Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-63). / This project proposes a new public institution for the most dense and deteriorated zone of Havana, Cuba. This new institution aims to capitalize on existing social networks which, consolidated and enhanced, might provide the social medium out of which a vibrant and active civic institution would arise, facilitated by a new architectural typology. The site, Centro Habana, is an "in-between" residential neighborhood with a dense, pre-car urban fabric, high population density, close-knit social circles, and a real potential to be left behind as Havana slowly re-opens to the rest of the world. Its frequent vacant lots and abandoned buildings, products of decay induced by decades of deferred maintenance, offer rich opportunities to imagine the insertion of a new type of public institution into the existing fabric of the city. In a context where the state is currently the only real agent for change, this project proposes a network of public buildings for the citizens of Havana, suggesting a new attitude toward modernization which resists both an abrupt reversion to unbridled market-driven development and an ideologically driven perpetuation of an oppressive and tired status quo. / by Ethan J. Lacy. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M.C.P.) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture, 1951. / by Dean K. Boorman. / M.C.P.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1958. / ACCOMPANYING drawings held by MIT Museum. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 37). / Bruce Gemmill. / M.Arch.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Thesis. 1974. M.Arch.A.S. / MICROFICHE COPY ALSO AVAILABLE IN ROTCH LIBRARY. / One unnumbered leaf inserted. / Bibliography: leaf 13. / M.Arch.A.S.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 78-79). / This thesis explores alternative ways in which architecture can be designed. Designing architecture is not about designing new forms, but is about designing new experiences. Current standardized methods of architectural design seem too abstract, that is, they find meaning within their own structures. The new modes of design engaged during this thesis are thought of as "exploratory". These exploratory tasks are manifested from an intention, but remain ambiguous in nature so that they always remain open to further discovery and interpretation. A notion of a building has manifested as residual evidence from these exploratory tasks, but every gesture or action is not merely intended for representation of a fully constructible architectural proposal. What is important is that every last gesture remains in the form of a question and not an answer. The work should always be thought of as temporary or as a "projection ". Architecture has become valued purely by its visual aesthetics. We have come to believe that it is sufficient to appreciate architecture as an image as opposed to actually being there. This has lead to typical design methods that subjugate the other senses, thus not requiring the body and experience to be involved with the act of making. This thesis looked at ways in which I could see beyond typology in order to suggest other possible spatial relationships, allowing myself to concentrate my imagination on the sensual qualities of built space and exploring material possibilities. / by Michael Bryant Gibson. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 214-219). / The entire cultural and social context of the 1930s' Turkey was heavily influenced by the modernization reforms and the official ideologies of the Republican regime. By these reforms, Kemalist regime aimed to transform the whole society and its cultural production. While the existing transformations in the social context was already on their way to Westernization, they were appropriated and accelerated by the Republican modernization reforms. On the other hand, architectural discourse experienced more radical and abrupt transformations when modern architecture was introduced into the architectural culture: Although precedents of modern architecture existed in the pre-Republican period, the official Republican ideology incited the introduction of modern architecture into Turkey. Despite the exceptional importance given to the architectural field, usually it was the foreign architects who got the large scale commissions. This discrimination eventually created a discomfort among Turkish architects. Consequently, Turkish architects who were enthusiastic to produce modern architectural examples had been compelled to operate in the domain of residential architecture. Hence, 1930s' architectural culture experienced the intricate amalgamation formed by the interaction of contradictory ideologies such as dwelling, modernism and nationalism. In addition to the brief analyses made on the Istanbul households and the architectural discourse of the 1930s, the main aim of this study lies in the close formal readings of the residential examples built in Istanbul between the years 1931 and 1940. In this section, I focused on some of the recurrent formal features of these buildings. By analyzing the cultural and ideological significance of these recurrent architectural features, I avoided the architectural examples to determine the framework of my study with their seemingly coherent images. Hence, it became possible to analyze the constitutive gestures of this architectural culture without being influenced by the larger collective images of the buildings. The analyses on the social and symbolic functions of these recurrent features help us to understand the unique characteristics of the architectural culture of the early Republican period. / by Omer Kanipak. / M.S.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-72). / Shifting political, social and cultural landscapes in contemporary Cairo with the triumph of Neolibralism are defining the city's modem heritage. In order to create a narrative of transformation of architectural production and its entanglement in different social, cultural and political contexts within the city's history, I will focus on the epicenter of the modem city, wust-el-balad, Downtown. It has recently been appropriated through a dual process of asserting the city's modem heritage. The first part of this process utilizes popular media such as period-based soap operas, photography exhibitions, literature and film. The second part of the process is through preservation of Cairo's modem buildings and the drafting of legislation to protect them. Architectural style, ornamentation of frontages (facades), is central to this process of shaping 'modem' Cairo. The criteria for inclusion into this heritage as practiced by the various committees and authorities explicitly place facades and aesthetics at the top of their selection process. Thus the process of heritization is inscribing a certain image of modernity in Cairo by selective inclusion of certain architectural styles. This thesis traces the constantly shifting image of modernity throughout downtown's history from its origin in the nineteenth century to its present state in the twenty-first century. / (cont.) In response to the hyper-functional architecture of the 1970s and 1980s accommodating population growth of the capital, architectural trends in the 1990s in Cairo heavily relied on historicism. According to Ashraf Salama, Professor of Architecture at Al-Azhar University, "historicism has been materialized with a strong reference to three main Egyptian cultures: the Pharaonic, the Coptic, and the Islamic." However, in the last decade a new architectural trend is growing in popularity that historicizes an alternative era in Egyptian history, the modern period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Thus the study of the state of architectural practice in contemporary Cairo is directly related to the city's modern origins in the 19th" century. In this thesis I will narrate the making of an architectural and urban aesthetic that is later forgotten by processes of damnation of memory and is recently being nostalgically appropriated by the middle class for the making of new architecture. These processes of making, forgetting and remembering are reflective of the cultural identities of those active in them. / by Mohamed Elshahed. / S.M.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 62). / by Patrick W. Donnelly. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 67). / This thesis addresses the issue of energy efficiency through the lens of thermal performance in the context of urban housing in the city of Boston. Located in the historic brick row house neighborhood of the South End, the project utilizes brick for its inherent property of high heat capacity - a material's ability to store radiant energy and release it later due to the temperature difference between day and night - as a thermal battery for heating and cooling domestic spaces. In Boston where the temperature frequently goes below freezing in winter time, this thesis challenges existing housing typologies by incorporating thermal mass as a passive solar strategy at the scale of an entire structure. The urban solarium produces an interstitial zone in housing that promotes a new lifestyle by bringing together thermal performance and urban farming. / by Juliet Chia-Wen Hsu. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1986. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Vita. / by J. Christopher Kirk. / M.S.