Architecture Commons^™

Evaluation Of Green Roof Technology In Egypt, Hend Abada

Theses and Dissertations

A green roof is a well-known technology worldwide that provides many social, economic, and environmental benefits. In Egypt, green roofs are still a new construction practice where most stakeholders lack business and technical expertise within this emerging industry. This research is concerned with assessing this emerging technology within its contemporary context, Egypt, and testing its feasibility within the physical condition of the Egyptian buildings and the social and economic conditions of the Egyptians. This study starts by presenting intensive information about green roof technology and reviewing the literature on green roofs within the Egyptian context. A grounded methodology is used …

The Contribution Of The Pediatric Oncology Healthcare Spaces To The Psychosocial Wellbeing Of Mothers In The Egyptian Context, Yara Adly

Theses and Dissertations

This study sheds light on the significant contribution of the pediatric oncology healthcare spaces to the psychosocial wellbeing of mothers in the Egyptian context. The research focuses on understanding the experiences of mothers in the different encountered stages during the hospitalization of their children to identify their psychosocial needs and wants. The complexity of healthcare facilities drives the designers to give the humane aspects such as the psychological and social wellbeing second priority. Despite the significant parental role in promoting their children’s health and wellbeing, only few studies explored the contribution of the built environment in response to the parental …

(Not) Knowing, Jared Friedman

Theses and Dissertations

Jared Friedman’s work creates monuments out of banal common objects. Through acrylic paintings on- Astroturf, burlap, canvas, and upholstery fabric- he explores the ambiguity of the unremarkable, such as the condenser coils on the back of a refrigerator. In, (Not) Knowing, he parses the difference between knowing and understanding.

124 Notebooks, Andrea Lerner

Theses and Dissertations

124 Notebooks is a documentary about Brazilian architect and urbanist Jaime Lerner.

In 2010, two Brazilians were included in the TIMES Magazine list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, the ex and now re-elected president, Luiz Inacio da Silva, known as Lula, and the Architect and Urbanist Jaime Lerner. Lerner was listed among the 25 most influential thinkers for his 40 years working with urban sustainability, starting in the 1970s with his urban revolution of a once obscure city in Brazil, Curitiba. Curitiba is where I am from; Jaime Lerner is my father.

In 124 Notebooks …

A Preliminary Study Of Perceptions Of Community Hospitals In Cairo, Egypt: Towards Healthy Environmental Design, Veronica Iskander

Theses and Dissertations

Hospitals are a place that people dread and often avoid. Negative experiences in hospitals can contribute to pain and suffering, as well as to stress, loss of control and overall discomfort. While architecture has the power to heal when designed and maintained, it also has the power to harm if not done right. Each architectural element then has the potential to either reduce stress or contribute to it. From the location of the hospital to the colors used, there are many factors that work together to create a safe welcoming space promoting healing for all. In this study, a checklist …

On The Balcony, Beyond “Balconearing”; Perception Of Cairene Women, Behind The Curtains., Rowida Magdy Al-Gebeily

Theses and Dissertations

This study sheds light on the significance and role of threshold spaces as means of accomplishing sociocultural needs, restoration and wellbeing in the residential environment. Understanding the function and uses of these spaces allows us to appreciate their benefits that are often neglected. The research particularly focuses on the social dimension of one fundamental threshold space; the Cairene balcony. It is an integral space that provides a valuable connection to the outside, and its importance in the development of urban living is widely recognized. If carefully designed to meet the residents’ needs and demands, they can promote a better quality …

Workplaces Disrupted: Exploring The Psychological Well-Being In Egyptian Office Spaces Post-Covid, Mirna Raafat

Theses and Dissertations

Triggered by public concerns over office workplace physicality after the COVID-19 pandemic, this research sheds the light on the expected future office space redesign in relation to the employees’ emergent habits while working from home. The purpose of this study is to assess the latest working experience which took place outside of its normal habitat and is supposed to change the trajectory of office design. Therefore, this research provides a better understanding of the emergent habits caused by the long-term lockdown of the pandemic and the modifications expected to take place in the post-COVID-19 offices to suit the stakeholder’s needs. …

Estimating Solar Energy Production In Urban Areas For Electric Vehicles, Shaimaa Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Cities have a high potential for solar energy from PVs installed on buildings' rooftops. There is an increased demand for solar energy in cities to reduce the negative effect of climate change. The thesis investigates solar energy potential in urban areas. It tries to determine how to detect and identify available rooftop areas, how to calculate suitable ones after excluding the effects of the shade, and the estimated energy generated from PVs. Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) are used in solar city planning. The goal of this research is to assess available and suitable rooftops areas using …

Developing Mexico: History, Architecture, Photography, And Esther Born’S The New Architecture In Mexico, Tyler Considine

Theses and Dissertations

Esther Born’s The New Architecture in Mexico (1937) presents the first survey of Mexican modern architecture and documents early works by Luis Barragán, Juan O’Gorman, among other Mexican modernists. This thesis examines Born’s architectural photography alongside that of Lola Álvarez Bravo, Guillermo Kahlo, and other photographers and within discourses of modernity, history, and representation.

Thrive: Empowering Women's Health Through Healing Design, Tawny Chamberlain

Theses and Dissertations

MOTIVATION Despite the immense focus on patient-centered care over the past two decades, a lack of knowledge exists regarding how to apply these guidelines to women, which contributes to gender disparities in healthcare (Filler et al, 2020). For example, one in eight American women will have breast cancer in her lifetime, yet one third do not complete regular screenings (NCI, 2020), perhaps because mammograms and gynecological exams often cause significant anxiety and fear in women. Decreased engagement with providers, coupled with disjointed healthcare, leaves women in a vulnerable position. ISSUE There is ample evidence that well-designed spaces can help patients …

Illusion: Immersive Experience, Tessa S. Trowbridge

Theses and Dissertations

Can society learn from art, and if so, what type of knowledge can be gained from art? It is currently understood that art and design can help humans explore, discover, and understand philosophical and imaginative topics. There is a general agreement that art can create insight and awareness in ways that logical and rational statements cannot, and from these unique interactions, humans can see the world with a new perspective (Worth, n.d.). This thesis will investigate the claim that art can inspire human imagination and allow viewers to gain insight into a surreal reality using designed, physically immersive spaces.

Immersive …

From Silence To Forte: Developing An Inclusive Space For Persian Musicians To Flourish, Sholeh Salimi

Theses and Dissertations

Music serves as a reflection of culture and conveys various emotional and intellectual states, such as a nation's perspective, social attitudes, and historical background. However, the Iranian revolution in 1979 led to the ban of music by the new regime, limiting the output and audience for Iranian music. In addition, the emergence of Western music accessibility through technology posed challenges for traditional Persian music, and the government's restrictions on music further compounded the problem. To support and advance the preservation and dissemination of Iranian music, this study aims to explore how an interior designer can create a space that enables …

Crafting Community: A Ceramics Center, Nadia Mechboukh

Theses and Dissertations

For artisans, being part of a community can facilitate engaging with the public. Networking and collaborating with peers are vital for building meaningful relationships that can lead to mutual inspiration and learning opportunities. By strengthening the connection between society and various forms of craft, we can weave invisible threads that link the stories that craft tells with the time and place in which they were created. Pottery is a craft that has existed for thousands of years. Ceramics and clay have carried the history of communities and their ways of living through centuries and have been used as identifiers of …

The Perception And Use Of Native Plants In The Landscape: Understanding The Practices Of Landscape Architects In The Southeast United States, Megan Wichlan

Theses and Dissertations

Landscape architects and designers have the ability to construct plantings in a landscape with native or non-native plants, or a combination of both plant types. The question at hand is, why choose one over the other? This study explores what might impact the plant choice decisions of practicing landscape architects in the southeast United States. A survey is utilized to understand how respondents make plant choice decisions and perceive native plants. Comparisons between previous studies are made focusing on their distribution methods, survey populations and major findings. The findings of this study are not conclusive due to a small response …

One Space Can Put Her In A Different Place - How Do We Inhabit Spaces Differently?, Farida Youssef

Theses and Dissertations

In Egypt, a male-dominated society, women are forced to constantly negotiate with patriarchal systems. Dichotomies and paradoxes between principles governing different gendered roles, religion and cultural codes and westernization and commercialization have been continuously shaping Egyptian women’s status over the past decades. This is exhibited in public spaces, where women’s current preferences, perceptions and behavior emphasize the dominance of one gender over the other. This research aims for a better understanding of space inhabitance through a gendered lens. It questions the roles the society and the urban spaces play in the daily lives of women through examining women’s perception of …

Creating A Development Framework: A Generic Lens For Public Markets’ Analysis And Development In Integration With Their Zone Of Influence Revitalization, Nourhan Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses how the development of public markets through a structured framework can be a catalyst for revitalizing its zone of influence. Public markets have always been marked by their rich experience, and their central role in towns, cities, and villages, as they have been vital engines for urban growth and cities formation since their prevalence. Needless to mention their role in entrepreneurship and their significance for the social development of neighborhoods. Nowadays, local governments are rediscovering the central role of public markets and are putting them under focus to catalyze the urban growth and neighborhoods revitalization by their …

Building For A New National Body: The Architecture Of Manuel Amábilis And Neomaya Modernity, Emily A. Cocco

Theses and Dissertations

In the history of architecture following the Mexican revolution, Yucatecan architect Manuel Amábilis (1889-1966) has often been passed over in favor of discussions of architects working in the nation’s cultural and political center, Mexico City, many of whom engaged in neocolonial and functionalist modern style to envision a modern Mexico transformed by the revolution. This omission is short-sighted, since Amábilis’s Maya revivalist architecture provides an iteration of postrevolutionary Mexican architecture that visually and ideologically manifests the socialist and proindingenous aims of the revolution while imagining a paradigm of modern nationalism that was not rooted in Western ideals. Amábilis’ neomaya architecture, …

Micro-Metropolis: Space, Work, And Waste In The Maquettes Of Constant And Bodys Isek Kingelez, Shoshanah B. Rosen

Theses and Dissertations

Constant Nieuwenhuys and Bodys Isek Kingelez both create futuristic utopias in the form of architectural maquettes. This comparative study explores each artist’s reverence for technology, global connectivity, and new forms of economic production. It argues that these utopias represent desires endemic to late modernity and capitalism, including consumption, nomadism, automation.

Out From Under: Wellness Design And Alternative Therapies For Anxiety And Depression, Emily J. Adams

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores a facility that combines wellness design strategies with alternative therapies that are not commonly available in the U.S., with the goal of supporting adults with anxiety and/or depression who are not comfortable seeking traditional care.

Relief Revival Reincarnation, Lisa Moon

Theses and Dissertations

there is a complex connectivity that we have with the built environment that goes beyond visual aesthetics and stimulates each of our senses. this connectivity is tied to our identity and the way we contextualize our experiences and our world. inspired by ethnographic observations, oscar newman’s seminal work, + the pruitt-igoe documentary, the project seeks to study the elements of this connectivity or in some cases the reduced connectivity within a public housing residential environment.

what contributes to this reduced connectivity?

newman examined it from an architectural perspective, exterior elements of building, space designation, corridors, skip|stop elevators, circulation patterns, natural …

Again Black Again, Muthi Reed

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

AGAIN BLACK AGAIN

by muthi reed, M.F.A

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Program Director: Stephen Vitiello

Committee: Semi Ryu, Orla McHardy, MK Abadoo, Cara Benedetto

AGAIN BLACK AGAIN. ABA-BBABB is documentation of a reparations practice and articulations for a reparations manifesto devised by the artist. Reparations begins with the self. Singing truth to the self. Talking with the self. The thesis organizes around the problems of surveillance and myth making about Black people and the subsequent source of self-regard, conjure and social dreaming …

Taking Flight: An Independent Living Facility For Emancipated Foster Youth, Kristy Mcdaniel Leitzel

Theses and Dissertations

Motivation

Many of us think about foster care in the context of younger children removed from home. However, little thought is given to youth that age out of the foster care system and the associated challenges and risks they face, namely in the area of housing.

Youth in foster care often receive minimal support in making the transition to independence and are frequently forced into instant adulthood. They are faced with an abrupt end of support at a time when they have not yet mastered the educational, social, or economic survival skills necessary to be independent in the community (Haas, …

Metamosque – Envisioning The Mosque As A Virtual Public Space, Alaa Albarazy

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, the mosque was not only a space for a communal prayer but also a place for building a community. Today, however, with conflicts and diseases fragmenting society, people are less able to gather physically in large spaces. Out of necessity, people rely on technology to get together and interact virtually. In this context, my research challenges the notion of the mosque as a physical space, proposing, instead, its extension into virtual space. Recent global events pose the question: Can the metaverse offer an opportunity for the mosque to reassert itself as a public space. I propose that a MetaMosque …

How Is Biophilic Urbanism Being Used In Planning To Rejuvenate Post-Industrial Cities?, Andrea A. Kerley

Theses and Dissertations

ARE POST-INDUSTRIAL CITIES USING BIOPHILIC URBANISM TO MERGE NATURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT? A PLAN EVALUATION OF FOUR U.S. LEGACY CITIES

By Andrea (Andi) Ames Kerley, Master in Urban and Regional Planning

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Urban and Regional Planning, at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2020.

Major Director: Megan Z. Gough, Associate Professor, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs,

Urban and Regional Studies and Planning

The re-imaging of U.S. post-industrial cities from desolate, impoverished, and polluted areas to unique, equitable, and environmentally aware cities …

Flourish: Exploring Healing Environments In A Residential Treatment Setting, Emily D. Kalafian

Theses and Dissertations

The following project explores the ways in which our environments promote healing and support recovery through the design of a residential center for eating disorder recovery. The center will serve 8-10 young women as they seek recovery from restrictive forms of eating disorders. The center will accommodate the necessary staff personnel as well as spaces for supporting activities and wraparound services. The project intends to create a place for healing that feels safe, warm, and considers patients’ needs for autonomy, dignity, and a sense of control amidst disorder. This is a place to create meaningful relationships and to participate in …

Evaluating Long-Range Transportation Plans For Mainstreaming Of Climate Adaptation Among Virginia Mpos, Sebastian L. Shetty

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the strides made towards addressing climate change through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies, it has become increasingly apparent that attempting to mitigate the crisis in such a manner alone is insufficient. This thesis joins a growing body of research on how our societies must adapt to a changing climate, contributing more evidence on common barriers to adaptation and how they might be overcome. Through an attempt to evaluate the progress made towards mainstreaming, or integrating, climate change concerns into five Virginia MPOs’ long-range transportation plans (LRTPs), this study provides support for prior hypotheses around the potential for MPOs …

Connections Exposed | A Library For The People, Stephanie Wilburn

Theses and Dissertations

MOTIVATION

The U.S. economy, democracy, and the health and happiness of citizens depends on maintaining social capital, the networks of bonds between community members. Social capital creates the trust that facilitates action and cooperation for mutual benefit. Since the 1960s, there has been a decline in-person socialization and social bonds both within and between demographic groups in the US resulting in reduced social capital (Putnam, 2000).

One measure to combat declining social capital is to create third places where incidental and repeated social interactions build and reinforce bonds between community members (Oldenburg, 1997).

With the reduction of accessible and inclusive …

It Takes A Muscle: Wholes, Holes, And Other Voids, Saar Shemesh

Theses and Dissertations

IT TAKES A MUSCLE¹

In the BELLY of the BEAST, the HUMAN

in the deep end of a SWIMMING POOL

in a GRAVE, looking up/out from within

at the base of a CRATER, ABYSS, PIT

the room as a CRADLE, INCUBATOR

architecture as MOTHER MOULD.²

____________________________

¹ Title is borrowed and abbreviated: Spectral Display, “It Takes A Muscle To Fall In Love,” 1982.

² For what American-English delineates as ‘mold,’ British-English uses ‘mould’ and is more specific in its technicality. The former doesn’t distinguish in spelling between mold (fungus) and mold (mould). I’m not particularly a fan of …

Sound Of Systems Music Therapy For Autism, Nishtha Chawla

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Sound of Systems- Impact of Music Therapy on Adolescents with Autism

“Music – The child of number and sound”.” --Iannis Xenakis

Motivation.

Music, a language that crosses cultures and can compel an individual to transcend time and space. It is an expression of the highest order and a gateway to connect to our divine source, it precedes all biases. Music therapy has been utilized in the Islamic world since the 8th century for its healing and therapeutic effects on the human soul, spirit, and body.

As of 2020, 1 in every 54 children is diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder …

Framework For Enhanced Applicability Of The Egyptian Public Procurement Law To International Administrative Construction Contracts, Amr Abu Helw

Theses and Dissertations

Local governments and public authorities conclude contracts for the purpose of acquisition of goods, delivery of services and construction of public facilities like bridges, infrastructures and public buildings. A public contract is an agreement to perform particular tasks financed by government funds to the benefit of the whole community. Private entities and corporations are subject to stricter standards in their dealings with the government than in private transactions. Conversely, the government must deal fairly and equitably with those who it contracted with to achieve successful implementation of the projects. On October 3, 2018, a new Egyptian public procurement law, namely, …