Architecture Commons^™

Applying Image Processing And Computer Vision For Damage Detection In Photovoltaic Panels, Montaser Abdelsattar, Ahmed Abdelmoety, Ahmed Emad-Eldeen

Mansoura Engineering Journal

As the use of Photovoltaic (PV) panels as a sustainable energy source grows, there is a need for effective and precise techniques to monitor and manage these systems. Conventional techniques for identifying faults in PV panels, such as manual inspections, require a significant amount of effort and are susceptible to mistakes made by humans. This study introduces an innovative automated method that utilizes image processing techniques implemented using the OpenCV library to identify panel faults, namely hotspots, which are important indications of possible failures. The study approach combines grayscale conversion, histogram analysis, and adaptive thresholding to accurately detect and evaluate …

University Avenue Bike Plan, Emma Meyer

City and Regional Planning

The University Avenue Bike Plan provides recommendations for bicycle infrastructure along the 1.7-mile University Avenue corridor in Palo Alto, California. The plan includes background, existing conditions, community engagement, alternatives of conceptual designs, and implementation tools. The University Avenue Bike Plan builds on Palo Alto's Bike and Pedestrian Transportation Plan and informs the multiple University Avenue related projects and plans that are underway.

Urban Agriculture Technical Advisory, Katherine Rose Ivanjack, Kylie J. Preciado

City and Regional Planning

This project serves as a senior capstone, aimed at exploring the potential of urban agriculture to address critical challenges in sustainability, food security, and community development within California cities. This project highlights practical and innovative approaches to urban farming that can be adopted or adapted to suit the unique needs of urban areas across the state.

Case Study: Cal Poly Housing Program (Cphp) - Student Housing Project At California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, Aidan Michael Toole

Construction Management

Full volumetric modular construction is a building technique that involves the off-site prefabrication of three-dimensional modular units, which are later transported and assembled on-site. California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and general contractor, Whiting-Turner, are building new on-campus student housing by utilizing full volumetric modular construction techniques. The buildings will be produced in modules that, when put together, reflect the identical design and intent of a site-built building. This paper will analyze the effectiveness of modular construction on a large-scale project and look at the project cost, schedule, and waste impacts from choosing this approach. The main driver …

Evaluating The Health Performance Of Mass Housing Projects In Egypt Lighting Design Of Dar Masr Project, New Damietta, Hala Mohamed Raslan, Huda El-Baz M.

Mansoura Engineering Journal

The Egyptian government has recently established many governmental mass housing projects to meet the housing needs nationwide. These projects are characterized by their unified repetitive design that rarely consider geographic, climatic and social variations from one site to another. The study objectives are to examine the health performance of mass housing projects; “Dar Misr” as an example. Dar Misr consists of 150,000 units distributed over 15 different cities, and is fully finished with unified electrical installations and preinstalled luminaires. The study examines the health performance of the project’s lighting design, both natural and electrical light, using the “WELLV2 rating system …

Foster Grandparents, Claire M. Bunnell, Robin Puttock

Symposium of Student Scholars

A connection between independent living homes and foster care homes will result in an increase of companionship, physical and mental health of the lives of older adults as well the foster care children. Children between the ages of 6-15 make up 44% of the children in the foster care system in the United States. Providing older adults the opportunity to have a mentoring role in the foster children's lives will give them a sense of purpose and give the foster children an advisor. This thesis strives to focus on improving the physical and mental health of older adults and foster …

Understanding The Effect Of Intercity Roads On The Evolution Of Urban Form, Fiona Duvall, Ermal Shpuza

Symposium of Student Scholars

Cities are key to sustainability, social cohesion, public health, and energy use. Successful urban planning relies on understanding the effect of the roads that connect the city with the neighboring settlements, which act as a scaffold for urban growth. The project develops representations and analytical tools for understanding urban evolution.

The research is based on the following analytical methods: 1) Digitally drawing the arterial roads for twenty Adriatic coastal cities in Italy based on historical maps surveyed in 1819; 2) Categorizing the cities into two main groups: those whose arterials have remained mostly unchanged and those whose arterials have been …

Weaving Of Spaces: “Designing Spaces That Create Opportunities For Communication And Freedom Though Ease Of Access”, Fiona Duvall, Ehsan Sheikplharam Mashhadi

Symposium of Student Scholars

The Kennesaw State University campus has much to offer its students and the community, but it has a periphery, disconnecting it from neighboring communities. Marietta square has amazing opportunities for food and community. The main problem here is that the only way to access the square and Kennesaw State University is by car and that these two locations are isolated.

Through the research of the psychological aspects of space, cast studies and psychological research articles. I've found the main problems found in these urban areas are the low walkability, lack traffic safety and lack access to anyone regardless of Finacial …

Pathways To Possibilities: Crafting A Montessori School For Economically Disadvantaged Children, Melanie Nin, Robin Puttock

Symposium of Student Scholars

This thesis analyzes the correlation that exists between Montessori educational methods and low-income students. To answer this question, I researched 15 different sources, which included case studies, surveys, and interviews that gave me detailed information on my topic. The results of my research showed there was a positive correlation on the effects of low-income students in Montessori Education, but a negative correlation to the number of low-income students who attend Montessori schools. There are around 15,000 Montessori schools around the world, but only 570 Of them are public. This creates a lot of barriers for low-income students, denying them access …

Reimagining Recovery: Architecture's Role In Sobriety, Teagan Littleton, Robin Puttock

Symposium of Student Scholars

Alcoholism recovery housing, such as a sober living house, often overlooks the profound impact that architecture and the environment created from the built world can have on the therapeutic process of rehabilitation. The physical space where individuals receive mental health treatment plays a crucial role in their recovery journey, yet many facilities fail to consider how design elements can support or hinder the healing process. A well-designed sober living house should provide a safe, comforting, and inspiring environment that promotes continued recovery and therefore enhances the effectiveness of therapy and other treatments. There is a large gap between the physical …

Reviving Humanity Towards Rehuminizing Prisons, Ana Gomez, Robin Puttock

Symposium of Student Scholars

The surge in female incarceration rates in the United States has heightened concerns about the mental health challenges faced by women within correctional facilities. This thesis research explores the intersection of women's incarceration, mental health, and sustainable architectural design aimed at improving outcomes for female inmates. Factors contributing to the increase in female incarceration rates, including changes in sentencing policies and socioeconomic disparities, are discussed. Research indicates a high prevalence of mental health disorders among female inmates, often linked to past trauma and exacerbated by the prison environment. Despite this, the prison system often fails to adequately address the mental …

Locally Stranded - Addressing Rural Cases Of Domestic Violence, Owen Phillips, Robin Puttock

Symposium of Student Scholars

Domestic violence is a nationwide crisis affecting millions of women each year and saw an increase in severity during the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-2022). In Georgia, 37.4% of women report experiencing physical violence by an intimate partner. The situation is especially dire in rural areas, where women experience 150% more incidents at a more intense level than their urban counterparts and must travel three times farther to access resources. Rural women are also nearly twice as likely to be turned away from services due to a lack of space, staffing, and resources. Existing shelters often fail to meet victims' needs because …

Thresholds Of Healing: Rethinking Inpatient Mental Health Facility Design, Emily Simms, Robin Puttock

Symposium of Student Scholars

Along Martha Berry Boulevard in the City of Rome, Georgia, is the proposed Tax Allocation District (TAD), which slates redevelopment for blighted areas, including motels that have been a hot spot for criminal activity in the area. Coupled with this blighted area is the need for mental health facilities to serve the needs of the community, specifically long-term facilities for patients with depression and/or self-harm concerns. Suicide is the 2^nd leading cause of death for those aged 10-24 in Georgia according to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD). A new long-term facility is proposed within the …

An Essay Of Images From Playlab Inc., Playlab Inc., Archie Lee Coates Iv

Digital Laboratory: Publisher of Internet Journal

A series of images depicting the illustrious Playlab Inc. as a collection of projects in different mediums. The LA-based design studio has contributed to fashion, art, and urban culture through collaborations with major institutions and emerging artists. The photo essay highlights Playlab Inc.’s diverse projects and installations, embodying its core philosophy: no focus. This principle guides the studio to the cutting-edge of contemporary culture, where innovation meets execution. The creative powerhouse has demonstrated a capacity to engage with contemporary cultural movements through its projects. For instance, in the OTW Vans project, the firm acquired images from notable skate photographers Atiba …

Nature-Based Education As A Learning Tool: Unleashing The Power Of Nature-Based Education In Egyptian Primary Schools. "The Effects Of Outdoor Learning And Open-Air Classrooms On Primary School Students In Egypt.", Nermeen Bekhiet

Theses and Dissertations

When learning modalities are tailored to each student's preferences and needs, academic success follows. This effect is contingent upon both individual and surrounding factors. Many schools in Egypt and the Middle East do not concentrate on how exposure to nature and nature-based learning can affect how the learner perceives his or her learning area. Most schools in Egypt have no exposure to nature to allow students to explore the world in their way; there is no room for diverse students to excel. Therefore, this exploratory research aims to reestablish a connection between private primary school students and the natural world …

Cache County Has 2500 Acres Of Highly Walkable Urban Land, With Potential For 4935 New Housing Units, Jordan Taft

Research on Capitol Hill

Utah faces a housing crisis – with rapid internal population growth compounding the issue.

Balancing Construction Costs And Environmental And Social Performances In High-Rise Urban Development: A Generative Urban Design Approach, Peng Du, Geoffrey Little, Erick Romero

College of Architecture and the Built Environment Faculty Papers

The urban design process is complex and interdisciplinary, especially in the context of high-density cities with high-rise buildings. The design of high-rise buildings requires input from a variety of stakeholders in the city, who often represent conflicting requirements and interests. However, conventional design approaches struggle to address this complexity. This study introduced a generative urban design approach and applied it to a case study for high-rise urban development in Guangzhou, China. Specifically, 7500 urban forms were generated with variables such as street networks, block offset, building typology, and green space, and then were evaluated and optimized via multi-objective evolutionary algorithms. …

“I Remember It...I Feel It” Place’S Intangible Identity: Explorations Through The Lens Of Micro-Phenomenology- Case Study Of Al-Sultan Hassan Complex, Sarah Mohamed El Zoheiry

Theses and Dissertations

In today’s contemporary architecture, the growing of anonymous and interchangeable spaces has diminished the distinctive character of the place, its individuality and experiential signification, fostering placelessness. This research argues that the framework of reconsidering place’s atmosphere offers a pathway to reconnect people with places through emotional, sensory, and embodied encounters. This research investigates the phenomenology of place, focusing on the atmosphere as an intangible identity that transcends physical attributes and engages people's senses and feelings. By exploring the Al-Sultan Hassan complex, the study deepens the understanding of the transcendental quality of the atmosphere, it’s unfolding over time, and it’s associated …

Change Detection Analysis Using Remote Sensing And Gis Approaches For Lake Manzala, Egypt, Mohamed Eraki, Rasha Abd El Ghany, Sameh El Kafrawy, Mostafa Rabah

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Manzala Lake, the largest natural freshwater body in Egypt, is situated in the northeastern part of the Nile Delta. It faces major environmental challenges, largely due to pollution from untreated industrial effluents, sewage, and agricultural runoff. As part of Egypt's national initiative to rehabilitate its lakes, a development project was launched in 2017 and concluded in June 2022. The project aimed to purify the lake by eliminating contaminants, clearing invasive vegetation, deepening the canals, the study focuses on assessing land cover changes using remote sensing and GIS, and offers some recommendations for sustainable lake use following the development efforts. The …

Tenacious Resins And Residues: Oil Propaganda In Architectural Digest During The Energy Crises Of The 1970s, Banafsheh Mohammadi

The Goose

Architectural Digest was first published in 1920 by John C. Brasfield, a California-based publisher. In 1933, the magazine was purchased by Condé Nast and has since become a popular design magazine, particularly in North America, known for its visually vibrant and abundant advertisements. Car advertisements are among the most recurring ads featured in the magazine. Through an archival investigation of Architectural Digest magazines from 1973 to 1983, I investigate how, if at all, car advertisements in the magazine reflected the 1973 and 1979 oil crises.

The 1979 global energy crisis was a period of high energy prices and supply …