Making up one quarter of the current United States population, some 80 million Generation Y-ers are changing the ways in which we live, work and play. Dubbed “Millennials” this population is comprised of those individuals born between 1980 and 2000. This generation is the first to have been raised with cell phones, the internet, and reality television. The “Selfie” or “Me Generation” is snubbed for narcissism and an instant gratification attitude. Yet on the whole Millennials have progressive values, are well educated, are conscious of their health and are optimistic about the future despite coming of age during the Great Recession. Millennials are also the most diverse, most informed and most well connected generation the United States has ever seen.They are supporters of the locavore movement and conscious of the environment. Their habits and tastes - constant Facebook status updates and Instagram posts - are much more communal in nature than narcissistic, the highest value of which is not “self-promotion, but it’s opposite, empathy -- an open-minded and hearted connection to others.” In this way Millennials are using social media and technology to build community in a new way - virtually. Before there was Facebook or Instagram, people found community in “third places” - social places independent of work or home in which to fraternize and build relationships. In his book, The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg examines the difference between the sociological functions of first place (the home), second place (the workplace) and third place. Third place can be described as the social place, a place independent of the home and workplace in which to fraternize and build community. Oldenburg argued that these places are in general decline, and more recent articles have noted that those brick and mortar third places are now being “hollowed out” by “cyber nomads”, those people in coffee shops and bookstores listening to headphones, typing away on a computer or talking on the phone. James Katz of Rutgers argues that these “physically inhabited by psychologically evacuated” places leave people feeling “more isolated than they would if the cafe were empty.” How do designers create spaces that support Millennials empathetic desire connection, that encourage interaction and that overcome the obstacle of becoming "psychologically evacuated" places?

The community of Old Town Manchester lies across from downtown Richmond on the south side of the James River. Annexed in 1910, Manchester was the industrial hub of the city and home to the Chesterfield Railroad, the first railway in Virginia and used to transport coal. These industrial roots are still evident today in the warehouses and manufacturing facilities that continue to operate or have been repurposed. The building of focus is located on the corner of bustling Hull Street and quiet 7th Avenue. Distinctive in its stone masonry exterior, 616 Hull was constructed in the 1920s as a Chevrolet showroom and manufacturing facility. Both the proximity to downtown and the historic character of Manchester made it seem an ideal location for a hotel and restaurant. Considering the hotel as a source of stability for the community because it provides jobs, and the restaurant as an entity within the hotel that simultaneously serves the guests as well as the local residents, the concept of discovery and experience of place emerged. With the belief that locals share a sense of pride in the city in which they live, thus making Richmonders the city’s best advocates, this thesis was an exploration of how design can encourage interaction between two groups of people- visitors and locals.

This is a project that explores how design can integrate medical treatment and community support. The high prevalence of chronic disease is creating a national healthcare crisis. Chronic disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Consideration of a holistic sense of well-being that focuses on disease resistance, resilience, and self-management is necessary to realize and sustain health outcomes. Community engagement is imperative to improve adherence rates for lifestyle changes. This project aims to design a community wellness space that is focused on prevention, resilience and self-management. A new typology of a community-anchored wellness clinic could provide an environment to support positive change. This clinic will be a new model of care by combining the necessary access to fitness, healthy food and health care while fostering community, and providing patient education and emotional support.

This study explores the needs of teen and young adult cancer patients undergoing long-term chemotherapy treatments and the design of an outpatient clinic that accommodates this population’s unique needs. Most teens endure long-term treatments in a pediatric facility targeted primarily for children, while others are treated in adult facilities. Teens have different privacy and social needs than children, and while they are not adults, they are involved in their own treatment decisions, unlike children. The target age group for this study is teens and young adults, ages thirteen to twenty-two. A common theme emerged from research and interviews conducted in the project: these young patients feel an overwhelming sense of isolation. This informed the design of the clinic, which includes spaces where teens and young adults have private spaces for treatment, but larger group spaces that promote connections among each other. Pathways between the various spaces are important. Incorporating nature, environmentally conscious and healthy materials, accessibility, and comfort were essential considerations for the design. The design hypothesis for this project is that a place that targets the unique needs of teens and young adults could make a difference in their experience and ultimately in their healing.

This thesis project is an exploration of process in both design and winemaking. Wine has long been a part of Virginia’s history and culture and in recent years has influenced architecture and design that is specific to winemaking and hospitality. Through an interior intervention, this project addresses the many challenges of marrying production and hospitality design criteria under one roof. The final design encourages understanding of process through links between production and consumption with both a winemaking facility and laboratory that are integrated into the surrounding hospitality-oriented spaces. This visual exposure to the facility stimulates patron interest and intuitive knowledge of the intricate nature of the winemaking process. The concept of process is revealed through the use of materials and their application, designed in such a way to encourage patrons to explore how they are constructed. The use of natural materials that patina are used to celebrate the aging process that is inextricably linked to both design and wine. In addition, new ways of using materials that are part of the winemaking process are employed to expose patrons to nuanced aspects of the process that otherwise remain hidden.

The Rumi Cultural Events Centre explores how the built environment can reflect a cultural phenomenon such as the evolution of Muslim communities in Western secular society of Canada. The centre has been designed for second generation Muslims, whose simultaneous exposure to religious and secular values change their outlook on religion and culture (Greif, 2007; Amor, 2006, Hadjiyanni, 2007; Kohut, Allan & Wike, 2006; Akyol, 2011; Mandaville, 2001; Distin, 2001). They reinvent the notion of Islam in a secular context, and create a synthesis that embodies religiosity, culture and secularism. The Rumi Centre is a new typology of space that emerges from a need to synthesize the new Muslim identity and values in order to create a non-traditional cultural environment. The Rumi Centre is not a religious institution. It is a culturally appropriate and contemporary events venue where forward looking and traditional Muslims come together with the local community. The centre’s design language reflects the attitude of Muslims who embrace modernity and secular lifestyle but remain true to their culture. / May 2016

[pt] O interior à margem: o papel do gênero no processo de profissionalização do Design de Interiores analisa o processo de reformulação da Decoração, atividade originalmente doméstica, amadora e, crucialmente, feminina na nova disciplina e profissão conhecida atualmente como Design de Interiores. Este processo, ocorrido entre as útimas décadas do século XIX e as primeiras do século XX, foi resultado da incorporação de inovações técnicas e valores do Modernismo na Arquitetura e no Design. Foi também influenciado diretamente por outros aspectos da modernidade, como a distinção entre as esferas pública e privada, a urbanização acelerada, a produção em série e a revolução dos hábitos de consumo. Crucialmente, este processo foi marcado ainda por estratégias de legitimação do status profissional da atividade que tiveram como cerne a discriminação de gênero. Partindo da constatação que a maioria das publicações sobre o tema pesquisadas baseavam a História do Design de Interiores exclusivamente nos seus pontos de contato com a Arquitetura e na obra de consagrados arquitetos modernos, este trabalho busca analisar e evidenciar a contribuição determinante de mulheres à este processo. Em busca de uma abordagem feminista e feminina da História do Design de Interiores é destacada a importância da contribuição de mulheres desde lugares não profissionais de produção, assim como são apresentadas trajetórias de profissionais que obtiveram êxito na área apesar da oposição oferecida pelos estereótipos de gênero. / [en] The interior at the margin: the role of gender in the process of professionalizing Interior Design analyzes the process where Decoration, an activity originally domestic, amateur and, crucially, feminine was transformed in a new discipline and profession known today as Interior Design. This process, which occurred between the last decades of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, was a result of the incorporation of technical innovations and values of Modernism in Architecture and Design. It was also directly influenced by other aspects of modernity, such as the distinction between the public and private spheres, urbanization, mass production, and emerging consumer habits. Crucially, this process was also marked by strategies to legitimize the professional status of the activity that had gender discrimination as its core. Based on the observation that the (relatively few) existing publications on the subject based a History of Interior Design exclusively in its points of contact with Architecture and in iconic modern male architects, this research analyzes and emphasizes the contribution of women to this process. In search of a feminist and feminine approach to the History of Interior Design, the importance of the contribution of women from non-professional places of production is highlighted, as well as the trajectories of professionals who have succeeded in the area despite the opposition offered by gender stereotypes.

<p>Модерни ентеријер представља у једнакој мери архитектонски као и културни феномен. Последњих деценија XX века, модерни ентеријер се, под утицајем конзумеризма, трансформисао у један облик потрошачког спектакла. У дисертацији се испитује трансформација наративне структуре модерног ентеријера у контексту савременог потрошачког друштва.</p> / <p>Moderni enterijer predstavlja u jednakoj meri arhitektonski kao i kulturni fenomen. Poslednjih decenija XX veka, moderni enterijer se, pod uticajem konzumerizma, transformisao u jedan oblik potrošačkog spektakla. U disertaciji se ispituje transformacija narativne strukture modernog enterijera u kontekstu savremenog potrošačkog društva.</p> / <p>The modern interior is an architectural as well as a cultural phenomena. During the last decades of the 20th century, the modern interior has transformed itself into a form of the consumer spectacle. The dissertation examines the role and transformation of the narrative structure of modern interior in the context of contemporary consumer society.<br />&nbsp;</p>

Scansion is the act of discerning a poem’s meter and measure to discover its overall meaning. To achieve beauty in poetry, just as in interior design, content must continually be in conversation with form. And, just as a building must be scaled against the human figure to determine its final shape, a poem is scaled against human breath, the breadth of our sounds. Scan & Scansion is a Richmond-based residency with a six-month term providing a work, living and exhibition space to poets and artists who wish to work collaboratively across disciplines. As the program is essentially about applied poetics and process, it presents the perfect moment to place these two modes of measurement alongside one another, exploring how poetics may be used as a design driver--how a space might be both architectural and lyrical, and, ultimately, how poetry and the arts, or the sound and the image, may enrich each other.

Within my studio practice I have been examining the aesthetics of leisure spaces, the implications of good and bad taste, and what it means to live one’s best life. Considering the history of design motifs and the influence of color upon the human psyche, my thesis exhibition of abstract paintings contains references to patterns, design movements, and modes of artifice that have historically been seen as brazen and tacky. These include nods to the Memphis Design group, faux marble, terrazzo, stucco, and artificial sand. Each has held an important place in the history of designed spaces, and at one time or another they were deeply celebrated before being criticized. I am drawn to the parallels between the surface treatment of furniture and architectural spaces, and the surface of a canvas. My use of materials includes a mixture of high- and lowbrow to reinterpret media such as highly pigmented acrylic paint, natural and artificial sand, volcanic pumice, and hardware store products for DIY home improvement. I use a formal, modernist painting language to elevate the artificial and superficial to the hierarchy associated with the moral underpinnings of modernism. By being entirely serious about the unserious, this work aims to question the value we assign to play and why tastefulness rarely aligns with fun.