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The thought of building on this land is frightening to me. Construction is necessarily accompanied by a relative level of destruction, and I always have to question whether the positive outweighs the negative. It is rare that the act of building is approached with the level of gravity it deserves, considering the significance of what is taking place. It is the replacement and/or displacement of "what is" with what we think "should be". And what "should be"? Luigi Snozzi tells us to "Destroy with sensibility." So the question becomes, what is sensible, and conversely (and maybe more importantly), what is insensible. Architecture has the role of establishing the relationship that will exist between inhabitants and inhabited before the former even arrive. In a building that is designed with careful consideration of its surroundings, the inhabitants are themselves likely to extend a more careful consideration toward their environment. It is a fortunate relationship for both, as the inhabited is treated to at least a greater level of regard if not reverence, while the inhabitants benefit from the richness of experience that comes with a positive connection to place. In buildings where this role is neglected, the unfortunate relationship established by default is one of dominion with disregard. / Master of Architecture

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Beijing courtyard is a traditional type of residence in Beijing, China. In ancient times, a courtyard would be occupied by a single, usually large family. Today, Beijing courtyard are still used as housing complexes, however, many lack modern facilities, and also the users of courtyard become multi-families, instead of one single big family. The overpopulation issue also changed the courtyard's appearance and function, reducing its formality, consistency and traditionality, because people living in courtyard started to add extra elements to meet their growing demands. Moreover, because the land value around courtyard is so high that governement can only provide a limited number of public toilet to people living in courtyard, which lead to a poor standard of hygiene in the traditional courtyard area. And also, there are other issues, like lacking necessary facilitiess, inconvenient transportation and negative aspect for historic preservation. In a word, there is a great protential to make people living in the traditional courtyard enjoy a better life. / text

The following research will respond to an active request for proposals to develop workforce housing in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana to create one (1) multi-family rental housing development that services residents earning less than 80% of the Area Median Income. The proposed research will explore the feasibility of development in Terrebonne as well as determining financial structure, including tax incentives that would best utilize a $5.7 million dollar community development block grant funds allocated from hurricanes Ike and Gustav. The project is intended to be energy efficient, aesthetically pleasing and use universal design standards that aim at making the resulting multi-family community comparable and competitive with recently developed market rate apartments. / 0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

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When experiencing a building's interior or exterior conditions, one may be inclined to 'feel-out' its spatial and volumetric proportions, judge their appropriateness, its quality of formal conditions, its power, its clearness of the structure, and get a sense for the way its architecture was placed onto the site. It is said that, 'knowledge is key', and knowing how a building is soundly and structurally assembled and seated onto the earth -- is key. This thought brings to the table an important question, why do we build beautifully sound and monolithic (at times) structural systems then choose to cover them up entirely? In the context of the Washington, D.C.'s current building climate -- why must we build a dense grove of slender wood posts atop concrete plinths only to cover them up in clothing with certain ephemeral stylistic ideas? Obvious reasons such as insulation and weatherproofing are valid, but thermal barrier technology now allows for exposing the raw architectural elements without sacrificing thermal qualities. Can we use this technology to our advantage, and if so, how would one begin to conceive of a structural system which celebrates the bearing members in an architectural manner? Are there ways to interact more directly with the structure itself? In what manner will the site specific and environmental constraints play a role in making creative architectural decisions? I believe the research conducted in the past year resulted in a truthful approach toward form finding, space making, and respecting the chosen site and its unique constraints. / Master of Architecture

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Introducing concepts of Craftsman kit construction to the interior, as well as modern technology to lessen the cost of handcrafted details, opens the possibility to new methods of modular design in which interior units are configured around structural skeletons and central base points that provide supply lines to residential units. One example is Dutch design firm Minale-Maeda’s Keystones, a 3D printed connector that holds together any necessary components, like furniture. These keystones can be printed at home and save time and the need to obtain anything but essential components (website). The design firm works to create an “ongoing awareness of the possibilities of both mass-production and skilled craftsmanship” (L’arco Baleno, 2014). Another interesting example is Dutch design brand Fraaiheid’s Minimal Waste Table, which is created from one piece of laminated plywood with a CNC milling machine which makes for extremely minimal waste (Williamson, 2013). These examples of automation require a craftsman’s hand and mind to create the concept but introduce a modern approach to reducing waste, time and cost.