Architecture Commons^™

Engineering-Enhanced Theatre: How Engineering Involvement Can Aid Regional Theatres, Albert M. Le

Architectural Engineering

Engineering and theatre are disciplines not often associated with each other within regional and small theatre companies in the United States. The distinction between the two fields of study is not simply from the fundamental differences between how each field is taught and practiced, but also the difficulties encountered within a scope of theatre often constrained with limited budget and time for each production. However, when beginning to explore the intersection between engineering and theatre, it is found that the empirical nature of current theatrical practices can be countered, and scenic design and construction can be re-envisioned with engineering involvement …

Building Black Manhattan: Architecture, Art, And The Politics Of Respectability, 1857–1914, Jessica Larson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“Building Black Manhattan” is the first study to examine the architectural contributions of Black women reformers to the urban development of New York City between the Civil War and the Great Migration. Through the construction of charitable and reform institutions throughout Manhattan, they articulated a strategy of racial uplift through deliberate spatial construction.

As reform work was one of the very few arenas in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in which women had a significant public voice, the buildings constructed to facilitate reformers’ work encoded the social, racial, and gendered demands of women into their designs. These institutions included …

Settling Dust, Unsettling Ground, Olivia Newroz

Masters Theses

Understanding dust as a material system that blurs the line between ground and atmosphere, I developed a dust machine as a tool for making dust legible at the human scale. While the blurriness of ground is visualized at both particle and planetary scales, at the human scale, it becomes less evident. Drawing from Lisa’s Moffitt’s discussion of “environmental models”–that is, models that don’t merely simulate phenomena, in this case dust, but rather produce the underlying force itself––I produced visualizations of how dust, as both a grounded and atmospheric element, intertwines ground and weather across scales, through a cyclical process of …

Interview! Virgil Abloh! By Chuck Anderson And Benjamin Edgar (Internet Journal, Issue 001: 17-22, 2024), Benjamin Edgar Gott, Chuck Anderson, Virgil Abloh

Digital Laboratory: Publisher of Internet Journal

A historical article sourced from www.thebrilliance.com, a relic of internet culture initially started by Benjamin Edgar Gott and Chuck Anderson in the 2000s, later joined by Virgil Abloh. The blog was eventually retired and now serves as an archive of the beginning of three monumental careers in the creative industries. This interview consists of the two original co-creators of THEBRILLIANCE !!! interviewing the late artist, designer, and architect, Virgil Abloh. Originally published on the website blog in 2013.

Effortless Mindfulness Toolkit: Easy Meditation Scripts To Begin Each Class., Brett Whysel

Open Educational Resources

The Effortless Mindfulness in the Classroom Toolkit is an open educational resource designed to create happier classrooms, boost student engagement, and foster a sense of community through brief, effective mindfulness exercises. This comprehensive toolkit provides educators with everything they need to seamlessly integrate mindfulness practices into their teaching routines, regardless of prior experience. The toolkit includes introductory slides, 15 ready-to-use meditation scripts, and accompanying audio recordings, covering a variety of mindfulness techniques such as focused breathing, body scans, and loving-kindness meditations. Each meditation is paired with a reflective prompt to deepen student engagement and reinforce the benefits of mindfulness. Additionally, …

Revisiting Bodies In Interior Design Practice, Paramita Atmodiwirjo, Yandi Andri Yatmo

Interiority

Addressing human bodies is inevitable in interior inquiries and practices. Integrating knowledge about human bodies into design practice can extend beyond the idea of bodies as merely static entities with fixed dimensions. The idea of bodies as the basis for spatial design practice views the human body as a living entity that dwells, occupies, moves, and engages in space. Knowledge about bodies as the basis of practice also needs to view bodies' presence as sociocultural entities. The emergence of the virtual environment provides another context with a shifting materiality of bodies and interior spaces. This issue of Interiority acknowledges the …

Assessing Relations Among Visual Variables In Hotel Lobbies Using Deep Learning, Taraneh Saniei, Mansoureh Kianersi, Shervan Fekri-Ershad

Interiority

To understand the relationships between cognitive variables like visual complexity, coherence, and colour contrast in interior spaces, direct numerical analysis is crucial. Conventional approaches are limited due to the brain's struggle to process visual information without cognitive manipulation. However, advancements in artificial intelligence enable direct examinations. This study used a convolutional neural network to assess the intensity of colour contrasts in images of 5-star hotel lobby interiors with high levels of coherence and complexity. The results indicated that visually complex lobby interiors have less warm-cool and dark-light contrast but more pronounced complementary contrast than coherent lobby interiors. Additionally, a negative …

Framing And Visualising Nationhood: Istiqlal Mosque And The Interiority Of The Independence Square, Jakarta, Tutin Aryanti, Amanda Achmadi

Interiority

Studies on interiority have profoundly shifted the perspective of looking at urban space as a socially constructed architectural product. This study examines the meanings invested by Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia and the patron of the mosque, in Istiqlal Mosque (1962) and the Independence Square using the lens of interiority. Rather than looking at the mosque as a single monument, this study considers the mosque and its time and spatial contexts as an architectural unity to make Sukarno's vision of nationhood manifest through the interiority of the Independence Square area in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital city. This study employed an …

Exploring The Dutch Bruynzeel Kitchen Through The Negotiations Of Its Two Designers, Limperg And Zwart, Selin Geerinkcx, Els De Vos

Interiority

During the interwar period, numerous endeavours were made to develop a rational kitchen, also called a laboratory kitchen, namely one that prioritised labour-saving efficiency through thoughtful layout and design. Catherine Beecher's work is often credited as its starting point. By synthesising household reformers' experiences and architects’ design expertise, scholars have extensively examined how rational kitchens evolved. This paper discusses the conception of the standardised Dutch Bruynzeel Kitchen (1938) by the collaborative efforts of two designers with distinct yet complementary interior design profiles. Renowned Dutch designer Piet Zwart, widely recognised for his contributions, finalised the technical drawings and promotional materials for …

Uncertain Future Dwelling: Emergent Interiors Of The Metaverse, Belinda J. Dunstan, Michael Stonham, Demet Dincer

Interiority

Contemporarily, a flood of digital interior architectural imagery has emerged of spaces developed for the Metaverse, a forthcoming immersive 3D virtual world. These spaces are not bound by the conventions of architectural practice nor the demands of the physical world, providing an opportunity for design exploration and innovation in the future of interiors and positing challenges to core architectural concepts that have accompanied traditional practice. This research offers a visual analysis of aesthetic trends and new typologies present in the interior architectural spaces designed for the Metaverse. The analysis features a curated and collaged collection of works from ten creators …

Inheritance And Development Of Chinese Kang In Interior Space, Long Yang, Safial Aqbar Zakaria

Interiority

The Chinese kang is an ancient technology that combines an integrated household system for cooking, sleeping, and heating. Most of the existing research focuses on the energy performance of Chinese kang and its impact on the interior environment and tries to adapt it to the modern interior space through the improvement of its technology. However, if we only focus on the research and improvement of the technical level of Chinese kang, it is not conducive to the effective inheritance and development of the culture. This paper studies the concept of 'inheritance and development' of Chinese kang culture more comprehensively …

Examining Dwelling Interior Conditions For Informal Settlement Upgrading Along The Mae Kha Canal, Chiang Mai, Patcharaporn Duangputtan, Nobuo Mishima

Interiority

This article delves into the internal features of habitat in slum-like informal settlements, focusing on the challenges faced by the locale in the Mae Kha Canal informal settlements in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The study aims to clarify the dwelling characteristics as well as understand the interplay between housing and the living circumstances of the occupants. A mixed-methods approach was utilised, primarily employing field surveys, house investigation including arrangement and utilisation of space, and in-depth interviews with residents. A total of 80 households were sampled and analysed. The findings reveal that the previous relocation plans made by local authorities, which offered …

Building Materials Cut From The Earth: A Look At Sod Construction Around The World And In New Mexico, Giulia Caporuscio

Architecture and Planning ETDs

Terrón, or sod, is an earthen building technology that is being lost. The blocks are cut directly from the ground, generally along banks of bodies of fresh water, marshlands, or grassland valleys. The resulting blocks are clay rich with plant root systems that provide strength to the construction material. This building material is found in archeological and modern structures around the world. Today the material and knowledge behind this earthen technology is being lost.

This paper starts by summarizing other studies of sod construction in Indigenous cultures of the Americas, homesteaders of the Plains of the United States and Canada …

Alhambra Alcazaba In Granada (Historical And Architectural Study), Ibrahim Abu Irmies

Journal of the Arab American University مجلة الجامعة العربية الامريكية للبحوث

The research focused on Alcazaba, fortress, of the Alhambra, located in the city of Granada in Al-Andalus, the reasons for its name, its geographical location, the reasons for its construction and how it is different from the old Alcazaba in Granada. It also discussed the historical stages of its construction since the era of the Umayyad State, the Zirid Dynasty as well as the era of the al-Muwahhidin and finally during the era of the state of Nasrid. The study was also supported by some evidence from the original historical sources, and important signs from the history of the internal …

Which Tools Can Aid The Management Of Intangible Cultural Heritage In Community Based Heritage Organizations In Cairo? A Case Study Of Shubra’S Archive, Mienke Zwemstra

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a comprehensive overview of cultural heritage management in Cairo, focusing particularly on intangible heritage and the potential benefits of digital tools in this field. It highlights the marginalization of community-based organizations in the broader narrative of heritage management in Cairo, along with the limited alignment and collaboration between local, national and international heritage institutions. Drawing from ethnographic research conducted at the Shubra’s Archive (SARD), this study identifies the challenges faced by such organizations, including the reliance on volunteers and international funding for mission implementation. It emphasizes the importance of strategic planning and collaboration with municipal and national …

The Role Of Digital Citizenship Using Modern Communication And Media Tools In Enhancing Social Responsibility Among Students Of The Middle East University, Ramzi Mubarak Al Tarawneh, Sahar Mohammad Al Tarawneh

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

The study aims to explore the role of digital citizenship using modern communication and media tools in enhancing social responsibility among MEU students. A descriptive-analytical approach was used. The study employed a simple random sampling method, with a sample size of 421 students. The findings indicated a statistically significant impact of digital citizenship using modern communication and media tools on social responsibility in its various dimensions. Both digital citizenship using modern communication and media tools and social responsibility were practiced at a high level. Furthermore, a strong correlation was found between digital citizenship using modern communication and media tools and …

Ai Integration In Cultural Heritage Conservation – Ethical Considerations And The Human Imperative, Kholoud Ghaith

International Journal of Emerging and Disruptive Innovation in Education : VISIONARIUM

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the conservation of cultural heritage marks a significant transformation in preservation methodologies, heralding both innovative solutions and complex ethical dilemmas. This article undertakes a comprehensive examination of the multifaceted role AI plays in the conservation and restoration of cultural artifacts, buildings, and sites, underscoring the irreplaceable value of human skills and ethical judgment in this domain. Through an analysis of current research, case studies, and insights from professionals in the field, the paper elucidates how AI technologies—encompassing machine learning algorithms, digital twinning, and predictive maintenance—can enhance the accuracy and efficiency of conservation efforts. …

Wild Joy: An Exploration In Queer Spatial Dynamics, Kipper Thomas Reinsmith

Masters Theses

What does it mean to feel represented in a space?

What does a trans space look like?

How can we queer our interior spaces?

Our world is crafted by the many designers that have come before us. These systems, products, and spaces are built upon assumptions of the bodies that will use and occupy them—namely cisgender, able-bodied, straight folks.

Designing and creating objects as a trans person is an act of radical nature. To take up space, to design for trans luxury, for the sake of beauty, for joy itself, feels counterintuitive to the narratives we’ve been served: that of …

America, Dreaming., Sarah Meftah

Masters Theses

There is a version

of America

that exists

only in dreams,

a kind of folklore,

shrouded in images,

technicolor interiors,

wrapped in plastic,

ghosts of recent past

to haunt and guide;

a constant reminder.

Wishful thinking

a constructed imaginary,

one I can hold in my hand.

Popular culture and spectacle, America and the domestic ideal, capitalism and the collective unconscious of a national identity. As an artist, I am interested in the myriad images that manifest for a viewer when they think of the spectacle of American pop culture, its domestic archetypes, and the material worship it revolves around. My …

Emotional Factory, Yukun Cui

Masters Theses

该项目设想将上海一个历史悠久的仓库改造成一个创新的、以情感为主题的联合办公空间，超越传统的办公环境。在工作环境质量深刻影响生产力和幸福感的时代，该项目旨在创造一个协调身体、心理和情绪健康的空间。该设计融合了促进健康的元素，例如健身设施、美食和丰富的绿色植物，确保居住者在整个工作日中保持动力和灵感。该项目涉及个人与其环境之间的动态互动。认识到传统的办公室布局往往会限制移动和空间感知，我们的设计引入了一个固有的动态工作空间。灵活的布局，可调节的家具和可移动的隔板使空间能够适应各种活动和需求。互动元素和视觉刺激全天变化，鼓励探索和互动，而不需要持续的身体运动。使用不同的纹理、颜色和照明方案创造了一种多感官体验，使空间充满活力和不断变化的感觉。通过结合这些元素，该项目旨在重新定义现代工作空间，创造一个不仅能提高生产力，而且能丰富人类工作体验的环境。这种创新方法旨在为全球联合办公空间设定新标准，培养社区意识、创造力和幸福感。最终，该项目旨在创造一个开创性的环境，增强人类的工作体验，展示工作空间设计在广泛影响和改善情绪和心理健康方面的潜力。

Making Room, Rachel Strompf

Masters Theses

Massachusetts is the only state in the United States with a right-to-shelter law which guarantees shelter for families with children and pregnant women.¹ As of February 2024, 3,500 homeless families with children are being sheltered in a motel or hotel with an average length of stay of 14 months, because traditional family shelters have reached capacity.^2,3 While these families are provided temporary shelter, these shelters do not allow for the development of a true sense of “home.” While a motel meets the needs of rudimentary shelter, motels were never designed as long-term accommodations and certainly not with a …

Snowstorm, Caleb Shafer

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the connection between memory and place-building, focusing on how personal narratives and physical models compress details to reveal their core essence. Memories serve as a bridge between time and space, allowing for a non-linear experience of time and offering a unique perspective on the existence and transformation of places. Although this compression involves some loss, it generates new narratives and insights into life while examining the power structures and cultural systems inherent in representation.

Umbrales (Thresholds), Maureen Scally

Masters Theses

Umbrales is Spanish for Thresholds.

Thresholds are by nature ambivalent spaces, inviting two distinct realities into play. As an artist, I materialize my experiences as a migrant into an architectural form. A series of textile walls shape a space that is simultaneously interior and exterior so that the audience circulates in the negative space in between. It is in the construction of this threshold condition — a simultaneous placement, neither here nor there — that a complex narrative of place unfolds.

Unconditioning Air, Weijia Deng

Masters Theses

Unconditioning Air rethinks the boundaries contrived through environmental control. For more than a century, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) defined the boundaries of interior air. The regime and tools of mechanical conditioning promise stability and manageability of indoor air quality at the expense of external phenomena, and by extension, any complexity or fluctuation in the environment. As a result, air conditioning premises that ideal interior comfort is “bubble-like”, requiring increasingly standardized and highly regimented regulatory tools. The plethora of patent drawings, duct specifications, and ASHRAE comfort codes produce an oppressively tightening grip over indoor air and comfort, rendering both …

Searching For The Hyperobject: Crystals As Transscalar Vehicles, Jay Costello

Masters Theses

When I touch the street outside my house, I'm touching Los Angeles—a contiguous vector of material bisecting a continent. A slab, a stone, dust and oil, a googolplex of tightly packed anisotropic particles... At nightfall, I sneak to the edge of the highway and break off a piece. 'What does it mean for a worm to be aware of the scale of the planet?' Bruno Latour's evocative questioning of scalar jumps prompts an existentialism that places me somewhere between the hyperlocal and the massively distributed. Like a cosmic traveler floating through the universe, I feel adrift. I look around, grasping …

Landing: Body, Site, Material, Renata Berta

Masters Theses

I believe that in order to build on the land, I must establish a profound relationship with it. As an outsider to New England territories, I actively seek this connection through immersive activities such as swimming, surfing, climbing, and extensive walks, immersing myself in the land to better understand it and synchronize with its rhythms. In my artistic and architectural practice, I explore dissolving traditional boundaries, emphasizing the vital return to the land to create a more responsive and embodied architecture that symbiotically engages with the landscape

Within this ongoing project, “Landing: Body, Site, Material,” I conceptualize my body not …

Urban Looms, Recoloring City, Ella Son

Masters Theses

The metropolis has been a dominant and defining aspect of my life. Acutely aware of visual illusions created by the choreographed and unchoreographed movements of people in the streets and the distortions of light and shadow on the glass facades of skyscrapers, I reinterpret the patterns and colors that are in constant interplay into a collection of architectural textiles.

With an emphasis on optical layering, these immersive installations recreate the quality of being spellbound in the city. Scaled to emphasize verticality and activated through transparent overlays and dense color interplay, a rich visual field is activated. In their application, the …

Memory And Experiential Lab, Yufan Xu

Masters Theses

In the tapestry of our lives, there exist moments and places that we can never revisit, scenes etched into our memories that fade with the passage of time. These experiences and memories are treasures, provide us with an anchor to our past. Unfortunately, many of these moments are like fireflies in the night, here one moment and gone the next. Yet, they remain invaluable, forever etched in our hearts and minds. I wonder if it is possible to trigger cherished past experiences and memories in our daily lives, allowing individuals to re-experience similar moments, thereby nourishing the spiritual world. Therefore, …

Patchwork: 76km Between Juárez And El Paso, Naheyla Medina

Masters Theses

Located at the western edge of Texas where the Río Bravo ~ Rio Grande, becomes the border between México and the United States. Resides a spectacle of misconceptions that, along with an expansive corten steel border wall embedded into the earth, live to suppress the histories, culture, and environment entangled together like patchwork along this border space. The built environment influences our daily experiences, and our daily experiences can often influence our built environment. This project seeks to leverage, murals as a medium, creative writing, and architectural representations, to rework the mapping between Mexico and the US. Honing in on …

Frontier: Land, Architecture, And Abstraction, Jacob Boatman

Masters Theses

The abstraction of land is a colonial process by which physical land is transformed into a conceptual or symbolic entity. This transformation occurs through various economic, architectural, and cultural practices that imbue land with abstract values, meanings, and functions beyond its physicality. This includes the division of land into parcels for economic transactions, the design and construction of built environments that shape human interactions with the land, and the cultural narratives and representations that ascribe significance to particular landscapes. Through abstraction, colonial powers devalue indigenous perspectives and relationships to the land, reducing them to mere obstacles in the path of …