{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/111050"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/111050","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"An argument of the overwhelming: architectural forms in Prospect Park, Brooklyn","abstract":"This is a thesis investigation of the potential of architectural form in its ability to overwhelm. Architecture cannot be measured by bolts or decorative elements; it must be measured by its capacity to move us. Technological feats, humanistic comforts, or historical legacies will never yield the ultimate expression of man. Expression is a controlled, deliberate act which carries out a concept to fruition. The basis of this proposal is to emphasize an act, an essence, a process -- an accentuation which subjects a new layer that reveals, distorts, and produces anew. It is to change the original by means of its own devices, yielding a further sense of harmony with a place. A gate, walls in a clearing, a bridge, a moat, four towers, a plaza, a \"passeggiata,\" many benches, and stepping stones are the elements that are collaged with a \"greensward, \" a \"hilly land covered with plantations, \" and a \" low plain mainly occupied by a lake. \" Three acts are proposed : the elements, all strict geometric forms , are placed to contrast their setting; the land where they lie is trenched or terraced to perceptually remove the parcels of earth from the Park; the enclosing roads weave in and out, emerging within the Park, to determine the position of the elements.","abstract_html":"This is a thesis investigation of the potential of architectural form in its ability to overwhelm. Architecture cannot be measured by bolts or decorative elements; it must be measured by its capacity to move us. Technological feats, humanistic comforts, or historical legacies will never yield the ultimate expression of man. Expression is a controlled, deliberate act which carries out a concept to fruition. The basis of this proposal is to emphasize an act, an essence, a process -- an accentuation which subjects a new layer that reveals, distorts, and produces anew. It is to change the original by means of its own devices, yielding a further sense of harmony with a place. A gate, walls in a clearing, a bridge, a moat, four towers, a plaza, a &quot;passeggiata,&quot; many benches, and stepping stones are the elements that are collaged with a &quot;greensward, &quot; a &quot;hilly land covered with plantations, &quot; and a &quot; low plain mainly occupied by a lake. &quot; Three acts are proposed : the elements, all strict geometric forms , are placed to contrast their setting; the land where they lie is trenched or terraced to perceptually remove the parcels of earth from the Park; the enclosing roads weave in and out, emerging within the Park, to determine the position of the elements.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Proffitt, Pilar"],"institution":"Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University","degree_name":"M. Arch.","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Architecture","degree_department":"Architecture","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Dunay, Robert J."],"committee_members":["Rott, Hans Christian","Schnoedt, Heinrich","Weiner, Frank H."],"year":1996,"date_issued":"1996","date_published":"1996","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:47Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/111050","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Dunay, Robert J."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Rott, Hans Christian","Schnoedt, Heinrich","Weiner, Frank H."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Architecture"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Proffitt, Pilar"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2022-06-29T19:26:50Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-06-29T19:26:50Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1996"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.dcmitype","label":"Dc Type Dcmitype","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Architecture"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M. Arch."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/111050"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This is a thesis investigation of the potential of architectural form in its ability to overwhelm. Architecture cannot be measured by bolts or decorative elements; it must be measured by its capacity to move us. Technological feats, humanistic comforts, or historical legacies will never yield the ultimate expression of man. Expression is a controlled, deliberate act which carries out a concept to fruition. The basis of this proposal is to emphasize an act, an essence, a process -- an accentuation which subjects a new layer that reveals, distorts, and produces anew. It is to change the original by means of its own devices, yielding a further sense of harmony with a place. A gate, walls in a clearing, a bridge, a moat, four towers, a plaza, a \"passeggiata,\" many benches, and stepping stones are the elements that are collaged with a \"greensward, \" a \"hilly land covered with plantations, \" and a \" low plain mainly occupied by a lake. \" Three acts are proposed : the elements, all strict geometric forms , are placed to contrast their setting; the land where they lie is trenched or terraced to perceptually remove the parcels of earth from the Park; the enclosing roads weave in and out, emerging within the Park, to determine the position of the elements."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["M. Arch."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An argument of the overwhelming: architectural forms in Prospect Park, Brooklyn"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Dunay, Robert J."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Rott, Hans Christian","Schnoedt, Heinrich","Weiner, Frank H."],"dc:contributor.department":["Architecture"],"dc:creator":["Proffitt, Pilar"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2022-06-29T19:26:50Z"],"dc:date.available":["2022-06-29T19:26:50Z"],"dc:date.issued":["1996"],"dc:description.abstract":["This is a thesis investigation of the potential of architectural form in its ability to overwhelm. Architecture cannot be measured by bolts or decorative elements; it must be measured by its capacity to move us. Technological feats, humanistic comforts, or historical legacies will never yield the ultimate expression of man. Expression is a controlled, deliberate act which carries out a concept to fruition. The basis of this proposal is to emphasize an act, an essence, a process -- an accentuation which subjects a new layer that reveals, distorts, and produces anew. It is to change the original by means of its own devices, yielding a further sense of harmony with a place. A gate, walls in a clearing, a bridge, a moat, four towers, a plaza, a \"passeggiata,\" many benches, and stepping stones are the elements that are collaged with a \"greensward, \" a \"hilly land covered with plantations, \" and a \" low plain mainly occupied by a lake. \" Three acts are proposed : the elements, all strict geometric forms , are placed to contrast their setting; the land where they lie is trenched or terraced to perceptually remove the parcels of earth from the Park; the enclosing roads weave in and out, emerging within the Park, to determine the position of the elements."],"dc:description.degree":["M. Arch."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/111050"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:title":["An argument of the overwhelming: architectural forms in Prospect Park, Brooklyn"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.dcmitype":["Text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Architecture"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["M. Arch."],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:47Z"}