Architecture Commons^™

From Centralized To Decentralized Care: Assessing The Role Of Design In Cardiovascular Unit Performance, Lindsey Fay

Interiors Faculty Publications

This report presents a comprehensive pre- and post-occupancy evaluation of the University of Kentucky HealthCare Cardiovascular Unit, conducted through a collaborative effort between the College of Design, College of Communication and Information, UK HealthCare, and GBBN Architects. The study examines the transition from a centralized to a decentralized care delivery model within a newly constructed hospital environment, with the goal of understanding how spatial design influences healthcare delivery, staff performance, and patient experience.

Using a mixed-methods approach, the research integrates quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques, including behavioral mapping, communication tracking, pedometer data, acoustic measurements, and staff and user feedback. …

Designing By Chance: Controlled Randomness As A Generative And Constructible Strategy For Architectural Façade Composition—A Case Study, Maruan Halabi

All Works

Façade design has long oscillated between repetitive order and visual disorder, and computational tools now make controlled irregularity easy to generate but hard to build; comparatively few studies follow a stochastic envelope from algorithm to a completed building. This paper examines controlled randomness as a deliberate, constructible strategy for façade composition. A parametric Grasshopper workflow erodes a square grid of wall modules through a seeded random-reduction rule—a deterministic, rule-based procedure that uses no machine learning or artificial intelligence—whose intensity increases up the building, producing a depth-modulated, quarry-like relief realized with one ordinary product—40 × 20 cm concrete blocks in four …

Examples And Evaluation Of Sustainability Research With Tribes, Aaron M. Canter, Sharon Hausam

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

Indigenous Community Research Opportunities, Sharon Hausam, Aaron M. Canter

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

Opportunities For Leadership In Indigenous And Tribally Engaged Research At The University Of New Mexico, Sharon Hausam

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

Effect Of Rheology Modification On Fiber Orientation And Dispersion In 3d-Printed Ultra-High-Performance Concrete, Haodao Li, Alfred Addai-Nimoh, Seongho Han, Kamal H. Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The extrusion process in 3D concrete printing (3DCP) facilitates horizontal alignment of steel fibers along the printing direction, thus enhancing the load-bearing capacity of printed elements. However, such shear-induced fiber alignment is highly sensitive to rheological properties. This study investigates how variations in dynamic yield stress (τd) and plastic viscosity (μ), influence the extrudability, fiber orientation and dispersion, and anisotropic mechanical behavior of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). Five viscosity-modifying agent (VMA) types were incorporated at two content levels to modify the rheology of printable UHPC. Results showed that moderate VMA additions improved printability, whereas excessive contents markedly increased τd and μ; …

Field Calibration Of Flow Over Tilting Weirs In Canals, Joseph E. Pugh, Timothy K. Gates, S. Karan Venayagamoorthy, Caner Kutlu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Tilting weirs are widely used to regulate water levels in open channel irrigation systems and can also provide flow measurement capability that helps optimize irrigation efficiency and ensure equitable water distribution. This case study demonstrates adaptation of lab-based tilting weir ratings to field settings, where flow behavior is more complex. We compile and analyze an extensive data set derived from independent studies of five structures within three canal systems, featuring both lined and unlined channels with discharge ranging from 0.35 to 15 m3/s (12 to 530 ft3/s). Results indicate that lab-based rating equations can be calibrated to account for site-specific …

Enhancing Construction Simulation Optimization Performance Through Variance Reduction Techniques, Mohammed Mawlana, Amin Hammad

College of Architecture and the Built Environment Faculty Papers

Simulation optimization has been used to analyze construction operations and support planning decisions under uncertainty. It enables the identification of effective planning strategies throughout a project’s lifecycle. However, the use of stochastic simulation to evaluate alternative strategies results in higher computational demands and the generation of inferior solutions within the resulting optimal solutions. This study examines the feasibility of overcoming these issues by implementing variance reduction techniques into a discrete-event simulation optimization framework. Three variance reduction techniques are evaluated in a case study: Common Random Numbers, Antithetic Variates, and a combined application of both. While these techniques are well established …

Climate-Responsive Design For Sustainable Construction: Passive Strategies In Domestic Architecture Supporting Sustainability, Nahed Chakouf

All Works

This study explores climate-responsive design in domestic architecture, focusing on the application and effectiveness of passive strategies across various climatic regions, including the UK, hot-arid, tropical, and cold climates. A qualitative comparative case study method was used to explore different passive design strategies, integration of sustainability, procurement, the coordination of stakeholders, and compliance with regulations in residential architectural projects under varying climate conditions. Drawing from a combination of historical case studies and original architectural projects, the research evaluates how spatial configuration, material selection, solar orientation, shading, ventilation, and insulation are optimized to achieve thermal comfort and energy efficiency. In temperate …

Social Media Adoption In Urban And Rural Flood Risk Management: Evidence From Nebraska’S 2019 Flood-Affected Regions, Anisha Khandokar

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Flooding is one of the most devastating natural hazards, causing significant economic losses and threatening public safety. While social media has emerged as a powerful tool for disaster communication, its effectiveness in rural flood risk management remains underexplored. This study evaluates the role of social media in disseminating flood-related information and engaging communities during and after 2019 Nebraska floods. This study incorporates SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis method to examine how the seven core communication functions were utilized for flood risk management at the state, regional, and local levels. The findings reveal that while state agencies dominated social …

Upper Mora River Corridor Plan. Path To Social And Economic Recovery. A Working Paper, José A. Rivera Ph.D

Faculty Publications

The Working Paper outlines a plan for the Upper Mora River Corridor as a path to the social and economic recovery of the watershed and its communities in the Mora Valley of New Mexico in the aftermath of the year 2022 wildfires. The first section of the plan includes an historical overview of the traditional gristmills of northern New Mexico and places where a few of them are preserved and still standing. The next section goes into detail as to the early commercial mills situated along the upper Mora River Corridor with a focus on the four remaining mills: the …

Modern Architecture Of Muqarnas In Damascus: An Original Computational Methodology, Nahed Jawad Chakouf

All Works

The research aimed to revive muqarnas using digital computational tools, drawing on the techniques of Damascene craftsmen and ancient manuscripts. It involved designing contemporary muqarnas with double-curvature vaults and large spans, incorporating new unit designs and compositional techniques. In Section I, the researcher conducted pre-design studies on four muqarnas types, each associated with one of the four Damascene architectural styles. These studies examined the geometry and behavior of muqarnas types when used on traditional domed surfaces. Section II included a design study of the Dome of the Eagle of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, using modern software tools such as …

Soft Korsi: An Embodied Spatial Interior System For Communal Warmth, Faezeh Panahandeh

Graduate Final Projects

ABSTRACT

Soft Korsi: An Embodied Spatial Interior System for Communal Warmth reconceptualizes the historic Iranian Korsi as an innovative textile-based interior system. Traditionally, the Korsi functioned not only as a heating device but also as a spatial, material, cultural, and embodied system, which brought people together around a shared warm focal point. The integration of a heat source, textile coverings, floor seating arrangements, closeness of bodies, and domestic traditions related to warmth made possible a collective experience, rather than an individual or environmental one.

This design project seeks to address the disappearance of the Korsi from contemporary domestic environments as …

Assessing Video Game Pedagogy For Civil Engineering Education And K-12 Stem Engagement, Jillian Codron, Anahid A. Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

Traditional civil engineering education is often structured around a “theory before practice” model, where students first learn concepts in lecture and then confirm them in a laboratory setting. This paper explores an alternative approach to this, involving leveraging video games as exploratory, feedback-rich platforms for introducing K-12 students to civil engineering.

The objectives of this work are to: (1) evaluate the educational potential of the selected games, (2) survey undergraduate structural engineering students and current practitioners to assess how gaming has shaped their interest in STEM pathways, (3) conduct interviews with faculty and educators to capture perspectives on integrating game-based …

Past Present, & Future: Bushwick Inlet Redevelopment, Aaryan Nair

Publications and Research

This report examines how ecosystem structure, hydrology, and material flows in Williamsburg, Brooklyn have changed from pre-colonial conditions to the present and how they are expected to evolve under future climate change. Prior to European colonization, the landscape functioned as a forest–wetland mosaic with high infiltration capacity, slow water movement, and strong nutrient retention. These conditions supported stable aquatic ecosystems and minimized pollutant transport to the East River.

Modern urbanization has fundamentally altered this system. Impervious surfaces and engineered drainage systems have shifted hydrology from infiltration-dominated to runoff-dominated pathways, producing rapid “flashy” flows and reducing water residence time.

Storm events …

Transforming Dredged Sediment Into Reactive Clay: Critical Review Of Calcination, Reactivity, And Sustainable Valorization As Supplementary Cementitious Material, Seongho Han, Sanghwon Wi, Koochul Ji, Keun Hyeok Yang, Farshad Rajabipour, Kamal H. Khayat, Jinyoung Yoon

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Dredged sediment (DS) is generated worldwide in large volumes through routine port and waterway maintenance, yet its disposal presents environmental and economic challenges. Recently, calcined dredged sediment (CDS) has emerged as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM), offering a viable alternative to traditional SCMs, such as fly ash and slag cement. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics of raw DS and pretreatment strategies aimed at dewatering, organic matter removal, and contaminant stabilization. The effects of calcination on the production of reactive amorphous aluminosilicates are also discussed. Emphasis is placed on physicochemical changes revealed by experimental …

Diagnosis Of Covid-19 Impact On The Construction Employment: Decline And Recovery, Anil Baral, Abdullah Alnuaimi, Yunping Liang, Baabak Ashuri, Mohsen S. Shahandashti

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) had an unprecedented impact on U.S. construction employment. The assessment of employment declines and recoveries across various construction sectors, workforce demographics, and geographic regions helps develop inclusive long-term plans to overcome the setbacks of natural hazards, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing methods for quantifying the employment decline from sudden shocks do not consider trends and seasonality of construction employment under normal conditions. Hence, it is not clear whether the employment declines are due to the impact of a disaster or associated with trends and seasonal patterns of employment. The objective of this research is …

“I Didn’T Know Architects Do This”: Interventions In The Social Reproduction Of The Architect Figure In Ireland., Miriam Delaney

Doctoral

The architect is widely understood as the producer of architectural artefacts: buildings, feasibility studies, drawings, and specifications. However, architects (as a professional collective identity) are themselves produced by the complex matrix of social relations and structural forces in which they act; the architect is as much a product as the architectural artefacts.

This thesis provides a retrospective critical examination of aspects of my work in expanded forms of architectural practice from 2011 to 2021. My Critical Appraisal of this work focuses less on the content or successes of the Outputs, the products of production, and more on their collective contribution …

Collaborating For Community Impact: Smart Parks, Natasha Rascon

2026 Spring Reports (Terre Haute)

Through collaborations with the City of Terre Haute, specifically the City Parks and Recreation, the following community issue was identified: Resiliency Education (RE-1) Smart parks - Sign designs, Web page design, a community survey to determine park attendance, ideas for ways to track park attendance, recommendations for improvements in high-risk parks, Finding and/or helping with grant applications. To address the identified community issue, students enrolled in Comm361 Small Group Communication partnered with the City of Terre Haute to promote three events: The ribbon cutting and block party for the Herz-Rose Community Center and Park, The Deming Park Easter Egg Hunt, …

News Media Coverage Of Measure Ula: How The Story Of La’S Big Project To Address Homelessness And Affordable Housing Got Sidetracked By The Story Of Big Real Estate, Christopher R. Martin

Faculty Publications

“Measure ULA,” named after United to House LA, was approved by voters in Los Angeles in 2022 to create a dedicated, long-term funding source for solutions to homelessness in LA, including funding the construction of affordable homes and preventing homelessness by helping tenants stay in their homes. The funding would come from a new tax on the most expensive real estate transactions in L.A. (i.e., mansion tax), and would affect fewer than 4% of all property transactions. At the end of three years of local news coverage about Measure ULA from the Los Angeles Times and LAist, the news audience …

Rooted In Hillsboro: An Urban Tree Protection Project, Leandre Mills, Aidan Mcclinton, Aria Shopbell, Karl Coppock, Wally Mcallister

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

The Canopi team and the City of Hillsboro Urban Forestry Program completed this project to evaluate and strengthen municipal tree protection policies. Current regulations rely heavily on tree replacement rather than retention, contributing to loss of mature canopy and reduced climate, infrastructure, and equity benefits. In many cases, mature trees removed during development or infrastructure projects are replaced with small-caliper plantings that do not provide equivalent environmental or community value for decades.

As Hillsboro grows, the city faces increasing climate pressures, including urban heat island effects, stormwater impacts, invasive pests, and uneven canopy distribution across historically underserved neighborhoods. These challenges …

Build Digital Annual Survey 2025 And Trends & Comparisons 2022 - 2025, Clare Eriksson, Robert Moore, Bilal Succar

Reports

The Build Digital Annual Survey 2025 provides an overview of digital transformation across Ireland’s construction and built environment sector, drawing on responses from 205 participants across industry, government, and academia. The findings show continued sector engagement with digital transformation, driven by government mandates, project benefits, and partner expectations. Common digital deliverables, such as model-based design, documentation, coordination, and clash detection, are now widely used, while more advanced uses linked to operations, sustainability, interoperability, and AI remain less mature. The report also highlights ongoing challenges, including skills gaps, uneven training provision, limited OpenBIM adoption, and inconsistent implementation of ISO 19650 and …

Remaking Buford Highway: Immigration And The Struggle For Walkable Suburbia, Amit Kamma

Harvey M. Applebaum ’59 Award

Constructed according to a car-centric vision typical of American suburbs, one segment of Buford Highway outside Atlanta has become a corridor defined by immigrants who often walk and use public transit. These behaviors conflict with the existing car-focused infrastructure, compelling government actors to make the Highway more multimodal. Progress towards that goal is ongoing and precarious, demonstrating wider systemic challenges in U.S. planning and local governance.

Assessing Legacy Collections: Analyzing The Preservation, Recovery, And Interpretive Value Of Archaeobotanical Remains From Site 15le70 (Pine Crest Rockshelter), Lee County, Kentucky, Jennifer Carroll

Graduate Final Projects

This paper uses the archaeobotanical assemblage from Site 15Le70, a multi-excavated and extensively looted rockshelter in eastern Kentucky, while opening new lines of inquiry into gendered labor and practice during the Archaic-Woodland transition. Because legacy collections are often dispersed across institutions and/or research projects, the materials from any single site may be fragmented, as was the case for 15Le70. Such collections can be overlooked, yet this investigation into 15Le70’s archaeobotanical assemblage demonstrates that partial or scattered datasets can yield meaningful results and hold the potential to fill gaps in the archaeological record left by looting.

In this study, a small …

Assessing Transit-Oriented Development And Mixed-Use Urban Planning Strategies In Taipei, Taiwan, Eliza Mccoole

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

No abstract provided.

From Demolition To Digital: Using Virtual Reality To Interpret Hamilton House, Hannah R. Miller

Graduate Final Projects

This master’s project investigates the potential of digital reconstruction as a tool for documenting and interpreting demolished historic resources, using Hamilton House as a case study. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research integrates archival analysis with digital modeling to recreate the spatial context of the house. By grounding the digital model in historical evidence, this study examines how virtual reconstruction can be used to interpret social relationships, patterns of use, and lived experiences that are not fully captured through traditional means of documentation. This project also considers the interpretive implications of reconstructing using fragmentary historical data, addressing the possibilities and …

What’S In A Map?: Evaluating Mapping Techniques And Measures Of Culture To Inform Equitable Cultural Planning In Dallas, Texas, Kena Nicol

Planning Masters Professional Reports

The City of Dallas developed a neighborhood typology map to assess cultural resource distribution as part of its 2018 Cultural Plan, representing a relatively new approach that remains underexplored in academic literature. In the same plan, stakeholders identified equity as a central value, highlighting the need for tools that better support equitable cultural planning. This study evaluates the outcomes of two mapping techniques–cultural asset mapping and opportunity mapping – to examine how each represents cultural resource distribution across Dallas and supports equity-oriented analysis. Cultural asset mapping, the standard approach in cultural planning, identifies the spatial distribution of physical cultural infrastructure. …

Catacombs In Context: Exploring Roman Architectural Influence In The Catacombs Of Rabat, Malta, Emily S.R Hodson

Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Honors Projects

Previously, scholarship on the Mediterranean catacombs has focused on isolated sites or on the religious significance and iconography of regional groups. By contextualizing the archaeological data through comparison and recentering the discussion on architecture, this research offers a contextualized, non-apologetic picture of ancient Mediterranean catacombs. This architectural comparison between the Roman catacombs and those of St. Paul and Abbatija Tad-Dejr in Malta reveals both significant architectural change and the persistence of archaic features, suggesting a high degree of cultural continuity under Roman provincial governance on Malta (218 BCE - c. 5th - 6th centuries CE). This, paired with the emergence …

Healing The Gap, Maria Gavriilidou

Honors Projects

This project examines healthcare accessibility in Greece, focusing on the disparities between urban centers and remote island and mountainous communities. It addresses systemic limitations within public healthcare infrastructure, including insufficient facilities, limited medical personnel, and transportation barriers that restrict timely access to medical services. Grounded in personal experience and observational research, particularly from the Cyclades islands and mainland medical contexts, the study highlights how geographic isolation and environmental conditions further intensify these challenges.

The work proposes an architectural response aimed at improving healthcare delivery in underserved regions through the design of sustainable, accessible, and adaptable healthcare facilities. It explores how …

Measuring Urban Space: A Spatial Framework For Transit Stop Siting, Michael R. Leiting

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Urban investment projects, particularly those related to transit infrastructure, are often evaluated through quantitative metrics that emphasize economic output, proximity, and development potential. While these measures provide useful benchmarks, they offer limited insight into the spatial conditions that shape how environments are structured, navigated, and occupied at the human scale. As a result, sites that appear comparable through conventional metrics may produce fundamentally different spatial experiences.

This thesis develops a drawing-based framework for evaluating spatial conditions across multiple urban sites. Four primary conditions, Urban Form, Threshold, Mobility, and Public Realm, are analyzed through standardized drawings and translated into corresponding indices. …