Architecture Commons^™

Landscape Manipulatives: A Study Of Math Gardens And Learning Outcomes In Middle School Mathematics Education Research, Yang Song

All Dissertations

Human beings, especially children, need natural environments and outdoor play for their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being (Louv, 2008). Even though parents and teachers recognize the value of outdoor play, schoolchildren spend a diminishing amount of time engaging in outdoor activities (Clements, 2004). Furthermore, addressing strict state learning standards is the first priority for schools. Outdoor activities are often seen as extracurricular to those subjects typically emphasized and tested. As a result, outdoor landscapes such as science gardens, playgrounds, and experiential classrooms are often underutilized, discouraged since they can take away from more important, standard forms of pedagogy. Thus, traditional …

Environmental Values And Landscape Architecture: A New Ecological Paradigm Study, Emmet J. Pruss

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In recent decades, landscape design theory has been affected by an increase in pro-environmental values. Largely, this trend has been associated with notions of ‘sustainability’ and ‘ecosystem services.’ These notions involve sustaining current human behaviors within the constraints of ecological limits and maximizing the benefits that humans receive from ecosystems, respectively. In this way, they involve high evaluations of the instrumental values of ecosystems, yet remain predominantly anthropocentric. As such, they are characteristic of shallow ecology worldview.

In order to assess whether the pro-environmental, yet essentially anthropocentric values involved with modern landscape architecture theory are reflected in the environmental worldviews …

Transportation Related Challenges For Persons With Disabilities, Graydon Bascom

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Gaining access to transportation is essential for obtaining employment, education, healthcare, and social interaction. Individuals who face difficulties in gaining this access are considered ‘transportation disadvantaged’ and include individuals of lower socioeconomic status, aging individuals, and persons with disabilities. In our autodependent society, individuals with disabilities face even fewer opportunities to interact within their communities. In order to better understand how individuals with disabilities are limited by their access to transportation, two studies were conducted.

The first study specifically seeks to examine how individuals with disabilities gain access to transportation and the interpersonal relationships that affect opportunities for social participation …

A Comparison Of Design Processes Between Sustainable Sites Certified And Noncertified Urban Open Space Projects, Jennifer A. Wiseman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In response to the World Commission on Environment and Development’s Brundtland Report (1987) and other documents that have brought the need to address environmental, economic, and social issues to the forefront of the awareness of the public, the Sustainable SITES Initiative was modeled after LEED certification and was formed to establish a rating system and comprehensive framework of guidelines for development. It is a collaborative effort between the ASLA, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the United States Botanic Garden. In June 2015, the Green Building Certification, Inc. of the United States Green Building Council acquired SITES and will …

Recreation Community Branding: A Comparative Analysis Within Utah’S Wasatch Front, Lynda D. D. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study demonstrates the role recreational amenities play in contributing to the brand identity and sense of place in Utah master planned communities (MPCs). These MPCs are designed to enable residents to live, work, and play within close proximity within a styled built environment. While the built environment is often branded with a particular identity, these identities resonates with other attributes of the community, including recreation amenities. The study focused on MPCs along the Wasatch Front in Utah, since Utah’s population, along the Wasatch Front, is expected to double by 2050 (Envision Utah, n.d.). Many of the developments being built …

Uncovering The Mystery Of Machu Picchu, Barbara Cardona

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

If mysteries were ranked, Machu Picchu would be on the top of the list. This Incan site, destination for millions of tourists, archaeologists and researchers each year, is one of the biggest enigmas of Incan culture. Its mesmerizing view has prompted hundreds of unanswered questions about this civilization. Incan culture revolved around cities, built without reference to the world beyond. Although the Incas were incredible architects and inventors, they lack written records, shrouding their culture in mystery for many years. While research has illuminated some facets of Incan culture, a significant question still remains: what purpose did Machu Picchu play …

Private Deaths: The Impossibilities Of Home In The Modernist Novel, Ava Bindas

English Honors Projects

This project examines novels by Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, Virginia Woolf, and Nella Larsen featuring female characters who contemplate or commit suicide. Relying on a composite theoretical framework that weaves together geography theories of spaces as well as gendered theories of bodies by authors like Judith Butler, Rita Felski, and Victoria Rosner, I argue women commit suicide because their modern homes fail to accommodate their gendered bodies. Focusing less on the moment of death than on the conditions that make choosing to live impossible, this project tracks how, during a moment of supposed liberation, conceptions of gender, modernity, and domestic …

Bain, Jan (Fa 1021), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1021. Folk studies student project titled: “[Housing],” which includes brief descriptions and photos of “I” houses in Warren County, Kentucky.

Evaluating Variables Of Patient Experience And The Correlation With Design, Dyutima Jha, Amy Keller Frye, Jennifer Schlimgen

Patient Experience Journal

The objective of this paper was to understand the variables of patient experience by analyzing recent and relevant evidence and to identify design solutions within the hospital environment that positively impact those variables. A systematic review of literature published from 2008-present was conducted to identify variables that contribute to patient experience benefits. Identified variables were documented and categorized into a design, organizational, and outcome variable matrix. Interviews were conducted with professionals from healthcare institutions, architecture firms and organizations committed to improving the patient experience. Data from healthcare facilities, with high patient experience scores, was also examined to derive effective design …

Beard, Mary Atwood (Hobson), 1884-1962 - Collector (Sc 3091), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3091. Letters written to Mary Beard of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and research material collected by the same for her book, Old Homes In and Near Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Cost Control During The Construction Phase Of The Building Project: - The Consultant Quantity Surveyor’S Perspective., Tony Cunningham

Other Resources

Cost overruns are commonplace at all stages of the construction development process. This study discusses the practice and procedure employed by consultant quantity surveyors in controlling costs during the construction stage of traditionally procured building contracts. The discussion outlines generic cost planning and control procedures and advises practitioners to focus on the main areas of cost risk, - these typically arise as a result of incomplete design development. Particular emphasis is placed on the need to control expenditure under PC sums and provisional sums. The study outlines procedures regarding the administration of variations, claims for increased costs of labour and …

Lacuna: Transcendence Of The Human Body Through The Space Between, Anica Bottom

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Examination of humans as dancers interaction with our surrounding environment. Performance and experimental movement improvisation clips shown.

2017 - The Twenty-Second Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Twenty-second Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 20, 2017. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Evaluating Climate Change Mitigation And Adaptation Policies On The U.S. 50 States’ Hazard Mitigation Plans, Qiao Hu

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Climate change brings uncertain risks of climate-related natural hazards. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA 2011) has issued a policy directive to integrate climate change adaptation actions into hazard mitigation programs, policies, and plans. However, to date there has been no comprehensive empirical study to examine the extent to which climate change issues are integrated into State Hazard Mitigation Plans (SHMPs). This study develops 18 indicators to examine the extent of climate change considerations in the 50 SHMPs. The results demonstrate that these SHMPs treat climate change issues in an uneven fashion, with large variations present among the 50 …

From The Cabildo To The Creole Cottage: Historic Architecture In The French Quarter Of New Orleans, Justin C. Oakley, Perky Beisel

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

A Nation Within A Nation: Tolerance Within The Dutch Identity, Madlyn Kaufman

Georgia College Student Research Events

When looking at a country like the Netherlands there is one characteristic that sets it apart from all other countries of Europe. The extent in which tolerance is displayed, or lack thereof, has shaped its history and people within ways that shows a unique identity. This oral presentation will take an in depth look at the kinds of tolerance being practiced within the Netherlands focusing on the Jewish population from the 17th century to World War II. The research that was conducted for this presentation is a method that incorporates at home study of the 17th Century Dutch Jews and …

Provenance Of Place And Past: Designing A Bathhouse For Charlottesville (Online), Maya Chandler

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Site, to an architect, should comprise not only the topographical and physical markers of the place, but also the cultural, historical, atmospheric, ritualistic, or intangible qualities of place. New projects ask us to examine what has preceded the proposed architecture and invite it into the work that we place on a site—not ignoring the past, mowing it down, or covering it up—but allowing it to point us in the direction of an architectural intervention. This project redesigns the historic Albemarle County Jail in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia, into a bathhouse. The place-based bathhouse design acknowledges several key elements in the jail’s …

The Histories Of New York City’S Parks, Catherine Mcneur

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

This is the introduction to the Journal of Planning History volume 16 issue 2, 2017.

What Causes Cost Overruns On Building Projects? - An Overview., Tony Cunningham

Other Resources

Cost overruns are commonplace during the construction phase of building projects. This study investigates common reasons why cost overruns happen on building projects. It examines how the client’s priorities and decisions regarding the project duration and quality expectations can undermine cost certainty. The actions of the client’s consultants, particularly those of the architect / employer’s representative, are identified as key factors in causing or preventing cost overruns. The building process, itself, is uncertain, particularly in relation to ground conditions. Large, complex and innovative construction projects containing a substantial element of specialist work are identified as ones which are particularly prone …

Experimental And Numerical Investigation Of Flexural Concrete Wall Design Details, Anahid A. Behrouzi, T. Welt, Dawn Lehman, Laura Lowes, J. Lafave, Daniel Kuchma

Architectural Engineering

Reinforced concrete structural walls are common in mid- to high-rise structures in high seismic regions, and are expected to have good strength and ductility characteristics if designed in accordance with ACI 318-14. However, experimental and analytical investigations of reinforced concrete structural walls and isolated boundary element prisms indicate that the existing design provisions may be insufficient to provide ductile, flexure-dominated response under cyclic loading. Walls designed with an ACI compliant boundary element length are susceptible to shear-compression failures below the maximum ACI allowable shear stress of 10Acv√fc’. Also of concern is the frequent use of thinner walls in modern design; …

Worldbuilding: A Survey Of Games And Architecture At Play, Charlotte Meagan Mckernan

Architecture and Planning ETDs

Architecture often looks to the value of digital spaces for simulation and computation. This thesis argues that the architectural value of games comes not from their role as mimetic digital spaces, but instead from their ability to teach playful worldbuilding. Working with Ian Bogost's methodology of unit analysis, I unpack a number of examples of worldbuilding throughout architectural history. I begin specifically with the construction toy, then move on to explore playful architectural theories in general. Next, drawing from the fields of game design, literature, and philosophy, I unpack the value of worldbuilding itself as a method for generating meaningful …

Architecture Amidst Smog, Hui Sheng

Architecture Thesis Prep

This thesis is an investigation on smog and architecture.

Challenging The Pattern, Gary Thurston

Architecture Thesis Prep

Christopher Alexander and Yona Friedman suggest the architect is necessarily limited in his or her ability to construct the built environment for all people, or should be limited in favor of participation of the non-architect. While I agree that all parties of the world should take part in design and construction, I assert that architects through their training are better equipped to design and construct our built environment and in this sense, I am directly challenging the claims made by Alexander, et al.

Urban Archtifice: Regenerating Residential Facades Through Acupuncture, Ran Mei

Architecture Thesis Prep

To legitimize and make use of weirdness in the Chinese cultural fascination of symbolism and objectified architecture, I decide to put it in the most function-oriented program in the city _ collective housing, or more specifically, the transformation and regeneration of existing housing types in Chinese megacities. To inject iconicity into the most banal and repetitive structures of Chinese cities, the residential high-rises, I aim to create a human layer that parasites the faceless facades of housing blocks; to take advantage of the novelty value of collectively generated iconicity to legitimize the personal appropriation of “public” space; to bring back …

We Die As We Live, Yücel Güven

Architecture Thesis Prep

Each person is made up of different characters that build his/her complete identity. It is possible to identify these individual personas and design a different mausoleum to each one, specific in architectural language and function. The mausoleum should architecturally be unique to the persona and functionally serve the same purpose.

The "D.A.R." Object, Zhe Wang

Architecture Thesis Prep

The D.A.R. Object discusses a method, which to redesign a selected object through Disassembling - Analyzing - Reconstructing, 3 main process. When the method of "D.A.R." is adopted, the inherent form logic of an object will still be kept. Because designing like this way will make challenge to the original object ideologically. This challenge is embodied in the dramatic conflict between the process, which has a strong relationship with the object's inherent logic, and the result, which will blur the original reality of the object.

And my method of "D.A.R." initially comes from my study of structuralism and deconstruction. More …

Herbert Hoover Elementary / Charleston Complete Corridor Plan, William Riggs, Kristan Anaya, Troy Andres, Ryanne Browers, Dan Canella, Jesse Carpentier, Dylan Coleman, Seitu Coleman, Melanie Conti, Rob Etter, Kyle Finger, Matthew Fluhmann, Daniel Harrison, Alyssa Lucero, Eric Martinez, Ian Mccarville, Caitlin Milich, Megan Miller, Sammi Mulhern, Benjamin Rady, Erina Shimanuki, Noah Stricker, Bryan Wheeler, Torina Wilson, Justin Wong, Crp 425 Bicycle And Pedestrian Planning

City and Regional Planning Studios and Projects

Completed as a part of CRP 425 bicycle and pedestrian planning, led by Dr. William Riggs, this planning project assessed the Herbert Hoover Elementary site and Charleston corridor in the City of Palo Alto with an aim to bring a complete streets strategy to the area. The plans recommend improved accessibility for bicycles and pedestrians along Charleston Road including modal separation between bicyclists and pedestians, improved vehicular flows to mitigate vehicular traffic congestion during peak hours and increased innovation in safety features to prevent pedestrian-vehicle conflicts.

Breaching The Divide: An Inquiry Into Border Passage, Russell Scheer

Architecture Senior Theses

This project is an inquiry into the existing threshold that currently separates Israelis from Palestinians in the West Bank. Through the dismantling of the Israeli border checkpoint and reinterpretation of its parts, this project reimagines the sequence of passing through the threshold. By framing the mundane activities of border passage through dramatic scenes, this architecture can reveal themes religion, resources, and surveillance. This architecture also intends to highlight the imbalance of the current conflict and those involved in it, by creating an architecture equally absurd.

Configuring Narrowness: Formulating Vertical Vernaculars In The Forgotten, Teriya Lee

Architecture Senior Theses

The thesis is convinced that a memorable narrowness can be achieved in an urban void if the architect shifts focus from the horizontal plane to the vertical plane. Indeed, a large portion of what can be seen when approaching a narrow street is not "the front," but "the sides." By using the current vernacular palette to develop vertically-oriented shacks, the thesis proposes two alternative designs to reimage these cracks in the city, in order to fill these cracks in memory.

What Is Sacred, Maxwell K. Baum

Architecture Senior Theses

This thesis aims to reinterpret the notion of sacred space and explore architectures role in the creation of sacred space. Stripped of the religious connotations of the sacred, this thesis hopes to create an architecture that balances between the individual and the collective, fosters both introspective reflection and extrospective contemplation, and proposes architecture for the experiencing of the sacred.

Architecture can serve as the platform for the transcendental experience. This can be achieved through a thorough understanding of criteria this thesis has identified as constituents in creating sacred space. The concept of Le Corbusier’s “L’espace Indicible,” the ideas of phenomenology …