Architecture Commons^™

Eco-Corridor For Wildlife: Reclamation Of Wildlife Habitat In Rhode Island, Xiaodong Yang

Masters Theses

This thesis aims to reclaim the fragmented habitats of wildlife and natural environments under the current human-dominating world. Through a series of landscape interventions, an ecological wildlife corridor will be proposed to not only help wildlife migrate without being impacted by the constructed infrastructure but also arouse humans to rethink and revalue the relationship between humans and wildlife.

The researches focus on the infrastructure’s negative impacts on wildlife, Interstate 95, and coyotes in specific in Rhode Island and ecological approaches that could potentially remedy this issue. Human infrastructure, like highway systems, has caused great fragmentation in the original wildlife habitat …

Regional Food Self Sufficiency: New Visions For Productive Landscapes, Yiling Wang

Masters Theses

Food is an important resource for the survival and development of civilization. Its potential is so huge that it affects physical and mental health in an individual sense, and it affects landscapes and even public relations in a social sense. For most people, having food is never a problem that the importance of food is overlooked. However, the right to food is not equal. There are still a considerable number of people have low food access, which means…, and they may also be forced to be in an unbalanced diet leading to health problems such as obesity. A large amount …

The Second Identity: The Human-Otters Ha-Ha - Utopia For Urban Animals, Yuxin Zhang

Masters Theses

The question of proportion between humans and urban animals is always existed but had been ignored for a while. Through COVID19,the early balance, which human as a dominant sign in the urban area seems been slightly broken and many “invisible” animals start to show up. This makes me think that is there another living mode between humans and animals.

The thesis project locates in Singapore. Asa country around by water, Singapore has countless river canal, with some of the rivers are more residential and quieter, some are famous hot tourism point. However, some of the rivers are similar, which because …

Adaptive Reuse As Evidence Of Scientific Progress: Recontextualizing A Space For Growing Knowledge, Kayci Gallagher

Masters Theses

With the constantly evolving initiatives of astronomical exploration comes the obsolescence of instruments conceived to support research; a sure sign of the scientific process. However, architecture constructed to shelter these constantly shifting tools often remains fixed, growing incapable of supporting advancing technology. Typically, these shelters are sidelined in favor of new infrastructure. Many optical observatories around the world face this issue and must choose between preserving the past or abandoning the site altogether. That these buildings are no longer needed for revolutionary research shouldn’t be disappointing: it is a signal of human achievement, and the scientific process requires a more …

Feeling At Home: Working With The Rhythm Of The Day To Support Seniors In Urban Villages, Guoxi Zhou

Masters Theses

My focus is on the continuously growing aging population. We know the world is rapidly aging. We know countries and cities are experiencing a demographic shift. But we keep neglecting and underestimating those changes. Cities do not pay attention to and prepare for the needs of the elderly. Given that China has a huge number of seniors living in the city, I am working on the topic of how landscape architecture can support the seniors’ needs within the city’s aging population in Shenzhen. Using the urban Village of Gangxia in Shenzhen, China as a testing ground, in my thesis, I …

The Tek-Way: Traditional Ecological Knowledge: A Catalyst To Building Resilient Communities, Smera Rose Jacob

Masters Theses

“In an era of both utopian high tech and unprecedented climate extremes, we are drowning in information while starving for wisdom.^" The TEK-Way is a challenge to the long arm of globalization by looking into multi-generational wisdom, the hidden strength of every community but forgotten in the endless race for “modernization”. It inspires a new relationship of justice and coexistence by exploring and rebuilding an understanding of traditional ecological knowledge and spreading awareness of its importance and role in this era of climate change.

This thesis questions the band-aid recovery strategies of disaster mitigation through an exploration of long-term …

Equity In Accessibility, A Case Study Of City Of Sacramento, Meredith C. Milam

City and Regional Planning

This paper is a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) spatial analysis of the transportation accessibility and equity in Sacramento, California. A literature review examines discriminatory regulatory policies in the 1900s that wrote racial segregation into law. The effects of these policies have lasting effects on spatial dispersal of people and create barriers to accessibility and therefore result in inequitable transportation systems. The accessibility and equity analysis in Sacramento explores demographic data, job concentration and available modes of transportation, and commuter data. The results of the analysis suggest that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach when it comes to measuring accessibility and equity. …

The Retrieval Of Memory: Holding Time In The Shanghai Gasometers, Liman Wei

Masters Theses

Shanghai was primarily an industrial city from the 19th century to the 20th century. By serving as a carrier of time, the past industrial architecture in Shanghai is invested with the collective memory of its past inhabitants. Now that Shanghai has entered the post-industrial period, according to the Shanghai 2035 Urban Plan, the Yangshupu Industrial Zone will be transformed into a new Central Activity Zone. As a result of this plan, old residential neighborhoods nearby will be demolished and replaced by new high-rise residential buildings. The relationship between old residential areas and industrial buildings will be uprooted. Memories of industry …

Terminal: Through The "Windows" Of A Tram Car Museum, Yuyi Si

Masters Theses

The typical city museum is more concerned with the city’s past: focused on founding myths or historical events. The content is frozen and lacks engagement. Simultaneously, the city itself develops rapidly and shifts, just as the citizens move and change. To address this disconnection, it is necessary to create an active city museum that joins place, memory, and people by putting museum learning in context throughout the city and engaging audiences in their daily lives.

Dalian in Liaoning Province, China, is recognized as a historical and tourism district with a unique city fabric and collection of architectural styles. The city …

Architecture Of Aging Care: A Field Through Architectural Innovation, Eve Huining Guo

Masters Theses

A thesis is original.

A thesis for me is the process of finding my hidden voice toward society and making it stands in my own language. Not saying the first or second language I speak, but the unique language that I have created after years of learning and experiences in both the Architecture field and across the other disciplines. A thesis then introduces it to the world.

A thesis is living in the present, it reveals the current stage of my perception of big concerns towards the world-scale phenomenon and my focus towards how it relates to the individuals like …

Black Exposure: A New Typology, Teisha Bradley

Masters Theses

It is clear that the Euro-centric exclusivity and misrepresentation of Black bodies in space has left a void in architectural representation and design. The aim of my thesis is to highlight Black bodies and their experiences in the built environment. Photography is a crucial tool in documenting and narrating these stories. This typology has three identifiers: the figure, ground, and cultural context.

Ritualizing Of Space In The 21st Century: Fostering Of Communal Identity Through Celebration Of Tamil Culture, Mridula Swaminathan

Masters Theses

South India is known for its traditional belief systems and the numerous architectural manifestations of these beliefs. The scale and extravagance of temples and the palaces for the kings are an example of how important culture and ritual were in the past. Now some of these structures, such as the Thirumalai Nayakar Palace in the city of Madurai, the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu, stand in a modified societal context with no cultural or ritualized significance. Moreover, the host of this project, the Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal, situated in a city brimming with multiple sacred rituals performed along the city streets, …

Beyond Pasta: Understanding Italian American Culinary Culture In Federal Hill, Chufan He

Masters Theses

Nuances of culture are lost from an outside perspective. This one–sidedness perception brings confusion and can lead to stereotypes. As a “Country of immigrants’” it is crucial to break stereotypes born in America to understand the complexity and uniqueness of every immigrant's culture. As for stereotypes of Italian culture in America, these are always related to food. As an Italian American neighbourhood with many layers of history, Federal Hill has experienced several transitions. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Fabre Line offered the only transatlantic route which brought a large number of Italian immigrants to New England. Providence …

Going Back, Zhiyi Hilary He

Masters Theses

The acceleration of social urbanization and education universalization in the past 30 years of China has promoted the popularization of mandarin among the public. Meanwhile, the dialect, as a unique regional language, is gradually dying away. In the city where I grew up, Taizhou, only the elders are likely to speak Taizhou dialect frequently in their life, while others prefer to use mandarin rather than dialect. The truth is the usage rate of dialect has gradually decreased from generation to generation. The primary goal of this thesis is to provide an opportunity for the public to “dialogue with the past” …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Active Transportation, Timothy Scott Mcbirney

City and Regional Planning

This research project examines the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had and will continue to have on active transportation, in particular, cycling. This research was initiated by my own interest in cycling for both recreational and utility purposes as well as articles I had read on the rise in recreational cycling over the course of the pandemic. I wanted to understand and summarize the best practices for converting the increase in cycling for recreation into a meaningful, long-term shift toward active modes in urban transportation in the future. This paper explores how the pandemic has impacted active transportation around the country …

Equilibrium Without Statics: The Modern Müller-Breslau Method, Claudia Rene Zapata-Kraft

Architectural Engineering

This senior project is an investigation of the Modern Müller-Breslau Method. The purpose of this senior project was to see how quickly and easily a graduating senior in a structural engineering program could acquaint themselves to the method, as well as create new problems that demonstrate its power in equilibrium without the use of any statics. The focus of this project and paper is determinate structures including beams, axial members, frames, three-hinged arches, and finally three-dimensional trusses. Examples of each type of problem will be shown with explanations along with a reflection on the experience from a student’s perspective on …

Take Heart School, Quentin John Porter

Architectural Engineering

Journeyman International, also known as JI, is a non-profit organization that groups together design and construction students with organizations looking to build humanitarian projects around the world. This pairing is beneficial for both the organization because they get free design and construction expertise, as well as for the students who get real-world experience. The Take Heart School is a planned school and grounds for the region of Migori Kenya. Take Heart Africa is a fair trade store with all profits going to help the impoverished communities of Kenya. The three-acre site will have a school with eight classrooms, offices, a …

Health + Efficiency House: A Take On The 50x50 Glass House, Eva Wieczorek, Krystal Bacon, Kaylee Hernandez, Jennifer Long, Moises De La Cruz, Elle Gallmann, Jurgis Vaišvila

Architectural Engineering

Under the guidance of Professor Edmond Saliklis and Professor Meredith Sattler, four Architectural Engineering students joined forces with three Architecture students from both Cal Poly and Vilnius Technical University in Lithuania. The portfolio exemplifies a complete reimagination of Mies van der Rohe and Myron Goldsmith's 50x50 Glass House as if it were designed today in Palm Springs, CA. The work completed in this interdisciplinary studio includes historical context, abstract creation, architectural and structural design all relating back to the Glass House.

I Think We Have Some Connection Difficulty: A Review Of Architectural Vocabulary And Representation In Our Condition Of Remote Communication, David Waite

Masters Theses

The distance required to slow this pandemic created a need for Zoom technology in maintaining our economies of mental production and social closeness. Just like scientists examined the COVID-19 virus globally in its petri under the electron microscope, Zoom exposed our domestic interiors. This platform stitched together our personal existence into an infinite interior. To some extent this places Zoom attendees into a new space of vulnerability where the platform turns passive observers into active participants in a hyper self-aware virtual world where all are forced to share their fragile environments of everyday life.

While videotelephony software thankfully facilitated communication …

Reclaiming Modern Architecture: An Urban Visual Narrative Of Kuwait City, Yara Hadi

Masters Theses

For a city to be remembered, to be successful, to be desired, a distinct connection has to be made between the city-dweller and the city itself. In 1938 Kuwait transformed from a town that relied on trade into a single resource exporter of oil, fueling a booming modern economy. The influx of the automobile and modern solutions to Western ways of living would forever change the city. In the speed of these developments, critical aspects of city planning such as the pedestrian and the harsh desert climate were overlooked. Kuwait began to lose a connection between the city and its …