Thesis (M.Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1957. / ACCOMPANYING drawings held by MIT Museum. / by Hanford Yang. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-101). / The urban library has persisted as a cultural entity, largely because its interiorized form functions as a vault, creating a clear, although often intimidating, boundary between library program and the public realm. While preserved in its laudable functions, the library has met significant challenges with the emergence of new forms of media and technology. The introduction of the television, and more importantly the internet, as popular means of gathering information translates into a complete transformation of the acquisition process into mere fleeting engagements with mass media. The viewpoints and opinions of those few who shape the media are imparted upon the masses. In comparison, the library presents information not only with the benefit of multiple perspectives, but also with the necessary context provided through related subject matters. The challenge therefore becomes one of making available to the general public the great wealth of intellectual resources that the library provides. While some recent library designs have experimented with using the library's very competition to save it from extinction and have essentially contaminated the library with programs from outside the "vault," these attempts have for the most part been unsuccessful. / (cont.) The key to reinventing the urban library, I argue, is structuring a new relationship between the highly sensory and immediate experience of the media and the comprehensive material the library has to offer. The crucial bridge between these seemingly disparate methods of acquiring information is the act of browsing. The curiosity that an individual has in one subject matter branches out to create an entirely new area of understanding and ends in a new ability to generate particular opinions. The new urban library therefore becomes structured as an urban interface to facilitate the act of browsing. The community becomes involved in all aspects of the organization of the library so that the interface reflects the very interests of the various constituencies who pass through the library on a daily basis. The library may no longer bear a precise resemblance to libraries of old, stoic reading rooms and monumental facades, but the objectives of this institution will persist for the benefit of future generations. / by Sandra Ann Baron. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 107). / The guiding proposition of this thesis is that components in a place can equal more than the sum of their parts. Through interactions among a range of sizes, the physical elements in a design are perceived as defining experiences beyond their locale. For example, in a larger context, views and direction of movement may be expressed in the physical form of a particular detail. Smaller elements may be deployed on several levels, being sensed as a discrete unit, complete in itself, while also referring to the "whole" through a shared geology of forms. The design of a new MIT Boathouse, as well as a study of Carlo Scarpa's use of details, investigate this dynamic of size relationships. / by Paul John Paturzo. / M.Arch.

Thesis (B. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1965. / MIT Institute Archives copy bound with: Adams, Robert W. and Lane, Jonathan S. Analysis of city structure : Salem (1965). Accompanying drawings held by MIT Museum. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-65). / [by] Rodrigo Arboleda Halaby [and] Adolfo Lau Chang. / B.Arch.

Thesis (S.M. in Architecture Studies)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-100). / The revolution in modes of design and production anticipate a liberalization of material/fabrication that can potentially allow the masses to take control of the design of the urban space. Historically with each technical invention, writing, printing press, and video-cameras, came not only the possibility for new creative practices but also the formation of the socio-political structures to allow such new praxis to mobilize and become effective. For example, with the advent of printing press, publishing houses organized the literary world, selecting culture for mass consumption, or film and television industry grew to broadcast programs and movies. During the '90's, theories of virtuality and the commercialization and privatization of public spaces, were seen as potential dissolvers of physical public places. Today we should acknowledge the power of networked media and digital fabrication for their potential to physically build public good. This thesis explores and proposes a method to create urban places by designing three prototypes of urban objects that can be customized by the public and easily fabricated with a CNC router which will allow a digitally networked audience to participate in the physical making of space in their cities. / by Michela Barone Lumaga. / S.M.in Architecture Studies

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-118). / This thesis is an investigation into issues involving computers, information, and automation in the designing of large-scale environments. It is an attempt to understand the issues at root in developing an "intelligent" design environment which provides tools for handling tasks often too mundane and distracting for sustained design activity. In the process of devising these tools, fundamental issues regarding the elements or objects of design, their characteristics, and the transformations they undergo are revealed in light of the particular capabilities of the computer. This study was undertaken as an attempt to discover these issues for myself by working to create a system of tools on top of an existing computer-aided design program - a personalized design environment. The path of discovery taken is reconstructed in this paper, in part to illustrate some of the pitfalls of dealing with real-world programming tasks, and also to demonstrate the revelation of the inherent issues that are involved when attempting such a project. Although the programmed end-product is incomplete and greatly simplifies the true nature of such a design problem, the lessons learned are distilled and clarified to provide a basis for further work and investigation in this field. The first part is a synopsis of issues related to computer-aided design: an historic overview, current applications, on-going research and forecasts. This section is provided to illustrate the foundation of understanding that I had when undertaking to develop tools of my own. The second part includes the initial tool concepts and their intended purposes, a discussion of hardware and software platforms, and numerous considerations I was compelled to address while developing modeling and information-handling components of the design environment. Part three deals in depth with a sophisticated tool proposal for instantiating urban type elements for illustrating a possible "realization" of a schematic design; this tool was not able to be developed on the chosen platform. I have also included some possible scenarios for using the modeling and information handling tools. / by Joseph M. Knight. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-149). / Can we use single occidental methods and theory in the act of "place making" in the Third World? The act of "place making" is an important phenomena, particularly in creating a sense of continuity in the transformation of a built environment. It is an interactive layering of events and activities in the development of a place. This thesis is an exploration in reconsidering the application and interpretation of occidental theories which arc inadequate and inappropriate to the realities of the Third World. This is demonstrated by the misinterpretation of scientific methods and history which are used towards a single problem solving exercises . The purpose of this thesis is to raise questions on the intentions behind these occidental methods and their interpretation by others. The first two sections analyze the precedents to the application of occidental methods. The final reflective section is an exploration of spontaneous settlements demonstrating the interactive process used towards "place making". The first chapter explores colonialism as a precedent to applying occidental methods in third world cities. Consequently, these inherited standards, theories and methods to the built environment frequently, demonstrate inappropriate control and classes segregation. The Second chapter reconsiders the myth of present occidental theories, methods and inquiries towards "place making", it explores their intentions, application and misinterpretation. These theories and analysis are inadequate and inappropriate to the realities of the third world as they frequently do not consider the multiplicity of contextual factors, some induced from place, others generated outside of a place. Consequently, a place is frequently a product of a single event which is interpreted as models for replication or are manipulate to benefit the power elite. The Third chapter explores 'learning from spontaneity' and is directed particularly to spontaneous settlements in the third world. This exploration demonstrates the interactive 'cross sectional universe' which impact the built environment. This universe considers place making as a dynamic layering of events and activities through our interpretation of history, economics, politics, society, class, empirical data, market and international forces. It reveals the systemic evolution of space developed according to implicit rules firmly bound to their history, a market exchange society, and the prevalent cultural values, thus recalling explicit memories to the future. / by Ahmereen Reza. / M.S.

Thesis: Ph. D. in Architecture: History and Theory of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 2014. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 258-280). / This dissertation examines the artistic and architectural mutations occurring in Spain during the eighteenth century, when Spain decided to participate in the Enlightenment's philosophical project that emphasized the classification of art, crafts, and other knowledge, and thereby raised important questions regarding the value of national heritage relative to a universal one. Spain was always viewed by Northern Europeans and Spaniards alike as tainted by its Muslim history, and its culture seen as semi-Oriental. In endeavoring to become part of the Enlightenment, Spanish artists, architects, natural philosophers, and policymakers struggled to come to terms with two challenging factors: their inheritance from the peninsula's Islamic past, and their corresponding isolation from the institutions of Northern Europe. They were forced to consider the hierarchies of the "liberal" over the "mechanical," intellectual over manual, high over low. The quest of the Spanish crown for economic reform shaped the relations among art, architecture, and crafts, which were manifested in the contrasting institutional stances on those hierarchies in the Academy of San Fernando (est. 1752) and the Economic Societies (est. in the 1770s). This dissertation probes how the reconsideration of past categories in light of the economic reform affected the practice and theory of architecture. It looks at ornament as a key site where Christian Spain sought to confront the marginality imposed upon it during the Enlightenment. Spain's experience-grappling with its Christian Iberian identity, its Arab and Jewish legacies, and its relationship to European institutions-constitutes a neglected episode in the art-historical narrative, one that informs the history of the decorative arts and knowledge construction in the eighteenth century. / by Razan Francis. / Ph. D. in Architecture: History and Theory of Architecture

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, February 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / With the recent strain of environmental disasters associated with poor environmental planning and the crash of the economic system that had propped up this type of development, it is clear that architecture's relationship to nature needs to be rethought. The thesis uses the waterfront of Detroit as a test site for an integrated system based on ecological principles of interdependency, indeterminacy and time-based processes. The proposal situates itself in opposition to the urban development laid on top of the land and its application in current form to a new, so called "green" recreational riverwalk, which still relies on the hard engineering that has destroyed Detroit's native wetlands. Instead, this thesis proposes a soft infrastructure which synthesizes solutions for water retention and environmental enrichment along the coastline, based on the natural patterns of drainage landforms, and with human development tightly integrated within the system. This system is modulated to balance different degrees of environmental, technical and economic priorities, layered throughout the waterfront to not only create a comprehensive storm defense system but also to provide new places for recreation, urban farming and urban development. / by Najiyah Edun. / M.Arch.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Page 74 blank. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-73). / This work presents experimentation with design and fabrication methods, using biological systems either indirectly (as a source of inspiration and information for design) or directly (as a material production for fabrication). The focus is on "bioconstructs"- design methods and processes that are invented and developed under the influence of biological systems. Two projects are presented. The Polypterus project examines the unique design principles of the armor of an ancient fish and possible ways to use these principles in the design of synthetic protective and flexible applications (bio-inspired design). The project deals with the correlation between geometrical data (units' shape and rules of their composition on a surface) and functional data (anisotropic flexibility of the surface) to formulate a parametric design system. The Xylinus project focuses on the adaptation of material production by bacteria to a fabrication process (biofabrication). This fabrication method combines digital tools and technologies with material production by a living biological system. The long-term objective is to use cellulose-producing bacteria to develop an additive manufacturing technique for architecture and product design. Both projects suggest methods to utilize biological systems for innovative design and fabrication methods. / by Katia Zolotovsky. / S.M.