Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
Browse
7 results
Search Results
Item Sustaining the memory [history] of place(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2009) Costanti, Peter John; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ralph Johnson; John Brittingham (co-chair)Our minds have the ability to recall and sustain memories, so why can't architecture do the same? Our built environment exhibits the ability to form expectations of the future, while conducting investigations into the past. Every place has an identity, a location, and a memory that characterizes its existence. Memory is a component that, at the moment, may be vacant within the context of our forgotten sites, our terrain vague. These places are currently unseen, ignored, or forgotten, but this does not mean the history is unworthy of resurrection. There is certainly a story that exists, that can classify, identify, and categorize the historic capacity of these places. Without paying homage to, and focusing awareness on our past, we risk losing it completely. As our industrial era evolves into the technological age, we face a decision: to bury our past industrial sites along with their collective memories, or embrace them well into the future. To address this topic I will research, plan, and design an appropriate solution to the port/waterfront area of Bellingham, Washington. This 170 acre location was once the home of the thriving Georgia Pacific pulp mill that has now been terminated due to economic changes. Not only has this site been socially forgotten, it has been physically mistreated and neglected with the introduction of toxins that affect and systematically dismantle the local ecology. The importance of this site is evident because it represents industrial sites throughout our coastlines that have been closed down and/or re-programmed. Without proper recognition, we will be unable to sustain the historical relevance of this site, along with many more. Our society should always keep one foot in the past while making a simultaneous stride towards the future.Item The Excluded Middle(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2009) Breest, Matthew Alan; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: John Brittingham; David Fortin (co-chair)I have had the privilege to grow up in a place of rare beauty. As far back as I can remember I have made this observation, including the observation of its continual destruction in the name of capital gain. There are few if any places in the country so rich in every aspect yet so neglected. Alaska has been a golden goose to oil companies that in return have destroyed unique ecosystems and redistributed entire cultures. As these practices can only be expected to continue I do see an opportunity for the preparation of the future. Currently south central Alaska, specifically the Anchorage-Matanuska Borough is faced with a energy crisis. South central's known gas reserves, which residents rely upon to heat their homes and generate more than 90% of their electricity will be exhausted within a decade. Simultaneously this same region is being recognized as one the the most productive regions for diverse renewable energy in the world. With a global demand for this research and a practical application to place I see an opportunity to create a model that addresses necessary exploration while additionally contributing to the communities observation and use of place. The excluded middle is found within the dichotomies and dualisms that define this area. Due to a depreciation of observations a narrowed perspective has resulted, thus producing a status quo that approves of system where mediocracy flourishes between competing opposites. Whether this middle is site specific or found within the discourse of broader conflicts it will be used as a generator to create a cohesive fabric between oppositions. An architectural solution will inform a dialogue between social, contextual and site specific dichotomies. This discussion will use the retrieval and distribution of information to enrich the observations and perceptions found between existing dualisms.Item Absolute architecture : scaled experience(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2007) Ankeny, Samuel Robert; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ralph JohnsonLocated near the edge of the North American Plate, in the great west of the United States, is an area known as the Colorado Plateau. Encompassing four states Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, it is also known as the four corners region. This Area has been widely recognized as one of the most powerful landscapes in the world and holds special meaning to the Native peoples of America. It is an area which is known to produce irregularities in the earths geomagnetic field. These irregularities have been described as many different things from spirits to extraterrestrials.1 More notably known for it's unique and diverse geology, this area is home to the Grand Canyon. It provides one of the most elaborate timelines of the earths history known. Near the western edge of the Colorado Plateau is an area of Utah known as the San Rafael Swell. It is a dome shaped anticline approximately 70 miles long and 40 miles wide. The area was thrust upward nearly 2000 feet above the surrounding desert and has since been eroded into a natural spectacle which defies verbal description.Item Sense of memory(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2010) Dale, Jolene Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: David Fortin; Tad Bradley (co-chair)Throughout this thesis three main categories will be addressed. Memory: a: the power or process of reproducing or recalling what has been learned and retained especially through associative mechanisms b: the store of things learned and retained from an organism's activity or experience as evidence by modification of structure or behavior or by recall or recognition¹ Sense: a: the faculty of perceiving by means of sense organs b: a specialized function or mechanism (as sight, hearing, smell, taste or touch) by which an animal receives and responds to internal or external stimuli² Architecture: a: formation or construction resulting from or as if from a conscious act b: a unifying or coherent form or structure ³ There are many variables involved in the ability to acquire and store information, within the human memory. The senses, being one of these variables, enhance an individual's ability to retain information. Sensory influences should be addressed in architecture dedicated to memory; such as architectural memorials. Memories formed within or associated to a memorial have the potential to be carried with an individual for the rest of their life. Senses connect people to their surroundings in natural and built environments by affording them a greater perception of space. This perception helps them further understand their existence in space, in relation to objects around them. Memory and sensory are closely linked, and should be experienced together. Creating an architectural memorial which not only acknowledges who or what is being remembered, but also engages the human senses, has the ability to link experience, sense and memory to a built form of remembering. This bond of sense and memory forms an individual embodied experience, which holds the potential to coincide with experiences of individuals who experienced the memorial in the past, or of individuals who experience the memorial in the future. A memorial can become a link between generations of the past and future. It can become the present.Item The process of place for architecture(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2010) Diggins, Nicholaus Michael; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Zuzanna Karczewska; Chere LeClair (co-chair)Too often architecture is perceived as only a building and its site. To utilize the power of architecture one must harness and develop the true nature of place in its totality. Development must be rooted in the human need to connect to their world and surroundings, allowing one to fully understand their own identity. Every site has its own unique spirit, or genius loci. Finding this is a process and, when tapped into correctly, the genius loci can create a connection between the human body and the spirit of their surroundings. Ultimately the human existence thrives on the need to belong. The separation of place and architecture leads to confusion and the division of body and spirit. Architecture needs to be the medium that enhances a place's identity and can connect one to the world around them. Place must be developed through an understanding of how it came to be, what it is now and how it will be shaped and strengthened as a union between architecture and place. Knowing how to deconstruct the social and built environments to origins for our understanding is the basis of questioning. A full body experience has the power to enrich our life by connecting spirit and identity into an environment. Architecture is art and science of design; it develops identities related to site, further strengthening them. It is a product of man alone, who has an inner ability to leave his mark respectively within a landscape by using human design, creating harmony between body and nature through the art of architecture. The solution is to create an Architecture that allows one to be awakened to the world around them, through a process of raising awareness to an environment and its specifics.Item Emerging Landscape : a cultural venue for Steamboat Springs, Colorado(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2008) Emanuel, Benjamin James; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Christopher Livingston; Ralph Johnson (co-chair)Architecture as a reaction to place. As current design and construction practices increasingly move toward the rapid production of "carbon copy" structures and homes, it is important that we begin raising question to the resulting loss of character and sense of place. The pertaining Thesis will explore ideas of structuring space through a cumulative and authentic response to place as a way of restoring the individual character each place potentially holds. At the small scale of a quaint mountain community, one faced with the growing pains of resort suburbia, this thesis will explore methods of evaluating place to structure an authentic response that speaks of the community and enhances the land it occupies, a response that "fits."Item In the shadow of the dam(med)(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2008) Cuthbertson, Joshua David; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: John Brittingham; Jack Smith (co-chair)Settlers developed the American West by controlling and subduing the processes of nature. This thesis explores architecture that reveals those processes, not subdues them. A prime example of this is the area along the North Platte River in southeastern Wyoming. The area's quick settlement has resulted in poor land development that threatens the area's current, agriculture-dependant, livelihood. Reservoirs developed to support the agricultural industry have reached the end of their useful lives, and now threaten the water supply. Once such reservoir, located in Guernsey, Wyoming, is silting and must be removed. In the early 1900's, society built whatever was necessary to maintain its livelihood. It was about building quickly and controlling the forces of nature. But that approach caused problems that need to be repaired. With a new land use strategy for the river, and strategic localized site planning, architecture will be a solution. Rather than spending millions of dollars dredging the reservoir, architecture can ignite a series of positive land development. Architecture provides mankind with historical insight. It is a way for people to interact with nature and visualize an environment's effect over time. In order for people to integrate with nature, they must be aware of the processes that shape a place. To fully integrate architecture into the landscape, four points must be considered: the current conditions, the history, a new use for the land, and the implementation and integration of all these aspects.