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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Item LIVE, LEARN, WORK, WALK: CREATING RESILIENT MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN(2023) Edwards, Joseph Chase; Kelly, Brian P.; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Detroit, Michigan, and its residents have suffered through economic, social, and environmental hardships from the fall of industrialization since 1950. Some of the largest issues within the city of Detroit are high vacancy rates, high unemployment rates, poverty, and overall lack of acknowledgement to its residents. However, in recent years, organizations within the city have begun to implement various outreach programs to beautify Detroit, improve its current housing situation, and promote community engagement. This thesis proposition looks to help aid these efforts through the introduction of a vertical smart growth architectural hybrid typology used as a catalyst human-centric, resilient urban housing. This is accomplished through the introduction of a community-focused and supportive building program. Overall, creating a self-sufficient, live-work micro-ecosystem to bring life back into the city center.Item Dynamic Intervention: Reawakening the Detroit Boat Club(2014) Kopf, Anne; Draper, Powell; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Built in 1902 on pilings in the Detroit River, the Detroit Boat Club (DBC), a stunning Spanish Colonial building, was once a lively sport and social club. Its historic building fabric, paralleling Detroit's rise and fall, stands as a monument to the city's downfall. What remains today is the DBC Rowing Team, who, despite its success, relies on volunteers and meager donations to maintain the decrepit building. In an attempt at revitalizing the DBC, this thesis will explore the intricate connections between various elements of Detroit's social and cultural history. Such elements include Detroit's music history, specifically Motown Records, as well as the growth of the automotive industry. Through this exploration, this thesis project will address the following question: to what extent can these cultural and social connections be applied to the building revitalization process in a way that honors the building's past and prepares it for a vibrant future?Item The Michigan Central Station: Re-Discovering Identity Among Ruins(2011) Rottman, Emilie Michelle; Rockcastle, Garth C.; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The Michigan Central Station will be re-conceptualized as a landmark representing a sustainable and active community building for the surrounding area. This will be an example of a method for designing in derelict areas where buildings have lost their original purpose and identity. Creating multiple programmatic models to be tested and analyzed for their social and cultural implications will help develop a set of strategies and ideas to re-discover identity for the train depot and its surrounding context. Physical strategies will be identified for adaptive reuse; each will be developed further through interaction with these complementary paradigms. While respecting Detroit's history of industry and culture and exploring the implications of revision, the research done will provide ideas to create a new life for the Michigan Central Station and stimulate a new urban community. Complementary physical strategies will be overlaid with these paradigms to further develop strategies for adaptive reuse of the train depot.Item Adaptive Reuse in Post-Industrial Detroit: Testing the Viability of the Engine Works(2008-08-29) Green, Jessica; Eisenbach, Ronit; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The decline of heavy industry and manufacturing in today's major cities has created a serious dilemma. These industrial areas which once brought success and vitality to our cities now exist only as derelict reminders of the past. Through adaptive reuse this thesis reinterprets the industrial landscape as a resource for future growth. An example of post-industrial Detroit, the abandoned Dry Dock Engine Works facility no longer is the vital center of activity it once was. Using this isolated building on the Detroit Waterfront as the site of operations, this thesis seeks to establish a link between past and future, combining multiple new land uses (museum, market, ferry terminal, business incubator) and existing site elements (building, river, rail/trail) to generate a ripple effect of social energy. The interaction between these diverse elements not only creates a new "reason for being" for the Engine Works, but a reason for growth in a shrinking city.Item Converging Identities: Islamic Architecture in Detroit(2007-08-24) Chinchilla, Najahyia Luna; Eisenbach, Ronit; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The development of identity and place within the Detroit Muslim community is explored in this thesis through the creation of an Islamic Center and research library in downtown Detroit. The Islamic Center will strive to simultaneously work on multiple levels by establishing connections to Islam within a global context, the local community, and a place for individual development. The investigation will explore how an immigrant culture establishes community through the built environment and represent their culture within the local community. Part of the study will reflect on how building styles and type reflect the cultural characteristics that the community is trying to preserve compared to American and western influences that are incorporated into the design? How do the architectural traditions, typologies and climate of the Detroit area get incorporated into the built identity? Specific focus will be given to the use of precedent and typology in modern Islamic design, mosques and cultural institutions as identity shapers both for the internal and external audiences. Light, color, pattern and symbolism are areas of inquiry that will be explored to develop form.