Architecture
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Item A Private Beach Club(1989) Blinchikoff, Laurie Jo; Schlesinger, Frank; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The objective of this thesis is to design a private beach club that architecturally blends in with its community in terms of scale and appearance. The selected club is located in the Borough of Deal, a wealthy residential community situated on the New Jersey shore between the cities of Long Branch and Asbury Park. The site of the proposed beach club is presently occupied by Phillips Avenue Pavilion, a bath house, which consists of many small rooms used for changing and storing clothing and beach accessories. I propose to remove this structure and replace it with a new facility that will include a ballroom, dining room, club room, and spa. This thesis considers four architectural issues. The first is scale. The proposed beach club should have its own distinctive presence in the community but should neither overwhelm other residences nor appear too small. The second is frontality. A building on the seashore has a public front toward the street and a private front toward the ocean. These fronts pose specific problems of entrance and service locations. The third, beach club imagery, addresses the character of the club compared to other seaside structures of similar appearance and function. The fourth issue is detailing. The construction of the beach club and the detail s of the interior and exterior spaces will be thoroughly examined.Item A Communal Retreat for Writers in the Adirondacks(2002) Makker, Kirin Joya; Mason, Randall; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)This thesis will explore the design of a retreat for writers in Adirondack Park in upper New York State. The intent of the project is to investigate how the 'border' between a group of buildings and the natural wooded landscape in which they sit may be blurred. It is the assumption of the author that rendering indistinct this border between the built and the natural will have bearing on whether a human's relationship to nature is harmonious. This study considers the transition (space, plane, or volume) from built to natural material: how do a compound, a building, and a construction detail meet the natural world in a manner in which the distinction between natural and human built is unconventionally blurred? How do a collection of buildings, a structure, and a detail suggest a harmonious relationship with the natural setting in which, or with which, they sit? The purpose of this thesis is to explore these questions and thus investigate the transition of natural landscape to built work at a variety of scales: the site scale, the building scale, and the detail scale.Item Sustainable Design Center for Washington, DC(2003-12-22) Eng, Vanessa Tracy; Bowden, Gary; Gabrielli, AIA, Julie; Bovill, Carl; ArchitectureDiscussions of sustainability have become increasingly common in recent times, as there has been a growing concern for the impact of the built environment on the ecological state of the planet. As we experiment with alternate energy sources, long- term development plans, and waste reduction techniques, new materials and design approaches are emerging. A synthesis of these discussions, this thesis examines how green buildings work in urban environments through the development of a museum and research center on sustainability for Washington, DC, that is itself, environmentally friendly. Utilizing and displaying green building systems, this public museum will teach the design profession as well as individuals through its exhibits and assembly. This learning machine will focus on the generality of sustainability, and the specifics of sustainable architecture.Item The Revitalization of the Neighborhood Movie House and It's Role in the Community, The Avalon Theater, Chevy Chase D.C.(2003-12-22) Wagner, Gretchen Elizabeth; Bowden, Gary A.; Eisenbach, Ronit; Mason, Randall; ArchitectureThe movie has traditionally been an important part of American mass culture. It has reflected the changes that have taken place in American life since the turn of the century. Entertainment and the entertainment industry depended heavily not only on the entertainment value of a movie, but also the architectural and social experience of going to the movie theater. In the 1950's, television surpassed the movie as the top choice of entertainment for the American public. By the 1960's grand movie palaces as well as art deco neighborhood movie houses all across the United States began to disappear. By the early 1970's, "mutli-plexes" with many screens were placed in shopping malls and strip malls, and took on more of a regional rather than a community role. I propose an addition and renovation to the Avalon Theater, a neighborhood movie house in Chevy Chase, D.C., to reintegrate the movie-going experience with a community focus thus reinvigorating this important 'place' of American mass culture. This thesis will incorporate a master plan for the block, and a program that will expand the services of the traditional movie theater by establishing exhibitions, and integrating retail and/or office space, along with community spaces in an attempt to enliven the area during the day, as well as at night. It will also involve looking at the Avalon Theater in a larger context as it relates to the stretch of commercial development along Connecticut Avenue south of Chevy Chase Circle.Item LOOKING FOR THE LOST WATER --- RENEWAL OF XIAN-YU-KOU RIVERFRONT IN BEIJING(2004-01-02) Sun, Lingbo; Bechhoefer, William; Gournay, Isabelle; Jeronimo, John M; ArchitectureBeijing as a historic city now is going through with dramatic changes. There is always the confliction between preservation and new development. It is against this background that my thesis is attempted to study and propose a sensitive development whose intent would be to treasure and preserve design philosophy embodied in the old city fabric. The proposed site Xian-yu-kou area in Beijing used to be a commercial place for over 500 years. A historic river, which was filled early last century, not only stimulated the development of the whole area, but also was the generator of its unique urban fabric. Now as many traditional neighborhoods, this area is facing both physical and environmental issues. My thesis is to pursue a reinterpretation of the historical urban context: by restoring the most important urban element - the old river and redevelop the waterfront amenities to revitalize this whole historic neighborhood.Item A School for the Chinese Martial Arts(2004-01-07) Currey, Evan; Francescato, Guido; Bechhoefer, William; Bovill, Carl; ArchitectureThrough the design of a school for the Chinese martial arts, the issue arises of transposing a style of architecture to a time and place other than its original context. Accordingly, the distillation and transformation of principles of Chinese architecture will be a part of the creation of an architecture appropriate to a modern American city. The goal of this thesis is to design a new school for training in kung fu, specifically the hung-fut system. This system teaches traditional kung fu, lion and dragon dancing, tai-chi, and sparring. Students of the Chinese system of martial arts known as kung fu should have a sense of the culture that produced the system of kung-fu. A building for the school must fulfill the requirements for the primary function of education as well as secondary functions such as administration and public performance. The architecture of the school should express the culture and history that created this system of martial arts. Therefore, principles of Chinese architecture, as well as relevant philosophies such as feng-shui, should be incorporated in the design of the school. The site for this project is the corner of H and 6th Streets in Washington, DC's Chinatown, the building will attempt to establish a cultural focus in the historic district and help to re-knit the urban fabric, and to revitalize the neighborhood.Item Creating An identity for Kiplin Hall: Bringing New Life to a Historic Manor House(2004-01-13) McClure, Jill Cathleen; Kelly, Brian; Gabrielli, Julie; Jeronimo, John; ArchitectureThe preservation of historic properties allows a specific time period to be captured, and a former lifestyle of those that lived upon the historic site to be conveyed and understood to a visitor of the site. Although, historic sites provide educational services to the community, they often, have financial challenges. The upkeep and restoration of a historic site is costly and often the demanding budget can not be met by visitor ticket sales. In order to give vitality to a historic property, it must be understood that a site has to consider new uses or additional buildings in order to survive. Kiplin Hall, located in North Yorkshire, England, is facing many of these challenges. This thesis proposes the addition of contemporary buildings to Kiplin Hall in order to help it continue as a historic amenity as well as offering new and additional services to the North Yorkshire community. The addition of new buildings and the restoration of gardens to the site will help support the original building of Kiplin Hall. These additions will help educate the visitor not only about the lifestyle and history of the families that lived at Kiplin but also will provide them with other cultural opportunities such as landscape history, gardening, music concerts, and educational lectures.Item MIXED INCOME HOUSING, A REVITALIZATION PROJECT IN MEDELLIN,COLOMBIA(2004-01-14) de los Rios, Roberto M.; Bechhoefer, William; Francescato, Guido; Bennett, Ralph; ArchitectureSettled in the Central branch of the Andes mountain chain, the city of Medellin (3 million inhabitants) has occupied most of the land available for urbanization. This pattern has led to the appropriation, use and development of topographically unstable slopes that often represent geological risks and little by little destroys one of the city's most valuable attributes: the beauty of its geographic location. In spite of the deterioration and the correspondent decline in the architectural landscape, downtown Medellin continues to be a vibrant market for both formal and informal commerce and services activities out of which numerous low-income families survive, not to mention its value as a historical urban setting where Medellin was founded and where the first commercial and governmental institutions shaped the city life. All this calls for an urban policy that creatively re-evaluates the growing possibilities of Medellin. Based on the frame summarized above, and following the basic guidelines of an existing partial plan for a deteriorated but historically valuable downtown area (area of intervention for this purpose), formulated by the Government of Medellin, I propose: First, to develop a schematic housing system that complies with the normative plan, critique it and decide whether it should be pursued or improved. Second, to design a mixed-income housing system that: Responds to the socio-economic characteristics of traditional inhabitants to the area while responding to the need for a functional mixture of housing, services and commercial activities. Help solve the existing housing deficit Connect the neighborhood to the urban fabricItem Confluence Station: A Bicycle Station for Denver, Colorado(2004-01-14) Leibman, Cynthia Denise; Hurtt, Steven W; ArchitectureThis thesis proposes a design for a community transit center which promotes the ideas of living and working downtown, the use of non-polluting transportation alternatives and living in harmony with the natural environment. The proposed facility will be located at the confluence of the South Platte River and the Cherry Creek, accessed by existing bicycle trails, and connected to the fabric of the city through local public transportation systems. The building itself will primarily serve the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians, thus making commuting by bicycle a more viable and attractive option for more people. The building itself will be as sustainable as possible with the intention of creating an easily understood model of a building existing in harmony with its surroundings. The building will be designed with the intention of embodying the spirit of the place and celebrating the landscape, historical heritage, and prospects for the city's future.Item A Touch of Rural in the City: Green Education for DC Youth(2004-02-04) Channell, Cecily; Schumacher, Thomas; ArchitectureThis thesis project will design a small environmental education facility that provides alternative educational opportunities for students of D.C Public Schools through a program that teaches the history of agricultural life in this country, and the farm as a model of sustainability and environmental stewardship, this unique experience will offer these children rewarding hands-on lessons in personal and societal responsibility. I have chosen a site in Near Southeast Washington. This 3-acre site (now a parking lot) allows ample space for the program, which will include a series of vernacular buildings situated around a courtyard, that are clothed in an urban industrial/commercial hybrid façade.Item Reclaiming the Annapolis Waterfront: Towards an Architecture of Place(2004-02-17) Kautz, Ryan David; Schumacher, Thomas L; DuPuy, Karl; Francescato, Guido; ArchitectureTitle of Thesis: RECLAIMING THE ANNAPOLIS WATERFRONT: Towards an Architecture of Place Name of Degree Candidate: Ryan D. Kautz Degree and Year: Master of Architecture, 2003 Thesis Directed by: Thomas L. Schumacher, FAAR, Professor Annapolis, Maryland is one of the nation's most important historic cities, and the character of its historic core remains much as it did over two hundred years ago. Despite this fact, the most unique amenity that Annapolis offers has suffered from the effects of the automobile and poor planning. The Annapolis waterfront has been developed over the past fifty years as a series of poorly designed buildings and parking lots that take little advantage of their location adjacent to the water. For a city known as "America's Sailing Capital," the Annapolis waterfront does not live up to expectations. This thesis proposes to entirely redesign the Annapolis waterfront. A new Visitors Center will be a focal point in the City Dock area, providing a center for information, education, and entertainment. The new waterfront will also incorporate a hotel, retail, restaurants, offices, residential, and parking facilities, as well as landscaped parks and plazas. The challenge of this thesis is to explore how contemporary architecture can blend effortlessly into a vernacular context of fifty, one hundred, and two hundred year old buildings. The true measure of success in this endeavor is not in creating buildings that stand out as objects, but rather in creating modern buildings that seem to be as much a part of the background fabric as the historical context.Item Design with Climate: A Retreat for Vieques, Puerto Rico(2004-03-02) Rellihan, Sara Salazar; Gardner, Amy; Etlin, Richard; Bovill, Carl; ArchitectureOne of the main ideas this thesis pursues is the impact of climate on architecture. It involves the exploration of an architecture that is sensitive to the climatic particularities of its site and is able to create a passively comfortable environment for its inhabitants. The focus of the thesis has been the design of a retreat on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Of particular interest has been the study of 19th century plantation houses in Puerto Rico and their climatic adaptation to the region during a time when climate control mechanisms did not exist. The site is located on the former lands of the United States Navy, which, until May 2003, had occupied most of the island. Due largely to the presence of the Navy, much of Vieques has remained undeveloped. It is a "virgin" island with pristine beaches and a variety of flora and fauna that attract a fair number of tourists.Item A Children's Hospice -- A Comprehensive Environment for Families Living through a Critical Time(2004-03-03) Stokes, Lynn Riley; Kelly, Brian; Vann, Robert L; Weese, Melissa; ArchitectureHospice is a concept of caring a philosophy emphasizing quality rather than quantity of life. A residential hospice is a place where patients with terminal disease can go to live their last moments in a supportive environment. Currently, in the United States, there are no free-standing children's hospices in existence. This thesis proposes the Hospice as a feature to the Johns Hopkins campus in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. Johns Hopkins prides itself on its history of medical, philosophical innovation and unsurpassed medical talent. This site, with its urban, campus and residential neighborhood elements, will provide a rich dialog between building and site, boundaries and gateways. An ultimate goal of the Children's Hospice is to assist families in remaining intact, functional and capable of achieving the highest quality of life together in the midst of very extreme circumstances.Item Preposition-Position: Design Strategies in a Master Plan for Redevelopment, McMillan Sand Filtration Site, Washington, DC(2004-05-14) Harris, Joseph; Eisenbach, Ronit Z.; Gardner, Amy; Gournay, Isabelle; Sullivan, Jack; ArchitectureThis is an adaptive reuse of a former public works facility. Its modification is based on a series of positions taken relative to the site's evolving grammar and context, subdivided into abstract structural interventions ("pre-positions"), and encapsulated into a master plan ("position," or "thesis"). The core concepts of that master plan relate to notions of social, ecological, and cultural sustainability: through urban redevelopment and inhabitation, through the physical integration of manmade and natural systems, and through didactic consideration of the site's history and position in both the larger framework of the symbolic realm of the nation's capitol and the everyday life of its citizenry. Specifically the thesis proposes the conversion of the property for residential, civic, and recreational uses. It argues that the site can be regarded as a valuable piece of the public realm and should be redeveloped with the same civic commitment that brought about its creation.Item The Museum of the City of Seattle(2004-05-17) Shaklee, Brian Christopher; Schumacher, Thomas; ArchitectureThis thesis proposes to examine the urban restoration of a neglected and underutilized area of downtown Seattle, that being the parking garage bound by the intersections of Second Avenue, Yesler Way, and James Street, adjacent to the Pioneer Square Historic District. This urban restoration will take place in the design of a new museum dedicated to the history of Seattle. This design would also incorporate new spaces for the Seattle Underground Tour, currently conducted from the nearby Pioneer Building. In addition to providing a cultural resource for the city, this concept will provide outdoor space for use by the public and will restore a piece of the urban fabric that was destroyed in the 1960's urban movement. This site was the original location of the Seattle Hotel, a building that was demolished and converted into its present-day form, much to the chagrin of city preservationists.Item HARBOR AS VENUE: BALTIMORE'S WATERFRONT MUSIC HALL AND MIXED-USE COMMUNITY(2004-05-18) Mansperger, Nicolas Frederic; Bovill, Carl; ArchitectureAs United States port cities evolve from heavy industry to service based economies, brownfield sites become opportunities to secure our cities' vitality. This thesis studies architecture's relationship to the essence of the urban waterfront through connectivity, imageability, genius loci, and the pageantry of place. The site is located in Baltimore's Fells Point, at the former location of the Allied Chemical chromium facility. This 27 acre environmentally capped peninsula mediates between the fine historic grain of Fells Point and the contemporary 30+ story Inner Harbor East. How can the inherent disparate nature of the harbor be infused with connections to bring people together? The prominence of the site demands a study of the harbor's accessibility to maximize this amenity's connectivity back to the city. The urban program studies the implications of a mixed-use community on a prominent waterfront site. As a regional performance anchor, the site becomes home to a new music hall. A public portion of the site serves locals and tourists alike, connecting the Inner Harbor with Fells Point via a waterfront promenade. The pageantry of place, not unlike Garnier's Opera House, is studied both at the macro and micro scale, from the city's procession in and around the waterfront to the local scale of the music hall. Being inherently introverted, as seen in Sydney, how can a waterfront hall look at the harbor as venue? Is it appropriate to visually and physically link the site to its present and past industrial and natural essence?Item An Industrial Design Institute in West Baltimore(2004-05-18) Cross, David Cameron; Etlin, Richard; ArchitectureA building can serve as a connector in many ways; it may be a simple spatial connection within the urban context. It may be a metaphoric connection between different functions or groups that are contained within it. Or it may even be a temporal connection, between the past, the present and the future. The urban fabric, economy, and culture of Baltimore were built upon industry. The departure of many of these industries has left a void in the city's economy and culture, though much of the architecture remains. The city itself may be used as a tool for the teaching of industrial design. The school must also teach job skills and serve the needs of the local community. Finally, the building must have an aesthetic component that is appropriate for its function, content and responsibilities. A contemporary reinterpretation of Industrial architectural aesthetics is needed.Item Cities of History: Preservation and Interpretation in the Design Process(2004-05-18) Hurtt, Eric Benjamin; Wortham, Brooke D; ArchitectureThis thesis proposes the use of memory and interpretation in the preservation, urban design, and physical definition of a community. The study area is Southwest Washington D.C. The thesis will explore questions of preservation and intervention: How might theories of preservation shape the urban form of a neighborhood? How are narrative potential, historic significance and existing fabric mediated? What is the symbolic importance of memory and its architectural use? Southwest was an integral part of L'Enfant's plan for Washington. Currently it is severed physically and psychically from the rest of the city. The dominant symbolic importance of the Mall and post-McMillan Commission Federal Core development strategies de-emphasized the significance of the Rivers and the physical relationship between the Mall and Southwest. Urban renewal strategies of the 1950's destroyed most of the urban fabric south of the Mall, layering an essentially suburban street typology over the existing grid pattern. Although partially offset by an architectural Modernism unique in Washington D.C., the resultant system of disconnected streets and poorly defined open space provide no sense of center, little relation to the rest of the city, and no relation to the larger landscape. An intention of this project is the exploration of the significance of site and its evolving role in shaping the city. Design should encourage a dialogue between memory and the present. L'Enfant's plan for Washington is reinterpreted as establishing vital relationships between the natural and the urbanized, the symbolic and the mundane, the federal city and the metropolitan city.Item A Recreation and Wellness Center in Waldorf, Maryland: Creating Connections within a Suburban Community(2004-05-18) Ault, Edmund Barry; Bowden, Gary; ArchitectureThis thesis responds to the common condition of disjointed suburban communities, linked only by roads, in the fast-growing town of Waldorf, Maryland. While the focus of recent development has been directed toward residential dwellings and restaurants, public recreation has been neglected. By applying a new fabric of residential and commercial development influenced by The New Urbanism, and a park system connected by a network of trails, the young members of the disjointed communities can be easily brought together for mental and physical stimulation outside of their homes, where such development is limited. By creating a mixed-use recreation and wellness center in the new park system between three schools, visual and physical links can be formed. Interior spaces provide comfortable areas for activity, socializing, and assembly, all of which are integral parts of a healthier body, mind, and soul.Item Reclaiming Community Through Multiple Generations: Mixed-Use Housing in Portland's Chinatown(2004-05-19) Lee, Kimberly Anne; Gournay, Isabelle; ArchitectureFor over half a century, the traditional Chinatown, typically located in an urban context, has become an isolated entity in which generations of Chinese and Chinese-Americans are fleeing to the suburbs. This project will focus on creating an inter-generational mixed-use housing complex that provides for community resources and services. The goal of this thesis is to encourage a reactivation of a deteriorating community through the interaction between first, second, and third generation Chinese and Chinese-Americans. This project will investigate the greater cultural context of how the family unit is composed, how an eastern typology may be adapted to the western society, and how to deal with issues concerning an "identifiable place." The site is located in Portland, Oregon's Chinatown. It is situated just north of downtown on the edge of the Willamette River. The site is nearly desolate, but shows immense promise for an activated community.