Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Institution
-
- Rhode Island School of Design (4)
- California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (3)
- The University of San Francisco (3)
- Claremont Colleges (2)
- Fordham University (2)
-
- University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (2)
- Bellarmine University (1)
- Butler University (1)
- Dominican University of California (1)
- Louisiana State University (1)
- SIT Graduate Institute/SIT Study Abroad (1)
- SUNY Buffalo State University (1)
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (1)
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1)
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville (1)
- Virginia Commonwealth University (1)
- Keyword
-
- Architecture (2)
- Biodiversity (2)
- Biomimicry (2)
- Climate change (2)
- Nature (2)
-
- Sustainability (2)
- Absurdity (1)
- Adaptive reuse; Alternative agriculture; Architecture; Building integrated agriculture; Buildings—Remodeling for other use; Greenhouse CEA; Nevada – Las Vegas; Planning; Sustainable agriculture; Sustainable development; Urban agriculture (1)
- Agriculture (1)
- Allometric equations (1)
- Alternative agriculture (1)
- Aquaculture (1)
- Aquaponics (1)
- Architectural environments (1)
- Avian (1)
- Batture (1)
- Biogas (1)
- Bioinspired Design (1)
- Biomass (1)
- Biomaterial (1)
- Biomaterials (1)
- Carbon sequestration (1)
- Carbon storage (1)
- Carex (1)
- Chula Vista (1)
- Climate crisis (1)
- Coastal (1)
- Community garden (1)
- Comparitive Analysis (1)
- Conservation (1)
- Publication Year
- Publication
-
- Masters Theses (5)
- Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses (2)
- Master's Projects and Capstones (2)
- Master's Theses (2)
- Scripps Senior Theses (2)
-
- 2014 Student Theses (1)
- Capstone Collection (1)
- Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects (1)
- Doctoral Dissertations (1)
- Honors Theses (1)
- Horticulture and Crop Science (1)
- LSU Master's Theses (1)
- Student Theses 2015-Present (1)
- Theses and Dissertations (1)
- UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones (1)
- Undergraduate Honors Theses (1)
- Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection (1)
- Undergraduate Theses (1)
Articles 1 - 26 of 26
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Utilizing Biomimicry To Design Sustainable Architecture, Virginia Hammond
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 …
Nature As Material, Time As Tool, Chuchu Chen
Nature As Material, Time As Tool, Chuchu Chen
Masters Theses
No building stands forever. Over time, the natural environment acts upon the outer surface of the building, leading to the failure of materials and the final dissolution of the structure itself, leading to ruin. In order to prevent this or retard its occurrence, we constantly maintain and renew the things we build. Nature seems to stand in opposition to architecture. The passage of time is constantly subtracting from the building. However, what differentiates nature from architecture? This thesis questions whether these two are not opposed, but on a continuous spectrum. Approaching the building as part of the overall environment that …
City As Cemetery, Siqiao Zhao
City As Cemetery, Siqiao Zhao
Masters Theses
The traditional funeral service industry has enormous environmental and financial costs. In contrast, green burial, and Natural Organic Reduction (NOR), accelerate the human body’s degradation and reduce toxic substances in the land, assuming responsibility for our burden on the earth. They provide a gateway between us and the processes of nature and ask us to set aside self-consciousness to accept our oneness with the universe. By gifting our bodies back to the earth, where decomposition enriches soils and nurtures the growth of other life forms, we honor those who have transitioned to another state by continuing the cycle of renewal. …
On The Edge Of The "Er-Ocean" State, Mariesa Travers
On The Edge Of The "Er-Ocean" State, Mariesa Travers
Masters Theses
This thesis will explore how hard coastal infrastructure methods can be redesigned by softening the coastal edge to support the ecosystem and enhance public access to the beach. By referencing and arguing against techniques used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as a solution to deal with coastal erosion, this process will propose a regenerated design system. Through a series of material experiments, this research works with natural processes and flows, to create transitory systems that erode and ebb with the coast.
Reintroducing Hemp (Rongony) In The Material Palette Of Madagascar: A Study On The Potential Of Hemp Clay Components And Its Impact On Social And Ecological Communities., Henintsoa Thierry Andrianambinina
Reintroducing Hemp (Rongony) In The Material Palette Of Madagascar: A Study On The Potential Of Hemp Clay Components And Its Impact On Social And Ecological Communities., Henintsoa Thierry Andrianambinina
Masters Theses
When mentioning the word hemp, especially in the local language of Madagascar, the literal translation does not set it apart from marijuana, as they are both called “rongony” - creating the stigma around hemp as the negative stereotype of marijuana. However, the material has been used by the ancestors of Madagascar, as well as across cultures, in its fibrous form to produce fabrication like textile goods and packaging. During colonization, the prohibition of hemp intensified, and since then, any activity related to either of these plants is prohibited and will end in severe punitive measures. This thesis explores the strengths …
Quantifying The Carbon Stored And Sequestered By The Trees On Pomona College’S Campus, Paola A. Giron-Carson
Quantifying The Carbon Stored And Sequestered By The Trees On Pomona College’S Campus, Paola A. Giron-Carson
Scripps Senior Theses
We are experiencing a climate crisis that must be confronted with strategic mitigation. Pomona College contributes to the climate crisis through its emissions for which there is a baseline record. However there is no baseline record of the climate mitigation currently performed by the trees on Pomona’s campus through carbon storage. This study seeks to determine a current baseline quantity of carbon stored and sequestrated by Pomona’s trees as well as possible courses of climate mitigation for Pomona College to take. Initial information gathering was conducted through interviews with several stakeholders. This study was conducted using data collected prior to …
A Circular Economy Approach To Improve E-Waste Recycling In California: Economic Potential And Policy Options, Kripa Shah
Master's Projects and Capstones
The higher consumption rates of electronic devices along with their short life cycles and few repair options poses a huge challenge for E-waste industries to manage them effectively. E-waste comprises of hazardous materials and toxic constituents that can affect the environment and public health through improper disposal. However, they also contain few valuable materials that, if recovered, can reduce the dependence on virgin raw materials. Circular economy has the potential to utilize these valuable materials and gain environment and socio-economic benefits. The research explains how the adoption of a circular economy approach can help improve the E-waste recycling in California …
Photosynthesizing The Workplace: A Study In Healthy And Holistic Production Spaces, Kaeli Howard
Photosynthesizing The Workplace: A Study In Healthy And Holistic Production Spaces, Kaeli Howard
Masters Theses
Throughout time nature has been a prescribed healer of stress on the human condition. Its vital integration into our daily lives has been proven by scientific evidence. The majority of Americans spend approximately 1/3 of their life working, whatever that job may entail. Therefore, it makes sense that the environments that we spend so much of our life in for work at extremely important to our physical and mental health, however, current workplace models are not acknowledging that. Redefining the workplace to integrate nature would start to change work life in this country and how work itself is viewed.
This …
Building A Better Batture: A Regional Recreational Enhancement Around The Morganza To The Gulf Levee, Taylor N. Fehmel
Building A Better Batture: A Regional Recreational Enhancement Around The Morganza To The Gulf Levee, Taylor N. Fehmel
LSU Master's Theses
Twenty-five years ago, the existing flood protection levees along the Louisiana coastline were removed and construction was started by Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District on a new project called ‘Morganza to the Gulf’ or MTG. This project was undertaken to construct a new flood protection levee system around Louisiana in the communities in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parish. The MTG Levee is one of the first coastal projects in Louisiana to incorporate a risk-based analysis for a double levee system containing both local parish drainage levees and future storm surge levees of MTG. It was designed to protect approximately 250,000 people …
Shizen Nōhō: Restoring The Relationship Between Food, Nature, And People In Japan, Katharine Graham
Shizen Nōhō: Restoring The Relationship Between Food, Nature, And People In Japan, Katharine Graham
Scripps Senior Theses
In Japan’s postwar era, agriculture has become highly industrialized, involving heavy machinery, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, all in the name of “progress.” Through employing such practices, humans have attempted to improve upon nature’s way of doing things, and in turn have degraded the soil’s fertility, natural ecosystems, and human health. In response to this, Shizen Nōhō has emerged in Japan as an alternative way of cultivating food. Shizen Nōhō practitioners challenge the notion that we need chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery to farm successfully. Rather, they advocate for a way of growing food that functions seamlessly with natural ecosystems. This …
Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender
Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender
Student Theses 2015-Present
This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …
Sustainability At Sit: A Look At The Past, A Plan For The Future, Taliesin Haugh
Sustainability At Sit: A Look At The Past, A Plan For The Future, Taliesin Haugh
Capstone Collection
Climate change threatens our world and way of life. Intelligent development and investment could mitigate the worst threats of climate change, while simultaneously providing continuous growth for the global economy. The New Climate Economy proposes efforts to combat this ecological collapse that would result in $30 trillion in new annual economic growth by 2030. Stockholm Resilience Center agrees, giving a framework based on global ecological systems that calls for five critical tasks that can bring growth and stability: Renewable energy
Sustainable local food production
New development models, based on what has worked globally
Reduction of wealth inequity
Education, health, and …
Rethinking Urban Green Infrastructure As A Means To Promote Avian Conservation, Allen Lau
Rethinking Urban Green Infrastructure As A Means To Promote Avian Conservation, Allen Lau
Master's Projects and Capstones
There is an under-recognized potential for cities to use urban green infrastructure to contribute to avian biodiversity conservation. At the global scale, climate change and growing urbanization are primary global drivers leading to decline and homogenization in world bird populations. Birds are fundamental and intricate species in ecosystems, and even in urban areas, act as indicator and regulator species contributing to healthy ecosystem function. While many cities have recognized the economic and social benefits associated with green spaces, such as the vast benefits ecosystem services provide to the urban dweller, the use of green spaces to concurrently contribute to avian …
Lacuna: Transcendence Of The Human Body Through The Space Between, Anica Bottom
Lacuna: Transcendence Of The Human Body Through The Space Between, Anica Bottom
Honors Theses
This essay examines the author’s choreography, Lacuna, and research integral to its representation. During the choreographic process, experimentation of how the human body moves in relation to different architectural space was observed. In collaboration with the cast of dancers, cohesion of personal experiences in particular locations was evaluated: specifically, investigation of how environments has the ability to trigger habits or patterns of movement from both past and present experiences. A closer look at how the body responds on a visceral level to the physical and emotional sense of place is described. Although the choreographic piece, Lacuna, came to …
How Do Designers Of The Built Environment Attempt To Make Ecological Sustainability Sensory Legible?, Carly L. Bartow
How Do Designers Of The Built Environment Attempt To Make Ecological Sustainability Sensory Legible?, Carly L. Bartow
Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses
This paper attempts to provide a theoretical framework for making ecosystem function and ecologically sustainable design more perceptible or sensible to people through architecture and the built environment. Design features of the Bertschi School Science Wing and the Bullitt Center in Seattle, Washington are incorporated to illustrate the sensory legibility of ecological sustainability criteria.The criteria are available to designers to help educate a building's occupants on environmentally sustainable design and motivate more sustainable behavior.
From Empty Lot To Garden Plot: Urban Agriculture In Chula Vista, Jennifer E. Gutierrez
From Empty Lot To Garden Plot: Urban Agriculture In Chula Vista, Jennifer E. Gutierrez
Undergraduate Honors Theses
This project is an exploration of how agriculture can be incorporated into the fabric of the city of Chula Vista, which has both uniquely urban and suburban areas. The proposal is to integrate agriculture as a design tool to reconnect to the city’s agricultural past and as a model for cities of the future. First, I discuss Chula Vista’s history and contemporary context, including demographics. I review the existing urban agriculture policies Chula Vista has and compare them to other cities in California. The second part of the project is concerned with how to choose and develop a site for …
Determining The Most Efficient Type Of Growth Light For An Aquaponics System Using Yellow Lantern Chilies (Capsicum Chinense), Travis Mceachern
Determining The Most Efficient Type Of Growth Light For An Aquaponics System Using Yellow Lantern Chilies (Capsicum Chinense), Travis Mceachern
Undergraduate Theses
Abstract
Aquaponics, a type of urban agriculture, shows potential to produce large amounts of food with little water and land requirements. Thus, aquaponics could help address the issue of feeding the growing worldwide population. However, multiple challenges, both technical and economical, are associated with aquaponics, making large-scale implementation of these systems difficult – these systems can require tremendous amounts of energy. This study sought to determine the most efficient types grow lights in aquaponics systems by comparing the growth rates of yellow lantern chilies (Capsicum chinense) when grown under four different types of growth lights: light-emitting diode (LED), …
Speed And Resolution In The Age Of Technological Reproducibility, Shawn Taylor
Speed And Resolution In The Age Of Technological Reproducibility, Shawn Taylor
Theses and Dissertations
The rate of acceleration of the biologic and synthetic world has for a while now, been in the process of exponentially speeding up, maxing out servers and landfills, merging with each other, destroying each other. The last prehistoric relics on Earth are absorbing the same oxygen, carbon dioxide and electronic waves in our biosphere as us. A degraded .jpeg enlarged to full screen on a Samsung 4K UHD HU8550 Series Smart TV - 85” Class (84.5” diag.). Within this composite ecology, the ancient limestone of the grand canyon competes with the iMax movie of itself, the production of Mac pros, …
Methane Production By A Packed-Bed Anaerobic Digester Fed Dairy Barn Flush Water, Sean Richard Thomson
Methane Production By A Packed-Bed Anaerobic Digester Fed Dairy Barn Flush Water, Sean Richard Thomson
Master's Theses
Packed-bed digesters are an alternative to covered lagoon digesters for methane production and anaerobic treatment of dilute wastewaters such as dairy barn flush water. The physical media of packed-beds retain biofilms, often allowing increased treatment rates. Previous studies have evaluated several types of media for digestion of dilute wastewaters, but cost and media fouling have setback commercial development. A major operational cost has been effluent recirculation pumping.
In the present effort, a novel approach to anaerobic digestion of flush dairy water was developed at pilot-scale: broken walnut shells were used as a low-cost packed-bed medium and effluent recirculation was replaced …
Water Water Everywhere: Analyzing Long Island's Water Issues And Finding Solutions For A Sustainable Future, Anthony T. Becker
Water Water Everywhere: Analyzing Long Island's Water Issues And Finding Solutions For A Sustainable Future, Anthony T. Becker
2014 Student Theses
Over three million people call Long Island their home. With access to beautiful landscapes, world-renowned beaches, and proximity to New York City, it is no wonder that so many proudly call this geographic stretch of glacial till their home. However, throughout the years our actions do not necessarily reflect this affection we have to our home. Years of sprawl and human infestation across the island have resulted in widespread environmental degradation. Specifically, the water we drink and the beaches we enjoy have become endangered. I plan on studying the urban ecology of how intensified population growth led to the eutrophication …
Survey Of Suitable Plants For Cal Poly's Green Wall, Katrina Burritt
Survey Of Suitable Plants For Cal Poly's Green Wall, Katrina Burritt
Horticulture and Crop Science
Green wall technology is a growing industry in the United States and has been very successful for a several years throughout Europe. The objective of this survey was to study the success of several different species of plants on a vertical wall facing south at Cal Poly’s Horticultural Department Unit. At first the focus was aimed at using California native species, because it was thought that natives would be better acclimated to the exposure in this specific location. It became apparent that plants should not be selected for the wall based just on the fact that they are California natives. …
Teaching Old Buildings New Tricks: Benefits Of Retrofitting Indianapolis Buildings With Green Roofs, Sarah Elizabeth Strobl
Teaching Old Buildings New Tricks: Benefits Of Retrofitting Indianapolis Buildings With Green Roofs, Sarah Elizabeth Strobl
Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection
Not your basic rooftop garden, green roofs contain growing media and are planted with various types of vegetation. Green roofs can be either intensive, with soil depths above 6 inches and increased size and attractiveness of vegetation, such as trees and shrubs, or extensive, with soil depths between 2-6 inches and low, moss or grass-like plants that require little care (Getter et al. 2009, Indianapolis DPW 2008, Obemdorfer et al. 2007, US DOE 2004).
Although green roofs are initially more expensive than traditional roofing techniques due to the cost of additional materials, the long-term cost savings are high and can …
A Factor Analysis Of The Health, Safety, And Welfare In The Built Environment Toward Interior Design As Perceived By Building Industry Professionals, Dana Marie Moody
A Factor Analysis Of The Health, Safety, And Welfare In The Built Environment Toward Interior Design As Perceived By Building Industry Professionals, Dana Marie Moody
Doctoral Dissertations
This research study created, piloted, and field tested a new instrument designed to collect perceptions toward an interior designer’s impact on the health, safety, and welfare of the public. It also established an initial profile of perceptions within building industry professionals, identified the salient factors within those perceptions, and determined the level of these factors through a factor analysis. The Health, Safety, & Welfare in the Built Environment instrument was developed using a Table of Specifications based on the subject content that interior designers must be familiar with in regards to protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public …
Designing An "Information-Experience" Using Creativity Science Theory And Tools, Stephanie Belhomme
Designing An "Information-Experience" Using Creativity Science Theory And Tools, Stephanie Belhomme
Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects
An “information-experience” encapsulated by a technological/digital audio-visual tool presents data and potentially meaningful information to prompt actionable knowledge concerning: “unspoken creative process elements;” their profound impacts on both how well our “physiology of creativity” functions; but also on how well foundational creative thinking and behavioral prerequisites (energy, motivation, imagination, and ownership) are leveraged.
The product: 1) introduces the user to one component of the CPS (Creative Problem Solving) Facilitation Process - Exploring the Challenge; 2) features a content specific component which prompts exploration of the many correlations between societal, organizational / community, human physiological / behavioral data, and the direct …
Planning For Building-Integrated Agriculture In Las Vegas, Robert Vralsted
Planning For Building-Integrated Agriculture In Las Vegas, Robert Vralsted
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
High food prices, concern about food nutrition and safety, and an awareness of commercial farming's environmental impact have generated a renewed interest in sustainable urban agriculture. Advances in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) have made it possible to grow food virtually anywhere in a much more sustainable manner than traditional field-based agriculture. Locating and planning urban farms using retrofitted existing building stock to maximize food production and ease of distribution in Las Vegas requires consideration of multiple barriers related to geography, economics, and the built environment. Consideration of these factors in the planning process informs the design of a successful BIA …
A Comparative Study Of Three Growing Media And Four Plant Groups Under Extensive Green Roof Conditions In San Luis Obispo, Ca, Todd Alan Nelson
A Comparative Study Of Three Growing Media And Four Plant Groups Under Extensive Green Roof Conditions In San Luis Obispo, Ca, Todd Alan Nelson
Master's Theses
ABSTRACT A Comparative Study of Three Growing Media and Four Plant Groups Under Extensive Green Roof Conditions in San Luis Obispo, California Todd A. Nelson Green roof growing media and plant species are critical factors when deciding on the best materials for a project. Growing media must be chosen in accordance with load bearing capacities of structures and water requirements of the plant material. Plant species must be able to thrive in the climate of the green roof and withstand a green roof’s harsh environment. The objectives of this research were: (1) to determine which of three extensive green roof …