Architecture Commons^™

The Factories: Bringing A Derelict Icon Into The New Age, Douglas Reid

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The Chatillion Factories were constructed in 1927, and added on to in subsequent years. The factories \changed owners and purposes many times over the following decades, until at some point in the 90’s the factories were left mostly abandoned. This industrial complex occupies some prime real estate near downtown Rome. It is just under a mile from the rapidly growing Broad Street, a quarter of a mile to State Mutual Stadium, and right across the road from Ridge Ferry Park. As such, it has the potential to act as a central location to help unite these three nodes of Rome. …

Defining The Relationships Of Authority, Noah Bieber

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis explores the “disciplinary mechanisms” that define individuals in space. The formation of tactics into a strategy galvanizes an individual into what Michel Foucault describes as a “docile body” (Foucault 1978,135). These tactics find traction in the classification, coding, and organizations of bodies in space and time, through repetition, observations, and documentation. The dynamic between these tactics forms the strategies to create docile bodies.

In the end, discipline mechanisms are used everyday subversively and or subliminally. However, good or bad, we are byproducts of our environment and under a system of control that coerces us to act and behave …

A Bite Of Architecture: Farm-To-Table & Dining Experience, Steven Yang

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The way people experience a city is its food and architecture. It has the most cultural impact, by creating its own unique social interactions and experiences within our urban fabric and food. The architecture provides a sense of place and creates an artificial framework that ties in through harmony in the environment through research and design by promoting where food is coming from? How to grow and prepare food, and creates a unique dining experience. The project intent is not to create a food hub, but to create a framework that builds from a food hub all the way to …

Inner City Artscape, Michelle Nguyen

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The research of this project deals with multiple disciplines such as art, culture, and social connection that ultimately benefits human development and well-being. Through the architectural urban design of the main street of Hapeville, GA, this thesis aims to solve the issues of vitalization and attraction to a main city street in a design of a residential community to activate public spaces through the work and input of the creative class and local community. Ultimately, this redesign of the main street will be a catalyst of economic growth and well-being of the local community, revitalizing a home into an urban …

Equitable Design Through The Urban Museum: Catalyzing Community Revitalization And Environmental Justice In The Sweet Auburn Historic District(The New Apex Museum), Day'zhanera King

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Have you ever heard of the Black Lives Matter Movement, or B.L.M.? B.L.M. was created as a response to the resurgence of racism and xenophobic hate-crimes against Black people and their communities, often at the hands of police. It was the hate crimes plus the scape-goating of Blacks add in poverty rates, the exponentially high Black unemployment rates, and the over policing of Black neighborhoods. B.L.M. is the modern activist response to the continuance of Richard Nixon’s War on Drugs, Bill Clinton’s crime bill and the massive, and the disproportionate incarceration of Black men. B.L.M. is the representation for what …

21st Century Social Genesis, Jessica Headrick

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The modern adaptations of technology have shifted the pendulum of human life. Its positive strides and challenges have evolved human behavior with new social, spatial and cultural genesis today. The modern human life today is monitored, interacted with, and immediately immersed into new age technology the second life starts. This shift in behavioral acceptance can distinctively be recognized when compared to life fifty years ago. A frequent awareness and understanding of such rapid technological shifts necessitate a place where people become more aware and be educated on the innovative strides that research and progressive technology offers in order to anticipate …

An Invisible Minority: Creating Agency For The Lgbtq+ Community, Zach Hart

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

4.5% of Americans make up an invisible minority - the LGBTQ+ community represents over 9 million Americans. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people have a history of being targets of discrimination, which is indisputable when we see that LGBTQ+ relations are illegal in 74 countries, a criminal offense in 72 countries, and punishable by death in 12 countries. The LGBTQ+ youth population makes up less than 10% of the overall youth population, but 40% of the homeless youth population. When compared to their straight peers - gay and lesbian adolescents are almost 4 times more likely to attempt suicide, …

From Displaced To Our Place: Educational Environments Can Promote A Community’S Health And Well-Being, Morgan Frederick

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Thomasville heights is a displacement neighborhood for people pushed out by Atlanta’s Urban Renewal projects. Thomasville Heights remains a casualty of a system of economic segregation. Under this system of segregation these neighborhoods are left in detrimental states. It is in places like Thomasville Heights where the phrase “place matters” becomes a call to action. A town of 6000 residents and only one elementary school, Thomasville heights is bordered by multiple freight yards, a cemetery, landfills, and Atlanta’s US penitentiary, just a 5-minute walk from that one elementary school. There remains a vast difference between that of low-income urban, and …

The City Aetherus An Urban Design Methodology For Energy Use, Anthony Yan, Ermal Shpuza Phd

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

In the last few decades, there has been a growing awareness about the relationship between building design and energy use, environmental impact, and sustainability in general. Now, environmental design is a well-established field of architectural studies and practices. By contrast, it is only recently that the relationship between urban design and energy use has started to get due attention by the designer and planning communities. Due to our increasing energy needs and imminent global urbanization, humanity needs a solution to tackle the largest energy consumer: the city. This thesis is situated within the newly emerging discourse on the relationship between …

Primary Focus, Breck Small

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis proposes a new construction method that looks beyond the physical needs of a community to train and equip unskilled laborers to continue expanding their own build environment. In areas where electricity along with running water are sparse and construction materials are expensive in contrast to average income, this method of construction will look at the manipulation of indigenous materials, climate, and passive systems to design a project that is both respectful to the surrounding community and innovative in its final design. This method could be replicated in sites with similar context, training unskilled labors to build structures in …

Guaya Symbiosis, Diana Gil

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Located two degrees from the equator, west of the Amazon rain forest, and perched between the Guayas River and the Pacific Ocean, an Ecuadorian city named Guayaquil is home to the most bio-diverse environment in the world. In Red Book of Endemic Plants of Ecuador (2000), biologist Lorena Endara’s research was cataloged providing evidence that Ecuador has the highest concentration of species biodiversity. Based on this seminal report, the Ecuadorian government amended its constitution so the Red Book would be accepted as a governmental document, which was an important step for conservation planning and policy (2012). Unfortunately, the uncontrollable urban …

Temporal Mindset : Retrofitting Senior Living, Christine Vu

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis started by looking at malls that were no longer being used and the issued that developed with the decline of these places. I thought of how architecture could benefit and improve the quality of these spaces and the site.

The total population of the United States is approximately 325 million people. Out of the 325 million, approximately 53 million people will be over the age of 65. Between 1946 and 1964, the Baby Boomer generation increased more than any other generation. That generation is now reaching an age where the need for senior living options are more in …

Piecing Minds : Creating A Healing Space For Mental Health In The West End Neighborhood, Jeromette Belcher

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Throughout history mental health has been an issue. Mental health has been labeled from a disease, to treatment, and to facility design. There have been design theories that have been looked at throughout the centuries such as anthroposohy, evidence-based design, generative design, planetree, salutogenic design, and specialist design. There has been facilities designed for people dealing with mental health such as residential, impatient, and outpatient. But, the impact of the environment on mental health plays a significant factor. Specifically, in the lower income neighborhoods which have a lot more issues in mental health that they face than people living in …

The Model Holistic : The Application Of The Adaptive Cycle To Rust-Belt Cities, Marysia Larosa

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

For too long, the relationship between the natural and built environment have been ignored, resulting in a disconnect between humanity, nature, and architecture. Can enforcing this relationship change the way we think about urban design and resiliency? Like ecology, cities act much like an ecosystem, going through four phases; exploitation, conservation, release, and reorganization. Over a slow period, these resources are conserved and protected rather than used for innovation. In the case of a disturbance, the vulnerability of the system at this point leads to eventual collapse and release of resources. Finally, as a result of this release, the system …

Model For Play | Creating Environments For Learning Through Playful Exploration, Ana Giron

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Cultivating imagination in early childhood education is a fundamental stage in the development of children. This cultivation is set aside when children reach school age. The traditional classroom has become a workstation environment, where children move from task to task—creating a singular type of student and disregarding the inherent differences of the human condition. Educational experience has become stagnant and repetitive, with little to no room for the development of individual imaginations. The design of the classroom setting is a critical point of exploration—as the mechanism for change in the education of children. This thesis aims to explore the learning …

A Phenomenological Approach To Performance Architecture Through Light And Acoustics, Bree Chambers

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Throughout history, performances, the fine arts, and music have brought society together to persuade, inspire, and bring to light the pressing issues of their time. The Roman’s used the coliseum to distract their people with games and spectacles from political instability and famine. The Greeks performed in open amphitheaters to communicate tragic stories of morality. I want to influence the entertainment of our time, that is music festivals, from America’s first 1954 Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island to 1969 The Woodstock Aquarian exposition reported 500,000 people in attendance. Festivals are an escape from a conventional society into a counterculture …

Towards Community: A Resource-Based Rural Development, Christian Newman

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The Caribbean nation of Haiti has experienced much hardship in providing services and opportunities to its general population and even more so to its rural populace. Of the scarce services the government provides, most are not accessible to millions in the countryside and smaller cities beyond. According to the United Nations Development Program Haiti, poverty Is much more prevalent in rural regions at 75.2% compared to 40.8% in urban regions. I have personally witnessed this in my own trips to Haiti. The concentration of services and centralization of power to Port-au-Prince can make living outside the capital seem like a …

Informational Space, Jacob Beal

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the future potential impact that the library typology has on society and how the architecture of these spaces can influence usage andchange. Libraries have been one of man-kind’s most inspirational systems that have provided spaces to store information and to educate oneself. As the typology progressed it became an important part of each community and provided patrons with new opportunities that they might not regularly have. With the role that this typology currently takes, it allows for the possibility for improvements of social issues within multiple communities. By focusing on select issues, …

Re-Place The Big Box, Matthew C. Harkin

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Within the suburban environment of the United States it is not uncommon to see a large big box store, centered upon the landscape without rhyme or reason in relation to the local physical or social attributes. These big box stores are not designed at all. They are cookie cutter buildings, copy and pasted structures that give no regards to their context. The mass is plopped onto the site, and surrounded by parking, roads, and barriers cutting the shopping center off from pedestrian access and its general surroundings. These commercial zones do not hold a sense of place, but rather are …

Between Aesthetics And Ethics, Seth Landis

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Violence and political unrest in Central America led to high numbers of refugees at the US-Mexico border at the end of 2017 and continued into 2018. Tent cities like the one outside of Tornillo, Texas is one example of many that shows how unprepared and unwilling we are as architetects to become involved in sensitive issues like immigration.

While the immigration policies of the government seem distant and abstract, the consequences are concrete: the buildings and tents that held these children were designed and implemented by engineers, builders, and private contractors. What can the architect contribute? We are taught to …

Eco-Hub, Diego Vazquez De Santos

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Since the dawn of civilization, humans have generated waste. With the age of industrialization came urbanization, and as a result, large populations quickly multiplied within cities. In 1842, a report entitled The Sanitary Condition of the Laboring Population, Edwin Chadwick argued for the need for proper removal and management facilities of waste. This report played an important role in securing the first law addressing waste collection. Today, only 26% of the estimated 75% of recyclable goods get recycled. This problem is more eminent within New York city which currently is the topmost wasteful city. New York City residents throw out …

Informing Space: A Human Centered Approach To Designing An (Adaptive) Modular Dwelling On Mars, Hala Alfalih, Hala Alfalih

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

With tech giants like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Lockheed Martin teaming with NASA to spearhead the mission to Mars, this provides an opportunity for architecture and design to engage in the conversation of the inevitable future of space exploration.

Research will explore structure, module and habitat as a means of developing an adaptive and parametrically designed dwelling for the first astronauts that will land on Mars. This thesis explores the intersection of the physical built environment and the psychology of astronauts in a remote, foreign and harsh environment. How can a shelter provide the essential needs to inhabit Mars while …

Culture Confluence, Nhan Luu

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The goal of this Museum is to provide the community with an identity based in Vietnamese culture and heritage. The Museum strives to develop a secure connection with the community, providing confidence and helping people to grow as individuals and as members of their community. This engaging Museum aims to attract a diverse crowd to reflect the complexity of a changing society and to represent the community through various exhibits and programming. The Museum in the twenty-first century is not just a place to enjoy art, but also a place to raise questions and stimulate new thoughts and provoke discussion.

Solving Pollution Through Design Integration: A Sustainable Model For Underdeveloped Mexican Cities, Marcos Cruz

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Oaxaca requires an architecture that can cleanse the environment, provide affordable and clean energy, and mitigate the crime and poverty within their city. Community awareness is key to the development of this architecture, and this project will focus on creating a design that influences and informs the community about a safer and more sustainable way of life. This project will focus on using the United Nations sustainability goals to address the global challenges we face including poverty, climate, and inequality. This thesis will create a building that will integrate these goals while still maintaining the cultural aspect within the region. …

Pitching Change: Micro-Community Of Higher Learning, Christopher Chaphe

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Being around sports growing up has given me some experiences that have shaped who I am today. Playing and watching sports is a common activity amongst my friends and family. These events spark engagement and camaraderie between us. The stadium in which these sports are played within are a key component to this engagement. They bring people together to enjoy and root on your favorite teams along side thousands of other fans.

Stadiums today are becoming a remarkable instrument to generate communal spirit besides marketing, recruiting and hosting games for universities. The iconic design of these stadiums has become more …

The [Hydro-Gen] Cell_ A Hydroponic, Regenerative, Modular System For Optimized Vertical Farming, Jose Asbiel Samaniego

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Thesis Statement:

This research project aims to design, develop, and test an intelligent hydroponic system that can be integrated into the built environment for advancing sustainability.

Proposal:

Hydroponic systems are methods of growing plants in a water-based solution, which are currently used in vertical farming practices for food production. In this research, the hydroponic-regenerative or [Hydro-Gen] Cell is envisioned as biomechanical hybrid machinery that, while designed to be used in mid-to high rise buildings it would address sustainable aspects such as food production, enhancement of air cleaning capacity, and reduction of energy consumption. The project specifically aims at addressing the …

L.I.F.E. Is Beautiful, Adalia Fullbeck

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

My title Life is Beautiful: An inquire on the use of small living and architectural design. I chose this title because my focus is in looking at the phases of architecture and creating beautiful and life changing architecture with the help of engineering. I aim to transform my families life by creating a small living space that does not only let earth blossom but also our family. Everyone asks me why I wanted to become an architect. If I had to sum it up, I would say I became an architect so that I could mix my love of art …

Learning Through Space, Niloufar Mehrjerdian

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

At the South Border of the United States, children are being held in facilities for days. While at these facilities, these children do not have the opportunity to learn like other children around their age do. This thesis explores ways to design spaces for children that encourage cognitive development.

By looking at research done by Jean Piaget, Friedrich Froebel, Johanne Pestalozzi, and John Dewey, the thesis will examine the development of a child’s brain, and the development of cognition from birth to adulthood. Jean Piaget, a psychologist, divided the human brain’s development into four stages, the sensorimotor stage, the pre-operational …

Dynamic Workplace Design, Eduardo Parra De Nova

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The design of workplaces is often complex because it balances two opposing forces: on the one hand, innovation and creativity often involve teamwork processes and collaboration, occurring in spaces which may then produce higher than normal noise levels. On the other hand, many work processes rely on individual work, which requires quiet spaces needed for concentration. Another complex issues that office design architects must address involves the ever changing nature of workplaces, either as part of short-term evolving daily activities or as part of the longer-term changes organizations have to bring to their managerial style in order to stay competitive …

Golden Scrutiny | Compositional Subtlety, Devon Sams

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The golden ratio in relation to architecture revolves around the use of composition, geometry and mathematics. The mathematical ratio informs a specific set of parameters that a design can adhere to and is believed that, when utilized properly, gives a creation a beautiful aesthetic. My approach to understanding this system is by exploring its specific functions and how ‘I’ as a designer can inform my design with the golden ratio as the key principle.

My research examines a comprehensive set of studies and explores through a set of experiments in both drawing, model making and digital fabrication to combine the …