Browsing by Author "Cain, Rachel"
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Item Equal Living(2021) Cain, Rachel; Simon, Madlen; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Designing with everyone in mind is a phenomenon that is talked about often but is either hit or missed when executed. When it comes to the blind and visually impaired, sensitivity in design needs to be heightened. Factors such as limited access to activities and information, societal stigmas and lack of employment, frequently lead blind and low vision individuals to isolation. The major sensory organ of a person is their eyes and with only this sense one can identify with, and maneuver the information in the environment. The amount of readable material in public spaces that are accessible are often limited to restroom signs, ATM’s and phone booths, while signs that may lead you to these same places ironically are not. Through this thesis, the inaccessible built and physical environment will be brought to light, and new tactics and design methods will be established in order to help those with vision impairments regain their independence in societyItem Making Place: Transit-Oriented Development for Largo, MD(Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), 2019) Ahmed, Mansoor; Combs, William; Lorenza, Dan; Ohakawa, Tochi; Schmitz, Jared; Sparks, Amanda; Walker, Andrew; Winters, Kelsey; Cain, Rachel; Grady, Hannah; Hassup, Collin; Mazer, Andrew; Peters, Taina; Robbs, Amber; Paris, Gojin; Deane, Sim; Townsend, Sim Deane; Urdaneta, Victoria; Bell, Mathew; Guiraldes, Pablo; Calleri, ChristianLargo, MD is a city of 12,000 people at the intersection of the Beltway and the Metropolitan DC Blue Line. It is currently being planned as the future center of the Prince George’s County Government and the home of the new University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center. The overall site has exceptional access to transit and offers myriad ways to travel but in itself lacks appeal as a “place”. It has developed as a suburban “Edge City” on the outskirts of the District of Columbia, a simple automobile-oriented pit stop in-between the jobs and sights of the national capital and the dwellings of those who work and visit. As part of the Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), The Prince George’s County Department of Planning approached the University of Maryland’s Program in Architecture with a request to investigate the Largo metro site as a more fully realized transit-oriented development hosting a full mix of uses, from the new seat of the county’s government to the new hospital and residential development. The studio focused on questions of place, development, and identity while grappling with the fragmented pattern of development that currently defines Largo. The studio proposals demonstrate the potential of a new identity for the area using transit oriented design principles, restoration of the natural environment, and making Largo a “green jewel of a town” at the heart of Prince George’s County.