Environmental Design Commons^™

Law School News: Joyce And Bill Cummings Of Cummings Foundation To Deliver Keynote Address At Rwu Commencement 4-20-2023, Jill Rodrigues

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Adaptive Reuse Of Frosty Morn, Veronika Kalugina, Rebecca Tonguis, Heidi Gabriel, Peyton Kauffman

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Frosty Morn, a former meat packing facility in Clarksville, TN, is now abandoned, dilapidated, and partially demolished. The site sits within the Red River District neighborhood, which consists of a diverse community of artists. The Red River District has been identified by the Clarksville Mayor’s Office as an area with potential for growth, catalyzed by repurposing the Frosty Morn building as an icon and beacon of the community. Highest and best use research, in addition to community voices, indicated programmatic needs of a farmer’s market, makerspaces, small business incubators, park space, and live/work units. Our presentation will describe how this …

From Building To Dwelling: Unfolding Infinity Through Bioregional Fulfillment, Sanjana Bhatnagar

Pitzer Senior Theses

The causes of anthropogenic climate change touch every feature of our modern-day existences. Approaches to sustainability tend to focus on material actions, but unsustainable practices are guided by an ontological orientation of individuality and human exceptionalism. This thesis provides an alternate account of being that decenters individuality through weaving the metaphysics of Fazang of the Huayan School of Mahayana Buddhism with the metaphysics of Martin Heidegger. To encompass the whole of the relational network that constitutes and conditionally defines our existence, I expand Heidegger’s account of locales as relational sites which are put forth solely by humans to an account …

Nashville Trail Of Tears Museum, Emily Schiedemeyer

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Architecture is the manifestation of artistic expression which can serve as both a storytelling device and a mechanism to evoke an intentional emotional reaction of its occupants. The Nashville Trail of Tears Memorial is intended to reflect the story of the Cherokee nation and give visitors the opportunity to consider the horrific journeys taken. The Trail of Tears was the route taken by many Native Americans following the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of their lands, leaving many dead and families separated. Native to the southern part of the Appalachian chain, the Cherokee tribe is the group of people that …

Digital Library Of Georgia (June 2022), Mandy L. Mastrovita, Donald Summerlin, Camie Williams, Deborah Hakes

Georgia Library Quarterly

New Digital Library of Georgia collections completed in Q2 of 2022

Architecture In Anime: Miyazaki's Motifs, Jack Collins

Honors Projects

Internationally known, celebrated, and respected, director Hayao Miyazaki has become a household name by transforming an industry through his films. This research focuses on Miyazaki’s process and the similarities he shares with architects, both in and out of his works. By initially examining his background, the three motifs of architecture, inspiration, and sustainability are explored through works like Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke and more. The results of this research are to inform fans of both architecture and anime about the connection between someone who designs and builds the world, and one who designs and builds …

Re-Imagining Design For Affordable Housing In Mexico, Kenza Fernandez Dominguez

Scripps Senior Theses

Since the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto, affordable housing developments in Mexico have been produced in a massive, unsustainable scale. The speed at which these developments are produced equates to the carelessness that goes into their planning. At large, the developments’ monotonous design is aesthetically dehumanizing and fails to promote a sense of community. These developments lack basic infrastructure, and their residents have abandoned them, which has incentivized increased criminal activity.

In this paper, I will be looking at successful models of affordable housing globally, exploring the histories of communal living, and function of architectural collages. Based on my findings, …

Re-Imagining Design For Affordable Housing In Mexico, Kenza Fernandez Dominguez

Scripps Senior Theses

Since the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto, affordable housing developments in Mexico have been produced in a massive, unsustainable scale. The speed at which these developments are produced equates to the carelessness that goes into their planning. At large, the developments’ monotonous design is aesthetically dehumanizing and fails to promote a sense of community. These developments lack basic infrastructure, and their residents have abandoned them, which has incentivized increased criminal activity.

In this paper, I will be looking at successful models of affordable housing globally, exploring the histories of communal living, and function of architectural collages. Based on my findings …

The Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On The Evolution Of The Saudi House In Riyadh City, Khaled Alqahtani, Mohammad Alissan

Emirates Journal for Engineering Research

Over the past 100 years, the Saudi dwelling has undergone a series of transformations in its form, design, and function. These evolutions were the result of economic, regulatory, intellectual, and many other influences (Bahammam, 2018). During COVID-19 lockdown, people had to live a new lifestyle, practiced learning and working remotely, and had to stay longer hours at home and keep social distance apart. Daily prayers and outdoor leisure were only limited to the confines of the household. Residents had to consider preventive health precautions such as the use of sterilizing tools and allowing for natural ventilation and daylight.

This study …

Hurricanes And Housing: Highlighting The Ongoing Impact Of Hurricane Michael And The Post-Disaster Housing Problem, Mary Beth Barr

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hurricanes impact individuals and communities on many levels - emotional, physical, mental, financial - to name a few. Every time a hurricane occurs, lives are drastically altered forever. One of the ways that hurricanes impact individuals and communities most powerfully is through the effect that they have on housing. Unleashing uncontrollable damage to infrastructure and the built environment, hurricanes exacerbate housing problems that exist and create new ones where they did not exist before. Hurricane Michael, which catastrophically impacted the Florida Panhandle in 2018, is a case study in which the impact that hurricanes have on housing is prevalent.

By …

Construction Of An Apartment Building And Parking Garage, Kirsten Wilson, Kirsten R. Wilson

Honors College Theses

Construction projects are known far and wide to all people. Buildings we need for daily survival would not exist if it were not for the construction industry. Our homes, healthcare facilities, groceries, and other necessary amenities would be gone if it were not for the structures they are housed in. This project aims to simulate the lifespan of a construction job from the design phase to the preconstruction phase and stops at the final presentation before an agreement to start construction.

To create the simulation for the students, a fake RFP, or request for proposal, was created and given to …

Zoologijos Sodas, Arjun Elvis Urbonas, Dara Lin, Jesus Ramirez Zambrano, Samantha Ung, Robert Milkovich, Jakob Olsen, Azuolas Skucas

Architecture

50'x50' glass house in Palm Springs.

Continuous Extremes: Architecture Of Uncertainty In Poland, 1945—, Cayce Davis

Masters of Environmental Design Theses

In this thesis, architecture situates between extremes. The dichotomies of destruction and construction, mobility and fixity, performance and reality, inside and outside, and form and time frame architecture and the processes through which it is made. The context is Poland in the fallout of the year 1945, when Warsaw’s unique, nearly total destruction and the ascendance of a new communist regime raised the political stakes of architecture. The thesis focuses on a cast of characters in architecture and related artistic disciplines—individuals haunted by the traumas of their own pasts, negotiating a Polish state that created oppressive limitations through artistic mandates …

H2opulent, Reese Zimmerman

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This project is an experiment on resilience, in an attempt to set forth guidelines for a new architecture that is designed with water, for water, and against water. The intent of this project is to create a self-sustaining architectural model that will exist entirely detached from dry land in order to mitigate the affects of flooding and water level rise.

For this project I am analyzing projects in three categories: land, water and hybrid. Land includes projects built along the coast on solid ground, water includes projects that either float on top of the water or are built on stilts …

Building With The Floods, Kim Khanh Quan

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Throughout Vietnam's wet season, flooding is a reality that residents face annually. Vietnam's wet season is known to cause serious detriment to communities, and severe weather conditions are becoming more frequent due to climate change. The annual high tides are rising every year. Flooding within dwellings can already reach up to waist or shoulder height and even beyond. Blocking the floods with dikes and other structures can only help to an extent. Water will go somewhere. Elevating a structure also has a limit - many residents have already elevated the ground level of their home to the maximum height that …

Head Space: An Exploration Into Design Code, Gaylon Lerch

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis explores the field of medical research for data to support the assertion that today’s coding standards are not performing in a way that fully addresses the needs of occupants of the built environment. This thesis will pull from the fields of psychology, physical medicine, and architecture to establish what current codes are, how they are deficient, and how they can be rectified, improved upon, or added if not already existing. The method used to establish the criteria of basic needs for healthy human function is established through understanding of how light, sound, and overall spatial quality effects the …

Space-Praxis: Towards A Feminist Politics Of Design, Mary C. Overholt

Masters of Environmental Design Theses

Outside of the academy and professionalized practice, design has long been central to the production of feminist, political projects. Taking what I have termed space-praxis as its central analytic, this project explores a suite of feminist interventions into the built environment—ranging from the late 1960s to present day.

Formulated in response to Michel de Certeau’s theory of spatial practices, space-praxis collapses formerly bifurcated definitions of ‘tactic’/‘strategy’ and ‘theory’/‘practice.’ It gestures towards those unruly, situated undertakings that are embedded in an ever-evolving, liberative politics. In turning outwards, away from the so-called masters of architecture, this thesis orients itself toward everyday practitioners …

Collage, Perspective, And Space: The Consequences Of The Method Of Mies Van Der Rohe, Daniel Barker

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

The method in which architects design space has the capacity to shape the manifestation of the built work. Architect Mies van der Rohe is one of the most noteworthy designers to exhibit this in his method of design: collage. This inquiry investigates the connection between the collages and the architecture of Mies van der Rohe, and how his use of collage defined the language of the architecture he created.

The investigation studied the collages and architecture of Mies van der Rohe through a design process investigation. Collages were made in the same language as Mies and used as a …

A Vernacular For Lincoln, Nebraska, Austin Riggins

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The contemporary vernacular architecture in the United States is a product of industrialization and globalization. One homogenous, mass produced vernacular has dominated nationwide and overshadowed the unique, contextual, and regional designs of the past. While the contemporary, industrialized vernacular has led to increases in the quality of life for many in the developed world, it has also left in its wake a homogenous and placeless environment devoid of environmental sensitivity or cultural references. There is a need for a set of new vernaculars that embrace modern building technologies while simultaneously responding more directly to local climatic needs and facilitating a …

Manuscript For Aesthetic/Design Guidelines For Campus Master Planning Bethel University, Wayne Roosa, Eugene Johnson

Art and Design Faculty Works

This document is the manuscript version before graphic design and copyediting. Follow this link to see the final version.

The situation that inspired and drove these aesthetic guidelines for campus master planning were unique to the history Bethel University and Seminary. By the early 1960s, Bethel was outgrowing its site on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul. The opportunity to purchase 160 acres in Arden Hills arose and the leap of faith was taken to buy this land and relocate. But it was not that simple. More was involved than mere practical problems of too-little space solved by an abundance …

Aesthetic/Design Guidelines For Campus Master Planning Bethel University, Wayne Roosa, Eugene Johnson

Art and Design Faculty Works

Table of Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

The Need for Aesthetic Guidelines for Campus Master Planning The Purpose and Use of this Document

Aesthetic Guidelines: “Suggestions Concerning the Character of the New Campus,” by Eugene Johnson (1963) (original version without annotations) . . . . . . . 5

Eugene Johnson’s, “Suggestions Concerning the Character of the New Campus” (with annotations, a history of interpretation and use) Annotations …

Reimagining Abandoned Community Space In A Post-Pandemic Environment, Julia Drooff

Scripps Senior Theses

Earlier this year, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the demise of the Great American Mall by forcing temporary and permanent closures across the country. The low-end malls that remain are dealing with crippling debt and the closing of key department stores like JC Penney and Neiman Marcus[1]. With only super-luxury malls thriving, many of the standard malls set up in the eighties are just abandoned parts of a community. So, what should happen to these abandoned malls? And what role does that space now play in the post-pandemic community? Since malls began to shut-down pre-Covid-19 did the need for …

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 …

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.

The City Aetherus An Urban Design Methodology For Energy Use, Anthony Yan, Ermal Shpuza Phd

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

In the last few decades, there has been a growing awareness about the relationship between building design and energy use, environmental impact, and sustainability in general. Now, environmental design is a well-established field of architectural studies and practices. By contrast, it is only recently that the relationship between urban design and energy use has started to get due attention by the designer and planning communities. Due to our increasing energy needs and imminent global urbanization, humanity needs a solution to tackle the largest energy consumer: the city. This thesis is situated within the newly emerging discourse on the relationship between …

A Framework Of Design Criteria For Elderly Facilities Using Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs, Silvana Vásquez Sánchez, Ekkachai Mahaek, Apichoke Lekagul

NAKHARA (Journal of Environmental Design and Planning)

The increase in population ageing worldwide is giving rise to the design of age-friendly cities and facilities. Recognizing elderly needs is essential to promote an active life that enables continued participation in the society. However, there is no precedent that justifies the choices in the design of spaces for the elderly, so this study proposes an evaluative model of physical design that satisfies and fulfills the needs of the elderly. The Design Pyramid is based on the Theory of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs linking the needs of the elderly with architectural attributes. The application of this model allows evaluating the …

Enlivening Spaces For The Dead: The Relevance Of Cemeteries In The 21st Century, Caroline Koh Smith

Pomona Senior Theses

Current cemetery practices can be harmful to public health and local ecologies and be intensive users of resources such as water and energy. However, given their spiritual benefits to mourners and community members, I believe that cemeteries are still justified in their construction for societies that wish to have a relationship with their dead. With a growing and aging population, more spaces will be used to house the dead; I examined how these could spaces benefit the living as well. Cemeteries can be designed within natural systems, both in landscaping and in burial, as well as spaces for communities and …

Design Hub: Activating Community By Design, Ed Williams

Theses and Dissertations

MOTIVATION

At the turn of the century, Robert Putnam (2000, 27) wrote “...a powerful tide bore Americans into ever deeper engagement in the life of their communities, but a few decades ago that tide reversed and we were overtaken by a treacherous rip current.” Putnam is describing a loss of “social capital” throughout American society. Research suggests that many of our contemporary issues are the result of a decline in “social capital,” or “community.”

This pervasive lack of community is thought to be detrimental to “educational performance, safe neighborhoods, equitable tax collection, democratic responsiveness, everyday honesty, and even our health …

Intentionally Unsustainable Forms For Crisis Design: Planned Obsolescence, Daniel Hogan

Architecture Thesis Prep

The ShutDownDC protest that stopped traffic on Monday, September 23rd demonstrated a significant shift in the debate for climate justice. The movement targeted not only the culpable institutions but the physical infrastructures which both monumentalize and enable factors responsible for global climate change (in this case automobile infrastructure). This is a particularly relevant example of how built form not only reflects our cultural preferences for private transportation but also informs/enables the processes which are actively working against public good. In this example, road infrastructure is both a symbol and an active player in the game of continued environmental injustice.

This …

The Hospitality Design Laboratory: Testing A Growing Global Resource For Architectural Planning Research In The Tourism/Resort Industry, Glenn Nowak

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The HD-Lab at UNLV is an experiment in merging academic research teams with industry leadership to address the ever-changing landscape of global tourism, gaming, and hospitality as it pertains to the built environment. This poster session seeks to share overviews of previous studies, lessons learned, and opportunities for future architectural research. Collaborations amongst diverse teams aim to foster interdisciplinary research and continued contributions to the intellectual capital of hospitality design in Las Vegas and around the world. The presentation is structured across six broad and intertwined areas of foci: 1. Integrated resorts’ future evolutions and innovations, 2. Tourism architecture’s advanced …