The following exploration represents a search for clarity and meaning in the formative work of a young architectural designer. Solving the design problem to create a viable community of elders integrated into the chosen site was merely the ostensible goal. The deeper task was to become more literate with the materials and tools of the architect's trade and develop a confidence with the language and grammar of architecture. I wanted to develop an understanding of not just a single building type or a particular site condition, but to grow in more fundamental terms toward learning a way of building. This desire may be inherent in every good design, but I wanted to bring the idea of it to the surface and focus on the principles behind the architectural decisions. I believe the confidence and vitality which the architect combines with the philosophical, technical and pragmatic constraints of a project to make great architecture are products of a thorough understanding of one's personal beliefs. My own attempt to organize thoughts and attitudes into a body of reference toward an understanding of that belief structure follows on the remaining pages. In the process as well as in the final result I have moved closer to a literacy in architecture, if only by gaining insight into the motivations which have guided my hand. / Master of Architecture

I think of a book as an act of human generosity. In its offerings are the treasures of a mind. The architecture of a library should celebrate the presentation of the book. In celebrating its presence, the library becomes a museum of books. IN THE ORDER OF THE CIRCLE GEOMETRY WARM GARDEN COLD GARDEN GREEN GARDEN STONE GARDEN IN THE NATURE OE THE WALL HOW TO FINISH THE LAND AT THE WATER’S EDGE / Master of Architecture

The work involves an architectural design for a facility located on The Mall in Washington, District of Columbia. The Museum of American Immigrants is a proposed facility for housing the exhibits regarding immigration sequences and their development that make up the United States of America. The ethnographic nature of the work, its artifacts, their collection, exhibition, preservation, and mutations is seen as a means to nurture our better understanding of the on-going struggle with the experiment called America. With reference to current theories of museum architecture, examples of other similar museum buildings, site constraints, and programming, the work strives towards the integration of architecture and purpose. The building is expected to provide layers of experience in both spatial and ethnic terms. The precise geometry defines the spaces and voids, while the way the exhibits are organized defines the building as a framework of displays. The design method used in developing the building called The Museum of American Immigrants has involved a personal understanding in working with the contemporary design Vocabulary and programmatic concerns to create a learning environment for the Visitors while making every effort to achieve contextual balance and harmony required by the surroundings. / Master of Architecture

The fresh new approach taken by today's children's museums offers great potential for an equally fresh approach to the architecture which houses these special places. Just as the "exhibits" at the children's museums invite a new relationship between the visitor and the museum collection, so too should the architecture encourage a new interaction between the individual and the built structure, between the institution and the urban environment. The new Children's Discovery Museum proposed for Washington, D.C. takes the theme of interaction as its basis. The design aims to promote a new level of participation between the people, the building, and the city. In this way, the attitude which is central in making children's museums so special was adapted to form an architectural framework: that all children -- regardless of age -- might discover a more meaningful connectedness to the built world around them. / Master of Architecture

On the following pages are images of an architecture which pushes the limits of design. Conceived as an amalgamation of semiautonomous fragments, the thesis project strives to decompose into complete disarray. At the verge of structural (compositional) collapse, the building asks the question 'where does structure break down, and chaos begin?'. A table I have designed and built is an experiment in spontaneity, and questions the validity of traditional ways of building furniture. Building analysis drawings I have included at the end of the book are compositional exercises and have, from a graphic perspective, some of the density and formal complexity of the images of the thesis. While I have relied upon Deconstructionist terminology to describe the building represented, I must admit that the building is not truly Deconstructed. It is fragmented. Some visual continuity between design elements remains. If I were to produce a deconstructed building, I would have to go beyond playing formal games and question what forms signify. Then, perhaps, I could find alternative significations; I might also be able to make a new link between the signifier and the signified. I think I would be searching for a new conception of form, one free of convention, of precondition. / Master of Architecture

The title of this thesis is more a convenience than a description. It is borrowed from some recent housing projects in Berlin, which, like the project presented here, are urban structures which contain more than one residence, though seldom more than six. The project here contains four. The residences are of different sizes and spatial configurations. It is intended to be a place for individuals as well as families. It is an attempt to gather, to shelter - to provide and enrich. / Master of Architecture

In the past two decades the increase in passengers and frequency of flights has caused commercial air transportation to suffer. The system in current use was designed to satisfy different needs than the contemporary ones. Airports have failed to keep up with increased demands. Movement of passengers and aircraft have not kept pace with advances in technology. Many aircraft arriving and departing simultaneously create unnecessary delays and monetary loss to commercial airlines. The present solutions were based on new additions to existing airports as well as the creation of new airports so that metropolitan flights could arrive to different locations, e.g. JFK, La Guardia and Newark in the New York area; National and Dulles in the Washington D.C. area. The concept of the traditional airport is obsolete and needs to be completely rethought, not modified. / Master of Architecture

This project consisted of the design and presentation of a monastery in Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C. The scheme developed consisted of a church, library, refectory(kitchen and dining space), campanile(bell tower), four chapels, individual cells and gardens, and exterior connecting spaces including a central and sub-plaza. The monastery design was developed in terms of the circulation of the monks from their individual cells to the various communal centers at the top of the hill. Both visual and topographical means were examined in this development. This volume includes the completed monastery as well as some of the stages reached in the development of the finished design. / Master of Architecture

All material in nature, the mountains and the streams and the air and we, are made of Light which has been spent, and this crumpled mass called material casts a shadow, and the shadow belongs to Light. Louis I. Kahn¹ I like complexity and contradiction in architecture. I do not like the incoherence or arbitrariness of incompetent architecture nor the precious intricacies of picturesqueness or expressionism. Instead, I speak of a complex and contradictory architecture based on the richness and ambiguity of modern experience, including that experience which is inherent in art. Robert Venturi² / Master of Architecture

This study examines the origins of Willard's Hotel, Washington, D. C.; its growth into first-class status; and its role as a para-political agency during Abraham Lincoln's nine-day sojourn prior to his first inauguration in 1861. The research for this study was based on the Joseph Willard papers and the Willard's Hotel Register, 18601861, located in the Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. Additional interpretation came from the Indiana Historical Society where staff members demonstrated methods that helped the investigator decipher the names in the Register. Other primary sources mere used to discover Washington, D. C., and Willard's Hotel during this period.In 1861, Washington, D. C., was considered by many journalists and visitors to be a small town plagued with many problems. Numerous uncompleted government and public buildings stood throughout the city. The diverse, transient population was based on the seasonal character of Congress. And the city continued to suffer from annoying diseases and moral bankruptcy.Another problem complicating Washington's environment was the deplorable condition of its streets. Of the numerous thoroughfares, Pennsylvania Avenue was the most popular and most often criticized avenue in the city, especially the mile and a half between the Capitol and the White House. Journalists and visitors desiring overnight room and board rushed to the Avenue in hopes of finding first-class accommodations in one of the four major hotels.The most popular of the four hotels was Willard's at Fourteenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Located only two blocks from the White House, Willard's eventually became the center of social, economical and political activity in the capital. Willard's was large and impressive, with a luxurious interior, a well-trained staff and modern services to accommodate the guest. The success of the Willard's was based on the ingenious management of Henry and Joseph Willard.By 1861, Willard's reputation as a first-class hostelry attracted many high ranking politicians. More importantly, on February 23, 1861, President-Elect Abraham Lincoln stayed at Willard's until his inauguration March 4. The tempo of guests arriving at Willard's remained at a high level until the day Lincoln departed for his inaugural speech. Hordes of people crowded Willard's lobby in the short nine days, hoping to see the President-Elect. Among the crowd were sundry office-seekers in search of political patronage and favors.Perhaps most interesting of the guests were the political lieutenants registered at Willard's. Representing state and national political leaders, the lieutenants' main concerns were the distribution of patronage. Indeed, each of them attempted to manipulate the final political appointments that would be determined by the President-Elect. Interestingly enough, Lincoln was more inclined to give ear to political lieutenants than to the common office-seeker.Because of the presence of Lincoln and the political lieutenants, Willard's served as the vital place where political activities could take place. The findings of this study indicate that Willard's provided the nation's capital with a public house where decisions were made and political positions formulated which would later have direct influence in governmental policies.