Theses and Dissertations from UMD

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Sustainable Design

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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Razing the Bar: Coastal Resilience and Community Cohesion through Ecological Design
    (2024) Nivison, Erin Hamilton; Kelly, Brian; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Separated by iron fences, dense trees and drastic changes in elevation, two seemingly close communities are divided by economic greed, a lack of urban planning and community engagement. Over the last two decades the shoreline along National Harbor, Maryland has transformed from abandoned plantation land to a revitalized urban center. Now home to the MGM Casino, Gaylord Convention Center, Tanger Outlet Malls, the iconic Capital Wheel, and million-dollar townhouses, National Harbor’s master plan has been realized into a dense economic hub. While it has grown extensively, it lacks connectivity to the surrounding suburbs of Fort Washington on a multitude of scales. On a macro scale, it is one of the few suburbs of DC that isn’t serviced by a metro line and on a micro scale it lacks porosity to neighboring developments. Iron fences aren’t the only issue Fort Washington is facing, with the continued effects of climate change, sea levels are expected to rise an additional two feet by 2100 and commercial and residential developments will be put at risk. While the Potomac River is finally showing signs of improvement after half a century of pollution from sewage, agricultural runoff and sediment runoff, how can we protect both the natural and built environments harmoniously?
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    MAKING DO: AN EXAMINATION OF HISTORIC POVERTY AND CONTEMPORARY SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH THE COSTUME DESIGN OF KURT WEILL’S STREET SCENE
    (2019) Ahern, Kristen Patricia; Huang, Helen Q; Theatre; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This document demonstrates a case study of the process of researching, envisioning and producing the costume design for a production with an emphasis on environmental and ethical values in design. The production featured is Street Scene, an opera set in a New York tenement in 1929. The document describes the early collaboration with the director in creating the concept for the piece, how this influenced the research and design and how the design and the designer’s personal values influenced the sourcing and implementation of the design. Included are images documenting the research, renderings, fittings and finished production images. Street Scene was composed by Kurt Weill with libretto by Langston Hughes based on a 1929 play by Elmer Rice. This production was produced by the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland, April 12-20, 2019 under the direction of Professor Amanda Consol, conductor Professor Craig Kier with scenic design by Ryan Fox and lighting design by Peter Leibold.
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    Exploring Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Sustainability. How Cultural and Social Factors Inform a Sustainable Redesign of Whitmore Park (Annapolis, MD).
    (2014) Walker, Elisabeth Jane; Chanse, Dr. Victoria; Plant Science and Landscape Architecture (PSLA); Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Even though sustainability is defined by four parameters - ecological, economic, social and cultural, sustainable design is essentially reduced to ecological and economic aspects (Nadenicek et al., 2000). That narrowed focus ignores those, on whom sustainable development depends on: people and their physical manifestation, culture. Sustainable design depends on both economic and ecological health, cultural vitality (Lister, 2007) and stewardship. When sustainable development does not encourage stewardship, it is prone to fail in the long term (Nassauer, 2011). This design-research thesis focuses on the socio-cultural aspects of sustainable design and the role of participatory engagement in identifying the social and cultural layers of Whitmore Park. It explores how cultural and social factors can inform a sustainable redesign of the neglected 0.7-acre Whitmore Park in Annapolis, MD. The project also helps the community to save the park´s existence through creating a common, sustainable long-term vision for it. In order to create that vision, the designer used various community engagement methods to reconnect the communities to their plaza, and to explore socio-cultural sustainable design approaches. The park´s new aesthetics, functions and programming are driven by the results of the community engagements, as well as the SITEs (Sustainable Sites Initiative) design recommendations. The citizens´ involvement, as well as the socio-culturally sensitive and aesthetically pleasing design will foster a sense of community, and pride, which are important conditions for stewardship and therefore, sustainable development.