Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download campus access theses, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.
Non-UMass Amherst users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this thesis through interlibrary loan.
Theses that have an embargo placed on them will not be available to anyone until the embargo expires.
Access Type
Open Access
Degree Program
Architecture
Degree Type
Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
Year Degree Awarded
2012
Month Degree Awarded
May
Keywords
Visual characteristics, city components, aesthetic principles, material permanence, experience, Helena Montana
Abstract
The larger architectural context of cities must be understood in order to effectively design buildings. If a building ignores its surroundings, it will not hold up to time and will adversely affect the city in which it stands. This can be seen in multiple of disarrayed cities and their commercial-driven building inventory. So, what makes a good city stand out, and how can this be applied to buildings? There are the four basic principles designers and planners seemed to have forgotten. The first is the layout of basic city components and their influence on current and future identity. The second is the aesthetic principles of scale and proportion. Choosing appropriate material permanence to your location is also important because it enhances or subtracts from the city’s identity. And finally, the experience of the observer must be impactful. If these principles are applied correctly and harmoniously, they can effectively heal the conflicting issues of transportation, pedestrian access, social venues, historic reverence and much more. But most importantly, they can be applied to buildings. Buildings can individually initiate the healing of an urban fabric if they are cognizant to their surroundings. Therefore in this thesis, I want to apply these four basic principles in the rehabilitation of a malfunctioning junction in my hometown of Helena, Montana. By designing a singular building with a guiding master plan, I hope to stimulate a chain reaction. This transformation would take the current issues and interweave these principles into an effective solution that will not only revitalize the area but also become a tourist destination.
First Advisor
Kathleen R. Lugosch
Second Advisor
Stephen Schreiber
Included in
American Art and Architecture Commons, Architectural History and Criticism Commons, Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis Commons, Environmental Design Commons, Theory and Criticism Commons, Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons