Architecture Commons^™

The Shenzhen Activist Program`, Hyunggyu Kim, Jae Hyun Kim

Architecture Senior Theses

There is a gap between being an architecture student in western countries and working as an architect in underrepresented communities. Architect Teddy Cruz defines the role of an activist architect as "expanded mode of practice", and the task of "deigning the protocols or the interfaces between communities and spaces".

This thesis contends that architecture schools need to continue to embrace the widely-accepted norm of studios studying abroad and working in an international studio. Current study abroad programs tend to skew towards being touristic field trips and there is not a curriculum or programmatic investment in cultivating relationships between the visiting ...

Urban /Architectural And Historic/Cultural Analyses Of Rural Settlements -Region “Reka E Keqe” In Kosova And Region “Reka E Epërme” In Macedonia, Binak Beqaj, Enis Jakupi

UBT International Conference

Rural settlement size and its extension are some of the main factors that is responsible for settlement success in achieving its development objectives. Interlinks between settlement functions and location; are dependent on the socio-economic general conditions of the society. These conditions were rapidly changing over the last century.

As case studies have been taken the region called “Reka e keqe” (eight rural areas) in Kosova and region called “Reka e eperme” (eleven rural areas) in Macedonia. Those regions have geographical position, territorial expansion, population, tradition and other similarities. Main parameters used for analyses of those rural settlements are to be ...

Gold: Stories Of A City, Vivek Vijayan Njanappilly

Architecture Thesis Prep

The thesis explores the latent influences of gold and its value systems on the urban geo-politics of a South Indian city. It is an anthology of sporadic narrations recording the growth and transformation of a city over time. These narrative compositions contain traces of the past, the city of the present and speculative futures. They indicate change without erasure. Their values are embodied in gold. Malleable, ductile and fungible in its different forms.

Urban Amnesia, Teriya Lee

Architecture Thesis Prep

This thesis is a response to Kevin Lynch's claim that "in the process of way-finding, the strategic link is the environmental image, the generalized mental picture of the exterior physical world that is held by an individual." Specifically, the thesis deals with those parts of the urban fabric which are imageless - the unidentified, or, the forgotten. It asks the question: what can architecture do to clarify spatial identities? The thesis will explore Hong Kong's identity as it relates to memory and space.

Pleasurescapes: Mechanized Conveyances As Agents Of Alternate Urban Experience, Elias Varon

Architecture Thesis Prep

This thesis inquires the possibilities of creating pleasurable destinations in a city that engage their urban environment through the deployment mechanized conveyances - conveyances that offer an alternative experience to the day-to-day “mobilities."

Contemporary Infrastructure For The Sustainable Mid-Sized City, Christian Martinez

Architecture Thesis Prep

Embedded within the Feasibility Assessment of Sustainable Transportation: Syracuse study’s goals is an interest in urban mobility particularly in mid-sized cities in America. Well referenced texts tend to deliberate on issues of urban infrastructure in great urban metropolises. This presumes infrastructure improvements can universally have a positive impact on urban mobility irrespective of city size. But is it possible for the prosperity of cities to be augmented by virtue of investing in policy and infrastructure for sustainable transportation through following megalopolis biased guidebooks? Vishaan Chakrabarti advocates for a more urban America in “A County of Cities”, because of their ...

Activating The Edge Defragmenting The City Of Atlanta, Allison Marie Summers

Masters Theses

Connecting the fragmented urban landscape through the tactical activation of the drosscape, “in-between” spaces, separating communities within the urban fabric.

American cities are currently experiencing a period of deindustrialization, factories are moving out of the traditional city center and into the suburban landscape, taking employment opportunities and people with them. The result is a horizontal urbanization that creates conditions of fragmentation and increased separation between communities within the city. Borders and boundaries between communities become increasingly more defined, generated by physical, geographical, political, social, cultural, and economic differences.

Strongly defined separations between communities within an urbanized area can bring to ...

New Beijing | A Renewed Vernacular, Bowen Victor Zhang

Architecture Senior Theses

What does the term "vernacular" means? In an increasingly flay world, this thesis seeks to define the essential elements of the vernacular architecture of Beijing in order to propose a contemporary residential archetype.

In the past century, China has experienced unprecedented economic growth and development. Along with the many influences introduced by cross-cultural interactions, the phenomenon of architectural and social gentrification has begun to affect many of the populations living in urban centers. The same gentrifying forces that have drastically changed Greenwich Village and other New York City neighborhoods has rapidly moved to China and has replaced centruries-old vernacular communities ...

The Seed | Urban Vertical Farming Germinated, Michael Lima

Architecture Senior Theses

A city works as an ecosystem in many ways. However, we currently do not live within that ecosystem, as the difference between an ecosystem and a city is the waste output and food input . Nature and society do not exist independently because there are no spaces of nature unaffected by man. With this in mind we need to reestablish our relationship with nature. Architecture and engineering can be used to create buildings that will allow humans to turn cities into ecosystems. This thesis argues that Urban Vertical Farms will produce social and economic hubs that will be a new way ...

China's New Weird, Bangyuan Shi

Architecture Senior Theses

This thesis offers a critique of the diminishing communal life int he contemporary Chinese city which is created by the gap between large-scale master planning strategies and the contemporary need to focus on the individual instead of the structure of communities.

China's New Weird proposes an alternative to large-scale urbanism through the use of micro-urbanism strategies that preserve the relative scale and character of traditional urban settlements, like those of the "hutong", while also addressing the contemporary need to increase inner city population densities. The intention is to adapt the patterns of space and use that are found in ...

The Allopoiesis Of The Urban Artifact And The Palimpsest Of Context, Cristina Abondano

Architecture Senior Theses

This thesis contends that Pathological Urban Artifacts , as defined by Aldo Rossi, could be made Propelling through Allopoiesis in combination with the palimpsest of the urban context. The proposal consists of a dialogue between the two strategies of growth, aiming to reconnect the Artifact to the city.

Allopoiesis is the process by which a system produces something other than the system itself. In this thesis, allopoiesis is the mapping of the artifact’s underlying geometry as catalyst for urban development.

Rossi sees in the Propelling Urban Artifact a formal structure that confirms the presence of the city and persists through ...

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 ...

Never-Land | A Parasitic And Accumulative Approach To Urbanization In China, Xiaoyan Dong

Architecture Senior Theses

Ever since 1960s, European situationist and Japanese metabolist architects constantly reject the uniformity and totalitarian of modern architecture/urban design, seeking parasitic and dynamic approaches to post-war urbanization. Projects such as the Plug-In City and the Tokyo Bay dream of alternative urban scenarios by reversing traditional perceptions of infrastructure’s role in the city, combining architecture, technology and society together. However, these megastructure projects not only neglect the existing urban context but also lack political and economic driving force. As a result, they are considered utopian by many contemporary critics.

Fifty years later in China, fast urbanization process creates problems ...

Urban Heat Islands Strategy Plan Vienna – Implementing Urban Green Infrastructure To Reduce Negative Effects Of Urban Heat Islands, Birgit Gantner, Brigitte Allex, Christiane Brandenburg, Doris Damyanovic, Florian Reinwald, Jürgen Preiss

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

Urban heat islands (UHI) have been known since the 19th century (Howard, 1820) and describe the difference in temperature between cities and their rural surroundings. This difference can be up to 12°C (Eliasson, 2000, 31); the phenomenon is caused by the transformation of natural surfaces through e.g. soil sealing, construction of infrastructure and buildings. However, differences in temperature not only occur between cities and their adjacent areas, but also within different parts of cities depending on the provision of green and blue infrastructure as well as on their share of sealed surfaces. The situation is further aggravated by ...

Micro, Mega And Macro: Designing Landscapes Of Urban Change, Gina Ford

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

Cities across the United States, in an effort to maintain competitiveness and address broader economic, ecological or social issues, are investing in innovative planning and design. This paper provides an overview of three recent U.S.-based projects representing a range of scales where landscape is leading this charge as a powerful urban catalyst – from the two-acre temporary landscape dubbed the Lawn on D in Downtown Boston, to the newly opened Chicago Riverwalk expansion, to a regional strategy to address land loss on the Gulf Coast. In each case, the urban context, the planning and design strategy and the project ...

The Role Of Green Urban Wastelands In 3rd Place Creation. Challenge For Urban Policy In Poland, Anna Wilczyńska, Maciej Łepkowski, Ryszard Nejman

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

An Urban area is a complex system that constantly changes, forms dynamically and functionsindependently. Despite of huge development pressure coming from the fast urban growth there are still many neglected areas or so-called urban wastelands. These zones seem to be commonly considered (also by local governments and city planners) as worthless and unproductive critical spaces that need to be invested in and returned to the city. On the other hand, we ahould point out a growing conviction among scientists about the importance of wastelands in context of their strong impact on the urban ecosystem and some social aspects of urban ...

Sustainable Management Of Urban Green Infrastructure – The Challenge Of Providing High-Quality Green In Multi-Storey Residential Construction, Christina Czachs, Christiane Brandenburg, Birgit Gantner, Julia Hupka, Doris Damyanovic, Florian Reinwald, Ulrich Morawetz

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

Vienna is known as one of the most liveable cities worldwide (Mercer, 2015), not least because of Vienna’s green infrastructure (GI). These qualities of life and the trend of urbanisation lead to strong population growth in Vienna. It is predicted that the Viennese population will grow from 1.8 million (2015) to 2 million in 2029 (MA 23, 2014); to offer living space, the creation of up to 120,000 new homes is planned until 2050 (MA 18, 2014). The growth and the resulting exploitation pressure on the (green) areas pose a major challenge for the City of Vienna ...

The Potential Of Cemeteries To Improve Urban Green Infrastructure - A Case Study In Nitra, Slovakia, Denisa Halajová, Mária Bihuňová, Štefan Lančarič

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

Cemeteries comprise a significant area of green space in many cities, are located in prominent locations and are an important element of green infrastructure. Cemeteries offer additional value in the context of their historical and spiritual dimensions. The article is focused on the assessment of the current status of the greenery in five selected cemeteries in the town of Nitra. According to the analyses, we will point at the importance of the cemetery’s greenery in a city. Authors emphasize hidden potential of the greenery represented by recreational use and connections to the green infrastructure of the city and take ...

Urban Gleaning: Promoting Food Security Through Opportunistic Design Strategies, Carey Clouse, Caryn Brause

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

In an effort to improve food literacy, food security, and food access, concerned

citizens have, over the course of the past several decades, developed new types

of landscapes for urban gleaning. While these design interventions vary in

scope and approach, they share a common fundamental desire: to invite others

to join in a harvest picked from the city. This paper addresses the broad context

of urban gleaning through the specific lens of two case studies in

Northampton, MA, and suggests that these types of nontraditional agricultural

sites have the potential to radically restructure cityscapes. Moreover, while

urban gleaning efforts rarely ...

Flexible Space Design Of Community Greenways In Temperate Zone Of Asia -- Beijing Case Study, Zhengwang Wu, Yuting Han

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

Heavy traffic, poor air environment and fast-paced city lifestyles are a growing major problem for residents in Beijing. Beijing is a place for people‘s daily work but almost nobody use the word liveable to describe it. In view of the common diseases of urbanization above, it is time to use greenways planning to improve Beijing living environment.

According to China's major cities traffic analysis report of AutoNavi in 2015, the Beijingers possess strong time-saving consciousness. (AutoNavi Traffic Big Data, 2016). At the same time, it is concluded from the questionnaire investigated by the Sina microblog in 2012, the ...

Experimenting Regional River Pattern As Landscape Corridors In Urban Transformation, Adnan Kaplan

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

It is widely acknowledged that today’s state-of-art cities are capable of acting as landscape systems within and beyond urban domain. In this context, river systems provide urban fabric with physical, ecological and social advocacy while addressing multiple challenges of rapid urbanization and its resultant effects such as dense and uncontrolled urban development.

Based on the aforementioned statement, this paper enunciates the attachment of regional river pattern (particularly composed of Meles Delta and Bornova Rivers, and their association with natural and urban patches) with centrally located, yet large tract of İzmir metropolitan city (Fig. 1).

Novel Urban Waterfront Ecosystem Services Evaluation, Monitoring And Improving Strategies, Zhang Wei, Jack Ahern

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

The urban waterfront is the interface between urban areas and their adjacent water (Timur, 2013). Urban waterfronts have historically been the hub of transportation, trade and commerce. In the 20th century, many cities evolved from a manufacturing or trade economy to a service industry economy – often abandoning their waterfronts in the process, with common environmental problems, and creating the opportunity and need to reconceive the waterfronts (Smith et al., 2012). In the early 21st century, the waterfront regeneration trend has continued, often with a broader view of restoring and improving urban waterfront ecosystem services.

Here we suggest that this contemporary ...

Ecological Networks And Ecosystem Services In Urban Regions Implementation And Planning Practices, Mina Di Marino

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

In recent decades, urban developments, agriculture and growth of grey infrastructures have affected urban landscapes. The rapid expansions of cities have increasingly caused loss of biodiversity, degradation and fragmentation of habitats. In this context, Ecological Network (EN) and more recently Ecosystem Services (ES) have been the subject of increasing attention among academics and in global and European policies. EN has represented a concept to consider and plan for preserving biodiversity and sustainable use of resources. EN also provides ES, for instance, recreational services (such as the access to green space, recreation, and educational resources) and supporting services (such as safeguarding ...

The Potential Roles Of Biodiverse Green Roofs In The Extending Urban Green Network, Krisztina Szabó

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

The role of urban green network is increasingly needed due to urbanization and the growing urban population. The high number of buildings, the different infrastructural developments and the high quantity of covered surface do not allow increase greenery on the ground level; there are few residual spaces that can be turned into green areas. One solution could be the vertical walls and green roofs which can considerably help developing urban green network of the future (Susca et al., 2011). Due to the acute conflicts between high density development and limited land, many European, American and Chinese cities adopted an effective ...

Structural Soil In Dense City Areas - Functions And Chances For Urban Greenway Development, Marzena Suchocka, Henryk Kociel

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

The densest parts of cities, parts with the most infrastructure, are losing green areas and trees. The majority of urban site conditions for trees often do not provide them with enough opportunity for healthy growth and development and allow only a few years of vegetation. Visible symptoms of health issues in trees are usually lesions within the crown or stem and are mainly due to the impact of unfavourable factors which have been exerted upon the root system. The most severe causes of poor health in trees are associated with the intense growing environment in urban areas and damaging impact ...

Greenway Planning; Developing A Network Methodology For Jordan, Anne A. Gharaibeh, Haneen A. Sawalqah

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

Greenway network planning has become an acknowledged tool for allocating land for recreational purposes. Within developing countries such as Jordan, urban laws lack implementation plans and/or policies regarding green open spaces, ecological networks and greenway planning. A review of the currently effective planning policies and city mandates of Jordan reveals that the concept of preserving land for environmental and recreational purposes is addressed (Laws no: 79/15/F, 79/19/F, 79/23/F, 79/52/F, 79/58/F, 1966), yet no strategies are present to instrument land acquisition other than land subdivision laws (Law no: 12/6 ...

Vienna And The Danube Island: Shifting Objectives For An Urban Greenway, Dagmar Grimm-Pretner, Ulrike Krippner

Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning

The artificial Danube Island is today an important urban greenway and a crucial element of Vienna’s green network (Stadtentwicklung Wien, 2015). It is the result of two major flood protection projects that have had a fundamental impact on the Danube riverscape in Vienna. From 1870 to 1875 the branching river was straightened into one main riverbed with a large parallel inundation area of 825 hectares of almost flat ground. Overflows of the swiftly moving alpine river were then limited, but flooding remained a risk. In view of this, 100 years later, the inundation area was transformed into a 160-meter-wide ...