Architecture Commons^™

Facilitate Learning: Using Architecture As A Teaching Tool, Doron Zarur

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis proposes a new design for an architecture school that looks beyond the verbal and formal way of teaching, engaging students with multiple modes of learning to help them understand the fundamentals of architecture. The thesis looks at the positive impact of this new learning style - providing spaces that visually teach the construction and concepts of building, the foundation of architecture. This research explores visually providing various types of structures in the same space that students learn, strengthening the learner’s understanding and enabling a broader perspective of the content. It also can lead to better solutions for design …

Diy; Strategic Sustainable Homes Rethinking Ghana's Housing Crisis, Michelle Leal

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The irony is that a profession that is responsible for cratering to one of the most basic human needs, is so economically out of reach for those in developing countries such as Ghana. Africa's housing already insufficient and continues to be expensive and not meeting the soaring demand, leads to the continent to face a housing crisis. This problem either leads people to become homeless or are forced to move into neglected unsanitary areas. The intent of my thesis is to provide a DIY; sustainable strategy home in which the locals learn and benefit from building a permit eco-friendly home. …

Vida: Community Center In The Heart Of Bogota, Juan Sebastian Mejia Ceballos

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Abstract

Bogota is the capital of Colombia known for its beautiful culture, architecture, music, food, ambiance. All these things are only seen in the northern portion of the city. When looking at the southern portion of the city, this is where the true neglect of a government shows. There is a lack of care, love, and respect for a city. It is noticeable that there is hierarchy where the elite live in the north and the poor live in the south.

This is the first issue addressed in this thesis.

When looking at the city and its relation to the …

Tensegrity - Is It A Bridge? Buiding? Skin?, Freddy Portugal

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Tensegrity is an amazing concept in which it can look asthetically pleasing as well of having the structural strength to create long and short spans. It is a concept that hasnt been around too many years and its something not many people know about. Im hoping to educate you on this thesis and show how great it is to explore a new structure.

Design For Our Lives! Defensive Design Strategies For School Shootings, David Wolf

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Viewer Discretion is advised. This thesis serves to analyze tragedies that have been running rampant in America since roughly the 90s. Looking at them from an architectural standpoint and how design elements incorporated into the modern way schools are design can create a safer environment for the students and staff alike.

Lungs Of The City: B[Re]Athe - Exploring How Architecture Can Improve Air Quality, Jessica Rimmel

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

One of the most critical elements for survival is air. Air pollution and air quality are often seen as an issue that needs widespread intervention to make a difference. It becomes a problem that people think is too big for them to make any meaningful change. There is a lack of education and acknowledgment of the quality of the air we breathe every day. Prolonged exposure to pollutants in the air can lead to lasting negative effects on one’s health. Air pollution affects our communities disproportionately, the young, the aging, and minority community members are especially susceptible to being exposed …

Airtime: Integrating Acoustics Into The Design Process, Daniel Richardson

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Background

As part of the sensory experience, acoustics serves an important role in facilitating the social functions of a space. The acoustic response of a space plays a part in determining its social atmosphere, as well as how it functions for certain occupancies (eg. clarity in a classroom, projection on a stage, fullness in an orchestra). The acoustics of a space is determined by the assembly and materials of its envelope, as well as the occupation within. Commonly, specific acoustic solutions like panels, foam, or sound batt insulation are used to manage or treat the acoustic qualities of a space. …

Art For Healing: An Exploration Of Spaces To Facilitate Arts For Therapeutic Healings, Ana Gabriela Hernandez Delgado

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Mental health is a complex and ever evolving State of being that architecture and technology play an important role in. For women, some of the ways that depression comes about is when we go through life-changing events. Giving birth, having an abortion, sexual harassment and assault just to name a few. Women have a higher chance to have severe depression and relapsing. With major depression comes the higher rate of suicide. Centers of this type have been improving their designs, but in a way that still feels like the old.

My interests lie in new forms of architecture related to …

Architecture As Medicine: Designing Spaces For The Mind, Body, & Spirit, Tyler Cox

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

How can architectural space provide a holistic approach to health and wellness through an experience that enhances the mind, body, and spirit? As Socrates said in the 4th century B.C., “the part can never be well unless the whole is well.” Holistic Health is a lifestyle and way of thinking that considers the multitude of connected aspects of wellness and recognizes the whole person: physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. This holistic outlook on health should be of major consideration when designing a space, especially while America is currently experiencing a health epidemic. What if there was a place that …

Where Dreams Begin: Challenging The Architecture Of Migrant Detention, Pablo Garcia

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Today, more than 40 million people living in the US were born in another country, accounting for about one-fifth of the world’s migrants. Even though the US is a nation comprised largely of immigrants and their descendants, immigration remains one of the most fraught social and political issues of modern times. People dream of moving into the country seeking a better life than the one they are leaving behind. Yet, upon arrival, they face inhumane circumstances due to the recent influx of people seeking asylum within the US. According to the Department of Homeland Security, over 3 million people arrived …

Preservation And Public History In Mound Bayou, Mississippi, Walker Bray

Honors Theses

This paper is an exploration of the history of Mound Bayou, Mississippi, an all Black community in the Mississippi Delta formed by freedmen in the wake of Reconstruction. This paper also discusses the ways in which Mound Bayou citizens are working to preserve their history and make it known to a wider audience. In particular, this work discusses the recently opened Mound Bayou Museum of African American Culture and History and related efforts to restore and preserve historic structures in Mound Bayou. In addition, this work also seeks to explore ways in which the University of Mississippi can effectively supplement …

Mis/Fitting Architecture: Strategies For A New Department Of Housing And Urban Development Headquarters, Nicole Rodriguez

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Mis/Fitting Architecture does not strive to be different just for difference's sake. Instead, the aim is for designers and users alike to question their surroundings and, therefore, the effect on our daily lives and communities.

This thesis aims to critically assess and provide alternatives for generic American architecture. The majority of work we see constructed today lacks variety in form, expression of materiality, and engagement with the public. The forms, spaces, and materials that surround us shape who we are, what we do, and how we interact. However, limited creativity, mass production, and easily marketable design results in a generic …

Independence Through Unseen Architecture; Investigating Multi-Sensory Design For The Visually Impaired And Blind, Taylor Trevino

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Sensory abilities are what shape our consciousness of the surrounding environment and our concept of the world. Architecture has been based upon aesthetics, function, and form over periods of time to appeal and interact with the senses of its users. What if one or more of your senses cannot utilize space as it was intended? A primary sense in relation to architecture is sight. Which then leads the question, how can architects design insightful architecture for those who can not see it? According to the World Health Organization, there are “285 million people globally with visual impairments, of whom 39 …

Postscript, Arthur C. Nelson

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Afterword - It Has Been A Good Ride, Julian Conrad Juergensmeyer, James Nicholas

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Our Cities, Ourselves, Nan Ellin

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

Just as we are what we eat, we are where we live. We breathe the air, drink the water and inhabit the built and natural landscapes. We make our places and they, in turn, make us. While great places nourish body and soul, poor environmental and urban quality challenges us physically as well as emotionally. How might we heal our places, so that they sustain us, rather than strain us?

On The Restorative Power Of Nature, Or Why Every Neighborhood Needs A Public Japanese Garden, Mira Locher, Keith Bartholomew

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

In celebration of Professor Arthur C. “Chris” Nelson’s illustrious career and our shared ambles in academia and in gardens in Japan, we offer this essay on public health and public gardens, namely gardens in the traditional Japanese style and how they could play an important role in addressing pressing public health issues in urban areas in the U.S. (and elsewhere).

Stewardship Of The Built Environment In A Changing World, Robert A. Young

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

Stewardship of the built environment emerged in the mid-1990s (Young 1994) when preservationists and conservationists needed to broaden their qualitative emotion-based arguments and adopt quantitative environmental and economic evidence to counter proposals that threatened the viability of both the built and natural environments. Social, environmental, and economic (SEE) concerns at the turn of the twenty-first century formed the triptych of the metrics found within the philosophy which: “…recognizes that the preservation, rehabilitation, and reuse of existing older and historic buildings contributes to sustainable design; respects the past, present, and future users of the built environment; and balances the needs of …

Becoming Henderson: How A "Boomburg" Used A Future-Focused Strategic Plan To Become A True Urban Place, Debra March, Stephanie Garcia-Vause, Lisa Corrado

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

Since its incorporation in 1953, the City of Henderson, Nevada has grown from a sparsely populated, one-industry town into a “boomburb” comprised of numerous nationally recognized master-planned communities with an over-arching, future-focused strategic plan. This article is a case study of how this boomburb took advantage of its position in the American suburban landscape to become a true urban place. It also offers a checklist for other communities to consider as they plan for their own futures.

Beyond Brownfields Redevelopment: A Policy Framework For Regional Land Recycling Planning, Joseph Schilling

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

The fields of urban policy and urban planning lack a cohesive and comprehensive framework for recycling vacant and abandoned properties. Past and present efforts to repurpose vacant land and abandoned properties were often narrow responses driven primarily by economic redevelopment policies such as urban renewal of the 1950s & 1960s, deindustrialization of the 1970s & 1980s, and the public-private partnerships featured during the 1990s & 2000s. The 2008-2015 mortgage foreclosure crisis and Great Recession put the policy spotlight on how to address the widespread impacts from thousands of vacant and/or foreclosed homes that affected diverse markets and communities across the …