The concept of a laboratory often conjures up an image of an isolated and sterile room tucked away in the core of a building, inherently creating a physical and social barrier between the sciences and humanities. For centuries, this view was largely appropriate as many laboratories were designed in this way for privacy and security. However, 20th century research laboratories have begun to challenge this notion as an architectural building typology. As laboratories began to populate cities and academic institutions, especially after WWII, it became increasingly important to consider the perception of these spaces and their impacts on the built environment and the expanding scientific research workforce. I will be analyzing laboratory design guides and recommendations from both architects and scientists as well as examining a selection of laboratories with notable architectural qualities, focusing on key changes and trends in lab design. The literature and architecture help demonstrate the evolution of the laboratory. Rapidly changing digital technologies and methods of experimentation have led to a more collaborative research environment and a more business-oriented mindset. In addition, scientific research companies have redirected focus to the scientists to maximize efficiency and profitability and have placed greater emphasis on the physical building and the image it conveys. Sustainability has also become a key issue as laboratories are increasingly evaluated by their impacts on human and ecological well-being, resulting in a shift towards occupant-based design. Through these factors as well as a growing knowledge of the physical work environment and its link to human health, I will establish the importance of the qualitative role of architecture in creating positive and healthful impacts on its users and the environment in a traditionally utilitarian building typology.

If Timothy Egan, author of The Good Rain, or any other local were to describe the Pacific Northwest in words it would only take three, "drip, drip, drip". Rain is a common visitor to the mountains and valleys of the Pacific Northwest region, created millions of years ago by glacial melt. This system of weather which both keeps the forests evergreen, the skin moisturized, and air clean... and it is also something that defines the culture of this area. Other cultures like Japan or Denmark have chosen to design for their climates in order to live in better harmony with their climate. The Japanese design for their climate by creating atmospheric rain gardens and use materials that change over time with the weather. They challenge the idea of negative associations with rain by creating a more harmonious relationship. Denmark ranks consistently among the happiest nations on the planet, yet they have some of the harshest winters. What is their approach? The Danish term, "Hygge" refers to a feeling of coziness and happiness. Instead of dreading the winter, Danes accept it by coming together with their community around hearths, lighting candles, and eating comfort food. Our region too has a symbiotic relationship with our weather. This research shows how rain is beautiful and experienced by every sense in the Pacific Northwest... sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste. By designing for the climate by engaging the senses we can create calming aesthetics, improved mental heatlh, and a stronger community. This project will show the ways in which this region we call home is atmospheric, beautiful, and unique. Rain is not just a pattern of weather; Egan shows that rain is an essential element woven deep within this region's history. In fact, rain is still formative here, a part of the regional DNA. 

As our society moves into the future, queerness is becoming more mainstream and acknowledged by heteronormative institutions, like the government, and popular culture. Same-sex marriage is now legal in 30 countries and some, like Chile, are taking measures to ensure that trans-kids are protected. But as queerness becomes more accepted by society today, queer spaces are adapting from their artificial birthplace—the dark and hidden interiors of the 19th C middle class. Now as queer space transitions from its past private realm and into the public eye, so does its definition and past implications: "Queer space is not one place: it is an act of appropriating the modern world for the continual act of self-construction. It is obscene and artificial by its very nature. It creates its own beauty. It allows us to be alive in a world of technology. There we can continually search within ourselves as we mirror ourselves in the world for that self that has a body, a desire, a life. Queer space queers reality to produce a space to live." Queer spaces were born out of a need to be hidden from the society that has ignored queers and their needs, but as times change and the world becomes more accepting of queerness, what happens to these queer spaces? I will be investigating queer spaces today as they have moved from the private realm to the public realm and looking at the architecture of two gay neighborhoods, Seattle’s Captiol Hill and Chicago’s Boystown for case studies of what queer space is, in our modern world.

The impacts of war can include political gains, emotional turmoil of those in a warzone, destruction of land, and loss of money and resources. Belligerent occupation has very similar effects, but can last for a longer duration of time and be life altering for those living in the occupied land. Since 1967 Palestine has been occupied by Israel, during which there has been active conflict, construction of military bases and Israeli settlements, and loss of land and cherished spaces. This thesis focuses on the destruction of Palestinian buildings and cities that has occurred throughout the duration of the occupation. Many of these destroyed spaces remain as ruins in Palestine that have not been reconstructed, removed, or repurposed. This paper will begin by establishing an understanding of the extent, including duration and frequency, to which Palestinians are exposed to wreckage. It will then convey the reasons behind this rubble’s repetitive and prolonged presence in the country, exposing the debilitating permitting process that Palestinians face. Once this context has been established, the results of this rubble will be explored in terms of the health effects of prolonged exposure to rubble, the psychological aspects of losing property, and the impact on communities involved in this devastating destruction. Various villages and cities in the region of West Bank, Palestine will serve as illustrations of these effects as the West Bank has experienced intense and well-documented destruction throughout the occupation. This paper will ultimately develop a unique understanding as to why these ruins must no longer be permitted to remain in Palestine and ultimately propose solutions to removing the rubble and/or lessening its negative effects.

Hawaii is situated at the crossroads of the Pacific, and remains a unique place where people of different cultures and ideas mix. This project focuses on the development and identity of Honolulu in the decade after statehood. On August 21, 1959 Hawaii was officially recognized as the 50th state to enter the Union. By this time, the character of Honolulu's built environment reflected a 'Territorial Style,' which proliferated in the early-twentieth century. In addition, Hawaii's earlier progress towards a 'modern architecture' was interrupted with the abrupt changes caused by the Depression and World War II. In the years following statehood, Honolulu had developed into a hotbed of unchecked economic, social and political wealth. As a result, the character and identity of Honolulu's 1960s built environment was seen as a hodgepodge collection of buildings and projects reflecting various practices and themes in architecture. At the same time, visiting US mainland architects and firms were given opportune chance to participate in the development and growth of Honolulu's future. As the state capital of Hawaii, Honolulu has developed into a city onto itself. Honolulu's rapid post-statehood growth now poses new questions regarding its future, today. This project explores the early phase of statehood in order to understand how Honolulu's new identity as a state capital was established architecturally amidst the growth of commercial development. This project characterizes the ecological, cultural and technical dimensions of Honolulu's built environment in the 1960s, and explores the tensions between Western modernization and the natural and historical contexts of its Pacific Island location. 

As it stands today, there is a disconnect between the world of architecture and that of "art" - fine art, outsider art, and similar. This disconnect accounts for the loss of information on a grand scale, as each field continues to analyze itself from an insular perspective, rather than recognizing the interdisciplinary potential inherent in combining these studies. I am developing a foundation for understanding the built environment’s role in shaping society and the world, one that highlights the connective role architecture plays between all the various components of contemporary life. By examining various interdisciplinary examples such as political theory, art scholarship, outsider manifestos, etc., I am synthesizing an understanding of how architecture has historically been approached and interpreted in industrial society, while drafting a manifesto to propose a new methodology for approaching architecture in the contemporary age. In the future, analysis like this could have impact on political or social policy, as well as construction and development, if we utilize this more thorough, interdisciplinary analysis to better understand the implications of what we build and how we will experience it as both art and architecture in contemporary society.