2015

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10125/45544

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Adaptive Reuse Strategy for Affordable Housing
(2015-05) Ahlers, Rebecca; Park, Hyoung-June; Architecture
As we embark on the future, we must prepare now to meet the needs we anticipate. Every day new buildings are constructed and old buildings become obsolete. Demand for new property sectors shifts and the supply must be transformed in response. There are two options for our built environment to meet these new demands. Option one: underutilized buildings can be renovated for in-demand uses. Option two: a new building can be constructed on an empty site or where an underutilized building once stood. The opportunities and constraints that come with each option vary case-by-case. This doctorate project recognizes the potential benefits of adaptive reuse (e.g., time and money savings, historic preservation and environmental sustainability), and establishes a method for site preselection to enable the pursuit of adaptive reuse success. Current research on this topic looks at the decision between the two options by evaluating every potential adaptive reuse project individually. This doctorate project uses a series of steps to filter away unsuitable properties, so that an optimal site can be selected, without having to analyze a seemingly endless number of potential properties. This method begins by narrowing the search area to the neighborhood level, using Smart Growth principles. Next, obsolete property sectors are identified in order to establish a building supply. This doctorate project focuses on the need for affordable housing to establish building demand. Therefore, multi-family residential is considered for the adapted end-use. Feasibility drivers are then established to narrow the pool of potential sites further. Lastly, the remaining potential properties are compared to find an optimal site for adaptive reuse. This process is demonstrated in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. While there are many cities facing similar challenges, Honolulu is hypersensitive to change. Applying the process in this environment demonstrates the potential effectiveness of the method; so that it can be easily adapted in other locales.
Resilient Community Sustainment Design
(2015-05) Antolin, Shanton; Despang, Martin; Architecture
This D.Arch Project proposes a resilient Hawai‘i community to withstand a natural disaster and to provide for self-sufficiency. The natural disasters that are being address are high winds and hurricane conditions. In most situations when constructing to be resilient, the words, strong, resistant, and invincible come to mind. The investigation begins by identifying natural disasters that are relatable to Hawai‘i’s geography then focuses on hurricane conditions and how we prepare ourselves for this weather condition; building codes, safe rooms, and causes of roof uplift. This leads to the perception of why should we resist the storm by using excessive amount of building material to be resilient and why not allow the storm to enter by using minimal amount of building material to be resilient. The occupant’s safety and personal well-being are the most important factors in this situation. A brief building material analysis is conducted to determine which would be best used for construction against the weather and time. Living in Hawai‘i, the natural environment can improve the occupant’s personal well-being, so why are they living behind enclosed walls to experience this. The bare necessities were explored and implemented, by examining nature, studying Le Corbusier, and critiquing case studies. However, five controversial issues that have risen from living in an open air structure home. Designing resiliency goes beyond the storm and the home. It also involves the physical, sociological, and mental aspects to be prepared for when situations go wrong. Community engagement can supplement the occupant’s personal well-being. In order for the occupant to be comfortable living in the open air structured home, community core values are needed to be established to create a prestigious resilient community lifestyle. Common areas, community activities, and marketing strategies were analyzed to demonstrate how people would be convinced that this lifestyle is applicable. Ancient Hawaiians practiced and shared the same core values when providing for selfsustainment. At the end of this D.Arch Project, a comprehensive concept design was made for this resilient lifestyle, community, and farm home for a new neighborhood near Wahiawā.
Sociotecture: Revolutionizing the Process of Informal Housing in Egypt
(2015-05) Aref, Salma; Kim, Ma Ry; Architecture
It is estimated that one billion people around the world live in unsanitary, destitute, and dangerous slums. Millions of these dwellers live in Egypt. Within Cairo, Ezbet el Haggana is considered one of the world's largest “megaslum” with over one million people. There are vast areas that lack access to plumbing, electricity, roads, schools, hospitals or emergency personnel. Without the reversal of the slums, many countries will not be able to pull themselves into holistic nations and will remain bound by the poorest tier of their society. By socially rehabilitating these conditions through urban design and architecture, the restructuring of their physical environment will enhance the individual's identity, self-worth, and social interactions. Through the understanding of the historical, political, and economic climate of Egypt, as well as the slum residents' expectations and social needs, the design of the community is driven with the purpose of encouraging positive behaviors. With these outcomes, the design parameters inform the design project which aims to create clean, prosperous, and safe dwellings. The new urban approach aims to cultivate communal needs and nourish the social and economic development of the slums. Finally, a methodology of assessing slums was developed to promote a global approach that can serve as a framework for application across varying slums around the world. The methodology is then applied to Ezbet el Haggana in order to illustrate the potential of the process.
Urban Leftovers
(2015-05) Baga, Dorothy; Ashraf, Kazi; Architecture
Urban leftovers are dissociated fragments of the urban network, left behind from changes in the transformation of the city and its infrastructural networks; they are the awkward spaces created as a consequence of urbanization and the constant shifting of urban conditions. This thesis is an investigation of urban leftovers within the context of Honolulu’s metropolitan area. In recent years, there has been increasing interest from architects, urban planners, local governments, and citizens of the community to transform and reintroduce leftover spaces as viable resources for instigating positive change. Innovative initiatives such as the Boxpark, PopupHood, and Proxy SF, prove the potential of urban leftovers as assets for economic development and neighborhood revitalization. A physical survey of five neighborhoods in Honolulu’s Primary Urban Core led to the development of a cataloging system, resulting in an inventory of urban leftovers. Through typological analyses the documented sites were classified into four major categories of urban leftovers found in Honolulu: isolated, sandwiched, adjacent, and enclosed. In order to determine appropriate strategies for further investigation of urban leftovers, direct observation techniques borrowed from Jan Gehl and William Whyte were explored. To further exemplify the potential value of urban leftovers, urban analysis was carried out for four different sites in Honolulu. The resulting “design proposals” should not be seen as the solution for the site, rather as one response to a particular site specific condition. Each design investigation proposes one alternative vision for use of the site, while making an effort to enhance the existing urban infrastructure and address neighborhood specific issues. The research concludes that similar interventions could benefit places like Hawaii where there is limited land availability, allowing the city to expand within the existing infrastructure – enhancing, reconnecting, filling in the existing urban footprint.
Physical Activity + Architecture
(2015-05) Beppu, Adele; Noe, Joyce; Architecture
People today face many health problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and some cancers. About one third of Americans are obese and that number is projected to increase substantially. Even though regular exercise can alleviate and in some cases prevent many of these health problems and greatly benefits a person’s quality of life, many people still do not meet the recommended requirements. This project analyzes how to motivate people to add physical activity to their routines through architecture and how architectural design can play a part in promoting health and wellbeing. Based on its findings, the project proposes a redesign of Ala Moana Beach Park and a linking of nearby parks through pathways, exercise stations, and signage that will encourage the residents of Oahu to exercise more regularly.
Integration of Psychology and Neuroscience into the Design Process
(2015-05) Brooks, Massey; Kim, Ma Ry; Architecture
Architects develop an understanding of many topics that are closely related to architecture, design, and the construction industry. There is a need, however, for architects to be exposed to more information within the fields of psychology and neuroscience. This research finds the gaps in the architectural design process that can benefit from these additional disciplines. It translates, or makes more accessible, relevant topics in psychology and neuroscience. Then, it develops a 'process web' that lays out these topics in an understandable format that shows potential overlaps and opportunities for architects to apply in their design process. In addition to this process web, this research expounds on the topic of mirror neurons. The introduction of this topic offers keys for an architect to understand how a person perceives or experiences comfort, empathy, and understanding within an architectural space. These findings suggest that an architect has the ability to trigger positive responses in the user of a building by applying principles of mirror neuron research by way of their architectural design. The ability to accomplish this can be a very helpful skill for the architect as the goal is always to design and provide the best possible space for those who utilize the architecture.
Community Healing: Child Maltreatment in Hilo
(2015-05) Brown, Elena; Despang, Martin; Architecture
Every year, child maltreatment costs the United States billions of dollars in healthcare costs1. Child maltreatment has life‐long physical, psychological, and behavioral consequences for the victims. This problem is particularly a problem in the County of Hawai‘i, where the majority of residents believe child abuse is a major problem in the community and almost half of adult residents know someone who was abused as a child, or suffered abuse themselves2. This project looks at child maltreatment in Hawai‘i, with a focus on the Hilo area in the County of Hawai‘i. The goal of this research is to come to an understanding of how building design can affect child maltreatment risk, and how it can be used to both prevent and heal the effects of child maltreatment in families. This research will look at child maltreatment in the country in general, child maltreatment in Hawai‘i traditionally and historically, child maltreatment in Hawai‘i in the present and future, how the built environment effects people, and design parameters from related types of buildings. These separate topics led to the same conclusion of what elements need to be incorporated into the design of a building in order to ensure the well‐being of building users. These design elements are: a connection with nature, use of daylight, balance between encouraging social interaction and privacy, security, flexibility and transformability of spaces, and user control of their environment.
Design Guidelines through the morphology of Transient Spaces in Healthcare Facilities
(2015-05) Chiusolo, Kurt; Miao, Pu; Architecture
Transient space, as a programmatic element, is a major design driver of all healthcare facilities. Society today is currently reassessing the influence of transient space design onto the holistic healing process for it contains a notable portion of health qualities that the current physical assessment does not support, which in turn does not support the complete regenerative health of healthcare patients. Therefore the advancement of transient space design is critical in progressing the current healthcare treatment system. This dissertation investigates the intertwining relationships between architectural design attributes and human health. With a specific focus on healthcare facilities, the morphology of transient spaces is explored to formulate a new design strategy for creating healing environments. The project goal is to formulate an architectural design guideline on how to improve the healing quality of transient spaces in healthcare facilities. The guidelines have been derived from the results of various environmental, psychological, and medical studies that have outlined an environmental relationship to human health. Additional recommendations have been made from professionals in the field of architecture, medicine, and psychology whom have extensive experience working with the related material or research area. The design guidelines are formulated to offer clear design translations of how to implement and approach creating a healing environment. A comprehensive design guideline booklet covering the three main aspects of health in human beings (physiology, psychology, and identity) is linked with built examples to offer clear design initiatives and implementations for improving health through architectural design. Accordingly, the guidelines create an easy reference for design professionals to help increase the number of evidence-based design practices in the world of architecture, planning, and healthcare.
Building with Waste: Reusing Landfill Materials to Create Houses in the Pacific Islands
(2015-05) Clark, Stephanie; Rockwood, David; Architecture
As a result of rapid urbanization, an increase in the cost of living, a lack of affordable housing, and poverty, Fiji has experienced an increase in informal settlements. Informal settlements are unplanned residential communities that organically develop on illegally claimed land with homes constructed to improper building codes or regulations. The houses of these communities are typically made up of poorly constructed, do-ityourself, shack-like dwellings made from rotting plywood, rusted corrugated iron, and scraps of timber. Because of the increasing number of residents in informal settlements, these dwellings are becoming over-crowded with a limited supply of urban infrastructure such as water and electricity. Two resources that informal settlements do not have access to are waste removal and sewage drainage. For many years the government of Fiji has been developing strategies to help informal settlers. However due to the continued increase in demand for these types of settlements, the nation struggles to supply affordable housing and resources for these residents. The intent of this research is to develop alternative building materials using items that are commonly found in this nation’s landfills in an effort to create affordable housing for Fiji’s residents of informal settlements. When building with waste, less money can be spent on building materials. This will allow more money to be used on additional resources to improve the conditions of informal settlements such as proper plumbing, v sewage disposal, water supply, and electricity. Creating alternative materials and educating the residents on how to collect and assemble the new building products will allow the community to capitalize on their skills as a means to earn a profit or create a business building with waste. This will help the settlements economically, as well as, extend the life-cycle of materials accumulating in landfills and other dumpsites.
Architectural Site Intimacy
(2015-05) Dane, Mchael; Leineweber, Spencer; Architecture
Indigenous thought process can influence current trends of creative problem solving via architecture and landscape design. This doctoral project contextualizes a method of design, as a way to address a global paradigm shift in understanding the relationship between God, land and humans. “Architectural Site Intimacy,” enables a design (especially at significant sites) the opportunity to connect visitors physically, spiritually and intellectually to the place and to God. Blending traditional and contemporary knowledge, both story and science, allows for social, physical and psychological benefits. By connecting to place, culture and history; I developed a framework to increase human awareness of the natural environment through architectural design. The experience I gained included working with the community in participatory planning, and then incorporating the community input by integrating cultural concepts in a design. “The Mamo Process” is a methodology which uses Hawaiian culture and site understanding to enable a meaningful connection between man and nature through architecture. This creates a meaningful interaction between the place, culture, and history that gives back to the place in a way that respects its’ past and transmits it to the future; with authentic cultural representation. By focusing on different realms, including the earth below and the heavens above, the cultural relationship between man and place is fully realized. By establishing a base of cultural influences and incorporating trans-cultural values of such as pono (righteous) and lōkahi (balance), we can reach interconnectivity between sea, land, people, and sky. The end objective is to harmoniously tune the different realms of influence through the power of design. The designer’s kuleana is to bring together the best practices of traditional and contemporary design strategies to choreograph an architectural environment and landscape that encourages a culturally appropriate experience. The design aims to educate visitors about the site mo‘olelo. The design for the Kūkaniloko Center of Culture is part of a greater cultural revival initiative.
21st Century Stadium Design
(2015-05) Feo, Michael; Llewellyn, Clark; Architecture
The design of stadiums in the near future will focus on incorporating programming to make stadiums more functional for the urban communities they serve. Stadium scale, both in its physical size and radius of influence, makes the stadium an important urban entity that has an effect beyond the delineated space in which it is constructed. Stadiums are a public structure because their funding is drawn from public sources, notably taxes and land; thus a stadium’s true “client” is the general public. Integrating programming that supports multiple functions, such as malls, restaurants and even commercial space, benefits the general population, and not just those that use the stadium as an entertainment venue. This thesis explores and evaluates architectural issues, extending stadium use beyond sporting events, resulting in a site fully integrated in the city, providing a higher return on investment for the citizens.
Tropical Modern Residential Architecture
(2015-05) Hart, Graham; Sarvimaki, Marja; Architecture
The purpose of this dissertation is to document and explore the design language of Tropical Modern residential architecture through its history and many built manifestations. Tropical, here, refers loosely to architecture built in the climatic zones of the tropics and sub-tropics around the world including other areas of the Pacific region. Modern refers to architecture designed with methodologies that stem from the Modernist architectural idiom but are not limited to work built in that era. In specific, precedents were researched from Tropical Modern architects such as Vladimir Ossipoff from Hawai‘i, Paul Rudolph in Florida, Richard Neutra in California, Oscar Niemeyer from Brazil, and Glenn Murcutt in Australia. Their work is analyzed by comparing it to factors for regional design put forth by Henry Seckel in his book Hawaiian Residential Architecture (1954). This body of work and analysis is then used as the foundation for a discussion and cataloging of the design language of Tropical Modern residential architecture. The design language is broken into three parts and an overview, including vocabulary, syntax, and meaning. The argument is that by considering the factors for regional design in Modern architecture for the tropics – isolation, materials, economic conditions, climate, setting, cultural background, and environmental living – sensitive, personal and responsive architecture can be designed. This concept of the Tropical Modern design language is then tested with two design projects in O’ahu. Each design has unique clients and sites, meaning unique regional factors, which resulted in two different designs built from the same design language methodology. This process is documented and broken down into the same three parts – vocabulary, syntax, and meaning. The end result is an understanding and documentation of the Tropical Modern residential design language, and a methodology for how to perpetuate a type of architecture that speaks about the poetics of place.
Hurricane Resilient Design for Multi-Family Residential High-rises
(2015-05) Hill, Michael; Rockwood, David; Architecture
The problem motivating this research is the author’s belief that residential high-rise building’s vulnerability to hurricanes is not being addressed. Therefore, the general idea behind the research is to find out where those vulnerabilities are by looking at hurricanes science, significant historical hurricane events, building failures, building codes, and building guidelines. From the information gathered the author will propose mitigation strategies that when implemented respond to these vulnerabilities. Then using a theoretical case study location on the south shore of Oahu, Hawaii, to show how the mitigation strategies can be employed to protect those living in the coastal areas.
Urban Waterfront Rehabilitation In Pelluhue County, Chile
(2015-05) Igualt, Filipe; Leineweber, Spencer; Architecture
During the morning of February 27th, 2010, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8Mw affected the central region of Chile. As a result of the earthquake, tsunami waves were generated. These waves hit the coastal towns with great intensity in the central region of Chile, from Valparaiso to Tirua. The main economical activities: fishing, tourism, and other forms of local commerce, were seriously affected due to the destruction of the earthquake and tsunami. Pelluhue County is located in the southwest zone of the VII region, the central zone of Chile, which is part of Cauquenes' province local government. Its coastline is lies along the Pacific Ocean. In this county, the damage was mostly concentrated along the waterfront, having a great degree of destruction up into the river mouths. In this thesis the flood destruction is analyzed in the urban waterfront of Curanipe, Pelluhue, and Mariscadero. The damage generated by the tsunami flood illustrates the high degree of exposure of buildings and structures abutting Pelluhue's waterfront. The nonexistence of any mitigation elements allowed the direct impact of tsunami waves against dwellings. Compounding the issue, the lack of an evacuation plan increased the number of victims in the county. The effectiveness of the most common artificial coastal defensive structures is evaluated in different tsunami scenarios. By analyzing the performance of these systems, it is clear that the forces of nature are stronger than any structure trying to contain them. This thesis explores the integration of a tsunami forest in the waterfront, which helps to consolidate the existing dune barrier. In this way natural-mitigation barriers are incorporated in the waterfront and riverfront, which not only play a defensive role, but also create a natural environment that support tourism, and incorporates an educative program along the circulation paths through the forest and dune barrier.
Building Integrated Photovoltaics in Hawaii: Testing Three Façade Schemes for Tropical Retrofit
(2015-05) Lau, Parker; Rockwood, David; Architecture
It is forecasted the human population will increase by 33% by 2050 and 70% by 2100. With exponential population growth there exists a global energy demand to power the lives of humans and the cities they dwell in. To meet this need it is imperative that society curbs its greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption; clean energy is greatly needed. This requires major innovations in building technology, energy efficiency, power savings, recycling and renewable energy generation. This is paramount to sustaining natural resources and the human condition for future generations to continue into perpetuity. However daunting, this crisis gives rise to critical opportunities in the area of architectural design and resource augmentation. This D.Arch dissertation presents a technological building solution through an intrinsic application of nature and energy: The Sun and its light. The design development of a Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) awning system digitally retrofitted on a high-rise building in downtown Honolulu, Hawai’i will be assessed based its energy savings and power utilization methods. Measurements of this system will be in examining a methodology, which focuses on the duality of its active (photovoltaic) energy generation merged with its passive (shading) energy qualities. Investigation will focus on how to consolidate a merger for increased power potential in electrical energy performance, on-site energy savings, and progressive architectural design. The project looks at ten BIPV iterations, which use energy and daylight simulations, to judge the designs’ form and function. This is done to achieve a 1- to-10 BIPV factor, which balances certain qualitative and quantitative outlines for final implementation. From the research, design, data collection and energy simulations, it was discovered that in implementing the preferred BIPV façade retrofit, in downtown Honolulu, produced power savings in the magnitude of 7.8%, generated over 404k kWh/year and established a payback period of 4 years. Not only can BIPV design implementations provide for efficient cost dynamics but can also extend into future energy production and saving benefits. These aspects are crucial in providing a template for potential PV ubiquity and adoption within the built environment for better resource utilization and energy recycling in the 21st century.
Proliferating the Essence of Mokauea: Performative Symbiosis for a Coastal Habitat
(2015-05) Quitoriano, Jandi; Stilgenbauer, Judith; Architecture
Within the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, amidst a plethora of man-made, heavy-handed engineering projects, survives the remnants of a Native Hawaiian fishing village, located on a tiny island within Ke‘ehi Lagoon, Mokauea. Currently serving as a physical representation or remembrance of a generation past, deep-seeded in Native Hawaiian maritime culture, the reality of climate change threatens its continued existence. Scientific projections validate the inevitability of a rise in sea level that will result in the complete submergence of the island with the next century. The purpose behind this research and design project is to explore and propose a solution that proliferates the essence of Mokauea. As mainstream adaptation strategies may be unsuitable for culturally rich and distinctive indigenous peoples, it becomes important to identify and understand the specific and inherent culture, community and environment of Mokauea. Through the formation of a sense of place, a perspective is formed that leads to responsive, responsible and sensitive design. The proposed design is described as a Water Network Experience that celebrates the natural beauty of Mokauea and Ke‘ehi Lagoon, promotes engagement, is environmentally and culturally sensitive. Using a combination of performative design interventions and the creation of various platforms to support education and awareness, the Water Network Experience embraces sea level rise while integrating within the physical and cultural community, using a 21st century approach to the translation or interpretation of the past and the anticipation of future scenario, extending historic cultural knowledge to future generations. The Water Network Experience while derivative of the current efforts to preserve or revitalize Mokauea, and shaped by the understanding of sense of place, has the potential to be further investigated, implemented and replicated along the coastlines of Hawaii and throughout the world.
The Rings of Method: An Experience Influenced Design Process
(2015-05) Raco, George; Kim, Ma Ry; Architecture
With regard to architectural design, the collaboration between architects, designers, and end-users is an important aspect that facilitates an increase in the functional and sensorial experience of place and the built environment. Contemporary design philosophy tends to acknowledge the importance of the enduser while the parameters of art destined for the market require at least a passing understanding of the end-user. End-users are not static; they are dynamic. In spite of this however, there seems to be less regard for the need for space to be able to evolve dynamically as the experiences of the user grows. This thesis argues that users should be influential aspects of the design process. A design process which should be dynamic yet faithful to the context of the user. Three exploratory design experiments were conducted to help illustrate this argument. To ensure that the experiments focused on the exploration of a unique design method, three singular users aided in the design experiments rather than user groups. With the end goal of a residence design, each user started with similar parameters and each project evolved distinctively. This process explores the synthesis of the user’s experiences as a basis for the design framework, to inform architectural expression and to allow the architectural space to morph. The resulting buildings support the argument that if buildings are designed with the specific intention of one place, then the process by which architects design should be equally significant to one specific user or user group. Deeper explorations of User- Centered Design, Participatory Design, Metadesign, and Service Design are the basis for exploration of an evolutionary design methodology. The project seeks to highlight a dynamic design process that connects the intrinsic experiences of a user to the design process and is manifested throughout the architecture in a meaningful experience.
Informing Form: When Writing Meets Architecture
(2015-05) Ribao, Ronald; Stilgenbauer, Judith; Architecture
Graffiti-writing and architecture are design interventions within the urban environment. During the design process, considerations to intent, site, approach, and identity translate into the final design. I have analyzed the history and process of graffitiwriting and by recognizing a pattern in ideas, have assembled this information as the Principles of Graffiti. The importance of graffiti is its ability to interpret and form the contextual and social issues of the site. In this dissertation, I have conducted a design experiment that infuses architecture with these ideologies of graffiti. In an effort to voice the message of Chinatown as it prepares for the future, three sites will create examples of tackle the need to reconsider the process that determines the purpose of the site.
Ka Mala Lani: Re-Planning School Grounds for Growing Pono
(2015-05) Ricordi, Alberto; Stilgenbauer, Judith; Architecture
This Research Document presents Ka Māla Lani, Blanche Pope Elementary School’s garden, as a safe place of aloha (love) for students to learn about gardening and cultural values. Ka Māla Lani is the place where students who struggle in passive academic methods can feel validated and successful, using active hands-on approaches, which are often lacking during school hours. It is a Pu‘uhonua, a place of refuge and healing, where their troubles are left outside, and students can focus on themselves and on living pono (in righteousness). That is why Ka Māla Lani is called “the Pono garden”. The school garden Ka Māla Lani was instrumental in fostering hope and guiding the community towards a pono way, inspiring students, teachers and other community members to step back and re-evaluate the way things are done. This Doctorate project is an example of the influence of Ka Māla Lani in people’s lives. The goal of this Doctorate research is to develop a site specific participatory design method and a site plan for Blanche Pope Elementary School in Waimānalo, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. Instead of retrofitting buildings, this research took the landscape as the framework to remediate environmental issues associated to Blanche Pope Elementary School, as well as managing the resources available on site. There is vast literature on the planning, implementation, and use of school grounds, including many valuable publications focusing specifically on Hawai‘i's unique and diverse environmental and social conditions. The proposed site plan incorporates participatory design strategies and design solutions that maximize the experience, efficiency, and self-sustainability of Ka Māla Lani. The concept of “growing pono” guided the development of the proposals in this manuscript. The design proposals incorporate the process of shelter (hale), embracing (storm water management and trellis garden by cafeteria), self-sufficiency (rain water harvesting), and healing (stormwater management). These solutions could be used not only by architects, but also by landscape architects, educators, and other community leaders interested in renovating or establishing comprehensive schoolyards, adapting the concept of pono (righteousness) to their unique environmental and cultural conditions and needs.
Neuro-Architecture
(2015-05) Ruiz Arellano, Mayra; Noe, Joyce; Architecture
Architectural design and neuroscience at first glance may appear to be two seemingly different fields but for centuries intuitively, architects have been designing based on the principles of neuroscience. Architects through trial and error have gained knowledge of specific architectural elements and the potential these elements have to affect the user. Recently this intuition has been coined “neuro-architecture”. With the advancement of technology neuroscientist can accurately conclude how the human body will react to specific architectural stimuli. The proposal is focused on encouraging and furthering the symbiotic relationship between architecture and neuroscience in an attempt to promote architectural design that moves and elevates the human condition. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the findings of neuroscience and promote their implementation into architectural design, creating a deeper understanding of how the human body relates to architectural surroundings. The methodology assumed closely follows the research typologies used in evidence-based design. The first is a literature review of the findings in neuroscience research and their application to architectural design. Second is an understanding of the anatomy of the body, the senses, and neurobiology as this is the basis in determining the body’s primal reaction to architectural stimuli. The final step of the process will be to create a prototypical design in which research findings bridged and reinforce the connection between neuroscience and architecture, resulting in a design that potentially has the ability to elevate the human experience.

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