Architecture Commons^™

Transforming A Public Flexible Space Into An Artistic Place For Leisure – An Artistic Intervention For Downtown Arlington., Sowmya Kanaka

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Open flexible spaces are often underutilized, undefined, or lacking identity, hold immense potential to become vibrant artistic places that support leisure, culture, and community life. transforming such flexible spaces into Community-led arts places serve as adaptable environments that can shift to meet evolving cultural and recreational needs. By integrating artistic intervention through public art, interactive installations, and creative spatial programming, formerly Underutilized open space becomes an anchor of activity drawing residents and visitors and influencing adjacent areas to align with its renewed identity. Arts-driven public spaces attract consistent foot traffic and recurring events, stimulating social and economic exchange. When artistic …

Assessing Biodiversity For User Experience In Public Parks: Learning From Downtown Dallas, Texas, Amanda A. Esparza

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Biodiversity loss is a pressing global issue, with far-reaching ecological, social, and cultural consequences (United Nations Environment Programme, 2011). The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recognizes the biodiversity crisis as equal in urgency to the climate crisis and emphasizes the importance of incorporating biodiversity conservation into design practices (Green, 2024). However, regional experiences of the relationship between biodiversity in designed urban landscapes and user experience remain unexplored. The purpose of this research is to gain a general understanding of the level of biodiversity present in downtown Dallas, Texas, public parks and to assess park users’ perceptions and interactions with …

An Analysis Of Structural, Organizational, And Physical Approaches To Disaster Vulnerability: A Case Of Hurricane Harvey In Houston, Tx, Tarsha Hardy

Planning Dissertations - Archive

Global warming and climate change have led to the increased and intensified presence of natural disasters. Cities grapple with the continual challenge of physical, structural, and organizational approaches to reducing disaster vulnerability while constantly working to prioritize the accessibility of safe spaces for the future. The aim of this dissertation is to examine spatial data from Harris County, Texas, in conjunction with key insights from key planning and government decision makers to determine how they can form collaborative and strategic alliances for the development of disaster vulnerability reduction strategies that increase access to safe spaces during imminent disasters. As a …

Guide To The Construction Records (University Of San Diego), University Of San Diego

University Records

This collection contains construction records for the University of San Diego. Records include architectural drawings, correspondence, photographs, planning information, and reports.

Finding Aids are tools used to aid research by describing the materials in a collection. University Records Finding Aids include historical and/or biographical information along with a description of the collection and a folder listing of the content.

To view this collection please email University Archives and Special Collections staff at [email protected].

Green Project Finance For Infrastructure And Building Construction: Instruments And Benchmarks, Yunping Liang

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

It is counterintuitive that both the practice and research on green project finance for infrastructure and building construction are ascendant and still have limited precedents, considering that individually, the two parts (i.e., project finance and sustainability in the built environment) are both familiar to the communities. To narrow the gap and facilitate the financing of the built environment’s sustainable transformation, this study systematically reviews the common instruments for financing green infrastructure and building projects. Benchmarking questions distinguishing the profile of green project finance from common construction project finance are developed based on the literature review and then are used for …

From Equitable Access To Equitable Usage: Moving Towards Data-Driven, Evidence-Based Cycling Assets Management, Kewei Ren, Yunping Liang, Chun-Hsing Ho

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Cycling is increasingly recognized for its wide range economic, environmental, and health benefits as a mobility option. However, disparities in the provision and the quality of bicycle infrastructure persists. Ensuring fair access and usage of these benefits for all presents a significant challenge. As a result, establishing effective methodologies to evaluate cycling equity is critically important. This paper synthesizes research on infrastructure asset management with a focus on equity considerations in bicycle infrastructure. A systematic review of 19 North American studies critically examines how existing research categorizes vulnerable populations and assesses fairness. The results reveal that most existing analyses focus …

Art Teams Grant Report Year 4, Guy Trainin, Kimberley D'Adamo, Hyeonjin Yoon, Azadeh Hassani, Zohreh Tamimdari, Jiabin Lyu, Michael Nti Ababio, Sarah Trainin

Research and Evaluation in Education, Technology, Art, and Design

Year Four of the Art TEAMs grant was designed to continue the professional learning for cohort two while following cohort one to measure implementation sustainability. Our second cohort of educators is excited about the program. It brings great diversity in art forms, including five ceramics teachers, a digital media teacher, and generalists from career and technical education and family and consumer science. This diversity of teaching domains helps illustrate the versatility and impact of the arts across K-12 curricula. We have revamped our professional learning curriculum and the process of learning from the educators who take part in the program. …

Education And Industry: The Balancing Act, Roy Vincent Byrne, Seamus Harrington

Other resources

Quantity Surveying students are required to study a vast spectrum of modules during their programme of study. Perhaps one of the most important taught modules on a Quantity Surveying programme and a core professional competency relates to building measurement. Many early stage quantity surveying students are introduced to building measurement via the concept of manual take-off which offers students a good grounding in the basic skills and good practices required to successfully measure a building project. However, manual measurement ultimately is no longer used in practice in any meaningful capacity and teaching it is a time-consuming process. The research explores …

An Impact Analysis Of The 15-Year Capital Program And Budget In The City Of Philadelphia, James K. Lewis

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Abstract

In order to serve its constituents, the City of Philadelphia has established numerous public service departments and respective public goods in terms of departments facilities and other structures to provide public service. The key departments include the Police Department, Fire Department, Health Department, Libraries, and Parks and Recreation. Additionally, there are departments established to build, renovate, maintain, the public goods provided by the City of Philadelphia in order to achieve successful stewardship of the facilities. In order to carry out facilities stewardship of its public goods, the City has a long-term capital program and budget that utilizes borrowed capital …

Iii.A.2 Displacement & Barriers To Home Ownership, Kim Rostan, Bria Harper, Jim Neighbors, Mark Byrnes

Crafting Democratic Futures

This document explains how systemic racism and discriminatory policies from the Civil War & Reconstruction period through the 20th century prevented African Americans in Spartanburg from building wealth through land ownership and home equity. It details barriers such as Black Codes, sharecropping, convict leasing, exclusion from New Deal programs, discriminatory housing policies, and urban renewal projects that displaced Black neighborhoods without providing equitable opportunities for economic advancement.

Shared Architecture Of The Sacred:Designing Sacred Spaces In Virtual Reality, Ian Gonsher, Sameerah Munshi

Scholarly Research

This project investigates how sacred spaces might be conceived and experienced within virtual reality (VR). Through interfaith dialogue, design research, and iterative prototyping, we explored affordances in virtual environments for prayer, contemplation, study, and communal gathering. Drawing on insights from Jewish and Islamic traditions in particular, we developed design principles that informed the creation of a pilot prototype for sacred space in VR. This paper presents the conceptual framework, design process, and architectural strategies embodied and expressed in that pilot prototype, with particular attention to the formal and symbolic elements of light, orientation, sound, and written text. Additionally, the project …

The Impact Of Short-Term Rental Activity On House Prices: Evidence From Coastal Virginia, Navid Safari, Lei Zhang, Timothy M. Komarek

Finance Faculty Publications

Short-term rentals such as Airbnb have grown substantially in recent years. In this study, we investigated the effect of Airbnb rentals on neighboring house prices in Hampton Roads, Virginia. We focus on three different measures of Airbnb activity to obtain more robust results. Our measures include active Airbnb listings, active listings with at least one reservation, and the sum of reservations over three different periods. Consistent with previous literature, our main results show that prior Airbnb rental activity has a positive impact on the surrounding housing sales prices. Furthermore, the localized impact diminishes over geographic space (i.e., distances greater than …

Breathing A New Life Into Industrialized Cities: Adapting Warehouses In The Inland Empire, Mazzy Rosenast

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis explores adaptive reuse as a design strategy to repurpose aging warehouse infrastructure in the Inland Empire, specifically Rancho Cucamonga, in order to reclaim and reintegrate the urban fabric around community needs, rather than defaulting to demolition and erasure. As urban spaces become increasingly saturated, resources dwindle, and environmental concerns escalate, the need to creatively build and repurpose our urban fabric becomes a critical conversation among architects, urban planners, and designers. The Inland Empire (IE) - comprising Riverside and San Bernardino Counties - has been overtaken by the logistics industry, transforming its landscape into a patchwork of freeways, cargo …

Visions Of The Garden: Transforming The Former Claremont Golf Course Into The Coastal Sage Mosaic, Ella C. Kim

Pitzer Senior Theses

A thirty-three-acre parcel of land sits at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains at a vulnerable wildland-urban interface (WUI), raising key ecological concerns. This parcel, a former golf course, is the focused site for this conceptual landscape and restoration plan. The now-neglected site has no proposed plans for restoration or development yet holds significant potential for transformation. Stakeholders’ conflicting visions range from land preservation, ecological restoration, Indigenous land rights, commodification for revenue and development, and prioritizing the needs of the natural environment in coexistence with modern human enjoyment. The conceptual plan addresses these critical considerations in verbal and visual …

The Impact Of Direct Emergency Policies Of Corona Pandemic On The Education Process Affecting Economic Labor Productivity, Shimaa Mohammed Hamdy Derbala, Usama Helmy Mohmmed

Mansoura Engineering Journal

This research examines the impacts of immediate emergency policies of the Corona Virus pandemic on the education process at Minya University; Egypt; along with impacts on economic labor productivity. It hypothesizes that academic performance of graduates during the pandemic declined, including impacts on employment, quality of labor, and economic productivity.The research reviews experiences of Malaysia, KSA, Kuwait, and Egypt in managing the education process during the pandemic. Two questionnaires were used, to analyze students’ satisfaction with the experience of distant teaching/learning, and to analyze workers’ satisfaction with the efficiency of economic labor productivity during the pandemic. SPSS Non …

Non-Line-Of-Sight Classification In Urban Areas Based On Machine Learning Algorithms, Mohamed Ali Ezzelarab, Mohamed Abdelazim Mohamed, Eman Abdelhalim, Ashraf Abosekeen

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Non-Line-Of-Sight (NLOS) and multipath errors are significant causes of poor accuracy in Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). These errors occur when satellite signals are diffracted or reflected by obstacles instead of traveling directly along the Line-Of-Sight (LOS), particularly in urban environments. Such diffracted or reflected signals can reach GNSS receivers, skewing pseudorange measurements and posing challenges to accurate GNSS positioning. This study introduces an innovative approach using supervised Machine Learning (ML) models to detect and mitigate NLOS error. To develop and validate these models, GNSS data collected during the smartLoc project from Frankfurt and Berlin in Germany were leveraged, representing …

Integrating Aerodynamic Behavior In The Design Process Through Digital Tools: An Architectural Pedagogic Exercise, Mahmoud M. Elghawaby

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Analyzing air movement in open spaces is essential for developing livable environments and fostering unique atmospheres. By visualizing this intangible element, designers can enhance spatial quality and explore innovative solutions. This article examines the integration of aerodynamic simulations of air movement into the design process of an architectural graduation project conducted at the Grenoble School of Architecture, in collaboration with the Cresson research team and the Design by Research Lab. The project focuses on designing living bridges over the Nile in Cairo as part of an international architecture competition.The pedagogical exercise comprised theoretical lectures complemented by simulation sessions, designed to …

Sustainable Hospitals Lighting Design Optimization To Enhance Patient Well-Being, Merna R. Ashac, Rania F. Ismail, Nasreen Fathy Abdelsalam

Mansoura Engineering Journal

This research investigates the critical role of lighting design in hospitals environments, focusing on its impact on patient outcomes and environmental sustainability. By integrating energy-efficient LEDs and natural light, the study aims to enhance patient well-being and staff performance. To achieve this, the research explores aligning artificial lighting with circadian rhythms to improve both patient outcomes and staff performance. Using mixed-methods approach, the research includes a literature review, case studies, and analysis using DIALux simulation software. The literature review achieves a framework for sustainable, human-centric lighting, while case studies provide practical insights into effective designs in patient rooms. DIALux simulations …

Strengthening Of R.C. Beams Subjected To Shear And Torsion Using Externally Bonded Cfrp Sheets, Hazem Elbakry, El-Tony Mahmoud El-Tony, Momen M. Ali

Mansoura Engineering Journal

The primary objective of this study was to examine the behavior of reinforced concrete beams subjected to shear and torsion and strengthened with external CFRP sheets. To achieve this, seven reinforced concrete beams with identical cross section dimensions (300 mm × 200 mm), shear span (530 mm) were fabricated and tested under combined shear and torsion. Similar flexural and shear reinforcements were used for all specimens. The experimental program included one control specimen, without CFRP sheets, and six strengthened specimens utilizing different strengthening configurations of CFRP sheets. The key variables in the study were the strengthening configuration and the width …

Review And Comparative Study On Renewable Energy Use And Policies In Egypt And Leading Countries, Salwa Abdel Monem El Gindi

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Improving energy efficiency and sustainability in buildings is essential for maintaining good environmental quality. Renewable energy use has become imperative as a result of shortage and disadvantages of traditional energy sources. Although the world has taken measures to develop renewable energy, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions is continuously increasing. This may be related with a low level of elaboration of the ongoing policies, with obstacles to the renewable energy market growth. The energy sector in Egypt is overwhelmed with the local energy demands. Considering Egypt’s signature on the Kyoto protocol and hosting COP27 as it acknowledges the significance of …