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Virginia Tech

Site Lines: Building in Earth and Sky

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

At Jones Point in Alexandria, Virginia, it is easy to perceive the movements of the tides, the stars, and the sun, or to point to the markers and structures that dot the peninsula. However, the rules that govern the heavenly bodies and the intended purposes of the earthly constructions are not as readily discerned. Situated here, a marina and sailing school on the banks of the Potomac River finds order in the astronomical rhythm and man-made history of Jones Point, and they structure the significance of the site through building. This project first aspired to re-imagine the ceiling and the floor as primary architectural elements. The floor and the ceiling became an analogy: The floor is the Earth, the ceiling is the sky. This building orders its site by unifying the diverse elements at Jones Point and allows one to find orientation in the terrestrial as well as the celestial. It is by building that we put ourselves in relation to the world. We imbue materials and our constructions with significance. In Architecture, it is the construction of our ideals, desires, and wonder -- rendered in material -- that shelters us from the biting cold or the beating sun. We draw our stories in the sky and we build them on the earth.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Architecture
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Architecture
Department dc:contributor.department
Architecture
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2015

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Kelly, Harry James IV
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Holt, Jaan
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Ritter, James W.
  • Piedmont-Palladino, Susan C.

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:4175
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/51254

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Kelly, Harry James IV. Site Lines: Building in Earth and Sky. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/51254