School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation
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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.
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Item DO INTERIOR PRIVATELY OWNED PUBLIC SPACES FOSTER URBAN PUBLIC LIFE? A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FOUR NYC PUBLIC SPACE TYPOLOGIES(2024) Donahue, Alex; Simon, Madlen; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation focuses on a specific kind of public space—privately owned and mandated for public use and enjoyment. In exchange, the property owner receives bonus floor area or waivers. The arrangement provides a unique dilemma: how can a space provide ideal benefits to the public while recognizing the individual rights associated with a privately owned space? The primary inquiry of this research is to compare Interior Privately Owned Public Spaces (IPOPS) with three other space typologies: Privately Owned, Restricted to Public Space (PORPS), Privately Owned, Publicly Available Space (POPAS), and Urban Street (URBS) to discover how successfully the physical characteristics of IPOPS foster urban public life, focusing on aspects of (a) sociability; (b) inclusion; (c) wayfinding; (d) ownership; (e) well-being; and (f) community. The six themes comprise the Hexa-model for assessing ideal space, a tool the researcher developed for this study. I use the following methods to understand better the connection between the built environment, human use, and interaction: (a) architectural analysis; (b) signage analysis; (c) behavioral observation; and (d) archival analysis. I focus on four case study sites within New York City, each including all four typologies: (a) along Maiden Lane from Water Street to South Street; (b) on East 42nd Street and Park Avenue; (c) around 3rd Avenue and East 49th Street; and (d) along 45th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. The findings illustrate that while the IPOPS included free-of-charge access to secure, sheltered, and climate-controlled seating, tables, natural light, bathrooms, and plants, there was a relative lack of urban public life. The IPOPS demonstrated a lack of urban public life in limited occupancy and activity when compared to the other spatial typologies and a lack of public space legibility, a generic identity with little sense of place, impromptu closures, a fortress-like aesthetic, and rules that conscribe and exclude the types of uses that are allowed to occur within the space. This research illustrates that in the sample of spaces studied, and compared with other spatial typologies, IPOPS lacked several normative criteria outlined in the Hexa-model. As a consequence, the public is currently not receiving the full benefit of public space as outlined in the agreements made with the city of New York. I recommend that further study be conducted at a larger scale, covering more locations and at various times of day and year to confirm the present study’s findings and promote policy changes to improve the public nature of IPOPS.Item Urban Catalyst: Continuing the Legacy of Massachusetts Avenue(2016) Englehart, Samuel; Noonan, Peter; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis proposes a reconnection of Massachusetts Avenue to the Anacostia River waterfront in Washington, DC. An intervention at the site of Reservation 13 will reconcile a difficult urban edge and reunite the neighborhood of Lincoln Park with the river. It also addresses the discontinuity of the avenue to the southeast and proposes the development of a bridge between the Western bank and ultimately Randle Circle. Along this reconciled corridor will be a series of architectural interventions that serve to promote community involvement. Ultimately this thesis is about generating an urban continuity and the cultural vibrancy and understanding that such a connection would foster.Item Creating Common Ground: Architecture For Tactical Learning and Creative Convergence(2015) Sherry, Valerie Lynn; Vandergoot, Jana; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Certain environments can inhibit learning and stifle enthusiasm, while others enhance learning or stimulate curiosity. Furthermore, in a world where technological change is accelerating we could ask how might architecture connect resource abundant and resource scarce innovation environments? Innovation environments developed out of necessity within urban villages and those developed with high intention and expectation within more institutionalized settings share a framework of opportunity for addressing change through learning and education. This thesis investigates formal and informal learning environments and how architecture can stimulate curiosity, enrich learning, create common ground, and expand access to education. The reason for this thesis exploration is to better understand how architects might design inclusive environments that bring people together to build sustainable infrastructure encouraging innovation and adaptation to change for years to come. The context of this thesis is largely based on Colin McFarlane’s theory that the “city is an assemblage for learning” The socio-spatial perspective in urbanism, considers how built infrastructure and society interact. Through the urban realm, inhabitants learn to negotiate people, space, politics, and resources affecting their daily lives. The city is therefore a dynamic field of emergent possibility. This thesis uses the city as a lens through which the boundaries between informal and formal logics as well as the public and private might be blurred. Through analytical processes I have examined the environmental devices and assemblage of factors that consistently provide conditions through which learning may thrive. These parameters that make a creative space significant can help suggest the design of common ground environments through which innovation is catalyzed.Item PUBLIC SPACE \\ THE INTERNET: Public Embodiment of Digital Cultures(2015) Hampton, Elizabeth Anne; Rockcastle, Garth C; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Public space is vital to urban society because it lies at the center of social and cultural life, however today the internet acts as a new centrality where interaction and socialization occur in a new invisible setting. Today both physical and digital public space serve as a vital interface for civic engagement and public participation, yet there is much content that often only remains significant on the internet. This thesis seeks to both strengthen the significance of our online public interactions and enliven the urban public realm by translating digital cultures into the urban environment, giving content the ability to flow between both worlds. This hypothesis will be tested through the redesign of Pershing Square in Downtown, Los Angeles, CA.Item DIFFERENT LAYERS OF A CULTURE: EMPOWERING TRADTIONAL TURKISH VILLAGE LIFE THROUGH ARCHITECTURE(2014) AYSIN, KEMAL KORAY; KELLY, BRIAN P; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Can an architectural intervention provide positive and sustainable cultural, economic and environmental developments for a Turkish village? The architectural formation of a cultural center that fortifies cultural traditions and creates bridges between locals and visitors, diminishes the negative effects of migration and brings economic dynamism to the area is the aim of this thesis project. Migration from villages to big cities is a common occurrence in Turkey. However, due to constantly increasing population and limitation of the resources in major cities, most of the time, people who migrate from villages with the desire to find better living conditions cannot fulfill their dreams. On the other hand, there are many qualities and aspects of villages such as agricultural production, unique arts and crafts and folkloric/traditional values. With proper coordination, these qualities may easily become economic, social and cultural drives. Therefore, a program that strengthens these values and makes them viable economic and cultural resources for village populations, may contribute to the development of villages and small-scale neighborhoods.Item The Revitalization of the American Downtown: A Network of Public Squares in Richmond, Virginia(2013) Elliott, Mark; Kelly, Brian; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In Europe, public squares are outdoor living rooms where people experience vibrant urban life in community with others. Well defined streets and squares work together to create a rich spatial experience for people moving through cities. American cities often lack this strong tradition of public space and experienced serious decline during the mid-20th century. Now as urban populations are increasing, it is time to re-invigorate the public realm of our urban areas. This thesis proposes an enhanced network of public squares in the downtown of Richmond, VA, a typical mid-sized city whose downtown is experiencing a resurgence. Using extensive precedent analysis, the investigation will apply design principles and typological characteristics to three proposed public squares in Richmond. The goals are to create catalysts for new development in the downtown and to encourage a renewed pedestrian experience of the city.Item Neoplastic Intervention: Re-Imagining Cairo's Public Realm(2013) Ezzat, Tamir Mautaz; Simon, Madlen; Stanton, Michael; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Neoplastic intervention is derived from the medical term of neoplasm, which is an abnormal growth that continues to grow and evolve after the initial stimuli ceases. Architecturally, this neoplastic intervention at a more localized region will serve as scaffolding to catalyze revitalization by providing public space to a district of Cairo. With a civic space focused design, I aim to restructure an informal Cairo district to provide continuity, identity and architectural reform. This thesis studies the historic context of Cairo, analysis of case studies in slum reform in other regions, extract the DNA from these interventions, and apply it to a design for re-imagined public space in Cairo. The culminating proposal unites the study of the context of Cairo, existing public space in Cairo, precedent analysis, and the application of these analyses to propose a new public realm for a district in Cairo to serve as a paradigm for revitalization.