Thesis (D. Min.)--Boston University, 2002. / Abstract. Date on title page differs from degree date. Degree awarded, 2002. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-[152].

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 51). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Boston University, 2002. / Abstract. Date on title page differs from degree date. Degree awarded, 2002. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-[152].

A library is a building through which a town presents its public identity. The local library is not only a repository of information, but also of the town's unique cultural messages and values. The Thesis Search: How to make a building that emphasizes the architectonic qualities of Old Town? How to integrate a large and complex public building into the fabric of an intimately scaled town? / M. Arch.

The site is in Old Town Alexandria which lies outside of the metropolitan area of Washington DC in northern Virginia. The project is a church, and it sits looking over the Potomac River on Union and Queen Streets in the historic district of Alexandria. My initial idea was that a church can relate to nature because an individual's memory is commonly related to the elements of nature and is associated with familiar patterns. Building designs formed by patterns in nature are sensitive to what the users have previously experienced. The user can then understand the language created by the architect. The means for achieving this idea was through a study of the structure for the church, the rhythm of the structure, and how it relates to Old Town. It is this order that now provides the church's relationship to nature and allows the users to feel as if they are within a garden. / Master of Architecture

“It would be something if everything we made encouraged people to become more closely acquainted with their surroundings, with each other and with themselves… so that the world, in so far as it is amenable to our influence, becomes less alien, less hard and abstract, a warmer, friendlier, more welcoming and appropriate place; in short a world that is relevant to its inhabitants.” Herman Hertzberger The purpose of this thesis is to create a mixed income housing community in Old Town Alexandria. While people who share similar lifestyles tend to cluster together, this project encourages people of difference to find a common ground. The community will be the size of a residential Old Town block to encourage a fulfilling amount of human interaction. The interior of the block will be subdivided into a variety of places: places that provide the opportunity for people to sit in quiet contemplation, another place for children to play, other places that encourage people to interact with one another, and places where one can passively observe the surrounding activity with the option to participate or not. The houses have a variety of living spaces in response to the diverse social groups that will inhabit the blocks. These houses follow the language of Old Town in terms of materials, details, rhythm, and the way in which they meet the street, and so connect this community with the larger order of the town. This project maintains the privacy of the individual houses, encourages human interaction in the public areas, and at the same time recognizes the responsibility of designing these houses using the same structure and patterns that are inherent in Old Town. / Master of Architecture

<i>Mortal Limit by Robert Penn Warren I saw the hawk ride updraft in the sunset over Wyoming. It rose from coniferous darkness, past gray jags Of mercilessness, past whiteness, into the gloaming Of dream spectral light above the last purity of snow-snags. There-west-were the Tetons. Snow peaks would soon be In dark profile to break constellations. Beyond what height Hands now the black spec? Beyond what range will gold eyes see New ranges rise to mark a last scrawl of light? Or, having tasted that atmosphere’s thinness, does it Hang motionless in dying vision before It knows it will accept the mortal limit, And swing into the great circular downwardness that will restore The breath of earth? Of rock? Of rot? Of other such Items, and the darkness of whatever dream we clutch?</i> This is an endeavour in learning about architecture. The project, a competition on Charles Bulfinch’s Old Jail Site in Old Town Alexandria, to make Townhouses, serves as a vehicle towards that end. / Master of Architecture

It is in man's nature to want to know his place within his environment. This inherent need manifests itself in many ways, often unique to the cultures and societies that husband them. The primacy of man's need for a sense of his place in the world is evident in the collective mythologies that surround every culture's history of its people's origins and of their understanding of the world and their place in it, between earth and sky. This sense of one's groundedness, of one's place, is essential and more than simply a matter of orientation or territoriality, although both these needs are very real. The roots we plant in the soil provide an anchor and give us our bearing. One's connection to the environment is intrinsic to the knowledge of who one is and where, both as an individual and as a part of a larger collective. Our associations with larger contexts, be they physical, social, political, or spiritual, are moorings against the uncertainties of our world. They define our lives and our relationships with one another. It is within this framework that we are bonded to the past, and ultimately, guided into the future. / Master of Architecture

Over the course of time, the built environment has been a manifestation of human ideals and aspirations. Although these ideals, diverse and varied in each case, are only present in a small few of the buildings that are actually constructed, it ls my belief that they are the givers of meaning and identity to human culture and history. ln this thesis, l have created, at least on an embryonic level, an expression of my vision and dream of the coming together of human, urban life and nature. / Master of Architecture

This study set out with the premise that many urban alleys have the potential to become city open space assets. The project was designed to develop a process by which alley characteristics may be evaluated for their effect on alley open space potential. The alleys of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia were the inspiration for this study. Old Town is an 18th century city which was established as a settlement on the Potomac River in 1749. For nearly 100 years it flourished as a seaport town. As the town grew, property owners created alleys through the blocks providing rear access to their homes and businesses. The alleys bustled with activity, and became a circulation subsystem to the street and sidewalk circulation. This paper follows the process used to discover alley open space potential in Old Town. However, it is not the findings for Old Town that are most important. It is the process which is the true result of this study. This process can be used as a model by any city or town where there is a desire to better use alley spaces. The four tasks which were found to be important in discovering this open space potential are outlined below. Task One: Evolution of Alley Spaces The purpose of this task is to understand the part the alleys play in the city's circulation system. To know the history of their development and the way they have been used in the past is to learn what makes them important and distinct from other circulation systems in the city. Task Two: Evaluate the Alley Paths The elements that create the"floor, ceiling, and walls" of the alley paths are defined and evaluated for their potentially positive or negative impact on the alley as it is refurbished for pedestrian open space use. Task Three: Alley Potential Use Task three looks at the way different land uses use their alleys. Knowing present alley use allows the development of an alley typology from which decisions concerning potential use can be made. Task Four: Design Proposals Finally, the first three tasks are brought together in the form of design proposals. The proposals become a pallet with which to refurbish the alleys in a way that is sensitive to their history, their character, and their particular open space potential. The project teaches that all urban alleyways are not the same. Each has its own story, and its own particular combination of characteristics. In knowing the alleys as individual, their design as viable open spaces becomes more imaginative. / Master of Landscape Architecture