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Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Exploring the interactive element in architecture: a children's discovery museum for Washington, D.C.

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The fresh new approach taken by today's children's museums offers great potential for an equally fresh approach to the architecture which houses these special places. Just as the "exhibits" at the children's museums invite a new relationship between the visitor and the museum collection, so too should the architecture encourage a new interaction between the individual and the built structure, between the institution and the urban environment. The new Children's Discovery Museum proposed for Washington, D.C. takes the theme of interaction as its basis. The design aims to promote a new level of participation between the people, the building, and the city. In this way, the attitude which is central in making children's museums so special was adapted to form an architectural framework: that all children -- regardless of age -- might discover a more meaningful connectedness to the built world around them.

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 Polytechnic Institute and State University
Year dc:date.issued
1993

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Janis, Julie B.
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Hunt, Gregory K.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Holt, Jaan
  • Piedmont-Palladino, Susan C.

Rights

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

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/10919/53351
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/53351

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
related terms
citation

Janis, Julie B.. Exploring the interactive element in architecture: a children's discovery museum for Washington, D.C.. masters thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/53351