Welcome to Cardinal Scholar
Cardinal Scholar is the University Libraries Institutional Repository for archival and scholarly research produced at Ball State University.
Recent Submissions
Item 2025 Conference on Civic Studies and Democracy(2025-09-26)This guide provides online resources for the K-12 social studies, civics, history, or geography classroom.Item Reimagining public space(2025-05)Public spaces in the city are underused, although they intend to serve as vibrant centers for community interaction. In response, this thesis addresses the issues of green space in urban environments by revitalizing an existing public space, the Presidential Park, and rethinking its design through biophilic design and community-centric spaces. The project explores how incorporating biophilic features such as reused and eco-friendly materials, natural daylighting, and vegetation can create a healthier urban environment. Additionally, it centered around the diverse cultural communities of Indianapolis and the Indiana Ballet Dance Company through theater design to foster deeper community relationships. The project introduces the concept of continuous circulation by proposing to extend the cultural trail of downtown Indianapolis to the thesis site selection to create a journey-like experience that engages the user throughout the spaces. The endless circulation blurs the boundary between interior and exterior, allowing users to seamlessly flow between enclosed and open spaces that reconnect users to nature. By revitalizing an existing public space through combining biophilic design, theater programs, and continuous circulation, this thesis demonstrates how thoughtful design in public space can foster community engagements and promote sustainability to enrich the urban fabric of the city for generations to come.Item Mundane monuments(2025-05)In every city, many cheaply built, small-scale commercial buildings were constructed for a singular purpose and now sit vacant or underutilized. They either fade into the background of our minds or stick out like a sore thumb. How can the transformation of everyday architecture re-establish the ordinary as a significant community asset and inspire future utilization of the mundane? After a defined inventory of commonplace architecture, I selected six underutilized sites in Anderson, Indiana, whose exterior character, site conditions, and use uniquely reflect the city’s dialect. Located off major roads throughout Anderson, each host’s previous function was preserved; however, an addition to each building defines a new architectural language and allows for programmatic diversification throughout the city. By extracting and exaggerating aspects of the host building, this thesis explores how everyday architecture’s existing program, formal language, material, or site situation can inform a new elevated presence. A new identifiable architectural language embedded in the mundane buildings of a city elevates the quality of place while acknowledging a consistent narrative and systematic approach to the transformations. This thesis demonstrates that the ordinary qualities of a community’s previous existence can influence a newfound purpose and meaning.Item Breaking barriers: the Hind Rajab Rehabilitation Center for Wounded Children(2025-05)After almost two years of constant bombing, the children of the Gaza Strip have experienced various kinds of trauma from mental to physical, including amputees. The Gaza Strip has surpassed other atrocities in the amount of child amputees. The children of Gaza who have become amputees will need a place to live on top of rehabilitation and physical therapy. With a need in rehabilitation centers and housing, this thesis aims to establish a pioneering rehabilitation center for injured children in the Gaza Strip, addressing critical social, cultural, and material issues by creating a space that prioritizes accessibility, incorporates local history and flora, and utilizes alternative construction materials to mitigate the effects of the longstanding embargo, ultimately contributing to the community’s recovery and continuity.Item Amble: a solution for deployable scissor structures within sensitive environments(2025-05)The Serengeti ecosystem, particularly the Great Migration of wildebeest, is increasingly disrupted by permanent structures that obstruct natural migration routes and fragment landscapes. This project proposes a safari camp structure that is mobile and embraces the harmony between nature and human presence through adaptable, sustainable design. The design emphasizes flexibility through scissor structures, and prioritizes sustainability and environmental responsibility by using natural, locally sourced materials like bamboo and lightweight smocking fabrics that minimize its environmental impact. Deployable scissor-like arches are structural systems that use interlocking components to create flexible, self-supporting frameworks. Unlike traditional arches, which rely on rigid, fixed connections, scissor-like arches use hinged, crossing elements that expand and contract while maintaining structural integrity. This makes them particularly useful for deployable architecture, as they allow for rapid assembly and disassembly with minimal material and labor. For the safari camp to relocate multiple times a year, scissor-like arches provide an efficient solution that enables quick installation and disassembly without requiring permanent foundations due to their collapsible nature. This camp sets a new standard for responsible design—one that protects wildlife, respects natural migration patterns, and paves the way for a more harmonious relationship between humans and the environment.
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