This dissertation presents a study of the urban form of the Old Town of Ghat, the historical sultanate of the Azjer Tuareg. An analysis of the public and private spaces of this collective artifact is presented in order to comprehend and document the relationship between this Saharan town's architecture and Ghatian society. This study illustrates how Ghat's vernacular architecture represents a range of culturally distinct meanings and values and how this architecture reflects Ghatian life. In order to analyze the built environment of Ghat and the pattern of use of public and private spaces, this dissertation investigates Azjer Tuareg culture and documents the various existing nomadic and semi-nomadic Azjer Tuareg housing typologies in Libya. It investigates not only the contribution of the socio-cultural practices of this culture to the way spaces were configured, organized, and used, but also the Ghatian peoples' daily and seasonal life routines as well as their various social and economic activities. / This dissertation explores Ghat's spaces at three levels of its urban environment: the home (domestic), the neighbourhood (communal), and the town (public). It focuses on the relationship between the social aspects of Ghatian culture and the formation and use of the town's spaces. It also investigates the affect of trans-Saharan trade and the colonization and ruling history of Old Ghat on its formation and/or growth and the creation of public and private spatial domains in an attempt to understand the embedded meanings of Ghat's built environment. This study also investigates the role of climate in the formation of Old Ghat and the ingenious architecture and structure of its dwellings. This architecture reflects local construction techniques and limited local resources, consequently imparting distinct meaning to the built form of Ghat.

Nepalese architectural craft production still relies on traditional hand tools and an ancient process, despite the intense labor and time requirements to produce traditional craft. This thesis examines the underlying issues inherent in the making of traditional crafts, and proposes an integration of modern digital fabrication tools and production processes that support a fast, economical process from design to production and integrating contemporary digital practices in the creation of ornamentation and carvings. / Department of Architecture

There is no abstract available for this thesis. / Department of Architecture

This thesis studies the building cultures of traditional societies and the ways in which the inhabitants share knowledge as a means to address their needs for meaning and belonging.In specific, it examines the cultural, geographic, historic, and physical aspects of Maloula, an Aramaic village in Syria, to understand the role of the "villager-builder" in making decisions related to the urban form and architecture of the village.It was found that some villager-builders question a number of new design influences and processes in which they themselves engaged. They are critical of the new ideas, technologies, and styles that, in time, came to be seen as significant departures that disconnected the village inhabitants from their shared past, even as these same elements became part of the village's new traditions.Fundamentally, this thesis recognizes the importance of knowledge at all levels; in other words, the problems and solutions found by the villager-builders were and are the common property of all.Research methodology included reading previous studies about Maloula and traveling to Maloula in the summer of 2005 during which time numerous interviews were conducted with local inhabitants, villager-builders, and officials and professional workers in the village. Due to the lack of archives and written documents, this study is based on oral studies, visits to official institutions in Damascus and Maloula, and documentation of the village and its architecture. / Department of Architecture

We all have desires- dreams and goals that beg to be realized at some future date. When such desires are so strong that their creation becomes a quest, they take on a hazy quality that place them between the realm of dream and reality.Where does THE REALITY stop?Where does THE DREAM begin?The realm between dreams and reality Is very difficult to grasp.I have created a word that for me, expresses the realm of dreams and reality: This in between state will be called a 'DREALM'.This creative project Is a study of my 'DREALM'. It may or may not come true.Or,Is there really something called Real? Are they all just IMAGES?IMAGES,that We createorthat WE spend all our lives to create. / Department of Architecture

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 238-259). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Wien. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-261).

Thesis (Doctoral)--Oslo School of Architecture and Design, 2007. / "Adobe, wattle-and-daub, and compressed earth blocks (CSB) ... brick"--P. 4 of cover. Includes bibliographical references (p. 229-238).

The study shows the importance of the lakou, which is a spatial manifestation of the familial social structure in the Haitian culture, through the analysis of post-disaster temporary settlements, showing that through their own devices endogenous inhabitants create the lakou in post-disaster temporary settlements. The methodology was qualitative through interviews, observations, and site mapping, and qualitative coding was used to uncover the emergent themes. This study establishes the importance of the lakou in community vibrancy and demonstrates how the lakou adds to the resilience of the survivors living in such settlements. The unprecedented transformation of the lakou from a kinship based settlement pattern to a more inclusive non-familial pattern points to the importance of the spatial and social manifestation in the development of community in a settlement. It is conjectured that this resiliency factor can be useful in the process of turning a post-disaster settlement into a successful permanent settlement.