The design of a mixed-use market, three axes of influence was studied on a site at the end of King Street in Alexandria, VA. A semicircular form was developed that terminated the main circulation axis down King Street, continued the free form edge of the Potomac, and acted as a visual beginning to the "new world" of Washington, DC across the river. While the marketplace still remains as an enduring and appealing image of the city, it has diminished in recent years. Climate controlled indoor malls and shopping centers sprawl across the . country, and many of the real marketplaces have fallen into disrepair, physically and symbolically losing their traditional role as a forum for the people. There has, however, been a resurgence of interest in the markets in the past decade. As people grow tired of impersonal service, the poor quality of goods and produce, and the often nondescript atmosphere, many of the older markets are being re-inhabited by farmers, artists and others seeking to sell their products. Around many urban centers, people are rediscovering the simple premise of the market which serves as a canvas for the explosion of colors, sights, sounds and smells it contains. / Master of Architecture

The prosperity of the human species is based upon the existence of communal behavior. Some individuals provide food, while others are freed from the search for food to do other things: to chip flint arrowheads, to make pottery, to write symphonies. In large cities, individuals may be vaguely conscious of their larger social community, but often they recognize few of the faces of the other individuals who belong to the same large community. In an urban setting, the social behavior of individuals is defined by the built environment. The built environment has a responsibility to encourage the formation of communities of individuals, as well as to recognize and strengthen the wider community of mankind, in order that the species may flourish and prosper. A Food Market for Alexandria is a proposition for a place in Old Town Alexandria Virginia, where the growth of responsible communities may occur in an architectural setting which is a responsive member of the collection of buildings that house the human city. / Master of Architecture

The investigation of the Spirit of a historic place, Alexandria, Virginia to acquire an understanding of it’s identity; the unique patterns, language, structure, rhythm, and character, which has led to its development as a meaningful place. To respect the Spirit of this place through the design of a place to dwell within Alexandria which is sensitive to, and evolves from, this living tradition. An architecture which achieves meaning through its relation to, and reinterpretation, transformation, and revelation of the inherent qualities of the historic artifact. / Master of Architecture

Building no. 10 of the old Torpedo Factory complex occupies a pivotal position in the redevelopment of the Alexandria waterfront. This design study explored the critical issues surrounding the renovation and re-use of this now vacant warehouse- issues which involved the conceptualization of the waterfront itself as a place and its integration into the existing urban fabric. An architecture of assimilation is proposed, rather than an architecture of contrast or duplication. Thus, the historic setting is neither ignored or duplicated. Instead it is viewed as a living context with living principles capable of generating new ideas of form and space without losing its essential character or identity. / Master of Architecture

Throughout history, art has succeeded in creating systems of meaning capable of constructing a coherent world image for its respective societies. This is especially true of so-called primitive works of art, which, in their coming into being, make use of a mythical mode of thinking that sees the world in terms of analogy, the identification or establishment of relations between concrete particulars of things otherwise considered unlike. Rather than assuming that contemporary culture has overcome this savage characteristic, this book is an investigation into the theoretical foundations and implications of analogical thought involved in acts of making and the design of architectural projects relevant to our time. Of all disciplines concerned with production, perhaps architecture, in particular, finds itself amid the most complex set of various forces and constraints, all vying for preeminence - and formal expression. A corresponding architectural complexity is achieved, not in positivist fashion through direct, additive responses to this plurality of influences, but through the ordering of relations of opposition inherent in specific situations. These oppositions align with their built counterforms to produce a richly articulated structural framework. Yet, instead of grounding architectural decisions on an pposition of willful contradiction, this thesis seeks an inclusive architecture grounded in the mutual reciprocity of opposites or contraries. Analogies with structural linguistics and anthropology, Aristotle's theory of contrariety, and the literature of James Joyce are used to elucidate universal principles common to any productive art / Master of Architecture

no abstract provided by author / Master of Architecture

Master of Architecture

The origin of this project came from careful consideration for a threshold between the fabric of Old Town for its historic presence and the Potomac River for its freedom to sail. The order for the threshold came from recognition of the historic grid of the city and its brick construction. A sailing school was chosen as the activity to draw the community to the river. The inspiration for the design was derived from the nature of boats and their delicate rigging. The architecture was generated from the principles of material economy of the masts and ties to create a tensile structure. Although the project fulfills the basic needs of a sailing school, its form came from the desire to express the spirit of sailing at the edge between land and water. / Master of Architecture

Task of this thesis is the design of a school as a public place fully integrated in a small city. The concerns of the architect are on the one hand to set the school in a harmonious relationship to the other functions of the town. The inner structure of the building reflects this in being a “harmonious part” to the whole environment. On the other hand, determined by the site at the waterfront, the architecture gets its resources from the threshold of land and water. / Master of Architecture

It is the intention of this thesis to present not only a visual exploration of a design problem, but also an explanation of a particular design process. It is fashionable these days for a designer to make statements about his design philosophy as a way of legitimizing his architectural intentions. My aim is to avoid this kind of justification by instead presenting the project as a process description. This description will make my beliefs and intentions both evident and understandable to those unfamiliar with my work as well as provide a personal record of the project’s development. To date my architecture education has been shaped in different countries, through different educational systems, and with different teachers and students. This thesis stands as a record of my accumulated experiences and as a description of a personal approach to working with architectural problems. I believe the most important part of an architecture education is the development of one‘s own design process. This exposition represents a beginning. / Master of Architecture