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End date: 2006 × Start date: 2006 × Has files: Yes × search.filters.applied.f.isSeriesOfPublicationTitle: Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Architecture ×

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Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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Spatial Cognition in Design

2006-11-16 , Ho, Chun-Heng

Previous studies suggest that 3D visualization is fundamental to design spatial cognition, and the capability to work with 3D mental or physical models and taking perspective views from a set of 2D drawings are essential parts of design education, although there is no definitive evidence that can directly support these beliefs. This dissertation focuses on the issues of how spatial capabilities correlate with design performance and whether design education can improve students' spatial capabilities. Two types of capabilities tests, i.e. spatial capability test and general reasoning test, are used, and there are 251 Georgia Tech undergraduate students involved in this research. The results of this research suggest that the correlations between design studio performance and the tested factors are more salient among female students than male students. While female students generally have lower spatial capabilities than male students in design, they can take advantage of their general reasoning capability to compensate for the lack of the other two spatial capabilities and perform well in design studio. A stepwise regression further reveals that, for the female design student group, the general reasoning capability is the only predictor for their design performance. However, no significant interaction is observed in the male design student group between tested capabilities and design studio performance. As a result, there seems to exist a threshold requirement in spatial capabilities for design major students. After passing this threshold, other factors such as domain specific skills and knowledge or self-motivation would likely to be the dominant one. Lastly, although the results show the tested capabilities are all important for design major students from different perspectives, the design education does not show any contribution in the improvement of these capabilities.

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Where older people walk: Assessing the relationship between physical environmental factors and walking behavior of older adults

2006-04-11 , Joseph, Anjali

The aim of this thesis was to identify the characteristics of path segments and routes that are associated with where older residents choose to walk for recreation or for getting to destinations in retirement communities. The goal was to use the findings from this study to help formulate criteria and strategic choices that can be used to design retirement communities that support walking among elderly residents. Case studies were conducted at three Continuing Care Retirement Communities. The study shows that route choice for walking to destinations is shaped by practical considerations of distance and convenience and largely determined by the relative location of destination and origin. On the other hand, route choice for recreational walking is more complex and is determined by local, relational and structural environmental characteristics of the path segments that comprise the routes as well as characteristics of the residents themselves. Residents chose routes of different difficulty level for walking based on their physical abilities and health. This study also found that many residents chose to walk indoors for recreation, especially along corridors between resident apartments. Understanding how the different factors together shape route choice leads to the clarification of design alternatives. This study suggests that designing campuses to support walking involves not only a careful consideration of individual local path segment characteristics but also an understanding how path segments and routes fit within the larger network of path segments on campus. Further, it is important to design routes with a range of characteristics and a range of challenge so that residents have many options to choose from and they have the option to move from a lower level of challenge to a higher one when they feel ready.

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Floorplate Shapes and Office Layouts: A Model of the Effect of Floorplate Shape on Circulation Integration

2006-03-28 , Shpuza, Ermal

This thesis proposes a model of understanding the constraining effect of floorplates on the integration of office layouts. The proposed model is based on the analysis of floorplates and layouts which is simultaneously configurational, global and robust. The study departs from two observations: first, there is a difference between the lifespan of shells and layouts; second, shells influence but do not determine the layouts than can be accommodated in them. The thesis proposes two descriptions of shape which gauge their compactness and convex fragmentation based on configurational relations among modular units of shape. Shapes of actual floorplates are described according to the proposed measures leading to a typology of office buildings. The space syntax research on workspaces has demonstrated that the integration of layout circulation affects the patterns of movement, encounter and interaction, which are linked to organizational performance. Actual layouts are described according to skewness and density of connectivity of linear maps leading to three alternative types of office layouts: sparse grids, dense grids and fishbones. Two ideal layouts of grids and fishbones, extracted from the typology, reflect opposing ways of increasing the layout integration and best represent open-plan layouts. Experiments with hypothetical grids and fishbones generated systematically on theoretical shapes demonstrate strong but differing effects of shape on layout integration. These are subsequently confirmed by the analysis of hypothetical grids and fishbones generated into a large sample of actual office buildings in the US. The relationship between floorplate shape and layout is mediated by the generative principle applied to the generation of layout. There exists an underlying congruence between a morphological typology of layouts (which distinguishes between fishbone and grid as alternative principles for increasing integration) and a morphological typology of shapes (which distinguishes between more compact and convexly unified shapes and shapes with wings). The findings highlight the distinction between constraint and determination. Floorplate shapes exercise underlying constraints upon the layout integration but they do not determine it. The proposed model enhances the evaluation of existing building portfolios for their suitability for different types of office layouts and aids the design and planning of new work environments.

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Taking the stairs: Environmental features that explain why people use stairs in 3 to 4 story academic workplace buildings

2006-05-19 , Nicoll, Gayle

Although increasing stair use among adults with sedentary occupations can provide an accessible means of integrating moderate physical activity within daily work routines, there is little evidence-based information available to guide architects on how to design buildings that promote stair use. This study examined the relationship between stair use and a broad range of features of the physical environment within 10 buildings. Based on a review of the literature, a thematic framework (Appeal, Convenience, Comfort, Legibility and Safety) was developed for identifying the features of buildings that may influence stair use. Three methods of investigation were used to examine the relationship between stair use and variables of the five themes and their constructs. Buildings users were surveyed for their reasons for both single and multi-level route choice. The results indicated that reasons associated with convenience and legibility of route had greater influence on route choice than appeal, comfort or safety. Stair and elevator use were measured in the ten buildings along with variables that operationalized the thematic framework. Regression analysis was utilized to examine the relationship between stair use and the operationalized variables of the thematic framework. The results of regression analysis indicated that stair use was associated with 8 key spatial variables of convenience and legibility (travel distances from stair to nearest entrance and to the elevator; percentage of total building area or total occupant load attributed to each stair; physical accessibility of each stair; area of stair isovist; number of turns from the stair to closest entrance and to the most integrated path). Most local environmental features of stairs such as lighting levels and views were not statistically influential. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that three variables (effective area of each stair, area of stair isovist, and number of turns required between the stair and the most integrated path) explained 53% of stair use. A graphic analysis of the arrangement of the 8 key spatial variables within the ten buildings indicated that buildings with high overall levels of stair use optimized the key spatial variables in respect to the location of stair(s) within the building floor plan.

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The Formulation of Design: The Case of the Islip Courthouse by Richard Meier

2006-04-11 , Dahabreh, Saleem Mokbel

The thesis asks whether the constrains imposed by complex functional programs and associated design guidance limit the ability to deploy design languages with entail their own precise compositional requirements. The Islip Federal Courthouse designed by Richard Meier under the General Services Administrations Design Excellence Program is chosen as a case study for two reasons: First, the functional constraints are explicitly documented, and their effects can be studied through a comparative analysis of recent Courthouses also built under the same GSA program; Second, Meiers language has received much scholarly attention, is well understood, and can be described with rigor. Both the functional requirements or constraints and the compositional principles associated with the design language are described as formal structures. The thesis shows that, in this instance, all functional constraints can be satisfied without compromising the elaboration of the language. Thus, the thesis contributes to our understanding of design logic and supports the idea that design intentions as well as design considerations can be reconstructed through a systematic study of the designed object

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The art of building (Baukunst) of Mies van der Rohe

2006-05-12 , Kim, Ransoo

This dissertation attempts to interpret the statements of Ludwig Mies vans der Rohe (1886-1969) that pertain to his lifelong theory of Baukunst, or the art of building in terms of tectonics. In order to use the concept tectonics as a criterion according to which one can comprehend Mies words and works, this dissertation attempted to define tectonics in a more general sense by collecting existing definitions and categorizing them. The result of this endeavor showed that tectonics does not signify a supportive structure but the art of framing construction, in which linear elements are put together with joints and clad or infilled with lightweight material. It is proposed that Mies, who called the ideal of tectonic architecture the art of building, during his lifelong career, experienced two periods of critical awareness through which he established his own type of tectonic buildings: awareness of the open plan and then that of clear space. After the former occurred in 1926, he focused on the creation of inner spatial openness; after the latter, which this dissertation proposes occurred around 1930, when he met Karlfried Graf Drckheim (1896-1988), who had been absorbed in Lao-tzus philosophy, Mies intended to show that his architectural concern was beyond physical construction by employing the concept of changing nature and by designing his buildings to be neutral frames. Mies finally achieved a tectonically integrated body of a building that contained extroverted and undetermined space, which he referred to as clear space, or generally called Mies universal space, through his lifelong pursuit for the accomplishment of his own art of building, which this dissertation terms Miesian tectonics.

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Performance Assessment of Building Commissioning Process as a Quality Assurance System

2006-04-11 , Shakoorian, Amirali

The aim of this thesis was to develop a methodology to systematically investigate the effect of different procurement options on the outcome of a construction project. This methodology combined the qualitative analysis based on experts' performance assessment of each procurement option with quantitative analyses of generic process models for each option, in order to perform a comprehensive analysis of different procurement alternatives. This methodology was further applied to the specific problem of this research which was to assess the performance of Commissioning Delivery Systems (CDS). The goal was to use the findings from the study to provide a comparison between CDS, and assist Construction Owners in identifying the appropriate commissioning delivery option for their project. The process of each CDS was modeled, and systematic differences between different options were analyzed. Five major internal performance aspects of the commissioning process were identified based on literature: PAi1: Communication; PAi2: Validation; PAi3: Collaboration; PAi4: Integration; and PAi5: Integrity. These performance aspects were used as a basis for a Delphi study to obtain commissioning experts assessment of each CDS. Fourteen experts, representing different disciplines in the construction industry, participated in three phases of the Delphi study. A statistical measure was used to validate the expert performance assessments by measuring their level of consensus. Experts did not show any agreement on two performance aspects of Communication and Integration. These aspects were further investigated through quantitative analyses of process models. The developed methodology proved to be a valuable technique in analyzing the effect of procurement options on the outcome of a construction project. Based on the findings of the study, Owner-led Commissioning presented a higher performance rating than Designer-led Commissioning in four out of five performance aspects. Hence, Owner-led Commissioning is identified as a better alternative for procuring commissioning services on construction projects. Designer-led Commissioning presented a higher Communication performance than Owner-led Commissioning. At the same time, the Communication performance of both delivery options was very poor, which further indicates communication difficulties in current commissioning practices. Therefore, this study suggests a more-thorough investigation of the Communication aspect of commissioning process as a follow-up investigation.

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