Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone Project / Rapid urbanization has profoundly reshaped societies, economies, and the natural environment. Urban populations currently sit around 80% and 40% for developed and developing countries respectively with cities accounting for nearly all future population growth. The impacts of urbanization are vast lending to low density areas, traffic congestion, automobile reliance, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Sustainable development is essential to maintaining the integrity of the world with current and future anticipated levels of urbanization. Mixed-use developments or those which combine three or more integrated revenue producing uses are a form of sustainable development which can help mitigate the negative effects of urbanization. Benefits of mixed-use include pedestrian and bicycle friendly areas, place-making, increased revenue, and reduced automobile reliance and pollution. This research attempts to determine the most successful form of mixed-use development in downtown Tucson, Arizona. This study boundary was chosen because downtown Tucson is in a state of revitalization and it is important to analyze how developers and the City of Tucson are making use of land. For the purpose of this research a case study analysis was performed on three mixed-use developments, the Cadence at Congress Street and 4th Avenue, One East Broadway at Broadway Boulevard and Stone Avenue, and the Mercado San Agustin at Congress Avenue and Avenida del Convento. Each development was examined and rated based on economic, social, and environmental success. All three developments scored fairly similarly but the Cadence scored the highest with low operating costs, the creation of a high volume jobs, and a location near transit and pedestrian and bicycle friendly areas.

Thesis (M.U.D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-94).

Thesis (M.U.D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-94) Also available in print.

Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone Project / This capstone aims to study what types of sustainable renovation improvements would work best on older commercial buildings in Tucson. The issue being, what different types of upgrades are compatible with the types of buildings and environment in the Tucson area? This was determined with researching and comparing the data from three older buildings, which have undergone renovations and also received LEED certification. The results were significant in that the buildings studied had many similar improvements such as, installing high efficiency HVAC, upgrading insulation, using natural lighting to reduce artificial along with the usage of LED and or CFL bulbs. Low flow water fixtures were also used in all buildings to reduce water usage. The differences were the building in Phoenix also installed solar panels, along with a solar chimney for cooling, as the other two did not due to their locations in Illinois and Michigan. When these renovations were analyzed, many could be utilized in the Tucson environment. However, depending on the type of structure being renovated, the installation of HVAC, and the need for insulation could vary, due to some older buildings being brick or adobe.

This thesis is an exercise in ideas of two realms, theoretical and practical, and an effort to mix the two to create architecture. The theoretical thesis is exemplified in the pairings of photos seen on the bottom of each page, taken from Second View: The Rephotographic Survey Project. As the reader examines the pairs of photos changes over time can be seen in each. Typically the greatest changes are manifestations of man's existence. I have treated this as a point of departure for the technical thesis of Permanence and Temporality. Man's temporal existence creates permanent reminders in the permanent structure of the earth. This thesis explores the nature of permanence and temporality in materials and uses them to express the classic dichotomy of service and served. As a practical thesis the project focuses on providing better urban living through natural light, natural ventilation, and the provisions for community and interaction with nature. A modification of Le Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation was explored by narrowing the building to bring natural light further into the unit while widening the unit to get natural light and ventilation even to the service spaces. / Master of Architecture

This study builds on the National Capital Planning Commission's (NCPC) 50 year Master Plan for Washington D.C. It focuses on several of the NCPC's five key goals; to build on the legacy of the historic L'Enfant and McMillan plans, unify the city, with the Capitol as its center, use new buildings to stimulate economic development, and integrate the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers to the city's public life. This site and project has a historical tradition. A pedestrian bridge was proposed to connect SouthWest D.C. to Haines Point with a new aquarium, which was eventually located in Baltimore, anchoring the Haines Point side. This proposal was never realized. Integral to this project is the development of the masterplan for SouthWest D.C. It proposes reinforcing the existing city grid, while developing small plazas along the water's edge. A major plaza is located at the intersection of the bridge and the city. It is the masterplan and orientation of the bridge that make it a viable development of the NCPC's masterplan. The project proposes an inhabitable bridge continuing the grid of Washington across the channel. Commercial shops and offices juxtapose views north to the city's skyline. Housing units float ontop of the bridge creating a vibrant daily cycle of activity. Public walkways and plazas provide vistas, places to gather, meet and reflect. It is the combination of functions that make the bridge a viable attraction. Finally, the intersection of public and private space on the bridge creates vibrant city life. This bridge contributes to the rich texture of Washington. / Master of Architecture

Work-related stress is an issue of growing concern around the world.[1] The relationship between work stress and individuals’ psychological and physical health is well acknowledged.[2] In the survey of “stress in the workplace” conducted by American Psychological Association in 2012, two in five (41%) of employed adults report that they typically feel stressed during the workday, up from 36% in 2011, while less than six in ten (58%) report that they have the resources to manage work stress.[3] Historically, Central Business Districts are a focal point of cities, and are occupied by a large group of office buildings and a number of retail spaces. According to Elsbach and Bechky (2007), office workers regularly leave their offices in search of more relaxed, creative environments.[4] However, there is limited "third space" to serve office workers' daily life in the central business district. Most of the design research about wellness of office workers have done focus on the spaces in which people work during office hours. Consideration for office workers in the CBD after office hours is relatively rare. What else is needed to support the life of the office worker, and what kind of spaces they are looking for after hours. Several primary research methods were adopted. First, a survey of research on how the design of traditionally planned CBDs fails to support wellness of office workers was made. Then, the thesis examined what is needed to support the wellness of office workers. In order to make it be specific to the office workers in the CBD of Richmond, qualitative methodology, including interviews and video records of the daily CBD living habits were made. In addition, case studies of recently done CBDs that tackle this question. The Shibaura House, designed by Kazuyo Sejima, located in the business district of Tokyo in Japan, will serve as a primary case study. There are three aims in this research. First is the design of a series of mixeduse spaces in an existing building in the Central Business District of Richmond to support the life of office workers after office hours. It also aims to improve wellness of the office workers in the CBD of Richmond, and try to define the CBD in a new way. The preliminary results for this research indicates the importance of the concern for office workers after hours. It is necessary to focus on the practical effect of the mixed-use building on reducing work stress, improving office workers’ health and enhancing wellness of office workers.

Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone Project / The era of Urban Sprawl created a wave of single family residences moving farther and farther away from city centers. This also caused a series of unintended problems that affect our own health and the health of our natural environment. This paper seeks to find the most effective methods of implementing sustainable, mixed use development in our existing communities, as well as any mistakes that should be avoided in the process. This paper will examine successes and failures of previously implemented designs in order to inform and make recommendations for future designs and developments. The aim of this study is to identify factors that contribute to the success of a mixed use development and also encompass all aspects of sustainability.

No abstract.

Este trabalho mostra o percurso e a evolução do projeto de arquitetura de um conjunto multifuncional edificado de grande porte. E, nesse contexto, estuda as principais variáveis que influenciam diretamente as decisões sobre a natureza dos espaços e sobre as definições quanto a sua construção. Nosso objetivo é mostrar como são definidos os caminhos do projeto, as fases do seu desenvolvimento e salientar os pontos críticos relativos à sua qualidade. E, para atingirmos esse objetivo vamos discutir a evolução dos estudos preliminares, o anteprojeto e as inúmeras alterações no programa do Espaço Brooklin nosso estudo de caso - mostrando a evolução do lugar, aspectos econômicos imobiliários que influenciaram o projeto, o processo que constituiu a formação do grupo empreendedor, e como esse conjunto de forças refletiu decisivamente no desempenho do trabalho dos arquitetos e consequentemente na definição do projeto. / This work focuses the course and the design of a multi-use building and it studies the main variables that strongly affects the decisions about the character of the space and the definition of the building. This studys objective is to show how the roads to the project are defined, their development fazes, and how the design details critical points to the overall quality of the finished project. To be able to accomplish this objective I am going to discuss the evolution of the preliminary studies, the layout, and the many changes on the Brooklin Space program my study case sharing the spaces evolution, the financial aspects of such project, the process to form a group of investors and how all of the above aspects reflected decisively in the architectural work and, consequently, in the projects definition.