Research Open House - 2024 by Penn State Stuckeman School

ECOLOGY PLUS DESIGN: Affiliated Faculty

C.A. Cole, L. Andrews, R. Azari, S. Echols, T. Flohr, L.D. Iulo, K. Mainzer, S. Mainzer, P. Stempel, H. Wu

JAPANESE BARBERRY CONTROL FOR CLIMATE RESILIENT FORESTS: An Active Restoration Approach to Promote Forest Regenerative Design

Diana Albuja, Travis Flohr, Andy Cole

TAKING MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS: The Vauban Housing Community (1993-2003), The Eco-City Augustenborg (1998-2002), and Marmalade lane Co-Housing (2006-2018)

Alexandra Staub

COMMUNITY DESIGNS FOR BRADDOCK, PA: LARCH 315/817 Community Design Studio Curriculum-based Project

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN’S EVERYDAY RECREATION: A Participatory Ethnography of Marginalized Communities in Urban Perpheries of KolkataLearning from the Pilot Study

Ankita Karmakar, Mallika Bose, Melissa w. Wright, Kathleen Sexsmith, Leann Andrews

THE IMPACTS OF URBAN DENSITY AND FUTURE CONSTRUCTION ON URBAN CARBON

Elnaz Ghasemi, Rahman Azari, Lisa Iulo, Wangda Zuo, Julian Wang

A FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRATING IoT WITH A MOBILE SYSTEM FOR INDOOR AIR QUALITY SENSING

Hanin Othman, Rahman Azari, Jose Duarte, Benay Gursoy, Tamy Guimaraes, Katie Fitzsimons

IDENTIFYING KEY DETERMINANTS OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION: A Shapbased Feature Importance Analysis Across Two Datasets

Jie Li, Lisa Iulo, Ute Poerschke, Guido Cervone

ELECTROCHEMICAL APPLICATIONS FOR BUILDING SKINS: Electrochemical Energy Harvesting and Storage Through Building Skins

Jingshi Zhang, Rahman Azari, Ute Poerschke, Derek Hall, Julian Wang

2024 HUD INNOVATION IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING STUDENT DESIGN & PLANNING: Sponsored By: US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R)

Krista L. Schneider, Mohammad Rezvan, Marshay McCain, Arindam Jain, Holly Zimmerman, Lisa Iulo

UNVEILING 100 DRIVERS OF BUILDING ENERGY CONSUMPTION: A Review of Literature Across Spatial Scales

Sepideh Korsavi, Lisa Iulo, Rahman Azari

DETERMINANTS OF THE U.S. RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS ENERGY CONSUMPTION AT NATIONAL AND STATE LEVELS: Energy Policy Implications

Sepideh Korsavi, Rahman Azari, Lisa Iulo

EXPLORING DETERMINANTS OF RESIDENTS’ INTENTIONAL BEHAVIOR IN GREEN STORMWATER INFRACTRUCTURE ADOPTION

Mahsa Adib, Hong Wu, Travis Flohr, Stuart Echols, Shannon Cruz

RETHINKING 322

Dan Marriott

MAPPING COMMUNITY DYNAMICS: Integrating Social dn Spatial Perspectives in Decoding the Functioning of Mixed-income Informal Neighborhoods

Sana Ahrar, Alexandra Staub, Denise Rae Costanzo, Madhuri Desai, Emily T. Rosenman

LANDSCAPE FRAMEWORK FOR JUNIATA TERRACE: Cohesion, Character, & Meaning for the Future of an Historic Company Town

Alex Spangler, Evelyn Bartner, Vincent Lin

INTEGRATING BLUE-GREEN INFRASTRUCTURES IN BALTIMORE: Decisionmaking Approaches to Combine Computationsl Modeling and Community Interaction

Tasneem Tariq, Lisa Iulo, Ute Poerschke, Hong Wu, Travis Flohr, Antonia Hadjimichael

ENERGY HARVESTING BY INTEGRATING THERMO-ELECTRIC GENERATORS (TEG) AND PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL (PCM) INTO THE BUILDING ENVELOPE

Zia Mohajer, Rahman Azari, Ute Poerschke, Julian Wang, Bed Poudel, Amin Nozariasbmarz

MYCOPRINT: Advanced Acoustic Architectural Design Through Robotic 3D Printing of Fungal Biomaterials with Parameter Optimization

Alale Mohseni, Ozguc Bertug Capunama, Alireza Zamani, Natalie Walter, Benay Gursoy

MYCOPRINT: Conformal Robotic 3D Printing and post-fabrication Analysis of Mycelium-based Composites

Ozguc Bertug Capunama, Alale Mohseni, Alireza Zamani, Natalie Walter, Benay Gursoy

DESIGN FOR ADDITIVE CONSTRUCTION: Rethinking Building Design

Ali Alhussain, Nathan Brown, Jose Duarte

FLEXURAL TESTING OF 3D PRINTED CONCRETE WALL SPECIMENS:

Performing and Analyzing a 3-point Bending Test of 3D Printed Wall Samples for a Custom-made Concrete Mixture to Print in Frigid Environments

Ashutosh Bambole, Zhengyu Wu, Ali Memari, Sven Bilen, Alescandra Radlinska, Shadi Nazarian, Jose Duarte

TOKMAH COUTURE SUSTAINABLE FASHION ACCESSORIES: Contemporary Fashion Elements Inspired by Iranian Traditional Architectural Motifs

Elaheh Babaei, Emily Burns, Tom Lauerman

IN-PLACE 3D CONCRETE PRINTING OF ONE-WAY FLOOR AND ROOF SLABS

Ali Baghi, Jose Duarte, Benay Gursoy, Sven Bilen, Nathan Brown, Sanjay Joshi, Nima Aminpour

PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS OF FILAMENT QUALITY IN 3D CONCRETE PRINTING ON SLOPED SURFACES

Paniz Farrokhsiar, Benay Gursoy, Jose Duarte

3D PRINTING OF FUNCTIONALITY GRADED CONCRETE FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION: Computational Methods of Multi-material Distribution in Additively Manufactured Concrete Elements

Amir Ghasemi, Nathan Brown, Jose Duarte

(THE STRUGGLE FOR) QUEER EXISTANCE IN DESIGN HISTORY: How are Queer People Allowed, and/or Disallowed, in Design History?

Brooke Hull

TOWARDS A HEAT RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK FOR THE URBAN BRAZILIAN AMAZON: Heat Vulnerability Assessment Applications for the Cities of Belem and Manaus

Lara Garcia and Travis Flohr

BIOLUMINESCENT ALGAE CULTIVATION IN A CUSTOM PHOTOBIOREACTOR

Kali Lewis, Benay Gursoy

AN EARLY-DESIGN TOOL TO ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF COLUMN GRID LAYOUT AND BUILDING SHAPE ON EMBODIED CARBON

Parinaz Mansouri, Orsolya Gaspar, Corey Gracie-Griffin, Nathan Brown, Lisa Iulo, Ute Poerschke, Carlos Cerezo Davila

RENEWABLE ENERGY ART & DESIGN SOLAR-POWERED PROTOTYPES

Phil Choo, Mihyun Kang, Tao Ma, Jimmy Van Nguyen, Ehan Sobota, Adekine Weitkencht, Adam Behar, Austin Messenger, Amir Guliyev, Jarry Xu, Rui Zhang

INNOVATIVE RAINWATER UTILIZATION: Simulation-based Approachess to Enhance Small-scale Hydrological Methods

Mohammad Rezvan, Stuart Patton Echols, Jose Duarte

THE ZAATARI CAMP GRAMMAR: Who Designs the Camp? The Spatial Reproduction of Refugee Camps

Dima Abu-Aridah, Rebecca Henn, Jose Duarte

ROBOTIC SAND SHAPING FOR REUSABLE FORMWORKS: From Toolpath Design to Emergent Shapes and Patterns in Cast Form

Kieron Cook, Ozguc Capunaman, Benay Gursoy

ENABLING FORMWORK-FREE 3D PRINTING OF ROOF STRUCTURES AT CONSTRUCTION SCALE: Using Multi-directional Slicing to Decrease the Overhang Angle

Nusrat Tabassum, Jose Duarte, Orsolya Gaspar, Ali Memari, Nathan Brown, Sven Bilen

THE NEW ROLE OF CRAFT THE ANGELUS NOVUS VAULT: Presented at Acadia 2023, Denver

Orsolya Gaspar, Vittorio Paris, Fernando Herrera, Robin Oval, Carlo Olivieri, Wesam Al Asali, Alessandro Beghini, Sigrid Adriaenssens

NETWORK OF SHELLS: Thin, Concrete, and Hungarian Orsolya Gaspar, Alexandra E. Kis

AUTOMATING TREE BIODIVERSITY AND EQUITY ASSESSMENT: A Design

Computing Data Science Workflow for Inter- and Intra-city Urban Street Tree

Biodiversity and Equity Assessments

Travis Flohr, Mehdi Heris, Lara Garcia

HEALTH AND HARDSHIP: The Evolution of Miner’s Hospitals in Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Region

Luke Scanlon, Pep Aviles, Denise Costanzo, Nicholas Risteen, Dan Marriott

ECOLOGY PLUS DESIGN Affiliated faculty

C. A. Cole, Director; L. Andrews, R. Azari, S. Echols, T. Flohr, L.D. Iulo, K. Mainzer, S. Mainzer, P. Stempel, H. Wu

Vision: We will be the international center of research, outreach, and education in ecological design.

Mission: E+D’s mission is researchactivated ecological design, researchinformed ecological design education, and outreach that work to improve the ecological health of the built and natural environment.

E+D has three primary objectives: research-activated ecological design, education in ecologically based design, and outreach through a variety of classes, symposia, speakers, podcasts, workshops, and publications. The need for an ecologically based approach to design is evident in the increasingly complex environmental problems that cannot be solved with a singular philosophical approach. The world faces a tipping point where ecosystem integrity is increasingly compromised, leaving vulnerable those very ecosystem services upon which we depend.

Conference – March 2025

Increasingly we are recognizing that our built and natural environments are shaped and inhabited by many ‘others,’ only some of whom are human. Participatory, inclusionary, and community-based design and research practices are opening to the voices and experiences of multiple publics, and new collaborative relationships are emerging that include the more-than human participant as client, co-citizen, and companion.

E+D and the Stuckeman School are excited to announce a groundbreaking research symposium titled “Biophilia: Designing for Animals”. This event will explore the critical role of animals in design and how our built and natural environments are shaped by more-than-human participants.

Recent E+D Dissertations and Master’s Theses/Capstones Completed

• Adhikari, B., Ph. D, Field Evaluation of Hydrological and Pollutant Retention Performance of Green Stormwater Infrastructures, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Penn State University. Wu, H.

• Berlin, J., MLA, Assessing the Long-Term Performance of Forest Replanting Projects in Montgomery County, Maryland, Landscape Architecture, Penn State University Flohr, T.

• Boon, O., MS, “Pathways for Just Indigenous Futures: Exploring IndigenousBased Collaboration Frameworks in Climate Change Adaptation.” Landscape Architecture, The Pennsylvania State University. Mainzer, S. P.

• Faminiano, K., MLA, Reconfiguring Farmlands: A Contemporary Landscape Design for Small-Scale Farms. Landscape Architecture, The Pennsylvania State University. Cole, C.A.

• Ketabi, M., MGIS, Identifying Suitable Areas for Mitigation Banking for Jurisdictional Waters and California Gnatcatcher Habitat in City of Lake Elsinore, Riverside County, California, Geography, Penn State University. Cole, C.A.

• Russ, C., MS, Expert perceptions of barriers and challenges in implementing natural and nature-based features for adaptive coastal resilience on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Landscape Architecture, Penn State University. Stempel, P.

• Wang, R , Ph. D, Public Perceptions, Ecosystem Benefit, and Sustainability: Green Stormwater Infrastructure Development in Chinese Sponge Cities Architecture, Penn State University. Wu, H.

JAPANESE BARBERRY CONTROL FOR CLIMATE RESILIENT FORESTS

An Active Restoration Approach to Promote Forest Regenerative Design

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

The invasive shrub "Japanese Barberry" (Berberis thunbergii DC) is known for altering sunlight availability and forest species composition of the Northeastern Successional Forests by hindering native seedling recruitment, and changing the understory plant composition and soil structure. Climate change projections suggest that Japanese Barberry populations range will expand, further complicating e orts to control the shrub. This study consists of two primary components. The first involves a vegetation assessment and monitoring, incorporating both field-based and remote sensing data collection methods. Data gathered during this initial phase will inform the design and execution of the second component, which is a field experimental design aimed to evaluate the e ects of a two-stage control technique. After the shrub removal we will introduce native seeds and seedlings into the experimental plots.

METHODOLOGY

Study Site

Vegetation Assesment

Design

Collecting ﬁeld data is highly recommended in the design of any ecological restoration or natural conservation project. The overstory, midstory, and understory strata were evaluated by using the point-centered quarter method. A minimum of 9 initial transect points were randomized. Each transect with 50 meters long. Data was surveyed during two consecutive growing seasons, from June to August in both 2023 and 2024.

Vegetation Monitoring

Monitoring activities are essential for understanding successional stages and evaluating outcomes for adapting future management strategies. Remote sensing images and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data will be collected and analized to calculate above ground biomass and expansion dinamics of the Japanese Barberry population at Musser Gap.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

CONCLUSION

Preliminary data collection is a crucial step in designing strategies and monitoring forest restoration outcomes. The unique conditions of the understory infestation at Musser Gap provide valuable research opportunities to better understand the ecological impacts, population dynamics, and control methods for the invasive

Japanese

Representation of a forest invaded by Japanese Barberry (Berberris thunmbergii DC)

Several

Diana Albuja. Penn State | Travis Flohr, Ph.D. Penn State | Andy Cole, Ph.D Penn State

Taking Matters into Their Own Hands

The Vauban housing Community (1993-2003), The Eco-City Augustenborg (1998-2002), and Marmalade Lane Co-Housing (2006-2018)

Alexandra Staub, Ph.D. Professor of Architecture

INTRODUCTION

In 1993, a small community group in the southern German city of Freiburg developed ideas for converting the former site of military barracks into a car-free and ecologically based housing estate. The resulting “Quartier Vauban”, a citizen-driven housing estate based on self-help principles, quickly became known as a model for ecologically and socially sustainable housing. Several years later, the Augustenborg district in Malmö, Sweden was retroﬁtted as an ecological housing estate that aimed to set new standards for holistic urban design, including urban farming. In 2006 a citizen group in Cambridge, UK developed ideas for a co-housing community that became known as Marmalade Lane. As in Vauban, co-design and ecological features were central to the concept, which stresses social and community beneﬁts for the residents.

This research project will appear as a book chapter in Architecture and Social Sustainability, edited by Alexandra Staub, to be published by Routledge in 2025 and available as an open-access volume.

The research traces these groundbreaking housing projects and discusses the mechanisms by which they were planned and created. A special focus is on the projects’ social sustainability, as measured through residents’ agency in determining their own housing welfare and the role of ﬁnancing models in advancing citizen sovereignty.

VAUBAN, FREIBURG, GERMANY

Vauban, a new district planned in the 1990s in Freiburg, Germany, is a large project with 2644 households on 41.3 ha. Formerly a military site, the project includes barracks that have been converted to communal housing by their residents. The project was designed as a car-free project and many buildings are built to a passive house standard. The community includes apartments and row houses arranged around a central street served by a streetcar line. Pedestrianized streets branch o of the main street and three park-like bands provide spaces for recreation.

AUTUSTENBORG IN MALMÖ, SWEDEN

The Eco-city Augustenborg project in Malmö, Sweden reconceptualized an existing district constructed between 1949 and 1952 to provide worker housing for a rapidly industrializing city. Augustenborg is 33 hectares large (approx. 82 acres) with a population of 3,900 as of 2020.

The original apartments are set in a park-like environment, similar to Clarence Perry’s “neighborhood unit” concept, developed in the 1930s.

The “Greenhouse Tower” is a new, 14-story building that is the showpiece of Augustenborg today. Large balconies provide an area designed for urban farming, while shared areas on the ground ﬂoor and the roof provide spaces for residents to interact informally.

MARMELADE LANE, CAMBRIDGE, UK

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Marmelade Lane is a smaller housing project with 42 households on 0.87 ha of land in Cambridge, UK. The homes were built as co-housing with shared amenities such as a community center with common spaces and a kitchen. Residents were able to make some design decisions.

The project encourages the use of bicycles and public transit, although most households have private cars. A central pedestrianized street anchors the neighborhood.

Professors

COMMUNITY DESIGNS FOR BRADDOCK, PA

LARCH 315 / 817

Students TA

BACKGROUND

Juliana Ammirati, Aidan Bastarrika, Alex Bowler, Michael Branley, Adam Braughler, Ariana Braun, James Chobany, Arrianna Coka, Adam Deemer, Dimitrios Dimitrakis, Trinity Farrare, Sarah Ga ney, Alice Gascooke, Paige Groton, Sarah Hasan, Jacob Hutton, Kahree James, David Khenkin, Sude Kilincoglu, Logan Krause, Eliza Li, Hayley Mahoney, Ryan Mahoney, Misael Marin, Madison Mascellino, Yuqing Peng, Joshua Peters, Roman Rousselin, Cas Ryan, Madeleine Ryan, Morgan Smith, Shelly Sobel, Jayne Steele, Sandor Strnisa, Ella Strzempek, Matthew Wallence, Jaden West, Melanie Zhang

DESIGNS RESPOND TO COMMUNITY NEEDS + VISIONS

This studio explored the role of the designer in addressing systemic socio-ecological “wicked problems” in urban areas. Students grounded their investigation of place recognition in the community of Braddock in SE Pittsburgh, PA, a complex community rich in multiple histories, creative pursuits, and grassroots placemaking. This primarily Black and low income community faces issues of disinvestment, decline of population and infrastructure, food insecurity, and poor human and environmental health. Yet its rich history, rooted in the inﬂuence of the Carnegie family (a universally admired library/community center, and one of the last remaining steel mills in the U.S.), and impressive community pride and grassroots e orts provide much opportunity.

A LISTENING TOUR

The studio began by listening to community thoughts on their issues, opportunities, and hopes for the future. Students digested documentaries of Braddock and Borough planning documents to understand past and present community needs and challenges. They also attended a ﬁeld trip to Braddock to experience the community and to talk to residents and community advocates about their experiences. In total, students chatted with over 20 people who lived or worked in Braddock via in-person or Zoom meets.

After extensive listening, students mapped out a neighborhood vision based on what they heard and saw, and then each student designed a smaller scale “Catalyst Project” that responded to the place recognition needs of the community. There was a wide range of student projects: community parks, healing gardens, transportation corridors, economic investments in local businesses, maker spaces, greenspaces for festivals, sports ﬁelds, community gardens, food-based centers, and more.

COMMUNITY EXCHANGE

Nine youth from the Braddock Youth Project visited Penn State at University Park. Here, the youth, who expressed interests in horticulture and art, toured Stuckeman and the arts classrooms and got a personal tour of the Arboretum by the director. Braddock Youth then joined PSU students in a community workshop to provide feedback on the students' preliminary designs. This community-university exchange was designed to address the often extractive nature of academia.

SAMPLE IMAGES OF STUDENT WORK PRESENTED TO BRADDOCK COMMUNITY MEMBERS

[Leann Andrews]

[M. Marin]

[M. Mascellino]

[J. Ammirati]

[Leann Andrews]

Students learned valuable skills receiving community feedback, and community members expressed appreciation for the opportunity to engage in conversation about their future with other residents who live and work in Braddock.

This studio is funded in part by curriculum enhancement funds provided by the Hamer Center for Community Design and funds through the Stuckeman Department of Landscape Architecture. Thank you!

[M.Zhang]

[Leann Andrews]

Leann Andrews Marc Miller

Somdeep Nandy

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN'S EVERYDAY RECREATION

A PARTICIPATORY ETHNOGRAPHY OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IN URBAN PERIPHERIES OF KOLKATA - LEARNING FROM THE PILOT STUDY

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

This pilot study, conducted in the summer of 2023, is part of my dissertation, which examines how women from marginalized backgrounds in Kolkata's urban peripheries—such as Bengali-Muslim and migrant Bangladeshi women—navigate their recreational rights within the built environment, contributing to recreational inequality. The spatial realities of these groups, often rendered invisible within the dominant upper-middle-class Bengali culture, are shaped by socio-economic, racial, and caste-based marginalization (Chattopadhyay, 2005; Roy, 2003).

The study critiques Kolkata's recreational policies, which prioritize city-level aesthetics and safety (e.g., parks, Smart Cities, Beautiﬁcation policies) while ignoring diverse recreational needs of marginalized women. Recreation is often treated as a monolithic "free time" activity, overlooking the local constraints on these women’s daily lives living under threats of rapid socio-spatial changes (Sharma-Brymer, 2021; Yadav, 2020).

Drawing from feminist literature on women’s placemaking as the process of the "micropolitics of everyday lives" (Massey, 2005; McDowell, 1992; Mohanty, 2003), this pilot study, conducted in four peri-urban areas of Kolkata, employed feminist ethnography (Hesse-Biber, 2023) with the following aims:

• to gain preliminary insights into the daily recreational activities of women,

• to identify socio-spatial settings associated with these activities

• to assess the possibility of gaining access to the community and community partners.

RESEARCH QUESTION

RQ 1.0: What does recreation signify to diﬀerent groups of women in their everyday lives?

RQ 2.0: What settings are associated with recreation?

This study adopted feminist ethnography as its methodology, with a total sample size of 30 participants across four areas (n=30), using the snowball sampling method (Hesse-Biber, 2023) . The methods employed include the following:

RECORDING, TRANSCRIBING, AND QUALITATIVE

FINDINGS

1. Nuances in understanding and experiencing the term "recreation” include the following: “Working time”, “extra time for household works”, “family rearing time”,

“a place of comfort,a place of well-being”

“Happy Times”,

2. Various types of women's recreation include the following interesting activities along with other regular recreational activities like socialization, sedentary activities, physical activities, self-time/me-time, and free time:

3. Various types of socio-physical settings associated with women's recreation:

Residence/Housing

Neighborhood/community resources

Kids-based amenities/resources

Informal and temporary workspaces within residences, neighborhoods, and inter-neighborhood spaces.

Caregiving setups at public and private levels

4. The preliminary spaces identiﬁed include a variety of ordinary, informal, and local self-made spaces and resources, spanning both public and private realms, such as:

-Rooftops, balconies, and stoops

-Ground-ﬂoor outdoor rooms

-Courtyards

-Backyard spaces like alleys and gardens

-Tea stalls, especially near workplaces or children's amenities

-Lanes and lane corners

-Local waterbodies (Pukur)

-Residual open spaces near schools, tuition centers, and vocational training centers

-Grocery shops and vegetable markets

-Speciﬁc tree shades (Gachtala)

-Local meat shops or informal Bengali snack shops

COGNITIVE MAPPING (MCINTYRE,

Dr. Mallika Bose

Ankita Karmakar

Dr. Melissa W. Wright

Dr. Kathleen Sexsmith

Dr. Leann Andrews

The Impacts of Urban Density and Future Construction on Urban Carbon

Background

Baltimore's comprehensive master plan targets a 60% GHG reduction by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2045, necessitating urban-scale analyses of energy usage and carbon emissions. Among all sectors contributing to GHG emissions, buildings in Baltimore account for 64% of city’s GHG emissions (Baltimore climate action plan, 2024) and signiﬁcant opportunity exists to reduce residential building emissions, especially that more than 6,000 new houses were built in Baltimore (Bureau of the Census, 2023).

Objectives

The main objective of this research is to understand the impacts of future construction and shifts in urban residential density (from low to high density) on building operational and embodied energy consumption and carbon emission in Baltimore. This project will also explore energy e cient scenarios that are most e ective in reducing the urban building carbon footprint.

Methodology

The project aggregates data from multiple sources to develop a comprehensive dataset needed for development of Baltimore residential building archetypes. This step of methodology includes collection of geometrical and non-geometrical data for development of the building characteristics, extraction of window-to-wall ratio (WWR) data using object detection, and construction of housing archetypes that represent the Baltimore housing sector.

Data will be used to evaluate the impact of construction and various building density zones on embodied, and operational carbon emissions using a data-driven physics-based modeling framework including Rhino, Grasshopper, and UMI.

Findings

At this stage of this ongoing research project, we have used machine learning techniques to extract and analyze building characteristics. For example, we have used object detection techniques to collect window to wall ratio (WWR) data from Google Street Images with a high accuracy rate, as demonstrated by a mean squared error (MSE) 0f 0.082 when compared to actual ratios calculated in AutoCad, conﬁrming the reliability of data-driven approach to use in urban building energy modeling.

In archetype analysis, we identified an urgent need to retrofit existing residential buildings since a major portion of residential buildings in Baltimore include pre-1940 two-story single-family houses with potentially high energy usage. These results underscore the importance of moving toward densification of urban areas and using low carbon energy-e cient scenarios for both new construction and retrofitting as interventions to reduce the energy use in relation to urban morphology. The results of this analysis will also contribute to the development of an urban carbon emission modeling to predict building-related greenhouse gas emissions in cities and inform urban planning decisions.

Elnaz Ghasemi Rahman Azari

Lisa Iulo

Julian Wang Wangda Zuo

A framework for Integrating IoT with a Mobile System for Indoor Air Quality Sensing

Abstract

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is considered a crucial aspect of building health and occupant well-being, especially as occupants spend 90 percent of their time indoors.

Di erent factors impact the concentration of air pollutants and air quality in indoor spaces including inadequate ventilation, emissions from building materials and furnishings, and biological contaminants. Thus, indoor air quality (IAQ) needs to be carefully monitored and controlled as a building operation priority to maintain healthy indoor

Research Goal

Integration of Systems

Research Plan: This research suggests providing An autonomous self-propelled robot with miniaturized, discrete, and low-cost sensors alongside advancements in machine learning and analytical methods.

This work focuses on the potential of using this system to achieve harmonious and balanced indoor Air quality (IAQ) while paying attention to the four main key points: Navigating, Sensing, visualizing, and optimizing the built environment.

Improve spatial coverage of IAQ sensing in built environments by developing hardware and coding infrastructure for integrated low-cost stationary and mobile IAQ sensing. Mobile sensing can complement stationary sensing in IAQ monitoring and serve as an e ective solution for a comprehensive assessment of architectural indoor environments, both temporally and spatially.

Hypothesis

Mobile sensing can complement stationary sensing methods in IAQ monitoring and serve as an e ective solution for a comprehensive assessment of architectural indoor environments, both temporally and spatially.

To develop a proof of concept for a stationary low-cost IAQ sensing system and validate it by comparing it with a high-quality sensing system. The prototype should be capable of measuring various pollutant indicators, including carbon dioxide (CO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM), Ozone (O3), temperature, and humidity, attached to a microcontroller on a PCB board.

This task aims to develop a proof of concept for a robotic sensing system by integrating a kinetic system with miniaturized, discrete, and low-cost sensors to enable high-granularity IAQ monitoring.

Combining both stationary and mobile sensing systems to provide a broader sensing timestamp and improve spatial-temporal distribution for a comprehensive IAQ data structure, the diagram represents the created data structure after coupling sensing with navigation and mapping the indoor space.

Hanin Othman PhD Student RE2 Lab

José Duarte Committee member Rahman Azari Chair and Advisor RE2 Lab

Benay Gürsoy Committee member

Katie Fitzsimons Committee member

Tamy Guimaraes Committee member

IDENTIFYING KEY DETERMINANTS OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION

A SHAP-BASED FEATURE IMPORTANCE ANALYSIS ACROSS TWO DATASETS

OVERVIEW

Identifying key determinants of energy consumption is crucial for reducing it. One method for identifying these determinants is feature importance analysis based on machine learning models. This study conducts a feature importance analysis using SHAP values1 for two energy use datasets, identifying and comparing the top 20 key determinants between the two datasets in the ﬁndings.

DATASETS

1. Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) (“2020 RECS Survey Data,” n.d.);

2. 2022 End-Use Load Proﬁles (EULPs) for the U.S. Building Stock (“Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI),” n.d.).

RESULTS

MODELING

Algorithms: ElasticNet, Random Forest, XGBoost, and Neural Network Evaluation Metrics: R², MAE, RMSE.

• The Neural Network emerging as the top-performing model for both RECS and EUPLs, with the highest R² and lowest MAE and RMSE.

• The EULPs model performs significantly better than the RECS, with an R² of 0.94 for its Neural Network model compared to an R² of 0.70 for the RECS. This indicates that the feature importance analysis based on the EULPs model is more reliable, as a higher R² value reflects a better fit between the model and the data.

In this study, SHAP values represent the impact of each feature on overall energy use, with higher SHAP values indicating a greater impact. A SHAP beeswarm plot is used to identify the top 20 key features a ecting energy use and how they contribute to it.

• Overlap of Key Determinants between RECS and EULPs: ﬂoor area, fewer occupants, attached housing units, and higher dry bulb temperatures.

• Determinants That Account for significant Shares: (1) Features that directly influence the demand, e ciency, and usage levels of heating and cooling systems, such as heating and cooling degree days, summer temperature control methods, infiltration, and heating setpoint.

(2) Featuresrelated to building envelope performance, such as housing units built after 1980, windows, story geometry, wall insulation, and foundation type,

• Addressing Performance Gap: Ensuring the accuracy of input data for key features in the simulation could signiﬁcantly improve the overall simulation accuracy

The features that contribute to reducing energy consumption in the two datasets include:

Figure 3. SHAP Beeswarm Plot for Datasets RECS and EUPLs.

Table 1. Summary of Features and Entry Count for RECS and EULPs Datasets.

Figure 2. Model Performance Evaluation of Datasets: (a) RECS and (b) EULPs.

Jie Li Lisa Iulo Ute Poerschke Guido Cervone

ELECTROCHEMICAL APPLICATIONS FOR BUILDING SKINS

ELECTROCHEMICAL ENERGY HARVESTING AND STORAGE THROUGH BUILDING SKINS

ABSTRACT

The key objective of this PhD research project is to propose and test building skin solutions that serve as distributed energy sources by integrating photovoltaic systems and electrochemical energy storage technologies, specifically, reversible fuel cells and redox flow batteries. Such building skins will have the potential to reduce the challenges of introducing solar power into the grid. More specifically, this research aims to a) conceptualize reversible proton exchange membrane (RPEM) fuel cells and redox flow batteries (RFB) integrated into building skins as storage system to support PVs, b) develop electrochemical building skin prototypes that address architectural and energy-related constraints, c) estimate and test the thermal performance and energy generation potential of prototypes, d) model the energy performance of a building case-study that integrates electrochemical building skins, and e) assess the environmental life cycle impacts associated with these skins. The main contributions of this project include design proposals and model prototypes with performance evaluation results that demonstrate how integrated PV-electrochemical building skins can work as well as guidelines for integrating electrochemical applications for building skins.

Preliminary study

A preliminary prototype was built to demonstrate how this energy system operates under real environmental conditions, rather than ideal lab conditions. The system’s output ﬂuctuates due to changing weather factors such as radiation and

the time in a day regardless of latitute.

As regenerative fuel cells are not yet commercially mature, the system will utilize a separate electrolyzer and fuel cell to simulate the reactions of regenerative fuel cells. While functioning independently,

This device utilizes an Arduino UNO and a sensor shield to track the maximum radiation detected by the sensors. By this way, the solar panel always get the most energy all

Matlab/Simulink Simulation: Load proﬁle (orange) and PV output power (blue) whole year results in Phoenix (left)

Jingshi Zhang RE2 Lab

Rahman Ute Poerschke Department of Architecture

Derek Hall Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering

Julian Wang Department of Architectural Engineering

Zhang, Jingshi; Azari, Rahman. 2024. Integrated Photovoltaic with Reversible Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell-based Building Cladding

Zhang, Jingshi; Azari, Rahman. 2024. The Energy Storage Capability

Photovoltaic and Reversible Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells. EAAE/ARCC Conference, Denmark. Zhang, Jingshi; Azari, Rahman; Poerschke, Ute; Hall, M. Derek. 2023.

PV sensing and tracking Development of new prototype

2024 HUD Innovation in A ordable Housing Student Design & Planning

By:

US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) O ce of Policy Development and Research (PD&R)

Honorable Mention

Krista L Schneider :

Mohammad Rezvan :

Marshay McCain : Master

Arindam Jain : Master of

Holly Zimmerman : Master of

Lisa Domenica Iulo : Director of the Hamer Center for Community Design - Professor of Architecture

Introduction

HUD Innovation in A ordable Housing is an annual student design & planning competition where teams of graduate students from multiple disciplines submit plans in response to a real life a ordable housing design issue. This competition proposal presents the design of South Madison’s Bay View Commons, a transit-oriented community that promotes a ordable, sustainable, and resilient living for diverse populations.

Housing Density and Neighborhood Context

The project balances housing density with the surrounding neighborhood, o ering a variety of housing types. These include co-living units for young professionals and larger homes for families to meet the demographic needs of the area.

Pedestrian Connections and Accessibility

Designed for walkability, the community optimizes pedestrian access to essential amenities like public transportation, parks, schools, and recreational areas, encouraging a car-free lifestyle.

Sustainability and Energy E ciency

Sustainable design elements are a key focus. The community incorporates Passive House and Zero Energy Ready certiﬁcations, alongside features like rooftop solar panels, mass timber construction, and stormwater retention systems. These measures align with the city’s goals for renewable energy and carbon neutrality.

Community Interaction and Shared Spaces

The design fosters social interaction through shared spaces, such as community gardens and pedestrian paths. These features aim to strengthen community identity and enhance residents' quality of life.

Understanding of the community

The project addresses South Madison's three market proﬁles by providing energy-e cient, a ordable housing with increased density and universal accessibility, leveraging public transit and bike infrastructure through inclusion in the Transit-Oriented Overlay District for a sustainable community.

Conclusion

Design Documents

The project proposes a 44 du/ac density (339 units) with 219 parking spaces, prioritizing small units for 1-2 person households, co-living spaces, and additional 3-4 bedroom units to support larger families and a ordable housing options.

Unit Mix, Phasing & Financing

The project will be built in two phases to minimize resident displacement. Phase One includes mid-rise apartments, co-living units, and quads, while Phase Two replaces the Romnes Apartments with townhomes and duplexes. The development integrates a ordability, CLT ownership, and community amenities, providing housing for diverse market segments.

This proposal provides a model for creating a ordable, environmentally conscious, and community-centered urban developments, reﬂecting innovation in sustainable design and social cohesion.

Building Mass & Phasing

Section Diagram

Demographics

Krista L Schneider Mohammad Rezvan Marshay McCain Arindam Jain

Holly Zimmerman Lisa Domenica Iulo

Unveiling 100 Drivers of Building Energy Consumption A Review of Literature across spatial scales

Research Questions

Current studies often fail to systematically identify the determinants of urban building energy consumption and overlook how these factors impact heating, cooling, and electricity demand. Also, the e ectiveness of top-down versus bottom-up energy policies remains unclear.

• How can the determinants of urban building energy consumption inﬂuence heating, cooling, and electricity demand?

• What role do top-down and bottom-up energy policies play in reducing urban building energy use, and which approach is more e ective?

Aim and Objectives

• Systematically classify determinants and identify the most inﬂuential factors a ecting energy consumption.

• Determine the direction (positive or negative) of the relationship between these determinants and energy consumption.

• Provide recommendations to inform energy policies aimed at reducing urban building energy use.

Findings

The investigation into the determinants of building energy consumption at large scales identifies 100 features across various spatial scales. Through a comprehensive review, determinants were categorized into macro-scale and micro-scale factors that influence energy consumption. Macro-scale determinants, which broadly a ect energy use in urban settings, are classified into three main groups: climatic, socio-economic, and urban or geospatial factors. Micro-scale determinants are divided into two categories: individual characteristics and building and building systems characteristics.

Certain features consistently reduce building energy consumption across macro spatial scales, such as public transport, urban canyons, electricity as the energy source, attached housing types and local or single-split HVAC systems. Conversely, factors like population, housing prices, surface-to-volume ratios, detached single-family houses, central HVAC systems, and heating degree days tend to increase energy consumption at these macro spatial scales.

Lisa D. Iulo, Professor & Director, Hamer Center for Community Design

Sepideh Korsavi, Postdoctoral Scholar, Hamer Cener & RE2 Lab

Rahman Azari, Assoc. Professor & Director, RE2 Lab

Determinants of the U.S. Residential Buildings Energy Consumption at National and State Levels

Energy Policy Implications

Sepideh Korsavi, Postdoctoral Scholar, Hamer Cener & RE2 Lab

Aim and Objectives

This study aims to use the most recent RECS dataset (i.e., 2020 data published in 2023) to identify the drivers of U.S. residential energy use. Objectives: a) model national and state-level residential building energy consumption using machine learning methods, b) identify the most important determinants of residential energy consumption and quantify their e ects, using SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) sensitivity analysis, and c) provide energy policy recommendations at national and state levels by identifying the strongest explanatory features.

Rahman Azari, Assoc. Professor & Director, RE2 Lab

Key Findings

Lisa D. Iulo, Professor & Director, Hamer Center for Community Design

Using electricity for heating can significantly reduce site-level residential energy consumption nationwide. Given that electricity is the second most common heating source in American homes after natural gas, these findings highlight the potential benefits of transitioning to electric heating.

Homes with gas central furnaces have a heating EUI 3.9 times higher than those with central heat pumps.

Key Findings

The ﬁve most important features a ecting energy models are electricity for main space heating, energy-consuming areas, HDD65, electricity for main water heating, number of household members.

Single-family detached homes have an EUI 1.3 times higher than apartments with ﬁve or more units.

Energy-consuming area is a top factor in 92% of states, heating fuel type in 86%, total rooms in 54%, housing type in 34%, and appliances/equipment in 32%.

Informing Energy Policies

Electrifying residential heating systems can substantially reduce energy use in U.S. homes which supports the integration of heating electriﬁcation into state and national energy strategies. For greater e ciency, state policies should promote denser residential zones, energy-e cient technologies, and on-site electricity generation.

Exploring determinants of residents’ intentional behavior in green stormwater infrastructure adoption

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

Climate change and increasing impervious surfaces are causing higher volumes of rainfall runo in urban areas, creating an urgent need for e ective management to protect property, infrastructure, and the environment. Traditional grey stormwater infrastructure is often outdated and incapable of handling this increased runo . Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) o ers a promising alternative by using natural systems like rain gardens and green roofs to manage stormwater. However, limited public land availability has led municipalities to focus on residential properties for GSI implementation. However, resident participation in GSI adoption remains low, even when o ered at no cost or with incentives. The low participation is influenced by various factors, including those related to federal and city policies, governance, resources, and socio-cognitive factors. Studies that explore the social aspect GSI, identify knowledge a key factor influencing GSI adoption behavior. Other studies suggest that simply increasing knowledge does not necessarily lead to changes in behavior. Instead, knowledge is considered one of several factors (e.g., ability to act, external incentives) that shape behavior, often indirectly, by influencing attitudes, which in turn a ect behavior. Thus, while knowledge is essential, it is not su cient on its own to trigger pro-environmental behavior. These conflicting viewpoints highlight the need for continued exploration of the factors that influence residents' intentions to adopt GSI.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

To address the gap in understanding how knowledge and past experiences influence GSI implementation behavior, this study expands the TPB model by incorporating knowledge and past experiences as an additional construct and implementing a resident survey across multiple US cities. Here, knowledge includes awareness of both the issue (e.g., flooding) and potential solutions (e.g., GSI installation). Past experiences encompass personal encounters with stormwater issues and exposure to nearby GSI facilities. Additionally, the study examines the influence of socio-demographic and geographic characteristics, considering the context-specific nature of GSI. The following two hypotheses are proposed:

H1: As predicted by the TPB, (a) attitudes, (b) subjective norms, and (c) perceived behavioral control will have positive e ects on intentions, which will in turn (d) have positive e ects on behavior.

H2. Knowledge, past expeirences, and demographic characteristics will have e ects on intentions, which will in turn have positive e ects on behavior.

METHODS

We tested the proposed hypotheses using an online survey of residents from three U.S. cities, Baltimore, MD; Pittsburgh, PA; and Portland, OR, chosen for their diverse stages of GSI implementation. Data analyses were performed using IBM SPSS V.29 (for preliminary statistical procedures) and R V.4.1.1 (for the Multilevel regression Models). Multilevel Modeling (MLM) technique was employed to assess the hierarchal structure of the data and examine the relationships between knowledge and experiences, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavior control, intention, demographic characteristics, and behavior. A forward-stepping technique was used to test the full model. A forward-stepping procedure is a model-building approach where variables are added one by one to the model, starting with the most signiﬁcant predictors and continuing to add variables that improve the model ﬁt.

METHODS: SURVEY CONSTRUCTS AND ATTRIBUTED FACTORS

Findings

The analysis revealed that city-level di erences explained a negligible amount of variance in GSI adoption intentions, indicating that individual-level factors were more influential. Among these, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and GSI knowledge had the strongest positive e ects on adoption intentions. Attitude toward GSI was influenced by political ideology, with conservative views potentially having a negative impact. Perceived behavioral control was significantly a ected by race, housing type, income, and homeownership, with White homeowners in single-family residences being more likely to perceive higher control, while residents of multi-family housing and non-homeowners experienced the opposite. Income and homeownership were the most substantial predictors of GSI adoption behavior.

RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Findings o er valuable insights for GSI practitioners, educators, and policymakers. Results highlight that possessing the necessary skills and resources significantly increases the likelihood of GSI adoption, suggesting that perceived control is crucial not only for intention but also for follow-through behavior. This highlights the importance of interventions that address both real and perceived obstacles, ensuring residents feel capable of managing technical aspects and have access to financial support. By boosting confidence in their ability to adopt GSI, residents are more likely to turn intentions into actual adoption.

Mahsa Adib, Hong Wu, Travis Flohr, Stuart Echols, Shannon Cruz

RETHINKING 322

PROJECT BACKGROUND

PennDOT has proposed a State College Area Connector (SCAC) which will link existing high speed segments US Route 322 in Potters Mills and Boalsburg with a four-lane limited access freeway through historic Penns-Brush Valley. PennDOT is currently studying three potential corridors for the freeway. In spring 2022, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Dan Marriott, was asked by Emeritus Associate Professor, Tom Yahner, to share his experience with alternative highway design at a public meeting in April 2022. The favorable community response led Marriott to develop a landscape architecture studio to study alternative design options for the corridor.

The advanced studio course (LArch 414), Rethinking 322, was o ered in Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, and currently, Fall 2024. From the beginning, the studio partnered with the Hamer Center for Community Design, Penn State Law and the Centre County Historical Society (CCHS), with assistance from Penn State’s Larson Transportation Institute. In Fall 2024, the studio initiated a new collaboration with the Clearwater Conservancy.

The studio has assisted local communities and advocacy organizations in better understanding the implications of the freeway and preparing responses to PennDOT regarding proposed project. The work and research have been reported in local media and campus news, and Marriott was awarded the CCHS 2023 award for Excellence in Historic Preservation Education and Advocacy for Rethinking 322. At the end of each semester, students present their research and design proposals at public meetings, and their ﬁnal projects are shared with the community through a guidebook, ‘Rethinking 322: Strategies for the State College Area Connector in Penns-Brush Valley’.

HAMER CENTER FUNDING

Hamer Center funding supported a community design charrette, ﬁeld trips, public presentations, and printing costs for each of the studio courses since the Rethinking 322 project began. In addition, the Hamer Center is sponsoring a visit to University Park by civil engineer and transportation visionary, Ian Lockwood in October 2024. Lockwood has consulted with state and municipal transportation agencies, and the Federal Highway Administration regarding alternative transportation strategies including, tra c calming, road diets and ﬂexible design.

HAMER CENTER SUPPORTED

For the semester-long studios, each student was charged with identifying an interest area related to the proposed highway or the contextual setting of Penns-Brush Valley. Their focus areas were reﬁned during the early weeks of each semester as they attended public meetings for the SCAC and met with local advocacy organizations, government agencies and individual stakeholders to gather di erent perspectives about the proposed highway.

From the start, the students identiﬁed the passion and a ection for the rural character, historic sites and agricultural heritage of the valley as a common theme in public meetings and the one-on-one conversations they had with area stakeholders. They learned about the SCAC within the 168 square-mile Penns-Brush Valley Rural Historic District that was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. Within this context, speciﬁc concerns about climate change, growth in the Centre Region, ecosystem integrity and sustainable farming were voiced. As a result, the students determined that while PennDOT's actions could impact the legacy of the valley, so too could local land use policies and conservation programs.

In person and virtual visits to the studio augmented their explorations with insights from Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects in Seattle, the Penn State Law and Sustainability Institute, the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute at Penn State, the Centre County Historical Society, Clearwater Conservancy and PennDOT Region 2. In addition to studying the US 322 corridor in Penns-Brush Valley, and the larger 322 corridor between Interstate 81 and Interstate 99, the students traveled to Baltimore to meet with Floura Teeter Landscape Architects to learn about the design process for the award-winning Maryland Route 200/ Intercounty Connector (ICC) project and visited the model freeway to study its alignment, sound barrier design, integrated regional bike trail, wildlife crossings and pollinator plantings. They’ve traveled to Brunswick, Maryland (population 8,000] to meet with the Director of Planning and tour the state's most successful roundabout program-a joint e ort by the city and state that has improved tra c e ciency and safety in the growing rural community. Student visits have also included the George Washington Memorial Parkway, and the Interstate 66 bike trail and the Middleburg tra c calming projects in Virginia, and the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve in Maryland.

Class of Fall 2022 during a survey of the regional trail, sound barriers and planting along the MD Route 200/intercounty Connector {ICC} Trail

Class of Spring 2024 in Brunswick MD

Class of Fall 2023 walking alone North Atherton

Collaborating with Ian lockwood Fall 2022 Fall 2023 Spring 2024

Fall 2024

Rethinking 322 Agricultural Rendering Image: Jake Hutton

Rendering of U.S.322 over Spring Creek. Boalsburg, PA. Image: Jacob Hutton

PennDOT Section as Guide for U.S.322 Expansion & Approach Section for the New Boalsburg Interchange. Image: PennDOT & Elijah Pfei er

MAPPING COMMUNITY DYNAMICS

INTEGRATING

SOCIAL AND SPATIAL PERSPECTIVES IN DECODING THE FUNCTIONING OF MIXED-INCOME INFORMAL NEIGHBORHOODS

ABSTRACT

In many cities in the Global South, the lack of a ordable housing, increased migration from rural areas, and rapid urbanization have led to informal urbanism becoming the primary mode of development. This includes the creation of slums on encroached land and informal middle-class settlements on privately owned land.

This trend is becoming increasingly common in cities across Latin America, Africa, and South Asia. In post-colonial Delhi, the conﬂicting visions of the state and communities have resulted in the emergence of mixed-income informal settlements. Urban planners have suggested that mixed-income communities can promote equity and inclusion globally, but there is a lack of knowledge on how these informal urban systems operate.

This research proposes a community-engagement method to study informally developed communities and underserved populations. The methodology gives agency to the communities who shape their built environment with limited resources by providing their voices toward understanding the complex system of emergence and functioning of neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are often overlooked as a 'problem' in city planning initiatives.

RESEARCH FOCUS

How do mixed-income informal settlements emerge, adapt, and function for diverse socio-economic populations?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research received funding for ﬁeldwork through the Stuckeman School, Stuckeman Center for Design Computing, and Hamer Center for Community Design

CASE STUDIES

PHASE 1: NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER MAPPING

A unique aspect of the study involves the creation of neighborhood character maps generated through a participatory process involving residents, workshop students, and the researcher and provide insights into the social and spatial dynamics of the communities, highlighting their unique character and functionality.

Student Neighborhood perception workshop to add a third perspective towards both understanding the site as an outsider.

PHASE 2: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

In-depth Interviews & focus group discussion with multiple generations of residents to document their stories, challenges, and aspirations, to gather qualitative insights into the lived experiences of the middle class in these settlements. Recruitment: Snowball Sampling

Structured surveys to quantify insights and understand the patterns, preferences, and pressures that shape the residential decisions and daily lives of the middle class.

PHASE 3: NEIGHBORHOOD + HOUSING TYPOLOGY

Urban Mapping of the neighborhoods to visually and spatially document the layout and the organic evolution of these communities.

NAI BASTI

EAST VINOD NAGAR ABUL FAZAL ENCLAVE

Sana Ahrar Alexandra Staub

Denise Rae Costanzo

Madhuri Desai

Emily T Rosenman

Landscape Framework for Juniata Terrace

Cohesion, Character, & Meaning for the Future of an Historic Company Town

Background & First Steps

In 2024 Juniata Terrace earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places for its unique history as a Garden City-inspired company town—later incorporated as a tiny but thriving borough. Emile Perrot, who had designed other well-known company towns, laid out the townhouses and boulevards for workers at the American Viscose corporation in nearby Lewistown, leveling a terrace from a hillside farm in 1923. An adherent to the Garden City movement, Perrot envisioned a fulﬁlling experience of landscape for the residents of Juniata Terrace, centered on a wide boulevard planted with shade trees, but little is known about the speciﬁcs of his planting ideas, and tight budgets surely limited their realization.

The Juniata Terrace Borough leadership, lead by Mayor John Wagner, sought the help of Penn State via the Hamer Center to clarify a vision for the boulevard—a much loved feature of the community— and for the many other landscape opportunities not addressed by Perrot or evident in the historic district. These include rolling woodlands, traces of the original farm, a recently cleared prospect above downtown, and the potential for spectacular views to the oldest known Pennsylvania Railroad station and the freight rail lines that wind their way past the Juniata River.

Any vision for the landscape of Juniata Terrace must account for its dramatic geography, so Alec and his assistants, landscape architecture undergrads Evelyn Bartner and Vincent Lin, have worked to understand the history that has shaped the borough and have created a large physical model of existing conditions as the basis for future discussions and plans. Alec is continuing the work to catalogue the existing trees in the boulevard and come up with a framework for future landscape development with the local government. Historian and local resident Rick Bodenschatz has been an invaluable partner and has generously shared the knowledge and insights that are the basis of the historic district designation and his new book, Juniata Terrace…A Walk Back in Time

Juniata Terrace from above

An informal path downhill from the borough joins a power line corridor cut to reveal Lewistown Station

This project is made possible with funding from the Hamer Center for Community Design and the Stuckeman School Department of Landscape Architecture

Terrace boulevard and the rowhouses originally built for American Viscose workers and their families

Alec Spangler Project Lead Research Assistant

Vincent Lin Research Assistant

INTEGRATING BLUE-GREEN INFRASTRUCTURES IN BALTIMORE:

Urban Heat Island (UHI) e ect is an alarming phenomenon where the ambient temperature in cities becomes warmer than in the surrounding rural areas. Baltimore is an eastern American city that faces several environmental challenges including the UHI e ect. However, there is a lack of data-driven urban decision-making approaches that can give bottom-up directives for urban planners to create a comfortable urban microclimate for the community. To address the gap, this research aims to develop a data-driven urban decision-making approach to integrate Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) within a city to create a comfortable urban microclimate, which will be accepted by the community. A combination of ﬁeld survey, computational study and community engagement workshops will be conducted in Baltimore areas most adversely a ected by extreme heat. While applied to Baltimore, the intention is to create a framework that is applicable to other cities with similar environmental and social contexts.

How could an improved selection process of high-impact Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) to mitigate Urban Heat Island (UHI) e ect look like, that negotiates between data-driven optimization and community preferences?

Can the BGI interventions mitigate the UHI e ect and improve the outdoor thermal comfort conditions of Baltimore?

SUB-QUESTION 01 SUB-QUESTION 02 SUB-QUESTION 03

How can the BGI interventions create an impact on the outdoor environmental conditions of Baltimore in terms of air temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity?

How the knowledge of co-production and citizen science can be utilized within decision-making approaches to combine simulation optimization and community engagement for BGI implementation in Baltimore?

The original contribution of this research is to provide decision support for BGI design and implementation to urban planners, policy makers and community decision-makers and to develop a comprehensive framework for the design process development for the designers involved in BGI implementation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work is supported by DOE Award DE-SC0023217, the Baltimore Social Environmental Collaborative Urban Integrated Field Lab. Support for this research is provided by the Department of Energy IFL program, Hamer Center for Community Design, and Penn State Department of Architecture. Envi-met software license supplied by Ecology+Design (E+D), a research lab at Penn State Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

FIGURE 01: URBAN CONTEXT OF BALTIMORE WITH INSIGNIFICANT NATURAL ELEMENTS. (SOURCES: AUTHOR)

FIGURE 02: DIAGRAM OUTLINING THE PROPOSED RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND PLANNED PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.

Tasneem Tariq

Lisa Domenica Iulo (Co-advisor)

Ute Poerschke (Co-advisor)

Hong Wu Travis Flohr Antonia Hadjimichael

MYCOPRINT:

ADVANCED ACOUSTIC ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN THROUGH ROBOTIC 3D PRINTING OF FUNGAL BIOMATERIALS WITH PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION

Sustainable building practices like Additive Manufacturing of biomaterials represents a forward-thinking approach to fabricating sustainable, biodegradable structures. This method shifts the focus from material extraction to leveraging the material’s biological properties. Derived from the thread-like root system of fungi, mycelium-based composites (MBC) are renewable and biodegradable biomaterials. The production of these biomaterials involves terminating the development of mycelium on organic substrates by drying or heating. Recent studies suggest that additive manufacturing of MBC enables to fabricate complex shapes, with MBC paste formulation being key for optimal AM [1]. Moreover, these biomaterials are good acoustic sound insulators [2] and have the potential to supplant standard synthetic sound absorbers.

1/ FORMULATION OF EXTRUDABLE MYCELIUM PASTE

Formulating an extrudable paste is essential for optimal printability of mycelium-based composites. Our streamlined process involves a new workﬂow for preparing extrudable mycelium mixtures by altering preparation sequences and admixture ratios. Ecovative Grow-It-Yourself Mushroom® Material was used in this study. The dry material was ﬁnely ground and sieved to prevent nozzle blockages, and a new paste formulation was developed by reducing water content by 54%. Di erent mixtures with varying psyllium husk-to-water ratios were prepared to test the stability of cylindrical samples during 3D printing as can be seen in Figure 1:

The sieve analysis of the 100 gr ground material provided particle size distribution data, with D10, D50, and D90 values of 412 µm, 1227 µm, and 1833 µm, respectively. These metrics indicate the particle sizes at which 10%, 50%, and 90% of the powder is ﬁner (Figure 2):

2/ PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION OF ROBOTIC 3D PRINTING PROCESSES

Mycelium-based mixtures present unique challenges for 3D printing due to their variability and de-gassing during extrusion, which impacts consistency. To address this, a data-driven approach utilizing machine learning o ers a potential solution to predict optimal extrusion rates based on printing parameters. Initially, heuristic approaches were employed to delineate an experimental space. A preliminary linear regression model guided the design of experiments, collecting data from 42 runs with 12 replicate measurements each (Figure 3). Experimental observations showed a non-linear relationship between printing parameters and extrusion rates, leading us to adopt an Artiﬁcial Neural Network (ANN). The training of the ANN model was done with three input features—robot speed, ∆hlayer, and ∆ wlayer—aiming to optimizing the 3D printing parameters of mycelium-based bio-composites.

3/ EXPERIMENTAL FRAMEWORK FOR ACOUSTIC PROPERTY ASSESSMENT

Taguchi L9 array was used to generate 27 acoustic samples altering key parameters including inﬁll patterns, the proportions of layers with distinct patterns, and the inﬁll percentage (Figure 4). An impedance tube was used to measure the normal incidence sound absorption coe cients at various frequencies for each sample, followed by a quantitative analysis of how the di erent parameters a ect the acoustic absorption characteristics.

4/PERFORMANCE-BASED DESIGN AND CONFORMAL 3D PRINTING OF ACOUSTIC WALL PANELS

An experimental design space was deﬁned to design a wall which was divided into 96 unique panels, each measuring 25 x 25 cm. 2 out of 96 panels were chosen for fabrication as highlighted in Figure 5 and Figure 6.

Built upon another study of our research team, a robotic additive manufacturing approach employing non-planar slicing and conformal 3D printing was used to fabricate geometrically complex acoustic panels [3]. This study underscores the transformative capacity of robotic 3D printing of MBC, presenting the development of biodegradable building elements with acoustic characteristics.

FIGURE 1.

FIGURE

FIGURE 3. EXPERIMENTAL RUN TO COLLECT BID HEIGHT AND WIDTH DATA

FIGURE 4. 3D PRINTED ACOUSTIC SAMPLES TESTED WITH IMPEDANCE TUBE

FIGURE

FIGURE 6.

WALL PANELS

Alale Mohseni

Özgüç Bertuğ Çapunama Alireza Zamani

Benay Gürsoy

Natalie Walter

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

This research presents an integrated approach to robotic additive manufacturing through three targeted interventions at the design, pre-fabrication, and analysis stages, as highlighted in Figure 1. The experimental design space assesses the relationship between surface intricacy and additive manufacturing constraints. At the core, our advanced additive manufacturing strategies harness geometric discretization, Di erential Growth Curves (DGC), and extruder pose optimization to enhance material deposition. This is coupled with our vision-based system, which meticulously captures and analyzes geometric changes. This section delineates the methodologies and insights underpinning each intervention.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN SPACE

In this study, we used Ecovative's pre-inoculated Dehydrated Grow-It-Yourself Mushroom mixture. In our experimental framework, we deﬁned a geometric domain to assess the relationship between geometric complexity and additive manufacturing limitations. Using an interference pattern from 2D simplex noise and a 1D sine wave, we aimed to validate our fabrication approach. The experimental space highlights the challenges of stair-stepping in planar slicing and layer height variability in non-planar slicing, as shown in Figures 2.b and 2.c. A region with high geometric feature frequency was selected for testing, serving as a rigorous benchmark to evaluate our hybrid slicing strategy's e ectiveness.

ROBOTIC WORK CELL

We used ABB IRB 2400 industrial robotic arm due to its 6-degrees of freedom and developed a customized extruder End-of-Arm Tool (EoAT) (Figure 3). Since sterilization is crucial in working with mycelium-based composites, we purposefully designed the interference plates for the LDM WASP Extruder XL 3.0 and the WASP 5L pressurized tank for ease of disassembly, which facilitates thorough sterilization..

MYCOPRINT:

ADVANCED ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING STRATEGIES

To enhance precision in AM for MBC, we combined three computational approaches: geometric discretization of the print volume, toolpath generation employing DGC, and extruder pose optimization (Figure 4). These methods build on previous work in clay 3D printing [1].

FIGURE 4. Computational Workﬂow for AM of MBC

1/ Geometric Discretization. Both planar and non-planar slicing methods were merged in this study. Utilizing the target print volume, represented as a NURBS solid, we identify the top surface based on surface normals that align with the intended material deposition direction.

2/ Toolpath Generation. DGC's adoption functions as a critical element in facilitating continuous material deposition, stemming from travel movements between distinct print islands. Additionally, DGC's intrinsic nature as a surface-ﬁlling curve allows the successful generation of planar layers with holes and non-planar layers alike, while maintaining a consistent geodesic distance between proximate material beads.

3/ Robot Pose Optimization. This stage is centered arund optimizing the extruder orientation during the deposition process. Each generated toolpath from the previous stage, coupled with the respective evaluation of print surface normal at discrete toolpath nodes, serves as a foundation for determining the robotic extruder's initial orientation (Figure 4.c). This optimization ensures a collision-free deposition and maximizes the alignment of the extruder with the underlying print surface.

Vision-based Geometric Reconstruction Framework. We employed a vision-based sensing framework to systematically gather data and assess the impacts of fungi colonization, air-drying, and oven-drying stages on the panel geometry. The vision-based reconstruction framework employed in this study was initially developed and exhaustively validated for accuracy and fabrication feasibility in an earlier study [2].

Geometric Deformation Analysis. To analyze the data collected at various post-fabrication stages of the MBC panel, we employed the signed Hausdor distance method (Aspert, Santa-Cruz, and Ebrahimi 2002), providing a measure of the maximum discrepancy between reconstructed geometries of consecutive stages. By comparing the 3D scan data gathered from di erent stages. Figure 6 visualizes changes between each subsequent stage. Together, the combined impact of all the post-fabrication stages resulted in a signiﬁcant -17.72% reduction in total volume (Figure 5).

Alale Mohseni

Özgüç Bertuğ Çapunama

Alireza Zamani

Benay Gürsoy

Natalie Walter

FIGURE 2. The adopted experimental design space highlights the stair stepping and excessive layer height variance issues inherent in (a)

FIGURE 1. Overview of the methodological workﬂow employed in this study, detailing the

mycelium-based bio-composites.

FIGURE

FIGURE 5. Post-fabrication deformation analysis of the fabricated panel,

FIGURE 6. Robotically 3D printed mycelium-based bio-composite panel; (Left) Panel immediately following

Design for Additive Construction: rethinking building design

How Do Construction Technologies Inﬂuence Building Design?

Additive construction is unlocking new opportunities !

While some AC companies have marketed the technology primarily as a time-saving solution, research suggests that the primary advantage lies not in speed—as pre-casting may sometimes be faster—but in the unprecedented design freedom it o ers. Others contend that AC is less cost-e ective for generic projects or when replicating existing buildings. They argue that AC will only become economically viable for widespread housing construction if designs evolve to be more optimized and personalized. This observation underscores the importance of Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) in the construction ﬁeld (Krimi, 2017; Labonnote et al., 2016).

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) is a well-known and widely researched topic in ﬁelds like product design, aerospace, and automotive. However, in the construction industry, many applications of additive construction fail to fully leverage its unique design opportunities, often replicating traditional designs instead of exploring the design freedom that additive construction o ers, as illustrated in the examples below.

A literature review conducted for this project found 85 articles using keywords related to DfAM in construction, but only three articles truly focused on this subject. Many studies tend to address speciﬁc aspects of DfAM rather than providing a comprehensive or holistic overview. For additive construction to be e ectively implemented, an architectural paradigm shift is necessary (Labonnote et al., 2016).

Introducing a new approach: Design for Additive Construction (DfAC)

We introduce the concept of Design for Additive Construction (DfAC) which is a design approach specifically tailored to leverage the capabilities of additive construction. This concept consolidates existing research from Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) within the construction field and incorporates insights from other industries. As illustrated in the accompanying figure, DfAC encompasses several key aspects that are critical to its successful application.

Future work:

Project 1: Designing Multi-Functional Building Components via DfAC priciples

Project 2: Bridging Disciplines: Evaluating Architectural and Engineering Integration in DfAC Education

Project 3: Advanced DfAC: Developing an Integrated Workﬂow

(Wang et al., 2024)

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) in construction

Ali Alhussain Nathan Brown Jose Duarte

Flexural testing of 3D printed concrete wall specimens.

Performing and analyzing a 3-point bending test of 3D Printed wall samples for a custom-made concrete mixture to print in frigid environments.

Introduction

Concrete 3D Printing (C3DP) is an additive manufacturing approach in which a robot arm controls a nozzle to deposit a mixture of concrete slurry layer-by-layer to print structures without formwork. Concrete additive manufacturing's high customizability and low-volume manufacturing capabilities provides faster manufacturing response time, production changeovers, and cheaper inventory requirements.

Concrete 3D printing is also used to print homes in frigid environments such as Alaska, where raw materials, labor, and construction prices are high due to road inaccessibility. The advantages of 3D printing may appear appealing, but C3DP has only recently moved past early-stage development, and its real-world success rate is currently being assessed. The end results depends heavily on environmental, material, and process conditions.

This study uses a three-point bending test according to ASTM C78 on 3D-printed wall specimens to evaluate the material properties of the walls printed using the customized mixture for application in freezing conditions.

The objective is to ﬂexural test eight cases of walls to understand their failure mechanisms and choose the wall design that imparts the maximum strength, each wall case has a unique cross-section, inﬁll pattern and rebar size. Objective

Methodology:

Printing: Eight cases of varying inﬁll patterns were printed with 2 walls for each case.

Test Preparation: After printing the walls, strain gauges were mounted on the midpoint of the rebars. Rebars were installed into designated slots in the walls and ﬁxed in place by pouring concrete into the slots.

Testing: The wall specimens were tested according to ASTM C78 standard. A three-point bending test was performed using the MTS sytem at CITEL. The loading methodology was displacement-controlled to get stable force readings. The data from the strain gauges was logged using the National Instruments system.

Data Logging: The MTS interface was used to input the displacement threshold and set a constant loading rate. The time period and load versus displacement data were logged from the MTS interface, and the strain and load data from the NI system. This data is represented in charts.

Calculations: Based on the concrete cylinder compressive test value the theoretical bending moment is calculated and is then compared with the tested bending moment for each wall case.

Results:

The printing, test preparation, and testing process were a ected by several parameters mostly by temperature and humidity. The results could be due to admixture and water ﬂow rate changes during printing. Due to partial concrete ﬁlling, some examples failed early, leaving large holes in integral sections. In the initial loading test, some strain gauges delaminated and lost data.

Based on current results, the compressive test is recommended for certain portions to cross-check. Reprinting certain cases under controlled settings and with limited printing parameters is advised. Changing rebar size and

Conclusion:

The advantages of 3D printing may appear appealing, but C3DP has only recently moved past early-stage development, and its real-world success rate is currently being assessed. The ultimate result depends on environmental, material, and process conditions.

Credit: The images are from Addcon lab and X-hab, and the tesitng is perfomed for the HUD Project

The author acknowledges the valuable support of Goncalo Duarte, Paniz Farrokhsiar, Ali Baghi, Nusrat Tabassum and Amir Ghasemi.

Ashutosh Bambole

José Pinto Duarte

Sven Bilén

Zhengyu Wu Ali Memari

Aleksandra Radlinska Shadi Nazarian

TOKMEH COUTURE SUSTAINABLE FASHION ACCESSORIES

CONTEMPORARY FASHION ELEMENTS INSPIRED BY IRANIAN TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURAL MOTIFS

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

At Tokmeh Couture, the focus is on blending Iranian cultural heritage, particularly traditional architectural designs, with modern fashion. The project explores how fashion can be used to express culture while also supporting environmental sustainability. By studying Iranian patterns and art, the aim is to create fashion buttons that honor tradition while using eco-friendly materials. This work also highlights the idea that luxury fashion and environmental responsibility can go hand-in-hand, o ering a fresh perspective on how culture and sustainability can coexist in design.

METHOD

The process started with a detailed study of Iranian architecture and art, focusing on patterns that have been used for generations. This research helped in understanding the cultural signiﬁcance of the designs. Initial sketches of fashion buttons were created based on these patterns. These sketches were then improved, and new technology was used to make the buttons from sustainable materials like ceramics and biodegradable plastics. Alongside the product design, a brand identity for Tokmeh Couture was developed, inspired by the precision and elegance of origami, including the logo, packaging, and marketing materials.

BRAND ASSETS

FINDINGS/CONTRIBUTIONS

The project made several important contributions:

PRESERVING CULTURE THROUGH FASHION: The fashion buttons successfully introduce traditional Iranian designs to modern audiences, especially younger generations, helping to keep this cultural heritage alive through wearable fashion.

INNOVATIVE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN: By using eco-friendly materials, Tokmeh Couture shows how fashion can be both beautiful and environmentally responsible. This project proves that luxury fashion can also focus on sustainability without losing its appeal.

PROMOTING CULTURE AND SUSTAINABILITY: The positive feedback on the prototypes shows that combining cultural storytelling with sustainable fashion has a strong appeal. People who care about both style and environmental impact appreciate the unique blend of tradition and responsibility.

Elaheh Babaei

Emily Burns Tom Lauerman

In-place 3D Concrete Printing of One-way Floor and Roof Slabs

This research is part of a broader initiative dedicated to leveraging 3D concrete printing (3DCP) to deliver a ordable housing solutions to low-income communities. The integration of 3DCP in construction has shifted the focus from standardization to customization, while reducing the environmental impact of traditional methods. 3DCP has mainly been used for straight or inclined walls, with spanning structures remaining a challenge due to the viscoelastic nature of fresh concrete, which allows flow and extrusion but limits formwork-free printing for large spans. Since formwork accounts for about 40% of concrete construction costs and contradicts the automation of 3DCP, its elimination is crucial for cost reduction. Conventional methods like trusses or cast concrete can complement 3DCP for enclosing spaces, though they require more skilled labor. Some methods, such as wire mesh bridging , corbelling, multidirectional printing, and assembly of prefab elements either require significant human intervention, lead to excessive material use, or increase lead times. To address these issues, the proposed conceptual workflow includes the following steps: (a) printing the walls, (b) placing the supporting plates, (c) entraingin the reinforcement via the custom device to print the slab.

To achieve the outlined goals, this research includes the following methodological tasks: (1) requirement definition, (2) material properties identification, (3) material and printing parameter definition, (4) print, test, and verify moment capacity, (5) limited-scope FEA development and calibration, (6) extended-scope CFD and FEA model development, (7) static analysis and prediction model development, (8) semi-autonomous reinforcement entrainment system development and testing.

Goals and Objectives

(1) explore the potential of flexible reinforcement materials, such as cable and mesh, for formwork-free, in-place slab printing (2) model the influence of material and printing parameters on structural strength, specifically moment capacity (3) develop a predictive model for the moment capacity of concrete reinforced using the proposed technique.

Intellectual Merit

Previous methods for constructing spanning structures in 3DCP have relied on excessive material use and significant human intervention, leading to increased lead times and compromising construction automation. Preliminary work indicates that integrating reinforcement into the concrete during printing can partially mitigate these issues. However, there remains a knowledge gap in the in-place 3DCP of spanning structures, particularly concerning unresolved structural challenges like flexural and bonding strength. This proposal seeks to bridge this gap by analyzing the relationship between material and printing parameters and the structural performance of printed geometries. Subsequently, a novel system will be developed to address the automation challenges of existing methods. Compared to other strategies, the proposed technique minimizes concrete usage, reduces human intervention, eliminates formwork waste, and enables the printing of flat slabs with longer spans.

Ali Baghi Jose Duarte Benay Gursoy

Sven Bilen Nathan Brown Sanjay Joshi Nima Aminpour

Parametric Analysis of Filament Quality in 3D Concrete Printing on Sloped Surfaces

Research overview

The construction industry signiﬁcantly impacts the environment, contributing to 35% of global CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 12% of water use, and 40% of solid waste in developed countries. Concrete alone is responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions. In response, innovative methods like 3D concrete printing (3DCP) have emerged to improve sustainability. However, challenges remain in achieving precision and material consistency during the 3D printing process, as even small errors can lead to structural weaknesses or shape inaccuracies.

This work presents the preliminary experiments to introduce a novel approach for accurate 3DCP of slab-on-grade foundations using vision-based 3D scanning and conformal toolpath generation, with the goal to optimize concrete use and ensure structural integrity.

This study addresses the challenges posed by non-planar terrains in 3D concrete printing (3DCP) for slab-on-grade foundations. The poster presents systematic experiments investigating the e ects of various 3D printing parameters, including the slope of the printing bed, extrusion rate, and nozzle speed, on the height and width of the extruded ﬁlament. The results of these experiments will guide the development of conformal toolpath design methods for 3DCP of slab-on-grade foundations in future research stages.

Materials and Methods

In this study, the selected parameters include extrusion rate, robot speed, and printing bed slope angle. Systematic experiments have been carried out to examine how these factors influence filament height and width. The goal is to assess the system's capabilities and limitations, allowing for more precise predictions of filament dimensions and supporting the development of a conformal toolpath generator.

Preliminary Experiments and Results

An M-Tec Duo mixer and pump (Fig 1-b) has been used in the experiments, allowing precise control of the extrusion rate through adjustable dials. Various cavity pumps/stators (Fig 1-d) are equipped in this system, each o ering di erent pressure capacities that inﬂuence the extrusion rate. A pressure of 5 to 7 L/min has been generated by the black stator, while the gray stator produced 8 to 12 L/min. In the initial phase of the study, the extrusion rate has been calibrated, and a predictive model has been developed to calculate the extrusion rate for each stator based on the mixer’s dial settings. a -

After the extrusion rate was calibrated, the black stator with an output of 6 L/min was selected for the experiments. To determine speed limits and acceptable filament heights and widths, seven robot speeds, ranging from 70 to 280 mm/sec, were tested based on prior studies from the AddCon Lab. A toolpath with eight parallel lines, one for each speed and a control line, was designed. The toolpath was initially printed at a fixed speed of 175 mm/sec with a filament height of 20.25 mm, as a baseline informed by the literature (Fig 2). The toolpath was then printed with four di erent filament heights along each line to analyze the e ects of robot speed and filament height on filament quality, stability, and width (Fig. 3). The results of these experiments were used to define the optimal speed and filament height limits for the conformal toolpath design system.

The final set of experiments focused on examining the impact of printing bed slope on filamentwidth and quality. Following previous works on 3DCP on sloped surfaces, 30° and 35° slopes were tested with four speeds and the optimal filament height for each. The toolpath was printed on a level surface (Fig 4_a_0° slope) to establish a baseline. The results indicated that filaments remained stable when printed parallel to the slope at 35° (Fig 4_b), but were unstable when printed perpendicular. In contrast, both parallel and perpendicular prints on the 30° slope (Fig 4_c) were stable. It was also observed that printing upwards on the slope produced slightly thicker filaments compared to downward printing, though this remained within acceptable tolerances. These findings were used to define the system's limitations when printing on sloped surfaces, aiding the further development of the conformal toolpath generator.

Fig 1_ AddCon Lab setup

Paniz Farrokhsiar Benay Gursoy

Jose Pinto Duarte

(The Struggle for) Queer Existance in Design History

How are queer people allowed, and/or disallowed, in design history?

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND

I was influenced by my own struggle to find queer people/queer design in different time periods and international locations. This struggle led me to my research question: How are queer people allowed, and/or disallowed, within design history?

While I can not touch on queer people who are disallowed from design history, the examples I found reveal a multi-faceted answer. As we discover how these designers are allowed, we can think of the lack of those allowances as what disallowed others from design history.

I chose allowed and disallowed intentionally. Some historians were conflicted about labeling sexualities or genders that were outside of hetero-normativity, some argued against labeling sexualities or genders of historical figures (Freeman 2020), and others avoided it entirely (British Library, n.d., Marsh 2017, Watt 2021).

My view is that we must acknowledge the nonnormative, and thus queer ways, many historical figures existed. We do not need to label them, but we need to acknowledge their existence beyond hetero-normative values as a way to recognize queerness throughout history. While this may create an extremely broad range of examples, I refer to the use of queer as a noun to provide some project limitations.

Definitions:

Queer (Noun): People who are non-normative in terms of their gender or sexuality or in the way they defy the social conventions of their time.

Queer (Verb): Non-normative and complex ways of being and doing that often are methods of queer survival (Soulellis 2021).

METHODOLOGY

I referred to Data Feminist methodologies as written by Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein: Resisting Binaries

• Embracing Pluralism

Acknowledging & Examine Power

Considering Context

Secondarily, I leveraged this work to validate and acknowledge the importance of secondary sources, like personal blogs or non-academic articles, when looking at such complex topics as canons are historically simplified to be linear.

CHOSEN ANNOTATION

In my favorite example that inspired this depth of research, I discovered May Morris and her over 20 year close relationship with Mary Lobb (Dodds 2020). As the youngest daughter of William Morris (an incredibly famous designer and creator of the Arts and Crafts Movement) and his head of Embroidery at the age of 23 (Watt 2021), I was confused by her hiddenness. When I began to read about her life on more academic sources, like the Art Institute of Chicago and the Royal Academy of Arts in the UK (where she went to school), I noticed something missing – any mention of the aforementioned relationship with Mary Lobb (Watt 2021, Marsh 2017). While, like many other folks from pre-contemporary times, there is no recording of their intimate relationship being defined using the contemporary term lesbian, Mary and May were very close. There are postcards from their travels together, records of their neighbors being confused by their relationship, and the fact that May left the majority of her possessions to Mary after her death (Evans, n.d.). With such evidence, a potentially queer relationship could be inferred.

Answering my research question, May seems to have been allowed in design history due to her connection to her father (a white, cis-gender, wealthy man) and through her work in uplifting female artists. Yet, she seems to have been disallowed or overlooked for the same reasons, along with her potentially queer relationship with Mary Lobb.

ERASURE

“...dominant narratives on history have been forged through state and institutional archives, themselves an integral part of the colonial project. All over the world, the powerful built museums, collections, registers, annals, chronicles, and other official repositories cement power structures, framing history through lenses and voices of domination as destruction, and with that marginalizing—and sometimes erasing—entire communities” (Randa Hadi 2022).

Queer erasure has been and still is intentional, and continues to affect us, as designers and as humans, when we aren’t represented in our shared past. You feel as though, “you can’t see yourself in the future” (Hadi 2022).

However, this blank spot represents an opportunity to re/claim, to re/orient, and to re/define the process of archiving. In the face of historical and contemporary attempts to erase Black people and POC, Indigenous people, LGBTQIA+ people, Dis/abled people, those from the Global South, and more, this section makes room for what was lost.

Together, we can continue to expand our archives and design systems that resist systemic erasure. We can have hope that what once was lost will be reclaimed in our future archives.

CONCLUSION

As I reflect on the above and other annotations I have created, I am left with many questions. Primarily, how can our research be more intersectional and open to queerness? The field of Queer Historiography shines a path forward. As Bessette states in Re/Orienting Writing Studies: Queer Methods, Queer Projects, “Queer archives are fundamentally caught up in contradiction” (Banks, 2019). Queerness, being nonnormative, resists categorization. Queer archives even struggle to display work for lack of understanding of how to categorize it to be consumable for a viewer. Questioning categorization and complexity in archives is the future of this work.

MORE WORK AND SOURCES

View more annotations and sources at https://tinyurl.com/yxxtr3h7 or at the QR code to the left.

Brooke Hull

Left: Photograph of May Morris courtesy of the Library of Congress. 1909. (Wroot 2021) Middle: May Morris’s embroidery titled “Vine Leaf.” 1896. Produced by Morris & Company. (Watt 2021) Right: Photograph of Mary Lobb. (Evans, n.d.)

Mary Lobb

May Morris and her work!

Towards a Heat Resilience Framework for the Urban Brazilian Amazon

Heat vulnerability assessment applications for the cities of Belem and Manaus

Mapping unequal patterns of urban heat exposure

Extreme heat events are among the deadliest urban climate hazards. Due to the cumulative impacts of urban heat islands, people who reside in cities are particularly vulnerable to the rising trends in global air temperatures and the increase in frequency, intensity, and duration of heat waves. However, little research has investigated extreme heat vulnerability in the Global South's urban communities, which are marked by informal urbanization and growth processes. Moreover, the impacts of extreme heat are not evenly distributed across urban communities since environmental and socioeconomic patterns determine one's susceptibility to heat exposure and heat-related illness.

Methods

This research generated pilot city-wide heat vulnerability indexes (HVI) for Belem and Manaus by running a GIS-based composite analysis and following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) vulnerability deﬁnition, which varies as a function of weather exposure, socioeconomic sensitivity, and mitigation capacity to cope with extreme weather events. Landsat 8 median land surface estimates from 2018 were collected as a proxy for weather exposure. To express socioeconomic sensitivity, Brazilian census data provided by the 'censobr' and 'geobr' R packages were deployed via aggregated variables associated with low educational attainment, residents over 60 years of age, high poverty levels, residents identiﬁed as ethnic minorities, and who lives alone. The

adaptive capacity was expressed via the share of households with nearby street trees. Future iterations of the HVI will account for Normalized Di erence Vegetation Index (NDVI) estimates to render vegetation availability and cooling capacity.

The research team also performed ordinary least square (OLS) regression analyses for Belem to assess the correlation between median land surface temperatures with the distribution of socioeconomic sensitivity and biophysical factors related to the percent urban land cover, spatial distribution of favelas and proximity to water, considering that both cities are within the Amazon River system and proximity to larger water bodies has a signiﬁcant association with lower surface temperatures.

Preliminary Results

HVI maps show that the Tancredo Neves, Zumbi dos Palmares, and Jorge Teixeira neighborhoods have the highest heat vulnerability in Manaus. The Guama, Montese, and Sacramenta communities in Belem display the highest HVI rates. Trial regression results demonstrated that increased social vulnerability rates were statistically signiﬁcantly

Future Studies

For future advancements, simulated SOLWEIG mean radiant temperatures (MRT) based on recently available global remote sensing data of urban canopy parameters will attain a ﬁner measure of urban heat exposure. Heat-health outcomes will also be integrated into future pilot vulnerability modeling via the DATASUS R package provided by the Brazilian Uniﬁed Health System to better depict human-related risks to heat exposure.

associated with increased temperatures. Areas of favelas and informal settlements were also associated with increased heat exposure, even when controlling for the percentage of urban land cover. However, water distance distribution didn't display a correlation with temperature rates.

Semi-structured interviews will also be conducted with local experts to understand the regional and nuanced factors driving heat vulnerability in both cities. Finally, this work deploys mixed-research methods to build a comprehensive heat resilience framework that is data-informed and crucial to inform future tree planting heat mitigation programs and scenario planning for climate adaptation.

Conceptual Diagram of Proposed Heat Resilience Framework:

Lara Garcia and Travis Flohr

2018)

Bioluminescent Algae Cultivation In a Custom Photobioreactor

Introduction

The built environment sector is responsible for 37% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. One way to reduce carbon emissions is to change the building materials we use in construction.

The use of living green algae in buildings has been proposed as a way to mitigate carbon dioxide as help produce shading. Bioluminescent algae have similar beneﬁts, they absorb carbon dioxide, but they also introduce the idea of an interactive building component.

Green Algae and Bioreactors

Built projects cultivate the algae using a bioreactor, or photobioreactor, which is then used as a facade element or as an interior window covering

Green algae is used because they absorb atmospheric carbon, produce oxygen, are relatively easy to cultivate, and they can achieve dense growth that can double as a shading system.

Some projects also suggest using the algae to create a biomass fuel.

Bioluminescent Algae

Bioluminescent algae, dinoﬂagellates, create bioluminesence when physically stimulated. This unique characteristic has been used in small toys that light up when shaken or interactive art exhibits; however their application in architecture and design has been limited.

There are some ways it has been studied in the field of human computer interaction to show how an object filled with bioluminescent dinoflagellates responds to di erent types of interactions.

3D Printing Experiments

FDM printers and SLA printers were used because they are common types of 3D printers found.

The FDM ﬁlaments used include: PLA which is a standard ﬁlament used in 3D printing

TPU which produces a ﬂexible ﬁnished object that encourages movement and interaction

PETG which is known for the clarity of the ﬁnal prints

The wall thickness as well as inﬁll were experimented with to see which produce watertight, clear, and stable prints

Research

This research focuses on the materials used to cultivate custom containers for dinoﬂagellates because there has not yet been a comprehensive review on how dinoﬂagellates have been used in design and architecture.

The goals of the research are to:

• Identify the ideal cultivation methods in di erent materials

• Find the most e ective 3D printing method and material to build a building element to cultivate dinoﬂagellates

• Evaluate the carbon dioxide absorbed and light produced from the proposed building element

Evaluation

The Dinoﬂagellates used reproduce asexually, and their cell division is a slow process, so the dinoﬂagellate growth will be evaluated using photograph and video analysis.

The amount of carbon absorbed will be measured using gas chambers. The amount of carbon absorbed by the Dinoﬂagellates will be compared to the amount of carbon used in the fabrication of the algae cups as well

EcoLogic Studio, Photo.Synthetica Curtain, 2018

Studio Roosegaarde, Glowing Nature, 2017

Results of FDM (PLA, TPU, and PETG) and SLA (resin) 3D printing

TPU PLA

PETG Resin

The Dinoﬂagellates before being shaken and while being shaken to showcase their bioluminesence

Committee Members: Rahman Azari and Todd LaJeunesse

Kali Lewis Benay Gursoy

RENEWABLE ENERGY ART & DESIGN SOLAR-POWERED PROTOTYPES

BACKGROUND

The increasing impact of climate change poses signiﬁcant challenges to human health, economic stability, and our relationship with built and natural environments. Tackling these issues requires innovative socio-ecological solutions that not only address the immediate impacts but also pave the way for a sustainable future, especially for vulnerable communities. Renewable energy is a critical long-term solution and should be embraced in ways that encourage engagement and foster learning. Art can play a crucial role in this by raising awareness and inspiring positive behavioral changes through emotional and sensory experiences. By connecting people to the realities of climate change, art can enhance our appreciation of the ecosystem's fragility and the scientiﬁc e orts to protect it. Artistic expressions o er a unique perspective on human experience and environmental responsibility, encouraging personal growth, meaningful interactions, and lasting commitments to sustainable change.

PURPOSE

This project aimed to create a working prototype of renewable energy art and design to demonstrate the beneﬁts of solar-powered energy production in an artistic format. Renewable energy art and design is an emerging ﬁeld that integrates generating or harnessing renewable energy with public art installations and city designs. The goal was to develop artistic and impactful prototype models that illustrate how art and design can promote renewable energy and engage communities in sustainability discussions.

PROCEDURE

Part of a university-led initiative focused on hands-on learning and interdisciplinary collaboration, this project involved a team of undergraduate students from the U.S. and China. Over the semester, the team designed and developed prototypes integrating renewable energy with art and design, speciﬁcally through solar-powered technology. The prototypes were inspired by the Mountain Laurel, Pennsylvania's state ﬂower. The design process involved multiple iterations, each addressing technical

DESIGN PROCESS

aspects and improving functionality. Three prototypes were created, with enhancements made in each version. The ﬁnal prototype featured solar-enabled LEDs and incorporated aesthetic elements reﬁned throughout the design process.

FINDINGS

Two ﬁnal prototypes were created to endure outdoor conditions and provide continuous illumination for an extended period. It underwent a formal manufacturing process that facilitated easier assembly and better replication compared to the beta prototype. The components chosen aimed to balance cost-e ectiveness and e ciency, although some initial features were modiﬁed due to technical challenges.

FUTURE WORK

To further enhance the prototype, increasing its stability with additional structural supports is recommended. Improving waterprooﬁng through better sealing methods will extend its durability. Future reﬁnements should focus on enhancing visual appeal and exploring advanced features, such as solar tracking. Further exploration of aesthetic improvements could also elevate the prototype's visual impact.

Phil Choo PSU Faculty

Mihyun Kang PSU Faculty

Jimmy Van Nguyen PSU Student

Adekine Weitkencht PSU Student

Amir Guliyev SJTU Student

Tao Ma SJTU Faculty

Jerry Xu SJTU Student

Rui Zhang SJTU Student

Adam Behar PSU Student Austin Messenger PSU Student

Paper Prototype

Paper Prototype with glass on top

Cardboard Prototype with solar Cardboard Prototype with solar

Cardboard Prototype with Circuit PVC Prototype with Solar Pannel Final Protype

Ethan Sobota PSU Student

Final Prototype # 2

Final Prototype # 1

INNOVATIVE RAINWATER UTILIZATION

SIMULATION-BASED APPROACHES TO ENHANCE SMALL-SCALE HYDROLOGICAL METHODS

ABSTRACT

This research explores the use of computer software to simulate small-scale hydrological practices, focusing on Artful Rainwater Design (ARD). The goal is to enhance the ability of environmental designers—such as landscape architects, urban planners, and architects—to analyze rainwater behavior within their projects. The study began by reviewing the theoretical framework of ARD and identifying a gap in computational tools that can help designers e ectively predict and visualize water ﬂow.

Using Google, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect, the researchers searched for relevant water simulation software and reviewed them based on criteria such as 3D animation capabilities, computational ﬂuid dynamics (CFD) integration, accessibility, and user skill level. Out of the options, three software programs were chosen for in-depth evaluation: Autodesk CFD, Flow3D Hydro, and Blender.

The software was tested through three scenarios: Flow Rate Boxes to calibrate ﬂow rates, Runnels to assess overﬂow, and 10th@Hoyt, a real ARD project in Portland, Oregon. The simulations were compared with physical experiments when available. The software was further assessed based on secondary criteria such as realism, reliability, simplicity, and cost.

Landscape architecture blends art and science to create functional, beautiful spaces, enhancing livability and sustainability (ASLA, 2024). Persian gardens and designs like the Taj Mahal and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water House exemplify this blend. Modern practices focus on stormwater management through Artful Rainwater Design (ARD) and Best Management Practices. Tools range from traditional methods to advanced simulations and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for optimizing stormwater management.

RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCESSES

We started by methodically searching for water simulation software using terms like "Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)" and "water simulation." We identified and assessed almost forty software options according to various parameters including 3D animation capabilities, CFD or non-CFD classification, accessibility, and necessary user skill level. Software that needed coding, wasn't relevant to our research, or wasn't appropriate for realistic 3D animations was removed. Strong choices for CFD were Autodesk CFD, Flow 3D Hydro, and M-STAR; for non-CFD visual simulations, Blender, Houdini, Fluid Flaux, and Phoenix FD were appropriate. Due to financial limitations, we could only use educational or free license software.

In the second stage, we reﬁned our software selection using criteria such as simplicity, realism, usefulness, and reliability. We performed thorough evaluations through both theoretical analysis and practical testing, comparing simulation results with physical experiments. This comprehensive approach ensured that the software met high standards, handled unexpected inputs e ectively, and addressed our speciﬁc needs with precision, reliability, and e ciency.

EVALUATIONS

Flow Rate Boxes: The evaluation tested software for ﬂow control by simulating various box designs to measure accuracy in ﬂow rate predictions. Di erent box sizes were used to assess performance and ensure reliability.

The Runnels: We used a hybrid approach to study water behavior by comparing physical and simulated results from experiments on open channels, focusing on overﬂow patterns and evaluating di erent variables through numerous simulations

The 10th @ Hoyt: The 10th@Hoyt courtyard in Portland's Pearl District, designed by Steve Koch, features innovative rainwater designs. We analyzed the southwest corner’s design through simulations, comparing the original and modiﬁed models to study overﬂow control and the role of simulations in design.

DISCUSSION

Flow-3D Hydro proved most reliable for hydrology simulations, accurately reﬂecting physical experiments. Autodesk-CFD and Blender had notable shortcomings. Future enhancements should focus on integrating GPU support, AI features, and better pollutant modeling to improve simulation precision and usability in small-scale hydrology studies.

MOHAMMAD REZVAN

Stuart Patton Echols

José Pinto Duarte

THE ZAATARI CAMP GRAMMAR

WHO DESIGNS THE CAMP? THE SPATIAL REPRODUCTION OF REFUGEE CAMPS

ABSTRACT

Refugee camps around the world emerge as aid landscapes intended to provide temporary emergency settlements and other basic needs to people who are fleeing conflict in their home region. However, despite the term “temporary” many camps endure for decades, where inhabitants find themselves facing a protracted state of ‘bare life’, experiencing isolation from the rest of society, and often treated as humanitarian subjects and aid recipients for generations. While refugee camps and settlements are created according to site planning guidelines outlined in emergency response handbooks and manuals, refugees face the challenge of recreating their lives socially and spatially, actively reforming their identity.

Based on the narratives and experiences of refugees in the Zaatari camp of Syrians in Jordan, this research presents a novel approach to studying the informal self-led and needs-based re-creation of refugee shelters using an analytical shape grammar. The grammars o er a systematic framework to analyze and generate spatial configurations of shelters based on identified rules and constraints. Through field observations, in-depth interviews with camp residents, and documentation of shelter layouts and conditions, the research examines a corpus of twenty-two shelters that have undergone gradual transformations by their inhabitants over ten years. An analytical shape grammar identifies recurring patterns, evaluates functionality, and uses human-centered patterns for suggestions to enhance the living conditions of refugees.

Abu-Aridah

Rebecca Lynn Henn

Jose Pinto Duarte

ROBOTIC SAND SHAPING FOR REUSABLE FORMWORKS

FROM TOOLPATH DESIGN TO EMERGENT SHAPES AND PATTERNS IN CAST FORM

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

This research aims to address the high waste generated by typical formworks used in the casting of complex concrete components. The goal of the research is to create reusable and reconﬁgurable kinetic sand formworks with intricate patterns and textures using a robot arm. When kinetic sand is compacted, it creates emergent "material shapes" on the sand surface due to the properties of the kinetic sand, including material spring-back. The research aims to identify the causal relationships between the robot's toolpath design, material and fabrication parameters, and emergent material formations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this research, we use a 6-axis ABB IRB 120 robotic arm to shape kinetic sand, a commercially available product, into a casting formwork. We found the kinetic sand to be a good material for formworks due to its high workability and ability to hold its shape during casting. This methodology allows for a unique design process, as instead of designing the final geometry, the toolpath parameters are adjusted. This allows the behavior of the robot arm and how it impacts the material to be directly correllated to the resulting shapes and patterns in the formwork. In order to understand these correlations, we developed several matrices in which a single parameter is changed at a time. In these matrices, shown in the bottom left, it can be clearly understood how each parameter shifts the final outcome. Kinetic sand does not react to the tools as a perfect mold forming around them. The sand instead reacts to manipulation by EoATs by moving not only as a direct result of interaction with the EoAT, but moving when an area of sand nearby is moved. This unexpected behavior is difficult to predict beforehand, but through experimentation can be correllated to a specific set of parameters interacting.

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

During experimentation, the pyramid tool in particular created a different imprint in the sand than simply seeing the exact designed pattern. Some areas are compressed more, resulting in a unique effect in which the kinetic sand shifts further than expected. The material-based results often differ from the digital data due to material factors not visible upon initial inspection of the kinetic sand. To better understand these effects, we began with initial tests of a scanning process to compare what the ‘expected’ result is to what the as-fabricated result is.

Due to the parametric design setup, generating new toolpaths for reconﬁguring the kinetic sand only requires adjusting the necessary parameters, then exporting to the robot. This efficiency allows for many parameters to be easily tested and compared. When compared to other formwork methodologies for casting double-curved components, the proposed kinetic sand formwork has an added advantage of achieving both complex overall forms and intricate surface textures and patterns.

Kieron Cook

Benay Gürsoy

Özgüç Çapunaman

Enabling formwork-free 3D printing of roof structures at construction scaleUsing multi-directional slicing to decrease the overhang angle

INTRODUCTION

This research aims to develop 3D-printed roof structures for a ordable housing, focusing on disadvantaged communities. Currently, 1.6 billion people live in informal settlements, a ﬁgure expected to double by 2030. To address this, 3D concrete printing (3DCP) o ers a solution, enabling a ordable and e cient housing with complex designs beyond traditional methods. By automating construction, 3DCP reduces labor costs, speeds up timelines, and minimizes waste by depositing only the necessary material. Unlike traditional methods that require excess material and costly formwork, 3DCP enhances resource e ciencY while optimizing the construction process.

Despite its advantages, 3D concrete printing (3DCP) faces challenges in on-site fabrication, large-scale manufacturing, and mechanical performance, requiring extensive experimentation. While 3DCP has successfully printed walls, beams, and columns without formwork, roof structures like arches and domes remain di cult. Most research focuses on formwork solutions rather than advancing AM for formwork-free printing. A key limitation is the restricted overhang angle, often capped at 60°, limiting architectural diversity and construction of enclosures. Current knowledge gaps include insu cient research on reducing overhang angles, strategies for formwork-free roof printing, and multi-directional printing techniques. Addressing these gaps could unlock new innovations in construction.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

This research aims to reduce overhang angle constraints in 3D concrete printing, enabling formwork-free printing of enclosures using multi-directional techniques. The goal is to develop a design methodology for toolpath planning, numerical modeling, and fabrication. Experiments will focus on lowering the printing angle of barrel vaults through combined slicing strategies.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research unfolds across four key stages (Figure 1). Stage 1 focuses on selecting and generating vault shapes, then decomposing them into printable segments. Shape grammars are developed for both form generation and decomposition to enable the successful 3D printing of barrel vaults with reduced overhang angles. Stage 2 utilizes a previously developed simulator to assess structural behavior during printing. Simulations explore the impact of geometric variables on printability, identify collapse modes, and refine design choices to enhance structural integrity (number of printable layers). Stage 3 explores various slicing transition strategies and infill patterns and conducts small-scale print tests to verify their feasibility. Stage 4 integrates the form and toolpath generators and the structural performance simulator with optimization algorithms. The aim is to maximize the number of printable layers while reducing the overhang angle and increasing span and material e ciency. Stage 5 validates one of the most constructible enclosed forms through a final print test.

Nusrat Tabassum Dr. José Pinto Duarte

Dr. Orsolya Gáspár

Dr. Ali Memari Dr. Nathan Brown Dr. Sven Bilén

THE NEW ROLE OF CRAFT THE ANGELUS NOVUS VAULT

PRESENTED AT ACADIA 2023, DENVER (1)

ORSOLYA GASPAR (Penn State), VITTORIO PARIS (University of Bergamo), FERNANDO HERRERA (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill), ROBIN OVAL (TU Delft), CARLO OLIVIERI (University of Salerno), WESAM AL ASALI (IE University), ALESSANDRO BEGHINI (Skidmore, Owings and Merrill) and SIGRID ADRIAENSSENS (Form Finding Lab, Princeton University)

Two thousand bricks, made from locally recycled materials, are manually assembled into a meandering vault in the garden of the Palazzo Mora in Venice, Italy.The project merges the new and the old, both in a physical and metaphysical sense. It is the ﬁrst attempt to leverage self-balancing masonry patterns and Augmented Reality (AR) for the construction of a form-found vault on minimal centering, creating an active relationship between the timelessness of an ancient material and the accelerating speed of our technological present. The carefully optimized tessellation of the vault combines the beneﬁts of the thin-tile vaulting with the self-balancing principles of the herringbone brick pattern. Merging these two techniques allows for the use of locally sourced bricks which are heavier and thicker than traditional thin tiles. The artisan master builder, whose sensorimotor skills are indispensable during construction, tracks the vault shape and intricate brick pattern through an AR headset. The precise 3D projection of the complex, tessellated vault geometry speeds up construction, and minimizes the need for guidework.

Construction: Taramelli and Salvador Gomis Aviño

Client: European Cultural Centre

NETWORK OF SHELLS*

*THIN, CONCRETE AND HUNGARIAN

NETWORK ANALYSIS AND VISUALIZATION FOR THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE SHELLS

In this research project we explored the potential of network analysis in construction history by mapping the professional life of Istvan Menyhárd, a pioneer of Hungarian shell architecture. He relied on the most up-to-date theoretical developments when erecting his first structures before WWII (among others, hypars). His expertise and devotion had a wide impact on later generations of engineers. Conveniently for our study, his life and works are well documented, and the missing links were reconstructible through oral history. This project contributes to the global history of twentieth-century concrete shells by showcasing the work and influence of a lesser-known engineer. It o ers insight into how closely connected was the network of the early (pre-WWII) shell builders, despite geographical distances. It also underlines the divergence of focus and methods and the relative isolation of the Second World after WWII. From a methodological point of view, the potentials and limitations of the network/based approach are highlighted. Key areas are identified where the current tools (i.e., Gephi) do not provide adequate solutions, outlining areas of further research.

1. SHELLS GROUPED BASED ON THEIR GEOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS.

2. NETWORK OF COLLEAGUES AND INFLUENCES OF ISTVAN MENYHARD 3. BUSGARAGE, KELENFOLD, BUDAPEST, HUNGARY. THIS 90 M-SPAN TRANSLATIONAL ELLIPTIC SHELL SURFACE WAS THE LARGEST OF

Orsolya GASPARa

Alexandra E. KISb

AUTOMATING TREE BIODIVERSITY AND EQUITY ASSESSMENT

A DESIGN COMPUTING DATA SCIENCE WORKFLOW FOR INTER- AND INTRA-CITY URBAN STREET TREE BIODIVERSITY AND EQUITY ASSESSMENTS

INTRODUCTION

Street trees are a vital part of a city’s urban forests and the Nature-based Solutions (NbS) that cities use to tackle climate change. Beneﬁts of urban forests include carbon storage to mitigate climate change, urban heat island mitigation, preventing further increases in storm severity and frequency, pollination services and nesting habitat, stormwater management, and treatment of air and water pollution (Wong et al., 2021). However, street trees are declining due to various natural and anthropogenic forces, thus negatively a ecting ecosystem service beneﬁts. Street trees are also inequitably distributed –exacerbating environmental injustices and lack of access to ecosystem services (Ho man et al., 2020).

Cowett and Bassuk (2017), Ma et al. (2020), and Santamour Jr (2004) argue that a bio-diverse urban forest is critical to absorbing pest, disease, and climate change shocks while still delivering ecosystem services. Two popular benchmarks emerged to track biological diversity: the 10/20/30 (Santamour Jr, 2004) and 5/10/15 (Le , 2016; Watson, 2017) rules. Richards (1983) also argues that diversity must include age and proposes the 40/30/20/10 rule. However, previous research falls short in three ways: 1) few have documented or compared these programs' impacts on street tree diversity, 2) few large city diversity comparisons exist due to their computational complexities, and 3) analysis results are rarely published in a format easily accessible to designers and the public. To solve these issues, we propose to use design computing to create an automated data processing and analyses dashboard that 1) facilitates landscape architects’ abilities to understand contextual street tree diversity when making planting choices and 2) compares various tree programs' equity and diversity outcomes.

HYPOTHESIS AND AIMS

Hypothesis: Cities with a quasi-public street tree program are more equitable, biologically, and age-diverse.

Aim 1: Create a data science pipeline and dashboard to analyze each city’s street tree plantings for biological and age diversity for three spatial scales: city, neighborhood, and census tract.

Aim 2: Compare public, quasi-public, private, and public-private street tree planting programs for equity, biological, and age diversity using city and census tract boundaries.

METHODS

We will use the R statistical language to clean and aggregate street tree data to municipal, neighborhood, and census tract boundaries to calculate the percentage of single species, genus, and family and compare them to the 10/20/30 and 5/10/15 urban tree biodiversity measures. Additionally, we will calculate a functional diversity index. We will use the 40/30/20/10 rule to evaluate age diversity. As few cities meet this metric, we will also calculate an Euclidean distance between the age and recommended benchmark. We will use one-way ANOVA to statistically compare street tree diversity between cities.

REFERENCES

Ma, B., Hauer, R. J., Wei, H., Koeser, A. K., Peterson, W., Simons, K., Timilsina, N., Werner, L. P., & Xu, C. (2020). An Assessment of Street Tree Diversity: Findings and Implications in the United

tree cover in the United States. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 32, 32–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.03.006 Richards, N. A. (1983). Diversity and stability in a street tree population. Urban Ecology, 7(2),

Travis Flohr, Ph.D. - Penn State | Mehdi Heris, Ph.D. - Hunter College | Lara Garcia, Penn State

HEALTH AND HARDSHIP: THE EVOLUTION OF MINER’S HOSPITALS IN PENNSYLVANIA’S ANTHRACITE REGION

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

This research explores the intersection of labor and healthcare history through the case study of the Miner’s Hospitals of Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Coal Region. Eastern Pennsylvania contains the most concentrated deposit of anthracite coal in the world. These geological conditions resulted in a region whose economy, culture, and built environment developed around the coal industry. The high mortality and injury rate for anthracite mining populations at the end of the 19th century led to an increased public interest in providing local, professional healthcare to mining communities. This resulted in the establishment of several Miner’s Hospitals throughout the anthracite coal region.

This research focuses on the evolution of several of these Miner’s Hospitals including the hospitals in Hazleton, Scranton, Ashland, and Nanticoke. These hospitals will each be used as case studies into specific moments and periods of the history of the Anthracite Region. These institutions were first established at the end of the 19th century, and continued to expand under state operation for the first half of the 20th century. However, in the 1970’s the state government began a process of divestiture that transferred ownership to private health networks, and in some cases ultimately resulted in abandonment of the facilities. Today, some facilities have been incorporated into a larger regional health network, while others are vacant, leaving their local population without immediate access to care.

The primary goal of this research is to identify the ways in which the architecture and institutions of health reinforced or countered the labor relations within mining communities. A central question to be answered is, how did the strained relationship between laborer and coal company, which often led to strikes and massacres, result in the creation of several institutions supposedly dedicated to the care and wellbeing of these very workers?

Furthermore, in what ways did the mode of healthcare provided in the Miner’s Hospital perpetuate the given mode of production in the Anthracite Region?

A secondary goal is to trace the historical development of miner’s hospitals in the region to better understand the contemporary state of healthcare in towns developed around anthracite mining. While this research can hopefully o er context through analysis of historical documentation, further research could document and analyze the current landscape of healthcare through engagement with the residents of historic mining towns.

METHODS

Key documentation of the Miner’s Hospitals has been acquired from historical collections housed in archives throughout Pennsylvania. These documents include original architectural drawings for the Hazleton Miner’s Hospital, Reports of the Inspectors of Mines detailing the poor conditions of health for mine workers, series of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps showing the development of the hospitals over time, and local newspapers displaying the public outcry against the closure of these institutions.

This research builds on existing literature on healthcare and labor history. The literature on healthcare includes a general history of hospitals, as well as a more speciﬁc history of the rapid technological transformation that took place in these facilities between 1870 and 1940. This is supported by literature documenting the speciﬁc medical history of the anthracite coal region before and after the creation of professional care institutions. The is linked with existing historical research that documents the poor labor and economic conditions throughout the coal region, and the frequent strikes that resulted.

“The great state hospital giveaway.”, 1979, Pennsylvania State Archives Benjamin Linfoot, Aerial Perspective of Hazleton Miner’s Hospital, 1888, Athenaeum of Philadelphia

Luke Scanlon Advisor: Dr. Pep Avilés

Committee Members: Dr. Denise Costanzo, Dr. Nicholas Risteen, Dr. Paul Daniel Marriott

Research Open House - 2024

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ECOLOGY PLUS DESIGN Affiliated faculty

C. A. Cole, Director; L. Andrews, R. Azari, S. Echols, T. Flohr, L.D. Iulo, K. Mainzer, S. Mainzer, P. Stempel, H. Wu

JAPANESE BARBERRY CONTROL FOR CLIMATE RESILIENT FORESTS

An Active Restoration Approach to Promote Forest Regenerative Design

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

METHODOLOGY

Design

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

CONCLUSION

Taking Matters into Their Own Hands

INTRODUCTION

VAUBAN, FREIBURG, GERMANY

AUTUSTENBORG IN MALMÖ, SWEDEN

MARMELADE LANE, CAMBRIDGE, UK

COMMUNITY DESIGNS FOR BRADDOCK, PA

LARCH 315 / 817

BACKGROUND

DESIGNS RESPOND TO COMMUNITY NEEDS + VISIONS

A LISTENING TOUR

COMMUNITY EXCHANGE

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN'S EVERYDAY RECREATION

A PARTICIPATORY ETHNOGRAPHY OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IN URBAN PERIPHERIES OF KOLKATA - LEARNING FROM THE PILOT STUDY

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

RESEARCH QUESTION

FINDINGS

The Impacts of Urban Density and Future Construction on Urban Carbon

Background

Objectives

Methodology

Findings

A framework for Integrating IoT with a Mobile System for Indoor Air Quality Sensing

Research Goal

Integration of Systems

Hypothesis

IDENTIFYING KEY DETERMINANTS OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION

A SHAP-BASED FEATURE IMPORTANCE ANALYSIS ACROSS TWO DATASETS

ELECTROCHEMICAL APPLICATIONS FOR BUILDING SKINS

ELECTROCHEMICAL ENERGY HARVESTING AND STORAGE THROUGH BUILDING SKINS

ABSTRACT

2024 HUD Innovation in A ordable Housing Student Design & Planning

Sponsored

US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) O ce of Policy Development and Research (PD&R)

Introduction

Housing Density and Neighborhood Context

Community Interaction and Shared Spaces

Understanding of the community

Conclusion

Design Documents

Unit Mix, Phasing & Financing

Unveiling 100 Drivers of Building Energy Consumption A Review of Literature across spatial scales

Research Questions

Aim and Objectives

Findings

Determinants of the U.S. Residential Buildings Energy Consumption at National and State Levels

Energy Policy Implications

Aim and Objectives

Exploring determinants of residents’ intentional behavior in green stormwater infrastructure adoption

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

METHODS

Findings

RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE

RETHINKING 322

PROJECT BACKGROUND

HAMER CENTER FUNDING

HAMER CENTER SUPPORTED

MAPPING COMMUNITY DYNAMICS

INTEGRATING

ABSTRACT

RESEARCH FOCUS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CASE STUDIES

PHASE 1: NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER MAPPING

PHASE 2: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

PHASE 3: NEIGHBORHOOD + HOUSING TYPOLOGY