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School of Architecture

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 666
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PerFORMance: Integrating Structural Feedback into Design Processes for Complex Surface-Active Form

2006-07-11 , Al-Haddad, Tristan

The ultimate goal of this research is to develop a method, from the designers point of view, for using the embodied specialized knowledge of Finite Element Analysis [FEA] software to study the behavior of materials, geometries, and configurations in order to create an iterative design feedback loop that uses structural performance as a primary evaluation criteria and point of departure for generating and refining complex formo-techtonic configurations while ensuring constructability, improved structural performance, and syntactic consistency. Syntactic consistency meaning that there would not be a loss in translation from concept to construct. Instead of the 2-dimensional [planar] manual technology which drove modernist analysis towards the structural hyper-rationality of the trabeated system, this new process should compile and synthesize computational speed, mathematic principles, mechanical knowledge, and material logics within a digital 3-dimensional [spatial] analytical environment in order to realize a new paradigm of constructible spatialized sensuality. The research will focus on the development of interoperability techniques and protocols between advanced parametric CAD systems and advanced structural analysis systems towards the creation of a fluid design + analysis process of creating and engineering complex forms and dynamic systems. Rapid prototyping will be integrated as a secondary feedback and verification loop, and as a precursor to the production of full scale construction machine readable files. In other words, the research focuses on the development of intricately designed, geometrically complex, and materially sophisticated structural skins that can be produced through advanced CAD/CAM techniques.

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Colonial Homes: A Case Study of Community Participation Models in the Design Phase of Urban Redevelopment

2005-04-21 , Overton, Alan Maxwell

This case study was designed to test the hypothosis that members of a residential community, when faced with a large scale development project, hold a broad range of opinions and ideas, rather than a single perspective. These opinions, drawn from a wide range of local experiences, represent a wealth of potential design ideas which may be lost if the development process assumes that public opinion is uniform and homogenous.Accordingly, research proceeded in meetings with the Collier Hills North neighborhood association with the purpose of ascertaining whether or not the the priorities of the community reflected in public meetings during development debate provided an accurate view of the preferences of neighborhood residents, due to the self-selecting nature of the population in attendance. After initial investigations into the perceived agenda of the residents of Collier Hills North regarding potential redevelopment issues surrounding the adjacent Colonial Homes apartment complex, the investigator prepared a survey instru-ment and delivered it in two stages; first, at a neighborhood association meeting, and sec-ondly via a door-to-door survey. Results of the suvey suggest that different priorities are placed on certain key issues by the self-selecting population that attended the meeting than the random sample of residents contacted by the interviewer during the second stage of the investigation. These differences exist in areas which could shape the framework of possible future discussions among residents, the developer and city hall regarding this potential redevelopment program. Results from the survey were then used to create a set of design priorities and strategies with the intention of balancing the needs of the interested parties.

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The public role in private real estate development markets : tools to facilitate the redevelopment of urban areas

2003-05 , Davis, Laura L.

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Final boundaries : a design for the fully-constructed body-subject

2002-05 , Moody, Michelle Reid

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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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Parking Lots: An Investigation of Public Space in the Contemporary American City

2005-04-18 , Mayer, Madelaine Rose

The surface parking lot was a key element in the destruction of traditional public space. It fragmented the fabric of traditional cities, prompting the sprawl of twentieth century cities and suburbs. The automobile permitted the average individual, for the first time in history, to move through public space insulated in a private shell, shielded from strangers and protected from undesirables. Consequently, the role of the sidewalk dwindled. The automobile and the parking lot dominated the pedestrian and the sidewalk, whose diminished vitality further encouraged widespread automobile use. As a result, the parking lot became one of the defining features of the American city. In the United States parking lots are expected to be utilitarian, prevalent and free. Even as traditional public spaces disappeared, there was little demand for new public spaces, particularly not in the parking lot. Through investigations of parking history and public space, this thesis argues that parking lots, by virtue of their visual and physical accessibility, are contemporary public space. Although they are singular in their use, in contrast to the multifaceted street, parking lots are the settings for modern public life. This thesis further asserts that the simple landscape of the utilitarian parking lot can be transformed into complex public space, thereby enlivening the public realm.

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Aesthetics and product usability

2003-05 , Hough, Darren William

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Suburban Revisions

2005-05-18 , Durden, Alyssa Shank

The word revise means to reconsider or modify as with text. If we think of the suburban landscape as a text, the culture of each era left documentation of their values, policies and way of life in the form of transportation networks and other infrastructure, such as Main Streets, squares and public buildings. While evidence of most of the everyday life of individuals of every era gets erased by the following era, infrastructure investments of each era are adaptively reused and remain to tell the story. This thesis documents the adaptive reuse of these suburban frameworks and develops a proposition for the appropriate next layer to accommodate a new culture of inhabitants. Focusing on second generation suburbs, using Gwinnett County as a case study, this analysis identifies three problems of the current suburban situation: the problem of abandoned strips, a demographic shift, and the need for place. As new strip highways develop, old strips decline leaving abandoned shopping centers and declining property values. New development continues to move north and out of the county, and middle class residents, for which existing auto-oriented suburbs were created, move as well. A new, poorer, and more ethnically diverse population inherits the auto-oriented landscape left behind. This phenomenon is particularly concentrated along the southern portion of the Buford Highway corridor. Those with more money move closer to new development, while those with less money have less choice and are found near declining strips with fewer services, poorer quality housing and lower quality of life. Finally, county officials have expressed a desire for defining "the epicenter of Gwinnett." I believe that there is no one "center" of Gwinnett, but a series of places defined by memory, design or events. I propose to improve the situation of these three problems with a light rail line that connects existing places and creates new walkable, livable places to improve quality of life. This connective piece will serve as a social condenser in lieu of a center, provide links between polar populations, and reactivate declining strips while creating a sustainable infrastructural spine for future growth in the region.

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Integrated planning, design and construction of a United States Courthouse

2003-12-01 , White, Debra Karen

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Design of a cardiac fitness and lifestyle management tool for phase III cardiac rehabilitation patients

2002-05 , Berryman, Barbara Michelle Swindell