This thesis describes a new approach to office layout problems. Group technology methods are used in grouping office employees into cells followed by cell placement along a pre-established network of aisles. Differences between office and manufacturing layout approaches are discussed. Sample problems are presented and the program description is included.

The purpose of my thesis is to discover a logical way to connect the ideas of Rudolf Steiner, developer of the Waldorf Education Method, and current theories of education and psychology with the architectural design of an educational facility while maintaining Massachusetts Department of Education standards. With this purpose in mind, I studied a school, built in 1973 in Amherst: the Fort River Elementary School. The current school structure is in architectural conflict with many of the ideas extolled by the Waldorf Method. Among the questions, I wish to address in my thesis are: “What is the role of architecture in enhancing the quality of education?”, “What are the design elements which inspire learning?” “Can a Waldorf Method based design be compliant with Massachusetts Standards?”

With the financial growth and international acclaim brought about by Guggenheim Museum for Bilbao, the media started to talk about the so-called “Bilbao Effect”. For the next two decades, the general public has been more and more convinced and accustomed to the positive results landmark architecture might brought for their cities. Thus it is worthwhile to explore the root of the Bilbao Effect and to dig into the effects of Guggenheim Museum so that similar industrial cities may select and apply strategies basing on their own conditions.

Countless centuries has sailed by since humanity first discovered the method of travelling across the far stretched oceans that divided undiscovered continents. As noted by Le Corbusier, these liners were deemed being an engineering feat of the twentieth century, as their design resembled an epitome of indulgence and hospitality. As the average lifespan of a commercial liner is 25 years, the shipping industry is reaching a pinnacle point in time where countless ships will be decommissioned. As these vessels were originally built to be both functional and appealing in nature, why have them reduced to hazardous scrap metal, when they can be repurposed on land? In order to physically implement such an interior endeavor, both a decommissioned ship ideal in typology and status, along with a suited location for docking was to be advocated. The selection of Robinson Dry Dock as host and the SS Nomadic as habitant allowed for the spatial intervention of a retail-orientated and recreational facility to be envisioned. As opposed to the mere institution of a heritage approach, the appendage of a new layer is proposed that will allow for past recollection and future addition thereon - thus a palimpsest of design in terms of programmatic response and actual materiality. As the spatial and structural formation of vessels primarily rely on steel and the construction of a dock on concrete, these materials will be probed comprehensively in standings of their vulnerability to degradation. Proposed avenues of material investigation permits corrosion protection, historic decay preservation and intentional oxidation techniques that can conceivably ground potential design implementations. The decisive spatial outcome aims to endorse the idea that corrosion can act as a tool of architectural beautification, rather than a mere entity of intimidation. This idea is heightened by the insertion of a microbrewery that factually exemplifies the splendor of aging. Rather than promoting slavish alternative shipbreaking approaches and mere demolition practices, layered architectural alteration, as outlined by Fred Scott in his book, On Altering Architecture, will allow for the creation of a spatial intervention that is honest, nonintrusive and profound. / Ontelbare eeue het verby geseil sedert die mensdom 'n reismetode ontwikkel het wat hul in staat sou stel om uitgestrekte oseane, wat onontdekte kontinente verdeel, te verken. Soos opgeteken deur Le Corbusier, was hierdie lynbote beskou as 'n kordaatstuk vir ingenieurswese in die 20ste eeu, aangesien die ontwerp daarvan getuig van toegeeflikheid en gasvryheid. Omdat die gemiddelde leeftyd van 'n kommersi?le boot 25 jaar is, het die skeepindustrie 'n punt bereik waar heelwat skepe onaktief verklaar is. As hierdie werktuie oorspronklik bedoel was om funksioneel sowel as aantreklik van aard te wees, waarom dit dan reduseer tot 'n hoop skrootmetaal as dit vir 'n ander doel op land aangewend kan word? Ten einde so 'n poging te implementeer, moes 'n onaktiewe boot, tesame met 'n gepaste ligging vir die dok daarvan, voorgestel word. Die keuse van Robinson Droogdok as gasheer en die SS Nomadic as inwoner, laat ruimte vir 'n omgewings-vriendelike produk waarin die moontlikheid van kleinhandel en fasiliteite vir vermaak, voorkeur geniet. Teenoor die blote ingesteldheid van 'n erfenis-aanslag, is die byvoeging van 'n nuwe laag voorgestel, wat ruimte laat vir dit wat in die verlede gevestig is, sowel as toekomstige byvoeging ? dus 'n palimpses van ontwerp in terme van 'n programmatiese oplossing en materialiteit. Soos wat die ruimtelike en struktuele formasie van werktuie hoofsaaklik afhanklik is van staal en die konstruksie van 'n dok uit beton, sal hierdie materiale deeglik en omvattend ondersoek word in terme van hul kwesbaarheid wat degradering betref. Voorgestelde maniere om hierdie materiale te ondersoek en te toets, sal beskerming teen roes, asook historiese verval en doelbewuste oksidasie-tegnieke insluit, wat moontlik die grondslag kan l? vir potensi?le ontwerp implementering. Die uitkoms kan die idee bevorder dat verval en agteruitgang kan bydra tot argitektuele verfraaiing, eerder as om 'n blote entiteit vir intimidasie te wees. Hierdie idee word verder bevorder deur die 'n mikro-brouery by te voeg, wat die glorie van oudword beklemtoon. Eerder as om skeepsloping en blote vernietiging voor te staan, sal argitektuele verandering, soos uiteen gesit deur Fred Scott in sy boek, On Altering Architecture, die skep van 'n ruimtelike ingryping toelaat wat eerlik, nie-opdringerig en grondig sal wees. / Mini Dissertation (MInt (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Architecture / MInt (Prof) / Unrestricted

This thesis raises discussion about the importance of repairing, new urban meeting places and the use of artificial intelligence. Using AI as a tool, I have re-visioned rituals around taking care of ourselves and our objects. When we give a lot of value to the repeated habits of repairing ourselves and our objects, they become like rituals to us, containing a deeper meaning in our lives. The physical context of my project is in the Örnsberg industrial area in Stockholm, at the address Instrumentvägen 21. This area was established in 1938 and still now a lot of carpenters and other kind of industries are located there. For this reason it serves as a natural place to build an urban community dedicated for repairing and sharing knowledge.  During my process I have tested new visual artificial intelligence tools that emerged during the past year. I have aimed to find out how we as designers could use AI as a tool to help us in our work and to also find the parts in the process where human intelligence is irreplaceable. Since AI in the current extent is new and there are a lot of questions hanging around it, it is important that us designers try to understand it already now already in its early stages. This thesis is my starting point on that path.

ABSTRACT: P.A.C.E. Theater is a non-profit performing arts group in the town of Easthampton, Massachusetts. The group’s desire to find and create a new working standard for artistic non-profits’ survival led them to purchase a 125,000 s.f. 19th century mill complex in town. Their goal is to convert the building into a community arts center with theaters, event spaces, dance studios and rehearsal studios while offering tenant space for additional local businesses such as cafes, restaurants, and offices. Some of the tenant space is also intended for multiple local non-profits in order that they can share their resources and cut their expenses even further. The bigger picture is to create a working model of self sustaining art non-profits which can more easily survive during difficult economic times. In order to bring this vision to fruition, I needed to form a workable plan for a very complicated building complex. The building (or I should say buildings) where built over the course of 150 years being added onto and subtracted from as the mill owners saw fit. This created a complex interior space filled with transition spaces via floor level changes, wall type changes, fenestration adaptations, and structural adaptations throughout the decades. The buildings are a collection of historical layers, or stratifications which have the potential to be uncovered in an “excavation” of the building. My thesis explores the process of understanding a building with these types of complexities and then addresses programming the space to create a logical, clear building plan for the end users. And lastly, I explore the stratification levels, or the archeology of the building and attempt to address its history in my design process.

The Richmond Maker Museum is a working museum design, offering an inside look at past achievements, juxtaposed with the unlimited future possibilities of an evolving, active maker culture. It is a dynamic place designed to allow makers to showcase skills, take risks, engage the public, and grow their craft in real time. The museum displays finished pieces, introduces makers, demonstrates the processes they employ in their work, and invites the community to meet the artisans who, through skill, ingenuity, and hard work, make the artifacts on display. This type of educational museum experience does not currently exist on this scale in Richmond. While other local museums invite visiting artists and offer lectures, the Richmond Maker Museum takes interaction to a new level, introducing visitors to the routines and procedures of each artisan’s daily practice. Maker culture is a tightly woven network of craftsmen—woodworkers, metalworkers, glassblowers, etc. It celebrates traditional fabrication techniques, while also introducing modern technologies such as laser cutting and three-dimensional printing. The social and educational aspects of the maker movement have created a revolution, revitalizing public appreciation for the role of the maker and the importance of craftsmanship.

Historic interiors are an integral component to the historic fabric of our communities, yet the protection of interiors is fodder for debate among preservationists as to whether interiors are afforded equal protection as exteriors. This debate arises because interiors present unique challenges, namely, issues of public access, designation of publicly versus privately owned interiors,and infringement on Fifth Amendment rights. This thesis will examine federal, state, and local government policies, organizations, and laws, and discuss their impact on the protection of historic interiors. Five seminal court cases that examine legal precedents for designating interiors will also be addressed. Finally, case studies provide examples of how two communities have used local preservation laws to preserve and protect significant interiors in their cities. This thesis will show that historic interiors are subject to controls that ensure their preservation and designation. / Historic preservation in the United States -- Legal precedents -- Case analyses. / Department of Architecture

This thesis is an exploration of the ways in which a number of important Russian writers and filmmakers of the 1910s and 1920s appropriated domestic interiors as structural, visual and literary metaphors. My focus is on the artistic articulation of the closed space of the Russian domestic interior, in particular as it surfaced in the narratives of the modernist literature and cinema of the time and became an essential metaphor of its age. In my discussion I take issue with two standard ways of understanding domestic space in existing literature. I argue that representations of home spaces in early twentiethcentury Russian culture mount a challenge to the conventional view of the home as a place of safety and stability. I also argue that, at this point, the traditional approach to the room and the domestic space as a fixed closed structure is assailed by representations that see domestic space as kinetic. The importance of the 'room in motion' means that I address cinematic as well as literary representations of domestic space, and show that even literary representation borrow cinematic techniques. My different chapters constitute case studies of various separate, but complementary, aspects of the representation of home space. The first chapter shows how domestic space in reflected in the poetical language of Anna Akhmatova. The second chapter focuses on the parallel exploration of rooms and a child's consciousness in Kotik Letaev by Andrei Belyi. The third chapter discovers the philosophy of a room built by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovskii in his short stories of the 1920s. The next three chapters focus on interiors of three different cinematic genres. The fourth chapter looks closely at films created by Evgenii Bauer, showing the director's innovative techniques of framing and set-design. The fifth chapter explores the film Tret'ia Meshchanskaia by Abram Room, focusing on the director's employment of the room as a structural device of the film. The last chapter analyses two lyrical comedies by Boris Barnet to show the comic effect produced by the empty room and domestic objects in his films, and also focuses on the image of staircase. In conclusion, I speculate that the representation of interior spaces in the period in question goes beyond genre, medium, and narrative structure and becomes an important and culturally dynamic motif of the time.

Richmond, Virginia is defined by our connection to the James River. The James River Park system stretches over 550 acres of natural beauty. The park is broken into 14 different sections from the Huguenot Bridge in the west to a half mile beyond the I-95 Bridge in the east. The James River includes water features that appeal to the young and curious to the most experienced river-adventurer. The James River Park System boasts idyllic shorelines, peaceful meadows, and miles of challenging hiking and biking trails that appeal to the community and guests alike. Every year thousands of people come to Richmond for activities and events like the XTerra Races, Dominion RiverRock, the Folk Festival and many more. Amazingly, at this time, there are no convenient downtown or riverfront facilities to allow locals and guests of Richmond to interact with the James River Park system. With use of the Pattern Building at Tredegar Iron Works, this project will combine the ideas of biophilia, and eco-tourism to design a boutique hotel that will cater to outdoor enthusiasts. In addition to guest suites, this boutique hotel will offer an outdoor recreation rental, retail and repair facility that will offer bikes, kayaks, tubes, paddle-boards, climbing equipment and other essentials for outdoor exploration. A small cafe will offer healthy, locally sourced, farm to table snack and drink options. Both indoor and outdoor seating areas and/or lounges will be available for relaxation. The outdoor patio will feature an interactive garden and give guests a place to enjoy scenic views, practice yoga, meditate and relax. In addition this space could be rented to host special events. The term Biophilia was first used by a German-born American psychoanalyst Erich Fromm in The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (1973), which described the term as “the passionate love of life and of all that is alive”. Later the term was used by American biologist Edward O. Wilson in his work Biophilia (1984), that proposed that humans tendency to focus and affiliate with nature and other life-forms has a genetic basis. Humans biologically gravitate toward the rich and diverse shapes, colors and life that exists in the natural world. As we are drawn to the natural world, we also benefit from it. Nature nurtures us and has a positive effect on our health, well-being and happiness. Research led by Yoshifumi Miyazaki at Chiba University sent 84 subjects to stroll in seven different forests, while the same number of people walked city centers. Overall, those who spent time in the forest, showed a 16% decrease in the stress hormone cortisol, a 2% drop in blood pressure, and a 4% drop in heart rate. Although we spend nearly 90% of our lives indoors, those interior environments often do not reflect the characteristics of nature, trigger a positive emotional response, and are not often designed in a sustainable manner. Too often, our surroundings are designed in a way that deteriorate the environment and separate us from the natural world. The built environment of this project will emphasize the human need for contact with nature that is good for physical, emotional and physiological benefit and satisfaction. While Eco-Tourism is not a new concept the popularity of Eco-tourism increased in the 1980’s when large scale educational efforts by the government touted the benefits of conserving and protecting the environment and planet. Eco-Tourism is a piece of the “Green Movement” (scientific, social and political movement addressing environmental issues) but since there has been an increase in information about how people are negatively impacting the planet. The travel industry has been considered a strong influence and a demand for green hotels, restaurants and transportation is on the rise. Eco-Tourism is defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education”. Tourism often comes with its footprint on the environment. Tourism and hospitality must be sustainable. How can we still enjoy the natural wonders of the world yet minimize our impact? By exploring the concepts of Eco-tourism this project will reflect a positive environment and educate visitors on how to make their own changes. Guests will be encouraged to interact with the natural wonders of Richmond in a low impact manner, so that it may remain for others to enjoy. Research begins by understanding terms like sustainability, Eco-tourism and biophilic design and continues by researching and experiencing examples of them. By studying cases like Frank Lloyd Wrights project “Falling Water” and Mies van der Rohe’s project “Farnworth House,” understanding of a unique connection to the organic environment can occur. By studying Swedish architects Martin Videgard and Bolle Thams project “Tree Hotel” ways to incorporate travel with nature will be discovered. Finally by studying Agence Ter’s project the “Pudong Left Bank” in Shanghai inspiration on how to encourage a city to interact with its natural environment will occur. The goal of this project is to understand the relationship between human and nature and how it can be controlled and how we can benefit from an Interior Environment.