Architecture Commons^™

Predicted Performance Of A Skytherm North, A Highly Insulated Building Envelope System And A Frost Protected Shallow Foundation, Kitrina Ann Stratton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

How do you design a durable, sustainable, and financeable Net Zero Energy house for a cold weather climate using little or no external energy that is also affordable? Reviewing all of the factors that would influence the design and materials selection of an appropriate response to the issues, the perfect system for housing people, whether it is in response to affordability, durability, comfort, cultural sensitivity, appearance or being locally appropriate, is using some kind of straw bale construction system with an integrated frost protected shallow foundation and a SkyTherm North design.

The focus and intention of this research is to …

It's All About Living Sustainable: (A Research Of Communicating Sustainable Way Of Living To The Public), Gafur Asani, Dietrich Schwarz, Manuel Sebastian Du

UBT International Conference

Living sustainable, a vision that I developed at the Design Studio Schwarz, University of Liechtenstein. Living sustainable raises questions about living in balance with our natural resources. We are living on costs of next generations, so we are responsible to make the changes with architectural interventions in our society for our society. Based on „World Energy Council“ report of 2011, our planet will have 2.2 billion inhabitants more on 2050, reaching 9.2 billion, by challenging a huge demand on mobility, food, goods and building as well. In order to having a bigger impact and a better control over growing up-mentioned …

Concrete Of Our Millennium – Eco Friendly Concrete, Mevlan Qafleshi, Driton R. Kryeziu, Lulëzim Bytyçi, Fisnik Kadiu

UBT International Conference

Scientifically there are no more doubts about the impact of humans on global warming. The raise of earth temperature causes environmentally related problems. Evidences show the most influencing GHG is CO2. Many human activities release this GHG as a byproduct. Generally, the two industries contributing to this are the energy production and construction. The GWhrs of Kosovo energy, (in 2013, 5864 GWh) emit kilotons of CO2. The emission of CO2 in 2013 was 7896.0 kton, i.e. 1.3t/MWh. On the other side, the concrete industry, the second most used material, which uses cement contributes with other tons of GHG, almost each …

A Unique Approach To Allow Low-Income Families The Opportunity To Gain Home Ownership Access Through Alternative Financing, Wilbert Abbott, Jr.

Wilbert Abbott Jr

Community and Regional Planning and Landscape Architecture professionals along with state and local politicians need to aid low-income family's by informing them of opportunities that will allow them to become home owners in mixed-use (New Urbanist) communities. In one example a study prepared by the Social Enterprise Fund of Edmonton and Calgary, Canada creates an alternative financing source to help social enterprises provide career and economic services low-income families. The purpose of this study is to 1) illustrate the barriers present to purchase a home for low-income households when there is a lack of economic resources, 2) analyze case studies …

Greening Greenpoint: Investigating Technology And Environment-Based Design, Adam Castelli

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates architectural design with a focus on technology and parametric, or computational, design strategies in relation to environmental simulation and sustainability. While numerous studies of new digital and parametric design technologies have been undertaken, few discuss their potential application or synergy with sustainable or environmentally focused design. However, there is increasing interest in bridging the perceived gap between these areas of focus in architectural design, as will be discussed in a section on recent symposia related to performance and design technologies. The research project seeks to apply insight gained from these studies to a design project to be …

New As Renewal: A Framework For Adaptive Reuse In The Sustainable Paradigm, Luke A. Beck

Masters Theses

The way in which we approach building design is constantly being influenced by evolving economic, environmental and social parameters. These factors have implications on both pragmatic and aesthetic facets of design. The built environment is not autonomous from its immediate site or the ecologies of the region in which it is located, rather, the former must be designed to symbiotically exist within and enhance the latter. The term ecology is defined as “a branch of science that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.” Although this typically relates to biology, the term can …

Carbon-Neutral Design Guidelines For Medium Density Urban Areas In Warm-Humid And Cool-Dry Climates, Jennifer Delane Stewart

Masters Theses

This thesis combines Architecture 2030’s carbon-neutral performance targets with the SmartCode transect-based development principles, to generate guidelines for design of medium-density carbon-neutral districts. The topic examines these guidelines in medium density planned and built sites (transect types T4, General Urban Zone, and T5, Urban Center Zone) in representative cities within a cool-dry climate (IECC climate zone 5B, Denver) and a warm-humid climate (IECC climate zone 3A, Atlanta). The thesis assumes that a carbon-neutral district is more effective and potentially easier to achieve than designing independent carbon-neutral urban buildings. Within an urban context, it is now possible to connect buildings to …

Change By Design: A Study In The Potential For Architecture And Design To Encourage Healthy, Conscious Behaviors And Enduring Sustainable Change, Kathleen Michelle Lewis

Masters Theses

Sustainability is more than a technologically based, financially motivated option for living. Instead, it is an invigorating opportunity for creating healthier environments on a mental, physical, and deeply personal scale. The intent of the following study is to inspire long-term sustainable solutions. The foundation for this course of inquiry will be an exploration, analysis, and synthesis into the potential for architecture to engender quality experiences by satisfying basic human needs, instilling environmentally responsible values, and promoting sustainable behavior.

Sustainability: Its Adaptation And Relevance In Remote Area Housing, Rosemary Rusch, Rick Best

Rick Best

Little consideration has been given to the context of housing in remote areas. It is important for the economic survival of many remote communities that appropriate and sustainable housing solutions are decided and implemented. This report examines housing at St Pauls, Moa Island in the Torres Strait, using site information, historical research and a review of cultural and geo-political factors to compare the current model with similar studies in self-build housing undertaken in the region between 1986 and 1992. It not only demonstrates tangible economic benefits, but also evaluates the environmental and social improvements which can be achieved with a …

Making Better Decisions About Built Assets: Learning By Doing, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Climate change presents significant challenges to society (e.g. Stern, 2006; Bouwer and Aerts, 2006). Many have concluded that climate change is the most important problem facing humankind, and indeed other life on Earth. The construction industry, which contributes 5-10% of national GDP globally, has a prominent role to play in meeting this challenge given that the built environment demands 40-50% of global resources and generates a proportional amount of waste (Langston and Ding, 2001). Climate change adaptation is about human response to this challenge, thus mitigating the impacts of a changing climate (Burton et al., 2005).

Success Of Small-Scale Farms In The Middle Rio Grande Region, Sarah Wentzel-Fisher

Architecture and Planning ETDs

Food systems development, while historically not the purview of professional planners, would benefit greatly from their interdisciplinary expertise. Small agricultural businesses are important economic and social drivers in the Middle Rio Grande. Increased demand for locally grown foods by Middle Rio Grande residents and food businesses, like restaurants and grocery stores, mean that more than ever, farm businesses have opportunities for success and for making meaningful contributions to their communities. In addition, many of the necessary resources exist right here in this area that can enable local growers’ success, including agricultural land, irrigation infrastructure, easy access to markets, and a …

Adaptive Reuse Of Traditional Chinese Shophouses In Government-Led Urban Renewal Projects In Hong Kong, Esther Yung, Craig Langston, Edwin Chan

Craig Langston

Conservationists and government authorities acknowledge that adaptive reuse of historic buildings contributes to urban sustainability. Traditional Chinese shophouses are a major historic building typology found in the old districts of Asian cities. In Hong Kong, the few remaining shophouses are generally deteriorating and are increasingly under threat of demolition for urban renewal. However, adaptive reuse of these buildings has created many social concerns. In light of these concerns, evaluating adaptive reuse potential needs to incorporate a much broader sustainability framework than simply physical building conditions. This study examines the extent to which obsolescence, heritage value and redevelopment pressures have affected …

Climate Planning In Politically Conservative Cities: A Case Study Of Seven Climate Action Plans, Coleman Moore Frick

Master's Theses

Current research indicates that the potential risks associated with human-induced climate change are likely to increase in frequency and intensity. Although there have been several attempts, no effective international treaty or policy has been enacted by the United States with the purpose of combating this global issue. In the past decade, local climate action plans (CAPs) have emerged as a planning solution designed to reduce greenhouse emissions (GHGs). Previous studies have examined CAP attributes, but no research has focused solely on climate planning in politically conservative jurisdictions. This research finds that of 245 CAPs completed to date nationally, approximately 90 …

The Reclamation Of Public Parks: An Analysis Of Environmental Justice In Los Angeles, Allison Rigby

Scripps Senior Theses

People who live in cities are far more likely to suffer the physical and psychological effects of urban environments--high noise levels, automobile emissions, toxic industrial waste, crowded living conditions, and a general scarcity of open space. Combating these issues, public parks do more than provide recreational space. They are fundamental to any efforts focusing on urban revitalization, social justice, and sustainability. In downtown Los Angeles, public parks are rare, especially in low-income communities. Several new public parks have reclaimed abandoned land, unwelcoming spaces, and the City’s brownfields. After years of intense private use and neglect, spent land has been reinvigorated …

Building A Better Office Of Sustainability: Promoting Sustainable Change And Educational Outreach At Wku, Andrew Salman

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This research documented the transformation of the house at 503 Regents Ave. in Bowling Green KY into a model home of sustainability by the WKU Office of Sustainability as a case study. Using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Core Concepts, the benefits of weatherization (window upgrades, insulation, sealants) to the building, the addition of a solar energy array and utility grid intertie, and the transformation of the back yard into an edible landscape and community garden to mitigate stormwater flooding issues were assessed. Collaboration between the Office of Sustainability, students, university entities, and community members were encouraged …

Experiments In Computer Controlled Architectural Prototyping, Chris Knapp

Chris Knapp

This proposal aims to utilize digitally-controlled fabrication equipment recently acquired by the new Soheil Abedian School of Architecture toward developing novel, prototypical building envelope systems applicable to new building construction and retrofitting scenarios. This research into three-dimensional self-supporting enclosures is directed toward the need to develop low-cost building systems using inexpensive materials manipulated with sophisticated fabrication systems. The practical aim of the research prototypes are sustainability-providing structures which may be designed to provide shade, support vegetation growth, induce cross ventilation, increase thermal comfort, and enhance aesthetic pleasure in the built environment.

Redefining America’S Postwar Urban Renewal At The Northgate Of Springfield, Ma, Mohammed Abdelaal, Meilan Chen, Zhuoya Deng, Ericka Duym, Laura Keskula, Joseph Larico, Bin Liu, Shu Liu, Wenjie Liu, Tharyn Nein-Large, Junzhi (Jason) Yu, Zhangkan Zhou

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

This project presents visions for an underutilized and overlooked district in Springfield, MA, developed by the Graduate Urban Design Studio in the spring of 2014. The area between downtown and the North End neighborhood has undergone major transformations in the 1950’s and 1960’s during America’s era of postwar urban renewal. Residential blocks were replaced by large office buildings and oversized streets left a ”no-man’s land”. The current rehabilitation of the Springfield’s Union Station into an intermodal transportation hub should draw new attention to the area as the northern gateway to downtown - the “Northgate”. Five visionary design proposals rethink and …

Knowledge Accident- Part 1, Alanna Rosenblatt

Architecture Senior Theses

The increasing un-sustainability of the built university and the rise of the apparent mass democratization or synchronization of higher education through the virtual Massive Open Online Course [MOOC] is occurring concurrently with the mutation of the historically grounded Accident into the Knowledge Accident. The standardization of higher education through the MOOC has created the conditions for the Knowledge Accident, the “integral accident”, of the built university. This is where we find the present state of the university, in a moment of crisis grounded in unconstrained "progress". The current form of the MOOC, begun in 2011, has expanded and evolved with …

Knowledge Accident- Part 2, Alanna Rosenblatt

Architecture Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Charge. Point, Lauren Alessandra Wilson

Architecture Senior Theses

The goal of this thesis is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, lower the carbon emission footprint, and ignite a paradigm shift towards clean energy usage. Architecture can play a role in increasing the accessibility of sustainable modes of transit by changing the way energy is produced and distributed throughout the city. Accepting both the reliance and privatization of the automobile as givens, this idea caters to a transitional stage of travel, shifting from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric powered vehicles. Current technological limitations are stunting the momentum of a sustainable transit phenomenon, i.e. EV battery charge time and …

The Value Of Less Light, Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska

Dr. Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska, IALD, IES, CIE, RIBA

Dr. Karolina M. Zielinska – Dabkowska is an architectural lighting designer and researcher. As one of the plenary speakers during the inaugural ALAN 2013 conference considering the problems of light pollution, she offers her overview of the event.

Green Vs. Sustainable: Analyzing And Expanding Leed (Leadership In Energy And Environmental Design), Sonay Aykan

Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the possibility of including new socio-economic indicators in green building rating systems in order to promote innovative practices in the building planning, design, construction and operations by introducing a broader definition of sustainability in the building industry. It provides a comparative analysis of the frameworks, indicators and measurement methods of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), which is a voluntary green building rating system, and the reporting guidelines of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) by examining several selected socio-economic indicators from GRI and questioning the possibility of introducing similar indicators (credits) in LEED. By doing so, it …

Youthbuild Providence Sustainability Learning Center Design, Renee Bilodeau, Jake Bochese, Boris Dafov, Matt Diack, Alison Divenere, Jessica Gross, Andrea Krefsky, Phil Lane, Kelly Papa, Colin Pottbecker, Dominic Skrajewski, Roseann Evans, Arnold Robinson

Architecture and Urban Design

Renee integrated coarse stucco and horizontal

corrugated metal in white and black as a pattern

signifying the major spaces. Over the entry and

in the main construction space, she played with

pattern in the curtain walls by replacing some

glass panels with metal panels that are orange, the

YouthBuild school color. The orange color is very

prominent in the main entry and the construction

facility, emphasizing the importance of construction

to the YouthBuild philosophy.

Performance And Economic Benefits Of Four Streetscape Renovations: A Comparative Case Study Investigation, Bo Yang, Yue Zhang, Pamela Blackmore

Bo Yang

The demonstration of landscape performance benefits has become increasingly important in landscape architecture practice and in communicating to interdisciplinary audiences. This paper provides an overview of the Landscape Architecture Foundation Case Study Investigation (CSI) program and introduces four built streetscape projects investigated in the 2012 CSI program, including a large-scale permeable pavement project in Charles City, Iowa, and the American Society of Landscape Architects’ award-winning projects in Missouri, California, and Colorado. Unlike traditional streetscape design that mainly focuses on safety and engineering principles, these four streetscape projects tackled unique design challenges, and more importantly, have captured baseline data that help …

Solar Decathlon 2014: Techstyle Haus Project Manual, Jonathan Knowles

Competition

Solar Decathlon 2014 Techstyle Haus Project Manual. The Solar Decathlon competition challenges twenty collegiate teams to design and build sustainable homes that are powered exclusively by solar energy and incorporate sustainable architecture and design. Techstyle Haus is an international Brown University, RISD and University of Applied Sciences Erfurt,Germany collaboration designing a solar passivehaus out of high performance textiles.

Techstyle Haus Project Drawings, Architecture Department, Jonathan Knowles

Prototype

Complete Techstyle Haus project drawings. The Solar Decathlon competition challenges twenty collegiate teams to design and build sustainable homes that are powered exclusively by solar energy and incorporate sustainable architecture and design. Techstyle Haus is an international Brown University, RISD and University of Applied Sciences Erfurt,Germany collaboration designing a solar passivehaus out of high performance textiles.

The Steel Yard, Architecture Department, Sculpture Department, Bruner Foundation

Rudy Bruner Award | 30 Years of Urban Excellence

The Steel Yard redeveloped a historic steel fabrication facility into a campus for arts education, job training, and small-scale manufacturing in Providence, Rhode Island. The 3.5-acre property in the city’s Industrial Valley required extensive environmental remediation to meet regulatory requirements while retaining the industrial urban character of the site. The Steel Yard offers classes, workforce training, and fabrication space for local artists, creating an industrial arts incubator where they can share ideas, materials, and space. It has become a center for creative activity, bridging the gap between the traditional arts community on the affluent east side of Providence with manufacturing …

Reconsidering Firmitas: Durability As An Integral Function Of The Sustainably Built Environment, Katherine P. Yzurdiaga

Pomona Senior Theses

Architecture is an inherently functional art – buildings have functions, some more vital than others, beyond the objective of sheer aesthetic appeal. Yet at the same time, aesthetic appeal is an integral part of the human experience that many agree is vital to sustainability objectives, including those of the built environment. Ideally, a building would be able to embody and honor both principles, both form and function, but some contend that in the current architectural climate, the emphasis on beauty has surpassed the importance placed on functionality. This discussion is particularly relevant to sustainability in the built environment: Sustainability as …

Preserving The Historic Garden Suburb: Case Studies From London And New York, Jeffrey A. Kroessler

Publications and Research

The garden city or garden suburb was a response to the social and environmental ills of cities at the turn of the twentieth century. Letchworth Garden City, Hampstead Garden Suburb, and Welwyn Garden City were built outside London in the early 1900s, and each remains a highly desirable place of residence today. From the start, each was tightly regulated, and remains so a century later. By protecting the appearance and enhancing property values, the strict application of historic preservation principles contribute to the long-term sustainability of each place. Similar garden suburbs were built in the borough of Queens in New …