Architecture Commons^™

Utilizing Biomimicry To Design Sustainable Architecture, Virginia Hammond

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Nature has an integral relationship with architecture and serves as a sustainable role model and inspiration for designers. The process of biomimicry in architecture has the potential to produce more sustainable design solutions and foster a connection between humans and nature. Existing biomimetic design projects have varying strengths and weaknesses as examples of the process. Utilizing guidelines and references from key leaders in biomimetic design consultancy (Biomimicry 3.8), selected case studies are assessed for their ability to demonstrate the benefits of this design strategy. Using these evaluations, the case studies are diagrammed and critiqued to determine how new projects could …

An Overview Of Sustainability Content In Higher Education: Applications For University Landscape Architecture Programs, Hye Yeon Park

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Higher education institutions worldwide have recognized the importance of integrating sustainability into their programs, with over 600 universities offering courses focused on sustainable development. This trend has led to the emergence of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This multidimensional approach aims to empower individuals to create a sustainable future by integrating environmental, social, and economic systems. In particular, ESD has been implemented in various aspects of higher education, such as course content, teaching methodologies, curriculum design, and faculty roles.

Design and planning education are critical components of shaping future decision-makers who will positively and negatively impact society and the environment. …

Adaptive (Re)Purpose Of Industrial Heritage Buildings In Massachusetts A Modular Strategy For Building A Community, Riya D. Premani

Masters Theses

A significant portion of a building’s carbon emission comes from the materials used to construct it, primarily through fabrication and assembly. According to the World Green Building Council, this is called embodied carbon, and it makes up to 49% of the total emissions from global construction. Thus, new energy-efficient buildings can take from 10-80 years of time to offset just the carbon used in construction. Combined with such amounts of construction and demolition waste, new construction can be viewed as a wasteful or even destructive practice. Adaptive reuse presents a promising alternative method for creating new space, without the emissions …

Water Relations, Understanding Our Relationship To Water: Through Research, Diagrams, And Glass, Tian Li

Masters Theses

As I observe the different ways human civilization interacts with water, I reflect on how I have interacted with it personally, in Califronia and Hawai’i. I also learn about the largest water-controlling infrastructure in China and its effects on the land and people. In Providence, I notice the infrastructure around the canal that keeps the water in. This relationship to water is unique to a post-colonial world where water is a commodity in which we spectate. What relationships did people have with water before we polluted the waters and created all this concrete infrastructure around it?

Through listening to Lorén …

Attainable And Sustainable Home Building Solutions, Katrina Matthews

Construction Management

Sustainability has fortunately been a recent concern in the construction industry as climate change continues to impose potentially insurmountable threats to the global environment. Although many new methods have been adopted in efforts to lessen the adverse environmental effects of construction-related activities, as a society, we still have much room for growth as the built environment accounts for almost 50% of global emissions. Many changes and standards must be adopted to make these solutions efficiently beneficial. To set industry standards, we must start with the most basic form of construction- residential building. This report covers two attainable framing solutions for …

Exploring The Potential Of Pavegen’S Kinetic Energy Generating Floor For Sustainable Energy Solutions: A Proposal For Cal Poly Slo, Brandon J. Cuneo

Construction Management

This paper proposes the installation of Pavegen's kinetic energy generating floors at Cal Poly’s campus as a sustainable energy solution. Pavegen has developed a pioneering technology that converts footsteps into clean and renewable energy. The versatility of these floors is demonstrated through successful implementations in various settings, such as transportation hubs and public spaces, generating power from foot traffic. Collaborations with Schneider Electric, installation at Dupont Circle, and integration at Heathrow Airport showcase the potential for sustainable urban infrastructure. This paper outlines research conducted on Pavegen and similar solutions, including communication with company representatives and examining proposed installation locations at …

Promoting Wellbeing In A Multiethnic Community: Expanding Interactions Of Human And Ecological Systems Through Sustainable Urban Connectivity, Citlali Rosas

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis aims to develop a responsive design that expands and connects public spaces in a sustainable way to promote socio-environmental resilience. The design takes a holistic approach, considering the interdependence of social, economic, and environmental factors. By integrating mobility and public spaces with environmentalism, the design addresses significant development concerns such as water consumption, biodiversity loss, and climate change adaptation. The proposed design creates accessible, inclusive, and attractive public spaces that foster a sense of belonging and social cohesion among residents. By prioritizing the needs of local communities, the design promotes ownership and strengthens social cohesion. The design also …

Origami In Design : How Can Origami Inform The Design Of The Kinetic Façade System?, Nicolas Ackerman

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The present goal as a designer is to create a very thoughtful building that presents itself as a visual identity for our built environment. One of the intentions of the design is to not impact more into the co2 emissions. With 40 percent of the 75 percent annual global Greenhouse emissions coming from building operations, (Architecture 2030), we as designers must shift from a formal to a performance-based architecture. An architecture that instinctively addresses reduced energy consumption and therefore lower CO2 emissions through the integration of passive design strategies. In order to compete in a future with CO2 reduction, we …

Empowering Communities Through Food Entrepreneurship And Creative Placemaking, Bailey Kijek

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The City of Clarkston is one of Atlanta’s oldest and most diverse communities. The city is currently in need of tactical placemaking strategies to create quality public spaces that can serve and unite the members of the community. This thesis seeks to identify the needs of the city using a comprehensive site analysis and apply that knowledge to determine a program that is best suited for the community. To create an impactful design, applicable placemaking procedures will be identified through literature review and case study analyses. The data collected will inform a design procedural that will yield an outcome that …

Biodive, Morgana Faucett

Graduate Theses

Humans exist among an intertwined series of ecosystems and environments. As a species, we curate the spaces, these environments, that surround us to suit our internalized visions of the world. While such curation is not inherently negative, humanity’s industrial process of constructing our visions is not always handled with sustainable methods. This paper analyzes my creative work through the framework of architecture’s role in climate change and human impact, highlighting past and present building practices. Solutions for future practices will also be considered, specifically targeting the questions of construction material, building function, and repurposing of older buildings to achieve a …

Subterraneans: A Regional Earth Dwelling For Comfort And Beauty, Isaak Benchoff

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Subterraneans is a study of an affordable, self-sufficient, sustainable, and dignified housing prototype for the region of Northwest Arkansas. It is a design process investigation based on the ideas of turning a local, sustainable material into affordable homes that can be built within a community of people sharing land and resources. The homes would utilize as many natural materials as possible to minimize the impact on the Earth and the cost to the owners.

Research looked at many different vernacular building precedents as well as the work done by contemporary design firms in the area of economical, low-impact, and passively …

Turning Green: Envisioning A Sustainable Future For Bowling Green, Kiana Fitzpatrick

Honors Projects

This project examines how smaller cities and communities can become more sustainable.

Precious Plastics - Plastic Brick Machine Fabrication, Timothy Ukaobasi Kanu, Evi Paraskevi Troulis

Architectural Engineering

The goal of this research is to determine the structural parameters of the recycled plastic polypropylene when molded into bricks resembling CMU blocks. To accomplish this, three mechanisms had to be assembled: the shredder, the injector, and the 1x1 mold. A tensile and compression test were to be performed on the plastic brick, and the values would be used to compare the tensile and compressive strength of PP plastic bricks, as well as their modulus of elasticity and stress vs. Strain performance. These values would be analyzed to determine whether it would be feasible to build an entire plastic wall. …

A Preliminary Study Of Perceptions Of Community Hospitals In Cairo, Egypt: Towards Healthy Environmental Design, Veronica Iskander

Theses and Dissertations

Hospitals are a place that people dread and often avoid. Negative experiences in hospitals can contribute to pain and suffering, as well as to stress, loss of control and overall discomfort. While architecture has the power to heal when designed and maintained, it also has the power to harm if not done right. Each architectural element then has the potential to either reduce stress or contribute to it. From the location of the hospital to the colors used, there are many factors that work together to create a safe welcoming space promoting healing for all. In this study, a checklist …

Development Of A Model Sustainability Management Plan For The City Of Morgantown, West Virginia, Caitlyn Elizabeth Lewis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This report has been prepared to demonstrate the research for a model planning document with a focus on sustainability in Morgantown, WV. It discusses the role of three categories in the context of sustainability and proposes a design solution for selected areas of concern throughout the City of Morgantown in order to demonstrate opportunities for a sustainable approach toward resolution for city officials.

The City of Morgantown, West Virginia, is a college town along the Monongahela River with a backstory of industrialism that is echoed by many other places in Appalachia. However, distinctively, in Morgantown 25,000 college students populate the …

On Space, Joseph S. Mcvicker Iii

Senior Projects Fall 2023

Our architecture is becoming more and more abstract; financial speculation, square-footage, zoning, taken-for-granted shapes, and the repetition of trivially differentiated prefabricated components represent an increasingly (supposedly) adequate description of our architecture - a description largely divorced from the lived reality of its social inhabitation or, in other words, what it means to us and how we use it. Meanwhile, the extraction of more new materials and the production of more, new, and different buildings has always been unsustainable. A practice is needed that reverses and resists this force of abstraction and that does not involve new construction but instead involves …

Redefining Community In The Age Of The Internet: Will The Internet Of Things (Iot) Generate Sustainable And Equitable Community Development?, Carson Martinez

Pomona Senior Theses

There is a problem so immense in our built world that it is often not fully realized. This problem is the disconnection between humanity and the physical world. In an era of limitless data and information at our fingertips, buildings, public spaces, and landscapes are divided from us due to their physical nature. Compared with the intense flow of information from our online world driven by the beating engine of the internet, our physical world is silent. This lack of connection not only has consequences for sustainability but also for how we perceive and communicate with our built environment in …

The Future Of The Urban Street In The United States: Visions Of Alternative Mobilities In The Twenty-First Century, Esther Zipori

Dissertations

This dissertation is concerned with the present and future of urban streets in the United States. The goal is to document and analyze current visions, policies, and strategies related to the form and use of American urban streets. The dissertation examines current mobility trends and offers a framework for organizing visions of the future of urban streets, evaluating them through three lenses: safety, comfort, and delight: assessing physical conditions in accordance with livability standards toward sustainable development. At the same time, it demonstrates the way 12 scenarios (NACTO Blueprint for Autonomous Urbanism, Sidewalk Labs: Quayside Project, Public Square by FXCollaborative, …

The Importance Of Street Lighting: A Study In San Luis Obispo, Kaitlyn P. Lam

City and Regional Planning

The purpose of this report is to shed light on the importance of resident and student safety in the City of San Luis Obispo. The report goes over exact locations of frequently used areas in the City of SLO that lack street lighting. By spreading awareness, studying different lighting types, and getting citizen input, it helps to plan out a method of bettering San Luis Obispo’s streets. The report presents information on efficient and cost-effective lighting in order to integrate them into a location specific proposal that the city could utilize. By the end of the report, readers will be …

X-Era: Adaptation To The Future Uncertainty With Sustainable Indigenous Wisdom, Ruoyuan Chen

Masters Theses

Due to human impacts on earth’s geology and ecosystem, the future of this planet and our society is uncertain. To navigate this uncertainty, it is urgent that we understand and explore new strategies to adapt to this unknown future. Over the millennia, indigenous communities around the world have developed advanced and nuanced ways to adapt to living in harsh environments. X is commonly used in science to refer to a variable that can change or be changed. Therefore, the thesis project – X-Era, aims to learn from the sustainability of traditional ecological knowledge to help inform how we may adapt …

System As A Living Organism, Xinyi Liu

Masters Theses

This is cross-disciplinary research in urban systems, architecture, bio-systems, agriculture, energy supplies, circular economy, and sustainability.

Solar Panels, Marco Nuno Mourão

Masters Theses

SOLAR PIXEL illustrates the intimate relationship between human and energy, attempts to advocate for questions against our unimaginative, unsustainable future, and ultimately question and locate our role behind the apertural exposure to solar energy.

One of the questions could be, how do we see energy manifest into our social structure. How are cities lit up, and what can we study from the pixels that we record using satellite images and data gathering and extrapolation. In this context, pixels on the screens are only apertures, which allows census organizations, government agencies, corporate research teams, or planners to estimate activities that are …

Skins+Fabrications: Addressing Fashion And Clothing Waste, Renee Palmer

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Articles of clothing; they are the second organ, the Second Skin. Their functions are to protect the body from the harsh external elements and create a sense of design with Fashion—the same as exterior facades on a building. However, where architecture and Fashion differ is sustainability.

The Global fashion industry contributes 10% of greenhouse emissions. From that 10%, about 13 million tonnes of clothing waste ends up in landfills or burned. Most of the waste comes from the Fast Fashion Industry, which sees cheap labor from underdeveloped countries to maximize profits. These companies will spend a good portion of their …

Transparency In Architecture: Reflecting The Practice Of Democracy In City Halls, Ana Mendoza

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The last election cycles of 2016 and 2020 became a tumultuous time for many Americans. More than ever, Democracy has been tested through recent events and has had many doubting the integrity of our governmental structures and the strength of our civic buildings. The events of January 6th unfolded before all of America’s eyes as we witnessed the breaching of the United States Capitol, which was supposed to be the most secure and honored building in Washington. America’s cultural diversity brings different opportunities within distinct contexts. So how do we reflect our ideals and necessities into the city halls that …

Seaport City Adaptation: Buenaventura's Settlements, Mariana Corredor

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Buenaventura is one of Colombia's most important cities, it houses one of the biggest ports on the continent and covers more than 60% of Colombia's sea imports and exports. Unfortunately, most of the population is impoverished and lives in improvised shelters made up of wood, trash, and debris with no access to potable water, electricity, and sewage systems. How can architecture be used to create better conditions? How can we use local materials in Colombia to design affordable and aesthetically pleasing settlements for the inhabitants of Buenaventura?

My research starts with materials that are sustainable, economical, local, and recyclable, that …

Electrochromic Windows: Return On Investment Analysis, Thomas Michael Caprio

Construction Management

In recent years, sustainability in construction has become a topic of undeniable interest. With sustainability certifications becoming more prominent and desirable, members of the construction industry have begun to seek alternatives for standard systems to keep up with market trends. One of the main issues that the construction industry faces is accessibility of technology. While there are new products and technologies being released frequently, members of the construction industry lack knowledge on the specific details and implications of working with newer systems. One piece of technology that was recently introduced is electrochromic glass, or smart glass. Electrochromic windows analyze sunlight …

Sustainability In Industrial Architecture, Katerina Shuble

Honors Projects

The goal of this project is to complete an in-depth study and analysis of sustainable industrial architecture. Currently, sustainable industrial architecture is an emerging topic amongst architects and industry leaders. Topics involve battling with ideologies and company policies to better the sustainability of industrial architecture. This project will help fill the gap between industrial design and sustainability by creating research and project-based examples of how sustainable industrial design can be completed. The project will be a result of a thorough research study of current sustainable industrial design, and a proposal for new efforts that can be implemented. The goal of …

Proposal For Adobe Earthbag Disaster-Relief Structure, John Camacho

Construction Management

The science behind creating an adobe house has been around for thousands of years; the primitive mixture contains only dirt, water, and straw. Left to cure in bricks or as a single cast-in-place system, the structure will provide long-lasting protection from the elements. Science has taken this a step further with the introduction of cementitious admixtures and reinforcement. The result is an adobe structure with exemplary thermo-retentive properties and load-bearing capabilities. This project provides an analysis on the “SuperAdobe” earthbag system that has been put into practice by independent contractors and housing-relief initiatives. The goal of the project was to …

Evaluating Long-Range Transportation Plans For Mainstreaming Of Climate Adaptation Among Virginia Mpos, Sebastian L. Shetty

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the strides made towards addressing climate change through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies, it has become increasingly apparent that attempting to mitigate the crisis in such a manner alone is insufficient. This thesis joins a growing body of research on how our societies must adapt to a changing climate, contributing more evidence on common barriers to adaptation and how they might be overcome. Through an attempt to evaluate the progress made towards mainstreaming, or integrating, climate change concerns into five Virginia MPOs’ long-range transportation plans (LRTPs), this study provides support for prior hypotheses around the potential for MPOs …

Sustainable Energy Imaginaries: Utilizing Mie Optics To Reengineer Photobioreactors And Reimagine The Socio-Spatial Conditions Of Autonomous Energy Production, Spencer Morgan Checkoway

Senior Projects Spring 2022

In order to build a more sustainable future, society must transition toward carbon negative energy production and infrastructure. Algae photobioreactors have proven to be an efficient producer of lipid rich oil which can be synthesized into carbon neutral biodiesel. However, the neutrality of such a technology rests in its ability to yield adequate algal biomass through photosynthesis. In order to reach maximum quantum efficiency of algal cells, solar flux must be transformed so that photon absorption can occur without oversaturating the constituent matter. This project looks at the scattering effects of iridocyte-like structures and their potential to create cost effective …