Architecture Commons^™

Preservation Of Architectural-Religious Heritage In Modern Ukraine, Olga Gold, Maksym Vasalatiy, Olga Dobrodum

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines answers to a number of pressing questions regarding the preservation of architectural heritage in the modern world: what philosophical views underlie the preservation of world heritage; and what is unique about the protection of religious architectural heritage. The architectural philosophy of religious buildings represents a complex of original concepts, both material and spiritual. The hypothesis consists of constructing an algorithm and mechanism for protecting cultural heritage from the perspective of the philosophy of architecture in post-war Ukraine. The preservation of historical and cultural heritage sites is one of the most complex areas of activity in the fields …

Dielectric And Thermal Ageing Characteristics Of Al₂O₃ Nanofluid-Impregnated Cellulose For Power Transformer Applications, Shaymaa A. Qenawy, Basma Eltlhawy, Hussein M. Waly

Mansoura Engineering Journal

As nanotechnology progresses, nanofluids have emerged as promising candidates for transformer insulation due to their enhanced dielectric and thermal properties. This study evaluates the degradation behavior of a mineral oil-cellulose system compared to an alumina (Al₂O₃) nanofluid-cellulose system. Accelerated thermal ageing tests were conducted at 120°C for a 20-day duration, simulating approximately 20 years of field service. Key findings reveal that the nanofluid-impregnated paper exhibited superior mechanical longevity, characterized by a 3% reduction in the tensile strength deterioration rate relative to mineral oil samples. Initially, the AC breakdown voltage (BDV) of the nanofluid was 10.85% higher …

Madison, Wisconsin As A Climate Haven: Infrastructure, Environmental Justice, And Community Voice, Sophia N. Heffner

Scripps Senior Theses

As climate change accelerates internal migration within the United States, the concept of “climate havens” has emerged as a way to identify communities that may become receiving zones for displaced populations. Madison, Wisconsin has increasingly been positioned within academic, policy, and media discourse as a potential climate haven due to its geographic advantages, strong public infrastructure, and proactive climate policy environment. This paper evaluates Madison’s readiness for this role through an equity-centered, participatory planning lens. Drawing on planning documents, climate data, municipal policies, and interdisciplinary scholarship, it argues that Madison’s long-term success as a sustainable and inclusive climate haven depends …

Doikayt And The Ethics Of Belonging: Lessons In Place-Making From The Jewish Labor Bund, Zoë L. Jacobs

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis traces the evolution of doikayt—the Bundist principle of hereness—from its origins in the Jewish Labor Bund to contemporary applications in North America. Rooted in a refusal of both assimilation and nationalist escape, doikayt emphasizes cultivating safety, solidarity, and belonging through collective responsibility rather than territorial claims.

Building on this foundation, the exploration situates hereness within a settler-colonial context, where ethical dwelling is complicated by Indigenous dispossession. Drawing on Alexis Shotwell alongside Indigenous thinkers Vanessa Watts and Kyle Whyte, I examine how inhabiting place requires confronting historical injustices and ongoing relational responsibilities. Chapter 3 analyzes Linke Fligl (2016–2022) as …

Civic Grammar: Why Classical Architecture Endures In The American State, Jesse Walker

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

The dominant visual language of American federal buildings has been classical, surviving repeated ideological challenges, professional revolts, and political controversy. While this persistence has been widely observed, the mechanism behind it has not been clearly identified. This thesis isolates that mechanism. Drawing on architectural history, federal procurement policy, and primary sources from Jefferson's correspondence through the executive orders of 2020 and 2025, it argues that classicism endures not because its meaning has remained stable, but because federal architecture is governed by a persistent functional constraint: government buildings must be immediately legible to an ordinary citizen, without signage or prior knowledge, …

The Development Of A Convenient And Consistent Methodology For Flight Proficiency To Certify Multi-Rotor Uas Pilots For State Departments Of Transportation, Colin H. Dees, Joseph M. Burgett

The Professional Constructor

To fly an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly referred to as a “drone,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires pilots to pass a knowledge test. There is no requirement at the state or federal level for drone operators to demonstrate the ability to operate a UAS. The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) has created an exam for public and private entities to assess basic UAS flight proficiency. It is the only nationally recognized flight proficiency protocol. NIST does not provide a scoring recommendation and leaves it to the user to determine the minimum criteria to pass. There is …

Affordable Infill Housing For Zillennials: Enhancing Urban Mobility Through Walkable And Bikeable Access In Jakarta Metropolitan Area, Mewan Indra, Arif Kusumawanto, Agus Hariyadi

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Rapid urbanization in developing countries has intensified housing challenges for younger generations, particularly Zillennials (aged 24–34), who demand affordable, accessible, and sustainable living environments. This study investigates the optimal location for small-scale housing integrated with large-scale developments in the Jakarta Metropolitan Area (JMA), emphasizing mobility as the primary criterion. The research is guided by a conceptual framework that synthesizes compact city principles, the 15-minute city concept, and Zillennial lifestyle preferences, with walkability and bikeability serving as mediating variables. Mobility simulations were conducted using the Urban Modeling Interface (UMI), applying Walk Score parameters to evaluate walking and cycling accessibility. Six simulation …

Women Shellfishers’ Role In Managing ‘Women’S Forest’ And Conservation Challenges In Youtefa Bay, Indonesia, Helmawaty E. Rumbiak

Open Access Master's Theses

Mangrove forests in Youtefa Bay hold critical ecological and cultural significance for the Enggros community, particularly for women. Known as the “women’s forest,” this area is where Enggros women harvest shellfish and collect firewood. Women shellfishers have a close relationship with the forest, where they connect with their children and other women. However, rapid urban development and pollution around the mangrove ecosystem have negatively impacted the women shellfishers and their role in managing the mangrove forest. Shellfishing activity will likely decrease as urban development around the forest increases, and more waste flows into the forest. This research examines the role …

Exploring Design Tools, Naomi Torgler

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For my Honors Research Project, I developed skills to 3D model and render using Rhino 8, Tinkercad and Adobe Illustrator. In the process of developing these skills, I created six digital renderings and one model. The works produced using these software programs are to be used in a developing portfolio to seek future opportunities in the field of architecture.

Throughout this project, I explored connections between different programs when designing and building each piece. This project also reflects my focus in the Sculpture program at the Myers School of Art by considering elements of design in a three-dimensional form. In …

The Seedling, Caden Bent

2026 Research Poster Competition

This research investigates attainable housing for the missing middle through the integration of mass timber construction, prefabrication, and biophilic design. The project proposes a modular housing system that leverages the structural efficiency, quality control, and ecological performance of mass timber while emphasizing replicability as a means of adaptability rather than uniformity. Through prototyping modular systems, material life cycle studies, and iterative design across replicable and adaptable units, the study examines how prefabrication can accelerate construction timelines without erasing local, cultural, or temporal specificity. Central to the research is an expanded understanding of biophilia, not as applied aesthetic, but as a …

Resilient Communities: Affordable Solutions To Extreme Heat, Rylee Ball

2026 Research Poster Competition

Climate change is wicked. The term itself lacks a single definition and individuals vary in understanding of its causes and effects. Often, it is considered through the lens of global phenomena: deterioration of the ozone layer, destabilization of the arctic circle, or other abstract impacts that are often difficult to fully comprehend. Harder to trace is the impact on a local scale: access to food and water, increase in natural disasters and displacement. The impacts threaten to deepen already wide inequalities. Design theorists Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber characterized such challenges as “wicked problems,” a concept that aptly describes climate …

St. Peter’S And The Altar: An Exploration Of Its Transformation And Its Development As The Focal Point Of Sacred Space, Chloe Balkcom

2026 Research Poster Competition

This study explores the evolution of the high altar at St. Peter’s, tracing its history as a ritual focal point within the basilica. Rooted to being the presumed burial site of the Apostle Peter, the basilica served as a primary testing ground for the evolving relationship between altar, relic, and liturgy. Arguably, the altar's gradual formulation in its position from a movable object to a fixed structure, mirrors the actual Church’s broader effort to find its identity, authority, and ritual practice following the legalization of Christianity. Through architectural, material, and liturgical analysis across the centuries, the paper examines spatial consequences …

The Log Cabin | Public Perception And Mediated Reality (1840 – 1980), Aspen Regan

2026 Research Poster Competition

This capstone examines the evolution of the log cabin from 1840 to 1980. At its core, the project questions the legacy of the log cabin from its origins as simply being a traditional dwelling typology to its establishment as a cultural icon or rather, an enduring vessel foundational to the American Dream and ideals of self-reliance, freedom, and individualism deep within the heart of American culture. Various case studies, traditional literature review, and archival analysis was required to complete and produce a comprehensive study of the log cabin and its history in this context, culminating into three distinct chapters. Chapter …

Rekindling Hearth: An Investigation And Discussion Of The Traditional And Evolving Roles Of Hearth In Architecture, Ruth Prenzler

2026 Research Poster Competition

This research explores the evolving role of the hearth in domestic architecture, examining its historical significance and its continuing symbolic, spatial, and architectural relevance. Once essential for heat, cooking, and social gathering, the hearth has gradually shifted from a functional necessity to a largely symbolic and nostalgic artifact as a result of technological advancements and changing domestic lifestyles. Despite this functional decline, the hearth persists as a powerful cultural and architectural element, deeply embedded in collective memory and the perception of home. This study reexamines the hearth’s spatial, social, and functional roles through a combined methodology of literature review, theoretical …

Hybridized-Highway Infrastructures, Will Sutton

2026 Research Poster Competition

This research explores highways and their evolving functions through hybrid programming, from the modern era to the present day. As early as 1916, the federal government began funding state construction of the National Highway System. From this point onward, by design, highways became redundant and homogenized networks of automobile movement, crystallizing their function. Despite this, there are global examples of architecturally utilizing space within, above, or below highway infrastructures that hybridize their function beyond vehicular movement. I am currently studying hybridized-highway infrastructures through a literature review that examines them through the lenses of underutilized space associated with highways, the roles …

The Rva Resilience Network: Filling Gaps With Resilience Microhubs, Andrew Bunn

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Richmond, Virginia has experienced a steady increase in climate-related disruptions including more hot days and more extreme storm events than in previous decades. Frontline communities disproportionately feel the impacts of these events, revealing gaps in the services and resources that should allow these communities to prepare for and recover from disruptions more effectively. This plan, developed for Groundwork RVA, explores neighborhood-scale resilience microhubs as a tool to fill these gaps and increase resilience in frontline communities.

The plan establishes a repeatable process for creating and expanding a network of resilience microhubs in the Richmond region. This process was tested and …

Metamorphosis, Allegra Codamon

Theses and Dissertations

Relevance to Interior Design Research

In Richard Sennett’s The Craftsman, he starts from the premise that thinking and feeling are contained in the process of making. This thesis builds on that premise, arguing that through the embodied process of glassworking, making constitutes a form of interior knowledge—where perception, memory, and bodily awareness are formed through material resistance and responsiveness. Drawing on Sennett and Juhani Pallasmaa, this work positions glassmaking as a mode of thinking-through-doing, in which interiority is produced through sustained material engagement.

Research Question

What does interiority embodied through the making process look like? This question will be investigated …

Walking And Wondering, Helen T. Tran

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis approaches walking as a form of inquiry and the Flood Wall as a site open to reinterpretation. I believe that the way we walk changes the way we observe and experience the world around us. This contrast between purposeful and leisurely walking reveals how time and intention shape our awareness of space. When walking is no longer dictated by urgency, it invites observations and questions. Slowing our pace allows curiosity to emerge, which aligns with my design ethos of asking questions as a foundation for understanding and creating meaningful experiences.

The Flood Wall’s emphasis on uninterrupted movement prioritizes …

Within The Ruin: A Modern Brewery Rebirth, Karim Asarzadeh

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis project focuses on the revitalization of the historic ruins of the James River Steam Brewery in Richmond, Virginia. The project transforms the forgotten industrial structure into a modern brewery with a second-floor restaurant addition and community gathering spaces while preserving the historic masonry ruins. It showcases a holistic design approach that considers all aspects of the building, including its connection to the urban context and landscape, as well as its architecture, interiors, and furniture. The project demonstrates how a holistic design approach can create stronger spatial connections and more cohesive environments. In particular, it offers a strategy for …

Ottoman Wikālas In Cairo: Islamic Architecture Beyond The Mosque, Yumna Moussa

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis traces one of the largest architectural typologies in Cairo: the wikāla, a type of urban caravanserai unique to Egypt. Estimated to have reached more than five hundred buildings by the 18^th century, the wikāla was the building of choice for most patrons in Ottoman Cairo. This study initially investigates the evolution of commercial architecture within the Islamic city. It then explores the defining architectural features of Cairene wikālas built between the 16^th and 18^th centuries—their plans, decorative/iconographic programs, and urban distribution—based on waqfiyyas, chronicles, travelers’ accounts, and photographic archives. Since many of …