Browsing by Author "Parsons, Spencer W."
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Item Building between sea and land(1991) Hoffmann, Peter Briggs; Parsons, Spencer W.Addressing the perceived lack of figuration and organic expression in Modernist architecture and the separation of expression from tectonics in Post Modernist architectural work, this thesis examines the boat as an architectural artifact that may provide clues to a more complex relationship between man, nature, and technology. Specifically it provides ideas for the transformation of design and construction methods used to produce a boatbuilding museum and restoration facility on the island of Galveston, Texas. The intent is to achieve a sense of constructional transparency in a skin and bones structure through literal as well as phenomenal revealing strategies. The design and construction process of the boat demonstrates ways of structuring the relationship between the measurable rational grid and the dynamic nongeometric forms and processes that are related to the changing natural environment.Item Campus planning from composition to infrastructure(1971) Partow, Manoochehr; Parsons, Spencer W.Historians classify American higher education into four periods: The Colonial college era to the Revolutionary War; the growth of colleges; industrial revolution and the expansion of colleges into universities; the scientific era; and the broadening scope of higher education. In terms of origin, planning process and form, however, institutions of higher education in the United States can be classified in three groups: Institutions which originated as colonial colleges and later on developed into universities; Post-Revolution colleges and universities; and the New Universities of the 1960's. The purpose of this thesis is to study campus planning as it has developed from the colonial period to our present time. Planning method and form is studied through case studies that examine the process of establishment and growth. The method of planning of each example is then evaluated in relation to its response to changing circumstances. These circumstances are the result of specific external changes occurring in society and their impact on the university's scope, size and method of teaching. The development of American Campuses from the self-sufficient college buildings of Colonial era to the formal composition of the Post-Revolution campuses is studied in chapters I and II. The new circumstances affecting universities' mission is studied in chapter III. Chapter IV examines the impact of the new circumstances on the physical form of the new universities. It also studies the concept of planning in these universities as it developed from individual buildings as units of organization to an organizing device, based on infrastructure. The formal plans of the Post-Revolution campuses were formulated in response to the existing demands as well as a projection for the future based on the present circumstances. As circumstances changed the master plan became detrimental to the accommodation of new demands. This thesis demonstrates that the new universities which followed this traditional method of planning became the victims of the same mistake. To accommodate present demands as well as unperceived future circumstances, the emphasis in campus planning must shift away from buildings to an open ended infrastructure.Item Design acculturation(1970) Kendall, William Doyle; Parsons, Spencer W.THESIS: The architectural profession, by virtue of its lagging philosophical progress, stands far short of adequately interpreting the value of physical form in the social structure of the low income subculture. OBJECTIVE: To create an open ended process of design acculturation using competent social research. The objective is introduced with an analysis of the street; focusing on its role in, and impact on, the low income subculture. PRESENTATION: Part one introduces the thesis describing the crises and stating the impetus for this statement. It sets contemporary social research in the midst of architectural thinking and explores the interface between the two disciplines. Finally, part one defines and proposes a process for developing viable design perspective: acculturation. Part two demonstrates design acculturation. Using the eyes of competent social research, it examines one element of the environment: the street. It analyzes the street according to the values of the low income subculture, and points up some of the limitations of architectural philosophy. Part three concludes the thesis, comparing two divergent solutions to low income housing. It contrasts the success of an esoteric architectural order with a non-architectural, highly empathetic solution.Item Education in urban areas: the community as the classroom(1972) Waite, James Martin; Parsons, Spencer W.The present educational system can be characterized as emphasizing preparation -- to prepare the young for adult life -- and as being organized for institutional efficiency. The model for the present organization is one of mass production -- for education was subject to pressures from business and industrial groups to adopt their management practices in the early part of this century. The school system concentrates its resources (facilities and materials) and workers (teachers) in strategic locations, and brings children (raw materials) to these locations for processing on a regular and systematic basis. The present spatial organization of educational facilities -- a localized one -- is so organized to get the school as close to home as possible. The schools, supposedly, fit into some organization of the city. In a system with a 6-3-3 organization, the elementary school is thought to be the social and recreational center of the "neighborhood" unit and the junior high and high school fit into a "community" which is a more complex social area made up of two or more neighborhoods. Two consequences of the present organization of education are the lack of social mix and the separation of education from the rest of life. Children go to school for the most part with children from similar backgrounds. In a diverse and pluralistic society, interaction of diverse groups is essential for individual fulfillment. Education is separate or isolated from other significant aspects of our lives. The present system assumes that, for the most part, children learn only in school and not outside; it exposes students to a narrow range of other students, teachers, and experiences; and it, therefore, has little effect on students' lives. The task for the educational system is to organize the resources of the community -- its people, activities, and facilities into the educational process. This will require a new organization and a re-thinking of the distribution of educational facilities. The proposal, here, in the context of a polycentric organization of a metropolitan area, will be a spatial organization for an educational system which uses the whole community as its classroom. The proposal consists of two kinds of facilities: homebases and special learning centers. The homebase, which relates primarily to the residential distribution, should be seen (1) as an attempt to increase the availability of educational facilities, and (2) as providing a constant in an educational system in which students are moving throughout the city, and one which offers many options. The special learning centers are that part of the system which relates to the distribution of activities in commerce, government, industry, etc. They are (1) to serve as a bridge to the community to provide "real-life" contacts in specialized areas, (2) to bring people with special skills or knowledge into the educational system, (3) to provide continuing education for all people, and (4) provide special educational programs. The implications of this proposal are that education can become a generator of city form and activities, and that it can help to create "community," or establish common commitments and increase an individual's sense of relatedness, within the urban agglomeration.Item Rerailing(1997) Dykstra, Brent Richard; Wamble, Mark; Parsons, Spencer W.; Pope, AlbertOn Chicago's Metropolitan Rail system (Metra), the conventional commuter rail station remains configured much as it did when it served commuter suburbs of the late 19th century. The contemporary commuter station, however, now operates within a diffused suburban landscape. As the suburban fabric has loosened itself from the rail corridor, so have the workplace and workday crept beyond the nine-to-five office routine of the industrial era. This commuter station is therefore reconsidered not only for a loosened suburban landscape, but also for a commuting culture which seeks to optimize time. By means of strategic siting and consideration of the suburban landscape, this station renegotiates the automobile and train and the gap between them. This physical and emporal gap becomes a site for the amenities of work and home. Configuration of the whole captures a density of activity which which expands and contracts in response to the cycles of commuter traffic.Item The Mardi Gras Institute (Louisiana)(1992) Pharis, Craig Alan; Parsons, Spencer W.Mardi Gras has over time produced an abundance of material culture which holds in it and through it a history of New Orleans, for Mardi Gras is one representation of New Orleans' culture. To understand the culture of Mardi Gras one must have some knowledge of its history and development, the theories behind the ideas of Carnival and the carnivalesque, and the environment in which the event takes place. The material culture is presently housed in various archives and exhibits throughout the city. The need has therefore arisen for an institute to house this material culture for public exhibition, preservation, and scholarly analysis. It is the taking of a popular cultural event and interpreting it into the built form.