Architecture Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2743
Browse
3 results
Search Results
Item Art as Architecture: Abstract Modernist Painting Techniques and the Viewer Experience(2023) McClure, Katherine; Tilghman, James; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The reciprocal relationship between art and architecture has been a longstanding practice in the design process of both fields. The geometric forms, textures, and colors of various forms of art, but especially painting, have been known to inspire the architectural design process. Similarly, the shape and environmental experience of buildings can inspire or host works of art. Certain paintings, like those of Mark Rothko, are often cited in foundational architectural courses as examples of comprehensive and layered forms suggestive of architecture. However, these references are not typically taken beyond the parti phase in the early stages of architectural design. But how far can this reciprocal inspiration be taken? How can architecture evolve as not just a place for art, but as art itself? This thesis will explore the ways in which the abstract modernist painting techniques of the late works of Mark Rothko can affect the compositional form and experience of a mixed-use artist residency in Georgetown, DC.Item The Indistinct Edge: Reconnecting Experience in Nature and Architecture(2016) Bender, Matthew David; Abrams, Michael; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis explores how architectures sense of place is rooted in the natural environment. The built environment has been constructed to protect and sustain human culture from the weathering of nature. Separating experience from the natural environment removes a sense of place and belonging in the natural and reinforces architectural dominance. This separation distinguishes the natural world as an article of spectacle and gives the human experience an unnatural voyeurship to natural changes. By examining the fusion of architectural and natural edges this thesis analyzes how the human experience can reconnect with a naturalistic sense of place through architecture, blending the finite edge where architecture maintains nature, and adapting buildings to the cycles of the environment. Removing dominance of man-made spaces and replacing them with the cohabitation of the edge between built and natural forms.Item Meaning Through Use: Adaptive Reuse of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal(2004-06-23) O'Hearn, Kathleen Coleman; Nieves, Angel; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The intersection of urban and natural in addition to old and new in Georgetown allows a unique opportunity to explore how people today find meaning in these features. Adaptive reuse and the re-creation of experiences, as opposed to museum style preservation, are becoming integral components of an Historic Preservation continuum. Interacting with the past creates a living history. This project strengthens the connection between the neighborhood and its history. The Genealogy Library and Archive places an importance on individual contributions to the history of Georgetown and provides a venue for the current population to discover this significance. The patrons can also access other genealogical centers and ascertain their "sense of place" within their own particular family history. The landscape program along the canal as well as the building's bond with the urban fabric invites the people who work and live in Georgetown to use it as an alternative route to M Street. The centerpiece to the design is the urban plaza at the intersection of M Street and Wisconsin with a terraced café and series of ramps cascading towards the canal. The interpretive elements further nurture an understanding of Georgetown's early reliance on the canal and create a unique node in the city. Placing a new value on the C & O canal and engaging it in everyday life creates a stronger sense of place. The history of the site will not be relegated to the one time museum visit but will gain meaning through constant use.