Interior Architecture Commons^™

Small Town Capital In Community, Christin Hardy

Theses and Dissertations

Rural towns often do not see community developments geared towards creating public spaces for multi-cultural experiences, the arts and recreation. Instead small towns are more exposed to commercial properties coming in and out the area. Introducing public spaces that offer various community activities and events will benefit people’s human and social capital. Human capital meaning skills and knowledge. Social capital meaning advantages and skills that come from interpersonal engagements (Anderson, 2004). Community centers designed for the unique needs of small towns can house programming to introduce new and rewarding opportunities for community engagement and personal development. Existing buildings within the …

A Public Reckoning: Interior Design, Comedy, & The Common Good, Caroline Mcilraith

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates drinking water quality and the ways in which our built environment can be used to as a tool to alter or confront perception through the violation of expectations. Research indicates that the design of public interiors could be a key component in regulating healthy urban ecologies. Desire to understand the opposing needs of two user groups – the skeptic and the advocate – led me to research design prototypes that prioritize the unexpected as it is manifested in spectacle as underscored through proximity.

By abstracting this research, a new hypothetical design is formed in the form of …

Scan & Scansion: An Urban Residency For Poets & Artists Working In Collaboration, Heather A. Overby

Theses and Dissertations

Scansion is the act of discerning a poem’s meter and measure to discover its overall meaning. To achieve beauty in poetry, just as in interior design, content must continually be in conversation with form. And, just as a building must be scaled against the human figure to determine its final shape, a poem is scaled against human breath, the breadth of our sounds.

Scan & Scansion is a Richmond-based residency with a six-month term providing a work, living and exhibition space to poets and artists who wish to work collaboratively across disciplines. As the program is essentially about applied poetics …

Adaptive Repurposing Of Smith Elementary, Kelsey L. Fields

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For almost 100 years Smith Elementary School has been an institution of learning and a place of growth for children across the community of Kenmore, including myself. While its closing marks the end of an era it also presents a unique opportunity. Through adaptive reuse, Smith Elementary can have a second life and remain a cornerstone building in the community. The central goal of maintaining the beautiful original architectural details blends with the challenge of making this a functional space where a business can flourish, in the same rooms as hundreds of children have done before. This idea will set …