Architecture Theses and Dissertations

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Browsing Architecture Theses and Dissertations by Subject "Architecture"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Behavior, comfort, and energy consumption in student residence halls
    (University of Oregon, 2010-03) Collins, Thomas Daniel, 1979-
    New residence halls differ from their predecessors because of sophisticated systems, concern for energy efficiency, and attention to student satisfaction. Nevertheless, older facilities represent the bulk of housing stock on many campuses. A literature review revealed few recent studies related to student housing. This thesis questions how residence hall age influences occupant perceptions and actions related to comfort and energy consumption. The study took place in two residence halls, built in 1963 and 2006, and entailed an occupant survey of 103 residents as well as the collection of thermal and utility data. Survey results did not show a significant difference in occupant behaviors between the older and newer buildings. Thermal measurements in both buildings fell inside and outside the ASHRAE Comfort Zone, which supported occupant perceptions. Findings indicate a lack of student awareness of energy conservation strategies. Furthermore, greater consistency in campus utility metering would enable more accurate building performance comparisons.
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    A Design Approach to Achieving the Passive House Standard in a Home Energy Retrofit
    (University of Oregon, 2011-06) Hogan, Matthew Bryan, 1982-
    Passive House is a voluntary, performance-based energy standard for buildings. Passive Houses use on average 90% less energy for space conditioning than code-designed houses; Passive House therefore offers an ambitious performance target for home energy retrofits. Retrofits built to the Passive House standard in Europe have demonstrated a high level of energy performance. In the U.S., few Passive House retrofits exist to date; for this reason, design and cost information for such retrofits is lacking. This study establishes an exemplar through designing the Passive House retrofit of an older home in Eugene, Oregon. The retrofit's cost-effectiveness was examined by comparing projected "business as usual" (BAU) life cycle costs to those associated with retrofit. While the BAU scenario resulted in the lowest cost over a 30-year life cycle, the difference is relatively small; minor adjustments to key variables make the retrofit financially viable.
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    Looking Beyond the Conventional Mixed-Use Development Model: Analyzing the Potential for Start-Up Businesses to Supplement Traditional Retail
    (University of Oregon, 2011-12) Oeltjenbruns, Rebecca Ann
    Our current focus on the city core includes reintroducing the mixed-use building. This typology is not without challenges, and arguably none is more pressing than full retail occupancy. This analysis investigates the potential for start-up companies to supplement traditional retail on an interim basis. By documenting the needs and expectations of the start-up and development communities (from multiple perspectives), this study assesses the potential connection between mixed-use and the start-up company. Using a methodology informed by literature and augmented by personal accounts, this analysis reveals that the inclusion of start-up companies in mixed-use projects can present both short- and long-term benefits to ongoing retail difficulties: mixed-use buildings can be an ideal location for start-up firms, including start-up tenants can be economically feasible if certain measures are in place, and a new development model is not needed to connect an emerging business with an existing project.
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    The Global City and Its Discontents: A Study of New York City's Garment District, 1930-1980
    (University of Oregon, 2017-09-06) Kayatekin, Cem; Davis, Howard
    Big business and small business, the global and the local, the rich and the poor—these polarities often inhabit compartmentalized geographies within the modern global city. This compartmentalization proves to be problematic since the lack of a localized diversity of socioeconomic actors is a critical point of vulnerability in the context of urban resilience. The question is, what role does the relationship between the built world and human socioeconomic agency play in the context of this issue? The objective of this dissertation is to document, analyze, and understand: (1) at the district scale, how architectural / urban characteristics, typologies, and configurations have historically influenced the developmental trajectory and composition of the city’s socioeconomic fabric, and in turn how socioeconomic structures have historically influenced the architectural / urban characteristics, typologies, and configurations observed in the city; (2) at the building scale, how the internal physical / spatial characteristics and configurations of buildings have historically influenced the developmental trajectory and composition of the socioeconomic fabric, and how socioeconomic actors in turn have historically altered and influenced the internal physical / spatial characteristics and configurations of buildings over time; (3) the commonalities, patterns, and processes that can be discerned via the historic study of these narratives of physical and socioeconomic change; and (4) how these commonalities can in turn inform future architectural and urban projects in their capacity to support localized diversities of socioeconomic actors. In seeking to answer these questions, this dissertation endeavors to understand, more broadly: (1) the historic nature of the relationship between the physical and the socioeconomic fabric of the city; and (2) how future alterations to the physical fabric of the city can be informed so as to positively impact a locality’s ability to attract and maintain a diversity of socioeconomic actors over an extended period of time. These broader objectives are pursued with the supposition that they have the capacity to significantly impact the ideological conception, as well as practical regulation, planning, and administration of global cities.