Extension of the Axis Mundi

A work develops through methodical inquiry based on the reciprocity inherent in the construction of an object and its evaluation. A physical object informs an initial concept and acts as the fundamental catalyst for subsequent findings. Ordered elements result in the description of a vertical structure. Exploring this structure through a rational and modern approach, the author designs an urban center in the form of a tower. The tower, as a cellular mega-structure, maintains the density and complexity of a city's existing urban fabric. An urbane mega-structure offers a new contribution to humanity through architecture. This proposal establishes a relationship between public spaces, which elevate civic and social life, and private spaces that support individuality. The evaluation of precedent works and the investigation of modern technology support an appropriate solution toward the technical realization of these spaces. The thesis seeks an architecture that augments the tangible, replaces the hopeless and invents the absent.

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

2000

Author dc:creator

• Smith, Norman Austin Jr.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Rott, Hans Christian

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Pittman, V. Hunter
• Cortes, Mario C.

• Architecture
• tower
• urban design
• mega-structures

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

etd-12082001-151457

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/36006