Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-58). / In the past, acoustical consultants could only try to convince the client/architect that with calculations and geometrical plots they could create an acoustically superb space. Now, by modeling the significant acoustical parameters of a design, we can preview a proposed acoustical solution and it is possible to identify the objective parameters that correspond to certain subjective reactions experienced by listeners. The results of a simulation can be presented not only for the eyes but also for the ears. This document explains the basics behind acoustic computer simulation. It includes case studies that analyze and validate numerical parameters and create a sound simulation of a space that allows the listener to subjectively "grade" the acoustical qualities. It includes details on how human hearing uses several techniques to localize sound sources, how we can simulate factors that influence human auditory perception with computer software, and how we can reproduce the listening experience for a space that has not been built. The simulation techniques offer the possibility to use the ears and listen to the acoustics of a room during the design process. Several acoustic problems can be detected by the ears, whereas they may be difficult to express with a parameter that can only be calculated. Using these tools the acoustician can communicate the acoustic consequences of a design to the client/architect effectively. This technique can be used very early in the project to achieve exceptional results. / by Omar Saad. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-172). / This work investigates a prototypical Web-based search system designed to enable architects and/or developers to engage and educate residential consumers in a new way: as co-designers. The key motivation is to develop software tools that support a feasible industrial process while providing home consumers with a way to conceive of and design spaces, as an alternative to the standardized commodity solutions that are currently available. The basic mode of operation for this work is to combine the structure of the modern computational search with emerging building modeling technologies as a foundation for Web-based participative design tools. Object-oriented component representations have been utilized to build a solution space that can be searched directly, without indexing. Additionally, conceptual query interfaces have been designed and evaluated through interviews with volunteer users. 'The component-based solutions and conceptual queries were then incorporated into a prototype of an architectural search tool which was analyzed to measure its effectiveness. / by Matthew Giles Phillips. / S.M.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1947. / Accompanying drawings held by MIT Museum. / Three photos in pocket at end of text. / Includes bibliographical references. / by William W. Caudill. / M.Arch.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-146). / Just across the railway lines at Charni road, forming a backdrop to the Marine Drive, stands the Saifee Hospital in all its splendor. Across the city in the neighborhood of Mazgaon, nestled behind the St. Mary's school along the central railway line, and in an equal splendor, stands the Center of Excellence, Diamond Jubilee High School. Both buildings were built in the last five years. Both use a similar quantity of glass and cement plaster and establish their contemporaneity so. Both institutions were built by Shi'i Isma'ili communities, the hospital by the Bohras and the school by the Khojas. Both buildings represent a significant phase in the history of these mercantile communities in Bombay where their emergence as public philanthropists echoes the rapid increase in wealth and the creation of global diasporic networks in a liberal Indian economy. But while the Saifee hospital is cloaked in its massive pastel colored facade punctured by numerous arched windows and capped by ornamental domes, the Diamond Jubilee High School displays a playful juxtaposition of geometrical forms and volumes with dashes of color composed so as to expose structure and skin. The thesis explains how these two buildings, which have such different appearances, are comparable strategies for expressing Isma'ili communal identity. In Chapter two, I construct a detailed comparison of the two buildings with respect to their location in the city, aspects of siting, faqade, interior, spatial organization, program, client and architect teams. / (cont.) In Chapter three, I investigate and conclude that the two institutions mediate Isma'ili faith, citizenship and mercantilism in architecturally different but functionally comparable ways that respond to the complex social 'condition' in contemporary Bombay. This thesis thus studies the expression of communal identity through its patronage of public architecture. It claims that architecture is instrumental in the creation, sustenance and subversion of communal identity and is an effective social construction used to communicate within the public sphere. I argue that for post-partition Indian Muslims, to contend with their identity in a rising tide of Hindu nationalism in the country, requires mediation of faith, citizenship and in the case of the Isma'ilis, mercantilism. Isma'ili public philanthropy, I propose, is a mode for expressing this communal identity. I explain Isma' ili architectural expression as a product of a condition distinctive of contemporary Bombay, where the simultaneous marginalization of the two Isma'ili communities by the Hindus and the other Muslims, creates a space for them to perform within the public sphere. / by Zameer Basrai. / S.M.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-79). / by Stephen Patrick Ohnemus. / M.S.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-109). / An adaptation of the Unabomber's cabin placed on four automobile wheels, Cabin 3 was installed as a hybrid cabin-vehicle-writing device on the elevated plaza in front of 105 Massachusetts Ave on MIT's campus. Inside the cabin was the same model typewriter used by the Unabomber to write his manifesto. The typewriter was mechanically connected to the cabin's rear axle so that each letter typed rolled the cabin back in imperceptibly small increments. From late May to early July, the cabin's door remained open to the public and invited viewer interaction. Shelves of three-ring binders provided a place for people to place their typed pages within the cabin's walls. Members of the MIT community, as well as the general public, left several new pages of thoughts, messages, and gobbledygook each day, addressed to MIT, the artist, to Kaczynski, to acquaintances, and to the ether. / by Seth Weiner. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M. in Building Technology)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2013. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Vita. Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-121). / Natural ventilation in buildings is capable of reducing energy consumption while maintaining a comfortable indoor at the same time. It is important that natural ventilation is taken into consideration in the early design stage, probably through simulation program. However, existing simulation programs are limited because of their model assumption, simulation efficiency and user friendliness. In this document a simulation program, CoolVent, is presented. It implements a multi-node, thermal and energy coupled model to simulate natural ventilation in buildings. The program is validated to be effective and efficient in simulation. Combined with the DOE building database, CoolVent evaluates the performance of different ventilation modes in different types of building and weather conditions. The second half of this thesis includes a detailed on-site monitoring study of a naturally ventilated building in Boston. It details the post-occupancy system characteristics. The monitoring results have also been compared with CoolVent. The simulation results are verified by comparing with the monitored ones. The program is then used to evaluate the potential of improved operation. / by Haofan Cheng. / S.M.in Building Technology

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 2016. / Pages 156 and 157 blank. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 150-151). / Berlin's multiple layers and its eclectic urban character of the past 100 years have resulted in a city rich with different architectural voices and urban ideals. The constant making and unmaking of Berlin's urban form has become part of the its unique DNA. Yet, after its reunification in 1989, a new voice emerged which began to strongly dominate the city's other "voices". Reacting to the traumas of the previous century, this voice, now termed "The Critical Reconstruction," attempts to glaze over the city's rich and conflicted personalities of the past. It resurrects a convenient and conservative interpretation of the 19th Century city and its bourgeois ideal of urbanity to "beautify" and "unify" the urban environment. New projects that appear old, zoning laws that dictate all new inner-city developments to mimic Berlins fictive and idealized past, and many other planning and design operations, most symbolically the recent reconstruction of the Stadtschloss (City Castle), are all representative of this trend. This "Critical Reconstruction" approach continues to lead the city into an architectural-urban monoculture, creating a homogenous image of the city, overpowering its other voices. Where there was once a plurality, now stands a single voice above the rest. This project brings to the forefront a polyphonic mechanism by which Berlin's diminishing other voices can recover and regain a prominent role in shaping its urban character. By redeveloping the principles of each voice into spatial operations, speculative interventions into the city fabric redraw the image of the city through a manipulation of the lens through which the city is read by its users. / by Benjamin S. Albrecht. / S.M.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1984. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 152-153. / The primary scope of this thesis is a conceptual design implementation for a new building systems approach. This system is based on a standardized, economically feasible and widely used prefabricated structural component. The type in question is a precast, prestressed, hollow-core concrete slab, extending its use from its current application in floor and roof decks to load - bearing wall panels. The system incorporates three additional structural members in order to perform autonomously: continuous prefabricated reinforced concrete beams, high - strength steel bolts and prefabricated reinforced concrete support panels. Its application, though primarily directed towards the housing industry, can be utilized in the commercial and industrial areas as well. / by Laszlo Simovic. / M.S.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-71). / New York City. Row Houses, Two. Dense Urban Fabric. Water. Work, Work, Work. Light. Lower East Side. Screens, 25' x 200' long. Comfort. / by Aspasia S. Maheras. / M.Arch.