Interior Architecture Commons^™

Practicing A Senior Living, Siyu Shuai

Masters Theses

Implementation of China’s family planning policy fundamentally changed the traditional core family structure. The family size has become ever smaller, breaking the traditional family model in which three-generation or even four-generation cohabitate. The 4-2-1 family structure (4 grandparents, 2 parents, and 1 child) has become mainstream. This has caused an explosion of senior family and elderly living alone, which now represents a significant social issue in China.

The Chinese government has recognized and responded to the lonely elder problem by creating the so-called Senior Citizen University. The SCU serves as a welcome place in the community, for elder entertainment, study …

Getting Closer : Exploring Re-Contextualization In Exhibition, Yiran Mu

Masters Theses

Due to the rise of globalization, the circulation of exhibits born in different cultural backgrounds to alien places all over the world has dramatically increased. Cultural contents are re-contextualized and shaped in a way to adapt to new environments where they lose their essence of place and risk stereotypes of distant cultures. The looming question over every exhibition is how, and to what extent, the original context of the objects on display will be acknowledged or reproduced. Should an effort be made to place pieces in a convincing approximation of their culture of origin? Or should objects be returned to …

The Ultimate Task Of Public Libraries : Introducing Architecture As Pedestal, Elaine Wu

Masters Theses

Most cultural institutions are housed in one of two kinds of architecture: either to show off the structure or building style or to appreciate the preciousness and identity of the object(s) it contains. The first kind focuses more on the architecture itself, and its function is not defined by the outside appearance. For the second kind, the architecture aims to serve as a support or pedestal, where the form is a result of needs based on different objects contained.

For libraries, architecture should never be the protagonist. Libraries should champion the aura of books, just as museums exhibit their collections. …

Reactivating Street Life : Fostering More Communal Interaction In Longtang, Ziyang Qiu

Masters Theses

The public life that develops between buildings in neighborhoods is undergoing a significant change in the process of growth and modernization, which reflects shifts in residents’ social behaviors and community structure. Traditionally, the presence of people, activities and events define the life of neighborhoods, constituting one of the essential qualities of public space; the mix of outdoor activities is influenced by many conditions, including the architectural framework. When those activities are missing, is it an inevitable result of the reliance on electronic products for entertainment, or unreasonable urban planning under insufficient public policy?

The Longtang, as a unique community form …

Contextualize, Jiaai He

Masters Theses

Museums, as a continuation of the urban environment, enrich people's recreational life and also carry the mission of education. Museums protect culture outside a textbook and make history closer to people’s lives. However, the present museum has not reached an ideal state for the expression and embodiment of cultural objects.

Time and history shape the objects, and the objects inside a museum record and memorialize the period of their creation. Stories and contest behind cultural objects’ creation are integral to knowledge and understanding. What do we remember after a museum visit? Displaying the full range of historical content to the …

Exploration And Autonomy : Wild Children In The City, Xiaojie Li

Masters Theses

From 1980 to 2000, China adopted a teacher-centered kindergarten model with the main purpose of imparting knowledge, leaving children in a passive learning environment. Since 2001, this system’s adverse impact on child development has become clear to preschool educators. As a result, teachers have begun to consider kid friendly environments and games. However, even these games were arranged with a top-down, teacher-centered structure.

An education revolution has emerged that aims to release the freedom of children by prioritizing their needs, paying respect and trust to exploration, as well as giving children choice. One pioneering philosophy applying this principle is Anji …

Ciudad Informal : A New Model For Urban Living, Rebeca Isabel Peña Reinoza

Masters Theses

Why should the poor be forced to live in slums on the periphery of the city when there are empty high-rises in the center? Housing scarcity and densification are increasing challenges in cities as a consequence of urbanization and displacement of communities. By performing a study on informal settlements in the city of Caracas, acknowledging both their strengths and weaknesses, this thesis explores vertical communities and the potential to convert unused high-rise buildings into accessible housing solutions. The Tower of David is both a precedent and the host structure for this thesis, which aims to analyze how collective effort and …

Behind Appearance : Hidden Dimensions In The Work Of Wassily Kandinsky And Paul Klee, Ning Ding

Masters Theses

What is the feel like to be a successful artist?

Works being appreciated,being valuable,become famous all over the world?

But what is under? What is behind? The audience seems never to know the story as well as the artworks.

Take an example. When you look at The Scream of Edward Munch, what do you see?

A melting image, a disgusting face, or the derived emoji, which is so popular on the SNS?

What's really behind the painting is Edward Munch's illness, and decades of struggling under sickness, madness, and death.

Most times, when the audience enjoys painting, the imagination can …

Realistic Utopia : Utopian Architecture Exhibition At Arcosanti, Xiao Fang

Masters Theses

Many people believe that only when a design is built can it be called architecture. Architecture, however, was never solely about built form. And unlike other types of design, architecture depends on imagination and visualization: only the architect knows how the space works before it has actually been built. Thus, it is necessary to test the design on paper before it has been realized and many times architectural designs are heavily modified or abandoned for economic, political or environmental reasons.

Meanwhile, architects also design spaces knowing they will never be built, to exercise ideas or push toward new realities. From …

Testing Reliability Of Biophilic Design Matrix Within Urban Residential Playrooms, Ellen Marte

Theses and Dissertations

Biophilic interior design in urban playrooms has been greatly understudied. We measured inter-rater reliability of the Biophilic Interior Design Matrix (BID-M) and matrix items by quantitatively coding images of 45 New York City residential playrooms. Findings suggest that the BID-M needs to be modified to better assess urban playrooms.

Brandmaking And Brandscaping Place Making In The Retail Environment, Maripet Contreras

Hospitality Design Graduate Student Capstones

Shopping malls today are dying due to the demand of online shopping. Rather than going strictly to the digital world. The retail spaces are places where consumers can physically feel the product that online shopping does not have to offer.

The Importance Of Daylighting In Guest Rooms And The Fundamental Flaws Of Hotel Design, Jairo Garcia

Hospitality Design Graduate Student Capstones

Analysis of the hotel buildings reveals greater than 50% of rooms have inadequate day lighting. This topic is especially important here in Las Vegas because 15 of the 20 largest hotels in the world are located in our city. With a total of about 150,000 hotel rooms. An average of about 31% of all rooms in the strip are in the shadows, and have no exposure to sunlight over the year. Studies reveal that being in rooms facing north or with poor lighting brings negative effects to its inhabitants like depression, increased stress, gives people little energy and buildings spend …

Designing A Non Conventional Philosophy Of Punishment: Rehabilitation And Reintegration Of Young Offenders, Paola Ortiz

Hospitality Design Graduate Student Capstones

Architecture is one of the few disciplines that sends a silent message to everyone walking into any space. Design is crucial to create specific environments, but when it comes to a prison design, the concept is restricted. Design for prisons, jails, and juvenile corrections are more focused on cost and security, than humanity and hospitality related principles. Access to natural light is a luxury, windows are expensive, and the standardized colors used on their walls are far too depressing.

The Material Light: Exploring The Relationship Between Contained And Container, Oliver Brown

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Many buildings around us use the same ubiquitous boundary materials that fall short in directly influencing the disposition of the space it defines. There are many different opportunities to explore myriad material compositions to present the ambient qualities of space in a manner the puts the constructed boundary to the task to acclimatize the interior it envelopes. This thesis will explore a series of material compositions, with a focus on natural light, and how the articulation of the spatial boundary can bring out the strong qualities of daylight for visually sensitive activities. With this exploration, I will examine ways to …

Multi-Sensory Design For People With Visual Impairments, Joshua Levy

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Architectural design commonly focuses on the visual qualities of its manifestation, leaving people with visual impairments aside from its qualitative goals. In order to counteract this phenomenon and appropriately address people with low visual acuity / legal blindness, we must understand the people within this large community as well as current policies focusing on different types of accommodations for spatial practicality. Understanding the people will entail a dive into what a visual impairment is, what it is like, and understanding how people perceive the world as a whole. Then it is necessary to understand current policies that designers have adopted …

Zonta International: Unveiling 100 Years Of History & Membership, Jessica E. Nantka

Museum Studies Projects

The purpose of this master’s thesis project is to examine the formidable globalized service organization, Zonta International (ZI), which has impacted women around the world for 100 years. I utilized essential practices in the Museum Studies Master of Arts program at SUNY Buffalo State to create this project in association with an exhibit, Zonta International: Unveiling 100 Years of History & Membership, presented at the Karpeles Manuscript Museum from November 5 – November 23, 2019. The use of digitized images, documents, and artifacts within the Howard D. Beach Photography Studio Collection owned by The Buffalo History Museum, have been …

Zonta International: Unveiling 100 Years Of History & Membership, Jessica E. Nantka

Museum Studies Projects

The purpose of this master’s thesis project is to examine the formidable globalized service organization, Zonta International (ZI), which has impacted women around the world for 100 years. I utilized essential practices in the Museum Studies Master of Arts program at SUNY Buffalo State to create this project in association with an exhibit, Zonta International: Unveiling 100 Years of History & Membership, presented at the Karpeles Manuscript Museum from November 5 – November 23, 2019. The use of digitized images, documents, and artifacts within the Howard D. Beach Photography Studio Collection owned by The Buffalo History Museum, have been …

Dynamic Workplace Design, Eduardo Parra De Nova

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The design of workplaces is often complex because it balances two opposing forces: on the one hand, innovation and creativity often involve teamwork processes and collaboration, occurring in spaces which may then produce higher than normal noise levels. On the other hand, many work processes rely on individual work, which requires quiet spaces needed for concentration. Another complex issues that office design architects must address involves the ever changing nature of workplaces, either as part of short-term evolving daily activities or as part of the longer-term changes organizations have to bring to their managerial style in order to stay competitive …

The Impact Of Lighting Type On Consumer Behavior In The Purchase Of Healthy Products, Sarah E. Hartmann

Honors College Theses

This project explored how lighting in the produce section of a supermarket can influence a consumer's decision to purchase healthier options. There is research in this field that examines this idea in restaurants, however, this specific area has not been researched. For this study subjects participated in a pre survey, viewed renderings, and took a post survey all at one predetermined time. The estimated time for the completion of this was about 20 minutes, but this time varied between subjects based on how long they spent taking the surveys and viewing the models. The surveys determined correlation between lighting and …

Encapsulating Educational Design For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Lauren Praeuner

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper is a thesis/creative project hybrid split into two parts. First, it examines different aspects of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the symptoms experienced by those on the spectrum, and the guidelines that parents, medical professionals, and educators should follow to ensure a holistic approach to the care and education of children with autism. The text also notes some of the considerations that designers should review when designing educational facilities for these individuals, as well as few precedents that successfully do so. The second part of the paper presents my team’s architectural studio project, contributed to by UNL students Lindsay …