Samuel M. Plato (1882-1957) is a relatively unknown African-American architect who practiced in Marion, Indiana from 1902-1921. The limited information available concerning Plato has hindered the research and documentation of the architecture produced during this era of his life. The current opinion is that Plato designed and constructed several houses and one church for wealthy white clients, and a single African-American church during his Marion tenure. This project has produced an historical context statement for Marion's African-American community, and a biographical sketch of Samuel M. Plato based primarily on daily newspaper accounts from 1902-1922. This research provided the needed insight to document the role Plato held in black society, and also produced the historical data necessary to document additional Plato structures. The findings of this study will be used to advocate further research and documentation of Plato's work throughout the United States. / Department of Architecture

The objective of this thesis is to provide the Delaware County Historical Alliance with a maintenance program that will help to preserve the Moore-Youse House Museum. The fundamental steps of inspection, diagnosis, maintenance/treatment, and documentation are discussed and emphasized. These steps provide the basis which underlies the maintenance program.An inspection of the house was conducted. Construction materials and the condition of the building fabric were documented and recommendations made about treatment. Maintenance techniques were discussed and a maintenance schedule was provided to assist in implementing the program. A method for documenting and recording conservation and maintenance work on the structure was also developed. / Department of Architecture

This thesis describes how components of the British Arts and Crafts Movement crossed the Atlantic and inspired the American Gustav Stickley's Craftsman residential architecture. As part of the Movement's reaction against the Industrial Revolution, Stickley's Craftsman residences emphasized honest and simple design and the use of natural materials. My thesis identifies the expressions of Stickley's ideals in the case study of a surviving Craftsman home located in the suburb of Irvington in Indianapolis, Indiana. The case study examines the house's configuration, construction methods, original materials and ornamental motifs. This study is particularly significant because original plans and documentation are available for research. The residence has had few owners and has therefore retained most of its original features and materials. These factors make the residence an exceptional example of Craftsman architecture. / Department of Architecture

The housing estates boom was and is a result of the Southeast Asia economic growth after the economic crisis between 1997 and 1998. Housing estates, especially in the suburbs of Bangkok, are designed by considering only aesthetics and costs without considering the negative effects that might occur to the occupants and nature. These negative effects lead to the insufficiency energy crisis.Determining how to reduce the energy used and increase the living quality in the building type is the critical question for architects to answer. Redesigning the housing estate using sustainable design concepts, especially with a focus on the natural ventilation and shading device strategies, can lift up the occupants' living quality because such design can provide cross ventilation through the house and solar shading to reduce the heat gain in the house. Not only would such design improvements make houses more comfortable for inhabitants, they also would reduce the energy use.The methodologies of research start with spatial analyses to define the general character of this type of house, then the redesigning of a selected existing house is used to focus on natural ventilation and shading devices design in order to improve the occupants living quality and to reduce the energy used in the house. It is hoped that this project can be the first step for other architects to understand the logic of natural ventilation and shading control design strategies within the realm of sustainability. / Department of Architecture

The focus of this creative project is the interior rehabilitation of Renaissance Place, a historic alley-type structure in Downtown Muncie, Indiana, circa. 1895. The emphasis is on the rehabilitation of three of the six units with sensitivity to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Digital lighting studies of the interior space are completed for different times of the year by using a program called Accurender 3. The techniques and products introduced through this project will be presented to the owner. The final product is also intended to be inspirational for other individuals rehabilitating similar structures with desire to incorporate ADA and LEED guidelines. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

User participation has been regarded as an empowerment tool to help low-income people to improve housing at a low cost. It was implemented by the Community Design Workshop during the attempts at housing rehabilitation in Pointe St. Charles in the early 1970's. This thesis is focused on the long-term results of user participation employed by the CDW. Both the current physical conditions of the CDW's projects and the inhabitants' attitudes towards participation, one generation after its implementation, were studied. The research shows that the CDW's efforts involving users in housing rehabilitation not only resulted in improved housing conditions for the urban poor in the long run but had some positive impacts on the inhabitants as well. The success and failure of the CDW's work also provided empirical lessons for later participatory practice.

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Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Canberra, 2002. / Typescript (photocopy). "February 2002". Includes bibliographical references: (leaves 225-256).