Architecture Commons^™

A Simple Spiritual Building Guima Earth Shrine, Peter Blundell Jones, Derong Kong

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

The Dong People live in South-West China, in a mountainous and formerly inaccessible landscape. All Dong buildings were traditionally constructed by local carpenters. In this paper will focus on a smallDong spiritual building, an Earth shrine. It is a village shrine in Guima village. The shrine links the value of the family with the fertility of the earth. It is a communal site combining individual observances for a confirmation of shared belief, and a construction of society. The shrine also serves as a spiritual place where villagers can pray for blessing. After a short general introduction, this narrative approach addresses …

Landscape Architectural Design Of Memorials: The Case Of The Seven Kings Ofsiam, Rajabhakti Park, Pornthum Thumwimol

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

A memorial site and architectural landscape plan is symbolic and is psychologically designed to communicate a meaning or a theme to visitors. Its success depends upon the unity of the followingthree components:1.Nature: the existing geography and environment2.Site planning: the management of the space usage and symbolic landscape design3.Landscape elements: statues and the decorative elements.Of these three components, landscape architecture plays a crucial role in connecting the other two components in order to create unity and the sense of place. This case study of the architectural landscape design and planning of Rajabhakti Park, a Memorial to Seven Kings of Siam in …

Life-Force Energy: The Sacred Root Of Place, Architecture, And Community, Tom Bender

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

Vrtually every historical culture using designs rooted in life-force energy has created architecture, everyday places, and communities with spiritual power far exceeding what is achieved today evenin "spiritual" buildings. By generating an understanding of this energy, and the examples of its use from cultures in Cambodia, Japan, India, Thailand, China, Hawaii, Nigeria, Egypt, Peru, Mexico, and Native America, new possibilities are dramatically opening for places and lives today

Sustaining Urban Spatial Network Of Historical Communities Through The Reuse Of Temple Grounds And Social Space - A Case Study Of Rattanakosin, Bangkok, Khaisri Paksukcharern

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

Old communities in Rattanakosin, a historical center of Bangkok, have been the model of a vibrant mix-use urban area where residences, temples, schools and local retailers are clustered in close proximity.The Rattanakosin area has distinctive spatial characteristics hardly found in other areas of Bangkok; small urban blocks, a dense grid network for pedestrian only, and a large number of Buddhist temples well integrated within communities. The mapping of space usage reveals how local inhabitants, as well as tourists, interact within a series of public open spaces. How this interaction differs at various times and activities are in fact spatially related. …

The 21st Century's New Paradigm For Landscape Architecture; Restoration Of Spiritual Environments In Landscape Design, Sim Woo-Kyung

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

Homo sapiens are concerned with the environmental crisis. There are many attempts to solve the ecological problems through various disciplines; scientific, political, historical, sociological, religiousand architectural. But the situation is getting worse. There seems to be no special subject of study which can solve the problem except landscape architecture. The main roles of landscape architects are to preserve the natural environment, such as national parks or sea coasts, and to improve the built environment, such as cities and consumed natural resources. But only visible landscapes have been the focus. The environments consist of not only the visible, but also invisible …

Re-Think It Conference Proceedings, Grand Valley State University, Matt Ruen, Mary M. Somerville, Lori S. Mestre, Eric Kurt, Ilana Stonebraker, Tomalee Doan, Corey Seeman, Jeffery Scherer, Christine Tobias, Christina Mune, Sharon Thompson

Re-think it: Libraries for a New Age - Conference Proceedings

Essays contributed by participants in Re-think it: Libraries for a New Age, a conference on library design, services, values, and visions, which was held in the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons at Grand Valley State University, August 10 - 12, 2015.

From Medieval To Modern: The Relationship Between Gothic And Modern Design In English Architecture, Dana Mcintyre

UCARE: Research Products

The Gothic movement in England began in the mid 12th century, drawing inspiration from the Gothic movement happening in France during roughly the same time. Abbot Suger, a French abbot and historian, is often considered one of the first Gothic architects. His renovations to the Basilica of Saint Denis in Paris are said to be the first example of a truly Gothic-style building. In England, the Gothic movement is split into four periods: Norman Gothic, Early English Gothic, Decorated Gothic, and Perpendicular Gothic.

The Modern movement (20th century) brought with it many radical ideas about design. Modern structures were often …

V.1 2016-2017, Center For Arts & Language, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

v.1 is a publishing platform for the ongoing work, ideas, discussions, debates, and aspirations of students at the Rhode Island School of Design. The 2016-2017 issue contains articles on Kara Walker, Women's March, "Look at Art, Get Paid" program, #pizzagate, the Mutual Encounters exhibition, and smartphones.

Developing Agritourism In The Caribbean: Critical Ethnography And Sustainable Landscape Design To Improve The Human Experience At Letan Bossier, Haiti, Kristen Maria Lonon

LSU Master's Theses

The Letan Bossier, Haiti community is in need of continued investment from international agencies, in an effort to improve conditions for locals, along with shaping the experience of the tourist, at and around an attractive natural basin, three miles north-west of Cayes-Jacmel, Haiti, at about 187 meters above sea level. In order to improve one’s journey through this mountainside community to the Grand Basin, capital investments must be made. The goal of the proposed design solutions is to solve for the locals first, in turn, attracting tourists to experience a space that’s supported by its own people. The goal of …

A Place To P(R)Ay: A Study Of Spiritual Rituals In Bangkok Malls, Nicha Wiboonpote, Pat Seeumpornroj

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

This research examines the phenomenon of Thai Buddhist elements for spiritual rituals in Bangkok malls. Today, religious settings are not only located in temples or churches, but they are also occasionallyrelocated to commercial spaces such as malls. This reflects the effort to bring the religion closer to the community and to use religion-related activities as a magnet that draws attention to the mall itself. Accordingly, this research explores the influences behind such happenings, which include spiritual beliefs, cultural practices of commercial spaces and marketing strategies. This phenomenon also leads to a wider aspect regarding the role of a mall in …

The Physical Activity And Redesigned Community Spaces (Parcs) Study: Protocol Of A Natural Experiment To Investigate The Impact Of Citywide Park Redesign And Renovation, Terry T. K. Huang, Katarzyna E. Wyka, Emily Ferris, Jennifer Gardner, Kelly R. Evenson, Devanshi Tripathi, Gabriel Martinez Soto, Matthew S. Cato, Jon Moon, Julia Wagner, Joan M. Dorn, Diane J. Catellier, Lorna E. Thorpe

Publications and Research

Background: The built environment plays a critical role in promoting physical activity and health. The association between parks, as a key attribute of the built environment, and physical activity, however, remains inconclusive. This project leverages a natural experiment opportunity to assess the impact of the Community Parks Initiative (CPI), a citywide park redesign and renovation effort in New York City, on physical activity, park usage, psychosocial and mental health, and community wellbeing.

Methods: The project will use a longitudinal design with matched controls. Thirty intervention park neighborhoods are socio-demographically matched to 20 control park neighborhoods. The study will investigate whether …

Park Politics: Political Influences On Frederick Law Olmsted & The Creation Of Central Park, Kathryn Chow

Honors Theses

Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. (1822-1903), renowned landscape architect and journalist, was also a political activist who saw urban parks as a way to facilitate social reform. This study focuses on Olmsted’s role as Superintendent of Central Park (1858-1861), evaluating the impacts of politics throughout his campaign for Superintendent and during the construction of Central Park. Politics, in this study, refers to both the interactions between Republican and Democratic parties, and the interactions between Olmsted and his constituents, in both the government and the intellectual sphere. This study will provide readers with a fuller understanding of how local political disputes, ideas …

A Thermo-Activated Wall For Load Reduction And Supplementary Cooling With Free To Low-Cost Thermal Water, Yuebin Yu, Fuxin Niu, Heinz-Axel Guo, Denchai Woradechjumroen

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

A building envelope serves as a thermal barrier and plays an important role in determining the amount of energy used to achieve a comfortable indoor environment. Conventionally, it is constructed and treated as a passive component in a building thermal energy system. In this article, a novel, mini-tube capillary-network embedded and thermal-water activated building envelope is proposed to turn the passive component into active, therefore broaden the direct utilization of low-grade thermal energy in buildings. With this proposed approach, low-grade thermal water at a medium temperature close to the ambient environment can be potentially utilized to either counterbalance the thermal …

Student Absenteeism And The Comparisons Of Two Sampling Procedures For Culturable Bioaerosol Measurement In Classrooms With And Without Upper Room Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation Devices, Chunxiao Su, Josephine Lau, Shawn G. Gibbs

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Upper room ultraviolet germicidal irradiance (UVGI) has been shown to reduce the concentration of bioaerosols in controlled chambers. However, there is a lack of experimental results on the reduction of bioaerosol concentrations by UVGI devices in actual uncontrolled buildings. This study was carried out in an American elementary school in the Midwest. Two sampling procedures were carried out in six selected classrooms with similar dimensions that were separated into two groups: (1) UVGI exposure group and (2) non-UVGI control group. Two-stage Tisch culturable impactors were utilized to collect airborne culturable bacteria and fungi. Monthly samples were collected during unoccupied period …

V.1 2016-2017 Supplement, Center For Arts & Language, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

v.1 is a publishing platform for the ongoing work, ideas, discussions, debates, and aspirations of students at the Rhode Island School of Design. The 2016-2017 Supplement issue contains handwritten answers on post-its to the question "What feels urgent to you in your studio? In your life? In the world?" These post-its were written at a grad-student gathering on the day after the 2016 US Presidential election, scanned and printed as a zine the next day, and distributed at open studios the day after that.

Sustaining The Identity Of Spiritual Mughal Monuments: Case Of Sat Masjid Road Dhaka, Jinia Sharmeen

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

Bangladesh is home to the fourth largest Muslim population of the world. Numbers of mosques are proportionately dense in relation to the city's population and the capital. The capital, Dhaka, is called the city of mosques. Spiritual buildings are an integral part of the architectural character of Dhaka. It was a flamboyant city during the Mughal era. The architecture of Mughal Dhaka made profound contributions to the history of Islamic architecture. Mughal religious monuments are significant for combining spirituality with identity. Now their identities are struggling with the growth of Urbanization. This study attempts to analyze Mughal spiritual buildings at …

Khao Mo: Mythical Escapism, Sanitas Pradittasnee

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

"Khao Mo - (Mythical Escapism)" originated from the exhibition, "Resort: An Art Exhibition for Landscape of Rest at BACC. "Khao Mo" tries to transfer human belief and expression from the pastthrough the present. When the time passes, the unifying ideal of nature and religion gradually becomes the identity of idea and expression.

Sacred Innovation In The Shadow Conservation Network, Julia Watson

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

The global shadow conservation network is informally composed of all the sacred lands of the world. This essay explores the lands of the Kayapo of the Amazon Basin; the Maasaiof Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania; the Turkana of Northern Kenya; the Subak of Bali; the Khasis of Northern India and the Tofi nu of Benin and the ancient infrastructures found there. From the material and construction modules, to the ecosystem as a whole, the sacredness imbued in the landscape works to maintain its ecological sustainability. By combining eco-technology with sacred mythology, we find new and unique ways humans live symbiotically …

'Public' Prayer Rooms Of Contemporary Bangkok, Winyu Ardrugsa

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

This paper investigates the exclusivity of Muslim prayer rooms found distributed throughout urban Bangkok. Although the prayer room can hardly be considered domestic, its existence is not really'public' either. Increasingly, this little worship space is accommodated in some public facilities owned by state organizations and private corporations. In this paper the prayer room is examined in three interrelated scales: the geographical network, the placement of the room within a facility and the interior. The examination reveals inscribed body-place relationships which are conceived specifically to different projected images of each place and different social categorizations of Muslim users.

Spiritual Transformation And Inculturation As A Key To The Understanding Of Sacred Architecture: Case Study Of Wooden Church Heritages In The Northeast Of Thailand, Kittitouch Chaiprasith

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

This paper is an exploration of key concepts to understanding sacred architecture. The first part of this article is divided into three topics; the first studies the meaning and anatomy of the sacred. The second topic is the concept of spiritual transformation as a key to understanding what sacred architecture represents. The third topic discusses the concept of inculturation as another key concept to understand how the sacred is manifested in the world. In the second part of the article there are analyses of wooden churches that belong to the decades-old Christian community in northeast Thailand and their heritages. The …