Architecture Commons^™

Behind Closed Doors, Hannah Schafers

Masters in Architecture Program: Theses

This thesis launches itself off the contemporary critique of phenomenology that values subjectivity and places emphasis on the ‘archetypical’ user. Spectators in build space today are just that, seeing architecture as what you bump into while trying to view something else or merely as a culturally framed monument visible by its own significance. Ninety-three percent of our lives revolve around built space, and in particular the interior condition, yet architecture has become a subconscious being of mundane expectations for the occupant. The values of human experience in architecture are sometimes difficult to portray and internalize in their pure form.

Behind …

Growth: Expanding The Nature Of Cities, Collin R. Meusch

Masters in Architecture Program: Theses

This thesis aims to define and explore why it is absolutely necessary for cities to accommodate higher densities of people and incorporate the natural environment within the built environment. As urban populations continue to grow at rapid rates, the threat of losing our ties to the natural environment looms on the horizon, but presents architects with an opportunity to help combat this problem. This thesis aims to critically examine strategies for rethinking the architecture of cities, strategies that include both accommodating higher numbers of people and presenting people with the opportunity for frequent exposure to nature within the context of …

Managing The Wear Of Heavy Construction Equipment Steel Track Undercarriage By Soil Sand Content, Frederick Ashburn Rich

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Heavy construction equipment owners and managers have few predictive tools that can estimate wear rate of undercarriage track propulsion systems working in various soil types and changing operational conditions. Managing the timely maintenance of these track systems is critical for they represent over half of the non-fuel operating cost of the equipment fleet. Understanding the major influencing factors that impact undercarriage system wear rate can help determine the most economical time to stop a machine for track maintenance thus positively impacting the equipment’s return on investment (ROI). This research analyzed the population of track type dozers in the eastern half …

A Study Of Quality Requirement Conveyance For Assignments In Technology And Engineering Master’S Degree Programs, Heather J. Mccain

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Quality requirements are not easy to define. In higher education, defining quality requirements and communicating those requirements to students may be accomplished through a variety of mechanisms. Students still may not know what it takes to get a good grade on an assignment and may have to wait for an instructor to clarify the assignment. This study was conducted because students and instructors may have different opinions as to which forms of feedforward and what technology are best to convey assignment requirements. The purpose of this study was to determine effective feedforward mechanisms as well as the technology used to …

A Qualitative Study Of Information Technology Project Portfolio Management In Higher Education, L. Andy Miller

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to understand the variables, processes, organizational structures, and governance structures that are important and/or that support higher education decision makers in their selection and prioritization of information technology (IT) projects into their universities’ portfolios. IT project portfolio management (PPM) is comprised of many different activities, and the selection and prioritization of projects are just two interconnected activities amongst many. Research has suggested that these PPM activities are both important and beneficial; but there is a dearth of research on the subject specifically within higher education IT environments, and some higher education organizations struggle in this area. …

Micro Living - Big Mindset, Erin Lyttle

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Where does the idea of “Tiny Home - Big Mindset” come into play with all the information that has been presented, you may be wondering. I am proposing that we take a new position at how we live, starting with our personal space and home dwellings. One of the main issues with tiny homes is that they are looked at as RV’s (recreational vehicles) or motor homes, but I’d have to argue and say that they have much more to offer is comparison to what they have been mistaken for. While most tiny homes are mobile, they are not RV’s. …

Empirical Empowerment - Mental Health In The Built Environment, Emily Mcclure

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

One in five adults in the US experienced a mental illness in 2018 and 19.1% Of the adult population suffers from the damages of poor mental health, affecting family, friends, as well as productivity in the workplace and physical health. The environment we occupy often goes unnoticed as the catalyst of neglecting mental health, while we spend more that 80% of our days on average indoors, there is a direct connection between environment and its impact on our mental health. Health and human services defines mental health as our emotional, psychological, and social well-being, affecting how we think, feel, and …

The [Hydro-Gen] Cell_ A Hydroponic, Regenerative, Modular System For Optimized Vertical Farming, Jose Asbiel Samaniego

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Thesis Statement:

This research project aims to design, develop, and test an intelligent hydroponic system that can be integrated into the built environment for advancing sustainability.

Proposal:

Hydroponic systems are methods of growing plants in a water-based solution, which are currently used in vertical farming practices for food production. In this research, the hydroponic-regenerative or [Hydro-Gen] Cell is envisioned as biomechanical hybrid machinery that, while designed to be used in mid-to high rise buildings it would address sustainable aspects such as food production, enhancement of air cleaning capacity, and reduction of energy consumption. The project specifically aims at addressing the …

The Factories: Bringing A Derelict Icon Into The New Age, Douglas Reid

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The Chatillion Factories were constructed in 1927, and added on to in subsequent years. The factories \changed owners and purposes many times over the following decades, until at some point in the 90’s the factories were left mostly abandoned. This industrial complex occupies some prime real estate near downtown Rome. It is just under a mile from the rapidly growing Broad Street, a quarter of a mile to State Mutual Stadium, and right across the road from Ridge Ferry Park. As such, it has the potential to act as a central location to help unite these three nodes of Rome. …

Defining The Relationships Of Authority, Noah Bieber

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis explores the “disciplinary mechanisms” that define individuals in space. The formation of tactics into a strategy galvanizes an individual into what Michel Foucault describes as a “docile body” (Foucault 1978,135). These tactics find traction in the classification, coding, and organizations of bodies in space and time, through repetition, observations, and documentation. The dynamic between these tactics forms the strategies to create docile bodies.

In the end, discipline mechanisms are used everyday subversively and or subliminally. However, good or bad, we are byproducts of our environment and under a system of control that coerces us to act and behave …

Learning Through Space, Niloufar Mehrjerdian

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

At the South Border of the United States, children are being held in facilities for days. While at these facilities, these children do not have the opportunity to learn like other children around their age do. This thesis explores ways to design spaces for children that encourage cognitive development.

By looking at research done by Jean Piaget, Friedrich Froebel, Johanne Pestalozzi, and John Dewey, the thesis will examine the development of a child’s brain, and the development of cognition from birth to adulthood. Jean Piaget, a psychologist, divided the human brain’s development into four stages, the sensorimotor stage, the pre-operational …

A Bite Of Architecture: Farm-To-Table & Dining Experience, Steven Yang

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The way people experience a city is its food and architecture. It has the most cultural impact, by creating its own unique social interactions and experiences within our urban fabric and food. The architecture provides a sense of place and creates an artificial framework that ties in through harmony in the environment through research and design by promoting where food is coming from? How to grow and prepare food, and creates a unique dining experience. The project intent is not to create a food hub, but to create a framework that builds from a food hub all the way to …

Inner City Artscape, Michelle Nguyen

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The research of this project deals with multiple disciplines such as art, culture, and social connection that ultimately benefits human development and well-being. Through the architectural urban design of the main street of Hapeville, GA, this thesis aims to solve the issues of vitalization and attraction to a main city street in a design of a residential community to activate public spaces through the work and input of the creative class and local community. Ultimately, this redesign of the main street will be a catalyst of economic growth and well-being of the local community, revitalizing a home into an urban …

Equitable Design Through The Urban Museum: Catalyzing Community Revitalization And Environmental Justice In The Sweet Auburn Historic District(The New Apex Museum), Day'zhanera King

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Have you ever heard of the Black Lives Matter Movement, or B.L.M.? B.L.M. was created as a response to the resurgence of racism and xenophobic hate-crimes against Black people and their communities, often at the hands of police. It was the hate crimes plus the scape-goating of Blacks add in poverty rates, the exponentially high Black unemployment rates, and the over policing of Black neighborhoods. B.L.M. is the modern activist response to the continuance of Richard Nixon’s War on Drugs, Bill Clinton’s crime bill and the massive, and the disproportionate incarceration of Black men. B.L.M. is the representation for what …

21st Century Social Genesis, Jessica Headrick

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The modern adaptations of technology have shifted the pendulum of human life. Its positive strides and challenges have evolved human behavior with new social, spatial and cultural genesis today. The modern human life today is monitored, interacted with, and immediately immersed into new age technology the second life starts. This shift in behavioral acceptance can distinctively be recognized when compared to life fifty years ago. A frequent awareness and understanding of such rapid technological shifts necessitate a place where people become more aware and be educated on the innovative strides that research and progressive technology offers in order to anticipate …

Potential Of Existing And Proposed Bicycle Facilities To Link Multiple Origin And Destination Needs For Non-Motorized Travel In San Luis Obispo, Sheridan Nansen

City and Regional Planning

The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of linking multiple origins and destinations for efficient non-motorized travel in San Luis Obispo, California. The city currently has seventy-five miles of bicycle infrastructure with the intention to add thirty-five more miles to create a more functional bicycle network and foster an increase in bicycle trips taken.

Many cities in the United States are following their European counterparts in the push towards more sustainable forms of transportation by promoting bicycling, walking, and the use of public transit. Recently, we have seen an increase in both local and national legislative efforts …

Bike And Pedestrian Safety Planning: Excelsior/Outer Mission District, Alexandra Lee-Gardner

City and Regional Planning

San Francisco’s Outer Mission and Excelsior districts host a vibrant community of small business owners and residents from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. The neighborhood is known for its diversity and sense of community. However, lack of adequate infrastructure and high-speed roadways has created great safety concerns within the community. In the last five years, the Excelsior/Outer Mission area had 828 collisions, nine of which were fatal (Transbase, n.d.). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has identified nearly 14 miles of streets in the project area that are on the City’s high injury network, meaning collisions there are highly …

Walkability Of Suburban Retrofits Of The Washington Dc Area: Immersion Into Qualitative Constructs, David Sweere

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

The majority of the United States population is living in the suburbs, and yet the suburban built fabric has developed with spatial conditions that have failed to prove their efficacy on environmental, social or economic terms. Most contemporary architectural and urban theorists agree that the suburban condition is inherently problematic. In a 2010 Ted Talk, architect and urban designer Ellen Dunham-Jones discusses the problematic state of the suburban built condition, citing dependence on the vehicle, sparseness of built form, environmental costs, transportation costs, and even increased obesity rates (Dunham-Jones 2010). Because the suburbs comprise the majority of our “urbanized” areas …

Refuge For The Refugee, Chelsia Sooksengdao

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This capstone investigates the overlap of psychology and architecture as a tool to address the issue of mental wellness in refugees. It focuses on the way refugee camp conditions perpetuate the trauma that is experienced, and how the inhabited spaces foster unhealthy interactions that add to the emotional stress refugees endure. Most of these unhealthy interactions are caused by overcrowded living conditions that prevail in most refugee camps, leading to violations of privacy and personal space. By investigating aspects of social psychology and proxemics, this capstone connects these concepts to spatial solutions, with the goal of reducing emotional stress and …

The Yamanote Loop: Unifying Rail Transportation And Disaster Resilience In Tokyo, Mackenzie Wade

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

As climate change and population growth persist, and as the world rapidly urbanizes, major cities across the globe will face unprecedented strains. The risk of devastating impact from natural disasters increases in areas with a growing concentration of people. Megacities in Asia are the most at-risk of natural disasters, given their geographic location and high population density. With the highest projected population growth in the world, Asian cities must quickly expand and adapt their existing infrastructure to accommodate the transforming global conditions.

A remarkable anomaly amongst Asian megacities, Tokyo, Japan is effectively adapting to its earthquake-prone environment. Within the last …

A Functional Escape, Zachary Spero

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over the past two decades, the tree house has outgrown its more recent traditional role as a child’s place to play and has served many new functions. I intend to conduct research that questions how the tree house has evolved over the last twenty years based upon changes in program, technology, and relation to the tree itself. As a result of this research, I will deliver a clear understanding of tree house design best practices in the form of a manual.

Multi-Sensory Design For People With Visual Impairments, Joshua Levy

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Architectural design commonly focuses on the visual qualities of its manifestation, leaving people with visual impairments aside from its qualitative goals. In order to counteract this phenomenon and appropriately address people with low visual acuity / legal blindness, we must understand the people within this large community as well as current policies focusing on different types of accommodations for spatial practicality. Understanding the people will entail a dive into what a visual impairment is, what it is like, and understanding how people perceive the world as a whole. Then it is necessary to understand current policies that designers have adopted …

The Social Lot: Reimagining The Future Of Surface Parking Lots In Kansas City, Missouri, Lauren Davis

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Currently, the world is experiencing a resurgence of the urban lifestyle as humanity undergoes its third great wave of human history, the metropolitan tide. Humanity’s advancement in the past few decades has made cities the largest technology possible. In 1952, only thirty percent of the population lived in cities, and by the end of the twenty-first century, eighty-five percent of the world’s population will be urban. With this influx of population in the urban landscape, it is pertinent now more than ever for cities to redesign the city for the pedestrian.

In the 1950s, there was a predominant reorganization of …

Rezidenca Për Moshën E Tretë Përmes Paradigmave Gjithëpërfshirëse Të Moshave, Fleksibilitetit Dhe Zhvillimit Hibrid, Floriana Zllanoga

Theses and Dissertations

Bazuar në ndryshimet demografike gjatë viteve të fundit në Kosovë e sidomos pas shekullit 20, këto ndryshime u shoqëruan edhe me ndryshime të mëdha ekonomike sociale dhe kulturore duke sjellur sfida të reja për gjeneratat e reja veçanërisht duke u përballur me sfidat e arkitekturës (si reflektim i kulturës dhe gjendjes aktuale) përkitazi me akomodimin e moshës së tretë. Duke qenë se jemi në shek.21 dhe përfaqësojmë gjeneratën aktive, kjo periudhë shoqërohet me mungesën e hapësirave fleksibile të banimit për gjeneratën e tretë,kjo duke u dëshmuar me ekzistencën e vetëm 4 shtëpive për të moshuar në tërë Kosovën me kritere …

Resort Për Agro Turizëm, Lindrit Islami

Theses and Dissertations

Detyra të cilën kam zgjedhur për të punuar projektuar ) është projekt që do të shërbej për akomodim në baza ditore , javore ose edhe më gjatë Përfshinë hapësira për banim , ushqim , rekreim , kalerim , eksplorim në natyrën që gjindet perreth etj Lokacioni gjindet në qytetin e Vitisë përkatsisht në fshatin Kabash Është mjaftë i pershtatshëm për zhvillimin e një resorti për agro turizëm pasi që ka natyrë të paster dhe pamje të gjithë komunës Përzgjedhja e keti lokacioni është bërë për arsye se qytetit i duhet një Rezort që do të shfrytëzohej jo vetëm gjatë verës …

Ndërtesë Shumëbanesore-Multifunksionale, Liburn Aqifi

Theses and Dissertations

Ky punim ka për qëllim projektimin e një ndërtimi shumëbanesor multifunksional i cili në vete përmban banim,qendër rekreacioni,qendër tregtare etj.

Duke projektuar një objekt të tillë multifunksional arrihet një kualitet më i mirë për njerëzit e asaj zone po ashtu edhe i qytetarëve.

Gjatë analizave të gjata të lokacionit është analizuar fillmisht pjesa rrethuese e kësaj zone se çfarë i nevojitet dhe cili është qëllimi për të bërë këtë ndërtim multifunksional dhe çfarë mund t’i ofroje më shumë qytetarëve.

Fillmisht lokacioni ka disa përparsi sepse është një ndërlidhje mes qytetit të Preshevës dhe anës tjetër të Vranjës pra është një …

Qendra Për Trajtimin Dhe Rehabilitimin Nga Substancat Që Krijojnë Varësi, Dren Gojani

Theses and Dissertations

Ky punim diplome fokusohet në hartimin e programit projektues të “Qendrës për trajtim dhe rehabilitim nga substancat që krijojnë varësi” duke u bazuar në statistikat e mbledhura nga organizatat e ndryshme joqeveritare mbi përdorimin e substancave narkotike në Republikën e Kosovës. Këto hulumtime japin rezultate mjaft interesante dhe njëkohësisht brengosëse për faktin që numri i personave të varur nga substancat narkotike po rritet gjithnjë e më shumë. Duke qenë se në Kosovë kanalizimi i këtij problemi është thuajse plotësisht i neglizhuar, nevoja për krijimin e një qendre e cila do t’u ofronte strehim dhe ndihmesë këtyre personave është mëse e …

Demolition In Rural Nebraska: Revitalizing Fairbury’S Vacant Sites, Mohammad S. Qutbaldeen

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Small communities are the most affected by the population decline. This decline results in an increase in the number of abandoned buildings. Those buildings, if left uncared for, will disintegrate and pose an environmental threat to the communities that they are in. In rural areas, demolition without repurposing or redevelopment plans is the dominant solution for unoccupied buildings. Data from the U.S. Census and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality shows that the rural town in Nebraska with the highest rate of vacant sites in a rural town has occurred in Fairbury. Vacant sites are an inevitable result of a …

An Invisible Minority: Creating Agency For The Lgbtq+ Community, Zach Hart

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

4.5% of Americans make up an invisible minority - the LGBTQ+ community represents over 9 million Americans. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people have a history of being targets of discrimination, which is indisputable when we see that LGBTQ+ relations are illegal in 74 countries, a criminal offense in 72 countries, and punishable by death in 12 countries. The LGBTQ+ youth population makes up less than 10% of the overall youth population, but 40% of the homeless youth population. When compared to their straight peers - gay and lesbian adolescents are almost 4 times more likely to attempt suicide, …

From Displaced To Our Place: Educational Environments Can Promote A Community’S Health And Well-Being, Morgan Frederick

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Thomasville heights is a displacement neighborhood for people pushed out by Atlanta’s Urban Renewal projects. Thomasville Heights remains a casualty of a system of economic segregation. Under this system of segregation these neighborhoods are left in detrimental states. It is in places like Thomasville Heights where the phrase “place matters” becomes a call to action. A town of 6000 residents and only one elementary school, Thomasville heights is bordered by multiple freight yards, a cemetery, landfills, and Atlanta’s US penitentiary, just a 5-minute walk from that one elementary school. There remains a vast difference between that of low-income urban, and …