MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2008, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Architecture (Master of)

In the complex, fast-paced environment of this country, we have often disposed of building stock that could have been potentially adapted to meet our changing needs leaving environments with no connection to the past or local identity. This haphazard way of approaching our environment takes no advantage of our ability as sentient beings to truly engage in eloquent, sustainable combinations of the old and new. Through engaging the question of what we truly value in this country and how that can be defined through architectural quality, we look at a series of case studies that have successfully expressed a combination between the old and the new. This thesis defines some guiding principles inherent in successful resolutions. It does not give specified stylistic requirements but rather suggests that the old be fully understood, respected and engaged as part of a final combination with a clear hierarchy culminating in a unified expression. This set of principles will then be employed in the adaptive reuse of an abandoned industrial building into a contemporary mixed-use facility. The expressive dialogue between the old and the new is potentially the architectural expression of a new sustainable age.

Committee: Micheal McInturf (Committee Chair); Jeffery Tilman (Committee Co-Chair) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2006, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Architecture (Master of)

The reuse and revitalization of urban buildings is becoming necessary in the recent struggles with urban sprawl and poor low-income housing facilities. Beyond providing for bare minimum human needs, cities such as Denver, CO and Seattle, WA have taken measures to promote a more active and vibrant city culture and living experience. Trends and techniques of adaptive reuse and acclimating urban settings to a human level are defined by the various works of James Marston Fitch; Jane Jacobs and Charles Moore whose writings speak of defining space as a place with a spirit and kinetic energy linked to its people;, while authors such as Paul Spencer Byard lend insight to propriety and aesthetic acceptance of these methods applied to a project. This thesis will focus on applying adaptive reuse practices to a location in downtown Cincinnati that is in need of revitalization in order to achieve its potential in a vibrant social and economic climate. In doing so, this thesis will highlight the various issues and processes which are common in restoring and reusing a building, including economic and social climates that must be catered to, integrating pleasing aesthetic style into affordable situations, and promotion and revitalization through an iconic character. The goal of this undertaking is to produce a multi-income, multi-unit dwelling that provides for community business, allowing for new sources of income and allowing commerce to draw people into the facility creating a space that people occupy out of desire instead of necessity. Research will help determine what type of business the site would benefit most from as well specific community economic, cultural, and physical needs to be accommodated in the mixed-use facility. As a result, this thesis will display the potential to revive and celebrate places in the urban fabric that were once thought lost to neglect or hardship.

Committee: Jeffrey Tilman (Advisor) Subjects:

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2004, Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning: Architecture (Master of)

Architecture and the design of interior spaces has inherent to it the power of guiding users experiences through space. In this thesis, the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California is explored as a future home for Circus Center, a ‘new circus' troupe. Emphasis has be placed on the ways members of groups perceive each other as a group, as well as the ways individuals within a groups perceive others in their own group. These interactions between people, using all senses: visual, auricular, tactile, and impressional, are not only the premise for the ‘new circus', but inherent to the architecture of the place. Adding to this melange the experiential memory of the users concerning not only the architectural place, but also more importantly the memory of the other users - the circus as a place of joy and carefreeness - the circus becomes a mecca of sensory experiences.

Committee: Nnamdi Elleh (Advisor) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Industrial facilities were constructed for specific production processes which guided the design and use of the buildings. The architecture of these industrial works reflects these processes through its scale. In recent years, these buildings have fallen into disrepair and disuse. Often, the buildings are icons of their neighborhood due to their longstanding role in the community's culture and economics. Landmarks like this should be preserved for the community's future. This architectural thesis looks at how the process of adaptive reuse and preservation can re-scale industrial architecture for new use. In so doing, the design will study what the architectural response should be to the existing building to both respect the existing structure and redesign it for human interaction. This thesis uses a case study of the Lunkenheimer Foundry in South Fairmount, a neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio to understand both the existing industrial component and to propose a design for the future which inhabits the existing structure. The study is split into five parts. The first part overviews preservation, reuse, and what the theoretical response to both has been in the past. The second part gives information on both the industrial scale and the human scale and why each scale is designed. The third part introduces what the architectural response to reuse has been and strategies to use in design moving forward. The fourth part analyzes the site and existing building for design opportunity. Finally, the fifth part discusses how the design proposal connects to the existing structure. The resulting design proposal opens up the building for pedestrian inhabitation as strategic interventions float within the heavy existing structure to create architectural juxtaposition between the old and the new. The design shows that the proper architectural response to reusing industrial buildings is that which respects the original, allowing it to age in its own right, but adds new work do (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Vincent Sansalone M.Arch. (Committee Member); Edward Mitchell M.Arch (Committee Chair) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2023, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Henry Ford's assembly line allowed for the mass production of automobiles. This advancement birthed a need for a new typology: the parking garage. The excitement over this new type of structure brought about an original building style that excited architects and designers. Evolution of the car's role in American society has shifted how parking garages should be designed, but unfortunately, no further progress in garage design has been made since garage ubiquity in the modern era of the 1950s. Parking garage organization shows little concern for the mingling of the pedestrian in relation to the car. In the urban environment, parking garages have become exclusively places to park, and act as an accessory to other urban generators, making them pieces of infrastructure, not architecture. Designers today should be concerned with transforming the current infrastructure to architecture by making the pedestrian experience personal and impactful while in the parking garage. The garage should be multi-programmed, encourage the pedestrian to linger, and make it known that the garage is a place for the pedestrian just as much as it is for the car. By understanding the necessary elements of parking garages, a strategy may be produced that demonstrates these ideals of bettering the human experience in parking garages. A prototype example of how to bring these ideas to life is expressed through this essay and a series of drawings, models, and diagrams. This information is used to convey the urgency of encouraging parking garages to go beyond the singular function of parking, while simultaneously stitching together the urban fabric in the eyes of the beholder. This prototype will help encourage architects, planners, policy makers, and designers to make better informed decisions for the enrichment of the pedestrian and urban fabric through the lens of parking garages.

Committee: Rebecca Williamson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Michael McInturf M.Arch. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2022, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Heritage is always at risk when developers and advocates tear down and replace structures for their own profit and commercial purposes. Preserving sites and their history has become more popular and has been gaining a foothold in movements across the world. The appropriation of the intervention on historic sites has become a subject prone to criticism from the polarities of conservative to more liberal heritage conservationists. In Beirut, Lebanon, a city that has been rebuilt several times throughout history and now faces the need of intervention after sustaining severe damages from the 2020 Port Blast, the debate is a sensitive subject. The efforts to rebuild following the Civil War (1975 – 1990) are criticized for the demolition of historic structures and gentrification. What lesson can be learned and applied to the current situation of Beirut and its few remaining heritage structures? This thesis aims to approach the subject of rebuilding after the Port Blast by using methods of adaptive reuse to preserve the history and memories embedded in the structures while bringing new life and purpose to their post-blast conditions.

Committee: Michael McInturf M.Arch. (Committee Member); Elizabeth Riorden M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2022, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Demolition is everywhere. Brutalist architecture and associated buildings are endangered, with many of these structures facing demolition worldwide. Given society's push to achieve a more sustainable future, we can no longer rely on demolition to get rid of our problems. Some in the architectural industry have chosen to address this issue through methods of transformation and adaptive reuse an attempt to preserve and alter previously unpopular, aging identities. By understanding the concepts of value, permanence, obsolescence, and preservation, innovative design solutions can challenge the widespread endangerment of buildings. Brutalism is slowly gaining popularity after a large period of distaste. However, a timely response is needed in order to prevent the end of this controversial, unique, and historical style. In the case for Crosley Tower, a concrete high rise associated with Brutalism, on the University of Cincinnati's campus in Cincinnati, Ohio, demolition is soon approaching. Innovative methods of transformation, preservation, and demolition will alter the structures identity and provide hybridized solutions that challenge its unique existence. A matrix of iterations involving constraints of addition, subtraction, and combinations of both provides a selection of four designs to be iterated on a more detailed level. These four project proposals both meet and challenge the physical and metaphysical nature of Crosley Tower in order to realize potentials hindered by traditional, uninventive demolition.

Committee: Michael McInturf M.Arch. (Committee Member); Elizabeth Riorden M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Memory represents who we are, our habits, our ideologies, and our hopes and fears, but it also gives an indication of who we will become. How do we move into the future and allow the weight of our past to not diminish, but grow? In 1970, no one could have, or would have, predicted the deterioration of Youngstown, Ohio less than ten years later. The downfall of postwar vibrancy built on steel and the backs of mill workers seemed improbable and impossible. The end of federally-funded rebuilding, and overall lack of federal policy, in 1974 coincided with the beginning of severe population loss and economic decline throughout the United States. These once dense, active cities quickly lost their life, relegated to mere shells of their former selves. Rust Belt cities are defined by extreme post-industrial population loss in a region strongly identified with production and industry. It is because of this industry, the lifeblood of the city and the support of its economy and working-class neighborhoods, that such an abrupt and startling loss was created in Youngstown. Rust Belt cities are a parallel universe where lives, economies, and industries shift but the city remains. Rust Belt cities are essentially unraveling. People connect to a place through their memory of it. Memory of the Rust Belt, the glory days and what has been, is very important for residents of these lost and often forgotten cities. The Rust Belt is a place of loss, despair, and ruin, but connecting with a city and its residents on a personal level is much more telling than simply looking at statistics. Hybridized building programs adapt to revitalize specific sites within the city of Youngstown, Ohio. This hybridization brings together unexpected urban conditions, users, social issues, and building functions. Divergent themes such as the planned and spontaneous, homogeneous and diverse, explicit and subversive, synthetic and organic, create architecture capable of combining unorthodox function (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elizabeth Riorden M.Arch. (Committee Chair); Michael McInturf M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2019, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Architectural intervention on historic properties or within historic districts is often a spirited debate. The appropriateness of a restoration, renovation, or reuse of a building or site has become so integral to the cohesive urban fabric that historic committee have sprang up all over the United States to help govern and restrain new design in interest of preserving a unified historic urban fabric. And while there are countless local committees; whether or not to intervene on historic structures, and exactly what to do, is perhaps the most perplexing and aggravating for modern architects. This thesis aims to tackle such contradictions as “similar but different” within the field of Historic Preservation, by more specifically taking a look at designing within historic contexts. This is significant to the discipline considering the widespread re-urbanization of historic districts that has been seen in every major metropolis across the United States over the past few decades. In some instances, proper intervention has retained the historic character of such neighborhoods and has, as a result, raised property values incredibly; while other instances have, when done poorly, destroyed all authenticity and cultural purity (something that took centuries to build up organically).

Committee: Stephen Slaughter M.Arch. (Committee Chair); Jeffrey Tilman Ph.D. (Committee Member); Amanda Webb Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2019, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, states that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services..." Every human being has the right to a home. Yet millions of people still struggle to find housing that is affordable and that offers the support they need to succeed. Through the analysis of failed public housing projects throughout history, a study of economically-divided cities to determine site location, and the utilization of adaptive reuse of an abandoned shopping center, this thesis aims to provide a solution for low-income neighborhoods and their communities within. Good architectural design and proper urban planning should offer opportunities, support, and livable space for those who have been continuously excluded throughout history because of their race or income level. We may not have much say in the political decisions and financing policies that determine to a large extent whether or not homes actually get built, but we can exert professional leadership by showing what can be achieved. Affordable, supportive housing can be designed well by empowering the community through the design process, understanding the history of public housing, and utilizing new environmental movements within the housing industry. This thesis will analyze the process of public housing project development in the past and offer solutions for the future of abandoned malls and affordable, supportive housing.

Committee: Michael McInturf M.Arch. (Committee Chair); Aarati Kanekar Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2019, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

“There have been 26 “once in 500 years storms in the last decade.” Dennis Haysbert. As that number continues to rise, the number of people affected by these storms will rise with it. Hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed, leaving millions across the United States displaced. Through architecture, this problem can be solved, or at least it can help people prepare for the worst. How? There are several unused stadiums and arenas across the United States that are simply sitting vacant, collecting dirt, letting nature reconquer what we once developed for our own entertainment. The shelf-life of stadiums a hundred years ago was 60 to 70 years. Today, however, they are replaced every 20 to 25 years. Most of the time, the old stadium is demolished and the new one takes its place on the same plot of land. However, there are also instances when a new stadium is built while the old remains. These instances are the focus of this study. The thesis is interested in researching the future of these historic mega structures in terms of adaptively reusing them for disaster relief while adhering to the guidelines of historic preservation.

Committee: Aarati Kanekar Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Jeffrey Tilman Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2018, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Like many other Midwest rust belt cities, Cincinnati was born as a center of industry for a rapidly industrializing United States.Throughout the late 1800s and well into the 1900s, large industrial facilities emerged on the periphery of city centers.These building typologies became a prevalent layer in the history and building stock of these industrial cities. As the focus of the American economy slowly shifted from industrial production to service, significant amounts of those industrial properties dating from the industrial past, were left vacant and in disrepair or were often condemned and then demolished. Rich with memory of their city's booming industrial past, these oversized engines of American's will, now appear as scars in the urban fabric symbolizing the city's economic shift. In removing these historic icons, cities create gaps in their historical continuum. These gaps are now filled with constructs that are placeless and discontinuous with the memory of what was once there.

Committee: Henry Hildebrandt M.Arch. (Committee Chair); Michael McInturf M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

Master of City and Regional Planning, The Ohio State University, 2017, City and Regional Planning

German Village is typical of many inner-city areas, in that it enjoyed growth and vitality from its genesis in the mid-nineteenth century until a period of decline in the mid-twentieth century. With high vacancy rates and low-property values, parts of the neighborhood were even suggested for demolition in urban renewal schemes. But in 1960, the German Village Society formed to advocate for the preservation of the historic structures and for the creation of a protected historic district. In 1963, the City of Columbus established the German Village Commission to regulate demolition and exterior alteration of structures within the boundaries. Since then, property values have risen and the district has transformed into a highly desirable neighborhood—a process that could be characterized as gentrification. The socio-economic impacts of gentrification have been explored by a variety of scholars (see Lee, Slater and Wiley, 2013). The case of German Village, a neighborhood that has been gentrified for over half a century, offers an interesting case study into a central question of this thesis: Is there a new phase of post-gentrification that suggests such urban neighborhoods are becoming suburban? More specifically, has German Village adopted physical and socio-cultural characteristics similar to those we attribute to the suburbs? The approach to this research advances a developing theory of suburban form and culture that looks past traditional definitions of a suburb to uncover a more nuanced understanding of both the land use, socioeconomic demographic characteristics and lifestyle of suburbanization. I find that German Village has embraced a suburban lifestyle as indicted by its shift toward homeownership and privatism as indicated by the proliferation of private fences and pools as well as a stress on the home as a commodity and symbol of social status. The physical features of the neighborhood have changed to embrace a more autocentric lifestyle, adding garages (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Bernadette Hanlon PhD (Advisor); Kyle Ezell MCRP (Committee Member) Subjects: Urban Planning

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2017, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Cities with manufacturing roots still contain physical evidence of their once booming industries. Entire neighborhoods were built up around industrial facilities that now stand vacant and underused, often located near highways and railroads that make them very accessible, but undesirable. Midwest cities in particular have been forced to reevaluate the existing building stock and in many cases repurpose their structures and urban spaces for an ever-changing population with renewed interest in moving back to the city center. The size, structure, and location of industrial buildings present an opportunity to introduce housing to industrial neighborhoods at a larger scale. This thesis studies the previous home of the American Products Company, a 7-story building built in 1925 in the Camp Washington neighborhood of Cincinnati. The goal of the research was to develop a prototype for the reuse of industrial buildings throughout the Midwest. The design proposes the use of flexible elements in the residential portion of the building in the spirit of Alejando Aravena's incremental housing. Prefabricated spatial dividers can be moved and expanded to allow increased flexibility and customizability for all residents. The proposal also argues for the inclusion of a commercial element at the ground floor to engage with the surrounding community and bring residents closer to necessary resources. By focusing the design language around incremental and movable elements, the spaces retain as much flexibility as possible and allow each user to customize their space. This strategy returns control to the user, inherently resulting in greater feelings of ownership and satisfaction with one's home. This method for approaching mixed-use, mixed income development is designed to be applicable in previously industrial neighborhoods across the Midwest.

Committee: Aarati Kanekar Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Jeffrey Tilman Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

If education were a spectrum, the tradition academic learning would be on one end and a more hands-on vocation training would be on the other. Architectural education today predominantly finds itself on the academic side.

Committee: William Williams M.Arch. (Committee Chair); Stephen Slaughter M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Performing work on existing buildings is becoming more and more apparent in the field of architecture. Successfully composing old and new design together in existing fabric serves as a challenge in itself. Often, the thoughtless demolition of historic buildings is viewed not only as an ecological waste but also as a loss of local identity. The historic downtown of Chillicothe, Ohio contains several examples of early American architectural styles and used to have more until their recent demolition to make room for commercial development. This thesis explores the adaptive reuse of the Canal Warehouse, one of the few survivors of the Ohio and Erie Canal era. The region has a 2,000 long year history of habitation beginning with the Hopewell culture. Thesis Question: How can the pattern of developing over the previous layer of habitation in the Chillicothe, Ohio region as well as the way of life in both Ancient and Early Ohio in the Scioto Valley be reinterpreted through the adaptive reuse of the Canal Warehouse in order to accommodate the world heritage traveler during their stay in downtown Chillicothe? The design is developed around three primary themes - layering, system-insertions, and compositional fragments. The project works with all the LAYERS of significance from Hopewell Cosmic Monumentality, Historic Urban Building Fabric from the Canal Era, and Contemporary Heritage Tourism. The new architectural SYSTEMS are present as FRAGMENTS and LAYERED within the existing fabric to draw upon the concept of critical continuation found in the built environment in the Scioto Valley. Ultimately, this thesis serves as a prototype for illustrating to developers, planners, and preservationists the non-standard, non-formulaic types of tourism amenities expected by visitors to the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks upon their UNESCO inscription, expected in 2018. The goal is to provide a welcoming attraction in downtown Chillicothe for the traveler, promote positive interaction b (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Udo Greinacher M.Arch. (Committee Chair); John Eliot Hancock M.Arch. (Committee Member); Jeffrey Tilman Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

BARCH, Kent State University, 2015, College of Architecture and Environmental Design

This thesis developed from an interest in historical preservation. When beginning research, and reading the definitions presented by the Secretary of the Interiors, the idea of rehabilitation or adaptive reuse was of greatest interest. This thesis created an opportunity to develop an understand of adaptive reuse and apply the development of that knowledge using an existing structure, in this case, the Selle Generator Works.

Committee: Jonathan Fleming (Advisor) Subjects: Architectural; Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2015, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

This thesis seeks to address global issues of sustainability through the development of a systemic approach to urban renovation and renewal that simultaneously deals with issues of urban blight and vacancy, and maintains the existing character of the urban fabric. Reusing the existing urban fabric minimizes environmental costs of material production, acquisition, and transportation, while sustainable master-planning and architectural concepts, adapted from existing projects seeking similar ends, address broader goals of awareness, passive and renewable energy infrastructure and an ethical awareness of the environmental costs of construction. This systemic methodology addresses urban renewal at three scales and develops strategies for each one: the entire neighborhood; the structures that inhabit it, and the infrastructure that supports them; to the detail-construction scale. This thesis proposes utilization of ecologically sustainable architecture and neighborhood master-planning that serves as a vehicle for psychological, societal, and ethical shifts toward a paradigm of sustainable urban renewal.

Committee: John Eliot Hancock M.Arch. (Committee Chair); Michael McInturf M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2014, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Much of contemporary architectural design does not capitalize on the advantages of nature's processes. An over-reliance on conventional design practices and an ignorance of local ecosystems has distanced humans from their origins in nature and encouraged a built environment that excludes and subjugates nature's potential. Architects have become complacent to adopt new technologies that combat natural forces at the expense of local habitat and occupant well-being; nature has been value-engineered out of architecture. Ecological design improves the performance of buildings and enhances the health of occupants, and therefore should be an architectural imperative. Rather than subjugated as adversaries that diminish the experience of the built world, natural materials and processes should be valued elements hosted by and embedded into building design. By integrating climate and context into design, an ecological architecture will emerge that supports the health of life systems and the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. To investigate the limits of this approach, a proposed hybrid project will aim to integrate natural elements and engage local ecosystems through the design of a contemporary addition to a historical building. A design ethic that supports healthy relationships between buildings, inhabitants, and nature will shape this expansion of the modern urban office. As a result of this project, more creative strategies for ecological design within a difficult urban context could be imagined.

Committee: Udo Greinacher M.Arch. (Committee Chair); Jeffrey Tilman Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

Master of Arts in History, Youngstown State University, 2011, Department of Humanities

The thesis focuses on the development, architecture, and adaptive reuse of the Cleveland and Cincinnati Union Terminals from a period of about 1900 to 1990. Both cities had plans for union terminals as early as 1903, but neither city had them until the 1930s. By the end of the Second World War, passenger traffic had declined significantly. Soon after, they became “white elephants” in need of adaptive reuse. As early as the 1950s, ideas came about in both cities to reuse the terminals. However, it was not until the 1980s that anything with either terminal was done. In Cleveland, real-estate developers came up with the idea to create a mall, The Avenue at Tower City Center, out of the old union terminal. In Cincinnati, local museums needed new homes, so they created the Museum Center at Cincinnati Union Terminal. The Avenue at Tower City Center in Cleveland, Ohio opened March 29, 1990 and the Museum Center at Cincinnati Union Terminal opened November 10, 1990. The twentieth anniversary of both adaptive reuse projects occurred last year in 2010.

Committee: Donna DeBlasio PhD (Advisor); Martha Pallante PhD (Committee Member); Fred Viehe PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Architecture; Area Planning and Development; Transportation Planning; Urban Planning