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The Psyche of a Building: An Exploration of how Buildings Relate to the Human Psyche Through a Renovated Farmstead
(North Dakota State University, 2020) Kingston, Veronica
Farmsteads have been steady reminders of how this country got its start. Hard work, family, faith, and community were all aspects of farm life. Each home was built with the help of neighbors, children learned how to do chores early in life, people respected the land and knew how important it was to the survival of the family. Now as people move into the cities for the comforts of modern day living the old farmsteads are falling into disrepair or torn down for land development. The cost of repairing the old buildings seems like a daunting task, one that many people deem unimportant. What are we losing with this line of thinking? Buildings not only have their own psyche; they also contribute to ours. How we interact and what happens within a building adds to our emotions. Think of your favorite place to be, is it big or small? Spacious or intimate? Dark or light? How did you feel in that space? Attics, basements, corners, all of these are connected to our consciousness. This project explores these situations through the texts of Gaston Bachelard and Anne Bordeleau, while situating these inspirations within the renovations of a farmhouse and surround structure in the rural Mid-West.
Returning to Earth: Natural Design for a Cemetery in Otter Tail County, MN
(North Dakota State University, 2021) Kronbeck, Amy
As awareness of human impact on the environment grows, ethical concerns are raised over the exploitation of natural resources by traditional cemetery design, and burial practices come into question. America’s parks first began within cemeteries where people enjoyed the serene settings of nature in well-designed rural burial landscapes. In the early 19th century, Mount Auburn Cemetery was built in Massachusetts serving as passive recreational and gathering spaces for a wide variety of users and introducing Americans to the value of public green space. People traveled from the congested city to Mount Auburn’s tranquil rural cemetery setting to enjoy walks and picnics in nature. This opportunity to enjoy the outdoors spurred the profession of landscape architecture and the design of public spaces specifically for the purpose of outdoor recreation. Once cities began to create public parks separate from cemeteries, people frequented cemeteries less and they became sacred, unused spaces. According to the Green Burial Council, the traditional method of burial annually utilizes 20 million board feet of hardwoods (including rainforest woods), 1.6 million tons of concrete, 17,000 tons of copper and bronze, 64,500 tons of steel and 4.3 million gallons of embalming fluid. In addition, cemeteries require demanding levels of maintenance and land that further consume resources without regard for necessity. While individuals are beginning to make decisions that will positively impact the environment in their everyday lives, as well as deaths, alternatives to traditional burial, such as natural burial, columbaria, and scatter gardens, are gaining in popularity. Natural burials do not require the deceased to be embalmed and rather place the body in the ground wrapped in a shroud or biodegradable casket leaving a considerably smaller carbon footprint than traditional burial. Columbaria offer a land conserving above ground option for the interment of cremated remains. Scatter gardens are beautiful, peaceful spaces designated for cremated remains to be connected more directly with nature. Individual desires towards greener burial methods warrant the examination of current cemetery practices. The future of cemetery design is expanding to include sustainable on-site practices, such as stormwater collection and retention systems and the utilization of native plantings. These methods increase sustainability by improving water quality, eliminating the need for irrigation and fertilizer, and reducing maintenance requirements. Through historical analysis, exploration and scrutiny of how cemeteries fit within the framework of landscape architecture will result in a better understanding of how future cemetery design should be approached. Supplemental assessments of existing cemeteries, such as Lakewood Cemetery, De Nieuwe Ooster, Hofheide Crematorium, and Askim Memorial Grove, will help develop a comprehensive list of program elements to be implemented within the sustainable design alternatives to traditional cemeteries.
Transcultural Education: Building Understanding through Architecture
(North Dakota State University, 2020) Mack, Olivia
Architecture has the innate ability to control the environment in which it creates, so it presents itself as a tool for creating desired outcomes. This desired outcome is the change of social climate through Transcultural Understanding. With the use of qualitative observation analyses, methods of influencing cultural perception will be studied and applied to the project. Children’s minds are at a malleable state, so creating an educational center which emphasizes activities and interactions to promote inter-cultural interactions can result in transcultural Understanding as a learned social practice.
Climate Refuge: Thermal Comfort in Urban Micro Climates
(North Dakota State University, 2020) Horvath, Nathaniel
This study addresses two major issues by responding to the significant decline in retail buildings including enclosed shopping malls and improving density, livability and human comfort in communities welcoming climate refugees. Future designs will become more responsive when involving suburban and urban infill landscape to enhance user experiences through thermal comfort. Studies show that Earth’s temperatures are on the rise causing large populations to be displaced by rising sea levels and contributing to extreme weather patterns in the colder hemispheres. Specifically, in the Midwest United States, this means colder temperatures, more snow, and longer months of winter (Cohen 2018). Analyzing microclimates to improve thermal comfort will give designers a better understanding of the link between human thermal comfort and their surrounding infill landscape. Because shopping malls have generalizable locations and footprints and a nearly identical hierarchy of ingress and egress locations, they are ideal for this type of microclimate analysis using climate data. These generalized footprints are becoming dead space in smaller cities leaving large unused parking lots which have the potential to positively serve these communities through various climate events, specifically polar vortexes. This study aims to mitigate extreme cold weather events through microclimate design by examining various site configurations with the use of data collection such as wind speed, temperature, and humidity. A Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) was calculated to determine which configurations are best for thermal comfort (Wong 2015).
Dynamic Modularity: A New Approach to Off-site Construction
(North Dakota State University, 2020) Aspelund, Thomas
The goal of this thesis project is to examine the several possible ways that a single-family residence can be built using various forms of off-site construction in order to determine which methods are the most suitable. There are already many methods of off-site construction, most of which can be classified into a few groups. Those methods include prefabricated construction, modular construction, as well as three-dimensional volumetric construction. Today’s construction-related work force is facing a shortage of skilled laborers which is in turn, resulting in tighter budgets and tighter work schedules. The methods explored in this thesis will aim to resolve these conflicts in an efficient, cost-effective manner.
Healing with Colors
(North Dakota State University, 2020) Garcia, Sydney
This study focuses on the relationship between color frequency and healing the human body. There is evidence that color has been implemented as a healing process through therapy, dating back to thousands of years ago. I want to discover an alternative way of healing that is effective and reliable. Not only do I want to show people that they can effectively heal their bodies and minds, I also want to educate them on why it is so important and how easy it can be to practice at home. Through research and experimentation, I will discover a connection between brain activity and physiological responses to color. I will use this information to apply colors to healing methods in alternative medicine practices. The color therapy results can then be implemented by designers and artists as a healing tool for essentially anyone. Considering this method is noninvasive and completely natural, anyone can benefit from it. The complexity depends on the severity of the issue, and I will design a solution that this is beneficial for everyone. A proposed design for a Health and Healing Center will provide a safe place of healing, learning, and loving. The center will focus on aiding mentally and physically ill individuals. Color therapy is a main element in the healing design and will be implemented in all healing processes at the center.
Hippotherapy Sensory Trails in Stewartville, MN
(North Dakota State University, 2021) Long, Madison
This thesis will focus on healthcare and therapeutic design with the major focus being hippo-therapy trails for young individuals with anxiety, depression and Sensory Processing Disorder. Hippo-therapy or equine therapy has been used in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) for over forty years and continues to grow and evolve. Anxiety and depression are also growing more than ever in young people due to the societal pressures on their generation. The purpose of this thesis is to create a community-based program that combines horseback riding and sensory trails. This trail will be an additional element that is applied to an existing equestrian faculty. The trail will consist of multiple spurs, ranging in terrain and material, that will promote mental health and function. These trails will contain natural obstacles that challenge the riders at different levels, as to establish a program that allows for personal growth. Trails will be marked with signage displaying the difficulty level and types of natural obstacles they will encounter. The site location will be discovered through ArcGIS Pro suitability analysis that displays existing slope, soil, and canopy features of existing riding facilities. Standards from associations such as The Anxiety Treatment Center, American Hippo-therapy Association, and Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International, will guide this thesis project in trail difficulty, trail location and trail width. While case studies such as Pegasus Farm Sensory Trail, Saddle Safari Discovery trail, and Beat Riding Center Sensory Trail will influence the trail activities and material.
Bringing Nature Indoors: Tetris Landscaping
(North Dakota State University, 2021) Borgert, Rachel
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average American spends 93% of their life indoors. Almost 70% of which is at home. By being indoors there is a greater chance of being exposed to higher concentrations of airborne pollutants, commonly found in indoor atmospheres. With an increase in people working from home, homeschooling their kids and spending limited time outdoors throughout the year it has caused a negative impact on their mental and physical well-being. NASA conducted a study on indoor plants and how they eliminate indoor air pollutants called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere. Based off this study calculations were made on the number of plants necessary to filter out and eliminate air pollutants. Utilizing the plants in the study to design an interior landscape modular system that can be a dynamic addition to a residential house. With tetris like modules that can be arranged to create an educational interior landscape for homeschoolers, a work interior landscape for those working from home or a therapeutic interior landscape all year round. Whatever the resident desires. This thesis is a proposal to design a residential interior landscape that will promote physical and mental well-being to those who experience it.
Interweaving Generations: Enriching Elderly and Primary Care Through Integration
(North Dakota State University, 2020) Smieja, Michaela
The goal of this project is to bring people together from two different generations. I want to design a place where two groups can come together and mutually benefit from one another. A child’s mind is so amazing because of their sense of awe and wonder. They absorb everything they see, hear. The joy they get from the smallest things brings joy to those around them. The biggest factor in my design is connecting with other people. Humans as a species are naturally social and we need connection and relationships to feel fulfilled.
Lakeshore Design Intervention
(North Dakota State University, 2021) Miller, Jacob
This study will quantify the Minnesota County's concerns with shoreline development and private landowner's concerns with the unauthorized use of purchased land due to regulations and wildlife preservation. This study aims to determine what will satisfy the needs of private interests versus the public good in relation to the common Minnesotan lakeside real-estate development problems. This study will investigate the county's concerns with shoreline development on wetlands and bluffs. The reason this study is being conducted is since landowners who want to develop their shoreline cannot do so since the state or county has all the jurisdiction in what they can and cannot do, even though it is paid for by the landowner. I want to incorporate the wildlife concerns with private interests to create a design that satisfies the needs of both. To be able to reduce the environmental risks in protected habitats to create a more sustainable, yet still visually pleasing design that will satisfy the landowners and go by the laws of the protected areas. A hidden fact about private lakeside owners is that knowingly or not, they illegally develop in prohibited areas, and most of the time they do not get caught, and even if they do the county will most likely not make them remove it. The methodology I will use to configure this data will be done through several case studies, state and county codes and laws, and possible online interviews with county wildlife law enforcers. There will need to be a study for how much land is private and public, and an estimated study for the percentage of private owners can develop down to their shoreline and how many cannot. With this data I will develop a mitigation strategy to find a private and public balance of shoreline development that will provide and satisfy landowners with more development options for their privately owned land but will also satisfy the county’s environmental concerns, thus proposing the perfect ratio for public and private estates, and if need be, advocate for changing the existing wildlife restrictions.

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