Having lived in apartments in densely populated cities most of my life, I felt this stark difference between my experiences in India and residing in the United States for the last several years. The silence, hiding neighbors, smiles consumed by KN 95 respirators, deserted ground plane, long narrow corridors, disconnection from the rest of the city, all this prevented me from seeing a home in the apartment I had rented in the United States. Philosopher Lars Svendsen's analysis and understanding of this feeling of perceived disconnection has made me to give it a name – Loneliness. One may reasonably hold the global pandemic accountable for this feeling. It can be true; the pandemic has forced a lot of us to spend all of our time at home, and be socially distant from other human beings. But surveys and studies suggest that the pandemic has only accelerated this feeling and is not the only causal factor. This thesis explores the widespread feeling of loneliness and how it relates to the design of physical space. As we continue to spend a lot of time at home, I have chosen to rethink the conception of a multifamily residential complex keeping in mind the opportunities architecture can create for people to redefine the space they occupy, connect with neighbors and retain the option of solitude as they choose. If there is something we think that we never have enough is time. We spend a lot of our time in cars commuting to and from work during the week and to the grocery store over the weekend. In a time when we are slowly moving towards normalcy, if normalcy still is physically going to places, I wanted to take into account some factors to help me identify a suitable site - access to public transportation, walkability, property prices, access to a grocery store, census data on demographics, household income, and car ownership. These factors are considered to motivate residents to interact with the street and provide flexibility for people of different age groups to live together. / Master of Architecture / This thesis explores the feeling of loneliness and how architecture can contribute towards creating better living spaces that can help overcome this feeling. Philosopher Lars Svendsen describes loneliness as "an emotional response to the fact that a person's need for connection to others is not satisfied"¹ My experience of living in apartment complexes for the past several years in India has got me thinking about what is preventing me from seeing a home in the apartment I live in the United States. The disconnection I experienced within the apartment, with neighbors, and the rest of the city has motivated me to investigate this invisible tie between the feeling of loneliness and the design of physical space. The United States census data and other studies over the years indicate a significant number of the US population living alone, increasing rates of divorce, childlessness, cultural detachment and smaller family size. These indicators exemplify social disconnection or isolation, a causal factor to this feeling of loneliness, as psychologist Julianne Holt-Lunstad suggests "has a significant and equivalent effect on risk of mortality, which exceeds the risk associated with obesity."² There are many factors that have contributed to this social isolation over the past several years, the most recent one being the global pandemic. As we continue to spend a lot of time at home, I have chosen to rethink the conception of a multifamily residential complex keeping in mind the opportunities architecture can create for people to feel a sense of belonging and community, connect with neighbors and retain the option of solitude as they choose. I have identified three different personas to help conceive the design of this residential complex. This method has helped me think about the organization of spaces within the unit, interaction with the public realm outside the building, and how this project ties to the rest of the city. The feeling of loneliness may be subjective but this thesis reinforces the fact that architecture can create opportunities to help overcome this feeling through self-reflection and social interaction.

This study sought to investigate solitude as a phenomenon. People’s affinity for solitude and the antecedents of affinity for solitude were of crucial interest to the study because affinity for solitude has been considered a strong determinant of solitude behavior. Based on the review of existing solitude studies, major constructs believed to comprise an empirical model were theoretically and operationally defined: affinity for solitude, general attitudes toward solitude, subjective norms, perceived control, extraversion, intended solitude behavior, and actual solitude behavior. The relationships among latent factors were hypothesized for empirical tests. A questionnaire was designed to measure the above constructs. Several items were based on previous studies although several items were developed by the investigator. A total of 395 college students, 162 male and 233 female students completed an online survey in exchange for extra credit. Preliminary analysis indicated the internal consistency of the battery of measurement scales used in this study were highly reliable; the measurement test also provided empirical evidence of the construct validity of the developed measures. A test of the hypothesized model of people’s affinity for solitude revealed that there were well-defined path relationships between latent factors with a good fit between the measures and the sample data. Findings revealed that general attitudes toward solitude and subjective norms positively contributed to affinity for solitude; while extraversion negatively influenced affinity for solitude. Affinity for solitude effectively predicted intended solitude behavior and actual solitude behavior. Additionally, the study found that subjective norms and general attitudes toward solitude also significantly predicted intended solitude behavior. A model of people’s affinity for solitude and solitude behavior allowed us to analytically view the latent social and cognitive factors that significantly inform people’s affinity for solitude and their solitude behavior. This study is valuable in two ways. First, theoretical and empirical approaches derived from this current study suggest ways of conceptualizing solitude attitudes and behavior. Second, study findings account for the antecedents and consequences of affinity for solitude. Theoretical relations and several implications associated with college students and recreation management were presented. Additionally, the limitations of the study followed by suggestions for improvements and possible directions for future research were discussed.

I denna studie undersöks frågan om det kan finnas ett samband mellan den positiva upplevelsen av att vara själv som i denna studie motsvarar ”positive solitude” med människors självkänsla och sociala stöd. Den föreliggande studie undersökte även om det fanns några könsskillnader i positive solitude. En kvantitativ studie med en enkät och ett bekvämlighetsurval och snöbollsurval har genomförts. Urvalet bestående av 206 deltagare som var mellan åldrarna 18–29 år varav 147 deltagare var kvinnor och 58 var män och en uppgav icke binär /annat. Deltagarna har svarat på en digital enkät med självskattningsskalor samt frågor om ålder och kön. Skalorna som användes var The Positive Solitude Scale, The self-esteem Scale samt The multidimensional scale of Percieved Social Support. Resultatet från den multipla regressionsanalysen visade att det inte fanns något signifikant samband mellan positive solitude och självkänsla samt socialt stöd. Vidare resultat visade även att det inte fanns några könsskillnader i positive solitude. Detta resultat strider mot tidigare studier och bör därför leda till framtida studier som fokuserar på vilka faktorer som kan ha ett samband med Positive Solitude. / This study investigated the question of whether there can be a association between the positive experience of being alone, which in this study corresponds to “positive solitude” with people´s self-esteem and social support. The present study also investigated whether there were gender differences in positive solitude. A quantitative study with a survey and a convenience sample and snowball sample has been conducted. The sample consisting of 206 participants who were between the ages of 18-29 years, of which 147 participants were women and 58 were men and one stated non binary/other. The participants answered an online survey with self-rating scales and questions about age and gender. The scales used were The Positive Solitude Scale, The self-esteem Scale and The multidimensional scale of Perceived Social Support. The result from the multiple regression analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between positive solitude and selfesteem and social support. Further results also showed that there were no gender differences in positive solitude. This result contradicts previous studies and should therefore lead to future studies that focus on what factors may be associated with positive solitude.

La première partie de ce mémoire se constitue d'un recueil de nouvelles présentant une alternance entre la science-fiction et la fiction mimétique. Les textes qui composent le recueil présentent des variations sur l'absence, autant du côté réaliste que science-fictionnel. À travers ces modulations sur la solitude, c'est l'essence même de l'individu qui est interrogée, autant par rapport à lui-même qu'en fonction du regard de l'autre. La coprésence de la science-fiction et de la fiction réaliste au sein du recueil permet de souligner ce questionnement en multipliant les points de vue littéraires et les possibilités métaphoriques. Cette cohabitation permet également d'explorer le dialogue possible entre les deux hypogenres ainsi que l'effet de tension qui en résulte. La deuxième partie cherche à définir la science-fiction par rapport à la fiction mimétique dans le contexte d'une démarche d'écriture. Il est pris comme hypothèse de départ que les deux types de fictions utilisent des référents différents : la fiction réaliste se rapporte directement à l'environnement de l'auteur, tandis que la science-fiction se développe autour d'une série de novum, de divergences, de déformations, d'extrapolations par rapport aux connaissances liées à la réalité sociale ou scientifique. L'appareil réflexif se divise en deux chapitres : il est question, dans un premier temps, d'étudier les conséquences de ces divergences dans la façon de représenter la réalité dans le cadre d'une activité créatrice. Le deuxième chapitre aborde aussi la question des genres, mais selon les angles de la limite, de la frontière et du territoire, dans le but de déterminer comment ces concepts peuvent s'appliquer à une démarche oscillant entre deux régimes de fiction. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : solitude, absence, individu, science-fiction, réel.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Charlotte, N.C., 2002. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 218-222).

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Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Charlotte, N.C., 2002. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 218-222).

Thesis (D. Min.)--George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, 2004. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-73).

Thèse (Ph. D.)--Université Laval, 2002. / Bibliogr.: f. 155-174. Publié aussi en version électronique.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Charlotte, N.C., 2002. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 218-222).