Thesis (M.S.C.E.)--University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-182).

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This thesis argues that some Early Byzantine floor mosaics had, in addition to a practical and decorative role, a supernatural function. By this I mean the images and words depicted within the mosaic were perceived as devices to attract powers from a supernatural dimension, for the benefit of those that walked over the mosaic or the building that housed it. The thesis is ultimately a discussion of the Byzantines' beliefs in the power of art and text, and how they were believed to intervene and affect everyday life. My examination is carried out with a focus on the floor mosaics produced between the fourth and seventh centuries in the Byzantine Empire. Using an iconographic methodological approach, the thesis explores how certain images and words incorporated within mosaic designs can be seen in supernatural terms. To do so, comparable material objects with clearer supernatural functions will be examined. Primary sources that indicate how certain motifs were perceived to bring about powers will also be analysed. In this thesis, I analyse the different kinds of devices that were depicted to attract supernatural powers and explore why those devices were believed to have the ability to generate powers. The thesis illustrates how power could be seen as being rooted in Christianity, magic or more unclear sources. Expanding on this discussion, I explore how a single mosaic could incorporate elements from several sources, dispelling scholarship that portrays the Early Byzantine period as predominately influenced by Christianity. The other key function of the thesis is to emphasise the fact that mosaics can be considered in terms of the conscious design process of their construction, placing them within the same category as gemstones and icons in terms of purposeful objects.

Esta dissertação apresenta um estudo sobre os revestimentos em granilite levando-se em consideração as características do material, de seus materiais constituintes e os processos de produção e execução desse revestimento. Ressalta patologias recorrentes nesse tipo de revestimento, em especial fissurações e desplacamentos. Para estudar a problemática da fissuração e encontrar uma alternativa para que não ocorra, foram produzidos três modelos em granilite com características distintas, que visaram avaliar o comportamento de granilites com e sem solidarização. Para o estudo do sistema solidarizado foram executados: um quadro de 16 \'M POT.2\' e quatro quadros de 2,25 \'M POT.2\' moldados sobre argamassa comumente utilizada como regularização de revestimentos. Para a dessolidarização foi utilizada argamassa mista de cimento e cal com baixo módulo de elasticidade e baixa resistência mecânica, servindo como camada de regularização. Os quadros solidarizados apresentaram fissuras de maneira generalizada e demonstraram que os granilites em sistemas solidarizados fissuram com a fissuração do material a ele monolitizado. Para o quadro dessolidarizado, de 16 \'M POT.2\', o sistema se mostrou eficaz para a não ocorrência de fissuras, apresentando resultados positivos. / This dissertation presents the terrazzo flooring considering the characteristics of the material, constituent materials and the process of production and execution of this covering. Emphasize the recurring pathologies of this type of covering, especially cracking and caused by deficient adherence at the interface zone. To study the problem of cracking and find an alternative that does not occur, it was produced three models in terrazzo with distinct characteristics, that aimed to evaluate the behavior of solidarized and dessolidarized terrazzo. For the study of this monolithic system it was executed: a board of 16 \'M POT.2\' and four boards of 2,25 \'M POT.2\' casted over a mortar commonly used as covering regularization. These boards presented cracks in a generalized way and showed that terrazzo in the monolithic systems open cracks with the material that is monolithically attached to them. For the non-monolithic board, of 16 \'M POT.2\', the system was effective for the absence of cracks, showing positive results. For the non-monolithic system it was used a mixed mortar of cement and lime with low elasticity modulus and low mechanical resistance, serving as a layer of regulation.

Esta dissertação apresenta um estudo sobre os revestimentos em granilite levando-se em consideração as características do material, de seus materiais constituintes e os processos de produção e execução desse revestimento. Ressalta patologias recorrentes nesse tipo de revestimento, em especial fissurações e desplacamentos. Para estudar a problemática da fissuração e encontrar uma alternativa para que não ocorra, foram produzidos três modelos em granilite com características distintas, que visaram avaliar o comportamento de granilites com e sem solidarização. Para o estudo do sistema solidarizado foram executados: um quadro de 16 \'M POT.2\' e quatro quadros de 2,25 \'M POT.2\' moldados sobre argamassa comumente utilizada como regularização de revestimentos. Para a dessolidarização foi utilizada argamassa mista de cimento e cal com baixo módulo de elasticidade e baixa resistência mecânica, servindo como camada de regularização. Os quadros solidarizados apresentaram fissuras de maneira generalizada e demonstraram que os granilites em sistemas solidarizados fissuram com a fissuração do material a ele monolitizado. Para o quadro dessolidarizado, de 16 \'M POT.2\', o sistema se mostrou eficaz para a não ocorrência de fissuras, apresentando resultados positivos. / This dissertation presents the terrazzo flooring considering the characteristics of the material, constituent materials and the process of production and execution of this covering. Emphasize the recurring pathologies of this type of covering, especially cracking and caused by deficient adherence at the interface zone. To study the problem of cracking and find an alternative that does not occur, it was produced three models in terrazzo with distinct characteristics, that aimed to evaluate the behavior of solidarized and dessolidarized terrazzo. For the study of this monolithic system it was executed: a board of 16 \'M POT.2\' and four boards of 2,25 \'M POT.2\' casted over a mortar commonly used as covering regularization. These boards presented cracks in a generalized way and showed that terrazzo in the monolithic systems open cracks with the material that is monolithically attached to them. For the non-monolithic board, of 16 \'M POT.2\', the system was effective for the absence of cracks, showing positive results. For the non-monolithic system it was used a mixed mortar of cement and lime with low elasticity modulus and low mechanical resistance, serving as a layer of regulation.

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To re-purpose an abandoned wine cooperative into a set of workshops and studios with a focus on re-interpreting the role of the ‘crafts apprentice’ in a contemporary setting. The project hopes to upsurge society’s interest in the cultural value that such skills and products hold today, as a way of ceasing the decrasing number of dissapearing crafts and craftmen and women. Simultaneously and above all, the main effect that the interventions to this building and the activities taking place is hoping to have, is to add a transcendental societal, communal and sociological value for our community.