THESIS
REVIEW 2012
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE FINAL THESIS REVIEW 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012 9 AM-5 PM MIT Media Lab Building E14, 6th Floor
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MIT MEDIA LAB BUILDING E14
9AM Sunnie Lau Yuna Kim Yan-Ping Wang
The Death of Growing Cities?! The Experiential Bridge CASH
66 60 126
10AM Alan Lu Dennis Cheung Nancy Kim
Precarious Luxury Covert Resistance Excretal Ecologies
90 18 54
11AM Hung Fai Tang Alexander Marshall David Costanza
Atmospheric Apparatus Exodus Industrious 100% Petroleum House
120 96 24
12PM George Lin Andy Hsu Ali Qureshi
Design for Reuse Taipei Apartment New Prototypes for the American Mosque
84 36 108
1PM Break
Lunch
2PM Clay Anderson Carolyn Jenkins Neil Legband
Havana Ruins East Boston Buffer Domestically Dextrous
6 42 78
3PM Chris Miller Kelly Shaw Catherine Winfield
Deleveraging Domesticity HYPERsensarium Autopoetic Landscapes
102 114 138
4PM Travis Williams Jin Kyu Lee Matthew Bunza Jonathan Crisman
Ground-Play, Yard-School, Play School An Institute Of Optimism for Journalism Tohoku Topo-Urbanism Approximate Translation
132 72 12 30
CRITICS
Yolande Daniels Visiting Critic, MIT Partner, Studio SUMO Felecia Davis Ph.D. Candidate, Design and Computation Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mark Gage Assistant Dean, Associate Professor Yale School of Architecture Partner, Gage/Clemenceau Architects Rania Ghosn Assistant Professor of Architecture Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning University of Michigan RenĂŠe Green Associate Professor of Art Culture Technology Director of ACT Massachusetts Institute of Technology Eric HĂśweler Assistant Professor of Architecture Harvard University, GSD Principal, Howeler + Yoon Architects Mark Jarzombek, PhD Professor, History, Culture, and Theory Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sheila Kennedy Professor in Practice, Architectural Design Massachusetts Institute of Technology Principal, Kennedy Violich Architects
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John May, PhD Assistant Professor of Architecture John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, University of Toronto Nasser Rabat, PhD Professor, History, Culture, and Theory Director of Aga Khan Program Massachusetts Institute of Technology Christoph Reinhart Associate Professor, Building Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ashley Schafer Associate Professor Knowlton School of Architecture, Ohio State University Founding editor of Praxis Jonathan D Solomon Associate Professor, Associate Dean Syracuse University Founding editor of 306090 Marcelo Spina Design Faculty, SciArc Principal, PATTERNS Marc Tsuramaki Adjunct Assistant Professor, Columbia University GSAPP Principal, LTL Architects
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CLAY BISMARC ANDERSON HAVANA RUINS: POST-EMBARGO REGENERATIVE HABITACIÓN PROTOTYPES
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HAVANA RUINS
American tourism influx is inevitable in the rapidly ‘capitalizing’ political context of Cuba. An additional one million American tourists are projected to invade Cuba within the first year the travel ban is lifted. How does a city deal with this type of boom, especially one as unique as Havana? Marxist ideals and a morbid economy have torn the urban fabric and building stock. Ruin and decay thrive in the Caribbean Metropolis. This thesis investigates prototypes for reconstructing both Cubano and tourist habitation in Centro Habana. Sites of decay become the vessels for prototypical exploration and thus create a new urban experience for both locals and future tourists. Excess construction debris, prolific in the city today, becomes repurposed as a new medium for material systems. This reuse of brick translates into facade, screen and surface systems that compose a new regenerative typology for Havana. Advisor: Joel Lamere Readers: Michael Dennis, Leslie Norford
CLAY BISMARC ANDERSON
Clay Bismarc Anderson received his Bachelor of Design in Architecture from the University of Florida in Gainesville. One project of note from his experience in Florida was that of RE:Focus, an entry in Solar Decathlon Europe. His experience following the project from design through construction in Madrid inspired his passion for investigating innovative material systems while at MIT. During his time at MIT he was also awarded an MIT internship with Takenaka in Japan, where he gained invaluable architectural design and cultural experience. Upon leaving MIT he will be completing his Masters of Architecture in conjunction with a concentration in Urbanism. 10
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MATTHEW BUNZA TOHOKU TOPO-URBANISM
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TOHOKU TOPO-URBANISM
Tohoku Topo-Urbanism explores the potential inhabitation of the oblique as an alternate model of community form and resilient reconstruction in PostTsunami Japan. It lies at the intersections of architecture and urbanism, landscape, and ecology; and tries to solve problems inherent in normative methods of slope construction (constraints of economy, constructability, hazards, and mobility) by leveraging gravity, natural energy, innovative material and construction systems, and the power of place. In its wake, the 2011 Tsunami left a redefined landscape and enormous questions about the future of people and place. Since then, the Japanese Government’s plans for reconstruction put a moratorium on housing in lowland areas, necessitating a new geography for housing. Because flat land is few and far between, the reality is that slopes are the new geography. Unfortunately, these plans now result in mountain-top removal or extreme excavation in order to create flat ‘buildable’ land, and in other cases relocation of entire communities far inland. The result can be detrimental to the natural and cultural landscape, and at its worst could threaten to destroy already fragile communities. Thus, this thesis is positioned as an alternate urban form that seeks a balance between a productive and preserved landscape, and suggests that development emanate from the hilltop, becoming a vital link between the highland and lowland nodes – a dual-datum reality of the new urban form here. The response and scope of the thesis is both multi-scalar and multi-disciplinary. It operates through policy, an urban master plan and landscape strategy, and explores architectural building typologies that suggest ways for all scales to play into this system.
MATTHEW BUNZA
The hope is that the inhabitation of slopes will allow communities to remain integrated with existing lowland areas and infrastructure and ensure safety from future natural disasters while making every effort to foster interaction between the human, cultural, and natural landscapes. Advisor: James Wescoat Readers: Miho Mazereeuw, Ant贸n Garc铆a-Abril, Shun Kanda
Before coming to MIT, Matt spent several years working as a designer at Allied Works Architecture in Portland and New York City; and with Patkau Architects in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a BA from Portland State University, where he studied architecture and environmental science. He has also studied in Spain, China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. His interests lie at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, landscape, and ecology, and include passive and natural energy systems in buildings, and human inhabitation of extreme environments. Matt was born in Boston and grew up in Massachusetts, Arizona, and Oregon. His spare time is spent traveling, teaching, writing and playing music, and climbing mountains. 16
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HOI KWAN DENNIS CHEUNG COVERT RESISTANCE: AN EMBODIMENT OF THE “ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS” PRINCIPLE IN HONG KONG
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COVERT RESISTANCE
“One Country, Two Systems” was an untried formula presented by the Chinese Communist government in the 1970s for the smooth handover of Hong Kong from British colonial rule. While people conceded that it was a positive experiment for a mutual coexistence of the capitalist economic and political systems with the socialist ones, tension between the two systems rose due to the discontent towards Beijing’s overt interference on the territory’s affairs. Can architecture be simultaneously designed with two or more sets of ambivalent parameters and antithetical intentions? The thesis explores the potential of creating an architecture that houses the “One Country, Two Systems” principle. The thesis will test on a perverse programmatic juxtaposition of two kinds; a shopping mall that pushes consumerism to the extreme and a privatized public space that allows protests to occur. It consists of luxurious globally branded flagship stores for the mainland visitors and a circulatory service space for the fractured society to protest. It is a space for events to happen within and between the two groups of users. It is a space for projecting the people as a spectacle to the government and the city. Should there be any solutions to change, they should be pursued under the disguise of a Beijing-government-favored story. Only then can an attempt flourish rather than be outmaneuvered. Advisor: Anton Garcia-Abril Readers: Cristina Parreno Alonso, Jonathan D. Solomon
HOI KWAN DENNIS CHEUNG
He believes that one day, architecture will help change the political sphere in Hong Kong. 22
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DAVID COSTANZA 100% PETROLEUM HOUSE
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100% PETROLEUM HOUSE
I am designing a Case Study House sponsored by Royal Dutch Shell that utilizes the by-product of oil extraction to produce a zero waste 100% petroleum based house. The motivation of the Case Study House is to address the housing shortage in Iraq and demonstrate the capacity of petrochemicals in the construction industry. In western construction standards, an abundance of trees provides an easy to work with construction material: wood. In contrast, Iraq currently lacks an pervasive natural resource for construction. However, Iraq boasts one of the largest reserves of oil in the world. During the oil production process trapped with the petroleum underground is natural gas. Because of the change in pressure natural gas surfaces along with the crude oil. This type of natural gas is known as associated petroleum gas. Associated gas is released as a by-product or waste product of the petroleum extraction industry. With the right facilities in place these associated gases can be harnessed for energy and become feedstock for petrochemical industries. Iraq has the capacity to produce vast amounts of building material domestically from a by-product of its primary export which is oil. With plastics beginning to emerge as a viable building material in the construction industry, Iraq could very well be on the forefront of making the use of plastics as building material mainstream. How can we use Iraq’s largest natural resource to rethink housing with the potential of using plastic as a building material? Advisor: Meejin Yoon Readers: Brandon Clifford, Dennis Sheldon
DAVID COSTANZA
David was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He studied architecture as an undergraduate at the University of Utah. He began his MArch in 2009 at MIT. Following this masters, he will pursue a SMArchS degree in Building Technology, studying the use of plastics and composite materials in current construction. 28
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JONATHAN CRISMAN APPROXIMATE TRANSLATION: MEDIA, NARRATIVE, AND EXPERIENCE IN URBAN DESIGN
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APPROXIMATE TRANSLATION
Approximate translations are a set of design operations that are a means to understand, reveal, and design for the history that is embedded in a place. Multi-layered, changing, and often contradictory, place-embedded history is nevertheless legitimatized by its meaning to local inhabitants. Furthermore, approximate translations of this history are equally legitimate if they maintain or enrich this meaning. In the case of Approximate Translation, the Boston neighborhood of Allston is translated into a theme park in Hong Kong in order to understand its embedded narratives and experiences, and to design a set of urban interventions based on a variety of media and a set of platonic forms. Finally, this new design is translated into a “live model,� a new form of architectural representation, in order to convey the temporal, experiential, and mediatic design elements that would otherwise be ill-conveyed through conventional forms of representation. Ultimately, Approximate Translation draws on techniques of pop and surrealism in order to achieve a few of their effects: reflecting an idealized form of what is otherwise perceived of as a dingy neighborhood, inject new meaning into empty urban signifiers, altering local subjectivities, and creating a sense of civitas. Advisors: Mark Jarzombek, Professor of the History and Theory of Architecture Dennis Frenchman, Leventhal Professor of Urban Design and Planning Readers: Gediminas Urbonas, Associate Professor in Visual Studies Alexander D’Hooghe, Associate Professor in Architectural Urbanism
JONATHAN CRISMAN
Jonathan came from LA to experience the East Coast. He experienced it, and back to LA he will go. He thought that MIT, in all its quirky splendor, was swell and he is grateful for all of the amazing experiences he had and all of the wonderful people he met. Jonathan, who also received a Master in City Planning, doesn’t have any style—see for yourself at http://nostyle.us. He’ll be joining UCLA as a researcher in architecture and urban design. 34
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ANDY CHIEN-CHE HSU TAIPEI APARTMENT: ADAPTABILITY + PUBLIC SPACE + DAYLIGHT
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TAIPEI APARTMENT
To meet the needs caused by rapid modernization and urbanization in 1970s, huge amounts of 4-5 floor apartments were built in the city of Taipei during the 70s and 80s. This slab housing typology changed the way people distributed their property ownership. This tended to centralize building utilities, minimize public access, and reduce construction costs. In the last 40 years, this slab apartment strategy has created many living problems. For example, floor depths often limits day lighting access, partitions block space for ventilation, and rigid property lines restrain unit expansion while also obstructing community consciousness. Today, the local government incentivizes residents to construct new housing to replace the aging shabby apartments. This creates the chance to have a new housing system in the city with higher FAR, greater adaptability, more space for public amenities, and sufficient daylight. Advisor: Andrew Scott Readers: Christoph Reinhart, Tunney Lee
ANDY CHIEN-CHE HSU
Before MIT : Civil Engineer While at MIT : Building Technologist After MIT : Architect
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CAROLYN JENKINS EAST BOSTON BUFFER : A TRANSFERABLE URBAN FRAMEWORK FOR ADAPTING TO SEA RISE
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EAST BOSTON BUFFER
This project addresses the issue of sea rise in an urban context as a unique condition related to the construction of a sustainable environment. In order to meet the seemingly contradictory need of sea rise defense and increased capacity for future urban growth, the waterfront is considered as a new hybrid typology of architecture plus infrastructure. This layered approach is explored as a means of building resilience and addressing scientific uncertainty. Advisor: Andrew Scott Readers: Jim Wescoat, John Fernandez
CAROLYN JENKINS
Carolyn Jenkins holds a BS Arch from the University of Virginia. Before attending MIT, she worked in Washington DC at Shalom Baranes Associates, where she obtained her LEED Accreditation, and in Boston with Jonathan Levi Architects, where she served as the architect’s construction administration team on a 400,000 squarefoot project. While at MIT, she has continued her hobby of running marathons and ran the 2012 Boston Marathon. After graduation she plans to keep running, working and pursue her architecture license. 46
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BEHNAM KARIMIPOUR FLOATING CONCRETE INFRASTRUCTURES, ARCHITECTURE BEYOND BUILDINGS
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FLOATING CONCRETE INFRASTRUCTURES
A border could be a physical obstacle but beyond it’s physicality it could also impact culture, politics, economies and the environment. The issues that we are facing today and in the near future require us to draw a new non-geopolitical map without borders for our planet to address our challenges more effectively. There is a need on this new map to have a central point in each area to serve the needs of the nations within its geographical reach. To have this concept more appealing to nations to participate in its creation we need environments where no nation has authority (i.e. international waters). With more bodies of water on our planet today, more than ever it seems logical to study a place for refuge on the water where we could live and grow. Floating concrete infrastructures seem viable due to the advancement in concrete research and technology around the world. This project investigates infrastructures that can move and expand to create metabolic forms or function as autonomous forms for many years, sustainable and independent from the land. Advisor: Antón García Abril Readers: Maria Alessandra Segantini, Mark M. Jarzombek, Arindam Dutta, Michael Dennis
BEHNAM KARIMIPOUR
I have lived in the United States for twelve consectutive years since my departure from Iran. After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture/ Art and Urban Studies from Northeastern University in May of 2005, I started working in three respected Boston based firms till my admission to MIT in September of 2009. At MIT, my effort has been to expand my horizons in different areas by being actively involved with multidisciplinary courses, taking advantage of the program within MIT’s unique organization. While studying, I developed new interests in the field of architecture and beyond which I plan to pursue in the near future. My goal for the years to come is to keep creating opportunities to be challenged and to learn with the vision of being beneficial where ever I can. 52
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NANCY KIM EXCRETAL ECOLOGIES: PROTOTYPICAL MACHINIC CATALYSTS
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EXCRETAL ECOLOGIES
Prototypical machinic catalysts are structures that come equipped with a set of design parameters sufficient to grow a regenerative city. These are designed for cities that face industrial ramifications of contamination. The main purpose of these forms is to produce resources from waste by remediating existing contaminated soil and water, with the initial premise that soil and water are two of earth’s most valuable resources that provide basic needs for humans. These structures have specific dry and wet programs that try to use the least energy-intensive strategies by emulating natural cycles found in forests and also in permacultural practices. Human excreta is collected, composted and used to form new ground. Water is collected, filtrated, and then deposited into its landscape as irrigation after usage. The city becomes regenerative through these bio-accumulation processes maintained by the architecture itself and participating inhabitants. Advisor: Joel Lamere, Assistant Professor of Architecture Readers: Alan Berger, Associate Professor of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture Azra Aksamija, Assistant Professor of Art Culture and Technology
NANCY KIM
Nancy was born and bred in New York City. She received a BFA in Architectural Design at Parsons School of Design. Upon graduating, she gained project management experience in an architecture studio in Brooklyn, NY, while working with organizations at the forefront of reuse/upcycling, urban agriculture, and community development. At MIT, Nancy pursued similar interests in her research and design work as well as through influencing environmental best practices across MIT’s campus and helping to shape policy change. After completing her Master of Architecture degree at MIT, she will attempt to integrate natural ecologies into the everyday functions of people, architecture and public infrastructure. Hopefully, this will manifest itself through her fervor for design, natural systems, and electronic dance music. 58
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YUNA KIM THE EXPERIENTIAL BRIDGE: REMEDIAL LANDSCAPE FOR HANFORD’S NUCLEAR FUTURE
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THE EXPERIENTIAL BRIDGE
The reoccurring nuclear disasters around the world provoke us to reconsider the future of nuclear power. This thesis acknowledges the current issues surrounding nuclear waste contamination and the risks that associated toxins present to human health and the existing ecosystem. The risk of exposure to radioactive materials and groundwater contamination can be reduced with proven technological methods, but the public perception of nuclear waste treatment still remains a daunting deterrent, preventing people from confronting the issues effectively. The Experiential Bridge will enable greater adoption of environmentally friendly nuclear waste treatment by exposing the process to the public and creating an educational experience for people. The two methods used to treat these toxins are phytoremediation and biostimulation, which have negligible environmental impact and reduce the effects of nuclear waste disposal on the ecosystem. The Experiential Bridge will treat toxins, serve as a pathway for recreational activity, and be a source of education for regarding the treatment of contaminated water and soil. Advisor: Andrew Scott Readers: Dan Adams, Cristina Parreno
YUNA KIM
Yuna Kim received her Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts and Sciences from Wellesley College and worked for architecture firms in New York City and London before MIT. Her professional interests lie in architecture and city planning projects that explore effective green design and renewable energy strategies. Her work experience includes the design of a large cultural tower and working for an energy consulting organization that evaluates building systems and their energy use. She is interested in creating large scale installation projects that use a variety of media. Some of her recent projects include String Tunnel (2011, featured at MIT’s 150th Anniversary), Cambridge Street Go Bike (2010, featured at Cambridge City Hall as one of the top 10 entries to improve Cambridge Street). 64
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SUNNIE SING YEUNG LAU THE DEATH OF GROWING CITIES?! RECONSTRUCTING THE POST-UTOPIAN URBANISM IN CHINA NOW!
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THE DEATH OF GROWING CITIES
Throughout human civilizations, there have been moments of collective action to rebuild utopian futures triggered by political, environmental, social and/ or economic crises. Crisis seems to be a unique moment to initiate critical mass attention towards making a new page in history. As we constantly restructure utopian futures, the discrepancy between realities and the individual/collective projected future has seemed to fail us. Utopia becomes dystopia- or even something unreachable – a mere ideological hope of human civilization. The modernist vision in the 1920s’ and later in 1960s seems not able to cope with the evolving economic/ social construct of the current system--the urban development model of capitalism - that we have operated within since the industrial revolution. Projecting into the future, in the year 2050, what if most development in developed countries is facing the problems of maintaining or dealing with oversized infrastructures? Probing the future in today’s eyes suggest that the fate of “new” cities have long been scripted and are prescribed to doom. So, how should architects/ urbanists react in a smart way that could devise a remedy to “correct” the ultimate “systematic failure” in the post-utopian future? What should have happened to urbanism 30 years ago? Will it happen now? This thesis intends to revisit and unpack the architectural typology of hybrid group-form in high-rise housing by questioning the permanent/ inflexible nature of the ideologies of these typologies. The thesis attempts to make architecture as a flexible framework where additive and subtractive programmatic elements could be adapted and remain as a productive artifacts. The flexible framework will be relevant to its cultural context--especially in the volatile, complex and uncertain future of the new era of China. Advisor: Nader Tehrani Readers: Brent Ryan , Ziad Jamaleddine , David Gianotten
SUNNIE SING YEUNG LAU
Born and raised in one of the hyper dense Asian cities--Hong Kong. Moved to California for college and graduated from UC Berkeley, in Architecture. Curious about different cities, thus loves food culture and traveling. Occasionally she misses California’s weather after experiencing the European cold and the East Coast Snow...She did some more architecture at MIT and is glad to have met a lot of weird friends here. Nevertheless, she plans to go somewhere warmer and always sunny after MIT. 70
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JIN KYU LEE AN INSTITUTE OF OPTIMISM FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IN A SOCIAL MEDIA ERA
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INSTITUTE OF OPTIMISM
The thesis proposes a new institutional building for a professional journalistic organization. The aim of the thesis is to find a new spatial medium to reformulate the function of professional journalism through systematic friction with public journalism in the process of news production. Advisor: Anton Abril Garcia Readers: Andrew Scott John Ochsendorf Maria Segantini
JIN KYU LEE
Jin Kyu LEE is from South Korea, and completed his undergraduate degree at Hanyang Univ. in Seoul, Korea. He worked at architectural design firms in Korea and the US. While at MIT, he has tried to synthesize the logic of space and the logic of construction for the transformation of the public sphere through design studios, building technology, and history and theory classes. He also participated as an assistant in several installation and housing projects of MIT faculty. After graduation, he will work at an architectural firm in the US. He wants to develop his design methodology and broaden the sphere of his research. 76
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NEIL LEGBAND DOMESTICALLY DEXTROUS: EMBEDDED COMPUTING FOR SENIOR HOUSING
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DOMESTICALLY DEXTROUS
This thesis proposes a new home for aging baby boomers. The US is about to see a massive influx in the elderly population, and the current model of housing the elderly is woefully unprepared. The boomer generation has lived in single family homes for decades, and will want to continue living in one. Current strategies for retrofitting homes for seniors - things like wheelchair ramps, stair lifts, and grab bars- are remarkably ill - suited to properly accommodate the needs of the elderly. Incorporating embedded computation into the home will allow the elderly to maintain their independence and live in an environment which accommodates their expanding and changing needs as they deteriorate both mentally and physically. The home will take an active role in monitoring the occupant, monitoring itself, adapting to the changing physical/mental dexterity of the occupants, as well as assisting with domestic activities. Given the varying degrees of complexity that exist at the interface between the systems required to perform these activities and traditional residential stick frame construction, an alternate method of construction is proposed which integrates electronics while also altering typical programmatic definitions within the domestic space. Advisor: Meejin Yoon Readers: Skylar Tibbets, Brian Kelly
NEIL LEGBAND
I received a Bachelors of Science in Design – Architectural Studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. I then studied for a while in Beijing at a new architectural school Robert Mangurian and MaryAnn Ray were trying to start, B.A.S.E. I then worked for a few years at a small design/build firm in Omaha, NE. During this time I started experimenting with electronics and the process of making, which lead me to MIT where I focused on computation and fabrication work as much as possible. I currently do not have a shred of an even an inkling as to what is next, which I am more than okay with. 82
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GEORGE X. LIN DESIGN FOR REUSE: POST OCCUPANCY INTEGRATION OF OLYMPIC STADIUMS
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DESIGN FOR REUSE
The spirit of Olympic Games on the surface is about the competition for medals but underlies a series of political, economic, and social agendas. The Individual represents Nations. Rising modernity, stabilization of economy and social cohesion of nations are represented by its contemporary Architecture. A nation’s Image depends on the Olympics to show a new light. As a result of such anticipation, Olympic cities often build contemporary sport arenas that follow similar design patterns of generating iconic and autonomous buildings with relatively fixed programs. In order for a city to adapt such large number of venues, there is a trend of shifting the games from the urban core to the peripheries of the city, scattered throughout the suburbs. After the 17 days of international use, the venues return to serve the cities needs. But the stadiums are largely freestanding objects located next to residential fields that compete for resident teams that favor smaller, less maintenance heavy, and accessible arenas near the city core. As a result, Olympic stadiums become underused, labeled as white elephants and some even abandoned. The next Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil has the 5th largest economy in the world but has one of the world’s lowest GDP per capita to ever host the games. Will the Olympic Games help this country improve its social tensions between the rich and the poor? Can the stadiums be integrated back into the core of the city such that they are more meaningful after the games? Rather than mass gentrification, can the Olympic stadiums be designed for double lives such that the post occupancy lives of these venues result in flexible programs that serve its neighborhood needs? Thesis Advisor: Ana Miljacki Readers: Arindam Dutta, Miho Mazereeuw
GEORGE X. LIN
Californian. Spent his undergraduate at UC Berkeley exploring the arts from film studies to environmental design. Plans to go somewhere warm and work as a part time architectural photographer upon graduation. 88
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ALAN LU PRECARIOUS LUXURY
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PRECARIOUS LUXURY
Due to the market collapse prompting more secure investments and increasing incentives to integrate low income units into luxury residential developments, this thesis seeks to integrate two allergic constituencies within a single typology type: housing. Among these two parties, varying requirements are necessary, yet within present culture, there is evidence of a movement towards mashups or collaborations between high and low, high culture and street culture, which is also to be reflected within the program. Thus, the program itself is rethought as clusters that are used by both constituents in different capacities as opposed to the current model of housing units with amenities. Building upon the topologies and spatial conditions seen in minimal surfaces, the project uses the surface as an instrument for separation, combination, and conditions in between in an effort to manage and filter space, environment, culture, and social conditions. The result is a housing typology that provides the particular residents with what they typically need and expect from housing, yet also seeks to unite and elevate the current level of habitation for both parties. Advisor: Meejin Yoon Readers: Nader Tehrani Mark Foster Gage Michael Lee
ALAN LU
Alan Lu is originally from Los Angeles, and completed his undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley. He has worked at various firms around the world on commercial and cultural projects situated both domestically and abroad, and plans to return to LA upon graduation. While at MIT, he has held varying research assistant and design positions with faculty in architecture, building technology, and the media lab. Interested in real estate as well as architecture, he plans to pursue avenues and projects that integrate development and design. He hopes to produce projects that are both fiscally robust, and also push the boundaries of design. 94
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ALEXANDER MARSHALL EXODUS INDUSTRIOUS
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EXODUS INDUSTRIOUS
Exodus Industrious is an architectural investigation of a new version of the American Dream. Prompted by the mass exodus of manufacturing production from the City of Detroit, and the urban fallout which followed, this thesis seeks to examine a new future for a city which has lost nearly two thirds of its population. By considering the effect of democratized production tools, such as open source 3-D printing technology, the assumption is made that Manufacturing will cease to exist en masse. This new technology could offer the average citizen the opportunity to become an independent manufacturer, not controlled by corporate influence or practices such as ‘capitalist urbanization’. Further, the City of Detroit possesses a certain latent potential, in that it does not currently operate a municipal recycling program. Thousands of tons of refine-able 3-D printing materials (HDPE, ABS, Stainless Steel, etc.) are discarded annually, giving rise to a virtually free source of raw material. In order for a neighbor hood to operate as an independent network of manufacturers, new building types must be generated in order to deal with refining, storing and printing raw material into new commodities. As such, this thesis investigates three new manufacturing typologies: A Recyclefinery, A Silo-Pavillion, and a Printers-Cottage, all of which are linked together by a neighborhood, which is facing probable relocation due to the interest of big business, and yet another failed urban renewal plan from the City of Detroit... Advisor: Ana Miljacki Readers: Cristina Pareno, Miho Mazereeuw
ALEXANDER MARSHALL
Prior to entering the MArch program, Alexander attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he received a Bachelors of Science in Architectural Studies. Following his time in Milwaukee, he worked for Barkow Leibinger Architects in Berlin, Germany. While at MIT, Alexander has contributed to several projects including: Weathers Permitting (William O’Brien, PS1 2010 Finalist), The Seaming Pavilion (William O’Brien), The Uni Project (Howeler Yoon Architects) among other endeavors. He has also been the Recipient of the Sydney B. Karofsky ‘33 Prize, as well as, the Rosemary M. Grimshaw Award. After MIT Alexander plans to sleep more often, found a design workshop in a forest somewhere in Wisconsin, build awe-inspiring buildings, and live out the ‘American Dream’. 100
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CHRIS MILLER DELEVERAGING DOMESTICITY: INCREMENTAL DESIGN FORAYS ON MIDDLE INCOME HOUSING
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DELEVERAGING DOMESTICITY
Housing today has little to do with architecture. Design is a currency of services, while housing today is intensively packaged as a consumer good. Because so very few can buy it outright, housing is built by debt, and for debt. This thesis states that a new set of professional design services can extricate the production of new housing from debt. Rather than hinging on a single huge transaction, middle and low income housing can be built-up in design-driven increments. Its delivery schedule can be tailored to annual incomes and monthly budgets, and can continuously accommodate its owners’ changing needs throughout a progressively tailored and domestically integrated process. Conventional construction and speculative real-estate housed yesterday’s middle class. The same homogenous fabric can also swell in size to accommodate the affluent - but today the rest either struggle, rely on public subsidies, or both. As rental markets churn, credit scores plummet, mortgage qualifications creep, and income inequality intensifies, incremental design services can pin the production of housing to that irrespectively distributed commodity of time. Given more or less time, they can serve both middle and low income households at equal and otherwise unsubsidized standards. In supplanting debt with design, such new general practitioners and their potentially broad constituencies might also raise architecture’s tiny voice in the forum of mass housing. In place of market-researched wants and needs, their endeavors might even infuse the popular imagination with new, more diverse, and organically synthesized attitudes toward both building and domesticity. Co-Advisors: John Ochsendorf and Brandon Clifford Reader: Mark Jarzombek
CHRIS MILLER
Originally from remote central Minnesota, Chris Miller attended the Art Institute of Chicago and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2005. His sculptures and drawings have been exhibited in small Chicago area galleries. Before attending M.I.T, he worked variously as a house carpenter, art fabricator, cabinet maker, and night manager of IIT’s College of Architecture Material Labs. He aspires in the future to design strange and wonderful things, then in certain cases also to build them. 106
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ALI QURESHI NEW PROTOTYPES FOR THE AMERICAN MOSQUE
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NEW PROTOTYPES FOR THE AMERICAN MOSQUE
This thesis addresses ‘retrofit’ mosques, or mosques which are adapted from previous structures not built as mosques. The retrofit, a contextual challenge for mosques in America, suffers from a lack of spirituality and visibility in the urban realm. The thesis is aimed at developing prototypes which can architecturally create atmospheres conducive to deep-thought/meditation/prayer in order to counter the experience of the retrofit space. Advisor: Azra Aksamija Readers: Cristina Parreno, James Wescoat, Gediminas Urbonas
ALI QURESHI
Ali Qureshi is a student in the Masters of Architecture program at MIT. Through his work, he has been investigating atmospheric conditions within architectural form, an exploration stemming from his interests in religion, philosophy, form, and fabrication. He has a background in Architecture, having completed his Bachelors in Arts and Architecture at Florida International University, and hopes to pursue a career in academia after completing his degree at MIT. 112
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KELLY SHAW HYPERsensarium: An Archive of Atmospheric Conditions
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HYPERSENSARIUM
HYPERsensarium proposes a tangible interface of atmospheres for public experience through an archive of historical and projected weathers. While architecture’s purpose has long been to act as the technical boundary between the body and nature’s elements, this thesis seeks to re-expose the body to conditions society has long disengaged itself with both physically and socially. Despite scientific data showing rising surface temperatures, increasing carbon dioxide levels, rising sea levels and extreme weather occurrences, environmental issues occur on scales of time and space too broad for human understanding. HYPERsensarium is an experiential museum of weather chambers, deneutralizing the weather for public immersion. Architecture becomes the medium through which the senses are isolated and then re-conditioned for the archived weathers. With the majority of the project submerged within the grounds of Washington, D.C., visual, acoustic and climate conditions reach stasis before visitors emerge into one of the archive’s chambers. The environments within the chambers are mechanically driven, juxtaposing the visitor’s “natural” views with an artificial atmosphere absorbed through other sensoria. The thesis seeks to rethink the archive as a physical and digital system collecting and accumulating data to finally ground our relationship with air. Advisor: Meejin Yoon Readers: Caroline Jones, Joel Lamere, Christoph Reinhart
KELLY SHAW
Kelly Shaw grew up in Richmond, Virginia and completed her undergraduate work in Product Design at Stanford University’s School of Mechanical Engineering. Currently pursuing her Master’s at the MIT School of Architecture, her interests lie in exploring userdriven design in both physical and digital environments. Prior to MIT she worked as a designer for Jimmyjane and Knoend in San Francisco where her projects ranged from sustainable furniture design to packaging design. She also spent two years at Facebook as a User Operations Associate, assisting with product launches and feedback loops. The only thing she enjoys more than design is food. 118
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HUNG FAI TANG ATMOSPHERIC APPARATUS: THE PRODUCTION OF ANOTHER MODERNITY FOR COMFORT
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ATMOSPHERIC APPARATUS
The “capable� modern spatial condition technologies have played an important role in providing us with a comfortable living environment since the early 20th century. Nowadays, the historical challenges of thermal comfort can be easily revolved with various systems. The technological solution currently only provides us with a singular and universal experience of comfort. The idea of comfort has been limited to engineered, quantity control of temperature, humidity, wind speed and light intensity, e.g. ASHRAE standard. Thus, this thesis is intended to become a critique on the modern comfort phenomenon and state that there exists another comfort paradigm. By designing the atmospheric condition of space, architecture is transformed into an ATMOSPHERIC APPARATUS to induce various experiences of comfort. The ultimate goal of the thesis is to provide a re-understanding of the relationship between body and the environment. Advisor: Nader Tehrani Readers: Joel Lamere & Prof. Christoph Reinhart
HUNG FAI TANG
Hung Fai Tang is a passionate and optimistic designer keen on architecture and design. Before coming to MIT, he received his B.A. at Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). During his studies at MIT, he found many interests in architectural design related to technology and media. After MIT, Tang plans to travel around the world and experience various cultures. 124
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YAN-PING WANG CASH: COMMUNAL AFFORDABLE SINGLES HOUSING
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CASH: COMMUNAL AFFORDABLE SINGLES HOUSING
In Hong Kong, young singles are left out of the affordable housing equation. They require much more space per person in comparison to family housing, and the government is not willing to use extra resources to house this demographic. Many young singles end up living in cramped conditions with their parents for prolonged periods of time. Conditions for elderly singles are sometimes more dire. With no family to look after them, many live in Hong Kong’s notorious cage homes, with stacked bed spaces within already tiny apartments in the city’s poorer districts. CASH transcends this housing deadlock by providing a new path towards affordable housing – proactive affordability - for Hong Kong’s singles population. The architecture situates itself to maximize the opportunities for tenants to generate extra revenue in order to close the affordability gap. This is achieved by giving tenants larger and more flexible units and communal spaces, allowing tenants for subletting and commercial activity to occur within the residential space. The building situates itself urbanistically to maximize foot traffic and therefore revenue generation for its tenants. The tenants of CASH can live larger, dream bigger and work harder, on their own terms and within their own communities. Advisor: Yung Ho Chang, Tunney Lee Readers: Calvin Kam, John Fernandez
YAN-PING WANG
Before coming to MIT, Yan-Ping graduated with a B.A. in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. During his time at MIT, he spent a year abroad working for Atelier FCJZ in Beijing. Yan-Ping plans to return to California after graduation to find a job that pays respectably. 130
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TRAVIS WILLIAMS GROUND-PLAY, YARD-SCHOOL, PLAY-SCHOOL: A LUDIC TYPOLOGY FOR PRIMARY EDUCATION
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GROUND-PLAY, YARD-SCHOOL, PLAY-SCHOOL
The thesis explores how free play can be promoted, incentivized, and enabled through architecture to reinterpret the elementary school typology within the urban context of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The project is not a playground, but it is not just a school either. It functions as a play of ground that uses manipulated terrain to serve the programmatic needs of a school while also allowing for playful reinterpretation during its use. It combines the school yard with the school through the wielding of a visual datum of 56 inches that allow the space to be inhabited differently by adult faculty compared to young students. The system of ground is designed to be dextrous enough to create scalar variations in space and complex relationships between interior and exterior. It also exists as a recognizable language of objects, pauses, slopes and cliffs. These construct schools within schools, and rooms inside of other rooms serving students individually and collectively within a continuous volume where walls do not exist. In the end, the school tries to re-present a programmatically recognizable example of a typical school for the LAUSD. However, it does this while also creating a combination of play and school that is greater than the sum of those two parts and allows for scales of socialization that promote endless iterations of play. Advisor: Ana Miljacki Readers: J. Meejin Yoon, Joel Lamere
TRAVIS WILLIAMS
I was born in Michigan . I got a B.S. in Architecture from University of Michigan (TCAUP) 2006. I worked in Los Angeles at RoTo Architects and Studioworks Architecture and Urban Design from then till 2009. I married Jennifer Williams in 2010. I’ve been lucky enough to work on many amazing projects here at MIT. All because I’ve had the chance to work with truly talented designers who are also genuinely great people. I’m hoping to make things after MIT. Things including but not limited to buildings, drawings, models, installations, arguments, products, books, texts, …a family :) 136
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CATHERINE WINFIELD AUTOPOETIC LANDSCAPES : THE ARCHITECTURAL IMPLICATION OF MINING THE MARCELLUS SHALE
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AUTOPOETIC LANDSCAPES
Hydraulic fracturing, a form of natural gas extraction, is a process deeply embedded in the networks of politics, power, economics, energy, infrastructure, and land use. This thesis explores the impacts of this process through the design of a series of site interventions based on the conceptual exploitation of its current failures, read: deregulation of the industry. As fracking proliferates, these interventions, varying in scale, impact, execution, and discipline, become more legible across the landscape, indicators of contamination. In this way, the thesis develops the concept of a “fracked urbanism� which has embedded these atmospheric indicators, reflecting the multivalent impacts of hydraulic fracturing. Advisor: Sheila Kennedy Readers: Ana Miljacki, Skylar Tibbits
CATHERINE WINFIELD
Prior to attending MIT, Catherine worked at Sasaki Associates and taught at the Boston Architectural College. During her time at MIT she attempted to resolve her interdisciplinary interests at the intersection of architecture and technology. Following the completion of her degree she will spend the winter working at a startup in San Francisco and then return to MIT in the spring to accept a position within the Comparative Media Studies Department. 142
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