The current human-created division between the natural and built environments has exacerbated environmental problems because nature has been designed as and, consequently, is seen as an Other to be utilized and manipulated at will. Exploring this disconnected relationship between humans and nature, as well as its origin and its effect on building occupants and the environment, is thus a necessary part of this project. The primary concern, however, centers on how we can establish a relationship with the natural environment through interior design to help foster ecological design practices and positive environmental behaviors that move beyond sustainability, resulting in a positive human-nature relation while supporting a coevolutionary perspective. Specifically, this investigation utilizes biophilic design as a solution to the division. The product is an adaptively reused structure that houses a mixed-use, multi-unit residential development, which explores the creation of human-nature connections through direct, indirect, and symbolic means.

abstract: As a significant level of the reformation and transformation of our society has been provoked by environmental deterioration, ecological approaches in environmental design have drawn much attention from professionals as an alternative world view and also as a practical design approach. Particularly in landscape architecture, ecological understanding has been at the very core of the profession since its emergence and plays an important role in the decision making processes. While ecology supports the profession with an objective rationale, aesthetics plays another major role in providing various understandings about the aesthetic experience of people, which is rather subjective. However, the ways to seek the balance between them are still controversial. Furthermore, the conventional aesthetic value system of landscape appears to have limitations for guiding us to an appropriate appreciation, especially in dealing with newly emerging urban landscape patterns such as regeneration of post-industrial landscapes. Understanding these issues, there have been continuous attempts to describe the relation between ecology and aesthetics, suggesting that a new approach known as "ecological aesthetics," can bring us a new set of viewpoints seeking a reunion of nature and culture, and science and art. It asserts that "there is a type of beauty" in the landscape associated with its ecological health which people could aesthetically appreciate; and therefore, revealing the "hidden" beauty of nature in more visible ways should be the primary concern of today's ecological designers. This research mainly consists of extensive literature research and a case study on two landscape restructuring projects of post-industrial landscapes in Seoul, Korea. The literature research redefines the tasks of landscape architecture based on the idea of ecological aesthetics, and the case study seeks the potentials and limitations of current design projects. This research proposes a framework for landscape perception and reflects on the lessons that would be useful for better practice and research. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Environmental Design and Planning 2011

Submitted by Marco Antônio de Ramos Chagas (mchagas@ufv.br) on 2018-09-12T13:40:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 8868545 bytes, checksum: 225b7493537273bf0f117f47c3629351 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marco Antônio de Ramos Chagas (mchagas@ufv.br) on 2018-09-12T13:41:05Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 8868545 bytes, checksum: 225b7493537273bf0f117f47c3629351 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marco Antônio de Ramos Chagas (mchagas@ufv.br) on 2018-09-12T13:41:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 8868545 bytes, checksum: 225b7493537273bf0f117f47c3629351 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-12T13:41:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 8868545 bytes, checksum: 225b7493537273bf0f117f47c3629351 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Cities are at the core of current environmental problems and, conversely, may host the solutions for them. They are the defining ecological phenomenon of the twenty-first century. Natural patterns and processes within cities might be a means toward an ecological regeneration of their bioregions through a symbiotic relationship between them. In this context, design has a great potential to reshape cities, transforming them for improved living conditions and balanced ecological systems. Considering buildings and landscapes as reciprocal entities within a system is a great opportunity for design innovation and increased performance with an active engagement between people and nature. By assuming the ecosystem services approach as a reference for highest ecological performance when multiple ecosystem services are provided within a system, this dissertation proposes an urban ecosystem services framework and the concept of service providing design for assessing architecture and landscape architecture. This framework is the basis to analyze three rating systems that are the most relevant standards for sustainable and regenerative design of architecture and landscape architecture, being the Living Building Challenge â , LEED â , and Sustainable SITES Initiative â . Furthermore, two architecture and landscape architecture certified and high-performance projects are analyzed. Based on the analysis, other ecosystem services beyond those proposed in the framework are identified, being renewable energy sources and active living. Some ecosystem services considered are not required by the rating systems, and not provided by the projects, being medicinal resources, pollination, and spiritual experience. Although required, food production is not provided in the projects studied due to a scale issue as they are located in densely occupied urban sites. Moreover, SITES is currently more related to ecosystem services than LEED, which suggests that the ecosystem services framework has a great potential as a tool to explore the relationship of building design criteria and natural systems and cycles. Although most ecosystem services are identified as provided by the two assessed projects, their performance suggests that they are not yet fully integrated to the natural ecosystem. This fact corroborates to the necessary next step for defining the Urban Ecosystem Services Framework in a quantitative approach with a hierarchical organization of the ecosystem services. Rigorously addressing the ecosystem services approach in LEED, SITES, and other rating systems will help integrate ecological regeneration processes in architecture, landscape architecture, and cities.

This project covers the methodology and process of landscape architectural design with emphasis on incorporating Function-based Habitat Design into conventional design processes. The Tshwane urban realm is characterised by the lack of wildlife habitat and serves as backdrop for the new design process demonstration. This new process aims to generate habitat for both humans and the natural ecology through a principled urban framework and ecological design. It creates the opportunity to enhance biodiversity throughout the city through interference on precinct, site and detailed level. / Dissertation (ML (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Architecture / unrestricted

This thesis explores ways in which open space can be made memorable through the application of ecological design and landscape narrative principles. The Faerie Glen Nature Reserve is located in the predominantly residential eastern suburbs of Pretoria and has been identified as an important open space due to its unique ecological sensitivity. The hypothesis argues that through an understanding of the landscape narrative, interventions can be made in the reserve that will not negatively affect the ecological importance or the visual aesthetic of the reserve. These interventions will contribute to making a memorable landscape by reinforcing its beauty and genius loci. The interventions in the reserve should increase the daily use of the Faerie Glen Nature Reserve and thus promote the reserve as a sustainable open space while preserving its ecological importance. Copyright / Dissertation (ML(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

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Inexpensive, rapidly deployable, camera-equipped Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems can potentially assist with a huge number of tasks. However, in many cases such as wilderness search and rescue (WiSAR), the potential users of the system may not be trained as pilots. Simple interface concepts can be used to build an interaction layer that allows an individual with minimal operator training to use the system to facilitate a search or inspection task. We describe an analysis of WiSAR as currently accomplished and show how a UAV system might fit into the existing structure. We then discuss preliminary system design efforts for making UAV-enabled search possible and practical. Finally, we present both a carefully controlled experiment and partially structured field trials that illustrate principles for making UAV-assisted search a reality. Our experiments show that the traditional method for controlling a camera-enabled UAV is significantly more difficult than integrated methods. Success and troubles during field trials illustrate several desiderata and information needs for a UAV search system.

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In this research, I aim to investigate the interrelationships between people, architecture and the landscape, by asking the question "what is the architect's role in curating place'. The goal of this body of work is to challenge the role of the ‘architect' when working within the context of place. This research, and the design intervention developed a process that challenges the profession by asking: “Should an architect be solely the creator of place, or is the architect a curator of place? The research analyzes existing theories related to the definition and concept of place approached from a wide spectrum of professional expertise overtime to attempt to grasp human being's passion related to the dynamic topic of place. The intent is to create a framework for design that can be adopted, implemented and layered upon any place, to unearth, distill, and better understand its essence. The rural post-industrial landscape of Western Massachusetts specifically focused around the former paper mill village of Woronoco is the stage for this inquiry. place is anchored equally in the qualitative and quantitative forces that shape it and thus requires an attentive observer, a trained observer, but most importantly a local, inspired observer who is fundamentally attached to that place. As both a landscape architect and architect, I offer a heightened awareness of the patterns and processes or ecology of place especially concerning the occupation and physical impact of humans on the landscape through the built environment. The proposed design interventions will attempt to treat place as a living organism, one that is continuously changing and whose dynamics are interconnected and responsive to a broad range of forces that shape it. A place curation design approach has led me to offer a series of design interventions, and not a proposal for a single building. These interventions will not fulfill a single program or fulfill one specific functional purpose; it will not focus on creating a design typology or use a consistent design language or material palette. Instead, the design will introduce multiple architectonic interventions that are derived almost organically in the landscape, in a manner that will stimulate the continued use and engagement with this place. Human interaction, engagement and interpretation is the essential component to ensuring the longterm sustainability of place, allowing it to continuously evolve and be relevant to future generations.