Interior Architecture Commons^™

Circadian Rhythm In Design: An Application Of Circadian Rhythmic Elements To The Ridgedale Mill, Jesse Hayes

Honors Theses

Through the study of the phases of circadian rhythm and by applying associated environmental cues, can a building further promote health and well-being through design? This study argues that by applying design elements associated with each phase of the circadian rhythmic cycle to a built environment, overall human health and well-being are increased. Research shows, that if the circadian rhythm is disrupted “metabolic syndrome and obesity, premature aging, diabetes, cardiac arrhythmias, immune deficiencies, hypertension, and abnormal sleep cycles develop” (Brainard, 2015, p. 1). Furthermore, if the circadian rhythm is promoted through environmental cues it benefits the body by supporting the …

An Analysis Of Skylight And Alternative Applications In The Adaptive Reuse Of The Ridgedale Mill, Robyn Wood

Honors Theses

Designing sustainably, at its core, holds the health and wellbeing of the users of the space and the price of ongoing maintenance and installation costs in balance with environmental wellbeing. With each of these points playing a major role, spaces can be designed to be healthy and affordable while also benefiting the overall functional health and efficiency of the space. A key method in designing sustainably is the incorporation of natural daylight within a space to provide general lighting in an energy efficient way and to positively impact the atmosphere of the built environment. For the users of the space, …

Lighting In The Computer Rendering, Mi Tsung Chang

Publications and Research

We often take lighting for granted, but lighting plays a vital role in our physical world. In the world of 3D, we have to set up lights to simulate our world. It is a daunting task but makes computer rendering interesting and challenging. This section covers the basic lighting concepts and principles and takes a close look at how lights play an important role in defining space in computer rendering. Different rendering methods will also be discussed in this article.

A Study Of Dwelling, Julia Mcarthur

Masters Theses

In teasing out natural phenomena in the unbuilt environment, through admiring beauty, and emphasizing the ordinary, meaningful moments can be brought about that can cause you to be more present with yourself and the world we live in. It is important to qualify that these spaces that encompass “ordinary” moments are not intended to be “idealized spaces,” but a domain that reconciles the chaos from the peaceful and the stress from the calm that is ever apparent in our daily lives. My thesis asks: Through critiquing the modernist condition of a prescriptive ideal space, how can we better understand how …

Using Bim To Increase The Efficiency Of Energy-Driven Retrofitting Projects, Anne Grego, Shannon Chance, Barry Mcauley

Conference Papers

The building sector is responsible for nearly 40% of global energy consumption. Many existing buildings have poor thermal insulation and low energy performance, hindering sustainability goals. Energy-driven building retrofitting could address this issue and implementing Building Information Modelling (BIM) in retrofitting can reduce process time, costs, and waste associated with such undertakings. Yet, there is a lack of research and insufficient guidance for implementing BIM in energy-driven retrofitting. A BIM framework is presented to enhance decision-making processes during retrofitting. The aims of this study were to (1) identify BIM technologies and methodologies that could address existing barriers and improve efficiency …

Global Perceptions Of Space: The Interior Designer's Role, Ansley C. Elliott

Honors College Theses

Interior designers need to show and share awareness of cultural inclusivity in design solutions to create a positive experience for all end users. In order to do this, interior designers need to gain an understanding of how people from various geographical locations perceive space and, as a result, behave and connect in public environments. This study explored existing literature on human factors in design, such as proxemics, territoriality, anthropometrics, cultural dimensions in business practices, and inclusivity in design. The research methodology included a Qualtrics survey on cultural background and demographic data; three-dimensional renderings of a public restaurant and a workplace; …

The Dwelling And The Shed: Redefining The Homestead, Ryan Mattox

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The homestead is the frontier of exploration. It is the place that shows people can take care of themselves through self-sufficient means. This place also looks at making a more sustainable population. That is partly due to the individual needing to take care of the environment around themselves so that the environment can provide for them.

My thesis project will look to create a technological and sustainable residential module that can be replicated and modified to create community based on self-sufficiency by means of sustainability. To achieve this goal, my thesis will look at combining the architectural elements of the …

Architecture And Harm Reduction : An Unconventional Approach To Detox, Anna Studdard

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Harm reduction is a principle that stems from countries like Denmark and Switzerland, that implements strategies to encourage safer drug usage, abstinence, and education for users. The National Harm Reduction Coalition implements nationwide programs for substance abusers, such as Syringe Service Programs, rehabilitation programs, detox programs, housing programs, drug testing facilities, services assisting sex workers, and administering Narcan for overdoses, to try to minimize some of the tragedies accompanying substance abuse. The counterpoint opinion of some countries or states is that providing services like needle exchanges and testing centers are encouraging drug usage and doing more harm than good. However, …

Desert Safe Haven, Deja Dortch

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The purpose of this thesis is to inform on the materials, technologies, spaces and structure needed to architecturally and sustainably achieve human comfort and create a mother nature-proof safe haven in the becoming harsh climate of the USA. All the while implementing minimum HVAC, using primarily passive and active systems towards a net zero home. Studies have shown there is a real threat with the rate in which the climate is changing. Temperatures are rising worldwide which is causing droughts, more frequent fires, glaciers to melt, sea levels to rise, more severe hurricanes and storms, etc. Sustainability is a way …

Remedy Space: A Children's Interactive Hospital Retreat, Ivanna Rodriguez

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

According to the American Cancer Society, the rate of childhood cancer is increasing, and about 10,470 children will have been diagnosed with cancer in 2022. Patients who respond best to treatment and recover faster are those who feel most comfortable in their environment. This success is a result of a mental and emotional response to the natural and built environment. How can an environment that is full of stress, anxiety, sickness, and sorrow allow any patient to feel comfortable? Hospitals are typically understood as environments where these intense negative occurrences happen and become places of low morale and mental health. …

Archi-Comics, Timothy Gatto

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Humor in architecture is not at the forefront of architect’s minds, this comes from architects need to be deemed serious. This way of thinking is what has backed architects up into a corner banal and stagnant architecture. Architecture is the art of context, everything in architecture is referential. Humor is foundationally the exact same way, the incongruity theory makes humor possible by putting a concept into context with things and finding contradictions in the process, thus developing a joke. Each of these arts, humor and architecture, are that of context and when architecture is delivered like humor, it points out …

The Art Of Detailing: An Exploration Of Watercolor, Torrey Tracy

TFSC Publications and Presentations

Second Annual University of Arkansas Teaching and Learning Symposium: Sharing Teaching Ideas

Department of Interior Architecture and Design, Fay Jones School of Architecture

Special thanks to Cat Wallack, Architectural Records Archivist, Mullins Library and Reagan Walters, Bachelor of Interior Design, 2021

Two Churches, One Vision: Sacred Architecture As A Reflection Of Benedictine Values And Liturgical Reform, Katheryn Wethli

Obsculta

This piece compares the architecture of the worshipping spaces of Saint Benedict's Monastery's Sacred Heart Chapel and Saint John's Abbey Church; presenting how the worshiping spaces uplift their monastic communities’ Benedictine values and demonstrate their monastic call towards evangelizing the Gospel in the modern world, highlighting the liturgical reforms of the mid-20th century.

Designing The American Dreamscape: Suburbs Of Worship And The American Dream, Rebecca Virgl

Theses from the M. Arch. Program

This thesis explores suburbia as the physical manifestation of the American Dream as a pseudo-religious system. This religious system and contemporary suburban ideology are explained and disseminated through a historical review and analysis of suburban media. Pop culture serves as a signpost that directs public opinion and cultural value; much of media today wrestles with the ideas of the American Dream, fore fronting these cultural values in our collective identity. Once the baseline of socio-economic religious ideology has been established in the American Dream, the extremes of these beliefs were explored in three suburban environments: home, labor, and retail. Each …

Maidstone Estates: Utilizing Research-Based Design To Create The Luxury, Location, And Lifestyle Of A Continuing Care Retirement Community, Jake Hardin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The nature of this essay explores the implementation of research-based design to the senior living concept and showcases how design can improve and empower the lives of our seniors as they hit retirement age. Over the course of the essay, the project will begin as a concept and navigate its way through the design processes until the concept is fully developed as a stand-alone package that speaks for itself. Maidstone Estates is built upon the guidelines of the Green House Project and outlines the mixed-use nature of design involving branding, building code, ADA compliance, universal design, and the three acuity …

Teacher Efficacy And Intentionally Designed Learning Spaces, Yanira Oliveras, Vlk Architects, Christopher L. Thomas

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

In 2022, the state department released new standards and a competency-based education curriculum. Simultaneously the Toledo Creek School District has experienced an unprecedent shift in the student populationdemographics. The shift has resulted in two distinct zones, east and west, with income averages on the two extremes of the income spectrum. Given the shift in both the curriculum and demographics, the superintendent in consultation with stakeholders decided to implement project-based learning (PBL) as the district’s instructional model. PBL has a significant research-based supporting implement for authentic learning as intended by the new standards and better supporting deeper learning among all students. …

Adaptive Reuse Of Frosty Morn, Veronika Kalugina, Rebecca Tonguis, Heidi Gabriel, Peyton Kauffman

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Frosty Morn, a former meat packing facility in Clarksville, TN, is now abandoned, dilapidated, and partially demolished. The site sits within the Red River District neighborhood, which consists of a diverse community of artists. The Red River District has been identified by the Clarksville Mayor’s Office as an area with potential for growth, catalyzed by repurposing the Frosty Morn building as an icon and beacon of the community. Highest and best use research, in addition to community voices, indicated programmatic needs of a farmer’s market, makerspaces, small business incubators, park space, and live/work units. Our presentation will describe how this …

The Typology Of Survival, Briana Alvarado

Capstone Projects

Climate change is affecting the whole world and a need for housing is emerging for climate migrants. Taking into account the current geopolitical landscape there is an indication of a need for an architectural response that must be applied to a variety of evolving sociopolitical contexts throughout the world. This also means that there are several possible solutions. Research indicates that viable design solutions fall into the following categories:

1. An immediate response that would answer the question of large slums due to inland migration. A long term response that would look at global migration from one country to another.
2. Many …

Adhd In College Students, Bailey Flaherty

Capstone Projects

College can be an exciting time in life however for many the experience can be tarnished by lack luster living conditions that amplify the negative effects on mental disorders. College is a demanding environment; for students with ADHD (Attention deficit hyper activity disorder), it is even more challenging. For people with this neuro-development disorder, executive brain functions may override healthy or effective processes that would help people to perceive time, focus, manage multiple tasks, and organize students are expected to manage school, work, a social life, chores, and more all while living alone

for the first time in most of …

Traveling With A Purpose, Nina Rossman

Capstone Projects

The act of traveling is often seen as exciting for many travelers looking for adventure or to experience something different than their everyday routines. However, many current tourism trends force negative burdens onto local communities and environments. For instance, when development increases consumption in an area where natural resources are scarce to begin with, it can put pressure on those resources. There is a certain level of visitor use that an environment can manage; negative impacts occur when the changes in visitor use exceed this limit.

While tourist destinations experience negative impacts from the tourism industry, tourism also supports the …