Thesis (M.Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1958. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 38). / by J. Arthur Miller. / M.Arch.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-113). / As urban transportation deteriorates, chaos increases putting aside urban patterns, systems and networks to prioritize the implementation of modern technologies. As a consequence of this situation and as a means to fulfill the requirements of the growing city, the larger built forms in the city are put in the spotlight and made busier and more complex. The connectivity that once ordered the transportation networks throughout the urban form diminishes, almost vanishes. There are different scales of movements, at different paces and levels (in all three dimensions), which need to be understood in order to get a good reading of the activity of the city. The site is located in the district of San Martin de Porres in the city of Lima, Peru and this thesis aims to fill the existing void represented by it in its context. It also aims to reconnect and re-vitalize the area of study by using transit-oriented development and spatially identifying elements. Another goals is to meet the needs of transportation networks and people through spatial relations, so as to generate a prototype that establishes processes and results to promote urban growth. This thesis presents the possibility to synthesize such movements (now scattered and unintelligible) and to provide a space for the junction and strengthening of the existing links between people and transit that occupy the urban landscape. The implementation of a Multimodal Passenger Terminal to serve both local (urban) mass transit and regional transportation is the main compositional element of the project. This will be complemented by other programmatic elements such as: a civic plaza and a communal green space, a series of smaller, more intimate open spaces, community services, retail and office space, movie theaters and a hotel. They will as a whole serve as supporting activities for the area and as a point of destination for the neighbors. The analysis of the transit network - regional and local - as well as of the area's land use and green space systems will allow for the better understanding of the context and will set the stage for the remainder of the study. Pedestrian behavioral patterns in the area also provide necessary information that is used to determine accesses and paths or concentration points in the project. The resulting elements are distilled and categorized into several design guidelines and are placed in a timeline for phased development. A series of organizational and distribution diagrams have been produced to reflect the findings. All of these could serve as a starting point for future development in other locations with similar conditions in the city or the country. They could be used individually or jointly depending on the demands and needs of the project, the people, the existing systems and the site, at a given time. / by Mariana Rubio. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-64). / This thesis subject is a pre-fabricated element (cell): a system that employs natural, light, and economic materials to produce a near-finished portion of a building. The intent is to introduce sustainable design into construction industry through prefabrication. The cell has been envisioned both for permanent and temporary usage: in the former case, preeminently as a construction element, while in the latter, as a finished unit. In both cases, the cell is mainly an assembly of smaller components that can possibly be recycled and reused after dismantling without additional reprocessing. The main idea behind the cell is to employ simple and small elements to achieve sustainable design. / by Laura Govoni Bachelder. / S.M.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-42). / by Betsy Connors. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-54). / by Trevor Darrell. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-76). / by Kulvech Janvatanavit. / M.S.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-54). / Cities are all about people and places. Travel occurs because people want to get to places - places of work, places of residence, places of shopping and so on. Hence, it is people and places that are more important, not transportation. Ideally, we want to minimize travel so we can spend more time socializing , at desired destinations, rather than on transit. However, the paradigm of city design seems to have shifted over the years - from people and places to automobiles. The cumulative effects of planning for efficient movement of the car and enhanced automobility have revealed themselves in the form of urban sprawl, energy depletion, air and noise pollution, climate change, road fatalities, and segregation of people by class and race. For the sake of social equity and sustainability, it is thus important to increase reliance on transit services. However, merely infusing transit services into an auto-based environment is not likely to reap many rewards or radically change behavior. The fact that availability of subsidized transit services (in almost all regions of the US) has not lured the middle class out of their cars indicates a loophole in the present understanding of its usability. Many argue that one can only lessen the use of car by demand-management strategies, such as constraints on parking, increase in automobile and gasoline prices, and guaranteed rides home for car-poolers. Does this imply that in the absence of punitive pricing on automobile usage, the transit services are doomed to fail? This Thesis argues that transit ridership depends more on the way transit service relates to its location - and if we want to enhance transit usage, the 'transit service'-'urban form ' nexus matters. Based on this premise, the thesis explores how urban form influences transit usage and how development should be directed in order to increase reliance on mass transit. / by by Kiran B. Mathema. / S.M.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (78-79). / Natural phenomenons are conceived of the Earth and appropriate to their setting. Architecture designed harmoniously with its setting belong. to the Earth and, through this association, appropriately contributes to the environment. Harmonious design is the concept of this thesis. By definition, harmony implies a fitting, an orderly and pleasant joining by complement. In this sense, harmonious design refers to a conceptual relationship between architectural elements: the structural systems, the building materials, the circulation, the spacial values, and the experiential aspects of the setting. The concept that architecture has the ability to enhance the character of the site by its contribution, elevates the responsibility of the design. This thesis is in response to architecture which apparently lacks any sensitivity to its site and is perceived as alien, without responsibility to the environment. The analyzing of architecture which enriches its setting, from simple vernacular structures to prestigious contemporary building develops an understanding of harmony through the deSIgn process. The architectural project of my thesis is a children's museum on ecology for Boulder, Colorado at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The museum is a nature center to inform and address issues of ecology for small children and their families. The approach of harmonious design in conceiving an architectural presence in this natural setting reinforces the museum's concept of respect for the environment. / by Charlotte Grojean Williams. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-60). / The architectural office of the end of the eighties has been equipped with computers, in an effort to anticipate the needs of the modem working environment and to enhance the informational flow between the various disciplines of modern practice. A basic concern for the architect in the computerized office, is not what is commonly thought, to probe the limits of the machine, or to explore the sophistication of the software in use; rather it is to grasp how the computer affects performance at work, altering the traditional hierarchy of our perception and decision making, in order to strengthen productivity by changing the traditional organization of architectural practice. Development of design software enhances the man-machine interface, encouraging the architect to work directly on the machine, leading towards a true integration of the computer in the practice. While a small computer team, composed by CADD specialists, initially supported the computer facilities in architectural practice, it is particularly important to demonstrate that every professional should be able to access, and work directly on the computer, adding to the dissemination of technical knowledge within the team and of the benefits of the efficiency of the electronic tool. This is beneficial to both the designers of the firm, who are able to minimise redundancy in the creation of graphic documents, and to the CADD support team of the office, that can concentrate in research and development of an increasingly powerful computer-aided design environment. Integrating CADD in architectural practice depends on the organization of the particular office. A crucial question for the architect and the central topic of this thesis is how to put designers at work in front of the screen, and how to control decision making within the CADD environment. My goal is to describe the various issues involved and to suggest a direction in the implementation of CADD in the architectural office. Keywords: CADD, Representations, Horizontal Organization, Vertical Organization, Multi-disciplinarity, Integration, Architectural Practice. / by Constantin Elias Cavoulakos. / M.S.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-75). / The 1972 publication of The Limits to Growth marked a watershed moment in ongoing environmental debates among politicians, economists, scientists, and the public in the postwar period. Sponsored by the Club of Rome, an influential think-tank established in 1968, the report was published against the backdrop of the progressive activism of the 1960s, and prefigured the neo-conservative politics of the 1980s. It represented a decisive moment in that it appeared to reconcile critiques of consumerism and capitalism by linking the limits of global consumption to a finite totality of resources on the planet. As a pre-history to current systems of valuation, this thesis looks at some of the intellectual tendencies that under-girded mindsets such as those manifest in the report. More importantly, it follows the intricate logics and narratives buried within the enigmatic web of geometric symbols and snaking lines that suffuse the writings of systems thinkers, tracing a genealogy of this mode of thought that begins with semiotic language of ecologists Eugene and Howard T. Odum, and of Jay Wright Forrester and the Systems Dynamics Group at MIT, to its manifold ends. These actors will ground the implications of systems theory-in-practice, its implications, and its biases. In doing so, the thesis reconstructs how "environment" was first defined and captured by systems thinking. Navigating through a series of international conferences in which these principles were substantiated, the thesis looks at the ramifications of systems thinking in the present. / by Irina Chernyakova. / S.M.