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Monastic Design: Recovering The Sacred, Thomas Larkin Derek Crompton

Architecture Theses

Throughout history, transcendental meaning has been woven into the very fabric of architecture to awaken and attune our souls toward a greater understanding of the inherent, unquantifiable aspects of life. Design elements such as light, material, proportion, and mystery were used as communicators of meaning rather than merely tools of utility. However, with the rise of positivism in the modern period, many transcendental elements of design were disregarded in favor of a more functionalist approach. The strategies employed by this approach influenced much of modern religious architecture and have resulted in many churches that lack the fundamental principle they claim …

Re:Grain: Elevating Community Through The Adaptive Reuse Of Grain Structures As A Catalyst For Downtown Development And Cultural Identity In Horace, North Dakota, Gracie Mae Erickstad

Architecture Theses

This thesis explores how the adaptive reuse of wooden grain elevators can preserve living heritage, sustain cultural identity, and anchor downtowns in small towns facing rapid suburban expansion. Centered on Horace, North Dakota, the study positions grain elevators as evolving typologies that respond to contemporary community needs while maintaining symbolic and material ties to the agrarian landscape. Through design research, site analysis, and comparative case studies, it develops strategies that integrate preservation, sustainability, and public engagement. Findings demonstrate that reimagined grain elevators can serve as multi-use civic anchors, fostering social cohesion, economic activity, and a sense of place amid dispersed …

From Radiance To Resonance: A Human-Centered City Between Geometry And Humanity: Reconciling Modernist Ideals With Human-Centered Design, Christen Zeetu Doe

Architecture Theses

This thesis investigates how architectural practice can shift from top-down, modernist planning paradigms toward an observational methodology grounded in lived experience. Engaging with the legacy of Le Corbusier’s Radiant City, it critiques the pursuit of universal order and efficiency that often suppresses the nuances of everyday life. Drawing from Georges Perec’s attentive documentation of mundane urban moments, the project develops a process of “moment mapping,” where spatial understanding emerges through observation rather than imposed form. These collected moments are then abstracted into architectural elevations and spatial constructs, translating temporal, sensory experiences into built form. The thesis is situated within a …

Life & Death: How Adaptive Reuse Can Reimagine Dying Malls & Their Role In Their Communities, Kennedy Grant

Architecture Theses

Across the US, many malls have been left vacant due to widespread decline, leaving valuable urban land underutilized. This is not a liability, but an opportunity to adaptively reuse these sites and transform them into community hubs. Through research into the history of malls in the US, the current state of retail, theories of place, adaptive reuse strategies and case studies, five principles of adaptive reuse were derived to guide the design. The results of my research suggest that connection to the context, diverse program, community, sustainability, and human centered design can make former malls vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable parts …

A Translation Of Culture, Dinithi Warnakula

Architecture Theses

This thesis explores the processes of shared occupation, layering and translation in architecture as a means of cultural cohabitation. Located on the Keating Channel waterfront in Toronto, the project explores themes of migration, shifting identities and communal life in an urban context. The thesis, beginning with the theories of Vilém Flusser and Daniel Heller-Roazen, addresses translation as linguistic and geographical condition. The layered Sinhala, Tamil and English characters produce an artefact that throws dynamic shadows that interact with the physical architecture through tiered thresholds, framed views and filtered light conditions. This created cultural commons, spaces for everyday interaction, narration, socialisation …

Threshold: Transitional Living For Former Foster Youth, Regan Cole

Architecture Theses

Threshold is a transitional living facility designed for former foster youth aging into adulthood and independent living. The project explores how architecture can move beyond providing shelter to support healing, stability, dignity, and personal growth for individuals who have experienced displacement, institutionalization, and housing insecurity. Grounded in trauma-informed design principles and philosophical theories of dwelling, belonging, and liminality, the project investigates how space can transform transition from a condition of uncertainty into one of becoming. Located in Brookfield, Illinois, the facility integrates housing with educational programs, job training, counseling, healthcare, childcare, and communal spaces within a single supportive environment. The …

Right Up Your Alley: Integrating Affordable Housing And Walkable Infrastructure To Revitalize Denver's Neighborhoods, Mason Anchondo

Architecture Theses

This thesis examines how existing single-family neighborhoods in Denver, Colorado can be transformed into more walkable, socially connected, and affordable communities by reactivating the city’s underutilized mid-block alleyways. Through policy analysis, GIS-based spatial research, and on-site neighborhood observation, the study identifies opportunities to introduce accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and pedestrian-oriented design strategies that improve connectivity and housing diversity without displacing existing residents. A multi-scalar site selection process ultimately focuses on the Barnum and West Barnum neighborhoods, where intact alley networks and demographic conditions support a replicable framework for gentle density. Informed by case studies and interdisciplinary research on walkability, human-scale …

Beyond The Battlefield: Architecture As A Path To Veteran Recovery, Alexandria Hamman

Architecture Theses

For many United States veterans, the transition home is not a return to stability, but the beginning of a new and often unseen mental health challenges. This thesis explores the role of architecture in supporting the recovery and reintegration of United States veterans facing mental health challenges and homelessness. Existing mental health and transitional housing facilities are often sterile and institutional, overlooking the impact of the built environment on psychological well-being. This project proposes a combined transitional housing and mental health rehabilitation facility designed to reduce the stigma of veterans needing help, promote stability, and help reintegrate them into a …

Curating Sense-Of-Place In Residential Development: The Development Of A Strategy For Residential Construction, Ryan Anthony Calhoun

Architecture Theses

This thesis addresses the dual-faceted United States housing crisis, characterized by economic inaccessibility and a deteriorating sense-of-place due to urban sprawl and homogenous tract housing. The research investigates how architectural intervention can create a profound sense-of-place within the contemporary residential landscape despite escalating construction costs. By synthesizing phenomenology, housing economics, and urban planning, the study develops a new residential construction stratagem. This strategy utilizes social, economic, and ecological optimizations, such as shared liminal spaces, mass customization, and vernacular design, to foster community and identity. The research culminates in the design of "Prairie Haven,” a 174-lot medium-density neighborhood in Forest Lake, …

Sanctuary: Caring For The Whole Person In A Fragmented World, Hazel Elizabeth Chvatal

Architecture Theses

Drawing especially upon the writings of Alberto Perez-Gomez, this thesis claims that today’s built environment neglects social and spiritual wellbeing. Efficiency and productivity take priority over meaning and wellbeing, and many spaces fail to provide any context about relationship to a larger reality. Taking inspiration from the traditions of Benedictine monks and nuns, this architecture thesis proposes ritual as a means to invite participation and emphasize connection. A design process of artefactual making grounds the embodied experience in layers of authentic cultural, historical, and scientific realities. Through a layered, narrative-driven design approach, this thesis seeks to address social and spiritual …

The Built Environment Effects On Pediatric Mental Health, Ashley Olson

Architecture Theses

Mental health is how a person’s psychological and social well-being affects their ability to cope with stress and contribute to society. Mental health disorders can manifest children typically worsen and become more difficult to treat as they age. Treating mental health disorders as soon as symptoms emerge allows for optimal treatment. Environment facilitates the worsening or improvement of mental health. A patient’s environment could be manipulated to promote treatment of mental health disorders. The built environment cannot heal anyone’s mental health alone, but there are several ways in which design can positively contribute to the healing process. Creating a holistic, …

Life Beyond Architecture, Mauro Benvenutto

Architecture Theses

This thesis argues that the loss of public life in many contemporary American cities cannot be explained by architecture alone. While placeless, standardized, and emotionally thin architecture remains an important symptom of the problem, the deeper condition is urban: cities and neighborhoods have been reorganized around the private automobile, separated land uses, oversized parking fields, high-speed commercial corridors, and development models that prioritize convenience and efficiency over human scale. The result is an environment where people technically have access to buildings, sidewalks, shops, and roads, but often lack meaningful freedom of choice. Walking, biking, transit, lingering, and informal social life …

Reminiscing: Architectural Impressions That Last, Ryann Vetsch

Architecture Theses

This research explores the relatively unknown intersection of human memory and architectural design to determine the characteristics of a memorable place. Through synthesis of psychological literature on memory and architectural theory, in conjunction with case study analysis, a “Hypothetical Memorability Network" was established. Within this network, five psychological characteristics act in sequence to provide the necessary tools for creating a long-term episodic memory: attention, emotion, place, meaning, and story.

These psychological characteristics were developed into a Memorable Design Framework to be used as a guide to creating memorable architectural projects. Testing the design framework, the research found is applied to …

Wellness Through Architecture: Connecting Nordic Wellness Traditions With Architecture To Promote Human Well-Being, Morgan Mae Klimpel

Architecture Theses

In society, the need for spaces that promote wellbeing has become increasingly pressing. Modern lifestyles are often defined by constant stimulation and high stress, leaving us with limited opportunities to truly recharge. Since architecture is the framework for how we experience the built environment, it plays a critical role in shaping our mental, physical, and emotional health. The historic Lutsen Lodge site currently sits undeveloped after being destroyed by a fire in February 2024. Representing a key extension of the Lutsen Resort, this location embodies a long-standing tradition of hospitality and the unique cultural heritage of the North Shore. This …

August Heart, Jack Weber

Architecture Theses

This paper is a showcase on combining traditional, literary storytelling and architecture. Traditional being writing a book, and architecture being the pencil and paper. Many ideas go into crafting a narrative, this one in particular will use concepts from utopia, climate change, political papers, worldbuilding, and more. Here is a sneak peek of what is to come.

The year is 2407, humanity’s high heat producing industries have taken to the skies. Many people have moved with their work and are now living on Earth’s Haven Ring. On paper, Haven looks like a utopia, but in reality, it is an illusion. …

The Esplanade Memory Pavilion: Reconstructing Collective Memory Through Architecture, Isabelle Johannah Binder

Architecture Theses

This thesis investigates architecture as a medium for reconstructing memory through the assembly of spatial, social, and temporal fragments. Sited on Fiedler Field along the Boston Esplanade, the project proposes a memorial and community music space that resists singular narratives, embracing incompleteness as intrinsic to collective memory. The site operates as both a literal and conceptual field where dispersed histories and experiences are brought into relation.

The architecture emerges through aggregation rather than imposition, organizing fragments into moments of compression and release, light and shadow, sound and silence. Circulation forms a narrative sequence, guiding visitors through spaces of reflection, gathering, …

From Steel To Sanctuary: Rethinking Sustainable Architecture Through Passive Design, Trent O'Neill

Architecture Theses

Architects, innovators, and the entire construction industry continue to push the newest, most expensive, high-tech solutions to problems that technology itself has caused. The broader public, however, seems to have little interest or support in investing in such endeavors. From Steel to Sanctuary presents a different solution, one with roots thousands of years in the making. Sustainable design is not a new way of thinking. Our ancestors had subsisted as active participants, rather than simply as a spectator to nature for millennia before the rise of the technological age. Today, we coin the strategies they employed as ‘passive’ architecture; Systems …

Resilience By Design, Mckenzy Thoreson

Architecture Theses

This thesis investigates the development of a rapidly deployable modular shelter system designed to support post-disaster recovery efforts in vulnerable rural regions of Tennessee. Tennessee’s exposure to flooding, tornadoes, severe storms, and infrastructure vulnerability highlights the need for temporary housing solutions that extend beyond conventional trailer-based emergency shelters. Existing systems often lack climate responsiveness, accessibility, adaptability, and long-term sustainability. In response, this project proposes a compact modular housing system that integrates prefabricated construction, ADA accessibility standards, passive environmental strategies, and climate-responsive design principles tailored to Tennessee’s humid subtropical environment. The shelter incorporates operable windows, cross ventilation, daylighting strategies, elevated construction, …

The Architecture Of Water Consciousness: Revealing Water, Culture, And Dwelling In Phoenix, Arizona, Luke Wendel

Architecture Theses

In the desert, water has always shaped how people dwell, build, gather, and survive. In Phoenix, Arizona, this relationship has become increasingly hidden behind canals, infrastructure, policy, and control. The river that once supported settlement is now often dry, and water is understood more as a managed resource than a visible presence in daily life. A reimagining is needed, as the future of desert cities depends not only on conserving water, but on changing how people experience and value it. Can architecture reveal water as something seen, felt, remembered, and shared? Located along the Rio Salado, this thesis proposes a …

Gardens In The Sky: Rooftop Landscaping Design In The Chicago Downtown Environment, Noah Olson

Landscape Architecture Theses

Cities around the world are becoming increasingly more susceptible to heat, largely due to the urban heat island effect (UHI). Green roofs, which essentially turn building tops into planted gardens, can be an effective and creative way for landscape architects to combat these problems. This thesis will use a literature review of peer-reviewed studies to examine green roof materials, designs, and performance in reducing UHI impacts and stormwater runoff. Findings show surface temperature reductions of 20-30°C, air cooling of 1-2°C, and 17-51% runoff retention. These results have been applied to redesign three terraces at the St. Regis Chicago: the 11th-floor …

Fragments Of Civic Life: Reviving Public Life In The Abandoned Mall, Diego Valle

Architecture Theses

This thesis investigates adaptive reuse as a method for reviving public life within contemporary American cities through the transformation of abandoned commercial architecture into civic space. Using Hawthorne Plaza Mall as the primary case study, the project examines how the decline of the shopping mall reflects the broader disappearance of third places and informal environments of collective gathering. Grounded in the writings of Ray Oldenburg, Walter Benjamin, Federica Goffi, Marco Frascari, and Alberto Perez Gomez, the thesis interprets the abandoned mall as both a cultural artifact and a spatial framework capable of supporting new forms of participation, encounter, and communal …

Bridging The Urban Moat In Downtown Fargo: Downtown Riverfront Reconnection, Haitham Al Nemri

Architecture Theses

Downtown Fargo is the city's cultural and economic hub, but it is currently constrained by a lack of riverfront activation and an outdated limited variety of building typologies and uses along the eastern downtown edge. The main issue is the lack of a clear physical connection bridging the infrastructure that cuts the civic core off from the Red River. This thesis tackles this problem by proposing a "Reconnection Framework" that combines reusing existing infrastructure, adapting to the harsh "Winter City" climate, and adding mid-scale residential housing, to expand housing options in Fargo downtown. The design proposal transforms the downtown riverfront, …

Little Wonders: Designing Childcare Facilities That Facilitate Cognitive Development Inspired By Reggio Emilia And Montessori Pedagogies, Makayla Parkin

Architecture Theses

This thesis challenges traditional childcare facility design strategies and studies and develops design principles that facilitate and support children’s cognitive development. By understanding how children learn through cognitive and neuroarchitecture research, this thesis targets cognitive milestones within each age range of children to best support their early childhood developmental needs. This proposed childcare facility design will incorporate children’s learning needs, large motor function developmental needs, sensory exploration, interactive design, proximity to nature, and childcare licensing requirements to produce a quality and effective design.

Located in Shakopee, Minnesota this project addresses underserved and growing communities in need of childcare. Therefore, this …

Threads Of Recovery: Transforming Youth Residential Treatment Centers, Kathryn Fitzsimmons

Architecture Theses

This thesis explores how architecture can support adolescent mental health treatment through the design of a residential treatment center for youth ages ten to eighteen experiencing mental health crises. In response to increasing rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation among adolescents, the project examines the relationship between the built environment and emotional well being. The research critiques the legacy of the troubled teen industry, where institutional architecture often reinforced isolation and control rather than healing. Drawing from environmental psychology and analysis, the project proposes an alternative campus centered on safety, reflection, and community. The design, titled Threads of Recovery, …

Beyond The River's Edge: Reimagining Riverfront Parks And Landscapes For Stormwater, Flood Resilience, And Public Spaces In Fargo, Nd, Moumita Roy

Landscape Architecture Theses

Riverfront parks play an important role in managing stormwater, reducing flood risks, and improving ecological resilience in flood-prone cities. In Fargo, North Dakota, the Red River corridor functions as both a recreational landscape and a critical floodplain system, yet the stormwater and flood performance of these parks has not been systematically evaluated. This study developed a GIS- and hydrologic modeling–based framework to assess the landscape performance of Fargo’s riverfront parks and explore design strategies for more resilient public spaces. Using ArcGIS Pro, remote sensing, DEM analysis, field observations, and InfoWorks ICM simulations, the research identified runoff accumulation zones, flood-prone areas, …

Roots In Timber, Tate Dawson Runge

Architecture Theses

This thesis investigates how mass timber construction can serve as a low-carbon framework for developing attainable, mid-scale “missing-middle” housing integrated with meaningful urban greenery. Contemporary cities face dual challenges: limited affordable housing options and reduced access to nature, both of which impact community well-being and environmental resilience. By examining mass timber systems such as CLT and glulam alongside green infrastructure strategies, including planted terraces, courtyards, vegetated facades, and indoor botanical spaces, the research explores how these elements can be combined into cohesive, replicable housing prototypes. Precedents and literature on timber construction, biophilic design, and urban development inform the project’s design …

Prairie Haven: Combating Urban Sprawl With Ecological Landscape Assemblage In Forest Lake, Minnesota, Ryan Anthony Calhoun

Landscape Architecture Theses

Contemporary residential developments frequently default to sprawl, creating fragmented environments that lack both environmental resilience and authentic human interconnection. This thesis explores how landscape architects can utilize Assemblage Theory to design residential developments where sustainable materials, ecological systems, and social elements dynamically assemble to create a meaningful, human-scaled sense-of-place. By synthesizing the structural planning efficiency of New Urbanism, the ecological imperatives of Landscape Urbanism, and the metrics-driven performance of Ecological Urbanism, this research develops a hybridized operational approach to residential development. Applied to a master plan in Forest Lake, Minnesota, the design for “Prairie Haven” demonstrates how treating a neighborhood …

Confluence: From Barrier To Connection: Reconnecting The Lower Ninth Ward To The Industrial Canal Through An Inhabitable Water Edge, Ciara Albrecht

Architecture Theses

Confluence reimagines the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans as a resilient waterfront community shaped by memory, ecology, and adaptive housing. Located along the Industrial Canal at the site of the 2005 levee breach, the project replaces defensive separation with an inhabitable water edge composed of amphibious housing, public circulation, constructed wetlands, visible water systems, and an underground memorial. The thesis argues that post-disaster rebuilding cannot be measured only by infrastructure or replacement housing, but by dignity, return, cultural identity, public health, and long-term stewardship. Through buoyant foundations, concealed mooring systems, passive climate strategies, and a spatial sequence that moves …

Resilient Placemaking: Enhancing Community Identity, Streetscapes, And Public Spaces In Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, Ellen R. Nampel

Landscape Architecture Theses

This thesis provides a plan to revitalize downtown Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, by improving its public spaces. While the downtown is currently stable, this research proactively addresses future risks like economic decline and the loss of local identity. By combining placemaking with urban resilience strategies, the study shows how better street designs can bring people together and support local businesses. The proposed design focuses on three goals: turning empty lots into flexible event spaces for community gatherings, making streets safer and easier to walk by reducing car dominance, and using local branding to celebrate the city’s history. These changes aim to …

Redefining An Icon: Stadium Integration Into The Urban Center To Promote Community Engagement, Culture, And Identity In Dallas, Texas, Brandon Lee Peterson

Architecture Theses

This thesis is an exploration into how stadium design can foster community engagement, cultural identity, and urban vibrancy in the United States. While many American stadiums often remain isolated from the urban fabric, located on city outskirts or suburbs and used solely for events, European models demonstrate the value of walkable, accessible, and integrated stadiums within mixed-use neighborhoods. Through a multidisciplinary review of urban design theory, economic factors, and programming needs, this research highlights the limitations of current U.S. stadium developments, such as issues of accessibility and underutilized public investment. Using a proposed downtown Dallas soccer stadium, the thesis offers …