orleans, Minneapolis, and Oklahoma City) with established and revitalized …

Visions For Waterville's Future: Perceptions Of Its Residents, Alex Wolansky

Honors Theses

Mills and factories in the United States have steadily been closing down as industry is outsourced in the globalized economy. Cities that were once prosperous face decay and often have no hopeful future outlook. Post-industrial towns face major unemployment and poverty and are not typically places for re-investment. But Rust Belt cities like Baltimore, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukee and St. Louis are not the only post- industrial hubs that are struggling. Many small towns in rural areas once thrived from manufacturing and are becoming forgotten. Local governments, policy makers, urban planners, developers and scholars are working to figure …

Gra[In]Vincible, Kimberly Ann Wojcik

Masters Theses

This thesis is about the stitching of a community back together at a scale that is appropriate to the existing demographics. The memory of place and time are still evident in the relics that are the Buffalo Grain Elevators; the only changing variable is the rate of population and affordability in the adjacent Old First Ward.

The economic downturn of big business and the havoc it wreaked on the worker community created a ripple effect in large enough scale to grab hold of an entire city. In an attempt to bulldoze rust covered structures and knock down abandoned homes rather …

The Imaret Of Mehmed Ali Pasha Preservation And Transformation Of An Ottoman And Egyptian Heritage Into A Masterpiece Of Heritage Protection And Revitalization In Greece, Ivkovska Velika

UBT International Conference

As part of the Architectural Heritage-Past and Future Challenges for the Region and Architecture Values and Heritage session, I will offer the participants of the 5th IC ASPC 2016 a glimpse at one of the greatest, monumental Islamic structures built in once Ottoman Kavala and still existing with its whole grandeur in today’s Greece, The Mehmed Ali’s IMARET.

The Imaret külye (complex) of Kavala, built by Mehmed Ali Pasha, an Ottoman general and the future founder of the Egyptian Dynasty, is one of the most outstanding Islamic historical monuments in today’s Greece, dominating the view of the old hilly peninsula …

Occupy Pomo | A Citizen's Guide To Urban Excavation, Kriti Garg

Architecture Senior Theses

Traditionally, architects' definitions of solid-void conditions create a dichotomy between private, or built matter, and public, or void, spaces. Yet, this notion is a missed opportunity to understand the complex society of the twenty-first century that no longer operates within the realm of open, public space nor acts as a point of primal cohesiveness for culture and community. Rather than aggregating at instances of density, it is lost within a new ghostly cosmopolitan substitute of mass consumption and globalized culture. This new public realm is a "phantom public sphere", one comprised of "sub-publics", tailored to the demands of a mass …

Urban Redevelopment Through City-University Partnerships: Envisioning An Education District In Springfield, Massachusetts, Mohammed Abdelaal

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the impact of planning a potential new urban university campus in Springfield, Massachusetts on the city’s long term goals for urban revitalization. By exploring a collaborative and community-oriented process for higher-educational development, I propose a dynamic model that could work as a catalyst for urban revitalization.

The study will focus on the following: developing partnerships between the city of Springfield (government, community, local groups) and major educational institutions (such as the University of Massachusetts system); identifying potential sites suitable for the anticipated urban/mixed-use campus or compound; and studying and analyzing the forces within the city (neighborhoods around …

Building For The Future: Revitalization Through Architecture, Rebecca N. Perry

Masters Theses

This thesis focuses on the revitalization of a once thriving manufacturing city, Gardner, Massachusetts. In the past the city of Gardner was rich with furniture manufacturers. Over the years the manufacture of furniture has left Gardner. The goal of this thesis is to reinvigorate the furniture making and craft back into Gardner. The proposed revitalization of the town was furthered through teaching and the design and production of a new product line. The renovation and retrofit of an existing now abandoned, building. Designing to meet the strategies, methods, and processes of furniture production; merged with an architecture meant to signal …

No Space Left Behind - Graduate Urban Design Studio - Landarch 606, Christopher H. Counihan, Matthew R. Hisle, Yanhua Lu, Maozhu Mao, Emilie Marques Jordao, James S. Prendergast, Michalagh C. Stoddard, Ruoying Tang, Jing Wang, Nelle Katharine Ward, Yuqing Yang, Yi Yang, Yu Yu, Kellie Fenton, Yue Li, Yuquing Wu

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

The following report documents the work of the 2015 Spring Graduate Urban Design Studio course in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. This fourteen week studio focused on using tactical urbanism to engage Springfield’s Metro Center neighborhood with visions to revitalize the downtown core of this legacy city.

In addition to completing the components of a traditional urban design studio (site analyses, schematic plans, spatial designs, and programming), the student teams also developed conceptual projects to immediately engage the public. These efforts culminated in a free afternoon walking tour throughout the Metro Center that presented several tactical interventions. …

Alive! A Dynamic Process Of Renewal At Pier 70., Kalyn Crosier

Landscape Architecture

Alive is a project proposal for the most northern portion of Pier 70 in San Francisco at the historical slip number four. The project strives to reinvigorate a toxic brownfield with remediation systems, transforming the location into a productive landscape beneficial to surrounding neighborhoods. The project strives to revitalize adjacent communities as well as natural ecosystems.

Successful Urban Design Principles For The Redevelopment Of The Historic Seafronts In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Along The North Red Sea , Case Study: Yanbu Al-Bahr’S Historic Seafront, Naif F. Alanazi

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis highlights the role of urban planners in the revitalization of historic

seafronts as creative and attractive places for people and a key factor in the

regeneration of the urban economy in the historic seafront areas. The Saudi Arabia

historic seafront areas along the North Red Sea have been neglected and are suffering

because of slow development and changes to industrial uses. This thesis will focus on

the urban design principles that make historic seafronts more attractive and

successful, and will use a case study approach of several American waterfront cities

such as Baltimore, Maryland; San Francisco, California; and …

The Modern Urban Neighborhood: The Role Of Dwelling In Neighborhood Revitalization, Zachary Nelson

Architecture Theses

Today's architects, planners and urban designers are tasked with the goal of the revitalization of cities and the primary ring of neighborhoods which surround them. These neighborhoods are vital to the life of the city and due to the phenomena of suburbanization many lay dormant as dismal reminders of the once prosperity of the city. The purpose of this exploration is to create a model for the revitalization of urban neighborhoods by looking at the role of dwelling in the process of revitalization. The idea that an urban dwelling is not just your home but it is a series of …

Renewing Spokane: A Study Of Motivating Forces Behind Downtown Revitalization Projects, Kara K. Mowery

All Master's Theses

This study examines the motivating forces behind downtown urban renewal projects through qualitative interview research. Using Spokane, Washington, as a case study, interviews were conducted with key players in downtown revitalization, including public administrators, private developers, and non-profit representatives. While neoliberal theory indicates that economic return serves as the primary motivation for investment, interview questions were designed to uncover whether additional motivating factors stimulate renewal work. Results indicate that those conducting renewal projects are primarily motivated by economics, but additionally cite heritage preservation values and community development as significant factors. Moreover, contemporary renewal projects are found to be small-scale endeavors, …

Bhutanese Dwellings: Sustaining The State Of Wellbeing-Ness, Waricha Wongphyat

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

Although Gross National Happiness (GNH) is acclaimed as the Bhutanese overarching goal of development, the country's pursuit of modernization and urbanization has inevitably brought about adecline in vitality of traditional communities and indigenous dwellings. This paper aims to explore how to sustain the state of wellbeing-ness of the Bhutanese dwellings in the evolving context. Considering the abundance of natural and cultural landscape vis-à-vis the deficiency of human resource and skill in agriculture, Shari village is selected as the case study representing the nationwide concerns. Based on field surveys, interviews and documents provided by the DCHS, this paper proposes the smart …

Architecture For The Revitalization Of Community, Erin Riley

Masters Theses

While human society has changed a great deal through time, our need for community has remained prevalent. Architecture is a reflection of this need for community in its ability to gather people together by its definition of space, even in that of the basic plane of the public plaza. Though there are many factors to creating a sense of community, architecture and the manipulation of our environment can act as a tool for drawing people together and encouraging interaction between them.

The community of Holyoke was at one time a thriving industrial community in the 1900’s. With the passage of …