Québec Université Laval, Bibliothèque 2015

This thesis explores the relationship between the "constructed" (built) environment and the natural environment. What defines such a relationship and can the relationship be formulated? Surely a successful union is much like a marriage whereby one part is better than either of the individual parts. This thesis is an exploration into that relationship. It explores the nature of the built environment through the construction in the natural environment. In addition, it explores the possibility of utilizing a set of guidelines to assist the designer in the creation of such a relationship. The project type (Retreat Center) itself opens the door to possibilities by carving out the natural environment. It proposes that through careful design considerations a harmony can exist between man's built environs and the earth's natural environment. / Master of Architecture

This thesis seeks to investigate how architecture can utilize different techniques to introduce people to landscape, specifically those who have an uncomfortable relationship with nature due to inequities in access to quality green space, a cultural distancing from nature due to historical acts of violence, or an increasingly urban and work focused lifestyle. A proposed Visitor Center in Rock Creek Park, in Washington, DC, acts as a slow transition from park to city and back again, breaking the landscape into more digestible pieces before putting it back together as a whole. The building's strategy for introduction can be broken up into two categories, what the building reveals to visitors, and what it tells visitors. The building reveals the surrounding landscape in a rhythmic way of spaces of rest and spaces of activity, utilizing entrances on different levels, screened views, and glass corners to frame the landscape and topography. It is also designed to reveal the power of the environment, the sun, the rain, and the snow, in weathering the materials and creating a dynamic appearance and exposing the ways in which water runs through the site. In addition to showing the park, the building also is responsible for educating visitors about the important cultural and natural history of the park. The architecture supports the education of visitors in a flexible and non-technological way, using a variety of surfaces to display information to be seen and touched, to encourage the slowing down of minds and bodies to facilitate the transition from the bustling city to the restorative nature of the park. The proposed building utilizes design concepts present in nature and integrates them into the architecture of the building, to create an introductory experience into the landscape that touches the senses and the mind, preparing the visitors to enjoy the park. / Master of Architecture / This thesis, Taking Root, seeks to investigate how architecture can utilize different techniques to introduce people to a landscape, specifically those who have an uncomfortable relationship with nature due to inequities in access to quality green space, a cultural distancing from nature due to historical acts of violence, or an increasingly urban and work focused lifestyle. Research shows that time spent in nature improves mental and physical health outcomes, and the disparity of access or quality creates an issue of injustice. A proposed Visitor Center in Rock Creek Park, in Washington, DC, seeks to remedy that by acting as a slow transition from park to city and back again, and down into the canyon and back again. The building’s strategy for facilitating an introduction can be broken up into three categories: how the building relates to the environment, what the building reveals to visitors, and what it tells visitors. First, the building is designed to reveal the power of the environment, the sun, the rain, and the snow, on the façade through the careful selection of materials specifically for their weathering properties. In addition, the use of a native vine allows the building to change colors through the four seasons of the park, and mirror the forest that surrounds it. The combination of these techniques, plus minimizing the environmental impact of the building through stormwater management, a green roof for local pollinators, bird-safe glass, and reducing solar gain exposes the critical relationship between architecture and environment. Secondly, the visitor center reveals the landscape through the adoption of techniques found in nature that facilitate a powerful introduction to a place, and formalizes them into the architecture of the building and experience of the visitors. The techniques to promote familiarity with the park include controlling the pace with a series of long, curving paths and embracing the rhythm of the topography with ramps and the seasons with a pattern of spaces for activity and rest, teasing with glimpses through the tree-like screen and through the glass gills, framing the view into the park. In addition, the building strives to amplify liminal space, a threshold between the old and new, architecture and nature, which exists in the glass corner gills. These corners jutting into the park, lit by a skylight, and fed fresh air by automated ventilation louvers, allows for a person to have a more intimate experience, in a way that really exists outside of the building, but in a way that provides the comfort of familiarity and not being quite all the way in nature either. Finally, the building also is responsible for telling the visitors what they need to know by educating them on the important cultural and natural history of the park. The architecture supports the education of visitors in a flexible and non-technological way, using a variety of surfaces to display information to be seen and touched, to encourage the slowing down of minds and bodies to facilitate the transition from the bustling city to the restorative nature of the park. The proposed building utilizes its interaction with the physical environment, design concepts present in nature to reveal the landscape, and conveys information in a way and pace that is reflective of the way time moves in the park. All three strategies combine to create an introductory experience into the landscape that touches the senses and the mind, preparing the visitors to enjoy and appreciate Rock Creek Park.

A collection of poems primarily in free verse that deals with loss, love, nostalgia, memory, nature (both human and wild), and the self. The title is a Fats Waller quote I found as the epigraph in one of my favorite books, The World Doesn’t End by Charles Simic. While it is literally impossible to waltz the rumba, since they are two different dances and types of music, I like the idea it provokes for me: it says to me, “let’s do this our own way"? or the old cliché phrase “let’s walk to the beat of a different drummer."? This quote embodies the spirit in which these poems where written. / Master of Fine Arts

Throughout history, humans have stigmatized solitude. We see it as an inconvenience, something to avoid, a punishment. As a society today, we are constantly locked on to our phones, televisions, friend groups and generally being around people. It is an over stimulation that has damaging effects to our mental well-being. We need to be around people because we are a social species. Because of this we think the idea of being alone as a problem, as something strange, an unwanted behavior. I believe there is a misunderstanding between the idea of isolation with separation and loneliness. The world's population is increasing every year and we often find ourselves trapped in overcrowded cities. Finding a special quiet place to get away and gather your thoughts is difficult in an environment like this. This is a major stress factor that contributes to the large spread of depression and anxiety that we find in our world. These cities come with many stressors such as density, excessive stimuli, competition and materialism, disconnection and even uncertainty in a constantly moving and changing environment. This thesis is the exploration of intentional solitude which is the idea of wanting to be alone. Being alone has many benefits that go beyond what most people think. Scientists and psychologists today are finding that isolation can be very beneficial to the human mind and can be therapeutic if done so by choice. Intentional solitude can also be beneficial for groups as well. This works when individual group members set off and isolate for a certain period and then regroup later to share their own experience. By doing this, the group gains new experiences and ideas that would otherwise be unachievable if done so alone. To best achieve solidarity, the design of the wellness retreat will include a main communal building, called the hearth, and a set of smaller individual structures, called shelters. These shelters will be located at different points throughout the site and provide an isolated, natural experience for self-reflection. The hearth will be the area for communal gatherings and to share ideas and experiences found through isolation. / Master of Architecture / People in todays society are so consumed by their phones, media and life itself that they often forget to save time for themselves. Research has shown that finding time for solitude and isolation to gather ones thoughts and relax has proven to be a major help in terms of mental health. This thesis involves a wellness retreat which was designed for such people in order to help them reflect on themselves through the exposure to architecture and the natural environment. The project involves two major aspects. One is the main central communal building called the hearth. This is where all the visitors will reconvene everyday to share their personal experiences. The second part of this project are the separate isolation shelters that are spread out through the wooded site. These locations will be used for personal intentional solitude. This is where each visitor will spend most of their time alone with both architecture and nature. The shelters and the hearth are connected to each other through several trails on the site.

Both New England’s Robert Frost and Northern Ireland’s Seamus Heaney are considered major poets of the 20th century. Both poets present speakers who rely upon rural settings to explore troublesome feelings and difficult experiences. Their speakers project their human experience onto nature, but because nature is indifferent, they cannot find solutions for their personal discomfort and uncertainties. By examining the writers in this order—Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mary Oliver, Seamus Heaney, and Robert Frost—a spectrum concerning the poet and their relationship to nature emerges. By considering John Ruskin’s pathetic fallacy, we will see a movement from irrationality in transcendental depictions, to empirical depictions that rely upon naturalist themes. By considering naturalist depictions as empirically responsible, I will evaluate each authors’ use of personification when describing their environment. While transcendental depictions offer a more soothing outcome for the speaker, Heaney’s and Frost’s depictions do not reflect a sense of relief.

The Architect's first drawn line marks a significant moment where alteration to the site is conceived and intervention with nature is beset. Equilibrium of the natural order; vegetative, habitat, hydrology, and geology are all in a vulnerable state. Rarely do these develop into harmonious balances. More often they are imposed instances. The Industrial Revolution forever changed the relationship between humans and nature, tilting the weight of power towards man. While humans capacity for innovation and destruction have grown enormously, our dependence on the natural cycles and resources of the planet remain and grow more voracious. Yet simultaneously, modern progress has facilitated the physical and psychological detachment of that interdependence. The fundamental elements of our existence are veiled through the efficiency of urbanization and its derivatives of specialization, mass-production, and globalization. This project is an examination of the interrelationship between humans and nature through the lens of civic architecture within a naturalistic setting. The fundamental thesis of this project is that there is a primal biological thread that connects human beings to the natural order, whether on a visceral or conscious level. This project explores the belief that humans intrinsically yearn to reinforce that bond - awakening primordial instincts developed over millions of years of evolutionary survival that have been suppressed by the artifice of modern life. Through a process of retreat and contemplation, this project offers the opportunity of individuals to evaluate and rebalance their own scales with nature and find their own accord and harmony. / Master of Architecture

In a busy city like Washington D.C., where people tend to work for long hours, and remain in constant fight with deadlines as they try to complete their daily tasks, such lifestyle can be very exhausting. Artists are no exception to that. A preoccupied lifestyle can keep them distant from their inner creativity and would make them lose their inspiration for art. What they really need is to take a step away from this fast society and find a place that offers them the space, time and environment to recharge and reconnect with their art. This thesis explores the role of architecture in creating moving artistic experiences that ignite the artists' inner creativity and feeds their imagination. By using design concepts that encourage their interaction with their surroundings, we can raise their curiosity to explore and observe to help them unleash their creativity. Because ,we, humans are mostly influenced by the spaces we inhabit and spend most of our time in. A proposed artist retreat in the U.S. National Arboretum, creates an architecture that enhances the way artists experience art through the use of proportions, forms, materials, light and shadow. The project consists mainly of two parts, the first part is a place that respects the artists' need for solitude, to be able to self-reflect on their inner self and art. The second part is a place for the artist community, where they socialize and exchange their knowledge and experiences. Moreover, the buildings design aims to breaks the barrier between the inside and outside worlds to help create an intimate experience between the artists and nature. On the other side, there is the relationship between the buildings and the site, where the buildings design, materials and construction respects the landscape of the site and are adaptive to the beauty of the site's seasonal changes. This is how my thesis will explore art through the lens of architecture and give these artists a deep breath of art. / Master of Architecture / In a busy city like Washington DC, where people tend to work for long hours, fight deadlines and try to complete their daily task, such a lifestyle can be very exhausting. Artists are no exception of that, as such lifestyle can keep them distant from their inner creativity and lose their inspiration for art. What they really need is to take a step away from this fast society and find a place that offers them the space, time and atmosphere to recharge and reconnect with their art. This thesis explores the role of architecture in creating moving artistic experiences that ignite the artists' inner creativity and feed their imagination. By using design concepts which encourage their interaction with their surroundings, raises their curiosity to explore, observe and unleash their creativity. Because we humans are mostly influenced by the spaces we inhabit and spend most of our time in. My thesis will be an artist retreat at the US National Arboretum, a place for these artists to practice their art in a natural environment, in places that either encourage them to socialize with the artist community or in single cabins in the forest, that isolate them into their own world. The buildings will act as thresholds that bring the outdoor natural views, sunlight and wildlife to the indoor living spaces to embrace the performance of these artists and let them experience art through the lens of architecture. The buildings also have their own language of how they represent and respect the nature of the site. This is how my thesis will give these artists a deep breath of art.

When thinking about architecture, I cannot help but think about my life and the things that have affected my life. How does the environment around us effect the daily decisions we make? How do the experiences throughout our life impact who we are and who we become? The people and surroundings we choose will ultimately decide the type of people we become. When we select our surroundings we are in turn selecting our ideal community. Everyone is trying to achieve community in some sense, from individuals to city planners. Council members, politicians, city officials... make decisions everyday based on their idea of what community is to them and their citizens. In the following pages I will design a community and put in place the elements for it to prosper and grow... / Master of Architecture

It is my intention to plan for the types of activity carried out by future inhabitants of vertical farms. Through a twenty-six storey high building,a conceptual farm with housing for the producers, situated amongst dense urban fabric of Baltimore Maryland, architecture is explored. Utilizing form, order and space, architecture has a responsibility to construct the interalia or main theatre of human function. The architect has a fiduciary responsible to determine the design and purpose of the stage, setting limits on the types of drama that the inhabitants play. From spacious rural cultivator with evocative farmhouses, to confined urban neo-farmer, the stage for dwelling is extremely critical to determine. These displaced farmers do not perform all typical city functions, but they are confined as city dwellers. For them, it remains critical to be connected with nature and neighbor. Urban farmers need housing that enhances their quality of life. Rather than imposing regulated apartment space for one inhabitant, the city comes forth to them in a different light, with many open neighborhood spaces for interaction and farm activity within a merging dual structure. The dialog the two concepts (city dwelling and farming) play as they join, dwell on a relationship of graphic tools such as rotation, scale, thickness and transparency. Further opportunity exists to investigate the act of labor(natural) and work (physical) of the urban neo-farmer, in a tall building in an effort to provide insight to their human condition. One activity that is part of being an urban neo-farmer may be the practice of cleaning off boots and placing them in lockers before returning home after a long work day. / Master of Architecture