Architecture Masters Theses
Recent Submissions
Item NEW TOOLS, OLD WALLS: INTEGRATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INTO ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN THROUGH ADAPTIVE REUSE
(2025) Osnaya, Jose;This thesis explores the emerging role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the architectural design process by introducing experimental approaches involving algorithmic logic, conversational tools, and formal manipulation. AI is presented not as a trend but as an evolving design assistant to which Neil Leach refers to as “extended” intelligence. This concept suggests that architectural thinking can now extend beyond human cognition through technological systems increasing complexity and expanding possibilities of process and form. This project applies AI through adaptive reuse of existing buildings in downtown Dayton, Ohio, proposing mixed use programs while focusing on the process. Architectural operations such as subtraction, layering, and void generation are guided by data-driven parameters including solar exposure, site-specific context, and AI-assisted feedback. In this context, AI is not a replacement for the architect, but a tool that broadens the capacity to explore, iterate, and respond to complex design challenges. It enables a shift in how we think and design, while remaining rooted in the foundational principles of architecture, evolving traditional methods through new tools rather than discarding them. Ultimately, this thesis positions AI as a catalyst for reimagining the design process and uncovering architectural possibilities that were previously inaccessible.Item Re-imagining the Spaces In Between: Design Interventions to Transform Urban Voids in Downtown Dayton into Active, Breathing Areas
(2025) Abed, Joynal;In today's tremendously growing and busy urban landscapes, pockets of underutilized space, known as urban voids, stand as untapped opportunities for creating activated public spaces encouraging community engagement and social interaction. The thesis delves into the transformative potential of infrastructural interventions in reimagining these neglected spaces. Reclaiming and integrating these urban voids can create breathing spaces enhancing social cohesion for the city dwellers in high density areas of the city. Drawing upon a synthesis of theoretical frameworks, empirical analyses, and insights from some key practitioners this thesis explores the multifaceted dimensions of urban voids and the critical role that infrastructural interventions play in reshaping their urban fabric, fostering social connectivity, and promoting community engagement. Through a comprehensive review of the literature and case studies, it further examines the challenges and opportunities associated with infrastructural interventions in high-density urban areas, considering factors such as accessibility, inclusivity, active use, and sustainability. Ultimately, the findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how infrastructural interventions can redefine urban voids as vibrant hubs for social interaction and community gathering, thereby enriching the fabric of high-density urban environments in the United States.Item CRAFTING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES: The Intersection of New Vernacular Materials and Adaptive Design in Public Architecture
(2025) Ahamed, Syed Saif Uddin;This thesis investigates the transformative role of public architecture in fostering socio-environmental resilience through the integration of new vernacular materials, adaptive resilient design, and community engagement. Grounded in the context of Chattogram’s shipbreaking yard, a site marked by industrial intensity, ecological fragility, and human labor, it reimagines how architecture can emerge from within rather than be imposed from above. The project navigates complex intersections of material reuse, cultural memory, and economic precarity, offering an architectural framework that is deeply rooted yet globally adaptable. Through case studies, theoretical frameworks, and design prototypes, the research explores how participatory processes and local craft can align with advanced digital techniques to form a responsive design language. The work embraces adaptive-transformative modularity, utilizing flexible design tactics that allow architecture to evolve with time and need. By centering the voices and labor of marginalized communities, the thesis positions architecture as a mediator between tradition and innovation, the human and the industrial, the ephemeral and the enduring. Ultimately, this thesis proposes a contextual, inclusive, and scalable approach to architecture—one that not only addresses housing affordability, climate adaptability, and cultural continuity but also catalyzes dignity, participation, and long-term sustainability in public space design.Item AT WATER'S EDGE: IMAGINING FUTURES ON SHIFTING GROUND
(2026) Napier, Amilie Marie;This thesis investigates architectural strategies for engaging flood-prone landscapes through coexistence rather than control. As climate change disproportionately impacts vulnerable communities, the project emphasizes the need for culturally responsive and collaborative approaches to design. Combining international precedents with physical modeling experiments, it examines structural and spatial responses to unstable ground and fluctuating water levels. The design proposal develops a research and education campus in the wetlands of East New Orleans, using elevated structures and low-impact infrastructure to support environmental stewardship, observation, and learning. Together, these strategies form a flexible framework that encourages architects to ask better questions, work with affected communities, and design more responsibly for the shifting conditions at water’s edge.Item SINKING GROUNDS, RISING CHALLENGES ARCHITECTURE OF RESILIENCE: DESIGNIING FOR CLIMATE MIGRATION IN ISLE DE JEAN CHARLES
(2026) Jourabchi, Yekta;Climate change is forcing communities worldwide to relocate as rising seas, erosion, and flooding make land uninhabitable. Isle de Jean Charles in southern Louisiana, home to the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe, has lost 98 percent of its land, changing from a wide marsh landscape into a narrow strip surrounded by water. The government relocation to New Isle offered physical safety, but it did not fully address cultural continuity, community trust, or emotional connection to ancestral land. This research explores how architecture can respond to climate-induced migration while preserving identity, memory, and belonging. It asks whether communities can continue living with water rather than only retreating from it. Through mapping, field observation, and community-based analysis, the project proposes an amphibious and expandable framework for Isle de Jean Charles. The design combines floating platforms, elevated bridges, oyster reef systems, and culturally grounded programs such as a fishing hub, cultural center, festival ground, workshops, and temporary gathering spaces. The project is organized in phases so it can grow, adapt, or move as the landscape changes. Instead of seeing relocation as separation, this thesis imagines architecture as both shelter and a cultural vessel, protecting lives while keeping memory, tradition, and collective identity alive for future generations.Item THE PUBLIC PITCH: REIMAGINING THE STADIUM PRECINCT AS A COMMUNITY ANCHOR
(2026) Richards, Kiran J.;The Cincinnati riverfront area circulating West of Paycor stadium is underdeveloped and lacks community inclusion. Additionally, the current sports program is privatized and gated off, resulting in a divide between public and private. As time has progressed this area has seen various development proposals, illustrating the need to reinvigorate the area and turn unappealing parking lots into community green spaces. One such project even proposes enlarging the privatized area by expanding the gated practice field area, further reducing the community’s access to the riverfront. Consequently, these projects do not provide a substantial solution that reinvigorates the area and blends the public and private. Thus, it fails to strengthen social belonging and expand upon Cincinnati’s longstanding sporting culture, ultimately losing the focus on community. Community-centered sports infrastructure, accompanied by new community spaces, offers that solution. This design direction intends to provide the community with the opportunity to get involved and immerse themselves in the rich sporting atmosphere that Cincinnati exudes, while enjoying the green space development that follows on from the Banks Development, and creates a beautiful environment that flows across the entirety of the riverfront.Item Rebuilding community: designing a community center for the enrichment and social engagement of a diverse youth
(2026) Grant, Austin;It’s a recurring trend that the fate of many community centers is to become an operable, yet irrelevant space that people simply ignore, or to become simply abandoned. Many community center buildings have lost traction as true ‘centers for community engagement’ and have been repurposed as gymnasiums, weight rooms, and community pools. While this still drives some community engagement and belonging, it doesn’t quite fit the needs of every community. The main problems currently plaguing community centers nationwide include insufficient funding, difficulty measuring impact, recruitment and retention of staff and volunteers, lack of effective community outreach, and irrelevant or unsustainable program. In order for community centers to be successful, they must not only be physically accessible, but locationally accessible. Community centers must aim to fill the gap that exists in communities, whether that be a lack of access to good education and GED programs, or a lack of access to fresh produce and affordable food. Another reason for this research is the current lack of community among people. In recent years (especially post-Covid) people have become more isolated, and community has become less mandatory for people and places in day-to-day life. Things like food, friends, family, ideas, and everything in between can be accessed remotely through the use of technology, and people have begun to lose the importance of true human connection and interaction. Understanding the principles of the human experience provides a solid foundation to begin exploring the importance of human connection and engagement, and what it means to be a part of a community. Through literature review it is possible to learn how architecture impacts the human experience, and how to use architecture to facilitate engagement and specific behaviors. Through interviews and archival research it becomes possible to learn how specific communities differ in their practices and needs. By first understanding what a community wants/needs, there can be further development of a community center based on those needs. This research is relevant to all communities that currently lack a space where people can come together for the benefit of one another. The lack of community engagement and interaction in recent years has led to the abandonment and irrelevance of community centers across the country, and a new set of principles and practices is required in order to reshape the community center into something more usable. By redefining the framework of what makes a community center, cities can be better prepared to provide spaces for community engagement and interaction that will last far longer than the community centers we see today that fall to the wayside after initial excitement dies down.Item Immersive exhibits: inspiring empathy through design
(2026) Frederick, Andrew;This thesis seeks to explore how zoos can bring a connection to nature within a modern, urban society, and how this connection can be mutually beneficial to both humans and the animals in captivity. This design seeks to synthesize applying knowledge of animal welfare and husbandry to exhibit design with creating opportunities for people to get close encounters with the animals. Balancing these needs, the goal is an environment where the human presence is minimized, and guests feel as if they are in the habitat of the animals. Furthermore, these close encounters and transparency of animal husbandry will provide educational opportunities for guests, inspiring empathy and a sense of stewardship towards nature.Item From edge to edge: reimagining the city without boundaries
(2026) Dalakyan, Viktoriya;Physical and juridical separations—such as highways, industrial zones, zoning policies, and socio-political structures—continue to reinforce socio-economic polarization and spatial segregation in contemporary cities. Gated communities represent one of the most explicit manifestations of this condition, operating through both visible barriers and less perceptible systems of exclusion. Expanding beyond their traditional definition, this thesis interprets gated communities as a broader urban phenomenon encompassing physical, economic, administrative, symbolic, social, and biopolitical boundaries. Through a combination of literature review, typological analysis, and case studies—including observations of gated developments in Chicago and boundary conditions in Cincinnati— this research examines how these layered separations shape urban experience and social relations. Particular focus is given to the Village of St. Bernard, understood as a village scale gated condition embedded within a larger metropolitan context. Fieldwork, visual documentation, and analytical mapping reveal how infrastructural, industrial, and administrative divisions contribute to fragmentation and disconnection. In response, the thesis proposes an alternative design approach that reimagines these boundaries as opportunities for connection rather than division. By introducing a dispersed, non-linear socio-economic corridor through the industrial landscape, the project aims to foster interaction, diversify economic activity, and reconnect isolated communities. Ultimately, this work argues for a shift from exclusionary spatial models toward “gateless” urban environments that prioritize accessibility, integration, and social cohesion.Item ARCHITECTURAL INTERVENTIONS FOR POST INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE RESTORATION AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
(2026) Akhter, Saida;This thesis investigates how architecture can operate within contaminated landscapes by reframing soil as an active medium of ecological, cultural, and spatial transformation. Focusing on the Tar Creek Superfund Site in Oklahoma, the project addresses the long term environmental and social impacts of lead and zinc mining on Quapaw tribal lands, where contamination, displacement, and ecological collapse remain ongoing. Drawing on regenerative design, Indigenous ecological knowledge, and the ecology of knowledges, the research proposes “earth architecture” as a framework for post-industrial environmental justice. Within this framework, architecture operates as a form of geological prosthetic supporting damaged ground systems rather than imposing upon them. The project develops a phased, process-driven approach that integrates underground stabilization of mining voids, phytoremediation through native plant systems, and ecological zoning across wetlands, prairies, and productive landscapes. Repository landforms act as both containment infrastructure and cultural markers, referencing Indigenous mound-building traditions while safely storing contaminated material. Through qualitative methods, including case study analysis and site-based research, the thesis identifies strategies for aligning remediation with community resilience. Ultimately, it argues that healing land is inseparable from restoring cultural relationships, positioning architecture as a long-term participant in ecological recovery and collective healing rather than a static object of design.Item Restoring memory through architecture: urban interventions to revitalize Cincinnati's West End neighborhood
(2026) Mohamed, Omar;The mid-20th century witnessed a devastating pattern of urban renewal across the United States. The construction of interstate highways systematically fractured and isolated primarily minority neighborhoods. Cincinnati’s West End is one example of a neighborhood that has suffered this loss through decades of subsequent urban decay, displacement, and disinvestment. Central to this thesis is the core question: How can architectural and urban interventions simultaneously preserve the neighborhood's rich history, protect current residents, and create new opportunities for meaningful visitor engagement? By proposing a multi-faceted approach, this thesis introduces programmatic solutions designed to holistically uplift the community. Key interventions include expanding public transportation networks to seamlessly connect the West End with the broader Cincinnati area, developing sustainable low-income housing to prevent resident displacement, and integrating community gallery and art spaces to celebrate local identity. These strategic programs aim to empower marginalized residents while inviting visitors to engage with the neighborhood's history, thereby increasing public awareness and economic vitality.Item No place like home: reclaiming historic urban spaces into a community of care
(2026) Aridano, Seth;This architectural thesis explores the adaptive reuse of an abandoned site surrounding an existing church, repurposing it for community programs and surrounding it with intergenerational, low-income, and accessible housing. This project reimagines the church site as a vibrant community anchor, preserving cultural heritage while integrating essential services and medical staff, and providing public amenities. Through sustainable design and intentional land use, the proposal establishes a resilient model of housing and healing that strengthens social connection and supports diverse populations. By integrating therapeutic design principles with existing architectural design theories, this study will propose a new framework for community care that is both adaptive and human-centered, redefining how built environments can enhance quality of life for individuals within the community. It challenges conventional housing models by demonstrating how the built environment can serve as a platform for healing and social cohesion.Item Hybrid habitats: rethinking urban form for flexible work and inclusive living
(2026) Kushol, Syed Abu Sufian;The rise of remote and hybrid work in the post-COVID era has fundamentally disrupted conventional urban patterns, exposing the inadequacy of traditional zoning models that rigidly separate residential, commercial, and public functions. As approximately 23% of the U.S. workforce currently engages in remote work—a figure projected to reach 35% by 2035—cities face urgent pressure to reimagine the built environment in response to evolving lifestyles and spatial needs. This thesis, Hybrid Habitat, proposes a new neighborhood model that integrates affordable living, flexible workspaces, and shared social infrastructure within a cohesive, sustainable urban framework. Focusing on Indianapolis, Indiana - a city emblematic of Midwest hybrid work adoption - the research identifies the former GM Stamping Plant site as a catalytic brownfield opportunity for adaptive urban regeneration. Through multi-scalar design strategies spanning individual live/work units, co-living typologies, and a community-scale social corridor, the project challenges the separation of home and work while fostering social connection, inclusivity, and ecological resilience. An energy-positive environmental strategy integrating passive design with solar, wind, and geothermal systems addresses the increased energy demands of hybrid living. Ultimately, Hybrid Habitat offers a replicable prototype for 21st-century neighborhoods—adaptive, community-centered, and responsive to the irreversible transformation of how and where people work.Item Marine Urbanism: The Impact of Sea Level Rise on the Identity of Future Cities of the Bahamas
Osborne, Kenyon;As the reality of climate change continues to augment the dangers of flooding and sea level rise in the world today, it is imperative that innovative methods of adaptive urbanization be considered to sustain the earth's growing populations. This paper presents an exploration into a dynamic form of urban implementation that may present a new frontier for resilience in future cities built in The Bahamas. Interviews conducted with locals, inclusive of educators, researchers, architects and government officials help to assess the effectiveness of current flood prevention strategies and measure public interest for marine living and its opportunities. Recent articles along with the data from local sources such as newspapers and online news organizations provide data that paint a narrative for the need of resilient urban implementation. Scientific literature and case studies reveal the exclusive advantages that maritime urban environments present for resiliency, social, and economic stability. The goal of this paper is to illustrate how a floating urban setting can not only neutralize the flood threat to future cities built in the Bahamas but also increase their capacity for economic improvement and sustainability.Item The Kush Train to Promote Patrimonial Tourism of the Ancient African of Kush, as a Means to Rejuvenate the Economy of Sudan
Mahgoub, Samah;In the Sudan, decreasing economic viability has depleted the country’s capital resources resulting in poverty, unemployment, and inequitable opportunities for its citizens. The paper discusses the following question: can architectural strategies supporting tourism assist in rejuvenating the economy of Sudan? To address this question, the following case studies are discussed: The Adrère Amellal Oasis project in the Siwa Oasis at the western desert of Egypt. Sudan and its bordering country Egypt, shares history and resources, and the project translates through architecture, how economic sustainability can be introduced into harsh environments through the hospitality industry. At the same time, the tourism of Sudan’s regional neighbor Uganda will be reviewed as an economic analysis of the impact of tourism on Uganda. While to better understand the impact of the build environment on an international level, the Boston Freedom Trail will be analyzed as a visual application at an urban scale, which connects historical tourist attractions. These examples have similarities in different aspects that can be abstracted to applicable input in Sudan. A brief overview of the history of Sudan is offered to present the kingdoms and related tourism attractions and relevant data. Economic based theories can be used to strategize the investment on the short and long term to address how tourism can help save the economy of Sudan. For example, contributions in hospitality and cottage industries, which can be reflected through modern and vintage textile fabrics weaving techniques created within the community, will enhance the overall experience of tourism. In addition to increased tourism, weaving techniques can be translated to architectural facades. The goal of this paper’s inquiry is to propose the Kush Train as an architectural intervention of different projects, that can reflect the identity of a culture, and to invest within Sudan through tourism.Item Environmental Medicine: Healing Through Creative Process
Balzano, Mia;Art therapy is an effective method of helping people - not only to recover from illness - but also to recognize how personal experiences affect oneself and others. Art therapy uses a combination of therapeutic reasoning and creative expression in order to decrease anxiety in an unconventional manner versus more traditional therapies including typical counseling or the use of medications. This hand-on approach helps those involved to better contextualize one's circumstance and environment through the immersion in the integrative, reparative and restorative process of making and creating which illustrates for the patient a process of release through expression. In this approach, the process takes precedent over the outcome, reinforcing the critical aspect of allowing one's intuition, connected to the subconscious and unconscious areas of the brain, to emerge what is invisible to us and make it visible. As part of the foundation of art therapy, both patients and their therapists need appropriate environments to fully explore and leverage therapeutic processes. The patient requires an environment that empowers and encourages one to safely explore and examine uncomfortable emotions, memories, perhaps even traumatic experiences. This type of expression-based treatment differs from many other therapeutic approaches in that it strives to simulate the image-based region of the brain that arises early in one's development, and in which memories are contained. For those who struggle to communicate effectively through verbal other normative means, art therapy can be most effective - especially with adolescents, whose brains still have plasticity and have not yet fully developed. it is this researcher's hypothesis that supportive environments can assist patients in the articulation of difficult remembrances. Similarly, the art therapist's role in stimulating the memories of a patient requires an environment that helps to build and strengthen a trust-based rapport in order to most effectively assist the patient in acquiring the insight and skill necessary to successfully manage their behavior in the expanded environments that comprise their daily lives. This paper explores the architectural aspects of adaptive healing environments that support the essential relationship between patient and therapist, and allows a patient to continuously progress through their unique prescribed program and eventually successfully navigate their daily lives. By fully understanding and documenting the atmospheric and phenomenal needs of both patient and therapist throughout the therapeutic process, the design of the architectural environment can be leveraged to augment the sensory and creative experiences central to a patient’s healing path.Item Redefining Public Spaces in Egypt: Architecture of Change and Ownership Empowered by Citizens
Eid, Samia;Architecture and Politics are connected in various ways, and one of the most notable functions of architecture in a political context is to reflect on the voice and needs of the people. This paper asks how architecture can become a catalyst for citizens to gain ownership of public spaces specifically, in Egypt. As an Egyptian citizen, I experienced the 18 days of the Egyptian revolution when people were able to temporarily gain their right to urban public spaces. As an architect, how can my design facilitate community engagement with public spaces becoming part of the city? I challenge the way, we Egyptians currently design, inhabit and create urban public spaces. This paper introduces a new concept of public spaces in Egypt by proposing a space where people have the power to create the place around them through communication, freedom, art, expressing ideas, and using technology. I suggest the principles of the revolution into the architectural design that means, redefining the traditional relationship between the architect and the community members focusing on a participatory design process. By creating urban public spaces through architectural strategies that respond to people’s need, physical site, history, memory and that promote expression, gathering, and becomes a physical connection to the city. Interviews were conducted with citizens (stakeholders), planners, and those engaged in architectural practice and study in Egypt. Case studies include Downtown Cairo’s urban planning, in general, and, specifically, Tahrir Square is a major case study.Item Meaningful Development: Value Producing Architecture
Thomas, Mark;I identify as a design-oriented entrepreneur, or "archipreneur." Most architects find themselves serving clients who ultimately make the key decisions. The architects of the 21st century should seek to strategically develop their projects as multi-faceted investments for themselves, their communities, and the environment. By taking on an entrepreneurial attitude of practice, projects can be developed with a sensitivity to issues deemed important by the designer, in addition to the obvious economic parameters. This strategy not only empowers architects to develop work they find meaningful, but it allows them to secure a less encumbered position upon outside resources - potentially leading to revenue streams greater than those from typical fee for service models. Following thorough market and contextual analysis, entrepreneurial designers can seek to create spaces that positively impact their immediate environment in a variety of ways. Areas of importance, such as: community investment, sustainable design, site sensitivity, and social responsibility can be the driving forces - instead of afterthoughts. These principles, paired with a design-oriented business plan, can yield meaningful and profitable developments, This is where good development can emerge. From a situation where traditional solutions are neither desired nor feasible, the archipreneur's creativity can evolve unhindered to resolve issues in non-traditional ways.Item Disobsolesence: an approach to obsolete industrial sites within the rust belt
Monroe, William Terry;The rust belt region of the United States, a once prosperous industrial epicenter for the world, suffered from rampant disinvestment, deindustrialization, and a shrinking population since its height in the postwar period. Paired with post-war urban sprawl, urban centers in the region have been in constant decline until recently when re-investment efforts have begun gaining widespread popularity. Given this, my thesis explores the viability of rehabilitating the numerous former industrial buildings throughout the region. Specifically, I will look to Toledo, OH, and the Great Lakes Terminal Warehouse as a design case study built upon identified principles for redevelopment. While many redevelopment efforts are hampered by a lack of community and market demand and bureaucratic procedures that require a site to be either fully occupied or fully vacant, my proposal offers a range of possibilities for postindustrial sites depending on specific conditions. While some sites may be fully viable for adaptive reuse, others present opportunities to retain meaning for surrounding communities through various uses beyond traditional market-based development practices or community-based rehabilitation strategies. My thesis will explore these options in the context of the Great Lakes Terminal Warehouse, and project their possibilities on sites throughout the Rust Belt. To analyze these possibilities, I will create a framework for analysis that can be applied to a series of sites throughout the region that could be tailored to any given city, site, and building conditions. Additionally, I will explore the more ephemeral and material nature of these buildings as historical artifacts and explore their possibility to convey larger narratives around local and regional identity, along with how buildings’ material and historical identity affects a consumer’s direct relationship with such facilities.Item Cricket for the people: designing stadium for the 21st century global community
Patel, Shravan;Cricket is a popular sport that is played in many countries around the world. It is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players. The game is known for its unique rules and terminology, including the use of a pitch, wickets, runs, and overs. Cricket is a sport that requires strategy, skills and teamwork, making it a popular choice for players and spectators alike. Cricket has a significant cultural and social impact, particularly in countries where it is widely played. It is also a sport that promotes diversity and inclusivity, with players of different backgrounds and nationalities representing their teams. Cricket has a growing presence in the United States, with the sport being played at various levels nationwide. However, cricket has struggled to gain mainstream popularity in the United States, with many Americans unfamiliar with the sport and its rules. As the immigrant population grows in the US, those from the formerly colonized British diaspora in particular are helping the sport to grow in popularity. These largely grassroots efforts result in many informal leagues and weekend pickup matches. However, the dominance of US major league sports and the broader professional sports industry prevents a broader cultural representation in the US of those who play cricket. Historically, cricket allowed local populations to take the British imposition of colonial rule and adapt it into their own cultural practices. Similarly, my goal for this project is to find ways to effectively represent the numerous immigrant communities on my chosen site in Dallas, Texas, while integrating with other local populations and sports culture. To do so, I will design a cricket stadium that is representative of these various groups. I will explore architectural languages of pre and post colonial sports architecture, as well as the everyday immigrant experience, and their expressions of material culture in their neighborhoods. Together, I will challenge the architectural primacy of the stadium as an extension of Western-inspired modernist architecture. Through a combination of architectural programs, events, and symbols, I plan to design a stadium that is reflective of a broader diaspora, while being responsive to other local conditions.