Architecture Commons^™

Binaural Room Impulse Response Database Acquired From A Variable Acoustics Classroom, Zhao Peng, Siu Kit Lau, Lily M. Wang, Sean Browne, Kenneth P. Roy

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Room measurements were conducted in a variable acoustics classroom mockup space (epod) at Armstrong World Industries in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. Binaural room impulse responses were measured in the epod using a head and torso simulator. Five reverberation time (RT) scenarios were achieved with various combinations of absorptive wall panels and acoustical ceiling tile. These provided a range of mid-frequency RTs from 0.4 to 1.1 seconds. Three of the five RT scenarios were achieved using two different material configurations to also consider material location effects. For each of the eight material configurations, two student-teacher orientations were tested. One orientation had all …

Mainstreet Art & Cultural Theater Districts - Clovis & Tucumcari Communities, Kelly Gard, Janell Furrow, Cameron Treme, Dale Lusk, Laura Baca, Servando Miranda, Trupti Stellus Pereira, Eliah Guerrero, Daniel Osuna, Kevin Maynard, Justin Depoy, Pete Collins, Stacey George

Design and Planning Assistance Center - Projects

During the spring of 2013 Design Planning Assistance Center (DPAC) of the University of New Mexico's School of Architecture and Planning worked with New Mexico MainStreet to assist Clovis and Tucumcari MainStreet communities and Arts and Cultural District (ACD) initiatives. The work focused on the three historic theaters in Clovis and two in Tucumcari as part of a larger initiative on New Mexico's historic theaters. The studio proposed renovations, adaptive reuses, and additions to the theaters, and proposed both permanent and temporary facilities to create art and cultural theater districts. While these proposals are specific to each theater and community, …

Effects Of Reverberation And Noise On Speech Comprehension By Native And Non-Native English-Speaking Listeners, Z. Ellen Peng, Lily M. Wang, Siu-Kit Lau, Adam M. Steinbach

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Previous studies have demonstrated the negative impact of adverse signal-to-noise-ratios on non-native English-speaking listeners' performance on speech recognition using recall tasks, as well as implied that comprehension skills were more impaired than recognition skills under reverberation and noise. The authors have themselves previously conducted a pilot study on three native and three non-native Englishspeaking listeners to examine the effects of reverberation and noise using speech comprehension tasks. Those results suggested that speech comprehension performance is worse under longer reverberation times (RT), and that a longer RT is more detrimental to speech comprehension by non-native listeners than native listeners. This paper …

Acoustic Tweets And Blogs: Using Social Media In An Undergraduate Acoustics Course, Lily M. Wang

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Each fall, the author teaches an undergraduate architectural acoustics course to around 40 third-year architectural engineering students at the University of Nebraska. Beginning in 2011, a social media component was introduced to explore the use of this technology and how it may supplement the students' learning experience. Students were given an opportunity to receive extra credit by using Twitter and/or blogging about course material using a set hashtag (#AE3300) or through the course website. Results were positive, and the author will discuss pros and cons that she has experienced in adding this social media component. Suggestions for future implementations and …

How Routing An Interstate Highway Through South Minneapolis Disrupted An African-American Neighborhood, Ernest Lee Lloyd

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

In 1959, the Minnesota Department of Highways (MHD), renamed the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) in 1976, commenced the construction of Interstate 35W proceeding North from Richfield through South Minneapolis to Lake Street (the Richfield-Minneapolis segment) which razed more than 50 square blocks of homes and businesses. The segment of this vast project built between Stevens Avenue South and Second Avenue South, completed in 1967, was part of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways enacted by Congress in 1956. An area contiguous to the Interstate 35W project was located from Stevens Avenue South on the West, to Nicollet …

The Ineffectiveness Of The National Programmatic Agreement For Cell Phone Towers, Laura Briggs

Historic Preservation Theses

Since 2004, when the Nationwide Programmatic Agreement was created to help protect and standardize the process of telecommunication tower review within the United States, many installations have been erected that have caused adverse effects on the historic resources that those regulations were intended to protect. This thesis looks at why the Nationwide Programmatic Agreement was enacted and what could be changed to help improve the review and practice of the telecommunication tower process.

The goal was to identify the ways in which the agreement could be improved upon to help minimize adverse effects on historic properties by telecommunication installations that …

Abandoned To Functional: The Search For Historical Integrity In The Adaptive Reuses Of Kirkbride State Mental Hospitals, Caitlin E. Merritt

Historic Preservation Theses

Purpose: This thesis intends to understand historical integrity and how it plays a role in historic rehabilitation and adaptive reuse projects. More importantly, this study allows for a better understanding of the Kirkbride Plan as a particular building type that dominated state mental hospital design in between 1848-1890 and advanced the field of psychiatry. This study examines three adaptively reused Kirkbride hospitals Athens State Hospital, Athens, OH; Weston State Hospital, Weston, WV; and Danvers State Hospital Danvers MA. The three case studies were surveyed using the National Park Service seven aspects of historical integrity, to examine if historical integrity was …

Awareness At A Threshold: Urban Exchange Through Public Space, Matthew Spears

Architecture Theses and Projects

The moment of arrival becomes an important opportunity for cultural exchange in an urban environment. This exchange can be both the physical exchange between two places or it can be the experiential exchange between two or more disparate groups. These moments of exchange are an elusive experience for visitors as well as residents and are easily forgotten. Expressing the space of the traveler, an interactive space between locals and visitors, can raise cultural awareness between the most prominent groups as well as the marginalized groups, creating a more cohesive urban imaginary. The major exchange hub in Seattle, Washington speaks to …

Cohousing And The Greater Community: Re-Establishing Identity In Taunton’S Weir Village, Andrew Kremzier

Architecture Theses and Projects

This proposal seeks to bring new life to the former industrial district of the post-industrial city. Existing in a society based on services and technologies, these villages must either adapt to meet the needs of business or serve another purpose within the community. The project for the Weir Village falls into the latter category, as its aim will be to create a cohousing community within Taunton. The new development will strengthen the character of the village and be able to affect the community beyond the site’s physical boundaries. It will create affordable alternatives to housing for those who do not …

Humility And Homelessness: A Housing Continuum, Jessica Macdonald

Architecture Theses and Projects

The design of a housing continuum in Burlington provides a variety of support environments. These different housing environments are all designed within the downtown area, providing access to public transportation, open part space and employment opportunities. Support services play a huge role in an individual’s process to self-sufficiency. Many social services are already located in the downtown area, however the relationship between living space and support space is important. This thesis introduces three housing typologies as architectural interventions on three under-utilized downtown sites, focusing on the relationship between the individual and the common.

Bs News January/February

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Experiments To Measure The Effects Of Timber Harvesting Equipment On Surface Lithic Scatters, Douglas J. Baughman

All Master's Theses

The importance of cultural resource preservation cannot be overstated; however local economies are at least as important. Due to conservative archaeological site protection practices in Region 5 of the United States Forest Service, the economy of Northeastern California is being adversely affected. In an attempt to help the Forest Service make more informed management decisions and improve the Northeastern California economy, I undertook experiments on the effects of timber harvesting on lithic scatters on Modoc National Forest. The experiments involved placement of 225 glass tiles (proxy lithics) in each of three plots subject to vehicle traffic and log dragging by …

The New Woman's Home, Excerpt From Building Culture: Ernst May And The New Frankfurt Initiative, 1926-1931, Susan R. Henderson

School of Architecture - All Scholarship

Chapter three of Building Culture, “The New Woman’s Home. Kitchens, Laundry, Furnishings,” discusses household culture and modernization. It begins with the Frankfurt Kitchen and its designer, Grete Lihotzky, and continues with a discussion of electricity and the architect Adolf Meyer, and its expansion with the example of the electric laundries in the Frankfurt settlements. The next segment is a discussion of new furniture design, small, inexpensive furniture that was an essential partner to contemporary small house design and was avidly researched in the Frankfurt offices. Designers here include Kramer, Cetto and Schuster.

Which Organizational Communication And Culture Profile Will Augment And Increase The Effectiveness Of Team Xyz?, Morgen Nicole Marshall

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores previous research in the fields of organizational communication and culture. Through the works of organizational communication scholars Deetz (1995), Conrad & Poole (2005), and Griffin (2009), the theory of critical communication in organizations is introduced as the foundation for effective communication, emphasizing the importance of participatory decision making in organizations. Through the works of organizational culture scholars Kotter & Heskett (1992), Schein (2004), and Cameron & Quinn (2011), principles of effective organizational culture are introduced, including shared values among stakeholders and adaptability within the industry. Together, these scholars lay the foundation for a study within a leading …

Haus House, Architecture Department, Jonathan Knowles, Sina Almassi, Alexa K. Asakiewicz, Jason W. Askew, Caterina Belardetti, Guoyuan Chen, Kim E. Dupont-Madinier, Sara B. Fetterolf, Zachary P. Futterer, Atara H. Kelman, John A. Mars, Kevin T. Mcnulty, Saja Tourbah, Annabelle T. Tran, Cong-Xin G. Wong

Preliminary Design Work

Preliminary design work for the Solar Decathlon 2014 entry Techstyle Haus completed in a wintersession 2013 RISD design studio in Erfurt, Germany taught by Jonathan Knowles. The Solar Decathlon competition challenges twenty collegiate teams to design and build sustainable homes that are powered exclusively by solar energy and incorporate sustainable architecture and design. Techstyle Haus is an international Brown University, RISD and University of Applied Sciences Erfurt,Germany collaboration designing a solar passivehaus out of high performance textiles.

Techstyle Haus, Architecture Department, Jonathan Knowles, Sina Almassi, Alexa K. Asakiewicz, Jason W. Askew, Caterina Belardetti, Guoyuan Chen, Kim E. Dupont-Madinier, Sara B. Fetterolf, Zachary P. Futterer, Atara H. Kelman, John A. Mars, Kevin T. Mcnulty, Saja Tourbah, Annabelle T. Tran, Cong-Xin G. Wong

Preliminary Design Work

Preliminary design work for the Solar Decathlon 2014 entry Techstyle Haus completed in a wintersession 2013 RISD design studio in Erfurt, Germany taught by Jonathan Knowles. The Solar Decathlon competition challenges twenty collegiate teams to design and build sustainable homes that are powered exclusively by solar energy and incorporate sustainable architecture and design. Techstyle Haus is an international Brown University, RISD and University of Applied Sciences Erfurt,Germany collaboration designing a solar passivehaus out of high performance textiles.

Elec 2110: Elements Of Electrical Engineering—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Mahmoud Alahmad

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

I have been teaching this class for the last five years. As an introductory course to electrical engineering, there is a lot of material that needs to be covered. All the material is important and relevant, and I try to go in-depth in each topic area. This approach has resulted in overwhelming the students and made them struggle with the course content, application and utilization. As I consider this course for the peer review, I am evaluating the depth of each topic and the opportunity to adjust the approach and method used to introduce new concepts and at the same …

Rediscovering The Wheel, Brooke Hodge, Risd Xyz

RISD XYZ Fall/Winter 2013: Out of Bounds

What does architecture have to do with pottery? For Adam Silverman BArch 88, these two seemingly disparate creative practices are inextricably intertwined.

Brooke Hodge, director of exhibitions and publications at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, writes frequently about architecture and design for major publications. This text is excerpted from a longer essay in the new book Adam Silverman Ceramics, published this fall by Skira/Rizzoli.

Development Of Dynamic Thermal Performance Metrics For Eco-Roof Systems, Seth Sinclair Moody

Dissertations and Theses

In order to obtain credit for an eco-roof in building energy load calculations the steady state and time-varying thermal properties (thermal mass with evapotranspiration) must be fully understood. The following study presents results of experimentation and modeling in an effort to develop dynamic thermal mass performance metrics for eco-roof systems. The work is focused on understanding the thermal parameters (foliage & soil) of an eco-roof, further validation of the EnergyPlus Green Roof Module and development of a standardized metric for assessing the time-varying thermal benefits of eco-roof systems that can be applied across building types and climate zones. Eco-roof foliage, …

A Comparative Study Of The Physical Elements In Shiraz Traditional Districts With The Features Of Cpted Approach, Mohammadreza Mohseni, Ahoura Zandiatashbar, Mohammad Masud

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

Neighborhood space and district is an issue that has been forgotten in contemporary architecture of cities. With regard to the quantitative increase of districts and also the increase of a unilateral physical view towards them, their security declines and consequently the capacity for crime increases in the residential spaces and fear of crime occurrence among the residents of the districts. In the environmental design, the CPTED attitude is one of the most effective approaches to enhance security. The main pivot of this article is to study the rate of agreements of the physical elements of old districts of Shiraz with …