Environmental Design Commons^™

Lifelong Housing Design: User Feedback Evaluation Of Smart Objects And Accessible Houses For Healthy Ageing, Matteo Zallio, Niccolò Casiddu

Conference Papers

According to the latest research by the European Community and ISTAT (Italian National Institute of Statistics) surveys, Europe has the highest average age for its population. According to those data, in the near future, it could be necessary to move from a welfare model based on the centralization of care systems, to a system based on the distribution of certain healthcare facilities [1]. This means that the ageing population is ever increasing, thanks to better lifestyles, innovative medical care and wider access to different services. This work seeks to observe and analyse key implications of architectural and interior design features …

Is Zero Net Energy 2020 Actually Attainable, Perceptions Of Various Professionals Effected, Michael Aldridge

Construction Management

California has created a mandate that will require all new residential buildings to become Zero Net Energy by 2020. Some are already doing it others don’t know what it means, and some don’t think it will be possible. Those that already do it are doing it without any extra cost. All that is required is, on average, a 4KW roof solar panel system. This is something that easy to install and only requires a little more planning during the design phase. There are many other things that a designer and builder can do to successfully reach ZNE including focus on …

De-Westernizing The Far East, Jericho K. Kakaio-Edwards

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Isolated by the Tibetan highlands which frame Yunnan’s northwest fringes, the ethnic minorities who call the region home live in rural settings ranging from rice-terraced fields to tropical forests; lifestyle unchanged for hundreds of years. However, with globalization causing an exposure to western standards of living, in conjunction with the country’s predisposition towards all things foreign, the people of Yunnan have begun forgoing generations of vernacular architecture in favor of modern materials and regionally defunct construction methods. Here, we will seek to address this foible of architectural development by offering theoretical construction methods for housing types found throughout the region, …

Deployable Domesticity, Daniel Hopkins

Architecture Senior Theses

Deployable homes have characterized the survivalist origins of our species, the lifestyles of disenfranchised populations, and the luxurious retreats of others. Still, a predominance of contemporary domestic space relies on the ‘permanently’ stationary and situated object. As the social and ecological conditions of our society are rapidly and continually fluctuating, we must reaffirm our association with deployable culture and expand the utilization of mobile and adaptable unit. Further, architecture must negotiate the contrasts between ephemerality and permanence.

Through speculation of the social and sustainable implications of the deployable unit, issues of flexibility, material selection and afterlife, economics, ecology, and efficiency …

Collaborating With Catastrophe | A User's Guide To Post-Apocalyptic Farming, Patricia Cafferky

Architecture Senior Theses

“Collaborating with Catastrophe” contends that architecture has the capacity to visually manifest unseen forces through design’s reaction to them, allowing people to more fully comprehend and engage the intangible. Climate change, arguably the largest threat to modern day humanity, is not visible, existing only as a collection of data and patterns in a statistical construct. Taking stock of the present day failings of society in the face of crisis, this thesis then extrapolates a potential future dystopia precipitated by man-made pollutants in order to engage the problem at its most severe. Architecture is then able to make the toxic visible …

Imaging The Near Future, Fang Fan

Architecture Senior Theses

Instead of critiquing the danger of globalization, it propose a rather positive and Utopian version of it. The role of architecture and infrastructure being ambiguous in a future world after globalization, in which infrastructure is heterogeneous and inhabits a global space.

Also it response to the issue of cultural identity in a globalized world, believing that technological interventions will not only adapt to the needs of traveling and migration for a dense population, but also making infrastructure as a space for entertainment and a place celebrates both global and local cultures in a constantly changing world.

The Burning Building | Fire As Place, Winnie Tu

Architecture Senior Theses

The importance of fire in human social evolution is widely acknowledged but the extent of its impact is not fully explored. Generally, it is connected to energy, light, purification, illumination, creation, destruction and metamorphosis. Fire’s paradoxical nature has built up many societies throughout human history and has been the primary social driver within communities. Due to technological advances, its energy has been transformed into a distant element which is being used discretely in industrial buildings, hidden under basements, or replaced by other forms of energy. Now, heat, energy, and light is readily available anywhere at any time, eliminating the biological …

Two Lands, One System | Redefining The Border Crossing, Matthew Trulli

Architecture Senior Theses

The Israeli and Palestinian populations each have their own distinct infrastructural system, which operates independently and fails to connect the people in this region. This thesis contends that if a two-state solution is implemented under the guidelines of the 2003 Geneva Accord, new connections can stitch the populations of Israel and Palestine together through a reimagined border system.

These divisive infrastructural networks, which are a result of tense relationships, have also sparked increased violence throughout the region, particularly in Jerusalem. The French Hill, located north of the Old City in Jerusalem, is positioned at a critical point in the infrastructural …

The Seed | Urban Vertical Farming Germinated, Michael Lima

Architecture Senior Theses

A city works as an ecosystem in many ways. However, we currently do not live within that ecosystem, as the difference between an ecosystem and a city is the waste output and food input . Nature and society do not exist independently because there are no spaces of nature unaffected by man. With this in mind we need to reestablish our relationship with nature. Architecture and engineering can be used to create buildings that will allow humans to turn cities into ecosystems. This thesis argues that Urban Vertical Farms will produce social and economic hubs that will be a new …

Absorbency In Tidal Resiliency | The Thickened Pier, Shauna Strubinger

Architecture Senior Theses

The inevitable truth of climate change has placed coastal cities at great risk. Past natural disasters in the United States such as Hurricane Sandy and Katrina, displaced many people because these communities’ only protection was their failed infrastructure.1 Although hard and soft infrastructure strategies have addressed the rising sea level, architecture at the building scale creates static surfaces and divisions that are slow to adapt to flooding and leave little to no room for the ambiguity of tidal flooding and storm surge. Though numerous areas are at risk of sea level rise across the globe, the Chesapeake Bay area is …

Philep | A Self-Sufficient Pod, Brenna Merola

Architecture Senior Theses

Since 2011 civil war has erupted in Syria causing many Syrians to flee the county. About 9 million people have been internationally displaced causing disruption to the surrounding countries, which have had to create new accommodations. Primary issues have been shortage of basic such as shelter, food and water. Through analysis of disaster situations and refugee conditions, the types of infrastructural systems needed for survival can be better understood. This analysis can determine how to integrate systems into an architectural solution to this global issue: temporary housing pods.

Michael McDaniels, EXO Reaction Housing founder, has created a prototype of a …

Green Building Rating Systems And The Role Of The Project Manager, Davis Ciprikis

Other Resources

Sustainable development has increased significantly over the last 10 years. Construction firms are adopting sustainable practices that come from both, internal and external drivers of the construction industry. In order to assess how sustainable a building is, a green building rating systems have been developed to provide a documented and systematic approach to sustainable construction practices. Amongst these rating systems are the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methods (BREEAM) introduced in the UK and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) created in the USA. It has been noted that the project manager will have an important role to …

Sustainable Architecture Design: Environmental And Economic Benefits, Michael Babcock

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis examines the movement of environmentalism, and its impact on architecture and construction. During an interview with a professional architect, a basis for research of sustainable design was devised, when he explained that “good” architecture attempts to holistically integrate the external and built environment. Presently, the main measurement for sustainability is energy efficiency. Therefore, architects constantly implement new technology in an attempt to unify both the external and built environment in an energy efficient manner. Furthermore, this thesis provides an environmental and financial cost analysis of implementing sustainable design and build. Research shows that the life cycle and up-front …

การก่อสร้างและตกแต่งพลับพลาพิธี, พิมพ์สิริ เหมโสกะณะ

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

พลับพลาพิธีเป็นที่ประทับ สําหรับรับรองพระมหากษัตริย์และพระบรมวงศานุวงศ์ในพระราชพิธีต่างๆ แม้จะใช้งานระยะสั้น แต่ก็ต้องมั่นคงแข็งแรงและสมพระเกียรติ โดยมีกรมโยธาธิการและผังเมือง เป็นหน่วยงานรับผิดชอบครอบคลุมพื้นที่ทั่วประเทศ จึงมีวัตถุประสงค์จะศึกษากระบวนการก่อสร้างและตกแต่งพลับพลาพิธี โดยใช้วิธีรวบรวมข้อมูล จากการสำรวจ สังเกตการณ์ บันทึกภาพ สัมภาษณ์ รวมทั้งค้นคว้าเอกสารอื่นที่เกี่ยวข้องพลับพลาพิธี ประกอบด้วยที่ประทับหรือที่นั่งประธานพิธี อาจมีอาสนสงฆ์ ผู้ติดตาม และผู้เข้าเฝ้าด้วย ซึ่งจะต้องเป็นไปตามลำดับชั้นหรือลำดับฐานะของประธานพิธี ได้แก่ พระบรมวงศานุวงศ์ ผู้แทนพระองค์ สมณศักดิ์ของพระสงฆ์ หรือรัฐมนตรี จากการศึกษาพบว่า พลับพลาพิธีมีความกว้าง 4.00-6.00เมตร ความยาว 4.00-24.00เมตร โดยขนาดเล็กสุดคือ 4.00x4.00เมตร สำหรับเป็นที่ประทับเพียงพระองค์เดียว และขนาดใหญ่สุดคือ 6.00x24.00เมตร ประกอบด้วยที่ประทับ อาสนสงฆ์ ผู้ติดตาม 30 คนและผู้เข้าเฝ้า 91 คน แต่ละพลับพลาพิธีจะแบ่งได้เป็น ส่วนโครงสร้าง ส่วนตกแต่งและส่วนประกอบ กองออกแบบและก่อสร้างพลับพลาพิธีแบ่งส่วนงานเป็น ส่วนอำนวยการและประสานราชการ ส่วนออกแบบและโครงการพิเศษ และส่วนปฏิบัติการและก่อสร้างพลับพลาพิธีมีเจ้าหน้าที่รวม 188 คนทั้งนี้จากการศึกษาพบว่าในการดำเนินการ มีการกำหนดบทบาทหน้าที่ของผู้ปฏิบัติงานชัดเจน มีข้อกำหนดในการปฏิบัติงาน มีการประสานงานกับผู้เกี่ยวข้อง มีการประชุมวางแผน มีการสำรวจพื้นที่ มีคลังพัสดุและครุภัณฑ์ที่มีความพร้อมและมีการตรวจสอบคุณภาพและการปฏิบัติงาน รวมทั้งการทำสำรวจความพึงพอใจของผู้ที่เกี่ยวข้อง กระบวนการทำงานของกองออกแบบและก่อสร้างพลับพลามี 3 ขั้นตอน ได้แก่ 1.ระยะก่อนการจัดการ 2.ระยะจัดการ 3.ระยะหลังการจัดการ นอกจากนี้ยังมีงานก่อสร้างอาคารประกอบและงานตกแต่ง ซึ่งจะมีกระบวนการเหมือนกันเพียงแต่ไม่สร้างพลับพลาพิธี

Designing Work: A Study Of Collaboration And Concentration In Open-Plan Offices, John Walsh

Academic Articles

This article looks at the design of open-plan offices, particularly in relation to the impact of spatial design on different work-modes. It examines the history of the open-plan office, looking at how the open-plan workplace has evolved. It reports the findings of a survey on office design of 150 office workers across multiple industry sectors, job types and age categories. Finally, assuming there will not be a return en masse to the traditional, space hungry, cellular office for most knowledge workers this article considers what have we learned so far, and how spaces can be designed to support different work-modes, …

Victoria Harbour In Hong Kong: 150 Years, Vivian Ngo

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

The image depicts the changes to the coastline of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong in the past 150 years. The historic photo shows a developing commercial harbour during the colonial time; overlaid with a sketch of the current skyscraper filled metropolitan city after 150 years of land reclamation.

Sustainable Design Strategies For Sport Stadia, Ileana Aquino, Nawari O. Nawari

Suburban Sustainability

The need to establish a more sustainable design for everyday items and for people to live a more sustainably led lifestyle is evident around the world. As office and residential building, schools, and infrastructure become more sustainably built, there is no doubt that other fields will soon follow. The sporting domain needs to be the next step in sustainable design. Sport stadia can and will play a vital role in increasing sustainability awareness across the world. There is an enormous opportunity to have stadia serve as trendsetters in innovative thinking for sustainable design.

This research shows that there are numerous …

After The Solar Decathlon: Creating A New Design-Build Program, Eric Weber

Architecture Faculty Presentations

The School of Architecture’s intent was to use the Solar Decathlon as a catalyst for creating a new Design Build program. The project allowed the School to leverage support into acquiring tools & equipment essential to creating the house, and for upgrading the school’s shop facilities. The projects completed immediately following the Solar Decathlon utilized both digital fabrication and prefabrication. This is significant because the School intends to leverage both of these competencies, developed during the Solar Decathlon, in order to further the School’s craft-based pedagogy. Due to the Design-Build Studio’s development of the Solar Decathlon house, there has been …

Portland State University School Of Business Administration (Sba) Renovation + Personal Comfort Investigation, Abolfazl Mekanik, Corey Griffin, Louise Foster

Student Research Symposium

This poster discusses the results of a field study about indoor thermal comfort, based on investigations in Portland State University`s School of Business (SBA) classrooms. The field study was conducted by physical parameter monitoring and questionnaires. Both field monitoring and occupant surveys were performed at the same time during the regular class period.The measurement campaign consisted of measuring the environmental parameters such as temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH), CO₂, and sound levels. The outdoor air temperature, humidity, and sound were registered every 2 hour period during class time. The intention for this project is to investigate thermal comfort …

Moor Movement: Automated Docking On Drought-Stricken Reservoirs, Daniel Beck

Landscape Architecture

Moor Movement establishes a mechanized docking system for unpredictable shoreline fluctuations on inland lakes and reservoirs. Due to climate change and warmer global temperatures, the threat of ocean level rise has initiated massive proposals to address the interface between ocean and man-made infrastructure. While this is a monumental problem, ocean level rise is not the only immediate threat. The recently declared emergency drought conditions in California are finally bringing attention to inland lakes and reservoirs. While ocean levels might rise 2-7 feet in 100 years, a lake could drop 100 feet in 5 years. What happens to access roads, marinas, …

Parametric Performance-Driven Passive Solar Designed Facade Systems, Thomas Paul Shorey Jr.

Master's Theses

Buildings in the United States account for nearly 68% of all U.S. energy consumption due to their reliance on electrical lighting and mechanical systems. Beginning in the 20^th century, emphasis on developing the glass curtain wall created increased energy demands on lighting and mechanical systems. Consequently, the building’s curtain wall is a direct cause of significant energy loads. This research project investigated how current parametric design tools and energy analysis software are used during a performance-driven passive solar design process to develop facade systems that lower the energy use intensity (EUI) of a building and increase natural daylight to …

Towards A Collective Spatial Form:An Analysis Of Achill’S Deserted Village, Noel Brady

Conference papers

This paper examines an earlier study by Bob Kingston and along with onsite observations develops an environmental theory behind the particular siting and location of the deserted village in Achill, Ireland. The paper relies on the survey conducted by Kingston in the first instance but then by translating the material into a different format has concluded on statistically significant evidence of willful and careful planning and design in the construction of the houses.

Speed And Resolution In The Age Of Technological Reproducibility, Shawn Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

The rate of acceleration of the biologic and synthetic world has for a while now, been in the process of exponentially speeding up, maxing out servers and landfills, merging with each other, destroying each other. The last prehistoric relics on Earth are absorbing the same oxygen, carbon dioxide and electronic waves in our biosphere as us. A degraded .jpeg enlarged to full screen on a Samsung 4K UHD HU8550 Series Smart TV - 85” Class (84.5” diag.). Within this composite ecology, the ancient limestone of the grand canyon competes with the iMax movie of itself, the production of Mac pros, …

วัสดุปูพื้นสำหรับโครงการคอมมูนิตี้มอลล์, ณัฐวดี อยู่เรือนงาม

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การศึกษาวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาวัสดุปูพื้นในโครงการคอมมูนิตี้มอลล์ ในเรื่องสภาพทั่วไป ขั้นตอนการดูแลรักษา และปัญหาที่เกิดขึ้น โดยการรวบรวมข้อมูล จากการสำรวจ สังเกตการณ์ ถ่ายภาพ และสัมภาษณ์ผู้ดูแลโครงการ และเลือกคอมมูนิตี้มอลล์โครงการเควิลเลจ เดอะไนน์เนเบอร์ฮู้ด เสนาเฟส พอร์โตชิโน่ ศาลายามอลล์ และท่ามหาราช เป็นกรณีศึกษา เพราะบริษัทผู้ดูแลโครงการเป็นบริษัทเดียวกัน จากการศึกษาพบวัสดุปูพื้นหลายชนิด ได้แก่ ซีเมนต์ขัดหยาบ ซีเมนต์ขัดมัน คอนกรีตพิมพ์ลาย หินขัด กรวดล้าง ทรายล้าง กระเบื้องเซรามิค หินแกรนิต ไม้ธรรมชาติ และไม้เทียม ซึ่งแต่ละโครงการมีการใช้วัสดุปูพื้นหลายชนิด วัสดุปูพื้นที่พบบริเวณทางรถยนต์และลานจอด คือ ซีเมนต์ขัดหยาบ บริเวณทางเดินและพื้นที่ภายนอกอาคาร คือ ซีเมนต์ขัดมัน คอนกรีตพิมพ์ลาย กรวดล้าง และกระเบื้องเซรามิค บริเวณทางเดินและพื้นที่กึ่งภายนอกอาคาร คือ กระเบื้องเซรามิคและคอนกรีตพิมพ์ลาย ในพื้นที่กว้างพบพื้นคอนกรีตพิมพ์ลาย และในพื้นที่เล็กพบพื้นไม้ธรรมชาติและไม้เทียม นอกจากนี้ยังพบว่าวัสดุพื้นประเภทหินขัดและกระเบื้องเซรามิค มีสภาพดีมาก ซึ่งอยู่ในสภาพที่สะอาด ไม่ชำรุดแตกร้าวหรือแตกหัก คอนกรีตพิมพ์ลายและซีเมนต์ขัดมัน มีสภาพดี อยู่ในสภาพที่สะอาดปานกลาง มีการแตกร้าวบ้างบางส่วน และกรวดล้างและทรายล้าง มีสภาพพอใช้ อยู่ในสภาพที่พบการแตกร้าวและหลุดร่อน ส่วนในด้านการดูแลรักษาที่แบ่งออกเป็นงานประจำวัน ประจำสัปดาห์ ประจำเดือน สามเดือนและหกเดือนนั้น พบว่าวัสดุที่มีรอบการดูแลรักษาน้อย คือ ซีเมนต์ขัดหยาบ กรวดล้าง ทรายล้างและไม้เทียม วัสดุที่ต้องมีการดูแลรักษาปานกลาง คือ ซีเมนต์ขัดมัน หินขัด และกระเบื้อง และวัสดุที่ต้องมีการดูแลรักษามาก คือ ไม้ธรรมชาติ หินแกรนิต และคอนกรีตพิมพ์ลาย ซึ่งเมื่อใช้งานไปแล้ว สภาพของวัสดุจะเปลี่ยนแปลง มีคราบสกปรก วัสดุเสียหายจากการใช้งานและเสื่อมสภาพ ทำให้ต้องมีการดูแลรักษาเพิ่มขึ้น กล่าวโดยสรุปแล้ว วัสดุปูพื้นในคอมมูนิตี้มอลล์ที่พบ 10 ชนิดจาก 6 โครงการ มีการใช้งานแตกต่างกันตามลักษณะความนิยม จากการพบเห็นและจากปริมาณพื้นที่ใช้งาน ตามลักษณะการใช้งานที่ส่งผลต่อภาพลักษณ์ของโครงการ และตามลักษณะขั้นตอนการทำงานดูแลรักษา

More Is The Same, Tyler Reeves Nansen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Nansen, Tyler, M.F.A. Spring 2015

More Is The Same

Chairperson: Associate Professor Trey Hill

More is the Same is the result of my examination of the perception of space in relation to architecture and landscape. By embracing modern concepts of the grid, formalism and design, this compilation of personal experiences and memories, manifests as post-minimal sculptures. However, when considering the hierarchy of importance in my work this involves pure visual perception over any specific narrative. The final product is an exhibition which elicits a perceptual experience for its viewer.

My work is about space and the creation of visual interactions, …

House As Mediator: Integrative Typology As Connector Between Land And Sea, Samantha Kudish

Architecture Thesis Prep

Rather than the water being an obstacle to coastal residential communities, water can act as an opportunity. Instead of barricading these areas from the water, integrating it with the area would create communities that are capable of living in unison with the ocean. This can introduce new typologies of housing that can withstand the continuing rise of sea levels. Blurring the line between land and sea by living with the sea will allow coastal regions to stay afloat, benefiting from ever-changing water conditions. A proposed new housing typology would introduce a new program to coastal neighborhoods, rather than putting up …

Factors Related To Women's Undergraduate Success, Tanya Michelle Baker

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

To Lift The Leaden-Eyed: Ernest Boyer’S Career In Higher Education, Drew Moser

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Case Study Of Zero Energy Home Built For Solar Decathlon Competition 2013, Sanjib Mulepati

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Energy consumption in residential homes has been a subject of research related to sustainability. Reduction in the consumption of energy is a goal of sustainable construction. The Department of Energy (DOE) started a Solar Decathlon competition in 2002 in which the students from different universities around the globe build an energy efficient and affordable home suitable for their climate and location. The main goal of this competition is to select the best home that is designed and built in a sustainable way. In this study, the home designed and constructed for participation in the competition by the students at University …

Compression Testing And Failure Modes Of Steel-Concrete Composite (Sc) Structures For Nuclear Containment, Patrick Michael Wanamaker, Amit H. Varma

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Although being able to provide much cleaner power than burning coal and other fossil fuels, nuclear power plants are still a tough sell to the general public due to their history of being spontaneously dangerous. The containment structures surrounding these nuclear plants, however, can play a huge role in reducing the risks associated with them. Relatively new designs for these containment assemblies, known as SC (steel-concrete composite) structures, aim to increase the strength and durability of the containment facilities while keeping costs down. By varying the spacing between shear studs, the ratio of concrete to steel, and the ratio of …