Religious architecture has historically played a primary role in both the study and the development of architectural practices and theories. Undoubtedly, this influence is tied to the position which religious institutions have historically held in shaping cultural values. However, American culture has transitioned into a position where religious organizations are often no longer the primary authority for determining cultural, social, and interpersonal values for many Americans. Additionally many individuals have, for one reason or another, become uncomfortable or feel unwelcome in traditional church structures due to the historical hierarchies associated with them, the innate formality of the spaces, the perceptions of expected behaviors, or discomfort with language and interpretations of spirituality or religion. These changes have had a major impact on the economic and functional dynamics to which religious institutions must now adhere. While churches remain a venue for architectural expression, they no longer hold the position as the primary source for considering architectural culture; which has, for the most part, transitioned to museums, cultural, commercial, or office buildings. It is clear that the manner in which religious organizations operate and conduct themselves must therefore evolve in order to respond to these new forces, and so must the architecture which houses them. Only by adapting to these new pressures can these religious organizations hope to remain relevant and active in the changing cultural climate where religious institutions and religious individuals are often greeted with skepticism and suspicion. Many religious institutions have already recognized this need for change. The manner in which they hold their services and reach out to the community has changed in response to new cultural mores and trends. Architecture, as the structure which houses these changing religious organizations, must adapt to these new situations as well. The architecture houses, and therefore must adapt to, the new processes and practices which must function within these institutions. Architecture however, must also take into account other facets of the organization beyond just these functions. It has the ability to achieve many other objectives which can support the ongoing goals of these contemporary religious institutions. Since architecture acts as one of the fundamental outward faces of these organizations, it has a major and fundamental influence upon how the public perceive a religious institution. It is the intent of this thesis to investigate how church architecture may facilitate community oriented goals. These goals include, but are not limited to: creating an environment where individual exploration of spirituality becomes an accepted part of community activities, promoting localized economic development, instilling within the community a sense of value and ownership to generate community pride and stakeholdership, increasing community outreach, and the development of other programs which activate and benefit the local area. With regards to the architectural exploration, the intention is to approach this by addressing questions concerning perception, style, outward appearance, proximity, and operation. This includes consideration of programmatic functions which, while they may not be inherent to churches, may be useful in generating community interaction and intersection. Additionally, architecture has certain psychological capabilities which may be utilized to address personal reservations regarding churches. By considering what architectural elements are symbolic of religious organizations and strategically employing or eliminating them, one can build upon or counter the impressions which may exist about what a church is or should be. The examination of these issues within the context of an abandoned local mill building expands the richness and potential for this type of investigation by exploring its fundamental contributions to the historic development of the community. By introducing a spiritual component to this historically secular building one alters associations and defuses potential misgivings, as well as highlights a more welcoming avenue for promoting spiritual exploration within the community. By promoting adjacency and proximity of everyday activities and beneficial programs to hospitable spiritual activities, the architecture has the potential to meld different uses together. Additionally, the community aspect of this project may have the capacity to expand, specifically when considering how architecture may have the potential to promote a spiritually open community. Furthermore, by considering these goals in the context of an abandoned mill building, it is hoped that parallels can be made between the historical significance of the structure, and that of religion; and that by studying the two in tandem one can elevate the status of both. The focus here is not upon elevating religion or history for their own sake but rather in lifting them up as symbols of the communities which they serve and using them to lead development and revitalization in their locations.

This dissertation explores Johannesburg's inner-city precinct of Joubert Park. It intends to bridge the gap between the everyday community of the park and the extraordinary heritage and memory of the site. Through a grassroots investigation of 1he existing community, the project looks to empower the everyday person and create a platform for their development, specifically focusing on economy and education in the city. The project makes use of the theories of spatial justice as a tool to analyse and understand the community's relationship with the space they occupy and the social environment in which they exist. Architecturally, the project seeks to use this socio-spatial understanding as a guideline of how to create a spatially just and empowering environment in the inner city. Additionally, looking to establish a model for the development of the existing inner-city fabric that begins to foster a relationship between building, street edge, andl pedestrian. Exploring not just the physical upliftment of the fabric, but the well-being and of the existing community and their needs, goals and aspirations. / Die verhandeling ondersoek die Johannesburg se middestad buurt van Joubertpark. Dit beoog om die gaping tussen die alledaagse gemeenskap van die Park en die buitengewone erfenis en geheue van die omgewing te oorbrug.Deur 'n voetsoolvlak ondersoek van die bestaande gemeenskap, is die projek se doel die bematigi111g van die alledaagse persoon en behels 'n platform vir die ontwikkeling daarvan,daar is n spesifike fokus op die ekonomie en onderwys in die stad. Die projek maak gebruik van die teoriee van ruimtelike geregtigheid as 'n 1instrument om te ontleed en te verstaan wat die gemeenskap se verhouding is met die ruimte wat hulle bewoon en die sosiale omgewing waarin hulle bestaan. Argitektonies, beoog die projek om hierdie sosio-ruimtelike begrip te gebruik as 'n riglyn om 'n ruimtelik net en bemagtigende omgewing te skep in die middestad. Daar word oak beoog om 'n model te vestig vir die ontwikkeling van die bestaande middestad konsepte om 'n verhouding te bevorder tussen die geboue, straat rand, en voetgangers. Ondersoek van nie net die fisiese opheffing van die struktuur nie, maar die welsyn van die bestaande gemeenskap en hul behoeftes, doelwitte en aspirasies. / Mini Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Architecture / MArch (Prof) / Unrestricted

This project stemmed from the idea of abandoned buildings prevalent in the City of Pretoria. It also responds to the increasing eff ect of environmental damage becoming evident worldwide. As part of the solution, this dissertation explores the adaptive reuse of the existing Agrivaal Building in Pretoria, South Africa. The early Modern, Art Deco infl uenced Agrivaal Building has been left dormant for a number of years, with the intention of being renovated and brought to life. However political and sensitive debate has hindered the progress of the abandoned building. This project envisions the revival of the building, through an intervention that is mindful of pertinent environmental issues, as well as respecting existing cultural heritage. The investigation includes principles of heritage and environmental sustainability, as main design informants of the proposed new headquarters of The European Commission in South Africa. This will entail research on the existing building and ways it can be appropriated to mitigate issues of environmental damage. The proposed intervention will also respond to the identity of the European Commission in a South African context. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Architecture / unrestricted

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Passagenhuset, a historical building marked green by Stockholm City Museum, is under threat. In the 2017 proposal by Pembroke, it is to be demolished and replaced with a 14-storey tall glazing building. The protest against this proposal paused the demolition of Passagenhuset. There has been a renowned aggressive preservation culture in Sweden. The protest for Passagenhuset and Almstriden is merely the epitome of the culture. However, the city of Stockholm is unavoidably being transformed for the function of the next decade, probably in a violent way unfortunately. The contradiction shows the incapability of aggressive preservation, which could be a hinder instead of a solution when it comes to city development.  Therefore, Hasten 21 has become the object of the preservative reuse experiment. In the preliminary structure preservation, a new interior space of the building has to be implemented, in order to make the contemporary function possible within its chassis. And the study of new tensegrity structure opens the opportunity for the adaptive reuse of Hasten 21. / Passagenhuset, en historisk byggnad som är grönmarkerad av Stockholms stadsmuseum, är hotad. Enligt Pembrokes förslag från 2017 ska det rivas och ersättas med en 14 våningar hög glasbyggnad. Protesten mot detta förslag pausade rivningen av Passagenhuset. Det har funnits en erkänt aggressiv bevarandekultur i Sverige. Protesten för Passagenhuset och Almstriden är bara ett uttryck för denna kultur. Stockholms stad håller dock oundvikligen på att omvandlas för det kommande decenniets funktion, troligen på ett våldsamt sätt tyvärr. Motsättningen visar på oförmågan till aggressivt bevarande, vilket kan vara ett hinder i stället för en lösning när det gäller stadsutveckling.  Därför har Hasten 21 blivit föremål för experimentet med konserverande återanvändning. I det preliminära bevarandet av strukturen måste ett nytt interiörutrymme i byggnaden införas för att möjliggöra en modern funktion inom ramen för dess chassi. Och studien av en ny tensegrity-struktur öppnar möjligheten för ett anpassat återanvändande av Hasten 21.

"Only with the language of the present can we get the past to speak." Sverre Fehn "A poet doesn't produce a different language for each poem. That's not necessary; he uses the same language, he uses even the same words. In music it is always the same instruments most of the time. I think that is the same in Architecture." Mies van der Rohe ' ...within this structure,... the elements 'keep one another in a state of equilibrium in accordance with fixed rules', and ' a language is a system in which the value of any one element depends on the simultaneous coexistence of all the others'." Ferdinand Saussure The connection of one building to another can be seen through a universal architectural language. Buildings are structured through the use of this language. Architecture communicates thoughts and ideas through the elements of building. The architect may show us things very subtly or dramatically using this language. Light, wind, material, color, water, even a wall are only a few of the elements of architectural discourse. Like letters form words and words form sentences, architectural elements are placed in order from which a possible meaning derived. The relationships between elements tell stories of different kinds. Within the structure of the architectural language the elements remain the same; their configuration, however, changes to reveal new and different meanings. Configuration is various; the use of these elements link past to present. Language A. Structure 1. Syntactic 2. Semantic 3. Pragmatic B. Elements 1. Letter 2. Word Architecture A. Structure 1. Syntactic 2. Semantic 3. Pragmatic B. Elements 1. Materials 2. Columns, walls, roof, floor, light, etc. / Master of Architecture

“The flight from neighborhoods, the flight from local communities, into networking, it erodes democracy. It is in the local meetings where civic virtue and democratic discourse are practiced.” Christopher Lash writes this in his book The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy.  Encounters between people of different backgrounds, experiences, and ideologies are on the verge of extinction in a society where community has been replaced with networking. The neighborhood is just a container for our home, but we go elsewhere to work and socialize. We are to a lesser extent tied to a specific place. With locality as a point of departure, I chose my hometown as the base for my project. Tranås is a small town in southern Sweden with about 15.000 inhabitants. There, anonymity is not an option. Encounters take place. Whether you like it or not, people are united by the mere fact of physical proximity. I wanted to favor locality by making it easier to stay in the local community and enable for more people to settle outside the big cities. My answer to this is a remote working place. An office where you can work remotely full time, or as a complement to your regular workplace. The user group is people in Tranås that usually commutes to other cities, and people that would like to move to Tranås. Through contact with local actors, I got introduced to a building in the very central part of Tranås that I decided to adapt and reuse. The building was originally built as a nursing home during the first half of the 20th century but has now been empty for some years. The size and location of the building opened up new possibilities. In addition to the offices, the building will also house studio space, exhibition space, and a café. With a few interventions and modifications, the building becomes a new meeting place, where the courtyard gets an important role in the public space.

The preservation and reuse of existing buildings has become more and more prevalent as costs rise, sustainability popularizes, and urban areas continue to grow. These are all important issues in the contemporary design world, but what can the building provide after solving these problems that will make it just as long-lasting and useful as the previous program? Historic buildings are filled with the evidence of old building techniques, materiality and textures, and stories of the past, so why not allow the building to serve as not only a container of learning, but as a learning tool itself. The program of this thesis, a middle school for creative writing and literature, allows the decaying Old Engine Company 26 in Washington, DC's Langdon neighborhood to be adaptively reused as part of a comtemporary, imaginative education campus. The project explores the connection and balance between new and old and the combination of stories this creates. Old Engine Company 26 began its story in 1908, but the imposed design has been given a story--the story from the childrens' book, The Phantom Tollbooth. The past and present stories will intertwine with the story the future students create by interacting with, learning from, and influencing the school building. The thesis serves as an example of how an adaptive reuse project can provide unique cultural, educational, and sensory facilities while still fulfilling the sustainability, economic, and planning needs of design. / Master of Architecture

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