Scholarly Works, School of Architecture

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Research articles, presentations, and other scholarship

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Urban Forest Management Plan: George Washington Memorial Parkway, Washington, D. C.
Heavers, Nathan; Kelsch, Paul J.; Wiseman, P. Eric (2024-12)
This report examines the urban forest of the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) and recommends management strategies and solutions to sustain the forest’s ecological integrity, its cultural significance, its recreational use, and its designed beauty. The GWMP urban forest is comprised of natural remnant woodlands and designed landscapes that extend along the parkway corridor, parallel to the Potomac River. This report specifically studies National Park Service (NPS) lands on the Virginia side of the river from the American Legion Bridge to Mount Vernon.
Deploying cGANs for Stress-Informed Adaptation and Material Redistribution in Hybrid Shell Structures
Brooking, Gabrielle; Borunda, Luis (International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, 2025-10-27)
This paper explores how Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (cGANs) can be used as a tool for structural adaptation in hybrid systems such as gridshells and plate structures. The cGAN is trained to identify stress trajectories to enhance structural performance. Height-to-stress mappings act as the basis for testing how cGANs can assist in geometric adjustments decision making by providing quickly produced generalized patterns of a design system’s structural identity. By embedding structural analysis and quantitative constraints into a machine learning dataset, the method provides iterative feedback on stress distribution rather than treating computational analysis as a terminal output. There are two deployment strategies: 1. Applying various magnitudes on a plate structure to evaluate the model’s ability to distinguish between different levels of force based on limited representational differences in the cGANs training, 2. Redistributing material in response to generatively mapped stress on a shell structure.
Machine Learning for Force Geometry: A Homology Model for Stress-Informed Shells
Borunda, Luis (International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, 2025-10-29)
As architecture faces rising demands for material efficiency, adaptability, and intelligent systems integration, new computational frameworks are needed to align performance with generative design. This paper presents a machine learning framework for predicting structurally meaningful lattice geometries in freeform architectural shells based on stress input. We introduce a Transformer-based model trained on scalar and directional stress fields to infer reinforcement patterns, producing polyhedral lattices aligned with principal stress trajectories. Operating without templates or rule-based encoding, the model generalizes across varied topologies and boundary conditions. By learning neighborhood relationships and stress flows, it internalizes structural logic beyond local cues, generating fabrication-ready outputs. Inference time is reduced from minutes to milliseconds, enabling a new scale of real-time structural reasoning. This approach bridges simulation and design, positioning AI as a tool for adaptive, performance-driven fabrication in architectural practice.
A Virtual City Scratched on Desert Dust: California City and the Allure of the Blank Slate
Isbilen, Ezgi (University of Utah, Department of English, 2019)
AI as a Third Party: Introducing Language, Authorship, and Code in Foundation Design Education
Hernandez, Jessica; Garcia Carrasco, Edgar (2025-09-27)
In early architecture education, students often struggle to express ideas clearly. Years of standardized K-12 learning emphasize surface-level responses over critical inquiry, leaving many students unprepared to formulate and communicate conceptual thinking. A significant hurdle experienced by students is the difficulty in using language to translate ideas into diagrams. This challenge becomes an opportunity when paired with generative AI, which can act as an impartial third party, requiring clarity, precision, and iteration to produce a desired result. Rather than treating AI as a shortcut, we framed it as a tool to help students think, process, and revise their ideas critically. In Fall 2024, foundation studio introduced ChatGPT into a series of design exercises grounded in basic design principles. Students began by identifying a conceptual prompt through the pairing of a design element and a design principle, for example, line and symmetry simplified into the single word “balance.” These basic concepts became the foundation for the process of translation. Students wrote step-by-step instructions for the reproduction of their chosen concept. Those instructions were then handed off to a classmate, who used ChatGPT to generate Python code for Rhino. This began a cycle of testing, troubleshooting, and iteration, moving back and forth between the AI and Rhino, between code and diagram. This distance, created through the layering of authorship and digital translation, allowed iteration to grow spontaneously. Students who had never written code before learned to analyze outputs, revise logic, and reflect on the gaps between intention and result. The diagrams they produced served as the first generation of a series of 2D digital explorations. These were then used as the conceptual basis for their final semester projects: the fabrication of an architectural object and the design of a sacred landscape. Weekly pin-ups and peer critiques helped ground these outcomes in conversation, feedback, and revision. What emerged from this process was a new way of introducing both computation and authorship in early design education. By handing off authorship to others, both human and machine, students learned what parts of their process needed to stay constant and what could evolve. More importantly, they began to understand that architectural design is never a solitary act. It is iterative, distributed, and deeply social. Generative tools, when introduced critically and creatively, can expand a student’s capacity to imagine, collaborate, and think beyond the limitations of their previous experience.
Geometry as Method and Generative System: A Virtual Reconstruction of Fernando Higueras’s Montecarlo Project
del Blanco García, Federico L.; Quintana, Anderson G.; Borunda, Luis (2026-01-13)
This paper presents a virtual reconstruction of Fernando Higueras’s unbuilt Montecarlo Building (Edificio polivalente de Montecarlo – Concurso Internacional restringido. Fundación Fernando Higueras, Madrid. (Audiovisual material, January 29, 2017). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBwv2htnzUQ , 1969), a landmark in his exploration of radial-expansive systems. The project, conceived as a growing organism, employed a generative grammar based on the duplication of polygonal rings (n = 6·2x), producing modular slabs, large cantilevers, and a flexible spatial structure. Using archival documents and digital modeling, this research reconstructs the building’s geometry, structural hierarchy and active perimeter, showing how Higueras turned abstract principles into rational strategies. It reveals how practical solutions can be formalized as mathematical rules, bridging analog experimentation with digital parametric design. Results highlight its dual nature: organic yet rigorous, integrating prefabrication, scalability and bioclimatic performance. Though never built, Montecarlo emerges as a culmination of Higueras’s analog experiments and a precursor of contemporary computational design.
Ten questions concerning autism and auditory accessibility in buildings
Masiero, Bruno S.; Caldas-Correia, Fernanda; Underwood, Samuel H.; Rosas-Pérez, Carmen; Algargoosh, Alaa; Bettarello, Federica; Caniato, Marco; Davies, William J.; Manley, David; Remington, Anna; Sivakumar, Anjana; Wilson, Wayne J.; Zaniboni, Luca; Wang, Lily M. (Elsevier, 2025-12-01)
The ten questions in this paper discuss how the auditory experience of autistic individuals is related to the built environment, integrating perspectives from practitioners and researchers in acoustical engineering, audiology, soundscapes, psychology, architecture, and indoor environment. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disability associated with, as one of its main characteristics, hypo- or hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli. In the built environment, the sensory profile of autistic individuals is directly impacted by thermal, visual, and (the main topic of this paper) acoustical design. However, research on creating more acoustically-inclusive equipment or spaces for this population is still limited, leading to shortcomings in existing acoustic design standards, which do not consider such sensory processing differences. The paper highlights the limitations of current acoustic standards, which are based on neurotypical hearing models, and advocates for inclusive design practices that prioritize the needs of autistic individuals. We also present the shift from a purely medical model to a more nuanced approach that includes discussing ethical research practices, autism as a social concept, appropriate language, and disability rights. Key recommendations include participatory research, flexible acoustic environments, and the adoption of universal design principles to create spaces that accommodate sensory diversity, ensuring both functionality and well-being.
Multi-Sensor Fusion and SLAM-Based Digital Twin Integration for Simulated Accessibility Assessments in Complex Architectural Environments
Borunda, Luis (Society for Modeling & Simulation International, 2025-05-26)
Ensuring accessibility in architectural environments remains a challenge, especially for visually impaired users who encounter subtle hazards like unmarked curbs, abrupt surface changes, and overhead obstructions that often go undetected. This paper introduces a simulation-based framework that detects and geolocates accessibility barriers using egocentric RGB video, GPS, and inertial data from AR glasses. Critical hazards are identified through monocular depth estimation, semantic segmentation, and 3D object detection, then anchored via Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) trajectories and fused with OpenStreetMap data, digital models, and point clouds to improve spatial accuracy. Hazards are filtered for plausibility and consistency before being annotated and visualized in an interactive Rhino/Grasshopper-based digital twin. While the system can run on RGB and GPS data alone making it broadly sensor-agnostic and deployable on common mobile devices, SLAM data is integrated to review precision. Case studies show strong alignment with ground-truth conditions and robust integration with spatial simulation models for accessibility auditing.
Optimizing indoor air quality and energy efficiency in multifamily residences: Advanced passive pipe system parametrics study
Obeidat, L. M.; Jones, James R.; Mahaftha, D. M.; Amhamed, A. I.; Alrebei, O. F. (Springer, 2024-12-01)
This research focuses on enhancing natural ventilation in multifamily residential buildings to improve air quality and minimize reliance on mechanical ventilation, thereby reducing energy consumption. The study pioneers the integration of passive pipe systems within structural floor slabs and building envelopes, aiming to overcome the inherent challenges of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) related to design constraints, occupant behavior, and urban context. Our innovative approach, utilizing a novel application of Grasshopper for precise architectural modeling and Ansys for advanced multiphysics simulation, enables a detailed comparative analysis of airflow dynamics across various system configurations. A comprehensive literature review underscores the significance of natural ventilation as a key passive cooling strategy, vital for reducing energy use and enhancing IEQ in the face of urbanization challenges. Our empirical findings reveal that configurations with more inlet and outlet pipes significantly outperform simpler ones, with a notable configuration of 11 pipes (5 x 6) achieving an actual-to-required ventilation rate increase in 158.15%. This evidence highlights the substantial benefits of adopting complex system configurations for improved ventilation efficiency. The study's outcomes include impactful design recommendations for adopting enhanced natural ventilation strategies in multifamily residential buildings. These recommendations promise to inform sustainable urban planning and building management strategies, offering a scalable solution for cities seeking to balance growth with environmental sustainability. By demonstrating the clear advantages of targeted passive cooling interventions, this research contributes valuable insights toward achieving energy efficiency and superior IEQ in residential buildings, paving the way for future exploration in diverse climatic and urban contexts.
Predicting urban Heat Island in European cities: A comparative study of GRU, DNN, and ANN models using urban morphological variables
Tehrani, Alireza Attarhay; Veisi, Omid; Kia, Kambiz; Delavar, Yasin; Bahrami, Sasan; Sobhaninia, Saeideh; Mehan, Asma (Elsevier, 2024-07-01)
Continued urbanization, along with anthropogenic global warming, has and will increase land surface temperature and air temperature anomalies in urban areas when compared to their rural surroundings, leading to Urban Heat Islands (UHI). UHI poses environmental and health risks, affecting both psychological and physiological aspects of human health. Thus, using a deep learning approach that considers morphological variables, this study predicts UHI intensity in 69 European cities from 2007 to 2021 and projects UHI impacts for 2050 and 2080. The research employs Artificial Neural Networks, Deep Neural Networks, and Gated Recurrent Units, combining high-resolution 3D urban models with environmental data to analyze UHI trends. The results indicate strong associations between urban form, weather patterns, and UHI intensity, highlighting the need for customized urban planning and policy measures to reduce UHI impacts and foster sustainable urban settings. This research enhances understanding of UHI dynamics and serves as a valuable tool for urban planners and policymakers to address the challenges of climate change, urbanization, and air pollution, ultimately aiding in the improvement of health outcomes and building energy consumption. Moreover, the methodology effectively demonstrates the ability of the GRU to link its scores with UHI projections, offering crucial insights into potential health impacts.
Sound diffuser inspired by cymatics phenomenon
Algargoosh, Alaa; Hossameldin, Hany; El-Wakeel, Hala (2015-06)
Sound diffusers are important components in enhancing the quality of room acoustics. The present disclosure relates to a sound diffuser obtained by using properties of the cymatics phenomena. Cymatics is the study of sound and vibration made visible, typically on the surface of a plate, diaphragm or membrane. Two examples of diffusers are designed by the cymatic shapes and modeled by using a quadratic quadratic residue sequence. It is found that this type of acoustic diffusers can be used to maintain the acoustic energy in a room and at the same time can treat unwanted echoes and reflections by scattering sound waves in many directions. The design allows for creating different interior space designs by changing the arrangement of the diffuser panels, and this leads to different applications for the diffusers.
Psychology or Physiology? Choosing the Right Color for Interior Spaces to Support Occupants’ Healthy Circadian Rhythm at Night
Jalali, Mansoureh Sadat; Gibbons, Ronald B.; Jones, James R. (MDPI, 2025-07-28)
The human circadian rhythm is connected to the body’s endogenous clock and can influence people’s natural sleeping habits as well as a variety of other biological functions. According to research, various electric light sources in interior locations can disrupt the human circadian rhythm. Many psychological studies, on the other hand, reveal that different colors can have varied connections with and a variety of effects on people’s emotions. In this study, the effects of light source attributes and interior space paint color on human circadian rhythm were studied using 24 distinct computer simulations. Simulations were performed using the ALFA plugin for Rhinoceros 6 on an unfurnished bedroom 3D model at night. Results suggest that cooler hues, such as blue, appear to have an unfavorable effect on human circadian rhythm at night, especially when utilized in spaces that are used in the evening, which contradicts what psychologists and interior designers advocate in terms of the soothing mood and nature of the color. Furthermore, the effects of Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) and the intensity of a light source might be significant in minimizing melanopic lux to prevent melatonin suppression at night. These insights are significant for interior designers, architects, and lighting professionals aiming to create healthier living environments by carefully selecting lighting and color schemes that support circadian health. Incorporating these considerations into design practices can help mitigate adverse effects on sleep and overall well-being, ultimately contributing to improved occupant comfort and health.
Rediscovering Shixue: The Point-Notation as Social and Intellectual Signifiers Under the Institutional Censorship of Imperial China in the Eighteenth Century
Zhao, Tianming (2025-06-13)
The late seventeenth century saw a golden era when the scientific technique of perspective, as a gift from the Scientific Revolution, expanded its territory to China via French missionaries. Among them, Giuseppe Castiglione (1688–1766) is the most successful one who not only served as the court painter in China but also collaborated with his Chinese apprentice Nian Xiyao (1671–1738) in publishing the first Chinese treatise specializing in perspective—Shixue (1735). Modeled after Andrea Pozzo’s Perspectiva Pictorum et Architectorum (1693–1700), Shixue has long been overlooked for its novelty, along with its unique semiotics of point-notation. Hence, the scope of this research is aimed at rediscovering Nian’s uncanny style of point-notation in Shixue as a silent response to Chinese institutional censorship. After the interpretation of the concealed orders within these point-notations, it is safe to conclude that Nian composed Shixue into both a poetical anthology and his autobiography to some extent.
Enhancing Place Attachment Through Developing Public Open Places: A Cross-Cultural Study in Gold Coast, Australia
Ghasemieshkaftaki, Marzieh; Dupre, Karine; Campbell, Jennifer; Fernando, Ruwan (MDPI, 2025-01-24)
Urban studies research has increasingly focused on placemaking and place attachment in public open places. While several studies have explored how immigrants interact with these places, this study investigates how cultural differences affect immigrants’ place attachment, providing a deeper understanding of inclusive urban design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 students from India, Iran, China, and Australia, in Southport, a preferred neighborhood for immigrants on the Gold Coast, Australia. NVivo software was used to analyze the data and extract themes. The findings highlighted that, despite universal factors such as natural environments and social opportunities, cultural factors are crucial in shaping individuals’ experiences.
TeleAbsence: A Vision of Past and Afterlife Telepresence
Ishii, Hiroshi; Pillis, Daniel; Pataranutaporn, Pat; Xiao, Xiao; Noh, Hayoun; Li, Lucy; Algargoosh, Alaa; Labrune, Jean-Baptiste (Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 2025-01-16)
This paper presents our vision of TeleAbsence, extending the concept of telepresence to the past and the afterlife to address the vast emotional and temporal distance caused by the memory of loved ones who drifted apart and faded away. Instead of explicit and literal representations of loved ones, TeleAbsence describes poetic encounters with digital and physical traces left by the absence of others. TeleAbsence fosters illusory communications to conjure the feeling of being there with those no longer with us without using synthetic or generative representations and utterances. Our vision is deeply inspired by the Portuguese concept “Saudade”—the “desire for the beloved thing, people, place, and moment, made painful by its absence.” We present our vision through five design principles: presence of absence, illusory communication, the materiality of memory, traces of reflection, and remote time, grounded in historical and cultural contexts. We present exploratory narratives to illustrate these principles and the concept of ambient co-presence using poetry, phone, piano, and pen as mediums. We discuss challenges and opportunities for future work, including representational strategies to depict lost loved ones, ethical issues, and the possible extension of TeleAbsence to historical public figures.
"I WANT": Agency and Accessibility in the Age of AI
Borunda, Luis; Gipe-Lazarou, Andrew; Meng, Na (2024-06)
"I WANT access to public buildings and technologies"; "I WANT all stairs to have railings"; "I WANT there to be a talking pedestrian sign"; "I WANT curbs to be more noticeable"; "I WANT technology that is dedicated to the blind". Young, vision-impaired learners from across the world, participating in our team’s human-centered research and participatory design initiatives, express an impassioned desire for agency and inclusive space making. Utilizing these statements as a foundational element of the participatory design process, our work continues to explore the intersection of AI and inclusive space-making, the methods employed through human-centered research and computational techniques such as machine learning and app development, and the potential contributions of these interventions to a more accessible future. This paper presents a two-part investigation into the role of advanced technological interventions and participatory design in shaping the future of architecture and design. Part 1 explores the outcomes of AI assistive device research centered on the voices of future professionals. This phase involved interviews and focus group discussions with blind and visually impaired individuals, designers, and computer scientists in an ongoing human subject research, leading to the creation of an AI-driven navigation app. Part 2 anticipates the deployment of working prototypes derived from these participatory design processes during [Affiliation Placeholder]'s annual Blind Design Workshop, in which more than a dozen young people with vision-impairment participate each spring. Its itinerary includes analog exercises in drawing and model-making (using material samples and wax sticks on Braille graph paper), guided tours of multi-sensory learning spaces across [Location Placeholder], accessible training in the production of 3D-prints and embossed drawings, and mentorship from practicing design professionals of the vision-impaired community, culminating in a final presentation and group critique of accessible design proposals. The workshop is a unique career exploration experience in architecture for individuals with vision impairment, designed to empower them with the understanding that they can have agency in the space-making process by giving them a voice and teaching them to architect their ambitions for the future. The synergy of AI and architecture presents profound opportunities to propel young, vision-impaired individuals from passive observers to active participants in crafting inclusive environments. Our paper discusses how innovative approaches to research and learning can seed future generations with the goal of harnessing AI for social impact in design and substantiating their role as the vanguards of a more accessible world. The outcomes of this study hold the potential to shape pedagogical strategies and industry standards, contributing to a profound reimagining of inclusive design education and practice.
The Effects of Low-Impact Development Best Management Practices on Reducing Stormwater Caused by Land Use Changes in Urban Areas: A Case Study of Tehran City, Iran
Rostamzadeh, Sajedeh; Malekmohammadi, Bahram; Mashhadimohammadzadehvazifeh, Fatemeh; Arsanjani, Jamal Jokar (MDPI, 2024-12-27)
Urbanization growth and climate change have increased the frequency and severity of floods in urban areas. One of the effective methods for reducing stormwater volume and managing urban floods is the low-impact development best management practice (LID-BMP). This study aims to mitigate flood volume and peak discharge caused by land use changes in the Darabad basin located in Tehran, Iran, using LID-BMPs. For this purpose, land use maps were extracted for a period of 23 years from 2000 to 2022 using Landsat satellite images. Then, by using a combination of geographic information system-based multi-criteria decision analysis (GIS-MCDA) method and spatial criteria, four types of LID-BMPs, including bioretention basin, green roof, grass swale, and porous pavement, were located in the study area. Next, rainfall–runoff modeling was applied to calculate the changes in the mentioned criteria due to land use changes and the application of LID-BMPs in the area using soil conservation service curve number (SCS-CN) method. The simulation results showed that the rise in built-up land use from 43.49 to 56.51 percent between the period has increased the flood volume and peak discharge of 25-year return period by approximately 60 percent. The simulation results also indicated that the combined use of the four selected types of LID-BMPs will lead to a greater decrease in stormwater volume and peak discharge. According to the results, LID-BMPs perform better in shorter return periods in a way that the average percentage of flood volume and peak discharge reduction in a 2-year return period were 36.75 and 34.96 percent, while they were 31.37 and 26.5 percent in a 100-year return period.
Scenic Assessment Methodology for Preserving Scenic Viewsheds of Virginia, USA
Miller, Patrick A.; Sim, Jisoo; Powell, Leighton; Crump, Lynn (MDPI, 2024-07-08)
The non-profit organization Scenic Virginia is dedicated to identifying and showcasing the state’s scenic landscapes. Recently, the state incorporated a “scenic” element into its new Conserve Virginia land conservation strategy. Consequently, there is a need for a standardized assessment tool that both citizens and professionals can use to identify and evaluate the scenic value of publicly accessible viewsheds in Virginia. This paper outlines the rationale behind developing a scientifically robust protocol, which is based on an extensive literature review and photographs from Scenic Virginia’s annual photo contest. The protocol serves as a scenic assessment tool designed to encourage local citizen participation in identifying significant scenic resources in Virginia. Local communities will utilize this new tool to help them identify and evaluate their scenic assets. The protocol was reviewed by a panel of experts, and its implementation is currently underway.
From the City to the Shopping Mall and Back Again: Design and Control in the Memphis Mid-America Pedestrian Mall
Keslacy, Elizabeth M. (2024-07-03)
Victor Gruen viewed the shopping centre as a perfected form of the city, one which brought together commercial, civic, and social activities without the undesirable aspects of the downtown central business district. The privately owned shopping centre offered an alternative to congestion and scarce parking, its highly regulated spaces omitted panhandlers, protestors and unruly youth. In response to the loss of business effected by suburban shopping malls, cities across America transformed their downtowns by installing pedestrian malls that closed streets to vehicular traffic and instead provided landscaping, fountains, and benches to create a more pleasant shopping environment. While the urban designers of pedestrian malls often cite historic European cities as their dominant influence, this paper investigates the extent to which their design and regulation was in fact shaped by the suburban shopping mall itself. Examining the Memphis Mid-America Mall designed by Gassner, Nathan and Browne and constructed in the mid-1970s, I reveal how the city sought to impose the spatial order, aesthetic regulation, and behavioural restrictions first developed in the shopping mall on the urban pedestrian mall in an attempt to curtail the freedoms associated with public space in favour of the restrictions of what legal scholars describe as quasior pseudo-public space.
Human-Centric Lighting Design: A Framework for Supporting Healthy Circadian Rhythm Grounded in Established Knowledge in Interior Spaces
Jalali, Mansoureh Sadat; Jones, James R.; Tural, Elif; Gibbons, Ronald B. (MDPI, 2024-04-17)
Over the past 300 years, scientific observations have revealed the significant influence of circadian rhythms on various human functions, including sleep, digestion, and immune system regulation. Access to natural daylight is crucial for maintaining these rhythms, but modern lifestyles often limit its availability. Despite its importance, there is a lack of a comprehensive design framework to assist designers. This study proposes an architectural design framework based on the review of literature, lighting-related codes and standards, and available design and analysis tools that guides the creation of lighting systems supporting healthy circadian rhythms. The framework outlines key decision-making stages, incorporates relevant knowledge, and promotes the integration of dynamic lighting techniques into building design. The proposed framework was presented to a group of design professionals as a focus group and their feedback on the relevance and usability of the tool was obtained through a survey (n = 10). By empowering designers with practical tools and processes, this research bridges the gap between scientific understanding and design implementation, ensuring informed decisions that positively impact human health. This research contributes to the ongoing pursuit of creating lighting environments that support healthy circadian rhythms and promote human well-being.

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