School of Architecture Symposia
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Recent Submissions
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A Critical Inquiry into the ‘Problem’ of Stopping in Architecture
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)“Self-driving Uber Car Kills Pedestrian in Arizona, Where Robots Roam,” reads a New York Times article of March 19th, 2018, one day after the accident. The fundamental problem of artificial intelligence has always been how ... -
Mechanological Dynamics in Jacques Lafitte and Gilbert Simondon
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)When Jacques Lafitte, a civil engineer, published his pamphlet Reflexions sur la Science de Machines (1932, 1972), he was writing across disciplines, developing a methodology that integrated structural theory, kinematics, ... -
The Microgeographies of Social Justice: Architect(ture) and Social Housing
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)This paper outlines the preliminary framework for the author’s doctoral studies in urban planning, which aims to be an academic critique and investigation of the role of architecture, as a practice, and architects, as ... -
Institutionalizing Co-production in the Conservation and Renewal of Residential Urban Heritages in Shanghai: The Obstacles and Solutions
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)In Shanghai, the spatial division inside residential heritages is intricate. Even the smallest top-down renewal projects involve several households’ interests. Without an “empowered participatory governance” (Fung and ... -
The Feasibility of Natural Ventilation in Chicago’s Tall Office Buildings Using Double-skin Façades
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)Thirty-one tall buildings (i.e., buildings of or taller than 200 m) have been erected to date in Chicago; 51% accounting for office function, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). Their ... -
A Sustainable Alternative to Architectural Materials: Mycelium-based Bio-composites
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)In the history of architecture, technologies adapted from other disciplines have created new paradigms for design and production. During the first Industrial Revolution, for instance, developments in mechanical and material ... -
Weaving Fabrica and Ratiocinatio: An Inquiry into the Knowledge of Architecture in Vitruvian Theory
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)This study focuses on fabrica and ratiocinatio, two fundamental components of architecture, forming the foundational framework of Vitruvian theory. Despite their significance, the Vitruvian text neither gives clear definitions ... -
Outside Knowing: Accessing Alterity in the Nocturnal Urban Landscape
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)Michel Foucault qualified the writing of Maurice Blanchot as ‘thought from the outside’. The reference is to absence or, the ability of what we cannot know to shed light on what we seek. In the context of the present- day, ... -
Tapping into Urban Recycling for Low-cost Building Alternatives: Experimenting with Waste Cardboard Reuse in Architecture
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)The work presented in this paper is part of a research that explores upcycling waste corrugated cardboard into building components. The research focuses on developing countries where there is a vast low- income population ... -
The ‘Unintended’ City: A Case for Re-reading the Spatialization of a Princely City Through the 1898 Plague Epidemic
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)Cities have witnessed a surge in attention from urban scholarship in what is now referred to as the ‘urban turn’ in South Asian studies. In recent years, colonial Presidency capital cities such as Bombay, Calcutta, and ... -
Graphs, Sets and Covers; Seeing What Has Always Been There: Finding Common Ground Between BIM Applications and their Users
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)Building Information Models and Process Diagrams rely on data modeling types that can vary. By definition, information contained in the very common Relational Model Databases (RMDB) can be contained in the GDBs; by expressing ... -
Bending Parabolas: Formwork for Compression-only Structures
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)The “elastic” curves formed by a uniform buckled strut are not optimal shapes as guidework and formwork for compression-only structures. In this paper, we adapt the family of elastic curves to vaults and arches, by changing ... -
Changing Waterscapes: The Dichotomy of Development and Water Management Surrounding the East Calcutta Wetlands Since the British-colonial Era
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)The deltaic region of Bengal is known for its riverine networks and fertile soil. The capital of former British- India, Calcutta, was a swampy region with small canals connecting the land with the river Hooghly in the west ... -
Richard Neutra: Latin American Connections
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)Current historiographical discourse on Richard Neutra’s designs and professional trajectory constantly repeat assessments that express the strangeness regarding some aspects of his works. With that in mind, and after ... -
Postcolonial Possibilities of Architectural History: Questions and Concerns in Reading the Urbanisms of the Global South
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)As the twenty-first century unfolds before us, the megacities of Global South experience unprecedented urbanization characterized by informalizations of urban spaces. While several new theoretical perspectives from fields ... -
Overseas Exhibitionary Events as the Dictator of Contemporary Chinese Architecture: “TU MU: Young Architecture of China” in a World Media System
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)Focusing on the first European exhibition staging independent Chinese architects “TU MU: Young Architecture of China”, I investigate the process in which overseas architectural exhibitions instigated the recognition of the ... -
How Energy Makes a Difference on the Morphology of Space
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)In today’s sciences we pay a great deal of attention to the complexity of biological form and ecological formation. Analogies in urban research refer to cities as living (eco)systems, organisms or technological artifacts, ... -
The Birth of the Orthogonal City Plan: Visual to Surveyed Representations of Rome from the 14th to 18th Century
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)Early representations of cities are shown as a staggering of selected icons, figures on a passive ground. Later in the seventeenth century, shifts in political governance lead to an increase of land value. At this point, ... -
Performance-based Facade Design Tool: Approach for Automated and Multi- Objective Simulation and Optimization
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)Buildings have a considerable impact on the environment, and it is crucial to consider environmental and energy performance in building design. Buildings account for about 40% of the global energy consumption and contribute ... -
Developing ‘Urban Jungle’ as an Integrated Model of Survival: Learning from Nature in War Zones
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-02)This paper explores the relationship between conflict in the urban environment and natural systems of resiliency found in forests and jungles. Studying the different accounts of inhabitants of cities under siege during the ...