Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons^™

Conspicuous Repair: Drawing Attention To Brokenness In Public Landscapes, Ashley Pedersen

Masters Theses

Repair, as a design provocation, encourages material conservation, hands-on engagement with materiality, and evaluation of maintenance routines all of which contribute to a model of sustainability that values a circular economy and degrowth. Through visible repairs that focus our ongoing attention on brokenness, repair has the potential to illuminate, and start to address the systemic causes of brokenness. In this way, repair can be a catalyst for increased stewardship of a place.

Conspicuous Repair: Drawing Attention to Brokenness in Public Landscapes investigates clay as a suitable material for the repair of masonry in urban landscapes which has the potential, through …

Fluid Futures: The Revitalization Of Yangzhou Through Its Historical Waterways, Feiyang Wu

Masters Theses

In China, cities such as Yangzhou, which in pre-modern times played central roles in the political, cultural, and economic functioning of the country based on their geographic location, proximity to water-based trade routes, and connections to the imperial court, are today facing uncertain futures due to waterways no longer being critical to trade, and government-driven development being focused on first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. With this, the working-age population migrates from smaller cities toward these urban giants, leaving behind aging relatives, a less robust and diversified economic base, and few attributes other than cultural tourism that …

Design With Decay, Charlotte Wyman

Masters Theses

The following project is an exploration and argument for greater acceptance of material change. The argument finds its narrative through the story of five historic coastal properties in Rhode Island that have become increasingly threatened by rising sea levels.

Despite undergoing foundation upheaval, relocation and leveling onto stilts, all but two homes remain intact. This project is a proposal for an alternative past in which the homes are not moved or raised, but instead ushered into states of decay that challenge our notions around sub-natures and their viability.

Beyond The Idle Machine: Spatio-Subjective Architecture, Andrew Schnurr

Masters Theses

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Icons Of Solitude: Peace, Quiet, And The Urban Condition, Jack Schildge

Masters Theses

The urban environment lacks sufficient public places to be alone, where individuals can feel free to seek respite from the intensity of city life. While solitude is easily achievable in the vast landscape of the natural world, it is something that must be carefully and deliberately carved out within the confines of the city and remains inaccessible to many. We’ve all heard of follies in the landscape, both sitting in remote places and dispersed throughout public parks in either case taking advantage of open space, but why couldn’t we carve room for follies in denser environments? What can be extracted …

Restoration Of The Cantilever Deck In Poly Canyon, Calvin S. Morgan, Calvin P. Vigeant, Roger G. Biddle

Construction Management

This interdisciplinary project aims to restore the Cantilever Deck in the Experimental Structures Laboratory back to an operational condition. As of Spring 2023, the deck has fallen into a state of disrepair and has been deemed structurally unsound by the university. The structural disrepair is concentrated around the wooden beams underneath the deck, but the handrails and overall color of the assembly have also fallen to levels deemed undesirable. The Restoration will remedy all these issues as well as guarantee that our repairs will last long into the future. This project is an interdisciplinary effort, the team consists of ARCE …

A Peer Review Benchmark Portfolio For Architectural Design Studio: Situate, Matthew Miller

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio examines a third-year architectural design studio that emphasizes the development of designs that consider site and context. As part of a four-year sequence to gaining a Bachelor of Science in Design, this studio takes on a critical discourse of the impact designs may have on the environments they inhabit, the community of people that they interact with, and the cultures and practices followed within a region. This research examined how different modes of teaching could help with building narratives and identifying the measurable impact a design would have on its environment, community, and culture through repetition of verbal …

Hart House: Appraisal Of Worth

Documentation

Includes Anne Baker's Appraisal and Justification and the appraisal done by William J. Carter, III, Realtor and Appraiser. Completed for Faunce Corner Road Associates, dated March 17, 1987.

Hart House: Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey - Form B

Documentation

Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey completed by Linda DesRoches in November 1996. Includes Architectural Description and Historic Narrative and a Feb 24, 1997 letter to Pete Baker from Linda.

Hart House: Faunce Corner Road Associates Agreement With Whale

Documentation

Agreement between Faunce Corner Road Associates and WHALE. Faunce Corner Road Associates, wishing to develop the land at Faunce Corner, donated the William Hart House to WHALE for preservation purposes.

Hart House: William Hart House History And Description

Documentation

The William Hart House, originally located at 336 Faunce Corner Road in North Dartmouth, MA was dismantled by A.W. Baker Restorations in 1987 after the property was sold to a developer. In this history and description, Baker describes the Hart House's history and offers a description of each room with floor plans. Each piece of the dismantled house was labeled, recorded, and stored for later reassembly.

Hart House: Whale Agreement With Baker And Keffer, March 1987

Documentation

Agreement made in March 1987 between WHALE and Anne Baker and Douglas Keffer, concerning the dismantling and moving of the William Hart House from Faunce Corner Road in Dartmouth to a suitable location for later reassembly.

Hart House: Cost Estimates For Re-Erection Of Hart House - Museum Use

Documentation

Cost estimates prepared by Anne Baker including the purchase of original material, site preparation, frame erected and boarded in with new sills, joists, and subflooring, exterior trim and shingles, interior, chimney stack rebuilt, and electricity.

Hart House: Bill Of Sale Agreement To Charles A. Dana, July 12, 1988

Documentation

Agreement made July 1988 with Charles A. Dana along with correspondence with Baker and WHALE. Also includes correspondence with the Children's Museum concerning the Hart House/ Project Eli.

More Than Historical Artifacts: Classical Chinese Gardens And How They Affect Human Perception Of Nature, Ningjing Xin

Master's Projects and Capstones

Under the influence of industrialization and urbanization, urban people nowadays are increasingly alienated from nature. Manipulated by algorithms, more and more urban people immerse themselves in the online world rather than paying attention to the offline environment that surrounds them. What’s worse, in such a process, they are becoming increasingly indifferent to their senses and bodies. Many pre-modern cultures have an attitude of closeness to nature, and such an attitude is reflected in some cultural heritages that have survived to this day, such as classical gardens. The design of classical Chinese gardens is deeply influenced by traditional Buddhist and Daoist …

Cover, Uncover: The Changing Face Of Architecture On Locust Street, Cora Trout

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

Locust Street was once a vibrant banking and commercial district in downtown St. Louis. Today, it is an untidy collection of new, old, dilapidated, semi-intact, restored, and vacant buildings punctuated by crumbling parking lots and garages threatening imminent collapse. To understand why, we must reassemble Locust Street. As St. Louis watched its wealthy, white population flock to the suburbs at mid-century, the revitalization of the decaying urban center became one of the city’s primary preoccupations. Beginning in the early 1950s, a calculated and conscious physical transformation of the central business district began, lasting through the 1960s. This essay, which integrates …

From Pasture To Pavement: Urban Expansion And Its Environmental Consequences In Perth, Anastasia Charelishvili

Student Theses 2015-Present

This thesis addresses the pressing issue of ecological problems of urban sprawl and its intricate impacts on urban health, with a particular focus on vulnerable communities in Perth, Australia. Chapter 1 presents the city's historical background and emphasizes the depletion of ecosystem services, underscoring the need for environmental justice. It also introduces the causes and effects of the sprawl in Perth and draws upon a diverse range of environmental problems created by suburbia, such as air pollution, biodiversity loss, water pollution, and runoff. As these threats translate into urban health declines, such as respiratory problems and increased healthcare issues, Chapter …

Crux: Urban Ecology And Cultural Essence, Maria Del Valle

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The CRUX, stands for islands grappling with the aftermath of hurricanes. Its transformative vision is set against the backdrop of a city scarred by abandoned homes, tainted water sources, agricultural decay, and a crippled electrical grid. CRUX aspires to breathe new life into this urban landscape, envisioning a self-sustaining city dedicated to nurturing community ties for the resilient people of Yabucoa. The testament to the restoration is not just physical structures, but the research studies the very spirit of the community. By delving into the realms of art, farming, Afro-Carribbean culture, and food, the project seeks to create a vibrant …

Aguaaaa!!!, Cory Villegas

Theses and Dissertations

“AGUA” is a call for new models of learning and sharing, celebrating the diasporic as a place of global revolution. Salsa, rooted in Latin American and Afro-Caribbean histories, is choreographer Cory Villegas’s expression of cultural legacy. As an Afro-diasporic dance, Salsa carries the wealth and variety of African and Indigenous roots. Villegas contextualizes her thesis event “Las Leyendas: An Afro Cuban Suite,” presenting herself and her troupe Soul Dance Co. as evidence that contradicts the erasure of Latin & Caribbean Culture in US dance history. The paper uses English and Spanish, written, visual, and oral materials with an accompanying webpage.

Towards Sustainable Architecture: Exploring The Potential For Mold Making In Cob Building, Sarah Halldorson

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

With the call for sustainable design appearing to be on the rise in recent decades, cob can offer a unique solution for creating sturdy, long-lasting, environmentally friendly, and moldable homes. With the need for sustainability in architecture and construction becoming more evident, a return to well-documented ancient building practices that have proven to stand the test could create a unique solution for some wanting to find an alternative to modern construction and design. Traditionally a method of construction lacking an architect’s input and seen as a pure vernacular form of architecture, could added awareness and the ability to create more …