The roles of the individual elements and their constituent pieces that form the basis for the language of architecture were investigated. Walls, stairs, floors, beams, and other elements are the primary means necessary for the expression of ideas in architectural terms. To effectively use these elements, an understanding of their material properties and characteristics is essential. The role of the wall in architecture was especially important in this thesis. Walls have been considered primarily in response to their physical and material properties. Other elements were dealt with according to how they react with the wall. The project is a complex of multi-use buildings to be shared by the university and the town of Blacksburg and is located on the site of the current parking lot of the Continuing Education Center at the corner of College Avenue and Otey Street in Blacksburg. / Master of Architecture

The real task of architecture begins once functional and behavioral needs have been satisfied. Its essence is to give poetic form to the pragmatic. My work is only interested in the discovery, not the recovery of ideas; the invention, not classification. In working this way the search is for the essential and lasting principles in architecture, the origins of which must lie in the psychological experience of a building which is physically realized in the mind through one's senses. Thus architecture's manifestation begins as a set of intended experiences which begin to write a narrative or fable for a building. In writing a fable rather than a theoretical essay something basic has been found; fables remain immutable long after theories have disappeared. The invention of these writings is central to the work and not merely literary accessory, for it is this narrative that gives a building its ritual of experience, and it is to the support of these rituals that most of my work addresses itself. Thus the poetic form begins in the composition of experiences; the narrative. / Master of Architecture

The city of Blacksburg, Virginia, has moved its boundaries farther and farther west of U.S.460. Though a large amount of commercial and residential architecture has accompanied this growth, there has been no sacred architecture to complement any of this secular construction. With this in mind, a rolling pasture along Price's Fork Road west of U.S.46O was chosen as the site for a new religious/community center for the residents of Blacksburg's expanding boundaries. The design scheme, for a Roman Catholic church, consists of a K fellowship hall, meditation garden, and sanctuary surrounded by a protective wall. This scheme responds to the traditions of the Church as well as the spiritual needs of the surrounding community. / Master of Architecture

In the past 30 years the size of new houses has varied considerably with a general trend to larger houses. These larger houses use more materials in their construction and consume more energy to heat and cool than a more compact house would. Meanwhile, the amount of resources that are available have not increased, and the environmental condition of the planet has become more and more tenuous. To end this trend of larger houses that make inefficient use of natural resources, architects need to design houses that are smaller and use energy more efficiently. By building houses more in tune with the natural rhythms of the sun and seasons the home becomes more energy efficient and can take better advantage of the natural energy supply available from the sun. Such a house will have less of an impact on the environment and keep the residents in touch with natural cycle of life. With this project I have addressed these issues and have designed a row of houses that provide a meaningful place to live that is also in tune with the environment. As with any project, I have found the answers to many questions and I have also discovered new ideas to develop further / Master of Architecture

This thesis explores an architectural housing solution for the middle income sector of the United States. The impetus for this exploration is founded in the conviction that housing must respond to the desires and needs of its occupants. An understanding of these desires and needs was discerned through studying the background of housing. Based on this background and current observations, clustering houses is an appropriate and necessary strategy for the middle-income sector. To investigate this strategy, a design was executed and used as a vehicle to explore the architecture of cluster housing. The success of this strategy and my opinions on issues raised in this design response are discussed. Neither this discussion, nor this thesis, is intended to be a definitive statement on housing. / Master of Architecture

Master of Architecture

"Since we move in time through a sequence of spaces, we experience a space in relation to where we've been and where we anticipate going." Francis Ching This thesis illustrates the exploration of path and space relationships to establish an order for supporting a range of activities. / Master of Architecture

Architectural decision making, in terms of a formal design methodology, must be based on a sincere understanding and sympathetic employment of architectural building materials. These materials, each with their own inherent tectonics, come together to formulate a network of inter-dependent relationships categorized as material accommodation. Material accommodation consists of three specific areas. First, as indicators of formal issues, secondly, they will communicate structural awareness, and finally from a syntactic dimension. / Master of Architecture

THE WALL IS: the side of a room or building, between the floor, foundation, and the ceiling, root, a structure of stone, brick, or other material, built up to enclose, divide, support, or protect.¹ The wall is a barrier; separating and containing spaces, defining public and private relationships, dividing natural and cultured environments. The wall is both visual image and physical realization. TRANSITIONS ARE: a change or passing from one condition, place, activity, topic to another (a time between distinct periods.)² Transition implies movement. Movement in terms of time and relationships. Movement from one point to another; gradual or direct, vertical or horizontal, slow or fast. Transitions define and clarity the issue and the structure. THE INBETWEEN IS: that which is in the middle, that which comes in the space of time separating two places or persons. That is neither one kind nor the other, indifferent or uncommitted; a person or thing inbetween.³ The inbetween as public domain or private realm. An implied wall which separates and contains objects, defines public and private relationships, dividing natural and cultured environments. The inbetween as both implied wall and defined space. / Master of Architecture

“For it is ultimately the function of art, in imposing a credible order upon ordinary reality, and thereby eliciting some perception of an order in reality, to bring us to a condition of serenity, stillness and reconciliation; then leave us as Virgil left Dante, to proceed toward a region where that guide can avail us no farther." T.S. Eliot This thesis is a search for an imposed credible order in a town library. As such it is simply a vehicle developing a process to produce architecture which is stable, whole and meaningful. / Master of Architecture