Environmental Design Commons^™

Planning For A Community Wildfire Protection Plan In San Luis Obispo County, Justin Sauder

City and Regional Planning

San Luis Obispo County has a long history of wildfires and can be expected every fire season. Agencies providing fire protection do an excellent job at reducing the risk to loss of life, property, and natural resources in the area, but there is always room for improvement. California in general is experiencing increasingly longer, hotter, and drier fire seasons due to climate change, and San Luis Obispo County is no exception. As the population increases urban development is pushed to the outer limits of city boundaries where it often conflicts with forests in an area called the wildland urban interface. …

A Workflow For Managing Building Information And Performance Data Using Virtual Reality: An Alternative To Bim For Existing Buildings?, Adam Rysanek, Clayton Miller, Arno Schlueter

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Building information modelling (BIM) has carved a growing niche in the construction industry for the support of new building projects. The same cannot be said for existing buildings, where the prevalence of uncertain data, and unclear information, has been difficult to reconcile with the unambiguous nature of BIM parameterization. An opportunity to alleviate these challenges may have arrived from the recent boon of virtual reality platforms for navigating physical environments. This paper demonstrates how labeling of equirectangular images with data or text widgets is possible using publicly-available software libraries. A prototype is presented and tested on a building in Singapore.

Integrating Person Directed Care Into The Client Experience, Tammy L. Marshall Ms., Joann P. Reinhardt, Orah Burack, Audrey S. Weiner

Patient Experience Journal

Culture Change leaders in long term care have identified creative ways to implement a model of Person Directed Care to improve the client experience by providing choice, instilling dignity, and fostering deep relationships among its community members. One organization created an environment of care called ”The Small House” and educated its’ workforce using the Green House® Project Legacy Alignment program to redesign the organizational structure, experience and environment. Interviews were conducted with elders, staff, and family members (N=20) about their experiences living, working or visiting a Small House as compared to experiences in their previous dwelling, a traditional nursing home. …

Exploring The Value Of Interprofessional Collaboration Between Occupational Therapy And Design: A Pilot Survey Study, Amy Wagenfeld, Lori Reynolds, Tamar Amiri

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Consistent with the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Vision 2025, interprofessional partnerships between occupational therapy and designers is necessary to “maximize health, well-being, and quality of life for all people . . . through effective solutions that facilitate participation in everyday living” (2016, para 1). Occupational therapy’s knowledge of the person-environment-occupation fit appears to make us well suited to collaborate with design teams to create environments that facilitate optimal function and promote health and well-being (Ainsworth & de Jonge, 2014).

Method: Two short closed-ended online questionnaires were designed to gain an understanding of designer and occupational therapy practitioner impressions of …

Shower Atomization, Chirag Ayappa Ravishankar,

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The research will help to design a shower for Dr. Chelson’s shelter, which can control the water flow, pressure and duration of the shower, which optimizes the utilization of water. The showers could be used in drought-hit areas where water is very scarce, as daily sanitation needs are necessary to keep a person safe and healthy without wasting water. The report from, World Health Organization shows that showers consume the most water. A timed shower could help resolve this issue through eliminating the wastage. Eco-friendly environmentalists may also be attracted to the showers, as their main purposes are to save …

Examination Of Leed Certified Building’S Electricity Usage, Nasim Amiri

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The number of buildings seeking LEED certification has been growing steadily over the past few years. In this study, three academic buildings which were designed and built to LEED certification standards were targeted in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Their electricity consumption and cost effectiveness were examined and compared with predesigned LEED efficiency models of those three buildings. This research directly examined cost effectiveness of LEED buildings in terms of electricity usage. Three case studies were completed to find the initial and on-going electricity costs of LEED buildings and to verify the LEED standard results. LEED aspects of these buildings were discussed …

Golden Tools In Green Design: What Drives Sustainability, Innovation, And Value In Green Design Methods?, Jeremy Faludi

Dartmouth Scholarship

What do product design teams value in sustainable design methods? Specifically, what kinds of activities and mindsets comprise different design methods, and which ones do design teams believe drive sustainability, innovation, and other value? How could they be combined to improve sustainable design’s value to companies? This study was the first to deconstruct green product design practices into their constituent activities and mindsets to characterize them and hypothesize their potential synergies. It was also the first to empirically test and compare what practitioners value within three of these sustainable design practices—The Natural Step, Whole System Mapping, and Biomimicry. Others have …

Gas Collection, Haorong Li, Yanshun Yu, Daihong Yu

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

A system includes a vessel configured to couple with a gas source for drawing gas into the vessel. The vessel is also configured to receive liquid. The system includes an over flow port in fluid communication with the environment external to the vessel. The overflow port is configured to separate gas within the vessel from the external environment. The system also includes an overflow conduit having an end within the overflow port so that when gas pressure within the vessel increases, liquid is received by the over flow conduit. Another system includes a tank defining an air space for receiving …

Otterbein University's Steam Innovation Center - Case Study, Glassonweb.Com

Administrators/Executives/Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Assessing Vulnerability To Extreme Heat In San Luis Obispo County, Julia Isabella Cannata

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Mano De La Amistad: A Thin Shell Concrete Structure Designed For The People Of Havana, Cuba, Peter Aster, Marta Blachowicz-Scott, Aaron Cook, Alex Erler, Elizabeth Townsend, Ger Yang

Architectural Engineering

In designing a thin shell structure to cover the performance space on Tribuna Anti Imperialista Jose Marti, in Havana, Cuba, we developed a heavily symbolic concept and further abstracted it to reach our design. Basing the concept on the quote to the right by Obama about US and Cuba relations, we wanted our design to be representative of a hand that works to adjoin the plaza to the US Embassy which is directly west of the site. The “wrist” portion adds an asymmetric element, while the fingers provide a backdrop to the performers as well as a view through to …

The Ginkgo Shell, Mark Luzi, Karla Santos, Josh Cannon, Erika Davis, Nora Villanueva

Architectural Engineering

The overall concept for this outdoor concrete shell structure, located in Furstliche Park in Inzigkofen, Germany, is derived from an abstracted ginkgo leaf. Drawing on inspiration from a poem about the two parts of the ginkgo leaf becoming one, we took the approach of combining both the natural and built environment into one cohesive piece. To connect the two, it was imperative that we place the shell on the site as to have the smallest impact. With a small portion of the overall site used, the unoccupied space further enhances the natural environment. Creating a literal design connection between the …

Implementing Net Zero Energy Into The Construction Innovations Center, Marlo Arleen Castro

Construction Management

As the environmental status of our planet declines, it is becoming more and more important for the construction industry to adapt. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is becoming an unspoken requirement for all new and tenant improvement construction, and now, with the goal of Net Zero Energy (NZE) for all new commercial buildings by 2030, NZE is becoming the way of the future. As of late, California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) has made grand efforts to retrofit several of the older buildings on its campus in order to achieve LEED certification. One of …

Rebuilding Silicon Valley - An Assessment Of The Silicon Valley Corporate Campus And The Potential For Suburban Sustainability, Eden Lindeman

Master's Projects and Capstones

Silicon Valley is the San Francisco Bay Area’s economic powerhouse and is herald for its innovation and success. However, Silicon Valley’s urban design is unsustainable and characterized by remote and large corporate campuses that contribute to job sprawl and heavy traffic congestion. Many of the buildings are also not performing at an efficient level and are due for deep overhauls to cut back energy consumption and costs. The inevitable effects of climate change continue to loom large over the world, heightening the importance for the built environment to be reformed into an environment that can mitigate and adapt to climate …

Living Tiny Legally, James G. Rollin

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Over the last 40 years, the average new United States house has increased in size by more than 1,000 square feet, from an average size of 1,660 square feet in 1973 (earliest year available from the Census Bureau) to 2,687 square feet last year (Perry, 2016). In that same time period, there was a 91% increase in home square footage per inhabitant and a decrease in average household size. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average home in the United States costs approximately $358,000 to build, an increase of roughly $200,000 since 1998. Meanwhile, the average annual income in …

Mojave Unnerved, Rachel Scarnaty

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

phenomenology is rich in the preserved land of the mojave desert with only a light human touch interfering.

observed through admiration and mainly scientific analysis, it is easy to believe the ethereal qualities of the land are at their peak.

i challenge that architecture may exist within the mojave national preserve to intensify the unique sensory experiences.

tectonics form to measure and analyze the climate components that create the fantastical qualities. the architecture learns from the environmental and social history and future of each site.

i have chose four of nine main sites within the preserve: soda lake, barber peak, …

Urban Space Regeneration, Yuanyuan Xiao

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The main idea I pursued in my research is the regeneration of urban space, which helped to create a new civic space for a city. The details of urban space regeneration are designed to improve the quality of life, and it involves the use of urban public space. Based on the research and background study, my thesis explored to improve the urban environment, enhance urban space usage and improve city image in Beijing to regenerate it from a heavy industrial city in a garden city. In my research on regeneration of urban space I came across the example of the …

Offshore R+D Facility, Philip A. Marble

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Design a Research + Development facility that merges with a functional Oil Rig. This center will house both a Marine Research Center and Oil rig Research + Development center. Both of these facilities will be in a separate structure than the Oil Rig but will have a connection back to the Living Quarter.

Divine Intervention: Designed For Social Evolution By Integrating Natural Order, Anatoshia L. Wyatt

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

There is a long tradition in architecture of using ordering systems found in nature and science to create built space. This thesis builds upon such line of thought to propose new design methods based on ordering systems with a particular focus on social relations. It focuses on the design of a community center in the city of Atlanta which is considered as a catalyst for jumpstarting the betterment of society through improvement of social bonds, community involvement, activism, meditation, and the integration of nature in the community. The design is situated on the Bellwood Quarry site and creates an ecological …

Recreation Community Branding: A Comparative Analysis Within Utah’S Wasatch Front, Lynda D. D. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study demonstrates the role recreational amenities play in contributing to the brand identity and sense of place in Utah master planned communities (MPCs). These MPCs are designed to enable residents to live, work, and play within close proximity within a styled built environment. While the built environment is often branded with a particular identity, these identities resonates with other attributes of the community, including recreation amenities. The study focused on MPCs along the Wasatch Front in Utah, since Utah’s population, along the Wasatch Front, is expected to double by 2050 (Envision Utah, n.d.). Many of the developments being built …