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The thesis will propose a decentralized building type for the contemporary development of urban architecture schools. The largest component of architecture education left out of universities at present is the ability for collaboration amongst student and public communities on a regular basis. To achieve this level of community collaboration there needs to be a transformation on how architecture schools spatially organize their activities and programs. As a response to existing architecture school examples, this thesis will relocate four fundamental programs from the school to the city. These programs are as follows: the forum, the workshop, the auditorium, and the studio. A case study in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan will depict the four programs, their theory and design, and more importantly how the components of the school interact within the city.

No description available.

Compared to making a city solely out of one building, it is rather important for people to understand what roles a building can play in a city; especially within urban condition. How a building could actually react and respond to certain human perceptions and functions as an element of a city has become a significant issue. From place to place, the city mutates in several different phases, such as usage, terrain, orientation and material. Therefore, to embrace the urban situation and to optimize the space emerged as the main element of the whole thesis. The particular character of the site starts this program as a mix-usage building from the beginning. Whether it is the usage or orientation that mutates along the city, they should finally come to a concord of optimization and solution that represents the city either on the street or in the sky. / Master of Architecture

Throughout the process of trying to manage decisions and objects coming together in a designated area of the city, questions are faced that are generated by more than one set of circumstances, the many histories of a place, its geology and typology and topology, the balance of pragmatism and idealism — the issue of whether or not to even engage in these dialogues... In the end the project must be for and about the citizenry — in all their many shapes and sizes — here are more issues and less clarity! It seems to me now that such a project must be run through a succession of cycles of construction and destruction, and I say this having watched this project settle a bit more with each rewrite and rehearsal. It also became painstakingly clear that the architectural idea that is to undergo this many washings needs to be a solid one. The overarching question engaged in the project and the one that remains is, simply, what does it mean to build in this city? I look forward to be able to try to answer it again and again. / Master of Architecture

Urbanity ls the use of the in-between spaces; use of every available lot, every square inch of space. / Master of Architecture

Skaters occupy spaces around the city, and they navigate their surroundings with an analysing gaze that differs from the average person’s perception of the city. They see possibilities in ordinary objects such as a curb, bike rack or planting pot and give these objects a new purpose and meaning. In this essay I aim to investigate and describe how the skaters of Umeå view their city. What are the places they prefer, and how do they value their surroundings. By interviewing skaters and observing the places they roam their experiences as skateboarders and active utilizers of the city will be put into the perspective of public space and the purpose of it as a whole. Can providing skateboarders with environments they enjoy be used as a tool to activate public spaces in the city and thus create more including spaces? The result shows that skaters are deeply investigated into the urban fabric of their city and that there are several places around Umeå in which they enjoy dwelling. It reveals that beyond the physical design and architecture of skatespots, the social structures and the senses of place are values that skaters highly regard. However, some of Umeå’s more central public spaces doesn’t provide the conditions that skateboarders crave, and they give their opinion on how these public spaces can better suit skateboarding. Keywords: Skateboarding, public space, urban architecture, including design

Since most of the inner city of Stockholm and its nearest surroundings is built, the city is now aiming its strategy of development towards the suburbs of the outer city. Two of these are Hökarängen and Gubbängen of which both have seen several housing densification projects lately. The regional plan states how planning investments in the outer parts of the city should contribute with public space and urban connections. Despite this, what is built is housing with low public ambitions. In this thesis I therefore propose how Hökarängen and Gubbängen could be developed in terms of public space that contribute to the urban connection of the two suburbs. I propose a series of typical public buildings, a bath, a library, a cinema, and a theater. The bath attaches itself to the character of Gubbängsfältet as a sports and recreational field. The library and the cinema are placed in the middle of the two suburbs as a central meeting place, while the theater is placed towards Hökarängen. The gathering buildings are kept together by lower perimeter buildings creating embraced courtyards for cultural meetings, recreation, bath, and play.

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A presente dissertação consta de uma exploração teórica e empírica sobre o conceito de qualidade espacial aplicado à cidade de Porto Alegre através do estudo da evolução da sua legislação urbanística. O tema tem justificativa no contexto de crise no qual se encontra a cidade atual, onde os espaços públicos são ocupados em sua maior parte por automóveis em detrimento das atividades de interação social, que acabam se voltando para os espaços privados. Tendo em conta esse cenário de fragmentação, tanto do ponto de vista da composição do espaço quanto do ponto de vista social, este estudo proporciona uma reflexão sobre a qualidade espacial da cidade, tendo como hipótese de trabalho a suposta interferência que a legislação urbana teria em sua evolução. Buscando argumentar em torno dessa questão, essa dissertação se propõe a investigar os conceitos e fatos que levaram à elaboração do conjunto de leis urbanísticas da cidade de Porto Alegre, revisando o panorama sociopolítico e espacial que lhes deu origem. A aplicação das normativas sugeridas como responsáveis por transformações na arquitetura de Porto Alegre serão, ao final, exercitadas na comparação de duas áreas da cidade decorrentes de contextos normativos distintos. / This masters dissertation consists of a theoretical and empirical exploration of the concept of spatial quality applied to the city of Porto Alegre by studying the evolution of its urban legislation. The theme is justified in the context of crisis in which is the current city where public spaces are occupied mostly by car to the detriment of social interaction activities, which end up turning to private spaces. In view of that fragmentation scenario, both from the point of view of the composition of space and the social point of view, this study provides a reflection on the spatial quality of the city, and as a working hypothesis the alleged interference that urban legislation would have on its evolution. Seeking argue around this issue, this dissertation aims to investigate the concepts and facts that led to the drafting of the set of urban laws in the city of Porto Alegre, reviewing the sociopolitical and spatial landscape that gave rise to them. The application of the regulations suggested as responsible for changes in Porto Alegre architecture will be at the end, exercised in comparing the two areas of the city resulting to different regulatory contexts.