Architecture Commons^™

Buffalo Outer Harbor Quays, Ryan Decker

Architecture Theses and Projects

Buffalo, a once prominent American city hit by hard times, has the opportunity to rebuild. It has industrial resources and transport options. It has a booming education system and medical business. Its technology sector is rapidly expanding. The city has a chance right now to create new glory days. This project is about transforming a forgotten piece of land, a large swath of man-made waterfront that since the fall of Bethlehem Steel has been nothing more than equipment storage, on arguably the best portion of the city’s waterfront. Combining heavy industry, shipping, living, working, and waterfront recreation into one new …

Distributed Renewable Energy Generation And Landscape Architecture: A Critical Review, Osmer Devon Beck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Governments and utility organizations around the world have mandated and provided incentives for new distributed renewable energy generation (DREG) capacity, and market projections indicate strong growth in distributed renewable energy generation installations in the coming years. New distributed renewable energy generation utilities, by definition, will be primarily located in built environments near consumers; these utilities are often planned and designed by landscape architects, yet no evidence-based, distributed renewable energy generation research is explicitly done by landscape architects or recognizes the role landscape architects play in planning and designing these spaces. The research and analysis provided by this study indicates that …

The Impact Of Cooperative Video Games On Team Cohesion, Greg Anderson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today’s economy, productivity and efficiency require collaboration between employees. In order to improve collaboration the factors affecting teamwork must be examined to identify where changes can be made in order to increase performance. One factor contributing to teamwork is team cohesion and represents a process whereby members are joined by a common bond in the pursuit of a common objective. A popular social bonding activity sweeping the world is playing cooperative video games. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of playing cooperative video games on team cohesion. Subjects (N=56) were randomly placed into 15 teams …

Impact Of Forest Management Techniques On Bats With A Focus On The Endangered Indiana Myotis (Myotis Sodalis), Jermey J. Sheets

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding how forest management practices impact bats is important for maintaining a diverse bat community; rare species, especially the federally endangered Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis) need special consideration. Bats play an important role in the environment because they prey on insects, especially pest species, and conservation of viable foraging and roosting habitats is critical. Positive and negative aspects of the implementation of forest management techniques are discussed for each bat species. Bats were sampled using mist nets at four locations in Morgan-Monroe and five locations in Yellowwood State Forests twice during each summer 2006-2008. Netting locations were adjacent to or …

Local Urban Interventions And Their Role In Economic Development. An Evaluation Of Key Policy Inputs Based Upon Irish And Polish Approaches Supported By European Union Initiatives 1992-2002, Izabela Litewska

Doctoral

The importance of local economies, based on a bottom-up approach, has been increasingly prioritised by urban policy makers as the vital factor that conditions economic development. Modern policy approaches, which are explored in this research, regard local economic development as a process deriving from both, market processes impacting upon local structures, functions and spatial planning, and non-market dimensions based on environmental and social measures. Since the 1990s, both Dublin in Ireland and Upper Silesia in Poland have represented urban regions where economic and social deprivation is being addressed by a range of area-based initiatives but from different perspectives. The research …

Aksarben: Boutique Hotel, Nicole Elam

Interior Design Program: Terminal Projects

The Project Intent

At the height of its time, Aksarben was the best place in omaha to go for entertainment and social gatherings. The large space allowed for many events such as concerts, world championships, road shows, and the most popular, horse races. Unfortunately in the 1990s, there was a decline in such attractions, particulary in horse racing, and Aksarben’s ownership went to Aksarben future trust.

Today, developers are using this historical essence to reclaim the once thriving area and bring it back to what it used to be with new current trends.

I propose to take the currently vacant …

An Exploratory Study On Energy Consumption Of Energy Star And Non-Energy Star Homes, Prajakta Kulkarni

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The reduction of energy consumption is one of the economic necessities in the United States due to depleting energy sources in the world. The construction industry is stepping forward to reduce the energy consumption of buildings by efficient designs or by constructing buildings with energy efficient materials and features. In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE) introduced the Energy Star Program to promote energy efficient products with the same or improved services. According to the EPA, Energy Star homes, which use these products, will consume 20 to 30 percent less energy than non-Energy Star …

The Integration Of Biomimicry Into A Built Environment Design Process Model: An Alternative Approach Towards Hydro-Infrastructure, Timothy Lee Albertson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Current methods and processes that support the planning, design and construction of a sustainable built environment include ambiguous principles (Roseland 2000), lack feedback loops (Van Bueren and Jong 2007) and lack a common language between disciplines (Brandon et al 1997). As a result of 3.8 billion years of "research and development" (evolution), nature provides a set of design blueprints that may be used to guide us to create elegant, sustainable, and innovative designs for human technologies (Benyus 1997). The field of biomimicry analyzes nature's best ideas and adapts them for human use (Benyus 1997). The built environment could benefit from …

Retrofitting Existing Commercial Buildings In The Desert Southwest To Be Energy Efficient, Andrea Lee Wilkins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research proposes recommendations specific to the desert southwest for retrofitting existing commercial buildings. A dry, arid region such as Las Vegas, Nevada must contend with different ecological concerns than other parts of the United States. The city of Las Vegas sits in a valley in the Mojave Desert of the Southwestern United States and has a population of over 2.5 million inhabitants. The Las Vegas summers are rather hot and frequently exceed 100 degrees F, while the winters are usually mild, about 60-70 degrees F with cool nights. The state of Nevada receives an average of four inches of …

Evaluation Of Safety Impact Of Access Management In Urban Areas, Xuecai Xu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The access provided by streets and highways to adjacent lands are managed by controlling the spacings between the access points including signals, driveways, and media openings on mid-block segments, and setting the limit on the corner clearances around intersections. There have been studies on evaluating the impact of access management techniques on safety and mobility in urban areas. Samples of mid-block segments and intersections can be collected from selected arterials. Because the mid-block segments or intersections in the same arterials share the same missing information, safety and mobility on them show unique features that should be taken into account when …

Bs News May/June

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Building Energy Labeling: A Path To Improved Energy Performance For Commercial Buildings, Ronald Orville Nelson

Architecture and Planning ETDs

Architects, engineers, and builders have a unique opportunity to lead society and the economy through the current difficult times. Since studies show that buildings account for nearly half the nations energy consumption, our power derives from our ability to dramatically cut the energy consumption through energy efficient refurbishment of the vast existing building inventory and through energy efficient designs for new construction. This conservation has an amazing threefold benefit: through reduced consumption we extend the life of our limited natural resources; through reduced consumption we reduce our emission of greenhouse gases and thus reduce the threat of climate change; and …

Utilizing Jicarilla Apache Knowledge To Enrich The Watershed Watch Program Curriculum For The Benefit Of The Jicarilla Apache Youth, Rebecca Rae

Architecture and Planning ETDs

The thesis explores the notions of decolonization, Indigenous knowledge, and empirical knowledge of place as a foundation for implementing Jicarilla Apache knowledge into the Watershed Watch Program. Two lesson plans were created utilizing Jicarilla Apache stories and knowledge to teach Jicarilla Apache youth about the water cycle, plants, and culture. By connecting Indigenous teachings with western scientific teachings Jicarilla Apache youth will gain a greater understanding of the natural environment with relevance to their heritage.

Articulation Of Deaf And Hearing Spaces Using Deaf Space Design Guidelines: A Community Based Participatory Research With The Albuquerque Sign Language Academy, Charlene A. Johnson

Architecture and Planning ETDs

The purpose of this project is to conduct Community Based Participatory Research exploring how articulation between deaf, hard of hearing and hearing students at the Albuquerque Sign Language Academy can be enhanced using Deaf Space Design Guidelines in the school facility. The ASLA is a Bilingual school with an ASL and spoken English curriculum. Unlike traditional schools for the deaf, the ASLA enrolls deaf, hard of hearing and hearing children in a multicultural environment, which includes Deaf Culture among the cultural identities. Five qualitative research methods were used with participation from mostly hearing ASLA staff, faculty and parents. The ASLA …

A Semi-Private Revival: Is There A Place For The Semi-Private Patient Room In American Hospitals?, Lindsay Todd

All Theses

Is there a place for the semi-private patient room in contemporary American hospitals? This thesis purposes that the semi-private room remains a viable option for some patient populations and care scenarios and merits reconsideration and redesign. This inquiry is among few in the literature devoted to advancing semi-private patient room design and application within contemporary healthcare. The semi-private room may yet offer increased opportunities to address pressing issues of increasing healthcare costs, improving operational efficiencies, and reducing environmental footprint while simultaneously attempting to address both longstanding and recent industry concerns with traditional semi-private patient rooms. Further, it will serve as …

Case Study Analysis Of Clare Apartments, Lauren Sandy

All Theses

The AIDS epidemic in the United States has killed upwards of 500,000 since 1981. New therapies introduced in the 1990's, HAART (highly actively anti-retroviral treatment), have largely converted what was once a death sentence into a long-term chronic illness. Initial approaches to treating the virus included palliative care and treatment for secondary infections. With advances in therapies and disease management, supportive services have shifted from a primarily medical approach to one that encompasses programs that address long-term quality of life concern, including but not limited to counseling services for mental health, chemical dependency, self-sufficiency; housing services; and occupational training and …

Community And Place: A Study Of Four African American Benevolent Societies And Their Cemeteries, Kimberly Martin

All Theses

Located on Charleston's Neck, immediately west of Magnolia Cemetery's main entrance, are a number of small cemeteries created by a variety of ethnicities and religions. These small cemeteries all possess the same physical orientation, giving no indication that the sites were created by differing groups. Among these are Friendly Union Cemetery, Brown Fellowship Cemetery, Humane and Friendly Cemetery, and Unity and Friendship Cemetery. All four cemeteries were created just before the outbreak of the Civil War by Free People of Color who organized themselves into benevolent societies. Free People of Color were African Americans who were not enslaved but did …

'Werner Fecit': Christopher Werner And Nineteenth-Century Charleston Ironwork, Kelly Ciociola

All Theses

A recent discovery of Christopher Werner's account book has inspired and informed this investigation into the life and business of this nineteenth-century ironworker. This book was hidden for many years, preserved by a child's scrapbook clippings. A restoration of this book through the removal of later additions was done, and significant information pertaining to Werner's situation in the nineteenth century was revealed. This provided not only new knowledge on the blacksmith, but also context and perspective for additional research completed.
Comprehensive studies of Charleston craftsmen are scarce. While the products of their skills are appreciated throughout the city, a general …

Piecing It Together: The Introduction Of Delftware Tiles To North America And Their Enduring Legacy In Charleston, South Carolina, Josslyn Kay Stiner

All Theses

The economic and social history of delftware tiles in North America has not yet been synthesized and the use of delftware tiles south of Virginia is even less documented. In fact, even though Charleston, South Carolina exhibits numerous examples of this decorative art, there has been very little research conducted on this topic regarding the southern city. The following thesis presents an overview of delftware tile manufacture and use in Europe and America. Narrowing in scope, it compiles all of the published information on the subject in colonial America, focusing specifically on the use of delftware tiles in Charleston. It …

Collaboration And Road Safety On Indian Reservations, Leah Sirmin

All Theses

Native Americans, as a group, face many challenges including the highest motor-vehicle fatality rate of any racial or ethnic group in the United States. While national motor-vehicle fatality rates have declined, the fatality rates for Indian reservations have continued to rise. Because addressing road safety requires significant interdisciplinary work, collaboration is an important tool; however, collaborations between tribal entities and non-tribal partners face a number of unique challenges including tense historical relationships, tribal sovereignty, and cultural differences. A variety of strategies can be utilized to address these challenges including methods such as regular face-to-face meetings to build trust, establishing formal …