Digital Commons Network^™

Princess Chives, Yuxuan An

Masters Theses

Princess Chives is the greatest contemporary ruler of Chiveism. Princess Chives brilliantly, comprehensively, and resourcefully promoted and developed Chivesism, taking it to a whole new level.

Princess Chives ideology is a powerful ideological weapon against everything, and it serves as the foundation for all of the work of the entire party, army, and country.

We must always raise the great flag of Princess Chives’ ideology, to fortify the minds of the people of the country with Princess Chives’ ideology, and adhere to the use of Princess Chives’ ideology in all work. To militarize the mind is the fundamental mission of …

Adding Subtraction: Wasting Time In Space, Daeun Kim

Masters Theses

Architecture is designed to increase our productivity – think of features like uniform workspaces, straight pathways, or purely functional rooms arranged to optimize tasks. When forced into constant productivity, we gain efficiency, but we end up exhausted and disconnected from one another. We need to design subtraction spaces in our workspaces and everyday life, spaces that accommodate the feelings and dreams of the occupant: spaces where we can wander, wonder, feel, connect, relax, restore, and reset. By challenging the perception that time just moves on and cannot be controlled, people can shift time: they can start, reverse, break, accumulate, prolong, …

Moving Narration: A Journey Through History, Yincheng Zhu

Masters Theses

The Central Pacific, as the first transcontinental railroad, is a remarkable achievement in the history of the United States. However, the story of what happened during its construction, including the struggles of the first generation of immigrants from China who built the tracks, and the resistance of native Americans to cede their lands, is largely forgotten. The California Zephyr, as a long-trip train that currently runs on the Central Pacific tracks, is not only a means of transportation but should also tell the history of survival and resistance embodied by the landscape it moves through and tracks it travels over. …

Intensifying The Experience Of Contemporary Art, Wanjin Feng

Masters Theses

Contemporary Art museums, emphasizing visual experience- es, struggle to accommodate multi-sensory art forms. This thesis introduces a groundbreaking exhibition design mod- el focused on creating immersive, multi-sensory experiences for visitors. The model transitions from a passive observation paradigm to an interactive perception approach, fostering a deeper understanding and emotional connection to art.

Applied to the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), the model introduces strategies such as narrative sculptures, interactive drawing spaces, integrated reading within exhibitions, and emotionally-driven spatial design. These strategies aim to make art more accessible, promoting personal connections with artworks.

In conclusion, the proposed model transforms contemporary art …

A Cloud Above, Jiwon Kim

Masters Theses

Even though Manhattan has a lot of green space, it is not sufficient to reduce the urban heat island effect of so much concrete and metal. This thesis proposes a new way to create more green infrastructure in dense urban areas. by utilizing the stack effect through a chimney structure as an air purifier. Additionally, it proposes the widespread use of facades with Heliostats to produce and use solar energy within the structures.

This thesis considers a four-storeyed parking lot that has two entrances on the south and the north. Its walls are merged with those of the adjacent mid-rise …

The People's Food Project, Grace Barrett

Masters Theses

The architectural design of spaces offering food assistance has received little to no attention since food pantries emerged in the 1970s. Non-profit food initiatives are often sited quickly with limited resources, producing inadequate spaces unable to fully support a food insecure community, prioritize the experience of users, and create a sense of belonging. The current spaces limit services to merely food distribution. They do not take advantage of the opportunity to expand socioeconomic capital through the power of shared food experiences: growing, cooking, eating, and learning.

This thesis redefines the traditional food pantry model, responding to explorations in psychological comfort …

Kala In My Moholla - Art In My Neighborhood, Priyata Bosamia

Masters Theses

The l question that I am trying to answer through this thesis is “How do we build safe spaces for free creative expression?” The project "Kala in my Moholla", which means "Art in my neighborhood," looks at art as a force and intends to create space for free creative expression by inserting a network of hyper-local, easy-to-build spaces for making, creating, and sharing that are designed to be accessible, participatory, and democratic. A modular design consists of basic forms and a catalog of materials that can be used for its construction. Designed to be malleable, transformable, and customizable, it can …

Reconcile Liminality, Zefeng Wang

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the concept of liminal space as a metaphor for the current transition to the digital era. We are not fully prepared for what the future holds. Fears and worries surrounding rapid development are amplified by the potential for social problems. However, by examining human development in history, we can gain insight into our current situation and start a discussion about where we are headed. The objective of this proposal is to create a space that eases concerns about the arrival of the new digital age. This is particularly relevant to Japan, which is now at a digital …

Knot, Just Craft It, Qingxian Xu

Masters Theses

The thesis aims to explore the intersection of traditional crafts and modern design by modernizing traditional Chinese crafts like knitting and knotting. The objective is to preserve the aesthetic, cultural, and utility values embedded in these crafts while creating a series of home-scaled furnishing designs that offer a self-making experience.

By applying traditional crafts to modern daily life, the thesis seeks to give new life to the essence of traditional crafts and create new life experiences that are accessible to more consumers. The focus will be on creating modern designs that incorporate traditional knotting and knitting techniques, while also offering …

Militure, Bingdong Duan

Masters Theses

The aim of this research is to explore how individual soldier equipment can be systematically integrated into everyday life. War, as the epitome of struggle and conflict, stimulates the fundamental human instinct for survival. To achieve this end, various methods involving a wide range of fields such as technology, culture, economy, and politics are utilized. Under the driving force of survival, explorations are conducted in various areas, with individual soldier equipment being notably prominent. Nations spend a substantial amount each year on developing individual soldier equipment, which optimizes functionality to such an extent that it has formed its unique aesthetics …

Out In Thin Air, Daiqing Zhang

Masters Theses

My work often takes form in experience-charged installations underscored by phenomenology. The whys and hows behind the work mostly remain unspoken, since I would rather my work speak for itself. This writing project offered me the opportunity to comb through and tell the stories and thoughts that informed the work.

I have built a collection of documentation about the experience of having a sensitivity to moments of wonder in everyday life. These archives recorded sensuous imprints in life composed of mundane phenomena. In the collection there are images/footage of a glimpse of light leaking through cloud crevices; a brush of …

Coast To Coast, Zeyuan Ren

Masters Theses

This essay contains four bodies of work created during my graduate studies, all of which take place on either the West or East coasts, incorporating performance, photography, and video. In the first half of the paper, I examine how the theme of “displacement” is established in my initial works, and highlight the significance of the state of “being displaced” in my process of imaging and (re)understanding the ocean.

At the core of the thesis, I investigate the wave-piloting of Marshall Islanders and a particular cartographic model, the “stick chart,” which is a mnemonic device embedded with the voyager's somatic memories, …

A Study Of Dwelling, Julia Mcarthur

Masters Theses

In teasing out natural phenomena in the unbuilt environment, through admiring beauty, and emphasizing the ordinary, meaningful moments can be brought about that can cause you to be more present with yourself and the world we live in. It is important to qualify that these spaces that encompass “ordinary” moments are not intended to be “idealized spaces,” but a domain that reconciles the chaos from the peaceful and the stress from the calm that is ever apparent in our daily lives. My thesis asks: Through critiquing the modernist condition of a prescriptive ideal space, how can we better understand how …

Mistranslated, Hee Young Cha

Masters Theses

Mistranslated is an essay based on my research on the patriarchal structure that is inherent in the translation, and an attempt to challenge them through the perspective of a colored woman with a transnational background. I focus on the cognition of cultural identity that is otherwise a subject of oblivion when living in a homogenous nation. Moving between countries that predominantly share the same racial ethnicity and languages, I began to be categorized with the modifier only after I stepped into dynamics of the diasporic community – America. As my presence of cultural identity becomes increasingly apparent after being positioned …

Freedom Is A Leaky System: Living Together In The Mess, Calgary Haines-Trautman

Masters Theses

Litter is upsetting.

People upset by litter often misunderstand its sources. Those for whom state power has worked look for simple solutions that seek to surveil, fine, and punish culprits.

Reality is messy.

The path of trash from hand to landfill requires a series of successful transfers between receptacles and responsibility. Wind, accidents, and spills in automated systems complicate trash’s path from here to away. Out of this complexity, leaks accumulate—visible issues without clear causes or responsibility.

Leaks are unavoidable.

There is an irreducible gap between the world as it is and our models of it. In this mismatch, …

The Common Destiny Of Living Creatures, Xiaodai Huang

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the transformation of recycled materials and trash, into materials for jewelry making, and investigates the effects of human consumption on the environment. It is also concerned with ecological damage and biological harm by combining physical research methods with literature and data review. It also calls for consumers to reflect on their behavior and actively participate in the collective action of protecting the environment.

In this thesis, I collected and analyzed studies and information related to consumptive behavior, environmental pollution, and ecological damage. This includes academic papers, reports, statistics, and perspectives from professional organizations on consumption patterns, waste …

Vanishing Ice, Zhehao Tang

Masters Theses

Many northern cities’ magnificent civilizations, especially coastal cities, have relied on the glacial ruins left by the melt in the past. These bustling metropolises get opportunities from glacial disappearance. But now, they face potential threats from remote alpine glacial melting. Most people view this glacial disappearance indifferently. Moreover, they do not seem aware that we have a potential connection with these remote landscapes. This thesis proposes to use landscape design to raise public awareness of the glacial geological history of cities and the concern for the glacier melt, including the impact of glacial changes in the past, present, and future. …

Infinitely Incredible Configurations, Jenni Oughton

Masters Theses

As a designer, I am intent on charting out a radically different perspective on the future. To instigate movement beyond current design thinking centered on problem solving, I propose a shift toward design fiction—a deliberate and direct inquiry into the realm where design meets science fiction, and how that merges with reality. My practice uses science, speculative fiction, and technology as positive models to both generate prompts and spur design outcomes. I borrow from the author Isaac Asimov's three categories of science fiction narratives to instigate a way of structuring this design endeavor: What if ..., If only ..., If …

Flows Of Sound “Harnessing Sound As Critical Urban Resources”, Zuan Lin

Masters Theses

Transportation infrastructure serves as a vital component essential for the efficient functioning of any city. Originally, the design of transportation arterial systems aimed to improve communication and facilitate movement between different regions. Whether catering to passenger or freight transportation, these arterial routes were designed to efficiently transport large volumes of people and goods, utilizing the rapid movement of vehicles within designated spatial corridors. Undoubtedly, transportation plays a significant role in promoting the physical and economic growth of cities. However, it is crucial to recognize that this very infrastructure can also lead to the fragmentation and isolation of communities situated along …

Cities Of Tomorrow Future Urban Planning Strategies, Jingyu Ge

Masters Theses

What is the goal of urban planning? Urban planning aims to increase the urban’s resiliency. During development and achieve a balance between nature and humans. In other words, the purpose of urban planning is to achieve an urban condition that supports a quantity of urban living while being equitable, adaptable, and resilient in the short and long term together. The tipping point is a term that is used to measure the vulnerability and prevent a city from achieving its urban planning goals.

This thesis will start with an urban planning theory generation and bring a new understanding of a good …

The Incremental Ecosystem: Hybridizing Self-Built + Conventional Processes As A Solution To Urban Expansion, Shayne Serrano

Masters Theses

Already dense urban areas will inevitably require further densification and sprawl. Given the United Nations projection of 68% of the World’s population living in cities by 2050, there is an urgency to resolve matters of urban expansion. At this time, it is estimated that 25% of the world’s urban population reside within the construct of a self-built settlement. Undoubtedly, these communities face a wide range of challenges including, but not limited to, a lack of urban infrastructure necessary to support their health and wellness, a lack of transportation to the inner city, a lack of access to healthcare and educational …

Sensible Nature: To “See” As We Once Did, Yuhan Su

Masters Theses

This thesis starts with the premise that our growing dependence on tools and digital technologies has led to a gradual decline in our sensory acuity, causing a disconnect between people and nature.

To address this issue, the thesis aims to re-establish lost connections by utilizing plant-based sensorial designs that evoke emotions and instincts, reigniting empathy and intimacy with the natural world.

By utilizing these strategies, this thesis seeks to enhance our ability to perceive, connect with, and appreciate the world around us, thereby creating a stronger, more intimate relationship between humanity and the environment.

Liquid Border, Yingfan Jia

Masters Theses

A River is a mighty and constantly-evolving force, leaving behind an intricately designed and constantly changing system. Not just a river, the Rio Grande stretches all the way from Colorado before intersecting with the US-Mexico Border in southern Texas - a point where the powerful forces of nature now merge with a clearly-defined political boundary. The outcome of this is a unique ecological niche, which may often go unnoticed despite its distinctiveness.

Texas is famous for its farms and ranches, and the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas was once an agricultural hub. However, urbanization and the depletion of water …

Landscape De/Re-Construction Through Art, Manuel Gonzalez

Masters Theses

Contemporary landscape architecture practice and education primarily focus on ecological and technical interventions. The climate crisis we find ourselves in demands scientifically informed decisions and well-engineered execution of projects, but, more importantly, creativity and innovation.

The fine arts, which were once integral and foundational to design, are today largely unappreciated and appropriated. The spiritual power of Art, Aesthetics, and Beauty, explored at length through art history and theory, are often viewed as indulgent or secondary to execution. The gap between Art & Design has widened. As a result, designers face challenges in fostering in individuals the kind of care and …

City As Cemetery, Siqiao Zhao

Masters Theses

The traditional funeral service industry has enormous environmental and financial costs. In contrast, green burial, and Natural Organic Reduction (NOR), accelerate the human body’s degradation and reduce toxic substances in the land, assuming responsibility for our burden on the earth. They provide a gateway between us and the processes of nature and ask us to set aside self-consciousness to accept our oneness with the universe. By gifting our bodies back to the earth, where decomposition enriches soils and nurtures the growth of other life forms, we honor those who have transitioned to another state by continuing the cycle of renewal. …

Appropriate That Bridge: Appropriation As A Way Of Intervention, Haochen Meng

Masters Theses

Appropriation is an action of intervention in many fields, including legislation, culture and design. To appropriate something (or someplace) means to violate its original ownership and claim it, which in most cases is illegal. However, appropriation doesn’t have to be an illegal act: it can be permitted by the authority and become a “reuse” of an object or space. For example, street dining is often authorized by city governments, so they indicate a transition of the ownership of the street from the vehicles and pedestrians to the restaurants and diners. In architectural terms, appropriating a space (or structure) mostly equals …

Uncovering Emotional Contamination: Five Sites Of Trauma, Abigail Zola

Masters Theses

“Emotional contamination,” describes residual feelings associated with a space where a negative or tragic event occurred to an individual or group either personally, historically, or politically. Emotional contamination affects people’s associations with place and informs their willingness to spend time in them. This project considers a set of design principles rooted in uncovering and acknowledging the lifespan of a site, and considers how this acknowledgment can exist as an urban system rather than an individual architectural artifact. My thesis work analyzes five case studies in Berlin where political and economic factors determined the result of intervention, and how these sites …

Toronto Rewilded, Forrest Meyer

Masters Theses

Global urbanism has left almost no room for native ecology, this has an adverse effect on biodiversity, so adverse that biodiversity has been lost at an alarming rate globally, accounting for between 50-70% of species eradication. Having witnessed firsthand on the land I grew up on, the immense positives of native plantings on the creation of biodiversity, I am eager to implement native plantings in an architectural thesis. Not only is this important to flora and fauna, and the environment, but also for the biophilic connection humans crave with their environs. The reintroduction and preservation of native plantings, species, and …

Unpacked: Consumer Culture In Suburban Spaces, Jaime Dunlap

Masters Theses

The thesis critically analyzes the ways in which the sacredness of man-made goods and consumption culture have shaped the American home and the ways in which the single-family American home acts as both an architectural enforcer and container of consumer culture.

Consumption culture is the never-ending yearning to purchase our right of being in this world. The idea that, through the ownership of things, we feel connected to, equal to, and even above others. This can be examined not only through the relationships and constant acquisition of things but also through the relationships and acquisitions to the built environment.

There …

Unearthing Complexity: Tangible Histories Of Water And Earth, Alexis Violet

Masters Theses

Unearthing Complexity investigates conceptions of time and surface through geological stories of the water and earth. Building on theories of deep time, hydrofeminism, critical zones, and grounding, I hope to foster a deeper awareness of time scales other than our own and a more tangible understanding of the embodied experience of matter in the universe. Working toward a new literacy of the water and earth in which they are recognized as living, changing bodies to which we are inherently tied at a molecular level, the site of this multiscalar inquiry occurs in the coastal zones of the Narragansett Bay where …