The James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio includes numerous structures of mid 19th century Victorian Era architecture. After the grounds became a national landmark in 1945, all new additions conformed to the existing historic style. This Thesis proposes that the existing visitors center be relocated from the carriage house to a new structure on site. This new visitor center is sensitive to the existing however, visually different. This architectural position is contradictory to previous additions in the past 50 years. Therefore, to draw a parallel and in an effort to allude to the past, the contemporary visitor center contains the same philosophical ideals of the Victorian reform Aesthetic Movement. Three of those ideals that are present in the visitor center include horizontality, dynamic space and honesty of structure. For the Aesthetes, horizontality was an influence from Japanese design, while the creation of dynamic space was meant to create an emotional response. Honesty of structure meant that a building should posses a clear and evident expression of its structural system and materials. In other words, using materials for their own sake. Even though over one hundred years have passed since the beginning of the Aesthetic Movement, this thesis is an exploration and continuation of those main ideals into contemporary architecture. / Master of Architecture

This thesis seeks to investigate how architecture can utilize different techniques to introduce people to landscape, specifically those who have an uncomfortable relationship with nature due to inequities in access to quality green space, a cultural distancing from nature due to historical acts of violence, or an increasingly urban and work focused lifestyle. A proposed Visitor Center in Rock Creek Park, in Washington, DC, acts as a slow transition from park to city and back again, breaking the landscape into more digestible pieces before putting it back together as a whole. The building's strategy for introduction can be broken up into two categories, what the building reveals to visitors, and what it tells visitors. The building reveals the surrounding landscape in a rhythmic way of spaces of rest and spaces of activity, utilizing entrances on different levels, screened views, and glass corners to frame the landscape and topography. It is also designed to reveal the power of the environment, the sun, the rain, and the snow, in weathering the materials and creating a dynamic appearance and exposing the ways in which water runs through the site. In addition to showing the park, the building also is responsible for educating visitors about the important cultural and natural history of the park. The architecture supports the education of visitors in a flexible and non-technological way, using a variety of surfaces to display information to be seen and touched, to encourage the slowing down of minds and bodies to facilitate the transition from the bustling city to the restorative nature of the park. The proposed building utilizes design concepts present in nature and integrates them into the architecture of the building, to create an introductory experience into the landscape that touches the senses and the mind, preparing the visitors to enjoy the park. / Master of Architecture / This thesis, Taking Root, seeks to investigate how architecture can utilize different techniques to introduce people to a landscape, specifically those who have an uncomfortable relationship with nature due to inequities in access to quality green space, a cultural distancing from nature due to historical acts of violence, or an increasingly urban and work focused lifestyle. Research shows that time spent in nature improves mental and physical health outcomes, and the disparity of access or quality creates an issue of injustice. A proposed Visitor Center in Rock Creek Park, in Washington, DC, seeks to remedy that by acting as a slow transition from park to city and back again, and down into the canyon and back again. The building’s strategy for facilitating an introduction can be broken up into three categories: how the building relates to the environment, what the building reveals to visitors, and what it tells visitors. First, the building is designed to reveal the power of the environment, the sun, the rain, and the snow, on the façade through the careful selection of materials specifically for their weathering properties. In addition, the use of a native vine allows the building to change colors through the four seasons of the park, and mirror the forest that surrounds it. The combination of these techniques, plus minimizing the environmental impact of the building through stormwater management, a green roof for local pollinators, bird-safe glass, and reducing solar gain exposes the critical relationship between architecture and environment. Secondly, the visitor center reveals the landscape through the adoption of techniques found in nature that facilitate a powerful introduction to a place, and formalizes them into the architecture of the building and experience of the visitors. The techniques to promote familiarity with the park include controlling the pace with a series of long, curving paths and embracing the rhythm of the topography with ramps and the seasons with a pattern of spaces for activity and rest, teasing with glimpses through the tree-like screen and through the glass gills, framing the view into the park. In addition, the building strives to amplify liminal space, a threshold between the old and new, architecture and nature, which exists in the glass corner gills. These corners jutting into the park, lit by a skylight, and fed fresh air by automated ventilation louvers, allows for a person to have a more intimate experience, in a way that really exists outside of the building, but in a way that provides the comfort of familiarity and not being quite all the way in nature either. Finally, the building also is responsible for telling the visitors what they need to know by educating them on the important cultural and natural history of the park. The architecture supports the education of visitors in a flexible and non-technological way, using a variety of surfaces to display information to be seen and touched, to encourage the slowing down of minds and bodies to facilitate the transition from the bustling city to the restorative nature of the park. The proposed building utilizes its interaction with the physical environment, design concepts present in nature to reveal the landscape, and conveys information in a way and pace that is reflective of the way time moves in the park. All three strategies combine to create an introductory experience into the landscape that touches the senses and the mind, preparing the visitors to enjoy and appreciate Rock Creek Park.

The purpose of the thesis study is designing a visitor center which will be used by tourist who are visiting the city and as well as the by the people who lives in the city. Therefore the visitor center will be functioned as a city center in the middle of the most important tourist attraction location of Istanbul. Besides functioning as a city center project will analyze the most important architecture element of 21st century, curtain wall. / Master of Architecture

There is a limestone quarry on Öland that was active between 1888 and 2019.  Now that Cementa has ceased mining, the quarry is about to be naturally flooded with rainwater and infiltrating groundwater. In 20 years from now, the water level will be 5 meters higher than today.  As a final proposal I present a multifunctional visitor’s center placed on a peninsula that will eventually transform into an island. The quarry is popular amongst birds and the observation tower makes it possible to study them closely. The exhibition hall can show work from Öland’s many artists and the flexible square can host everything from yoga classes to dance nights. A small kiosk sells ice cream and sandwiches. The changing booths, lockers, restrooms and saunas enable you to enjoy this place in every season, protected from the sometimes very rough elements that is Öland’s signature. For each year the water level will rise and create a new experience, even for returning visitors. When the surface has reached its highest point in the 2040’s, the center will appear floating on the water surface and welcome you on a path framed with casted stone walls pushing the water aside.

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During the 18th and 19th centuries, the evolution of artillery has commanded the evolution of military architecture. Fortifications physically depict a representation of the history of engineering and architectural principles; including strategic site placement, materiality, construction methodology, principles of weaponry, defense and design layout. Visiting any one of these enigmatic and monumental structures offers a walk into the past, a glimpse into the ideologies, cultures and sentiments of its conception. Fortifications, particularly American fortifications, lay silent waiting for visitors to unlock their contributions to the national and local historic fabric. Fort Washington is one such structure located within Fort Washington Park, Maryland perched above the Bank of the Potomac River where it long protected the Nation's Capital. Through my research, I propose to answer the following questions: How did the evolution of artillery and its unique site influence the design layout of Fort Washington? How does one begin to revive and restore such an extraordinary site? How can the architecture of today spark the interest of visitors while encompassing the needs of local residents? My proposal for a new, multifunctional visitor center tries to embrace, respect and reflect the existing structures by inspiring wonder among tourists and attracting local residents while also allowing for their restoration and self-sustainment. / Master of Architecture

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / William P. Winslow III / The site for the Riverpond Visitor Center is located three miles northeast of Manhattan, Kansas, along K-13 on the eastern end of Riverpond Park. The design of the visitor center addresses four problems: 1) the fact that many families prefer to stay inside their homes rather than experience the outdoors, based on a study done by the Center on Education Policy in 2008, 2) people are uninformed about sustainable design practices and sustainable energies 3) people lack experience and knowledge of the natural environment creating a preference for the visual characteristics of non-native plant species, and 4) interpretive centers that attempt to reconnect people and the landscape use prescriptive interpretive methods that distract the visitor from the interpretive process. To better understand the relationship of people and the landscape, research was conducted to address the problems stated above. Two articles were reviewed that describe the importance of drawing attention to beauty in the landscape. Two precedent studies were conducted on built projects that use native plant species and vernacular architecture. The program for the visitor center was based on the project research and informed the site inventory and analysis. The site inventory and analysis of existing site conditions creates a strong foundation from which to design the visitor center. The project then went into schematic design and design development. The design of the Riverpond Visitor Center connects people to the landscape by directing them through the native tall grass prairie, informs visitors about stormwater management, wind and solar energy through demonstration, is designed using native prairie species and native limestone, and focuses visitors’ experience on the tall grass prairie by fading the line between architecture and landscape.

Abstract The study began out of curiosity to research stakeholders perception about decommissioning visitors centers in Sweden. Decommissioning visitors centers is an ongoing trend caused by the change in visitor behaviour. A major cause to this change is the new information- and communication technologies such as more advanced digital platforms. Through an inductive research approach and a qualitative research method have we studied the phenomenon decommissioning of visitor centers. The empirical material is gathered through unstructured telephone interviews with relevant stakeholders. We concluded that stakeholders at both destinations have experienced a greater responsibility for the hospitality given. They also got the impression that visitors do not gain enough essential information upon arrival and gets baffled by this lack of information. In addition to this, the result of the study indicates a blurred line around who is responsible for the personal and the digital hospitality at the destinations. The confusion about who's in charge for handing out tourism information is present at both destinations.

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The outcome of this project is a proposal called Nämdöskärgården Marine Wildlife Center, located on Nämdö in the area of Östanvik. The proposal consists of a series of structures that together will function as a gate to the wildlife experience of the national park, for both educational, scientific and leisure purposes. The program is essentially divided in two main components: (1) a publicly profiled visitor center including functions such as exhibition space, science and lecture hall, bar/restaurant as well as an office space and a conference room, and (2) accommodation typologies aimed to meet the needs from a broad variety of guest constellations at any season of the year. Additionally, along the shoreline of the bay the proposal also suggests two leisure oriented structures and jetties; one bathing jetty with a sauna and locker room and one guest jetty for boats and a rental service for outdoor wildlife activities.