Design, Architecture & Art, School of

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Research, design, and other creative works from the School of Design, Architecture and Art. Includes: Architecture; Landscape Architecture, and Visual Arts. The school website may be found at https://www.ndsu.edu/sodaa/.

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Between the Currents: A Project that Brings Ecological Resiliency Through a Regional Park Destination in Georgetown, MN by Applying Principles of Network Connectivity, Aesthetics, and Modularity
(North Dakota State University, 2022) Swenson, Thomas
In the Fargo-Moorhead Area, a project known as the FM diversion is being constructed to improve flood resiliency within the metro area. Looking to the outskirts of the metro area there are many rural communities that do not see the same benefit. This thesis will focus on a Regional Riverfront Park that will seek to develop a resilient system that increases community resiliency by combating the disruptions of flooding events of the river systems of the Red River. The 40-acre Riverfront Park is located by Mason ST by the Buffalo River and Red River. This will allow for the exploration of ideas that could be used as a precedent for other rural communities in the form of regional riverfront park. The project seeks to Enhance the Riverfront through resilient components that aid in bringing connectivity and support to the built, social, and natural systems. The components of resiliency; diversity, redundancy, network connectivity, modularity, and adaptability will be utilized as a framework to establish community resiliency by connecting the community and environment to the river.
Bridging Urban Divides: The Impact and Implementation of Bridge Parks
(North Dakota State University, 2024) Velazquez, Elvis Brian
This study examines the role bridge parks have in the enhancement of community connectivity across fragmented neighborhoods. By conducting a comparative analysis of bridge parks in various urban settings, identifying the key factors that contribute to their success and the challenges encountered during their development. Using case studies such as The Highline in New York and Klyde Warren Park in Dallas. Diving into the social and economic impacts of bridge parks, the findings state that they foster community bonds and enhance social unity while addressing obstacles such as financial sustainability, ongoing maintenance, and integration with the surrounding area. This study contributes valuable perspective to urban design, highlighting the role of inclusive planning and offering a possible solution to future projects aiming to bridge divided urban spaces.
Buffalo, MN: A Transect-Based Land Use Strategy
(North Dakota State University, 2006) Grandlund, Luke A.
The objectives of this thesis are to explore the social, economic, and environmental dynamics of land use regulations and examine design strategies to increase the community identity and the preservation of natural resources within the city of Buffalo, Minnesota. Transect Mapping (Criterion 2005) is used to create alternative land use proposals for the city and adjacent areas. The use of SmartCode v8.0 (Placemakers 2006) principles assists in the implementation of new land use proposals. Cities were originally an invention to maximize the exchange of goods, services, cultures, friendships, ideas, and knowledge while minimizing travel. (Engwicht 1993) Until the decades following WWII most communities in the United States were built to satisfy these needs. With new loan programs, federal and local subsidies for road improvements, and the convenience and affordability of automotive commuting following WWII, housing types gradually moved from historic traditional neighborhoods to sprawling suburban developments along the periphery of established cities. The purpose of the thesis is to provide a media for the exploration of real alternatives to current land use plans and zoning regulations for Buffalo city officials and residents. The new alternative is one that increases social interactions, economic vitality, and creates a greater sense of community for the city of Buffalo. These improvements establish a community ‘Identity’ for both visitors and residents of Buffalo. A build-out analysis illustrates the benefits these proposals offer for development patterns and densities, economic growth, and the preservation of natural resources. It appears from my analyzes that there are compact, pedestrian friendly options for continued development within the city of Buffalo and adjacent land areas. By restructuring the way land use plans and regulations are designed, more viable economic, social, and environmental land use alternatives are possible.
Crossing Paths: Landscape Planning for Human-Wildlife Balance
(North Dakota State University, 2023) Smail, Benjamin J.
Design methods to reconnect the Salish and Kootenai people, as well as those permitted to visit, to their ancestral lands and historical/cultural sites as well as the safe and efficient movement of native animal species throughout the valley is the goal of this research. Constraints will first be identified in understanding how this reconnection works with the hurdles of current and future urban development, private property, watersheds (historical and current), agriculture, and historical landmarks. Next, typological studies of other efforts in wildlife mobility will be compared with current funding opportunities and their preferences in a ‘program matrix’. This program matrix will help stratify the concerns of the research to key in on the most ‘important’ program elements. Perhaps most importantly, studying the historical trends of documented animal movement throughout the valley, as it responds to the effects of human development, will help identify where key corridors should be implemented. How those corridors relate to the connections desired by people living in the valley, such as tribal lands, cultural/historical sites, and recreation/wilderness areas will be of secondary importance. Lastly, local tribal, state and federal laws will need to be understood in order to identify what land could potentially be acquired and what laws could prohibit such development or what laws might encourage it. With the completion of this research, the alignment of natural corridors shared by both human and native floura/fauna will be mapped. Future projects such as parks, native habitat, residential and commercial development, cultural centers, historical landmarks, family agriculture, and roadway access will be incentivized through design within these corridors. Additionally, the environmental management and operation of these lands would be granted to the Confederated Salish and Katoonai Tribes (CSKT) as they continue to prove their adept ability to manage existing reclaimed lands in the valley.
Dammed: Master Planning Along the Lower Snake River in a Post Dam-Removal Condition
(North Dakota State University, 2024) Kodet, Andrew
The four dams on the lower Snake River in Washington state have numerous impacts on the surrounding environment, and although provide benefits of hydroelectric power, irrigation services, and waterway navigation that alter the state of the river and adjacent land ecologically. The question that persists is if these structures need to be maintained, replaced, or removed altogether; since like all man-made structures, they have a finite lifespan that is approaching its end. The following research and methodologies address design solutions for these dam sites in a post-removal condition through case studies, site analysis, site planning, and design interventions from a landscape architectural lens. Although total removal is not certain as it deals with the influence of many different stakeholders, for the approach it will err on the hypothesis of removal. The unique design approach will open the door for greater opportunities along the river corridor.
Design in Rural America: Preserving the Past by Enhancing the Future, Buffalo, South Dakota
(North Dakota State University, 2005) Lyons, Randy
Rural America of today is faced with major obstacles in the sense of maintaining active urban communities. Some of the factors the feed this fire are aging populations, and young people or moving away and not coming back. The result of this is that many of these small communities are losing local health care, schools and other economic institutions. With decline in active people and economic activity, these town’s aesthetics begin to decline. The site for this design thesis is Buffalo, South Dakota, which is and has experienced some of these struggles. With a major highway dissecting the town, this area will be of primary focus. This highway runs from Canada to Mexico and is a major route for tourists on their way to the Black Hills. I focus on enhancing the visual appearance of this corridor without losing the small town feel. Through research and design development a graphic solution for this problem will be the end result of this project.
Diverse Growth: Exploring Symbiotic Tree-Human Relationships in Landscape Ecosystems to Inspire Diversity in Urban Tree Plantings at Civic Center Park in Fargo, North Dakota
(North Dakota State University, 2022) Ceason, Colin
Trees and humans have a symbiotic relationship, trees provide beauty, protection, and economic gains for humans and we take care of them to live fruitful lives. They can often have multiple humans or even animal caretakers to help sustain the environment around them. Much like humans, trees have uncontrollable pandemics causing death in trees. Chestnut Blight of the turn into the twentieth century, Dutch Elm Disease in the mid to late century and more recently the rapid spread of Emerald Ash Borer currently devastating North America. These pandemics create gaps in canopies leading to lower heating and cooling efficiency, and lesser aesthetics in urban environments. After years of study there are now guidelines of how to create a diverse and sustainable ecosystem. While it may be impossible to predict what species will be in nature’s cross-hairs next, through sustainable diversity we can hedge our bets to lessen the effects tree of pandemics to protect our urban and even natural ecosystems. Diverse Growth is a landscape initiative to introduce northern native tree species to Fargo in the form of an educational landscape arboretum and urban farm initiative that builds on ideas already accepted by the greater community and natural environment alike.
Drifting Intersections: A Campus for Inciting Collaboration
(North Dakota State University, 2022) Rindy, Bennett
Collaboration among design professionals is a crucial component of a comprehensive design solution. The proximity of minds, each providing expertise and experiences unlike the others, produces an environment ripe for ideation. In traditional university settings intradisciplinary education has become more common. This educational method develops praiseworthy but brief projects. However, it lacks the built environment to sustain long term collaborative design relationships between students, graduates, and practitioners. Frequently, the design and other allied disciplines reside in separate buildings on campus. Leading to the question, do the proximity of these buildings between synergistic design fields improve collaboration levels? Qualitative research methods will be utilized to survey undergraduate landscape architecture degrees across the United States on their collaboration levels with architecture students and civil engineering students at their respective university. Coupled with their physical distance to the aforementioned degrees, an investigation into if there exists, and to what degree there is a correlation with proximity and collaboration amongst design fields will be studied. The results of this “proximity and collaboration analysis” will then be applied to the urban redevelopment of a multi-block Design District in Downtown, Fargo, ND.
Eckelson Lakes Golf Club: Helping Golf and the Environment
(North Dakota State University, 2005) Harris, Chris
Over the second half of the 20th century and early into the 21st century, the golf course industry boomed and thousands of courses were built. Beautiful courses have been carved out of unused land, mountains, prairies, lake and ocean sides, deserts, and even landfills. However, golf courses all too often use an excessive amount of water, even in North Dakota. Desert golf courses use so much water to thrive that it is impractical to build them. Excessive water use causes the price of playing to rise and affects the area’s water supply substantially. My project uses land that is used for cattle grazing whose terrain may be too rough for farming and turns it into usable land for a golf course. This course would contain areas for water to drain into detention ponds and stand until suitable time for pumping it into the sprinkler system occurs. Drains on the course are tunneled to other areas to be pumped into the sprinkler system as well. This creates a hybrid between nature and man; nature providing rain and man manipulating where the water is finally sprayed. After all the research is done for this project, hopefully it will bring new light and ideas on how to minimize use of water keep the art of golf course architecture practical.
An Educational and Transitional Landscape
(North Dakota State University, 2006) Nigg, Joseph P.
This project is centered on an idea for an outdoor educational facility that is directed for use by elementary age students. An interpretive, hands on approach to learning is used to highlight a variety of topics involving biology, ecology, and entomology. The project is implemented into an area of Minot, North Dakota that is strictly an industrial zoned area. The thesis essentially examines the ability of industrial processes to co-exist with a more natural environment.
Enhancing Walkability in Medora: Analyzing Mobile Phone Data to Improve Walkability and Identify Critical Infrastructure Needs for Rapid Growth in Medora, ND
(North Dakota State University, 2024) Budhathoki, Sunita
Medora, North Dakota, nestled in the heart of the Badlands. The town of Medora has grown to be a favorite among travelers looking for a genuine experience because of its distinctive combination of scenic natural beauty and cultural attractions. Currently, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is under construction, with an estimated cost of $300 million. The project aims to create 100s of jobs and anticipates attracting thousands of monthly visitors upon completion. So, the town needs to enhance its walkability, amenities, and infrastructure to maintain the growing number of visitors. As urbanization continues to change the look and feel of cities across the United States, the concept of walkability has gained appeal to support healthier, more environmentally friendly, and vibrant communities. This research uses mobile phone data i.e. Safe graph data to identify high-potential zones where most of the visitors are going and spending their time at Medora. This information enables us to pinpoint areas in Medora that are most frequented by tourists and, consequently, in need of infrastructure upgrades to enhance their walkability. The data obtained can then be analyzed by the software Grasshopper to dictate visitor movement patterns, preferences, the most appropriate forms and locations for open areas and development, paths and nodes, stormwater infrastructure and maximize pedestrian movement. This study proposes a dynamic pedestrian routing model for maximizing efficiencies and uses when applied to prototypical small cities. The results suggest a new responsive model that can reduce walking distances between necessary uses, harness path prediction software, minimize disturbance, create safe pedestrian walking trails, and building systems in similar suburban cities. The results of this research offer valuable guidance for urban planners, local authorities, and businesses in Medora seeking to optimize their investments in near future infrastructure development.
Exceptional Universal Design: Designing for People With Exceptionalities
(North Dakota State University, 2023) Ensz, Shane Aaron
The purpose of this study is to find and realize solutions to the lack of inclusion of People with exceptionalities. To create interaction between streetscapes, parks, naturalistic landscapes, and people with exceptionalities. People with exceptionalities include people with a range of disabilities such as blindness, autism, and cerebral palsy. ADA compliance has gone a long way in giving opportunity of access to people with exceptionalities. These collective groups of people may have access to streetscapes, and parks, but the interactions in these spaces are slim to none. People with exceptionalities deserve the opportunity to interact with the surroundings as all other people do. The research of this Thesis study is based on not only case studies, scholarly articles and journals, but also interviewing people with exceptionalities and their acquaintances. This methodology allows the personal perspectives of the people that will use these spaces. The resulting research is defined in the adaptive design of different streetscapes, parks, and naturalistic landscapes. These findings prove as precedent of more inclusive and interactive landscape designs to come.
Fair Catch
(North Dakota State University, 2022) Halverson, Kai
What seems to be the problem? The problem is nationwide- Minnesota is just late to the party. Our privilege of 10,000(+) lakes has led us to turn somewhat of a blind eye to stormwater management. This is especially true on a residential scale. Yes, certain jurisdictions & municipalities are rolling out increased restrictions and standards. However, the qualifications are still limited in quantity and often they focus solely on hard cover restrictions. Through my professional work and my research on this topic I have uncovered an unpleasant trend: Residential stormwater management landscape design is boring. Whether that is due to its relative infancy [of intensive focus] in the profession or some other circumstances, solutions are often redundant from one site to another. Landowners are left with few options. By working on two sides of the same coin’ Stormwater v. Client, I have compiled the following thesis proposal. It serves as a comprehensive landscape design and a highly functional stormwater management solution.
The Fargo Landfill: A Remediation Leading to Reuse for Refuse
(North Dakota State University, 2005) Hejl, Phyllis Carol
The U.S. has approximately 3,091 active landfills which take in about 279 million tons of garbage annually (How Landfill's Work website). Since 1990, more than 11 billion tons of domestic and foreign waste has been disposed of in the United States. This is equivalent to covering every acre in the nation with 4.7 tons of waste. As the population rises, so does the amount of waste generated and the need for somewhere safe to put it. Landfills are usually capped and forgotten about, or not put to an appropriate reuse. They can also pose a very serious threat to the environment and people around them. Most problems occur when landfills close. Current techniques do not remediate the waste; they simply cover it up. The creation of new landfills faces stiff opposition from every angle. No one wants to live or work near a landfill, and they should not be located in the wilderness at the expense of our natural areas. Our country is rapidly entering into a garbage crisis and something needs to be done. The Fargo area currently has more space to deal with waste so we do not feel the pinch yet. But per capita, people here create just as much waste as the rest of the country. We need to start planning now for better waste disposal and remediation. The Fargo landfill has already taken some steps toward becoming environmentally conscious by installing 20 methane collection pipes and using bio-diesel in all the trucks and bulldozers. Despite these efforts, the process needs to be refined to make the Fargo site safe for its surrounding environment and provide an adaptive reuse. In doing so, the site will become an asset to the city rather than a liability. I propose the implementation of a closed-circuit system for land filling as well as bio and phyto remediation, and a showcase for waste handling and treatment for the city of Fargo. The landfill will become a place for students, civic groups, and others to come and learn what happens to the waste they create, and what affect it has on the environment.
Georgetown Park: A New Urbanist Neighborhood on Fargo's Urban Fringe
(North Dakota State University, 2005) Stachon, Gregory
Poorly planned development is threatening our environment, our health, and our quality of life. In communities across America "sprawl" - scattered development that increases traffic, saps local resources and destroys open space - is taking a serious toll. From Connecticut to California sprawl is increasing air and water pollution, devouring wetlands and forests, and burdening our communities with the social and economic costs of unplanned growth. New Urbanism is a reaction to sprawl. A growing movement of architects, planners, and developers, the New Urbanism is based on principles of planning and architecture that work together to create human-scale, walkable communities. I propose as a thesis project, the design of a high-density subdivision; the research for which will show that land values are not directly related to population density.
Gooseberry Mound Park: Children's Sensory Garden
(North Dakota State University, 2006) Sauer, Erin M.
A Children’s Sensory Garden aimed to become a unique learning experience for the public’s enjoyment. Located in Moorhead, Minnesota, with the intention of becoming a place to learn as well as play, emphasis will be on learning about the immediate as well as the distant environments of the Sensory Garden and the Solar System at large.
Grand Village Nursing Home Therapeutic Garden: Healing Through Nature
(North Dakota State University, 2005) Oja, Laura
The United States is aging. Baby boomers are getting older and the elderly population is on the rise. As people age many develop diseases and can no longer care for themselves. Lots of people joke about "sending mom and dad to live in a home," but it is no joking matter. The move to a nursing home can be traumatic. Residents have a major lifestyle change when they move into a nursing home. They go from living successful independent lives to living in a small room possibly with a roommate, having their meals picked out for them, and frequently they are bored, depressed, and lonely. Even while living in a high quality nursing home with planned activities, many residents spend a large amount of time staring out windows, watching television, or simply doing nothing. This is not the kind of life they want or deserve. Nursing homes provide care and housing for elderly people who can no longer care for themselves. But the nursing home environment can feel more like a hospital than home and life in one can be difficult. It is difficult for residents to live in a hospital-like environment where life can be mundane and lonely. It is difficult for staff to care for and watch residents as they live out their last few years. And it is difficult for family and friends to visit their loved ones and see them sick and lonely. To make life in a nursing home healthier it has to be more like a home for residents. A home where people make their own decisions, work, and have fun. Healing gardens put these activities back into nursing home residents lives. Gardens have the ability to give residents back confidence, strength, and friends. And happier healthier residents result in happier staff and families. Healing gardens are a fairly new concept, but their popularity is currently growing in the health care industry. More and more the benefits from involving nature in the lives of patients are being observed in hospitals and nursing homes. Patients with access to or views of natural outdoor spaces are less irritable, require less medication and supervision, and are all around happier than patients with no outdoor views or access to nature. Patients are not the only ones benefiting from healing gardens. Staff and visitors use the gardens as places to visit with loved ones, be by themselves and think, or simply grieve. This capstone project investigates how properly designed outdoor spaces can affect the lives of patients, staff, and visitors at the Grand Village Nursing Home. And states what is needed in Grand Village's gardens and outdoor spaces to make them the most beneficial to patients, staff, and visitors.
Growing with the Roots: Re-Connecting Youth with Nature Through Nature-Based Learning and Play
(North Dakota State University, 2024) Gunderson, Robert
Children today are becoming increasingly disconnected from the natural world. This is directly related to the increased amount of time spent indoors which is likely caused by limited access to natural green spaces, time spent on screens and parental safety concerns. Too much time spent indoors leads to reduced physical activity, lower physiological well-being, increased social-emotional vulnerabilities and a lack of care for the environment. While these trends are detrimental to the child, they are also detrimental to the environment. In a time where pro-environmental advocates are needed more than ever, our next generation of environmental stewards are disconnected from the natural world. This begs the question; how can we better connect the next generation of youth to nature? Growing with the Roots is a design solution intended to provide children with the opportunity to connect with nature by being highly accessible to the surrounding communities in West Fargo, ND. A lack of accessibility to naturalized spaces in this area of the city calls for an ecological community park, centered around nature-based play and learning, to help children form a bond with nature, while also enhancing their learning, development, and environmental stewardship.
Hermantown Recreational Facility
(North Dakota State University, 2006) Thomalla, Nikolas Gabriel
This project is for a city wide plan for an outdoor recreation facility for Hermantown, MN. The major elements that will be addressed in this project are increasing the functionality of the site as well as the beautification involved in making the site appealing to the users. The current athletic fields are to be renovated and there will be the addition of more athletic fields to make this complex justifiable in hosting larger scale tournaments to increase revenue and tourism to the city. Other than the athletic fields on the site other elements will include a skate park, playground, pedestrian circulation (bicycle and walking) and parking. There is a creek that runs through the site and that needs to be more pronounced, because it will add another beautiful element to this site making this recreation complex stand out from the rest.
The Historic Third Ward Music Corridor
(North Dakota State University, 2005) Fischer, Dominic L.
The urban corridor engages and accumulates unique relationships between its users and its landscape. This interaction is both visual and musical (aural) in nature. Studying similarities in musical and cultural relations I will relate the landscape to the dynamic diversity of the urban corridor user. Music, in the realm of fine art, can be a universal language; although often spoken in different dialects is as inherent as the human spirit. The underlying premise of this design is that the qualities of separate musical genres can generate linking forms, uniting disparate parts of a high density population through their physical interpretation in the landscape.

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