Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references. / by A. Franklin Rice. / M.S.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 153, 155). / This thesis proposes a new digital system to construct the massing and details of skyscrapers. It extracts underlying rules and design conventions from significant projects in contemporary skyscraper design practice. These rules and conventions are translated into digital data and embedded in a system. The thesis demonstrates how to use this system to reconstruct original designs as well as to generate new ones by means of transformation rules. It takes examples from the built skyscraper projects of Cesar Pelli and Associates as well as Norman Foster and Partners, and embeds their conventions and components to illustrate an implementation of such a system. In contemporary skyscraper design, sophisticated computer models are constructed in advanced engineering systems for the use of engineering analysis, but they contribute very little to the conceptual design of skyscrapers. / (cont.) The goal of this thesis is to propose embedded methods as an alternative approach and to develop a digital system that can both handle complex forms and enable architects to work more efficiently in the early stages of the design process. The intention behind building such a system is to relieve architects from the repetitive work that is required by conventional CAD systems as well as to allow them to carry their previous expertise--well-established stylistic conventions and approved components--into the design of new skyscrapers. / by Shouheng Chen. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-62). / The paradigm shift of digital fabrication encourages architects to incorporate the knowledge of using innovative materials and novel tools to solve problems in design and construction. However, the application of digital fabrication still needs more flexibility that allows different groups in a society to redesign fabrication processes based on their own needs and values. Looking at robotic facilities and natural mud as fabrication media, this thesis will experiment methods of digital design fabrication for freeform masonry construction by robotics to improve the conventional masonry process. It starts from a two-sided investigation: I. existing digital fabrication techniques and applications; II. conventional masonry methods and processes. Afterwards, two robotic prototypes of stereotomy will be presented. Through these two prototypes, robotic fabrication techniques and automation processes for on-site construction will be explored. Researches involved in this thesis aim to investigate a new approach which combines material ecology, mass customization, and construction automation for digital design fabrication, and to inquire the potential of mobile construction at remote areas under low technology. / by Yuchen Liu. / S.M.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2010. / 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. 95-96). / The Salvation Army thrift stores are retail entities in the center of neighborhoods which collect and resell used objects. Although historically dear to many, it seems that the physical condition, market visibility, and social perception of these stores do not always match the importance of the service they provide. The potential of that recycling network, already in place internationally, seems enormous in a context of economic crisis and rising environmental concerns. I would like to create a new Salvation Army thrift store for the years to come, and propose to redesign the closest one at hand as a case study. Among my ideas for this undertaking: - make the thrift store a pleasant and rich experiential space - add to the function of salvaging, the functions of cleaning and repairing - turn what used to be a store into a store ++, with small crafts attached (tailors, shoe repair, laundromats and dry cleaners, wood and metal workers) which would provide next door services and be a tool for social reinsertion (professional training for the unemployed) - open the market segment to all social categories - have the buildings themselves be an example of a new type of reuse/recycling. / by Salomé Francpourmoi. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M.Arch.) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture, 1951. / Accompanying drawings held by MIT Museum. / Bibliography: leaves 86-88. / by Elliot Saltzman. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-83). / Alienation in the built environment can happen in two ways: 1. When man cannot relate himself to his immediate surrounding (for example, the structure he is in); or 2. when the place he is in does not relate to the larger context. Both of these are issues of continuity, or rather, the lack of it, in our physical habitat. At present, the majority of buildings going up are mostly composed and conceived as self-contained / complete entities, that they are coherent wholes standing on their own. Often, the design of . such buildings pays little or no attention to their relation to the surrounding. As a result, these buildings excludes reciprocity, and hence continuity, in the built environment. This investigation attempts to address this condition by introducing a set of strategies and (more importantly) ways of thinking that might lead to (re)building continuity in the built environment. / submitted by Joseph Francis Wong. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-103). / This thesis is the exploration of the physical and metaphorical potential of one of the most beautiful and poignant places in the world. It is Kalaupapa, a peninsula on the North Shore of Molokai, Hawaii, and the site of the infamous Leper colony run by Father Damien at the end of the last century. Here is explored the social issues of compassion to our fellow man and the importance of that compassion in reinforcing an emerging attitude towards life today. The issue of relevancy to this age i s further reinforced with the· analogy of people with leprosy to people with AIDS and the similar societal treatment they have each received. The physical manifestation of this social charge is a place - a settlement run by the National Park Service- where we learn about illness, about dealing with the metaphors attached to illness, about life and death. It is a place that must relate to the strength of the landscape and the technological constraints prescribed by the location. Here, the physical manifestation has the explicit charge of helping, rather than hindering, our ability to dwell. J?welling has been defined as the physical and existential participation in our life-world. We dwell by gathering a world to us, a world that reflects our underlying beliefs. These beliefs are myths and they are the basis for our lives and for the act of dwelling. I suspect that the myths of today do not allow us to fully participate in our world, but there is hope that a planetary myth is emerging that will make this participation possible. This project tries, with every ounce of strength, to help this myth emerge in the minds of the readers. / by Paul R. Ries. / M.Arch.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Thesis. 1971. B.Arch. / B.Arch.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-120). / by Aroon Chinai. / M.S.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-78). / Richard Florida's argument about creative class as the most powerful engine for economic growth of cities is validity; however, this thesis argues it is not creative class or a certain group of individuals but creative spirit that can truly contribute to city's prosperity; therefore, creating environment that can motivate the creative spirit of any socioeconomic class is the true engine for economic growth. Based on the basic premise described above, this thesis constructs a market-sensitive planning tool that can efficiently engineer creative environment. Going on step further, this thesis argues that creative economy does not derive from the number of creative people but from environment balanced with civic attributes that motivate creative spirit become creative activities. Applying portfolio theory from finance discipline to socioeconomic data about cities, this thesis suggests ways to build creative environment and further investigates potential vehicles that can facilitate the process of making creative environment which takes place as a form of efficient urban portfolios. / by IlJoong Kim. / S.M.