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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1980. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 226-239. / by Steven R. Taylor. / Ph.D.

Thesis. 1975. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences. / Bibliography: leaves 422-441. / by Raymon Lee Brown, Jr. / Ph.D.

This thesis investigates how architecture engages with the natural landscape through iterative designs of exhibition space. Proposals of architecture adjacent to Smith Mountain Lake as well as along the Cascade Falls Trail in Virginia were considered. The design proposals led to a resolution that particular considerations are critical in relating architecture and nature, specifically a building's spatial organization and orientation, its materiality and tectonic assembly, and the bounding thresholds differentiating between inside and outside. / Master of Architecture / The central idea of my exploration is to engage with nature and create a building that relates to the Virginian landscape consisting of mountain, forest and water. The design exploration began with a site at Smith Mountain Lake and then a site at Cascade Falls Trail. To make the architecture, many aspects were considered - how to place the architecture in the landscape, the choice of the building's materials, how the building is constructed, the use of walls versus windows, and finally, not only creating a relationship between architecture and landscape, but also determining nuanced ways to connect the two.

The role of structure and tectonics in the formation of hydrothermal ore deposits and the localization of high-grade mineralization associated with fractures is well documented. In this study we have characterized the structural setting associated with uranium mineralization in the Coles Hill uranium deposit by relating the observed metamorphic and structural features (mylonitic foliation and fractures) to regional tectonic activity. Drill cores and outcrops observed in this study show that NE/SW oriented fractures appear to be related to Mesozoic movement along the Chatham Fault. NW/SE oriented fractures cross cut and offset the NE/SW oriented fractures by1 to 2 cm and therefore post-date the NE/SW oriented fractures. NW/SE fracture orientations and parallel to the NW/SE regional cross faults and are suggested to relate to the formation of the cross faults during post Triassic basin inversion. Uranium mineralization is located within horizontal to shallowly dipping fractures suggesting uplift and erosion to form possible tension veins. The cross faults with NW/SE orientations created pathways in which uranium bearing hydrothermal fluids could migrate from the Triassic basin shales westward into the adjacent highly fractured crystalline rocks, precipitating uranium due to oxidation-reduction reactions. / Master of Science

Modern architecture has lost its sense of place by the adoption of practices like standardization and universal modularity, over the focus and influence of unique local building practices. However, looking outside of the cultural main stream works of architecture, there exists some built structures with such purity around how they were constructed and a form of honesty deeply embedded within their material usage. Having been idealized in such a locally specific manner, these attributes become the essence of belonging that ties the building to its particular place. In this thesis, I have considered architecture both within regional or vernacular architectural traditions and the unconstrained means and methods of modern architecture. I looked at how modern technologies related to fabrication can be influenced by the subtle adaptations that traditional architecural crafts have developed, unique to specific regions. / Master of Architecture

This project began as a critique of the current notions of "green" architecture. It grew into the creation of a system for integrating nature with structure, the organic with the constructed. A grand entry for the Highline Park on the lower Westside of Manhattan is used as a means for generating a domain which plants, specifically hanging ivy, could thrive. Simple elements such as columns, cables, stairs and ramps, can become a means for creating immersive living volumes, fostering instances where nature can conquer construction. / Master of Architecture