<p> Architecture must strike the senses with comprehensibility and lend itself to the performance of the human condition. It is to serve as a stimulus that incites awareness and brings forth a sense of identity of the city and the self. Architecture must encourage the activation of the space and serve as a vivid signifier of place, encourage connectivity, and enable the mapping of humanness in the urban condition. To test these principles, the author proposed a series of installations in Levy Park, green scape that sits on the cusp of the residential and commercial divide of downtown Crowley, Louisiana, with a specific goal: not to result in a utopia of spaces, but to arrive at a better understanding of the people who inhabit the city, the site, and the spaces that influence the two in a most positive and activated manner. </p><p> The work is driven by the speculation that architecture must be both the score &ndash; &ldquo;the process leading to the performance&rdquo; &ndash; and the performance itself (Halprin 1). The bodies moving through space, the performers, must be accounted for, understood, and analyzed in order to measure &ldquo;chance&rdquo; and create yet another score based upon findings (Halprin 3). One proposes the installation should be a living experiment in the hope that the architecture will not only become a signifier of place and a stimulus for the citizens of/visitors to the city to identify with, it will serve as an exercise in &ldquo;active and reactive productivity&rdquo; and provide the opportunity to create an architecture of significance that has been tested &ldquo;&lsquo;in the flesh&rsquo; of the lived world&rdquo; (The Eyes of the Skin 71).</p>

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Texas Woman's University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 30-32).

Thesis (M.Arch.)(Prof.)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes summary. Includes bibliography. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Drawing from the ongoing revitalization efforts in the Western Massachusetts post-industrial city of Springfield, Massachusetts, this adaptive reuse project aims to bring the public back to the city center by providing a common space for cultural connections. Sensitivity to preservation of the historic fabric of the existing Court Square Building is blended with the transformative potential of introducing architectural expressions of dance theory to create a school and theater for the performing arts. The study of balance between opposing, yet complimentary forces, as they exist in architecture and dance, creates a conceptual interplay that guides the design of this project. Viewing the existing historic building as a dance partner to the proposed contemporary addition, leads an exploration in the tectonic translation of form, rhythm, weight, movement and breath, as elements of dance theory that are developed to represent the building envelope, structure, materials, circulation and openings. Ultimately, the adapted building creates a dialogue for the past and present city of Springfield, simultaneously honoring its unique cultural heritage and future potential in serving as an icon for successful urban transformation.