Architecture Commons^™

Hot Swap, Brian J. Mccracken

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Project Abstract : The current home personal computer allows for the exchange of parts so the user can easily upgrade or repair components as the users needs change. Hot Swapping, is the process of exchanging, upgrade/downgrade components with in a computer while the system is fully operational. The idea of maintaining a complex computer system, while it is fully operational and certain components can be exchanged as needed, has direct applications to the construction of a modern home. Current stick-frame housing techniques for home construction do not easily allow for major changes, or updates to the system, without portions of …

Awareness Of Daylighting On Student Learning In An Educational Facility, Alana S. Pulay

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

This study examines how awareness of the interior architecture of a building, specifically daylighing, affects students academic performance. Extensive research has proven that the use of daylighting in a classroom can significantly enhance students’ academic success. The problem statement and purpose of this study is to determine if student awareness of daylighting in their learning environment affects academic performance compared to students with no knowledge of daylighting. Research and surveys in existing and newly constructed high schools were conducted to verify the results of this study. These design ideas and concepts could influence the architecture and design industry to advocate …

Hot Rod Theory, Ryan D. Henrickson

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

This thesis investigation will focus on the cultivation of a new design theory as a third option focusing on the area amongst the existing strategies of Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse. Preemptively before the theory can be developed, an understanding of the term Hot Rod must be clearly understood to fully realize the merits it may hold for architecture. The link between Hot Rod and Architecture as a generative exploration, from which architecture can relate specifically, brings out their historical significance. Both of which have individually shared and lost within a subculture to mainstream cultural transition.

Understandably, with the usage …

Piece To The Puzzle: Sustainable Elements Fitting Together, Heather C. Nelson

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Sustainability, green, and eco-friendly are very popular topics right now. Those words and many like them are being used in almost every industry. But it’s not just a trend, it’s a necessary movement. Using green building elements as a starting point for design, just as site, typology, and clients’ request are used, is how a sustainable building is created. These elements must be adjusted for every site because local materials, climate and community all play a role.

Deep investigation of the projects context is important. There are many factors of the site to consider. Physical aspects while important are just …

Icontinuum, Andrew S. West

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Many old Olympic stadiums are “white elephants” because they are valuable and the owners cannot dispose of them, but the cost of upkeep is out of proportion. This was proven to be a problem in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics: Beijing National Stadium costs $9 million to maintain annually and there was not a permanent tenant slated to use the facility. The stadium has seen only two major events since the Games concluded. This is a problem. This project proposes an Olympic stadium that is designed with a secondary purpose. London has already taken steps to improve the problem …

Connection Through Creation Of Place: A Multimodal Center For Downtown Omaha, Bradley R. Isham

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Proposals and advocates for the reestablishment of the Omaha Streetcar have been around since the program was first ended in 1955. Similarly, regional passengers through Omaha once experienced both the Union Station (Durham Western Heritage Museum) and the Burlington Station, both were praised for their architecture, ease and comfort of travel. Passenger rail today operates at only a fraction of what it used to. A strong opponent to the railroad has always been the automobile. The automobile with its freedom and speed of technology has quickly surpassed the train and has quickly surpassed the train and has taken full control …

Future Bionic, Ryan J. Huber

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Future Bionic is a study into how biological processes can be reinterpreted and applied to revolutionize the idea of performance in buildings. The term bionic refers to the combining of a natural system and a mechanical system or technology [bionics]. Biomimicry refers to the copying or imitation of a natural systems processes [biomimicry]. Future Bionic is a hybrid of both concepts, in which I am looking at how principles of bionics and biomimicry can be used to design a built environment that begins to blur the edges between the natural and man-made world. Both bionics and biomimicry can be used …

Bleeding Edge, C. Brett Rottinghaus

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Memorial Stadium can be a better contributor to it’s environ’s. The stadium currently is the largest element on the University of Nebraska at Lincoln’s Campus; however, it is used the least. In the year 2009 it was used for 12 events most of which were Cornhusker football games. Other events include a Larry the Cable Guy comedy show and State High School tournament finals. The circulation around the stadium is dynamic in the sense that it has a high level of fluctuation in its traffic. The traffic is either High density or low. I call this being turned into a …

Economy Obsolete, Ashley K. Byars

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

NAS Alameda_Economy Obsolete:

Obsolescence: a decline in the value of equipment or of a product brought about by an introduction of new technology or by changes in demand.

Obsolescence is a term of growing importance in the global economy today due to advancements in technology, changing economic conditions and evolving cultural and social desires. One does not have to search the city, the web, or even one’s immediate neighborhood very thoroughly before running across discarded cell phones, microwaves, and other common household goods. Once an object is outdated, it is replaced with its successor and abandoned. Personal consumer items are …

Drivethru 2050, Thomas W. Weingarten Jr.

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

This thesis explores the architectural ramifications brought about by increased integration of our changing personal vehicles and the emerging business model of locally incorporated drive-thru/online shopping.

Site 27th & Capital Parkway, Lincoln, NE

Goals Building Integrated Vehicular Shopping

Short Term Create an architectural system for retail development that is more conscious of the personal vehicle and associated vehicular land uses (i.e. parking)

Long Term Reduce the need for under-utilized parking “dead-space” at retail destination centers

Riparian Efformation, Laura C. Brodersen

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

This thesis deals with two widespread issues facing contemporary society and the environment which it finds itself: 1. It is often assumed that what and where one calls home is straightforward, that our sense of home and identity are singularly rooted in a local place. Rather than being seen as an integral aspect of social life, mobility has been regarded as a special and temporary phenomenon classified under such headings as migration, refugee studies, and tourism. But increasingly, modern forms of dwelling, working, and playing involve circulating through a geographically extended network of social relations and a multiplicity of widely …

Dwellevator, Jacob A. Slobodnik

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

dwellevator (dwel-uh-vey-ter) -noun 1. a rehabilitative response to homelessness 2. the rehabilitation of derelict grain elevators

rehabilitate (ree-hu-bil-i-teyt) -verb 1. to restore to a condition of good health, ability to work, or the like.

It is estimated that there are over 3 million homeless individuals in the United States at any given time. Today’s homeless are far different than those of the past. History would have it that many of the past homeless were vagabonds looking to escape the rigid constraints of society, in search of a life with no rules, no restrictions, and most importantly, no responsibilities. The majority …

Aim - Austin Intermodal Transit Center, Nathan E. Bicak

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

This project will propose a new intermodal/multimodal center for the city of Austin, Texas that will serve both transit needs as well as social functions. Through research and programming it will become evident what types of spaces are necessary to carry out the latter.

Austin is currently in the process of researching and engineering a mass transit system for its ever-growing transportation needs, specifically a light-rail system. In the late 1960s Austin’s population was roughly what Lincoln’s is today, about 250,000 people. The greater Austin area now totals more than two million people. Through the course of this growth, little …

Continuing Care Retirement Community In North Downtown Omaha, Jesse J. Mcconnell

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Over the next few years North Downtown Omaha will evolve into one of Omaha’s most exciting and active neighborhoods. The neighborhood already has started with the Qwest Center opening in 2003 and the new College World Series Ball Park opening in spring of 2011. There are condos, hotels and retail shops springing up all over the area. Young people, empty nesters, and seniors are moving to this area to participate in the active lifestyle, enjoy the walkability of the area, and take part in the vibrant street level activity.

A new model for a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) is …

Saturating Suburbia, Erin N. Ostendorf

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Something is wrong and we must make it right… or at least find the most effective starting point to effect change. Global warming is a complex issue; there is no one cause, no single effect. It is a problem that has become connected to nearly every facet of today’s society. From species extinction and intensified weather events, to food shortages and rising sea levels, global warming has the potential to change our lives forever. As we face the greatest threat ever posed to mankind, it becomes a question of what to do now? ¬This project began as an exploration of …

Chicago Transportation Adaptation, Amy J. Kraus

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

While living in Chicago, without a car, I developed a deep interest in the

network of transportation that enveloped the city. The freedom from parking tickets, traffic jams and pricey parking rates was liberating to say the least, especially after coming from Nebraska, a culture dominated by the automobile that I have participated in since the age of fourteen.

As I studied abroad in Europe last year, I chose to document public transportation in cities visited as an independent study. While traveling to over 100 cities in nineteen different countries during five months of backpacking on three continents, I took …

Science Fiction / Science Fact: Collaboration For Architectural Design In Outer Space, Chad E. Kruse

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

SCIENCE FICTION AND SCIENCE FACT are typically perceived as two competing perspectives: reality and fantasy lie in two separate planes. In actuality, science fact has much to gain from studying science fiction as technological advancement and possibility of the past century allows yesterday’s science fiction to become today’s science fact; the impossible becomes possible.

For millennia, the concept of human spaceflight remained a dream far from reach, merely science fiction. However, on April 12, 1961, fantasy became reality when the first human broke free of the Earth’s atmosphere setting free the imagination of possibility, allowing humans to inhabit the harsh …

Curating American Culture: Architectural Representation Through The World’S Fairs, Erin L. Wencel

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Within the culture I have grown up in, most building types possess and conform to a standard. The standard has an aesthetic appearance, a certain scale, and possibly the most

relevant at this time, a predetermined place in society. Schools, fast food restaurants and homes are identifiable at a level far from an architectural standpoint. Thus, the designer is prompted with a range of decisions from conformation to innovation. Most of the people within these cities accept and favor the sense of familiarity. Conclusions and arguments form why our culture is inclined this way [comfort, control, societal hierarchy], and to …

Rural Renewal, Stacey L. Hageman

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

This project looks to combat the decline of rural communities by employing innovative planning and design processes in order to create a sustainable plan that incorporates quality of life, community pride, walkability/active living, and innovative and energyefficient design; specifically in the rural community of Cambridge, Nebraska.

A site analysis and needs assessment explore and define the requirements of the study and aide in the creation of focused goals and objectives. Planned Unit Developments and Form-Based Codes are implemented in order to influence a creative and innovative plan for the subdivision.

Earth-sheltering highly influences the structure of buildings within the site. …

Phasic Edge, Toby D. Olsen

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Costal architecture in the 21st Century carries an inherent concern with regard to its future viability as global sea levels are inching higher. Costal cities and urban infrastructure around the world will face the prospect of being uninsurable, unsaleable, and uninhabitable. From an architectural and sustainable standpoint, abandonment of coastal cities, infrastructure, and property is an unthinkable solution to a very real problem. Perhaps an even more dismal forecast includes the possibility of mil-lions of climate refugees and their respective loss of local cultures. This project aims to call attention to a very real threat facing this generation of emerging …

Lindauer Interpretive And Environmental Center, Robert W. Zander

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

In today’s world we have altogether become over consumers. We throw away countless items without thinking twice about it. Many of these used items, though at first glance may seem useless, can serve an adaptive purpose. Take, for instance, the cardboard toilet paper roll. Instead of throwing them out once the last sheet of paper is removed, they can be reused as seedling canisters for the greenhouse making it easy to transplant in the Spring. The same can be said of our buildings. Instead of razing a tired building, let’s make new use of it. Therefore, this project is an …

Erasure, Kevin A. Augustyn

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Intent for the project was generated by gaining an understanding of world societies and the volatile nature of the systems that help to structure them. The consumptive attitude of the world and its people has, up until now, been fed by the abundant resources of the planet, but current trends show a planet that is no longer capable of supporting these attitudes. Many different steps have been taken to alleviate the current issues, but most of them focus on developing ways in which people can continue to act as they have in the past while not causing environmental damage. People …

Urban Conagraculture, Dale J. Luebbert

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Current pressures in today’s world caused me to investigate strategies of change in the organization of society to promote a more effi cient existence. Globalization, a movement characterized by the dissemination of economies, ethnicities, media, ideas, technologies, and production; has become today’s reality. The shift from imperialism to globalism has caused a decline in the power and importance of nation states and a rise in the power of multi-national corporations operating within this globalized society.

The investigation focuses on globalism’s physicality and the fact that its existence is reliant upon access to inexpensive energies, which is not today’s reality. This …

Re:[Work], Bradly J. Brooks

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Globalization is shrinking the world. This is bringing about dynamic possibilities for information, service and intellectual property exchange. This shrinking and leveling of the globe will usherin ideas and services from areas of the world that add new exciting perspectives to ideas of collaboration, design and technology.

While Architecture has embraced the periphery of revaluating space and even cyber-space with BIM, outsourcing, exchange hubs, cyber-conferencing and plan exchange systems it still lacks the opportunity for a larger pool of ideas and collaboration which, in the long run will only diminish the Architects ever shrinking influence in the built environment. To …

The Rehabilitation Of The Chicago And North-Western Railroad Freight Depot In Fremont, Nebraska And The Redevelopment Of The Surrounding Area, Troy A. Einspahr

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

The former Chicago and North-Western Railroad Freight Depot in Fremont, Nebraska, designed by Frost and Granger, sits empty, next to the railroad yards at the southern edge of the downtown area. The surrounding area contains commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential uses. The one-hundred year-old depot is significant because of its history and its architecture and because it is one of the most substantial buildings adjacent to the railroad yards. The preservation objectives require an adaptive reuse.

The intent of this project was to investigate how the historic preservation of a significant building can affect the preservation and revitalization of the …

Cardiac Resuscitation: Examining Rural Heartland Development Through An Ecological Lens, Jay D. Anderson

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Throughout southwest Iowa, prime farm land is being sold and then purchased by local real estate developers. These developers are creating housing clusters throughout the countryside, especially in the rural Loess Hills area. These housing clusters have similar covenant restrictions imposed by the developers, but few if any address larger and more critical architectural, social, environmental and ecological issues. Recently one of these developers purchased some land from my family for this very reason. Knowing what will happen to this land, I chose to devote my efforts in order to provide a better, more eco-friendly solution to the inevitable consequences …

School At The Zoo: Enhancing Education Through Site And Design, Jolene L. Santema

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

As the concern for quality public education In America continues to grow, parents, educators, and citizens seek alternative methods for meeting students' needs. My Intent for this design thesis project is to explore one such method: the placement of an educational facility In a non-traditional setting. Whether or not this method actually Improves public education is not the focus of my project; instead, the development and design of a facility that promotes learning, encourages conservation, enhances creative problem-solving and forward thinking, and integrates real world situations In an educational context is the focus of my thesis. The fulfillment of these …

Adaptation: Reunion Square, Paul D. Becker

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

The intent of this project is an adaptive reuse of the Reunion Building on the city campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The purpose of this scheme is to allow the student to gain additional expertise in the fields of historic reuse, adaptive reuse, and historic preservation as an exploratory exercise into a possible career path. In addition to the exploration of an adaptive reuse, the student intends to focus on the research of architectural precedent, investigating the personal design process through drawings and diagramming in the digital and physical systems, and visual and verbal presentation skills.

Re-Define Urban: Investigating The Nature Of The Rural Midwest Cities And Their Urban Environment, Bruce A. Yoder

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

The project will be examining the current master plan of Red Oak, IA to focus in on a deteriorating portion of the city just south of the original town square. There are several buildings being placed on the national record for historic buildings and the area surrounding these buildings is in poor condition. The Thomas D. Murphy Calendar Building is one that is currently being renovated into a large assisted living complex and will serve as a catalyst for new development in the surrounding neighborhood.

The Site in question will have a broad master plan performed to identify both the …

_Reinterpreting The Hutong, Allison F. Struck

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

China is a nation growing at an alarming rate economically, socially, and structurally. It is expanding so rapidly that cities literally emerge overnight. However, Chinese architecture is caught in a very evident struggle between the past and the future. The past presents them with a long tradition of Imperial architecture in which spaces were emphasized rather than buildings. Construction consisted mainly of wood, and buildings were presented in a horizontal layout. This contrasts deeply with the steel “western” skyscrapers being constructed at a furious rate today. So, how can a culture with such a rich history of traditional building reject …