Browsing by Author "Abu Bakar, Shamsul"

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    Chatham visual enhancements
    Gilboy, Elizabeth; Steika, Kim; Abu Bakar, Shamsul; Akers, Dustin; Rigot, Sarah; Blecksmith, Lisa; Marshall, Ashleigh (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2010-08-01)
    The purpose of this project was to assist the town of Chatham with several aspects of visual and experiential enhancements. Key focus areas included visual improvements, the Chatham Perimeter Trail, and other areas with the aim of strengthening the desirability of Chatham as a destination for residents and visitors alike.
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    The Ormond Keister and Catherine Booth Evans Park conceptual master plan
    Gilboy, Elizabeth; Steika, Kim; Ling, Daniel; Xu, Yining; Abu Bakar, Shamsul; Marion, Kyle (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2010-08-01)
    The city of Danville received a gift of a 105-acre family tobacco farm. The sons of the late Ormand K. and Catherine Evans donated the property for passive recreation, conservation and educational use.
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    Pamplin entryway designs
    Gilboy, Elizabeth; Marshall, Ashleigh; Steika, Kim; Abu Bakar, Shamsul; Thomas, Jordan; Cox, Stephen; Howell, Anne (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2012-10)
    Pamplin City is a small community whose downtown is located in Appomattox County just off of US 460, between Appomattox and Farmville. “The town has recently begun a revitalization process, which has included Appomattox County library bringing in an Annex site to the former Pamplin City Train Depot used by the Norfolk and Southern Railroad Company. This renovated train depot serves as a library and meeting place for the town and frequently sees many of the town’s inhabitants on holidays or special occasions when gatherings are scheduled.” Also nearby is the newly opened High Bridge Trail State Park. The trail will soon extend into Pamplin. Sewer line improvements are also in the works. It is hoped that these improvements will continue to improve the downtown area.

    The Community Design Assistance Center believes that entryway landscapes and signage could support and enhance current improvement efforts and draw attention to the downtown area. Through a partnership with the Virginia Department of Forestry, the Design Center was able to off er a Virginia Department of Forestry’s Urban and Community Forestry grant to develop a conceptual design for each of the two entrance areas into town (see circle areas project site map above). The street design for the approach to downtown from the west (Route 460 to 47 to Main Street) is a hard left offering few sight lines for the traveler into town. The road design “forces” the driver to look in another direction drawing attention away from the downtown area. A vacant piece of land is located in the area to the right of the old barbershop (top circle, project site map) that could become a nicely landscaped area with a welcome sign.
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    Scenery Management Study of Claytor Lake
    Miller, Patrick; Lui, Song; Gilboy, Elizabeth; Steika, Kim; Calorusso, Christine; Philen, Melissa; Abu Bakar, Shamsul; Chen, Zheng; Xu, Yining (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2009-05-01)
    This study focuses on Claytor Lake in Pulaski County, Virginia. Claytor Lake is an important water-oriented recreation destination in Southwest Virginia, as well as being home to many local residents. The scenic experience of the lake is important to both recreationists and residents (Recreation Assessment Study: Claytor Project, Ferc No. 739). This particular scenery management study helps identify and protect the scenic integrity and desirable landscape characteristics for the Claytor Lake region. It also proposes scenery management guidelines to keep this area attractive, while also accommodating appropriate development and land uses.
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    Understanding Attitudes and Perceptions For Civil War Battlefield, Interpretive Images
    Abu Bakar, Shamsul (Virginia Tech, 2013-05-08)
    Civil War images are important visual records that captured and depict the realities endured by the American people during the Civil War. These images are a powerful visual platform that depicts the vivid representation of past history. Images of Civil War are frequently used as interpretive media, particularly at historic battlefields to enhance the visitor experience and understanding. However, empirical studies of the characteristics of Civil War images that can influence visitors\' experience are limited. Using historic images of Civil War landscapes, this study identified visitors\' preferences and attitudes for Civil War images at five different American Civil War battlefields: Chickamauga and Chattanooga Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Shiloh National Military Park, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Antietam National Battlefield, and Gettysburg National Military Park. For this study, the Content Identifying Method (CIM) and eye-tracking technology were used in understanding visitors\' preferences. The results indicate that visitors at historic battlefields prefer images that have a strong sense of active military activities and battle-related action. In addition visitors also preferred images that exhibit a high sense of mystery and are visually complex. The study also revealed that visitor background variables such as gender, age group, and ancestors who fought in the Civil War significantly influence visitor preference for Civil War images. Motivation variables such as interest in learning about "the people," "the military elements," "physical artifacts of the Civil War," and distance travelled to historic battlefields also significantly influence visitor preferences. In term of visitor attitudes towards gruesome images, the majority of the participants believe that these types of images are important visual media that can influence their visitation experience at historic battlefields. Eye-tracking technology was useful in revealing the content that attracted participant attention in some of the images, but not in other images. This study provides information that will be useful to park managers and interpretive designers regarding the characteristics of Civil War images that are important in developing interpretive media for the public and factors that may help in the process of customizing the visitor experience at historic battlefields.