Browsing by Author "Osten, Alisha"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

MXC Center
(2011) Osten, Alisha
Students in this studio were asked to study the planning principles of a 1960’s “new town” that was proposed for west-central Minnesota, the Minnesota Experimental City (MXC). They were then asked to imagine a new or hybrid typology based on these principles, select a site as if the city had been built in the urban or rural settings that were proposed northwest of Alexandria, and design a building, circa 2011. This particular project developed based on interest about the urban fabric of the MXC and how people are going to meet, congregate, and shop in a “new town.” Will people go out and shop? Physically? Or will the internet take over and leave people at home, secluded? Will they travel at length or want to walk and bike? Researching one basic human need - physical interaction - led to the formation of this cluster of buildings. Designed as a city center, of sorts, it is meant to draw people in, on foot and by transportation, to a place where, even in the future, social interaction is fostered, and proximity to people is important.
The Shoppes on Main: Developing a Sense of Place
(North Dakota State University, 2012) Osten, Alisha
This thesis researches and investigates the effect architectural space brings to a sense of place within an urban environment. Located on Main Avenue and 18th Street in Fargo, The Shoppes on Main: Developing a Sense of Place is a 90,508 sq. ft. mixed use building that the Fargo/Moorhead area community needs and will get use out of. “Cities are becoming meaningless places beyond their citizens’ grasp. We no longer know the origins of the world around us. We rarely know where the materials and products come from, who owns what, who is behind what, what was intended. We live in cities where things happen without warning and without our participation. It is an alien world for most people. It is little surprise that most withdraw from community involvement to enjoy their own private and limited worlds.” (Jacobs & Appleyard, 1987) The idea that an urban environment’s sense of place is influenced by architectural space is cause for deeper consideration; especially in light of particular cities and developments going through stages of growth and change. Through gathering both qualitative and quantitative information and analyzing it, this project’s aim is to find out if there is a way to keep up with rapidly changing technology, building construction, and architectural styles, and still give a thriving city its sense of place in its newest architecture? Can we avoid placelessness by implementing certain architecture within its respective place?