This paper explores urban design possibilities for the enhancement of the Vancouver Art Gallery landscape. It is understood that urban public places are necessary for not only the daily functioning of society, but as venues of and for celebrations, demonstrations, and communication. All public urban spaces have the potential to serve as significant locations of human experience. The designed urban landscape should have the capacity to elicit response and heighten our perceptions, thereby furthering our understanding of the world. Understanding the Vancouver Art Gallery landscape as a central urban space of significant civic importance, it is necessary that its design illuminate the interactions between humans and the physical world - the actors, the audience, and the stage. A literature review is conducted in order to discern possible connections between museum processes and designed landscapes. Analogies are drawn between the processes and display of art within and around galleries and museums, and the cultural meanings associated with these displays. These processes also reveal themselves in the designed landscape. Second, museum-landscape analogs are proposed, and from these, precedents are researched in order to identify criteria that support and reinforce these analogs. These analogs are typologies that may serve to inform the urban design, and landscape architectural process. In response to the research, the Vancouver Art Gallery landscape is designed according to one of the types (analogs) identified - Landscape as Theatre. The design provides a model for the expression of the theatrical aspects of urban life that contribute to the vibrancy and cultural richness of the urban landscape. The conclusions drawn herein are suggestive of urban design enhancement opportunities that exist within central downtown Vancouver, in particular the Vancouver Art Gallery landscape. It is recognized that significant investment in our urban spaces is a requirement for ensuring the successful evolution of urban life. In addition to the enhancement of human experiences within the city, successful urban projects that elicit international acclaim and recognition further the economic growth of, and investment in the city. Certainly, when public spaces are used and enjoyed steadily and repeatedly the experiences of places are enriched, and human experience is enhanced.

This thesis addresses the need for the Vancouver Art Gallery to expand to accommodate its large and ever-expanding art collection. Situated in the current debate of whether to expand on site or move to a new site altogether, this thesis proposes a contemporary addition to the existing neo-classical building which houses the current Art Gallery. To find opportunity in this historic setting, strategies involving scale and perspective, joining the old and the new, and strengthening the connection of art to the downtown core are explored. The site for this thesis is in central downtown Vancouver, BC. The new addition is located adjacent to the existing Vancouver Art Gallery on City Block 51, which is bounded by Robson, Howe, Hornby and West Georgia Streets.

This Creative Project documents and explains the significance of the exhibition space known as the Sandbox and its members. The goal was to bring together a cohesive body of work that commemorated the people and events related to the Sandbox gallery. This was accomplished by using a variety of materials and tools including video tape, slides, bronze, paint, silk-screens, and super 8 film, to name a few. / Department of Art

This paper explores urban design possibilities for the enhancement of the Vancouver Art Gallery landscape. It is understood that urban public places are necessary for not only the daily functioning of society, but as venues of and for celebrations, demonstrations, and communication. All public urban spaces have the potential to serve as significant locations of human experience. The designed urban landscape should have the capacity to elicit response and heighten our perceptions, thereby furthering our understanding of the world. Understanding the Vancouver Art Gallery landscape as a central urban space of significant civic importance, it is necessary that its design illuminate the interactions between humans and the physical world - the actors, the audience, and the stage. A literature review is conducted in order to discern possible connections between museum processes and designed landscapes. Analogies are drawn between the processes and display of art within and around galleries and museums, and the cultural meanings associated with these displays. These processes also reveal themselves in the designed landscape. Second, museum-landscape analogs are proposed, and from these, precedents are researched in order to identify criteria that support and reinforce these analogs. These analogs are typologies that may serve to inform the urban design, and landscape architectural process. In response to the research, the Vancouver Art Gallery landscape is designed according to one of the types (analogs) identified - Landscape as Theatre. The design provides a model for the expression of the theatrical aspects of urban life that contribute to the vibrancy and cultural richness of the urban landscape. The conclusions drawn herein are suggestive of urban design enhancement opportunities that exist within central downtown Vancouver, in particular the Vancouver Art Gallery landscape. It is recognized that significant investment in our urban spaces is a requirement for ensuring the successful evolution of urban life. In addition to the enhancement of human experiences within the city, successful urban projects that elicit international acclaim and recognition further the economic growth of, and investment in the city. Certainly, when public spaces are used and enjoyed steadily and repeatedly the experiences of places are enriched, and human experience is enhanced. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

What makes a city exist? Is it movement, rhythm, symbols, texture, volume and time? Architecture should heighten the drama of living, walking gives a true scale of the city, creating an experience. Urban spaces must accommodate the individual. Movement systems determine the shape of the fields of influence; this varies in intensity with the degree of movement. This thesis is an exploration into architecture of meaning, space and elements. These common elements change context and increase scale while recognizing the difference between inside and outside. This contrast supports meaning. The play of scale, hierarchy and patterns use space in different ways accommodating the individual. An existing condition is transformed and renovated. What entities are removed and what entities will remain? This art museum is permanent and changing over time, architecture that transforms. A strong symbolic form, the cube, establishes an entity within the urban fabric. A sequence of sensations in size, scale, color, texture and light motivate the space. Tension is created between two bodies, the exterior brick shell and interior steel framework. Natural light penetrates a double height space of new elegantly structured steel with reinforced concrete stepping platforms. The existing wood columns overlap into this steel structure creating a place for movement. Juxtaposition is created between new construction and the existing. Light steel opposes heavy wood while transparency opposes opacity. Steel frames with concrete slabs independent of the existing shell and cantilevering precast concrete boxes oppose wood timbers and brick bearing walls. Concrete floors and gaps created where they meet walls oppose wood floors touching the walls. This completes this thesis. / Master of Architecture

The site chosen for this thesis project is located in downtown Blacksburg, Virginia. It consists of a 30'­x110' infill lot and an alley running parallel to it. An initial desire to blur the boundary between the alley and the proposed building led to a study of the potential of parallel planes overlapped along the shared border. Representation of these planes in two dimensions allowed almost simultaneous perceptions of multiple spatial and geometrical configurations among them. The architectural consequences of this phenomenon became the main subject of inquiry. Exploration through silkscreen prints and model studies culminated in the design of an outdoor art gallery. / Master of Architecture

There is a fine line between the "simple" and the "simplistic". The simple such as the plain, the pure, and the truthful holds a complexity within, which is extremely hard to obtain. It ultimately results in beauty. The simplistic embodies nothing more than obviousness and boredom. My aim is to strive for simple beauty. Concerning objects and architecture, to simplify means to reduce by eliminating the superficial and the superfluous, to unmask what is essential. Quality materials and craftsmanship are prerequisites. In combination with the accuracy of the design they help to attain the desired result which speaks of precision and clarity. / Master of Architecture

This thesis centres on the debates informing the progress of three public art galleries in South Africa between 1990 and 1994. This was a period of great change in the country, spanning from the unbanning of left-wing political parties and Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, to the first democratic elections which resulted in his inauguration as President of South Africa. The study focuses specifically on the Johannesburg Art Gallery, the South African National Gallery, and the Durban Art Gallery, delineating the events and exhibitions held, the programmes initiated, and the artists represented by these galleries during this post-apartheid/pre-democracy phase of the country’s history. The debates relevant to these galleries linked to those prevalent in the arts, museology, and politics at the time. Many contemporary South African artists called attention to apartheid oppression and human rights abuses during the 1980s. After 1990, with these pressures alleviating, there was a stage of uncertainty as to the role, responsibility, and focus of visual art in a post-‘struggle’ context, however there was also an unprecedented upswing in interest and investment in it. On a practical level, the administration of the arts was being re-evaluated and contested by both independent and politically-aligned arts groups. Public art museums and sponsored art competitions and exhibitions made increasing efforts to be ‘representative’ of South Africans of all races, cultures, creeds, sexes and genders. The many conferences, committees, and conventions created during this transitional era focused on the creation of policies that would assist in nation-building; historical and cultural redress and regeneration; and the education and representation of previously disadvantaged groups. This coincided with a revolution in museological discourses internationally, from the theorization of a museum as a place of commemoration and conservation, to a forum for discussion and revision between both academic and non-academic communities. With the sharing of the process of constructing history and knowledge, came the challenging dynamics involved in the representation of identity and history. In all of these groups - the arts, museology, and South African politics - the predominant issue seemed to be a negotiation between the bid to open up control to more parties, and the reluctance of some parties to relinquish control. While the emphasis is on significant changes that were implemented in the transitional period, the study locates the changes at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, the South African National Gallery and the Durban Art Gallery within their historical, geographical, and socio-political context. Various artists working in these locations during this era are also discussed, as the changes in their status, and the progressions in their subject matter, materials, and concerns are interesting to examine more nuanced definitions of the ‘political’, probing the politics of identity, sexuality, gender, race, geography, and belief systems. Some artists also focused specifically on post-apartheid preoccupations with territory, trauma, conflict, memory and freedom. This kind of artwork was assiduously acquired during the early ‘90s by public art galleries, whose exhibitions and collecting focus and policies were undergoing considerable revision and redress. This thesis examines these changes in light of their socio-political contexts, as well as in light of shifting national and international imperatives and conceptions of museums and museum practice.

This paper examines the transformation of an industrial complex in the post-industrial city. I chose two study cases for research. Zollverein is an industrial complex and a World Heritage Site located in the city of Essen which is the 2010 European Capital of Culture. “798” art gallery in Beijing represents a clear example of the cultural movement, since 1990, for the renewal of art in China. (Greco and Santoro 2008) And this new cultural complex was created in what was once an industrial area. Through comparing the two areas Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen and “798” art gallery in Beijing, I aim to highlight and discuss the similarities and differences of the process of transformation from an industrial area to a post-industrial one. After that, I can analyze some of the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats from these two examples. Based on the conclusions drawn from the two cases, I will make a proposal for the reconstruction of Nanjing Jinsanli Rubber & Plastic Co., Ltd. I gave the new name “RUBBER SOUL” to this place. My design proposal for this area will bring the knowledge from the study-case analysis into practice. / My phone number is 13776657019

Master of Architecture [Professional] at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in the year 2014. / In the case of Johannesburg, unlike cities around the world that experienced inner city decline, its city centre was never entirely abandoned. It experienced rapid social change. As Johannesburg was beginning to change, the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) was experiencing a declining number of visitors. Unable to engage with the changing social structure, a fence was built around it and JAG turned itself inwards. This thesis explores the intention to take advantage of the rich and dynamic informal industry of hair that has emerged around JAG. Hair is loaded with social, sexual and political undercurrents. In an African city that has been colonized and becoming increasingly globalised, hair’s relevance in terms of politics must be brought to the forefront. By acknowledging the thriving inner workings and its contributors and by engaging in a critical discussion that people can relate to, JAG will be embraced by the community again. An intervention of mediation through architecture is proposed. A Hair Museum perched on the opposite side of the railway that weaves JAG closer into its current context by opening and improving dialogue between the disjointed surroundings. A new museum as a mediator explores the idea of museum-asurban system. The question is asked whether a public institution is capable of assisting a society through a museum by looking at the concept of the Greek ideal of kalokagathia, which means the perfection of the body and city based on balance, justice and proportion. This thesis essentially explores Julian Carman’s idea of a museum1; that the key to JAG’s survival and upliftment lies only if it inspires public ownership. This thesis will explore the significance of celebrating hair in an African city with visible impacts of an imperialist past. By celebrating hair, thereby beginning the discourse of it’s connotations, will allow for a transgression into where society and its’ perception of itself stands in a globalizating world. Museum’s play a key role in society to not only preserve memories but also re-ordering them and making sense of them for later generations (Watson, 2007: 4). The proposed Hair Museum as mediator is not so much about saving a contested and feared city- as much as it is about embracing the new spirit of the city and encouraging the potential held within. 1 Julian Carman, Author of ‘Uplifting The Colonial Philistine: Florence Phillips And The Making Of The Johannesburg Art Gallery’. See References.