Abstract
dc:description.abstractThe pursuit of reducing waste and carbon emissions in the building industry is a challenge which is collective, prescient, and an opportunity for explorations of new material practices and fabrication methods. This thesis seeks to show how digital fabrication can serve as a tool in material reclamation and reuse in architecture. Utilizing the design of a pharmaceutical headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts as a vessel for investigation, both the challenges and potentials of such a process are evaluated. This proposal includes a process by which material reclamation drives design decisions in order to show that when architects consider material lifecycles and design for a process, rather than just a product, new possibilities can be realized for a building and its implications. By reusing existing metal cladding in the pharmaceutical building's solar veil, not only is waste reduced, but a narrative is conveyed about possible futures. Through creative material practices and digital tools, architects have the opportunity to create a future that is locally grounded, resource efficient, and less wasteful while meeting the needs of an expanding global population. This thesis raises a number of questions around material use in buildings, fabrication methods, facade design, and the balance between performance and embodied traits. The journey of designing for material systems is documented here in order to show the possibilities for change in the industry towards more sustainable material practices.
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
- 2022
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Hammond, Perry Jordan
- Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
-
- King, Jonathan Lee
- Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
-
- Al, Stefan Johannes
- Dunay, Robert J.
Subjects
dc:subject × 3Rights
dc:rights- Statement dc:rights
-
- In Copyright
- Licence dc:rights.uri
- Language dc:language.iso
- en
Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Dc Identifier Other
- vt_gsexam:34916
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/110504