Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1961. / Accompanying drawings held by MIT Museum. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 14). / Robert J. Karn. / M.S.

Thesis (M.C.P.) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture, 1950. / Includes bibliographies. / by David D. Longmaid. / M.C.P.

Thesis (M.Arch.) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture, 1956. / Accompanying drawings held by MIT Museum. / Bibliography: leaf 42. / by William J. Rabon, Jr. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M. Arch)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1962. / Accompanying drawings held by MIT Museum. / by Robert P. Sitzenstock. / M.Arch

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-127). / Architecture is always political. Always. Society shapes the built environment and architecture impacts the social systems. Yet how far can architects push in changing society? Is architecture the passive one or the aggressive one? Can architecture resists an authoritarian regime? This thesis inquires into the role of architecture and its potential influence in a politically unstable environment. In the context of Hong Kong, fierce conflicts arose between the local and the visitors after fifteen years of reunification with China. The distinction of the Hong Kong Chinese and the mainland Chinese was a result of the systemic differences across the border. The "One Country, Two Systems" principle allowed the capitalist and democratic systems of the British colonial rule remain unchanged in Hong Kong, setting the city apart from the rest of the communist Chinese cities. However, Beijing's overt interference on the supposed autonomous territory have caused contentions in all levels of society. This discontent against the Chinese system is then released in the daily contacts with the mainland Chinese visitors. Hong Kong, charged with enormous resentment, is facing an unprecedented instability. This thesis proposes a passive-aggressive solution for the city. It tests on the possibility of designing an architecture with dual readings; an architecture that has an apparent program and function while at the same time secretly holds a hidden agenda. This hidden agenda is not desired by the local government nor the Beijing government, but the general public. The hypothesis is, for the context of Hong Kong, should there be any solutions to change, they should be pursued under the disguise of a Beijing-government-favoured story. Only that can an attempt be flourished before it got outmaneuvered. / by Hoi Kwan (Dennis) Cheung. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1986. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-74). / The influence of the computer is increasing within the architectural profession. One aspect of this is the growing use of microcomputer programs in architectural education. Many of these programs have their roots in the engineering disciplines, and therefore their procedural methodology may no t be compatible with the architectural design process. In addition to this, most of the programs used in the universities are originally designed for the professional practitioner, and may not be appropriate for the academic environment This discussion explores the characteristics of the architectural design process, and what issues programmers need to address when writing software for use by designers. More specifically, how should the programmer approach designing educational software, so that the computer becomes a more effective tool in enabling the student to develop heuristic knowledge about some aspect of architectural design. The programming factors that influence the effectiveness of this type of educational software include: the appropriate use of graphics, flexible input/output sequences, procedural transparency of the program structure, and the iterative comparison of design options. These concepts are analyzed in a series of programming examples involving energy analysis and daylighting analysis. Existing programs are critiqued, and suggestions for improvements are made. The use of processors to facilitate the testing and comparison of results are presented, as well as guidelines for additional developments using knowledge base overlays. / by Ronald Fergle. / M.S.

Thesis: Ph. D. in Architecture: History and Theory of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 194-214). / This dissertation traces the architectural and urban history of the privatization of the public realm. At the center of the research is New York City during the "urban crisis" years of the 1960s, as the city grappled with issues of civil rights, urban policy, and physical decline. The period saw an ongoing shift in how city and state governments initiated, financed, and managed architecture and urban development. As an administrative apparatus of crisis management, the public-private partnership was the fiscal and legal device that was at the center of this shift. With the public-private partnership, there was an increased emphasis on transactions between jurisdictional authorities and private sector actors. These transactions privileged negotiations and bargains that exchanged power, responsibilities, resources, expertise, and narratives across a network of public and private sector entities such as city and state governments, quasi-governmental agencies and thinktanks, developers, design practices, and nonprofits. The 1960s saw the beginnings of an organized cultivation of private sector participation by city and state governments, in the funding, management and provision of public goods (parks, plazas and housing). Privately-owned public plazas, privately-managed public parks, privately-owned and managed low-income housing and Special Zoning Districts are some of the outcomes of these partnerships that have shaped and influenced New York City's public realm ever since. By examining the ecology and economy of these public-private partnerships, this dissertation seeks to examine the privatization of the public realm in New York City as a series of complex intersections between the city's economic, political, urban, architectural and real-estate histories beginning in the 1960s. / by Deepa Ramaswamy. / Ph. D. in Architecture: History and Theory of Architecture

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2008. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Page 144 blank. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-143). / There is no such thing as an unadorned building. While the the role and relevance of ornament in architecture has been criticized for centuries, its position has been, for the most part, supported as essential to architecture. In his seminal work On the Art of Building in Ten Books, Alberti wrote, "ornament may be defined as a form of auxiliary light and complement to beauty... ornament, rather than being inherent, has the character of something attached or additional." This understanding of ornament stems from the notion that within a work of art or architecture, that which is essential (the work) may be distinguished from that which is supplementary (the ornament). / (cont) Similarly, for Immanuel Kant ornament is "only an adjunct, and not an intrinsic constituent..." Kant suggests that the work exists on the level of the primary, with respect to that of the secondariness of its ornamentation. Therefore ornament, in this primitive form, is something tacked on to that which is already complete in itself. Regardless of the specific nature of its use, or the extent of its distinguishability from structure, ornament is still typically thought of as an adjunct to architecture. It is required to conform to predetermined logics of space, material, surface, and structure, with room to maneuver only insofar as those arguments remain essentially intact. Instead, could ornament vis-a-vis architecture be conceived as genetic rather than epidermic? Could the eloquence of ornament become an impetus for making architecture, assuming the responsibilities of both master and slave. Henri Focillon begins to grapple with this idea in The Life of Forms in Art. He proposes that "Ornament shapes, straightens and stabilizes the bare arid field on which it is inscribed. Not only does it exist in and of itself, but it also shapes its own environment -- to which it imparts form." This thesis speculates that the role of ornament is greatly limited when thought of strictly as an appliqué, and will therefore begin by attempting to posit ornament as a primary architectural consideration rather than exclusively supplementary. In a manner consistent with the critique of ornament as strictly supplementary, the notion that ornament must be built up from a predetermined, constructive rule set will also be challenged. Rather than working toward an idea of ornament fixed by the work to which it is applied, processes of destruction will be developed as tools to establish an emergent ornamentation. Instead of subscribing to an additive logic, ornament will emerge from a destructive, transformative logic. The Southern California Wildfire Hazard Center (WHC) is an existing organization based at the University of California in Santa Barbara. / (cont) The WHC employs current and near-term capabilities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Earth Science Enterprise (NASA ESE), and is a joint endeavor of a consortium of universities, research organizations, and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The key goal of the WHC is to assist in the management of fire hazards at the urban-wildlands interface. It pursues this goal by developing new data sources, analysis techniques, database management tools, and fire hazard prediction tools. The thesis project, an LA Wildfire Hazard Center, will serve as a local subsidiary to the Southern California Wildfire Hazard Center, hosting both research and educational facilities focusing on Los Angeles County. "Ornament is but the guiled shore to a most dangerous sea." - Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice / by Matthew Alexander Trimble. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2011. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 110-112). / Prefabricated buildings have long played a role in providing inexpensive, yet high quality dwellings for the multitude. However, such structures are typically standardized in nature and poorly suited for deployment within a crowded urban fabric. In Istanbul, where redevelopment projects have displaced many residents to standardized mass housing units built on the periphery of the city, another possibility for prefabricated housing may be possible. In an age when CNC fabrication is becoming commonplace, the solution may appear to be nonstandard construction, whose potential in architectural discourse is frequently seen as an enabler of novel form making. Yet by strategically utilizing nonstandard tools in an otherwise mass-produced housing system, these techniques can provide variation within an industrial process while still taking advantage of the efficiencies of standardization. This project proposes a method of construction that is based on a lightweight composite panel, into which have been collapsed the building's functional requirements (structure, insulation, weatherproofing). As part of their manufacture, the panels are modified utilizing this "semi-nonstandard" fabrication method. This process, which enables a far greater range of geometries and configurations than standardized construction, allows the construction of safe and efficient housing within the city center. This project proposes this system as a topic of architectural research and also as a social project, enabling Istanbulites whose homes are currently under the threat of expropriation to remain in their communities. / by Stephen Form. / M.Arch.

Thesis (S.B. in Art and Design)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2008. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 63). / We stand at the edge of a period of great evolution within human civilization. Renowned inventor, Ray Kurzweil, in his book, The Singularity is Near, predicts that in the next 100 years, we will make 20,000 years of technological progress at year 2000 rates. In other words, that will be the equivalent of 1000 20th centuries in 100 years. This is due to the explosive nature of exponential growth. He also pinpoints an instant when the so-called technological singularity is reached. After this point, technological progress occurs at an essentially vertical rate. He places this around the year 2040. The changes that are to come are positive, inevitable, and completely natural. We should embrace technological progress while not forgetting the basic psychological and spiritual needs of human beings. While all of this progress is to our benefit, constant stimulation can lead to blindness to the universe around us. This blindness does not refer to knowledge. True, we know exponentially more each year, but we also grow increasingly scornful of learning that does not revolve around facts, of pure spiritual wonder at the universe. We scorn downtime and silence as useless and wasteful. We need to regain a positive sense of the word silence (as opposed to definition of emptiness). We need spaces where we are able to stop and simply let our minds idly consider the universe around us. We need spaces that exist outside of contemporary high-paced urban life. We need to feel part of the environment of the universe, in synch with infinite and ever-modulating universe rhythms. We need spaces of slower time, optimism, and contemplation. We can create these types of spaces through a deep understanding of Earth Rhythms, the infinitely changing variables that interact to create our constantly modulating experience of Planet Earth. The architect can be thought of an Earth Composer, someone who decides which environmental phenomena to accentuate. Architecture can be a responsive performance that interacts with the natural world, carrying on a two-way conversation with its environment. The building can be thought of as an infinitely varying performance, a performance that exists as a direct performance to an audience, an internal dialogue with itself, and an interactive performance with human beings. Finally, architecture can be thought of as a holistic system with both technological and biological elements, in which the two are indistinguishable from one another. / by Stuart Gavin Ruedisueli. / S.B.in Art and Design