Architecture Commons^™

Fabrikë Per Prodhimin E Dyerve Dhe Dritareve, Albes Gashi

Theses and Dissertations

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How New, Innovative Technology Can Be Implemented To Combat The Construction Industry Labor Shortage, Noah David Jackson

The Professional Constructor

This essay addresses the construction industry’s need to compensate for the current and projected labor shortage through innovative technologies. In the first portion of this essay, three technologies that are most feasible for implementation – the Internet of Things (IoT), Drones, and Prefabrication – are detailed. The challenges faced are then discussed before the second major portion in which steps for implementation are outlined. These steps include forming partnerships, learning the process, communicating, training, implementing, and adapting and improving. The essay concludes with a discussion of how the AGC organization, and members within, can aid the industry in meeting this …

The Adaptative Construction Industry, Rhett Cox

The Professional Constructor

The construction industry is an industry that always unites to find ways to solve problems. It is very complex and requires considerable organization, hard work, specific skills, and a whole lot of determination. In this paper, I will discuss three ways that the industry is making strides to make construction better and more efficient: (a) increased use of modular construction and prefabrication, (b) use of drones, and (c) Building Information Modeling (BIM) use. With the construction process becoming more and more complex, improving efficiency and safety has gained more attraction, especially when coping with fundamental issues such as labor shortage, …

How New, Innovative Technology And Project Execution Tools And Techniques Can Be Used To Improve The Construction Process (Including Safety And Efficiency), James L. Craig

The Professional Constructor

Humanity has often sought to utilize tools and technology to make working faster, more efficient, more comfortable, and more accurate. While humans may have started with stone tools, we have since developed complex and sophisticated mechanical and digital technologies. The construction industry has been utilizing construction technology and equipment for these same reasons for generations. While other industries have embraced the use of smart, autonomous technology and robotics, the construction industry has steadily fallen behind in this effort. In this paper, I will discuss current work using these tools and possible applications for future development.

The Impact Of Climate Change On Building Energy Demands And Mitigation Measures In Florida, Aiyin (Erin) Jiang

The Professional Constructor

Tropical and subtropical parts of the world are projected to be the most vulnerable to the impact of climate change on building energy consumption demand. Few studies, however, focus on all four greenhouse emission scenarios defined by International Panel of Climate Change, which would be useful in assessing the energy demand challenges areas such as Florida. This study applies the most recognized climate change model downscaling approach, the morphing method, to investigate the impact of climate change on the commonly used commercial buildings in Florida’s climate zones under all four emission scenarios. It also analyzes the efficacy of various mitigation …

Frequency And Magnitude Of Cost Growth In Public Works Contracts, George Fulton, Panagiotis Mitropoulos

The Professional Constructor

Cost overruns are a persistent issue in the construction industry. This paper investigates factors that may drive cost growth on public works contracts. The study collected data on 1,043 public works projects completed over a three year period. The analysis examined the impact of four factors on cost overruns: (1) Project type, (2) Contract size, (3) Contract duration, and (4) Construction placement (value per day). The data were analyzed using a combination of basic descriptive statistics along with statistical hypothesis testing of means for various factors affecting cost growth. Cost growth was found to vary significantly by project type, contract …

Case Study Of Real-World Emissions Rates Verus Epaemission Standards For Motor Graders, Boshra Karimi, Phil Lewis

The Professional Constructor

Using the Volkswagen emissions scandal as motivation, the purpose of this case study was to investigate whether or not heavy-duty diesel construction equipment exceeds EPA emissions standards for nonroad diesel engines. The equipment analyzed included four separate motor graders with EPA emissions standards Tier 0, Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 engines. The analysis was based on a dataset of real-world emissions rates collected from in-use equipment on actual jobsites. The results showed that mass per time emissions rates for hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter decreased as the EPA emissions standards became more stringent. Furthermore, there …

Understanding Sub-Contractor Selection Factors In Thebuilding Construction Industry For The Southeastern United States, Dhaval Gajjar, Cayla Anderson

The Professional Constructor

The primary entities within building construction industry consists of the owner, the architect / engineer, and the general contractor, that ensure the success of any construction project. On a traditional project, the owner selects and contracts with the general contractor to construct a building designed by the architect. A considerable amount of research has been conducted to understand the owner’s selection factors to hire a qualified general contractor. However, the general contractor selected for the project seldom self-performs the entire construction of a building. The general contractor might self-perform some aspects of the actual building construction, but they will typically …

A “First And Last-Mile” Assessment Of California Rail Stations: A Sketch Planning Approach, Henry Mckay

City and Regional Planning

The purpose of this study is to assess the pedestrian and bicycle accessibility of rail stations in California by providing a sketch planning toolkit enabling planners and decision-makers to compare various accessibility factors and to develop and compare metrics.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Accessibility is a highly important area of transportation planning, especially as it pertains to rail stations. While a well-planned rail network can serve many people, travelers must get to and from rail stations on either end of their trip in order for the rail service to be of any use. The mode by which travelers make these trips …

The Glass House: An Architectural And Structural Analysis And Reimagining Of Ludwig Meis Van Der Rohe's 50x50 House, Jackson Ernest Blake, William Clay Fry, Andrew Michael Hodge, Gemma Susan Rizzuto

Architectural Engineering

This portfolio documents the work of four students: Jackson Blake (ARCE), William Fry (ARCH), Andrew Hodge (ARCE), and Gemma Rizzuto (ARCE). It was created for ARCE 415: Interdisciplinary Capstone Project and advised by prof. Edmond Saliklis. The course included a historical and analytical analysis of Ludwig Meis van der Rohe's 50x50 House, which was never constructed. The content of this portfolio primarily consists of a reimagining of Meis van der Rohe's famous concept.

Glass Structures Redesigned - Summit Road Glass House, Destiny Marie Calderon, Alexander Ameri, Jake Baldauf, Joseph Guzman

Architectural Engineering

During the virtual Winter Quarter of 2021, three Architectural Engineering students teamed up with an Architecture student in a interdisciplinary studio for their senior project. Inspired by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his contributions towards modern architecture, the team set out to redesign his well known 50x50 Glass House that was never built. They called it the Summit Road Glass House. Keeping true to Mies's vision, structural limitations such as no diagonal bracing, the prevention of walls touching the roof, and the elimination of traditional columns at the corner were considered greatly in terms of gravity and lateral design. …

The Ranger Station, James Alexander Whittall, Edgar Francisco Rivera Macias

Architectural Engineering

ARCE 415 Senior Project. The Ranger Station is a conceptual project inspired by Mies Van der Rohe's 50x50 House. The first part of the project is a fire lookout located in Big Sur, California. The Ranger Station brings together form and function, creating an architecturally unique structure that fulfills the requirements of a fire lookout. Once completed, the lookout structure was reimagined in a dystopic future.

The Glass House, Ricardo Villanueva, Emma Placek, Jacob Keller, Jorge Rios

Architectural Engineering

A collaboration of Architects and Architectural Engineers to design a unique depiction of the 50x50 Glass House with Miesian Architectural appeal.

Spectral Induced Polarization Study On Enzyme Induced Carbonate Precipitations: Influences Of Size And Content On Stiffness Of A Fine Sand, Bate Bate, Junnan Cao, Chi Zhang, Na Hao

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Heterogeneity in either chemically or microbiologically induced carbonate-based ground improvement methods is a major obstacle in engineering application. Spectral induced polarization (SIP), an innovative and nondestructive method, which has demonstrated promise in monitoring microbial activity, was used in this study to monitor enzyme induced carbonate precipitation (EICP). The complex conductivities, together with the shear wave velocities (Vs), of an EICP modified sand were monitored using a self-developed spectral induced polarization–bender element column. The mean precipitate size was calculated by relaxation time (τ) and the Schwarz equation. The precipitate contents were calculated by cumulative gamma distribution function on the global polarization …

Los Angeles Homeless Epidemic - An Analysis Of Proposition Hhh, Howard T. Duong

Construction Management

Passed in 2016, Proposition HHH is a $1.2 billion bill hoping to curb the homelessness epidemic that is rising in the city of Los Angeles with the newly added construction of 10,000 supportive housing units. This study serves to analyze and detail the homelessness epidemic in the Los Angeles Area, familiarizes the reader with how Proposition HHH funding works together with developers, as well as some of its shortcomings to date so far. To garner additional research, a survey was performed with a sample size from both the developers engaged with Proposition HHH and residents of the product in order …

Indispensable Homes In Third World Countries: Constructing A Home In Tijuana, Mexico, Myles Hubers

Construction Management

This project was created to explore a way in which poverty around the world could ultimately be reduced. The way in which this project intends to demonstrate a method used to reduce poverty is by building a home for a specific family in Tijuana, Mexico. In doing so, this home will act as a model home for a manual, comprised of steps that should be taken to construct similar homes throughout any third world country. The goal of this project is to highlight the importance of poverty in the world while also creating a buildable solution in order to reduce …

Net-Zero Homes, The Homes Of The Future, Primo Guseppi Facchini

Construction Management

Net-Zero homes are the homes of the future (Holmes, 2018). What makes Net-zero homes unique is they rely on solar power, opposed to all standard housing that relies on the power grid. These homes use solar instead of other forms of energy generating technology because it is more affordable and better for the environment. California has blazed the trail for the rest of the United States and the world to follow with their Net-Zero housing proposition. Starting January 2020 California will require all residential buildings to be net-zero homes. Net-Zero homes are important because it is no secret that our …

Residential Bathroom And Tile Shower Addition During Covid-19 Quarantine, Joseph Szillinsky

Construction Management

This paper outlines the design and construction of a new code compliant bathroom including: a low profile shower pan, ceramic-tile shower enclosure, and new plumbing piping and fixtures. One of the main objectives was to complete the new shower which would be easily accessible and maintenance free in order to support a local elderly couple. The selection of this project took place during the COVID-19 pandemic approximately nine months after California issued the first mandatory statewide Stay-at-Home Order. During the early design and development stages an opportunity to collaborate with a local trades-person was identified as well as the need …

Comparing The Environmental Impacts Of Using Mass Timber And Structural Steel, Khang Hoang Nguyen, Steelee Knight Morgan

Construction Management

Although mass timber has seen a gradual rise in demand in the past, there has been a lack of extensive research on the environmental impacts of using mass timber as a primary structural framing material. This paper compares structural steel, and mass timber’s total embodied carbon emissions. Accurate estimates were made using plans and specs for different projects retrieved from semi-structured interviews. The estimates were input through the EC3 Calculator to provide extensive total carbon emissions measurements between each construction material. Using structural steel framing increased the project’s overall environmental impact by roughly 84% compared to using mass timber. The …

Impact Of Multiple Waves Of Covid-19 On Healthcare Networks In The United States, Emad M. Hassan, Hussam N. Mahmoud

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The risk of overwhelming hospitals from multiple waves of COVID-19 is yet to be quantified. Here, we investigate the impact of different scenarios of releasing strong measures implemented around the U.S. on COVID-19 hospitalized cases and the risk of overwhelming the hospitals while considering resources at the county level. We show that multiple waves might cause an unprecedented impact on the hospitals if an increasing number of the population becomes susceptible and/or if the various protective measures are discontinued. Furthermore, we explore the ability of different mitigation strategies in providing considerable relief to hospitals. The results can help planners, policymakers, …