Environmental Design Commons^™

Sensible Nature: To “See” As We Once Did, Yuhan Su

Masters Theses

This thesis starts with the premise that our growing dependence on tools and digital technologies has led to a gradual decline in our sensory acuity, causing a disconnect between people and nature.

To address this issue, the thesis aims to re-establish lost connections by utilizing plant-based sensorial designs that evoke emotions and instincts, reigniting empathy and intimacy with the natural world.

By utilizing these strategies, this thesis seeks to enhance our ability to perceive, connect with, and appreciate the world around us, thereby creating a stronger, more intimate relationship between humanity and the environment.

Liquid Border, Yingfan Jia

Masters Theses

A River is a mighty and constantly-evolving force, leaving behind an intricately designed and constantly changing system. Not just a river, the Rio Grande stretches all the way from Colorado before intersecting with the US-Mexico Border in southern Texas - a point where the powerful forces of nature now merge with a clearly-defined political boundary. The outcome of this is a unique ecological niche, which may often go unnoticed despite its distinctiveness.

Texas is famous for its farms and ranches, and the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas was once an agricultural hub. However, urbanization and the depletion of water …

Landscape De/Re-Construction Through Art, Manuel Gonzalez

Masters Theses

Contemporary landscape architecture practice and education primarily focus on ecological and technical interventions. The climate crisis we find ourselves in demands scientifically informed decisions and well-engineered execution of projects, but, more importantly, creativity and innovation.

The fine arts, which were once integral and foundational to design, are today largely unappreciated and appropriated. The spiritual power of Art, Aesthetics, and Beauty, explored at length through art history and theory, are often viewed as indulgent or secondary to execution. The gap between Art & Design has widened. As a result, designers face challenges in fostering in individuals the kind of care and …

City As Cemetery, Siqiao Zhao

Masters Theses

The traditional funeral service industry has enormous environmental and financial costs. In contrast, green burial, and Natural Organic Reduction (NOR), accelerate the human body’s degradation and reduce toxic substances in the land, assuming responsibility for our burden on the earth. They provide a gateway between us and the processes of nature and ask us to set aside self-consciousness to accept our oneness with the universe. By gifting our bodies back to the earth, where decomposition enriches soils and nurtures the growth of other life forms, we honor those who have transitioned to another state by continuing the cycle of renewal. …

Appropriate That Bridge: Appropriation As A Way Of Intervention, Haochen Meng

Masters Theses

Appropriation is an action of intervention in many fields, including legislation, culture and design. To appropriate something (or someplace) means to violate its original ownership and claim it, which in most cases is illegal. However, appropriation doesn’t have to be an illegal act: it can be permitted by the authority and become a “reuse” of an object or space. For example, street dining is often authorized by city governments, so they indicate a transition of the ownership of the street from the vehicles and pedestrians to the restaurants and diners. In architectural terms, appropriating a space (or structure) mostly equals …

Public-Ish, Aliah Werth

Masters Theses

Climate change affects public space, and architecture must establish tenets that prioritize pedestrians in this difficult era. Greywater re-use can be a mechanism for creating shade, and in turn, public space.

As heat waves grow more intense, the vast swaths of asphalt that connect commercial zones pose greater risks to public health and to urban vitality. This thesis records the typical material, spatial, and lived conditions of strip malls in urban heat islands, and demands more from infrastructure in public-ish space.

Heat violence weaves through Los Angeles’ built form. Parking space minimums, required setbacks, and height restrictions pull buildings away …

Attainable And Sustainable Home Building Solutions, Katrina Matthews

Construction Management

Sustainability has fortunately been a recent concern in the construction industry as climate change continues to impose potentially insurmountable threats to the global environment. Although many new methods have been adopted in efforts to lessen the adverse environmental effects of construction-related activities, as a society, we still have much room for growth as the built environment accounts for almost 50% of global emissions. Many changes and standards must be adopted to make these solutions efficiently beneficial. To set industry standards, we must start with the most basic form of construction- residential building. This report covers two attainable framing solutions for …

Eviction To Placement: Rethinking The Current Supportive Housing Systems For Hidden Homeless Families, Fang-Min Liou

Masters Theses

This thesis focuses on repurposing unoccupied office space into affordable housing systems tailored to meet the unique needs of homeless families. Families with children make up 36 percent of the homeless population overall and children’s homelessness status is almost always “hidden." Architecture and design can play a vital role in addressing social inequity by creating improved living environments for the houseless community through adaptive reuse of underutilized space situated within dense urban areas with the greatest access to resources to support these families, evoke feelings of comfort, security, and hope.

The following thesis accommodates three basic needs of homeless families: …

Incentivizing Electric Vehicle Adoption Through State And Federal Policies: Reviewing Influential Policies, Joshua Sabata, Subhaditya Shom, Ahmad Almaghrebi, Anne Mccollister, Mahmoud Alahmad

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

All-electric vehicles (EVs), battery-powered EVs (BEVs), and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVS) are gaining market share and increasing in popularity with the buying public because the battery range (longer) and cost (lower) have reached sweet spots, the charging infrastructure is more robust, and concern with global cli­mate change is high. In 2013, only 100,000 EVs were sold in the United States, but by 2022, approximately 800,000 have been purchased. A similar growth is seen in EV sup­ply equipment (EVSE), i.e., EV charging stations, with 19,742 documented EV charging station locations in the United States in 2013 to 50,054 documented EV charging …

Thermal And Energy Efficiency Of Roof Tiles Fabricated From Crushed Aluminum Slag And Kaolin Clay For Social Residential Buildings In Egypt, Mohamed E. Elattar

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Potential Of Pavegen’S Kinetic Energy Generating Floor For Sustainable Energy Solutions: A Proposal For Cal Poly Slo, Brandon J. Cuneo

Construction Management

This paper proposes the installation of Pavegen's kinetic energy generating floors at Cal Poly’s campus as a sustainable energy solution. Pavegen has developed a pioneering technology that converts footsteps into clean and renewable energy. The versatility of these floors is demonstrated through successful implementations in various settings, such as transportation hubs and public spaces, generating power from foot traffic. Collaborations with Schneider Electric, installation at Dupont Circle, and integration at Heathrow Airport showcase the potential for sustainable urban infrastructure. This paper outlines research conducted on Pavegen and similar solutions, including communication with company representatives and examining proposed installation locations at …

City Farm Slo Garden For All Accessible Planter Beds, Allison C. Wild

Construction Management

This paper outlines the design, coordination, and construction efforts to build the Accessible Planter Boxes for the City Farm SLO’s Garden for All. The Garden for All was a concept created by the City Farm SLO staff to meet the need for an accessible learning space for students. The full design for the Garden for All also included mobile benches and tables, a shade structure, and decomposed granite pathways that were completed by other students. This project included the construction of 6 raised planter beds of differing heights and designs. Each planter bed was approximately 10 feet long and varied …

Out-Of-Plane Flexural Behavior Of Insulatedwall Panels Constructed With Large Insulation Thicknesses, Jacob Luebke, Fray F. Pozo-Lora, Salam Al-Rubaye, Marc Maguire

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Insulated concrete sandwich wall panels (ICSWPs) are gaining popularity as energy regulations become stricter worldwide. ICSWPs are now being constructed with thinner wythes and thicker insulation to keep up with the changing market, which is reducing material costs and increasing thermal and structural efficiency. However, there is a need for adequate experimental testing to validate the current design methods for these new panels. This research aims to provide that validation by comparing the predictions of four different methods with experimental data obtained from six large-scale panels. The study found that while current design methods adequately predict the behavior of thin …

Optimization Of Plastic Waste Integration In Cement Bricks, Yara Salah El-Din El-Metwally

Architectural Engineering

Implementing plastic waste in construction materials is a sustainable disposal method to overcome plastic pollution. The current study aims to optimize the integration of plastic waste in cement bricks regarding their thermomechanical properties in order to develop an eco‑friendly building material. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high‑density polyethylene (HDPE) partially substituted cement with different ratios (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 20%). The type that achieved better thermomechanical performance further replaced the other brick components; sand and coarse aggregates to determine the optimum replacement scenario and best design mix. Laboratory experiments have been carried out to measure the compressive strength, indirect tensile …

Outdoor Artificial Lighting Effects On Livability Of Pedestrian Paths In Urban Heritage Context, Chirine Traboulsi, Aya Hassoun, Mostafa Rabea, Mary Felix

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Lighting is an important ecological factor that influences individuals’ outdoor activities as well as the development of livable communities in cities. Artificial outdoor lighting is vital in improving the quality of urban open places throughout the nighttime and has a significant impact on the pedestrians' night-time perception and mental safety. This study aims to uncover whether outdoor lighting has indeed an effect on the livability of the pedestrian paths of a community and if so, what is the optimal design that fits an urban heritage setting. The research employs a mixed methods approach, where both qualitative and quantitative methods are …

Towards Urban Biodiversity: Simulating Design Parameters For Wildlife-Inclusive Green Infrastrcuture, Alisa Abdulghany, Baher Farahat

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

As of 2021, more than half of the global population resides in urban areas. This resulted in an overwhelming footprint affecting species habitat areas leading to biodiversity loss. By definition, urban biodiversity is the diversity of living things within the urban realm. By providing chances for habitat as part of new developments, preserving on-site habitats, and attempting to connect with the local ecosystems, we can help promote biodiversity. Green infrastructure (GI), which includes all semi-natural areas in the urban context, can serve as a vessel for biodiversity. Therefore, the problem can be defined by the urban footprint that expands on …

Upgrading Heritage Urban Public Spaces By Using Recycling Waste Plastic Materials, Aya Mostafa Hassoun, Mostafa Khalifa, Eslam M. Elsamahy, Khaled El-Daghar, Mary Felix

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

In low-income countries, population expansion and urbanization bring challenges of inadequate living standards to the fore. Some of the issues could be solved if well-functioning plastic recycling systems were built. To reduce the environmental burden and improve the overall situation in dense cities, the already existing local informal waste treatment system, which is widespread in many low-income nations, needs to be developed with efficient sorting and composting solutions. A case study is carried out in the city of Mina, Lebanon, with the goal of establishing a viable decentralized recycling plastic pavilion material. The effort aims to lessen the climate harm …

A Day Stood Still, Yuting Sun

Masters Theses

The Brooklyn Navy Yard is an important industrial historic site in New York City. It was established in the 1810s as a private shipyard and became a military property in the late nineteenth century. It provided significant production capacity for the Pacific battlefield during World War II. After the war, the entire campus closed in the 1960s as military orders declined and transportation changed. The Brooklyn Navy Yard was later sold to New York City and repurposed.

After the city government took over the park, unlike other industrial sites that were developed as real estate, manufacturing is still the main …

To Open A Clearing: Cultivating Spaces Of Endurance In The Upper Amazon, Brunno De Melo Meirelles Douat

Masters of Environmental Design Theses

To effectively challenge the policies of extraction implemented by late liberal regimes, the Waorani communities from Upper Amazon have devised spatial strategies to defend their traditional territory. By re-examining the concept of the contact zone and unfolding settler and Indigenous literature, spatialities, and worldviews, this thesis suggests the concept of forest Clearings as a means to explore spatial forms of endurance.

Clearings emerge within the Amazon in sites where encounters between divergent worldviews embody otherwise modes of existence. Through a series of fieldwork reflections, these Clearings are perceived as spaces where ontological negotiations are more likely to occur, strategies of …

Operation Summer Care: Territories Of The Stewardship-Hospitality Complex, George Papamattheakis

Masters of Environmental Design Theses

Operation Summer Care studies the expanding interest that the hospitality industry takes in the biogeophysical environment. Natural surroundings have long been an essential operational precondition of tourism in the global sunbelt, but contemporary environmental anxieties increasingly motivate different strata of hosts to take a more active role in environmental management. Usually the domain of the state, biogeophysical entities and their spaces—plants and animals, sand formations, wetlands, entire ecosystems and protected areas—are measured, ordered, and managed by actors adjacent to the tourism industry. At the same time, the socio-technical mechanisms of environmental intervention and calculation are conveniently framed as practices of …

Southern Sustainability: An Examination Of Waste Management Mechanisms Within The University Of Mississippi Community, Haley Clift

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and study local mechanisms surrounding waste management at The University of Mississippi. The research study gathers quantitative and qualitative research to make conclusions about sustainability and recycling practices on The University of Mississippi's campus. The thesis discusses whether those practices are effective for those in The University of Mississippi's community based on the data collected and research conducted. The researcher also offers proposals for the University of Mississippi community based on the research conducted.

The gap that exists in the waste management processes at The University of Mississippi was addressed by blending …

Origami In Design : How Can Origami Inform The Design Of The Kinetic Façade System?, Nicolas Ackerman

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The present goal as a designer is to create a very thoughtful building that presents itself as a visual identity for our built environment. One of the intentions of the design is to not impact more into the co2 emissions. With 40 percent of the 75 percent annual global Greenhouse emissions coming from building operations, (Architecture 2030), we as designers must shift from a formal to a performance-based architecture. An architecture that instinctively addresses reduced energy consumption and therefore lower CO2 emissions through the integration of passive design strategies. In order to compete in a future with CO2 reduction, we …

Wasteful To Useful: Investigating The Metamorphosis Of Textile For Construction Methods, Elizabeth Rodriguez

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Every year, the average American generates over 80 pounds of textile waste. Since the 1990s, consumer behavior has shifted as mass production of items has become the norm. Production of clothing alone already impacts the environment as it requires immense amounts of chemicals, energy, water, and other natural resources. So, when consumers throw away clothing and brands decide to discard overproduced items, it ends up in landfills where it takes over 200+ years to decompose. Furthermore, a large percentage of unwanted clothing will be sent off to third-world countries to try to resale or recycle. Yet, the amount being imported …

Chattahoochee River Front Design: Sustaining A Lost Culture Through Environmental And Social Stewardship Of Native American, Dalvin Ross

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

How vital is Native American culture in understanding the history and synergy between the social, natural, and built environments? The identity of indigenous people in North America has been stripped and forgotten over years. It is critical to promote rediscovering their ideologies through the establishment of a cultural center which features the architectural contributions of the Native Americans. This undergrade thesis focuses on the city of Atlanta, which has cultural remnants of the first inhabitants of this land. Still, it’s relevance in the community or architecture in Georgia is often overlooked. The Chattahoochee River is a natural tourist attraction, located …

Manufactured Exurbia, Elijah Swift

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This project redefines the identity of the manufactured housing typology by conceiving of more adaptable structural configurations which provide a framework for breaking the conformity of mass production and mass consumption to give the residents true economic prosperity through control of the 3-D manufacturing process of their homes. Manufactured housing, formerly known as mobile or trailer homes, is one of the most vulnerable housing types in the United States during a severe weather event. This is due to the mass industrial production of a structural composition that is rather suited for permanently fixed construction, leading to fragility in their assemblage …

The Art Of Detailing: An Exploration Of Watercolor, Torrey Tracy

TFSC Publications and Presentations

Second Annual University of Arkansas Teaching and Learning Symposium: Sharing Teaching Ideas

Department of Interior Architecture and Design, Fay Jones School of Architecture

Special thanks to Cat Wallack, Architectural Records Archivist, Mullins Library and Reagan Walters, Bachelor of Interior Design, 2021

Revitalizing Main Street, Usa: Recovering From The American Dream And The Destruction Of The Rural Main Street, Rebecca Virgl

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

The American Dream is a national ethos that states any person, with enough hard work, can succeed in the United States; it is both critique of the pitfalls of capitalism and advocacy of the potentials the system offers. Over time, suburbia has come to represent the physical manifestation of the American Dream. In the world of planning and architecture, much discussion is given to the suburbanization of the United States. The relationship between the city and the suburb is well documented, and many plans for suburban improvements focus on making suburbs more like cities, where they are more walkable, dense, …

Song’S Site At Los Angeles Eco-Village Redevelopment, Kendall Gilbert, Marina Rios, Kristin Hernandez, Gianna Morelli

Honors Thesis

The Los Angeles Eco-Village (LAEV) is a co-op housing community, located in Koreatown, focused on building sustainable and economically cooperative living in an urban environment. The purpose of this project is to transform a property recently acquired by the LAEV, called Song’s, into a multipurpose community hub. The project design goals established with LAEV founder and community members, include cultivating new highly sustainable and resilient ideas on urban living and incorporating educational elements that inspire the community and visitors to live more sustainably. This project proposes three design elements to improve the community use of the newly acquired Song’s at …

Optimizing Greenhouses: A Comparative Analysis Of Csb+Sju Greenhouses, Jervon Sands

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

This research aims to determine the optimal design of modern greenhouses through a comparative analysis of three on campus greenhouses. Temperature and humidity measurements as well as physical observations for each site were compared to standard measurements and ideal greenhouse design components. The results of a comparative analysis allowed for the three on-campus greenhouses to be ranked against this section. The trends found in the data confirmed the findings of previous research. Recommendations for operating an optimal greenhouse derived from the analysis and observations along with suggestions for experimental improvements based on a previous study are also included.

The Neighborhood As An Energy-Generating Community The Case Of El-Banafseg Residential Neighborhood, East Cairo, Amany G. Micheal Prof., Mona Helmy Dr.

Centre for Advanced Materials

Nowadays, energy consumption is a global challenge. This is due to the shortage of several energy sources, and consequently, to their increasing prices. This paper argues that by using an integrative approach for using various energy harvesting techniques, a typical residential neighborhood can be operated as a self-generator of its needed energy, or part of it.

The paper follows a mixed qualitative, experimental, and numerical simulation approaches to examine the practicality of the paper hypothesis. It uses Space syntax modeling theory (a socio-spatial software) to analyze the pedestrian flow to indicate the potential locations of the kinetic energy harvesting Piezoelectric …