Roanoke, as a city, needs to redefine itself and to constantly respond to what new should come to the city. Society and culture become an important factors in design. The insertion into an existing fabric requires a careful dialogue between past, present and future. The proposed building sets in contrast to the existing structures in the neighborhood of the site, establishing its own response to time. Although contrasting the existing buildings the proposition is responsive to context in terms of scale and materials. The context is important to continue the harmony and rhythm of the urban fabric. The site is located at one of the main entrances to downtown Roanoke and market square and hence the proposed building acts as a gateway to the future of the city. Due to its location the building will project the first image of the city. Therefore the proposed building should enhance and adapt to the social and cultural roots of the city. My thesis is a reaction to the existing conditions at the site for what I believe to be a lack of sensitivty to the context and the needs of the people of Roanoke. A museum is a public institution to provide insight into the attitudes and values of the local community. Through design the building is intended to symbolize the gateway to the future of the city. The basic shape of the building is curved in response to the plan of the site while allowing for an urban plaza in front. Cantilevered masses which radiate from Market square are inserted into the primary building mass providing a connection to a larger context. The cantilevered masses(which hosts art galleries)hover over and project into the urban plaza providing Roanoke city with a public space downtown. Thus the two most important elements i) Cantilevered masses and ii) The Urban Plaza are means to weave the thesis project into the existing urban fabric of the Roanoke. / Master of Architecture

Urbanization and development of cities is necessary in contemporary society, however, these advancements are also causing urban problems, such as lack of open green space, density problems, traffic problems, and over population.Also, existing buildings are often lacking certain functions that are currently needed since they have been designed in the past. Thus, plaza and mixed used buildings, which are considered as a unit space, are needed to mention for 'publicity' that is a part of urban components as a wide spatial concept. In particular, mixed used buildings as multiply functioned facilities are needed a specific study for 'publicity' and 'urban plaza'. In general, the meaning of 'publicity' in a city seems to have started from 'agora', which is from ancient Greek. A plaza as an open space in a city was realized as a solution, which people have pursued in order to improve their psychological safety and deterioration of the physical environment. Furthermore, it was made by necessity that was able to gather people in a place and was an indicator space with culture, political, and social activity. Procuring a traffic space, which is increasing more in a city, is expressed based on declining plaza and maximizing land use, on the other hands, it indicatesthe importance of a way to vitalize social public space in urban life. In addition, urban and social modernization has caused proliferation and concentration of urban services and,as a result of it,it has caused population increase and architectural densification. In brief, open spaces and streets for pedestrians have decreased. Expansion of buildings, reduction of streets, and degeneration of urban plazas have started to diminish the space for public activity. This has connected to fall quality of its macro- environment and consciousness of sharing, and thus the quality of the city has fallen as a result. The urban plaza is an important component of urban open space and the space, which can improve social community. Thus, the objective of this study is to reconsider the concept 'publicity' in cities as a strategic space in order to vitalize the city. The study includes analyzing connectivity between urban plaza and architectural space and proposing design methods for a mixed use building which will improve interaction between urban context and the buildings., In conclusion, the study will be used to suggest a new solution for the urban design, which has had less connectivity by transportation and thoughtless development for the environment, in order to produce pleasant open space to enjoy public life for citizen focused on increasing practical use between people and their city's infrastructure with diverse function and psychological stability.