The project under investigation here is a museum facility to house the full collection of historic Canadian trains currently on display at the existing Canadian Museum of Rail Travel located in Cranbrook, British Columbia. The site of the proposed museum is on a narrow strip of vacant land bordered along one edge by an operating railway yard and on the other by Highway 3/21 the major transportation route through Southern British Columbia. The intention of this siting is to allow the proposed museum to act as a backdrop to the city providing both a buffer between it and the industrial developments beyond the rail yards, as well as a reconnection of the City to the railway on which its history and development has been so dependant. The building itself is organized as two buildings (or layers) lying along side each other like rail cars on a series of tracks. The first building (entry building) houses the public activities of the museum including entry and information, gift shop, tea room/ cafe, temporary gallery, administration offices, archives, shipping/receiving and entrance to the orientation theatre. The second building (the train shed) houses the body of the collection and museum including the restored train sets and cars, elevated discussion space, orientation theatre, and restoration workshops. These two main buildings are connected by a long narrow spine which provides circulation from the entry building through the orientation theatre into the train shed and the collection itself. The spine also houses display areas and visible archives along its length which provide the passing viewer with further explanation of particular aspects of the museum's collection. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

This dissertation focuses on the development of the site in and around Rovos Rail. Rovos Rail is a unique train travel company cut off from the public view. The project context is located in Capital Park adjacent to Transnet Avenue. The primary purpose of the site was to accommodate railway-related workshop facilities that provisioned and maintained the trains and carriages on their way to the industries of Johannesburg. Rovos Rail has done much in terms of the conservation of railway history in Pretoria. This ambition should be celebrated and built upon. It is necessary to promote the conservation of the rich railway history of South Africa and understand the impact thereof on the contemporary landscape. In order to understand the significance of contextualism, research based on philosophical, theoretical and practical lenses will be conducted. The argument relies on understanding the context through these different lenses. The historical significance of the site is celebrated. The dissertation places it within the historical continuum of both the larger context of Pretoria and the smaller context of the surrounding community. Through the design of a Steam Locomotive Museum next to Rovos Rail, a holistic approach, based on contextualism theories and South African case studies is illustrated. The project proposal establishes a physical connection with the historically significant structures of the site and emphasises the historical layers. Inspiration is drawn from the existing railway lines, the existing platform, ecological features and buildings. The chosen function, that of the museum, intends to act as the arbitrator for the diversity of narratives of an ever-evolving landscape, be it manmade or natural. The museum represents a prototype for the methodology proposed. The design aims to facilitate the conservation of railway history, the education of the importance thereof and enticement to develop these sites to represent a prosperous future. / Mini Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Architecture / MArch (Prof) / Unrestricted

Master of Architecture

The intention of this thesis is to study both architecture and landscape architecture and to find the "common ground" between the two. By understanding nature and how the man-made environment can express and complement nature, strong and meaningful places can be created. The project for this thesis is a competition. "A Museum on the Shore of a Lake," in which a museum, winter garden, health club, shops and restaurants, parking and a marina are to be incorporated onto a nine acre urban waterfront site. / Master of Architecture

Mak King Huai Kevin. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2008-2009, design report." / Subtitle on thesis t.p.: Photographic gallery & image archive center, Central, Hong Kong. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [84]-85). / Chapter 0a --- thesis statement --- p.5 / Chapter 0b --- thesis abstract --- p.13 / Chapter 0c --- definitions --- p.14 / Chapter 1 --- Vibrant Surface of Metropolitan City --- p.17 / Chapter 2 --- Stillness : detached from Vibrant Surface --- p.22 / Chapter 3 --- Still Space --- p.32 / Chapter 3.1 --- hidden courtyards : access / space / qualities / Chapter 3.2 --- cases studies / Chapter 4 --- Still Photography --- p.24 / Chapter 4.1 --- city > photographic image / Chapter 4.2 --- cases studies / Chapter 5 --- Design Strategy --- p.45 / Chapter 5.1 --- Site / Chapter 5.2 --- Programme / Chapter 5.3 --- Space / Chapter 6 --- Detailed Design --- p.57 / bibliography --- p.82

Yang Lu, Louise. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2009-2010, design report." / "May 2010." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55).

Exhibition design conjoins distinct architectural and curatorial requirements. It is proposed that the common language of architecture and curatorship is space: how displays are arranged to be viewed in particular sequences and visual frames, placed in fields of co-visibility or grouped according to their spatial arrangement as well as their stylistic, historical or other classificatory labels. As visitors become immersed in exhibition space they are exposed to an informally staged pedagogy aimed at enhancing their enjoyment and understanding of the exhibition. The second floor of the High Museum of Art, with the permanent collection of objects, opened in 1983, is chosen as a case study. Meier designed the original building and decorative arts exhibition. Scogin and Elam produced a significant modification in 1997 to house a thematic exhibition. Lord Aeck and Sargent restored a simplified version of the original layout in 2003. Rigorous quantitative analyses document these successive changes and identify the fundamental shifts in exhibition design principles that they represent. Visual relationships, the break up of space and patterns of movement are analyzed using standard space-syntax methodologies. New techniques are proposed in order to describe and quantify overlapping patterns of spatial grouping. It is shown that the original design encouraged visitors to view and compare objects in alternative ways, generating open-ended readings and multiple understanding. The 1997 layout dictated sequences of viewing and framed frontal views in order to communicate how art engages human experience, including the body or the environment. The 2003 layout re-instated multiple viewing points and comparative groupings while emphasizing the individual work. The dissertation examines how architecture and curatorship interacted in a unique building which provides great experiential richness as well as design constraints. In addition, it demonstrates how descriptive theory can help bridge between architectural and curatorial intents by capturing the principles of arrangement which are fundamental to both.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

For the most part learning in museums was by inert looking and listening and not by doing. For a long time traditional ideas of museums were conceptualized on an adult audience and children were expected to enjoy the museum going experience like they were adults. Museum architecture and planning responded more to grown-ups whilst children's needs and their engagement at a museum experience were never considered (see Macdonald, 1996: 2; Fyfe, 2006:5). Museums are at a very exciting juncture in their history and this study has examined these intricate relationships both internationally and locally. The findings is that museums, especially in some developing nations like South Africa have been rather slow to keep abreast with new emerging trends which focus on child education and how children learn in and from museums. This study puts forward the notion of a new museum archetype for Durban, a Children's Museum, re-interpreting conventional ideas of museums to one which places children and the community at the centre instead of the artifacts. In other words "museums are about somebody rather than about something" (Cleaver, 1992:21). Without a doubt children learn through play (Harris et al, 2003). Children view their spatial and social environments as a playground of knowledge, a place to see, touch, feel, taste, listen to, socialize with and learn from. They see the big world very differently as compared to adults and attach and take different meanings and experiences from and to people, to forms, places, spaces and things. Very important is the symbiotic relationship between children and the natural environment. Nature provides children with countless of natural toys interesting textures in the form of stones, leaves and twigs and sensory stimuli in sounds and sensations. This means that the way children learn through play the methods of facilitating this process and the built and natural environments where learning may take place needs to be interconnected. The position taken in responding through design is that there needs to be a holistic approach in responding to the social, cognitive and multi-intelligences in the development of children. This then suggests that the architecture and the landscape need to be integrated. Considering the close knit relationship children have with nature, the concept for the design of the museum draws from traditional African culture and spatial planning. The concept is based on the idea of PALAVER which in African culture is a traditional place of gathering in the shade of a prominent tree canopy somewhere in the village where villagers get to be heard, where they are able to express themselves freely without prejudice on life and on village problems. The design concept builds on this idea drawing from context interpreting this idea of a Palaver Tree to mean a roof of a building under which freedom of expression and exchange of ideas can take place. Hence the form of the building draws on clues from the majestic baobab of Africa, the elegance of the tenere tree and the qualities of a forest canopy. Considering the close link between children and nature and the ways in which children learn from the environment, teaching children about saving the planet, the symbolic imagery and qualities of a tree is an appropriate response in creating a place meant for kids. Moreover, the changing qualities of light through the leaves of trees are a subtle but most effective sensory experience which the design of the new children's museum tries to emulate. In parts of Africa, unlike western ideologies the museum is richly connected to the people and to the communities in which they exist. In fact it’s safe to say that the museum experience was part of everyday life. / Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

"The essence of architecture is the power of adaptation to fresh facts.” Berthold LubetkinThis creative project was my way of exploring if a convergence of art and technology in architecture can exist today.This exploration involved two focus points: one was movement and the other was glass technology.Movement was used for the exploration of the spatial relationships within an interpretation of our society today: the movement on the site as well as the inner motion of the single building elements.Glass was my modern technology tool for translating artistic ideas within architecture. It acts as a mediator between inside and outside space, between art and technology and creates a connection to the ‘understanding’ of our society.This paper is presented in five parts. The first part is the introduction to my thesis and the theoretical research about art and technology. Second is the process which I used for this project. The project is the third part. The fourth part is about glass, which represents my way of exploring the convergence of art and technology within architecture today. The last part of this paper is the overall conclusion. / Department of Architecture