College of Architecture and Planning Undergraduate Theses

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Undergraduate theses submitted to the College of Architecture and Planning by Ball State University undergraduate students in partial fulfillment of degree requirements.

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    I.M.B.Y. (in my backyard)
    (2022-05) Nichols, Zachary; Koester, Robert J.; Dotson, Olon
    As future architects, it is our goal to use the poetry of built space to spark change within our communities. This must start by understanding the community and the history of existing neighborhoods. We can use this timeline and moments within as an expression of storytelling to influence structure and user type. Throughout the respected research areas, this begins to get depicted through the social discrimination of race, religion, and ethnicity. Although the United States is one of the most diverse countries in the world, our cities are still subdivided by the described discriminatory factors. This is due to prior segregation and the continuation of it through the industrial revolution. As our major cities expanded, the population grew around it full of life and community; however, as they began to collapse, the groups that were divided would become neglected leading to areas of abandonment and decay. These issues impact us today with social and environmental injustices. The existing community persists within these areas with strong-knit communities partnered alongside poor economic and social growth. This proposal is to provide a voice and allocated space for the immediate residents. Giving the local people an opportunity to exhibit their cultural identity with creation studios, public space, and culinary incubators. The goal behind this is to influence other developments down the adjacent corridors and into the immediate residential districts. As a resident of white decent, it is impossible for me to understand or experience the problems and discrimination embedded within/against different racial communities, but I believe it is my duty as a civil servant to recognize the existing issues with provided solutions for future growth. This proposal idealizes the welfare of the people.
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    V.I.N.E.S.
    (2022-05) Sestoso, Treus; Mounayar, Michel
    The world is getting denser. Population is increasing, resources are diminishing, cities are expanding, land is becoming scarcer, man-made production is compounding, and with it all, our carbon emissions are skyrocketing. Energy is becoming an increasingly needed resource in order to sustain our population. There is a trend of urbanization in our cities, which requires more resources, space, and energy in a limited area, but it is becoming harder and harder to incorporate energy production within a dense urban-scape. Buildings must expand vertically. Therefore, energy production must condense and must also go vertical. Architecture must rethink, redesign, and readapt the modern skyscraper with these factors in mind, incorporating dense functionality and adaptability with a low embodied and operational carbon rate. This skyscraper must also contain net-zero carbon materials and an efficient energy production system to maximize its building footprint.
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    Within the liminal
    (2022-05) Polchinski, Steven; Keogh, Sarah
    Buildings that follow the typical transit center typology act as liminal spaces comprised of moments of transition that are experienced briefly. This project explores the injection of performance space into the transit center typology, shifting the building experience from liminal space to transitional place. These performance spaces provide a programmatic definition that transforms the experience from the liminal realm into a tangible, experiential place. The underlying transitory nature of the building is retained in this new definition, while still allowing the building typology to become more than a brief moment of experience. As a place, the transit center also becomes a location of intersection. Users cross paths while transferring between the diverse transit modes of Chicago, Illinois. The transit center landscape becomes the medium for this transition, exposing users to performance art as a means of enrichment while maintaining efficiency in transit navigation. Additionally, this thesis explores programmatic intersections, supporting various dining and retail spaces as well as performing arts and recreational opportunities. This transit center is a hub for interaction, creating a dynamic canvas to celebrate art and self-expression within a vibrant, fast-paced city.
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    Chicago’s cultural center for the future of education
    (2022-05) Gonzalez, Sigifredo; De Brea, Ana
    There should be an urge to redesign educational spaces because the aforementioned factors do apply to numerous educational systems in many countries. Technology has now become a widespread tool we can take advantage of. Not only children or teens should be allowed to learn but adults should also be encouraged. Our society is become more and more diverse exposing us to information we can surely take advantage of and learn more about. A new educational facility needs to be designed that integrates different cultures and age groups. There are already numerous different types of educational facilities in the world. A combination of a couple of these preexisting facilities can create a Cultural Hub that focuses on the Future of Education within the Community.
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    Repairing our fabric: social, economic, and environment
    (2022-05) Gibson, Noah; Koester, Robert
    This thesis demonstrates the value of improved energy performance of existing brick masonry buildings by establishing a well-developed envelope that keeps the character and history of the important façades of an existing building. Doing this while also providing a photovoltaic system on the roof of the building will decrease the amount of energy needed to operate the building. The building will be a net-zero building, meaning it will produce as much energy as it uses. As a guideline, Passive House Institute US prescriptive pathway, which is the gold standard for building performance, and will be used to ensure building performance criteria are being met. To test this thesis, the design of an existing brick masonry building in downtown Connersville, Indiana has been rehabilitated into a mixed-use building type. An addition to the building enlarges the overall footprint of the project while also providing more space for additional photovoltaic panels on the roof. This also presents the opportunity to balance the existing envelope and the new envelope’s performance to show how combining the two can decrease the energy usage of the building as a whole.