It can be difficult to quickly and easily create realistic sandstone terrain. Film makers often need to generate realistic terrain for establishing the setting of their film. Many methods have been created which address terrain generation. One such method is using heightmaps which encode height as a gray-value in a 2d image. Most terrain generation techniques don't admit concavities such as overhangs and arches. We present an algorithm that operates on a voxel grid for creating 3d terrain. Our algorithm uses curvature estimation to weather away the terrain. We speed up our method using a caching mechanism that stores the curvature estimate. We generate piles of colluvium, the broken away pieces of weathered rock, with a simple deposition algorithm to improve the realism of the terrain. We explore the possibility of generating our sandstone terrain on the GPU using OpenCL. With our algorithm, an artist is able to quickly and easily create 3d terrain with concavities and colluvium.

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Photodegradation of southern yellow pine, its mechanisms and means of prevention were studied. Changes in brightness and color were recognized when wood was exposed outdoors or to ultraviolet light. Scanning electron micrographs showed that most of the cell walls on irradiated transverse surface were separated at the middle lamella region. Half-bordered pits and bordered pits on irradiated longitudinal surf aces were found to be readily destroyed by ultraviolet light. It was also noted that progressively granular surfaces formed on the cell walls of latewood in response to irradiation with ultraviolet light. Spectrophotometric studies on the chemical changes of exposed wood, lignin, and cellulose revealed that photochemical reactions primarily took place in lignin, leading to the generation of carbonyl- and carboxylic-containing degradation products of low molecular weight. Formation of hydroperoxides, one of the mechanisms attributed to the photodegradation of wood, was illustrated from iodometry UV absorption studies. The hydroperoxide concentration at the wood surface increased when wood was irradiated in the presence of singlet oxygen generators. The hydroperoxide concentration decreased when wood was irradiated in the presence of singlet oxygen quenchers. These findings imply the participation of singlet oxygen and the formation of hydroperoxides at the photo-irradiated wood surfaces. It was found that the photodegradative effects on wood surfaces were mitigated by treating wood surfaces with aqueous solutions of chromic acid or ferric chloride, by treating with penetrating chemical agents such as trial, glycol and 1-octadecanol, or by coating with clear polymeric ultraviolet stabilizers such as homo- and copolymer of 2-hydroxy-4(3-methacryloxy-2-hydroxypropoxy)benzophenone. Experimental results showed that the polymeric ultraviolet stabilizers provided the best protection of the treatments tried, and were themselves stable and resistant to photodegradation. Possible chemistry and mechanisms of protection provided by organic and inorganic chemical agents are discussed. / Ph. D.

The Architect's first drawn line marks a significant moment where alteration to the site is conceived and intervention with nature is beset. Equilibrium of the natural order; vegetative, habitat, hydrology, and geology are all in a vulnerable state. Rarely do these develop into harmonious balances. More often they are imposed instances. The Industrial Revolution forever changed the relationship between humans and nature, tilting the weight of power towards man. While humans capacity for innovation and destruction have grown enormously, our dependence on the natural cycles and resources of the planet remain and grow more voracious. Yet simultaneously, modern progress has facilitated the physical and psychological detachment of that interdependence. The fundamental elements of our existence are veiled through the efficiency of urbanization and its derivatives of specialization, mass-production, and globalization. This project is an examination of the interrelationship between humans and nature through the lens of civic architecture within a naturalistic setting. The fundamental thesis of this project is that there is a primal biological thread that connects human beings to the natural order, whether on a visceral or conscious level. This project explores the belief that humans intrinsically yearn to reinforce that bond - awakening primordial instincts developed over millions of years of evolutionary survival that have been suppressed by the artifice of modern life. Through a process of retreat and contemplation, this project offers the opportunity of individuals to evaluate and rebalance their own scales with nature and find their own accord and harmony. / Master of Architecture

Architecture is an exhaustive act. With the Herculean efforts of the patron, the architect and the builder, a building comes into being. Materials are collected and transformed in order to create a place for Man to dwell. That is, materials occurring in their natural state are transformed by the Hand of Man and thereby enter it His realm. In turn, the Manmade becomes situated in and a part of the natural world. This relationship is a Material Reciprocity. In the Timaeus, a concept of a world soul is outlined in which all elements that compose the physical world (the "ten-thousand things" of the Tao-Te Ching) are endowed with consciousness: the Anima Mundi. How does architecture become part of Place? What role does Weathering play in this act? How does Man's understanding of Weathering's accretions enoble architecture? Sun Moon Earth BREW / Master of Architecture

A quest for agelessness in what we make seems to hold great allure. The spotless, the seamless, the immaterial, the idealized all labor in an attempt to escape the collection of dust and to transcend time, evincing neither origin nor decay. There is a rift between that manner of making which strives for an imperishable, ageless quality and the manner of making that embraces the poetics of material and temporality and mortality. It is beautiful to imagine the made thing that embodies a fable about welcoming inevitable change. From the moment it is made, it is gracefully, eloquently transforming; it willingly trades youth for handsome qualities that it did not first possess. It is commendable when a made thing achieves timelessness without striving vainly for agelessness. This thesis uses the vehicle of making an outdoor sitting room- composed of a wall, a bench, and a tree- to explore questions of the passage of seasons, of weathering, and of how the made thing can celebrate its own temporal nature. / Master of Architecture / There is a rift between that manner of making which strives for an imperishable, ageless quality and the manner of making that embraces the poetics of material and temporality and mortality. It is commendable when a made thing achieves timelessness without striving vainly for agelessness. This thesis uses the vehicle of making an outdoor sitting room- composed of a wall, a bench, and a tree- to explore questions of the passage of seasons, of weathering, and of how the made thing can celebrate its own temporal nature.

This thesis proposes an urban infill cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee. By infilling seven blocks within the arts district of downtown Memphis with a new urban cemetery, further significance is given to both the city and the cemetery. Because it would be a newly built cemetery, it could initially function as an urban park and become a cemetery over time as the space is needed to remember the dead. The same elements of the cemetery would compose the park, but by allowing a slow transformation from park to cemetery, the resulting public space will carry much more meaning than either space could do alone. The cemetery connects the continuing evolution of the city with the lives of its citizens. Each block is different yet linked and intertwined, just like Memphis residents. The blocks are multi-use and as such, share the history and legacy of those who have died with those who live in and visit the city. / Master of Architecture