School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1607

The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.

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End date: 2019Subject: search.filters.subject.Sustainability

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 25
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    Changing Landscapes: Farmsteads & Resort Towns
    (2019) Baum, Sara; Davenport, Grace; Duan, Amy; Graham, Josette; Jockel, Kathleen; Martin, Veronica; Schlossenberg, Tamara; Tariq, Hassan; Nasta, Paula Jarrett
    In the Fall semester of 2019, the University of Maryland Historic Preservation Studio class worked with the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) in Prince George’s County through the Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS) program. The purpose of the partnership was to create a heritage trail linking the communities of Aquasco, Eagle Harbor, and Cedar Haven in southern Prince George’s County.
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    Oil to Island: Repurposing Southern California's Offshore Drilling Platforms
    (2019) Delash, Michael Dollar; May, Lindsey; Du Puy, Karl; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis aims to explore an untapped opportunity that exists between the industries of energy generation as we move beyond the fossil fuel era as society tries to change course for a more sustainable and positive future. Within this scope, the goal is to focus on offshore oil platform structures and reimagining them in a context of sustainable energy generation. The primary objectives are to design a satellite campus for the southern Californian universities to learn from the unique site and conditions of the platforms. This thesis will explore the potential of the offshore oil platform in a new light, not as a symbol of the fossil fuel industry as it is today but of a pinnacle of a sustainable design and production.
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    A LOOK AT COHOUSING: WHY BABY BOOMERS ARE SELF DEVELOPING ALTERNATIVE HOUSING OPTIONS
    (2019) Matthews, Georgeanne Nabrit; Howland, Marie; Dawkins, Casey; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    An interdependent community with shared amenities and resources, like ‘cohousing’, is one solution to the challenges Baby Boomers face in finding suitable housing options to age in place. Cohousing developments are on the rise in the U.S., more often lead by a committed group of Baby Boomers who seem to be getting around existing public policy hurdles at great emotional and financial costs on the front end of development. This in an indicator that certain barriers exist in the public policy arena that make it difficult to get zoning approval for a cohousing development, and in turn to access traditional financing options to get these projects built. This dissertation looks at why and how Baby Boomers are self-developing their own alternative housing options as they face their retirement years. Over the next 20 years, the Census Bureau anticipates an increased national demand for moderate to middle-income housing posed by the retirement of 80 million Baby Boomers by the year 2031. This paper will highlight: 1) The demographic issue of the rapid growth in the retirement age population; 2) The social considerations that occur with family members living further afield than in previous generations, and therefore leaving the elderly without a built-in network to depend on. In addition, this generation is accustomed to independence and is looking for alternatives that support their ability to remain independent; and 3) The public policy gap highlighting the lack of affordable housing that meets the needs of Baby Boomers, who are ill prepared to shoulder the costs of retirement according to the Social Security Administration. Architects Schreiner and Kephart draw attention to the need for Baby Boomers to have safe, moderately affordable, amenity intensive housing with built-in community and safety nets (2010). The Harvard Journal on Housing (2008) acknowledges the challenge of providing quality housing across a broad income spectrum and points to population shifts indicating a future need for more cost effective, densely clustered housing that is smaller and more sustainable than the typical American dream home. Baby Boomers will be the largest group in this demand shift, accompanied by other groups like single parent headed households, individuals who live alone and Millennials. However, due to the sheer size of the Baby Boomer generation, this group has the potential to be a catalyst for the creation of new housing initiatives. This trend will require changes in land-use zoning for multi-family housing, and the creation of new financial options that support group living. Baby Boomers seem to be investigating various collective living options in order to offset the financial and social challenges that can come with the aging process. The cohousing model will be used as a case study for its claim that it offers luxury amenities, homeownership, community, cultural activities and a built-in social network by design.
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    Inform: Engaging Climate Action Through Didactic Architecture
    (2019) Goel, Juhi; DuPuy, Karl; VanderGoot, Jana; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Our climate is changing, and so must architecture. Climate change is a fundamental design problem of our time, and it requires us to critically examine and deviate from some of our established practices with regard to the building typologies, materials, systems and design approaches that we propagate. This thesis explores an alternative model for the way we build our future cities - one that is rooted in climate action. It examines the design characteristics of a high-rise timber tower in a dense urban setting, where it effectively acts as a Carbon Sink. It addresses a number of sustainable design practices within a mixed-use program that speaks to a varied audience. And in doing so, it employs didactic architecture - or architecture as a teaching tool - to educate its users about their consumption footprint and inspire them to participate in climate action on a scale that promises systemic change.
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    The Power of Synthesis: the Pursuit of Environmental Sustainability and Social Equity Through Design Practice
    (2017) Kedar, Boaz Ahi Omri; Rockcastle, Garth C; Howeland, Marie; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The paradigm of architecture and design is changing. Centuries of industrialization and rapid urbanization have placed profound stress on the earth’s natural systems, presenting new challenges for architects and urban planners. As our collective awareness towards these challenges increases, designers are increasingly called upon to partake in the global transition towards a low-carbon future. These professionals are re-assessing their priorities and practices, striving for better ecological and social scenarios. This dissertation explores how architects and designers successfully integrate environmental sustainability and social equity deliberations into architectural design practice by implementing more holistic sustainable design approaches. It advocates for a future reality where these considerations are naturally incorporated into the design process of any architectural project, and suggests a framework for their more effective integration. The dissertation opens with a review of current sustainable design approaches and practices in the architectural design profession, focusing on the tools and methods commonly used for their integration in the design process. Next, it presents three case studies of exemplary architectural projects, each demonstrating a progressive design approach that successfully integrates both environmental and social sustainability agendas within the design process. Data collection methods included a series of semi-structured interviews with designers, architects, developers, clients and other stakeholders in the respective projects, as well as site visits. In each case study project, the process of its inception, development, settings, and design methodologies were explored, aiming to evaluate the potentialities and effectiveness of these attributes for better integration of socially and environmentally sustainable design agendas. Synthesis of the collected data ultimately offers a framework for more effective integration of these virtues within architectural design processes. The conclusions point to a multivariate threshold containing a combination of external conditions, recommended processes and design-based tactics to achieve such projects. The conclusions underscore the method for application of these factors, not as isolated deliberations but as parts of a holistic, integrated process. When applied concurrently, these factors perform synergistically to produce holistic, well-rounded living environments that foster environmental stewardship alongside social and cultural wellbeing, empowering a community to flourish.
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    Energizing Sustainable Lifestyles
    (2017) Sahaniuk, Florencia; Ambrose, Michael A; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The decrease in energy costs to the population of Buenos Aires has increased the consumption of energy and the lack of investment in the infrastructure of the electric grid has caused for the province of Buenos Aires to experience constant blackouts in the built environment. The major blackouts have been seen within the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, where the urban fabric is extremely dense and where the residential areas are consuming large amounts of power during the summer months, December to March, while the energy infrastructure keeps deteriorating and cannot handle the demand of energy. This thesis aims to aid the barrio of Caballito by searching for an architectural solution in the residential realm to alleviate the impact of the blackouts. Caballito, has experienced the most issues with power and while it is away from the tourist areas, it remains very well connected through public transportation and is surrounded by essential amenities that allow for a sustainable lifestyle to be implemented.
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    SUSTAINABLE ISLAND WATER CULTURE COLLECT, PROTECT, RESPECT
    (2016) Manongdo, Justin Agustin; Simon, Madlen; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    As fresh water globally declines, our local communities are affected. This phenomenon is particularly acute in the islands of Hawai’i. The Hawaiians have a concept called Ahupua’a, which refers to the traditional land division system in Hawai’i. The goal of the research is to see how we can re-imagine island water culture to reintroduce authentic principles of the Ahupua’a to make modern developments sustainable. By addressing and understanding the experience, value of water, and history of its context, architecture can better be used as a tool for collecting, protecting and respecting water to create a deeper appreciation of this resource. This thesis project explores the human connection between water and landscape by utilizing architecture as a means for understanding the importance of this delicate resource. The research will be applied to the design of the Ala Wai Canal waterfront and boathouse in Waikiki. This project will serve as a test case for modern development with a focus on principles of the Ahupua’a and lessons to take for global uses.
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    A Transformative Olympic Village: The Washington 2024 Post-Games Legacy
    (2016) Schroeder, Evan` Michael; Tilghman, James; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis explores the Modern Olympic Games to strategically design an Olympic Village for Washington D.C. that plans not just to house athletes, but to provide a vision for the post-Games city. Through discovery of the spirit and meaning behind one of the world’s biggest events and analysis of various post-Games Villages, the proposed Olympic Village will innovate the future of Washington D.C.’s Southeast region. Study of existing mixed-use architecture, urban planning, and adaptation will help formulate an Olympic Village design. It is the intention that the Olympic Village, much like its athletes, will emulate the Olympic motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” meaning “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” The objective is to establish a village that allows for a faster turnaround in post-Olympic design, utilizes higher standards, and uses stronger applications to building a more sustainable city.
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    Reclaiming the Fall Zone: Mediating Physical and Cultural Exchange in Richmond, VA
    (2016) Filler, Kenneth Paul; Noonan, Peter V; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis will address cultural and physical place reclamation, at the ambiguous intersection of ‘city’ and nature.’ By creating a juxtaposed sequence of multi-scalar interventions, which challenge the conventional boundaries of architecture, and landscape architecture; in order to make commonplace a new dynamic threshold condition in Richmond, Virginia. At its core, this thesis is an attempt at place-making on a site which has become ‘no place.’ This concept will be manifest via a landscape park on Mayo Island in Richmond, anchored by a community retreat center, and architectural follies along a constructed path. The interventions will coincide with value of place in historical Richmond: an integrated, socially desegregated waterfront hinge; a social nexus of inherent change, at the point which the river itself changes at the fall line.
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    Obsolescence and Renewal: Transformation of Post War Concrete Buildings
    (2016) Johnston, Kara Mary; Gardner, Amy; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    In this thesis I investigate issues of post-war concrete buildings and how we can both add value and make adaptable what we have traditionally defined as not valuable and not adaptable. 55% of United States’ commercial building stock was built between the years of 1960 and 1980, leaving 36 billion square feet of building material to be adaptively reused or at the bottom of a landfill. Currently, our culture does not value many character defining features of these buildings making the preservation of these buildings difficult, especially at this 50 year critical moment of both the attribution of a “historic” status and time when major renovation of these buildings needs to occur. How can architects add value to a building type, sometimes called “brutalist”, that building culture currently under values and thinks is “obsolete”? I tested this hypothesis using the James Forrestal Building in Washington D.C. After close study of the obsolescence, value,history and existing conditions, I propose a design that adds value to Southwest Washington D.C. and may serve as an example for post-war renewal around the country.