Architecture Commons^™

Cal Poly Pier Master Plan, Troy A. Lawson

Master's Theses

The Cal Poly Pier (Pier) Master/Facility Plan (FP) document provides the vision of the future for the Pier, a marine science research facility. The Plan facilitates project development and management of the Pier while meeting university and department research goals. Specifically, the FP document establishes goals and strategies to direct long-term development of the Pier, streamlines agency approval and permit requirements, provides context for pier management, and assists the permitting process for future development as it relates to regulatory permits and programmatic growth on the Cal Poly Pier to help meet goals of the Center for Coastal Marine Sciences (CCMS). …

Combating Urban Stratification: Expanding Options For Nycha Build To Preserve, Jason Montgomery

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Importance Of Safety In Public Parks For Crime Prevention, Camille Frace

City and Regional Planning

The goal of this portfolio is research based education regarding the importance of safety in parks for crime prevention. By exploring the growing importance between safety, public parks, and crime prevention, learning about all factors incorporated and supporting the subject are both keys in understanding the relationship as a whole. The urban and built environments, crime statistics and perceptions, safety audits, design, conditions, and various other factors contribute to the overall picture of safety.

Mcneal Bluffs Development Package, Jack Angelo Balfour

City and Regional Planning

The McNeal Bluffs Development Package provides the information necessary to guide any future housing development on this property at the time of completion of this document. The package contains site analysis looking not only at the site itself but the surrounding area and region. The package then provides a detailed breakdown of the regulatory requirements that would be needed to get a project of this magnitude entitled. From there a real estate market analysis is conducted providing information on the real estate market of the whole region, locally, and provides information on recent comparable projects. A possible concept design is …

Outdoor Learning Environments, Elizabeth Farin

City and Regional Planning

Outdoor Learning Environments have the ability to enhance the campus socially, educationally, psychologically, and environmentally. They can provide a defined, outdoor environment that students feel comfortable using and learning in. Outdoor Learning Environments create the space and opportunity to bring individuals and professors together to work on an interdisciplinary project. These spaces provide an area for students to relax and rewind during a stressful day. Outdoor Learning Environments have an enormous potential to achieve University-wide social and learning objectives.

This project examines the potential for Outdoor Learning on University campuses. Through analyzing existing outdoor spaces both at Cal Poly and …

Planning For Pollinators, Encouraging Biodiversity For Agriculture Resiliency, Sebastian Brian Cardoza

Master's Theses

Pollinators are essential to food production globally. Without them, the production of food becomes increasingly difficult, time consuming, and costly. Unfortunately, due to the rapid changes to our earth's physical and climatic structure millions of species are becoming classified as threatened, endangered or extinct. Among these declining species are pollinating insects such as Aphis mellifera (honeybee) and other native species. This is due to a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder (CCD) and other native bees. The decline indicates that the future habitability of earth may be in jeopardy. The solution to this crisis is to expand the habitat of …

"Knotted Tubes" High Rise Residential Tower, Roman Lara Iv

Architectural Engineering

Knotted Tubes is an 800' residential tower designed by a team of two third year architecture students and one graduate architectural engineering student in the two-quarter high-rise design studio partnered with Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill LLP. The report documents it's design origins and narrative evolution throughout the studio's duration, as well as the design process and final iteration of the whole system, focusing on the structural system and tectonic integration.

Analysis Of Burning Wood In The Transient State And The Application To Structural Design, Roberta Veliz, Kimberly Guzman

Architectural Engineering

Determining the extent of the contribution of exposed timber on compartment fire dynamics in open floor plans is a complex process. Designers traditionally used compartmentalization design methods which create spaces where flashover is likely, given the fuel load and ventilation conditions. However, due to the large geometric dimensions and spread of fuel, fires in open floor plans are more likely to remain as localized or traveling fires. As such, an understanding of not only ignition potential but also flame spread is critical to characterizing the contribution of exposed timber. An integral step in characterizing the potential contribution is through an …

Lilypaaaad - Structural Design, Katelyn Smith

Architectural Engineering

This report tells the story of the structural design process of the LilyPAAAAD tower. The highlights of this process include precedent studies, 2-D structural analysis studies, hand calculations, and drawings. Precedent studies gave insight into unknown possibilities and helped discover how other engineers achieved their design goals. Projects like Sendai Mediatheque and the HSBC Tower are innovative solutions to unique design criteria. 2-D structural studies revealed how the braced frame and outrigger systems worked. By changing member stiffness and studying the load path, the members that contributed the most to resisting the load could be identified. Hand calculations were essential …

Wine History Project Pavilion, Douglas Mcarthur

Architectural Engineering

The Wine History Pavilion Project is a continuing endeavor of Cal Poly students working on an exhibitive, traveling structure for the San Luis Obispo community. The project started during the 2019 Fall Quarter in the interdisciplinary Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Studio and has progressed to the detailed design stage for its eventual fabrication and installation. This report discusses the detailed design stage that 4th year Architectural Engineering student, Douglas McArthur, worked on.

Vertical Veins: Digital Commons Reflection, Ryan J. Millward, Nicole L. O'Connor

Architectural Engineering

The SOM High Rise Studio was a collaboration between 3^rd year Architecture students and primarily 4^th year Architectural Engineering students. The studio consisted of 20 weeks, with consistent check points marked by SOM partner reviews. The overall aim of the collaboratory nature of the studio was to expose each discipline to the decision-making process of the other to better facilitate understanding of the overall system and narrative of the high-rise tower.

Each quarter had a distinct goal that was the focus of submittals and reviews. Winter Quarter was primarily focused on the form finding aspect of our design …

The Aloe: High Rise Schematic Design And Analysis, Tony Duc Nguyen, Lilliann Lan Lai

Architectural Engineering

The authors of this document are architectural engineering (ARCE) undergraduate students from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). They joined the 2020 Skyscraper Collaboratory as part of the ARCE course 415: Interdisciplinary Capstone Project. This course emphasizes the analysis and evaluation of interdisciplinary challenges associated with integrating the design and construction processes to deliver a project with respect to the design, quality, and performance expectations for a client or presented criteria. The course was taught in collaboration with industry partners and associates from the global architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). Instruction …

Dodecahedron Housing Tower - Collaborative High Rise Design, Michael Ayers

Architectural Engineering

This Senior Project includes the integrated architectural and structural design of a 744'-0" tall housing tower located at the corner of Market St.& Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco, CA. The concept of this tower revolves around the tessellation of dodecahedron modules that provide the template for all structure and architectural elements within the building. The 20-week long course focused on the full development of this high rise building including its urban context, performative envelope, global structural performance as a tall building, foundation systems, and integration with architecture.

Same Polytechnic College - Phase Zero, Amber Sutherland, Hester Lui, Nicole O'Connor

Architectural Engineering

The Same Polytechnic College, located in Same (Sah-may), Tanzania, is an on-going project that has been worked on by approximately 600 Cal Poly students over the past decade. The college is being designed for the Mbesese Initiative for Sustainable Development (MISD), a nonprofit organization working towards alleviating poverty in rural East Africa through the expansion of access to education. As an interdisciplinary team of architectural engineering, architecture, and landscape architecture students, the master plan of the college was refined and the design of “Phase Zero” was created as the first step towards the organization’s goal.

Analysis Of High Rise Structures, Elitsa P. Vutova

Architectural Engineering

The design of a high rise tower involves many moving parts and is best done in collaboration with all construction disciplines. This report examines the basic steps and principles followed and discovered along the collaborative design process between Architectural and Architectural Engineering students of two high rise building systems. The report will look at physical model tests and digital model analyses. It will also follow the design of two high rise towers proposed for San Francisco, CA: The Crystal and the HOODOO. The tower design includes a study of possible lateral loading systems, a dual core and outrigger system analysis …

Piazza Di Ulivo: Arce Patio Redesign, Sophia Kim-Oanh Ha, David Colman

Architectural Engineering

Piazza de Ulivo was Phase 1 of a multi-quarter initiative to redesign and bring life to a patio space adjacent to Engineering West (Building 21) in Spring of 2020. Located within the central courtyard of Engineering West (Hasslein Garden), the patio space previously contained a senior project pergola that collapsed and has been removed. The remaining elements from this previous structure were an inverted moment frame consisting of five concrete columns and beams joining them. Additionally, a wooden bench with concrete pedestals remained under the shade of the existing olive tree. Desire within the Architectural Engineering (ARCE) department for the …

Eco-Industrial Park, Jodie Buchholz

Architectural Engineering

Journeyman International (JI) is a non-profit organization that pairs emerging professionals in the architectural, structural engineering, and construction management industries with humanitarian projects in underdeveloped countries overseeing the design and construction process. The Eco-Industrial Park is a JI project that is partnering with Empowering Villages which is a Rwandan organization that aims to bring energy access, environmental sustainability and economic development to every village. The Eco-Industrial park will be constructed on a plot of land that is a few miles away from a hydropower plant established by Empowering Villages. The project team consists of a 5^th year Cal Poly …

An Iot Framework For Modeling And Controlling Thermal Comfort In Buildings, Fadi Alsaleem, Mehari K. Tesfay, Mostafa Rafaie, Kevin Sinkar, Dhaman Besarla, Parthiban Arunasalam

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Humans spend more than 90% of their day in buildings, where their health and productivity are demonstrably linked to thermal comfort. Building thermal comfort systems account for the largest share of U.S energy consumption. Despite this high-energy cost, due to building design complexity and the variety of building occupant needs, addressing thermal comfort in buildings remains a difficult problem. To overcome this challenge, this paper presents an Internet of Things (IoT) approach to efficiently model and control comfort in buildings. In the model phase, a method to access and exploit wearable device data to build a personal thermal comfort model …

A Case Study On How Insulated Concrete Forms Can Prevent Structure Loss During Wildfires, Charles Myron Ackley

Construction Management

ICFs are a building material with unique thermal insulating and non-combustible properties that have shown great potential at protecting a structure during a wildfire. To prove the hypothesis that ICFs can effectively prevent structure damage or loss during a wildfire, an analytical case study on an ICF home that survived the Camp Fire was conducted. The goal was to understand how ICFs unique thermal insulating and non-combustible properties protect structures from wildfires and how this assembly system can be a lot more effective than a traditional frame structure. Additional objectives for the project included highlighting the growing threat of wildfires …

The Emma Family Backyard Deck – Thousand Oaks, Ca, Christopher Walter Farkas

Construction Management

This paper outlines the planning, design, and construction of an 80 square foot deck/outdoor patio. The main purpose of this project was to assist an elder couple fund and construct a new deck in their backyard. Due to the current world pandemic, COVID-19 the Emma Family was practicing social distancing and adhering to the State and County wide stay at home order. The project plan was to design a deck for Emma family in the design, construction it and receive funding. The deck was a rectangular 8’ x 10’ and raised 6” off the ground. In addition to the deck …

Construction Of A Sustainable High-Tech Greenhouse, Miguel A. Sadler

Construction Management

The purpose of this project is to assess the feasibility for farmers to upgrade from conventional farming methods to using sustainable, high-tech greenhouses. For all intensive purposes, the values presented in this paper are based off the assumption that a farmer already owns their land and can use this paper as a reference to see what it would look like if they wanted to make the upgrade to high-tech greenhouses. To assess the viability of this project my partner and I set out to complete all the preconstruction activities that a project team would need to complete for a potential …

The Relationship Between Bim And Electrical Prefabrication, Donald J. Lipsey

Construction Management

Recently, with the help of Building Information Modeling, prefabrication has become popular amongst electrical subcontractors. This report dives further into the relationship of the two counterparts and analyzes what allows the relationship to be successful. Currently, little information has been published regarding how Building Information Modeling and electrical prefabrication play off of each other. This report serves to provide information to electrical subcontractors that are either looking to start prefabricating or further their prefabrication methods. Analytical methods used consist of online research combined with interviews from three different people at three different electrical subcontracting firms. All interviewees hold different job …

Mass Manufacturing 8x20 Tiny Homes For Low Income Housing In Slo, Tyler James Morales

Construction Management

The United States housing prices have been on the rise for years. This increase has led to an extremely large number of citizens in this country who are unable to afford their rent, much less buy a home. One of the many potential solutions to this problem are tiny homes. Tiny homes have been around since the 1850’s but have just recently been thrusted back into the spotlight. Today Tiny Homes is more than a style of housing but a movement to return to simpler times and simpler lifestyles by living out of a much smaller home. Our project goal …

Residential Seismic Retrofit Cost For Home Located In Tustin, California, Sara Clark

Construction Management

Seismically retrofitting a residential home not only protects the homeowner, but also helps them prepare for the future. Needless to say, many older homes are not up to the 2018 International Residential Code. As a result, many owners are uninformed about how much it will cost to retrofit their home and what changes will have to be made. The solution for this is determining a cost per square foot ratio that will help homeowners calculate an estimate for the retrofit of their home. Additionally, it is important to break this cost down into what specific changes need to be made. …

Cal Poly Rodeo Observation Deck, Timothy Smith

Construction Management

This senior project was designed to help continue the winning tradition that the Cal Poly Rodeo program established in 1939 with a new observation deck for the practice arena. The major steps taken to complete this project were design, fundraising and construction. The total area of the deck is approximately 1,100 square feet and includes connections to an ADA approved ramp and multiple staircases. This is a landmark project for the Cal Poly Rodeo program and will assist them in keeping the winning Mustang tradition alive.

Case Study: Google’S Unique Canopy Styled Construction, Ray A. Cuevas

Construction Management

In today’s rapidly changing world, builders are pushing to implement more sustainable practices and incorporate innovative techniques to integrate green practices into their structures. One of the latest examples of this push towards sustainability is seen in Google’s new headquarters, Charleston East located in Mountain View, California. Combining their widely known mission to provide a positive work environment for their employees with their passion to be more environmentally friendly, Google has set out to create a Living Building with LEED Platinum certification. In order to accomplish this Google has collaborated with Bjarke Ingels Group, Heatherwick Studio, and Hathaway Dinwiddie. The …

Interdisciplinary Studio Pavilion [Isp] 2019 – Silicalion, Theodore Kenitchi Powers

Construction Management

The subject of this paper is an interdisciplinary project in which teams of two or three architecture, one construction management, and one architectural engineering student were tasked with working together to design a portable wine pavilion for the Wine History Project (WHP). The mission of the WHP is to preserve the history of wine culture and vineyards in San Luis Obispo County. Each team chose a theme of nature upon which to base their project’s design. The author’s team, Silicalion, used the Venus flower basket as inspiration for its design. The resulting design is a series of cells that form …

Construction Of The Slo Botanical Gardens Foot Bridge - Interdisciplinary Project, Connor N. Layman

Construction Management

In the Winter quarter of 2020, a project based senior project was sought out by a Cal Poly Construction Management student, and he was connected with the San Luis Obispo Botanical Gardens (SLO BG). SLO BG is a non-profit organization located on 150 acres in the El Chorro Regional Park. After meeting with the SLO BG staff and exploring their many needed projects, the student and the staff mutually concluded that he would build a bridge and accompanying stairs which resided on a well-traveled trail on the property. He successfully developed the project schedule, budget, recruited an architect for design …

Modernity In Miniature: Maoism And The Beijing Department Store, Samuel M. Hellmann

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the Beijing Department Store as a contradictory structure embedded in the world’s largest Communist revolution. By looking at the urban planning decisions behind constructing a colonial form in the center of the socialist capital, I attempt to unravel the complex intersection of economic development and egalitarian mass action in the early Maoist period. Constructed in 1955 during the first Five Year Plan, the Department Store sheds light on the specific parameters of post-revolution modernization campaigns. Furthermore, by looking at the conceptualizations of the building by the Party, architects, and the workers inside the store, I examine how …

Campus Design And The Community College Experience: An Exploration Of Stress, Belonging And Scholarly Identity, Vanita Naidoo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This mixed methods research study examines factors that influence the development of scholarly identity at a community college campus. It uses survey methods and a focus group with undergraduate students at the Bronx Community College (BCC) campus to examine how campus design relates to a sense of belonging, the process of reflection, and the development of a scholarly identity. Academic attrition and low performance are challenges at urban community colleges. The study aims to address how campus design, specifically green space, impacts undergraduate students at a community college. It seeks to better understand the experience of the diverse student population …