This thesis is a study of architectural language for a place through the design and development of a citizen parking and plaza project. The site is located in the downtown Blacksburg area and not far from the Virginia Tech main campus.  By utilizing the idea of a lifted groundmass, the project creates a new place both for the town and the university. The space underneath the mass is a parking garage embedded in the ground, while the top surface of the mass is designed to be a hard pavement citizen plaza. This thesis aims to create more than just a space alone, but a memorable place that people will use and care about for years. The design of the groundmass addresses the issues of its boundary, materials, structure and other issues in an architectural language. / Master of Architecture

This Project concludes in a folio of drawings. The object of study is a renewal of Blacksburg’s old Town Hall on Church Street. The proposed new program for the existing structure is a studio theatre, addition and working areas. The fundamental purpose of this project is to renew Blacksburg’s vision of "Theatre" through the building and use of a small theatre house. Suggesting to completely change what is now thought of, but rarely considered, as a local cultural icon almost automatically brings high level of local conservative scrutiny. The wonderful instance about this project is that by merely suggesting a renewal of this magnitude could spur an incredible debate from the word, "Action." The point is not that the entire production be reduced to a marketing stunt. The point is this: Building is, in part, a public spectacle which is charged by local levels of involvement. This spectacle component to building can be highlighted or subdued through several mediums, but the overarching message is the same. A projected future for the existing icon is a series of four theatres. The first, and foremost, theatre is the town itself. By covering the building, scaffolding and construction staging area with a veil, the existing structure is reduced to a larger-than-life object within the townscape. The new object rests on the platform of Blacksburg during its own construction stage. While not within the scope of this project, it is entirely legitimate that the veil itself could be designed through a local competition. The purpose is to gather curiosity by wrapping the building. The remaining three theatres are more explicit. The centerlined façade may be removed, revealing a covered entry similar to a typical stage set. The articulation of the walls, ceiling and floor resemble a much larger room with an acute perspectival illusion. This is the main street level entrance to the building. The new façade-room may also be used as a stage. The intersection in front of the building could be blocked off from vehicular traffic to provide house seating for a public performance. The Studio theatre is the main "stage" which could be used to facilitate a majority of productions. This abstract cubic space may be manipulated as the house manager and production director see fit. This space is surrounded by occupiable marginalized mechanical volumes. These volumes are for any equipment, or individuals, necessary to maintain the illusion of the theatre. The finished surfaces of the studio should be completely assembled from panels and modular. Every surface, at every moment, in the Studio may be changed. An addition lies directly adjacent to the Studio through a roll-up garage door. This two-story area provides work areas, and rehearsal space in addition to storage. This area may also be manipulated as the house manager and production director see fit. The finished floor of the addition is shared with the large public parking lot behind the existing building. This back lot is also shared with a number of local businesses, and one of Blacksburg’s underground streams. This bowl-like space is the lowest elevation near the town’s original sixteen squares. The back doors of the Shop are oversized to receive any large shipments or materials and/or equipment. When completely open, these two sixteen foot high doors double as a proscenium stage. The pair of doors, in cooperation with an overhead canopy, resembles a typical theatre stage opening. This stage could be used for less formal occasions. It has been worthwhile to remember that a studio theatre type depends on maintaining a high level of abstract qualities, tremendous versatility and the ability to have the performance an the audience on the same level. The inherent difficulty is that a useful theatre space tends to find values and orientations that carry it away from total abstractness and versatility. / Master of Architecture

Architecture as an act of social intervention is the concept of this project. Careful consideration of context and surrounding as well as community needs are the forces behind the creation of a building that is both a place of transition and interaction; a place that both philosophically and programmatically intends to enhance the life of the town's population by promoting social and civic togetherness. Through the architectural concept of flexibility it is my intention to make a center that would not only house several permanent activities at once, but will also be able to host as many types of temporary activities as the community can imagine. The building intervening as a social unifier provides both the local and the university communities a place to interact and play together. The chosen site is ideal for this project, since its location is considered as a bridge between downtown and the university campus, thus making it easier to generate an activity space where both could meet throughout the year. The proposed building design reflects this "bridge" condition of the site by turning itself into an urban icon of different qualities; the building that becomes a plaza, the plaza that becomes a building. / Master of Architecture

This problem was begun with the idea that the Negro housing problem existed in Blacksburg as in many other cities and towns all over America. The Negro population here was thought to be decreasing as in many rural areas and small towns. Lack of Housing was given as the chief cause of this migration because the financial status of the local Negro was considered to be very good This lack was thought to be due chiefly to the unwillingness of white persons to sell property to the colored. / Master of Science

Master of Science

Forms exemplifying the emergence of a new cultural attitude considered to reflect modern technological man are being generated in many disciplines. The efforts of disciplines embracing the new attitude provide opportunities to grasp the nature of this reorientation of man's position within his world, and further facilitate the adaptation of this attitude to other disciplines such as architecture. Until recently the theoretical basis for architecture was founded upon an extension of humanist philosophies. There has been an attempt to establish a new theoretical basis breaking with the ethical positivism assumed inherent in architectural expression. The new attitude provides such an alternative. Drama is one of the disciplines focusing this new attitude upon society, disclosing the philosophy and character via theatrical expression. Expressing a change in its theoretical basis, the forms of modern theater contrast with those. characteristic of theatrical expression prior to the twentieth century. Drama focuses upon the image of man in society, the philosophies, the conflicts and frustrations paramount to modern man. Modern theater authenticates the voice of modern man through theatrical forms. The criteria for selection of the dramatic arts was twofold, theater increases man's consciousness of his nature and to glean the spirit of the new attitude, injecting it into the design of the theater complex. / Master of Architecture

This thesis explores the opportunities and limitations of steel construction and connection to the outdoors through a sports facility for the city of Blacksburg, Virginia. The program being that of an indoor soccer facility allows for the steel to express its ability to span great distances with a very fine and visually delicate structure. Cables express the steel's strength in tension. The structure is clearly expressed and easily understood by anyone who enters the facility. The building's indoor connection to the outdoor environment is achieved through the study and implementation of several strategies that not only enhance the visual and thermal comfort levels of those people in the facility but will also reduce the building's operating costs. One of the main strategies utilized to achieve this enhanced comfort level is that of natural ventilation. This will contribute to the overall air quality of the interior space and bring a refreshing breeze to the athletes and spectators of the facility. A second important design strategy is the utilization of natural light brought through and interacting with the translucent roof and steel structure. / Master of Architecture

There are two objects to which this book points: One- a process in which both the designer and the designed take part. The process was "sensed" in the making of the book itself, and the thesis was named. The book is at once an expression of this process, and a part of the process expressed. Its nature is a result of a relationship described as reciprocal. The other- a building. In designing an addition to the Blacksburg Virginia Middle School, thoughts about light and surface, ground and figure, earth and sky guided decisions made in the process. The result is regarded as both created and discovered. / Master of Architecture

An investigation of the pH, organic matter content, and cation exchange properties of the soil of the 26-year-old rotation and continuously cropped plots at Blacksburg, Virginia was carried out. Individual soil samples were taken of the eight sub-plots which represent each plot. After the chemical work had been completed, the data obtained were analyzed statistically. As a result of this investigation, the following conclusions are considered worthy of mention: Fertilizer and cropping practices which tended to increase crop yields also tended to increase soil organic matter and cation exchange capacity. There was a significant, positive correlation between organic matter content and cation exchange capacity of the soil. The organic fraction seemed to be of greater importance than the mineral fraction in contributing to the cation exchange capacity of this soil. Superphosphate, rock phosphate, muriate of potash and farm manure had or no effect on soil reaction. Ammonium sulphate caused a reduction of the pH and exchangeable calcium and magnesium and an increase in exchangeable hydrogen. The application of this fertilizer decreased exchangeable calcium but had no influence on the pH. Of the total potassium applied as muriate of potash, an average of 15 percent remained as exchangeable potassium in the upper six inches of soil. Where farm manure was applied, exchangeable calcium, magnesium, potassium, and cation exchange capacity were increased significantly. Examination of the samples and crop yield data from the check plots indicated considerable soil variation. / Master of Science

M.S.