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Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

A case study analysis of attached housing design according to themes of the lifeworld

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

This thesis analyzes case studies of attached housing design according to principles derived from the philosophy of phenomenology; principles referred to as themes of the lifeworld. The lifeworld is the term given by phenomenologists to a person's personal, everyday perceptions of the world in which he or she lives. The lifeworld encompasses a person's relationship with him or herself, other people and the physical world in which he or she lives. It includes the moods, feelings and impressions that are associated with these relationships. Though each person's lifeworld is a personal and subjective affair, phenomenologists have discovered themes that are common to the lifeworlds of almost all people regardless of region or culture. This study concentrates on the themes that are common to people's perceptions of the physical world. It employs these themes in the analysis of examples of attached housing design in order to demonstrate that design principles developed through the philosophy of phenomenology can indeed be discovered in the real world. Such a demonstration is important because if the claims are true that phenomenology seeks out and establishes itself on an accurate understanding of how people experience the world, then a design approach informed by this understanding is more likely to result in thriving, livable environments than those approaches that exclusively emphasize visual imagery, the satisfaction of functional objectives or the fulfillment of pre-conceived design paradigms.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Landscape Architecture
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Landscape Architecture
Department dc:contributor.department
Landscape Architecture
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Year dc:date.issued
1995

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Marcolin, John

Subjects

dc:subject × 3

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/10919/52142
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/52142

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

Marcolin, John. A case study analysis of attached housing design according to themes of the lifeworld. masters thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/52142