Architecture Commons^™

Examining The Relationships Between Monaural And Binaural Classroom Acoustics Parameters And Student Achievement, Lauren M. Ronsse, Lily M. Wang, Paul L. Sim

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

This study investigates the relationships between several classroom acoustics parameters and student achievement. Detailed binaural room impulse response measurements were conducted in four elementary school classrooms in a midwestern public school system in the United States. Unoccupied background noise levels were also recorded in these spaces. Previous studies have compared how different room acoustics metrics predict speech intelligibility, while another investigation examined perception-based binaural metrics in a typical classroom. This study extends these previous research areas by comparing both binaural classroom acoustics metrics and unoccupied background noise levels to each other and to the standardized student achievement scores of students …

125th And Amsterdam: Creating Spaces For Social Interaction, Joshua Payne

Architecture Theses and Projects

This Project is designed to address the negative aspects of gentrification in an urban context, specifically Harlem, NYC. This is relevant to the current situation in Harlem as 125th Street, its main corridor, is being revitalized and wealthy investors are buying property in the area. Through sitting, programming and integrated design, my goal is to relieve the tension between two drastically different socioeconomic neighborhoods as they are becoming one.

An Exogenous Approach To Circumventing Demolition By Neglect: The Impact Of Agricultural Preservation On Historic Colonial Towns, Galen Newman

All Dissertations

The effects of city decentralization and counter-urbanization of the American landscape have resulted in simultaneous negative impacts on both historic structures and agricultural landscapes. Rapid conversion of farmland has helped to facilitate the relocation of both populations and commercial activities in communities across the United States, leaving inner cities replete with functionless, unused, and unmaintained heritage structures. As civic core areas have become shells of their former selves, many once-vital structures have been removed while others have been abandoned and left to decay--a process known as demolition by neglect. While historic preservation efforts have attempted to salvage these historic structures, …

Regulating Green Buildings, Jeffrey S. Webert

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Green buildings are becoming the new fixation for the building industry because of the impact they have on the carbon footprint and the cost savings they offer for utility costs. Governments have begun to produce policies and regulations that implement and mandate green buildings due to these successes. However, the policies are having troubles increasing the popularity and quantities of green buildings. There is a need for a way to produce better policies and regulations that will increase both the amount of green buildings their popularity. A decision-making tool, such as a decision tree, should be created to help policymakers …

Preservation Ethics In The Case Of Nebraska's Nationally Registered Historic Properties, Darren Michael Adams

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation focuses on the National Register of Historic Places and considers the geographical implications of valuing particular historic sites over others. Certain historical sites will either gain or lose desirability from one era to the next, this dissertation identifies and explains three unique preservation ethical eras, and it maps the sites which were selected during those eras. These eras are the Settlement Era (1966–1975), the Commercial Architecture Era (1976–1991), and the Progressive Planning Era (1992–2010). The findings show that transformations in the program included an early phase when state authorities listed historical resources pertaining to the settlement of the …

Lost Angeles: Los Angeles, California, Usa, Irena Gagulic

Architecture Theses and Projects

A social resource center and emergency crisis intervention shelter for unclaimed runaway youth attempting to reclaim their identity within society, and a memorial dedicated to the individuals who lie unclaimed or unidentified because they never received that opportunity.

Awareness Of Daylighting On Student Learning In An Educational Facility, Alana S. Pulay

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

This study examines how awareness of the interior architecture of a building, specifically daylighing, affects students academic performance. Extensive research has proven that the use of daylighting in a classroom can significantly enhance students’ academic success. The problem statement and purpose of this study is to determine if student awareness of daylighting in their learning environment affects academic performance compared to students with no knowledge of daylighting. Research and surveys in existing and newly constructed high schools were conducted to verify the results of this study. These design ideas and concepts could influence the architecture and design industry to advocate …

Myron Goldsmith: The Development Of The Diagonally Braced Tube, Marc J. Neveu, Edmond P. Saliklis

Architecture

Myron Goldsmith (1918-96) was a unique figure in the development of tall building design. He successfully blended the roles of architect, engineer and teacher throughout his tenure at Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) and in the Department of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). Indeed, many of the projects supervised by Goldsmith and his colleagues, to include the pre-eminent structural engineer Dr. Fazlur Khan (1929-82), directly influenced built work. The few published studies of Goldsmith acknowledge, but do not fully explore, the innovations that Goldsmith oversaw as thesis advisor to many graduate students at IIT in the 1960s. …

Cyber-Physical Codesign Of Distributed Structural Health Monitoring With Wireless Sensor Networks, Gregory Hackmann, Weijun Guo, Guirong Yan, Chenyang Lu, Shirley Dyke

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Our Deteriorating Civil Infrastructure Faces the Critical Challenge of Long-Term Structural Health Monitoring for Damage Detection and Localization. in Contrast to Existing Research that Often Separates the Designs of Wireless Sensor Networks and Structural Engineering Algorithms, This Paper Proposes a Cyber-Physical Co-Design Approach to Structural Health Monitoring based on Wireless Sensor Networks. Our Approach Closely Integrates (1) Flexibility-Based Damage Localization Methods that Allow a Tradeoff between the Number of Sensors and the Resolution of Damage Localization, and (2) an Energy-Efficient, Multi-Level Computing Architecture Specifically Designed to Leverage the Multi-Resolution Feature of the Flexibility-Based Approach. the Proposed Approach Has Been Implemented …

A Comparison Of Perceptions Among Amateur And Pga Professional Golfer To The Five Design Principles Of Golf Course Architecture, Ryan Woodard Johnson

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Golf was originally a game played primarily on landscapes that were not manipulated by humans. As the game has matured, humans have exerted increasing influence on the design of golf courses. As in art, golf course architecture has developed its own set of principles and its own set of elements. The elements are the tools the artist uses to create the painting, while the principles guide how he/she implements these elements (Lovett 1999). In the case of golf course architects, the land is the canvas while the greens, tees, fairways, roughs, hazards, and contours are examples of the elements used …

A Comparison Of Perceptions Among Amateur And Pga Professional Golfer To The Five Design Principles Of Golf Course Architecture, Ryan Woodard Johnson

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Golf was originally a game played primarily on landscapes that were not manipulated by humans. As the game has matured, humans have exerted increasing influence on the design of golf courses. As in art, golf course architecture has developed its own set of principles and its own set of elements. The elements are the tools the artist uses to create the painting, while the principles guide how he/she implements these elements (Lovett 1999). In the case of golf course architects, the land is the canvas while the greens, tees, fairways, roughs, hazards, and contours are examples of the elements used …

Stakeholders' Perceptions Of Pedestrian Accessibility To Green Infrastructure: Fort Worth's Urban Villages, Petrine M. Abrahams

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Green infrastructure refers to a strategically managed network of natural and open spaces that provides ecological benefits for human and wildlife populations in urbanized areas (Benedict and McMahon, 2006; Sandstrom, 2002; Weber, Sloan, and Wolf, 2005). Recent studies demonstrate a relationship between green infrastructure, and human and ecological health in urbanized areas (Tzoulas et al. 2007; Wilson, 1986; Louv, 2008). By strategically increasing density and a mix of uses in existing, sparsely populated urban areas, the "urban village" model developed by the City of Fort Worth presents the opportunity to incorporate accessible green infrastructure in an urban environment in order …

Stakeholders' Perceptions Of Pedestrian Accessibility To Green Infrastructure: Fort Worth's Urban Villages, Petrine M. Abrahams

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Green infrastructure refers to a strategically managed network of natural and open spaces that provides ecological benefits for human and wildlife populations in urbanized areas (Benedict and McMahon, 2006; Sandstrom, 2002; Weber, Sloan, and Wolf, 2005). Recent studies demonstrate a relationship between green infrastructure, and human and ecological health in urbanized areas (Tzoulas et al. 2007; Wilson, 1986; Louv, 2008). By strategically increasing density and a mix of uses in existing, sparsely populated urban areas, the "urban village" model developed by the City of Fort Worth presents the opportunity to incorporate accessible green infrastructure in an urban environment in order …

Assessing Stormwater Runoff With "Swat" In Mixed-Use Developments: Learning From Southlake Town Square And Addison Circle In North Texas, Brian S. Parker

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Recognizing environmental problems associated with sprawl, North Texas communities are looking at options for future growth. Higher density mixed-used developments (MXDs) are being considered as an alternative to the continuation of current trends and adopted plans, yet little is known how they impact the region environmentally (Vision North Texas, 2008). More specifically, it is not clear how these developments perform in regard to stormwater runoff and water pollution. This research evaluates the stormwater runoff and water pollution of two mixed-use developments (MXDs) in order to understand their environmental role in the future of North Texas. The research question in this …

Anti-Terrorism Site Design Guidelines For U.S. Military Installations: An Evaluation Of The Implementation Process At U.S. Army Forts In Texas And Louisiana, Joey B. Ball

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

is of vital importance to accommodate the need for security in site plans and designs on all military installations. Terrorism prevention, referred to as force protection by the United States Department of Defense, is accomplished through a combination of landscape and facility design standards. To minimize the likelihood of mass casualties from terrorist attacks against military personnel in the facilities in which they work and live, the Department of Defense has established design standards that shape the site design process. (Unified Facilities Criteria) 4-010-01)This research examines each stage of the implementation process of anti-terrorism site design guidelines for possible weaknesses …

Assessing Stormwater Runoff With "Swat" In Mixed-Use Developments: Learning From Southlake Town Square And Addison Circle In North Texas, Brian S. Parker

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Recognizing environmental problems associated with sprawl, North Texas communities are looking at options for future growth. Higher density mixed-used developments (MXDs) are being considered as an alternative to the continuation of current trends and adopted plans, yet little is known how they impact the region environmentally (Vision North Texas, 2008). More specifically, it is not clear how these developments perform in regard to stormwater runoff and water pollution. This research evaluates the stormwater runoff and water pollution of two mixed-use developments (MXDs) in order to understand their environmental role in the future of North Texas. The research question in this …

Anti-Terrorism Site Design Guidelines For U.S. Military Installations: An Evaluation Of The Implementation Process At U.S. Army Forts In Texas And Louisiana, Joey B. Ball

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

is of vital importance to accommodate the need for security in site plans and designs on all military installations. Terrorism prevention, referred to as force protection by the United States Department of Defense, is accomplished through a combination of landscape and facility design standards. To minimize the likelihood of mass casualties from terrorist attacks against military personnel in the facilities in which they work and live, the Department of Defense has established design standards that shape the site design process. (Unified Facilities Criteria) 4-010-01)This research examines each stage of the implementation process of anti-terrorism site design guidelines for possible weaknesses …

Low Viscosity Pore Fluid To Manufacture Transparent Soil, Honghua Zhao, Louis Ge, Ronaldo Luna

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Transparent soil has been investigated for its potential as a substitute research media for natural soil. the mechanism for manufacturing the transparent soil is through adding an appropriate pore fluid to silica gel particles with the same refractive index. Two types of high viscosity pore fluids were identified by Iskander in 1994. However, because of the high viscosity of these two pore fluids, air was easily entrapped, which made the manufacture of a large mass of transparent soil difficult. in addition, the identified pore fluids caused serious membrane deterioration during triaxial laboratory testing. This research presented herein is an experimental …

Determination And Analysis Of Curriculum Content For A Degree Program In Construction Management, Jason Stepp

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Jason Stepp on April 23, 2010.

Walking Box Ranch Custodianship Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending July 10, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• UNLV provides stewardship of Walking Box Ranch (WBR) by providing a caretaker who oversees the property, facilitating use of the property by researchers and educators, developing a use and research policy for the property, and coordinating these activities with BLM and in accordance with TNC restrictions.
• UNLV currently addresses security issues for the property through the presence of the caretaker and two Metro Officers who reside on the property in two recreational vehicles. UNLV has prepared a draft document outlining this agreement that will be signed by UNLV and participating officers. This agreement is now under review by UNLV solicitors. …