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Light Strength - Brian Tarbox
Architecture is in a growing state of flux. The collection and transmission of information is progressing at a rate that was unheard of a few decades ago. The use of the internet and computers has greatly increased the amount of information available to designers. Regardless, design expression is still using the structural components developed in the 18th century. Structure can be so much more than just “exposed”. Although materials are constantly experimented with, codes and regulations have a tendency to slow progress in the realm of structural experimentation. In order for the next evolution of materials to proceed in architecture, it needs an identity.
Inherent knowledge of common building materials creates a comfort within environments. Current technology found outside of architecture possesses materials that are significantly stronger and substantially lighter in weight. Materials that can be used as structure, envelopes and armor protection can all be made out of one material. These materials will change the way we build and design. This changes the meaning of how materials are used in architecture. Materials that are designed to multitask will change how we perceive and design architecture.
Healing - Sheila Rauseo
Can architecture enhance therapy for disabled children? In the following research, this question will be taken in context of disabled children that engage in hippotherapy. Hippotherapy is a therapeutic session where children perform exercises while horseback riding and receiving instructions from a therapist walking along side. Dr. Daniel Bluestone, a pediatric neurologist who followed the progress of children undergoing treatment, states, “hippotherapy is effective in helping rework networks within the cerebellum and within the motor system in the cerebrum.”
The investigation of the thesis question involves designing an environment to support hippotherapy. The design research will consider the movements of the horse that are most beneficial to the children. The traditional concept of a stable building will be altered, allowing for spaces designed for both horse and children. An interactive environment will create stronger bonds between the horse and child for instance through heightened child independence, safer interactions, and easier mounting with the horse.
Scale will be a large component from which design will result. The architecture will relate to three scales; the scale of the child, the horse, and the child while mounted upon the horse. Designing with these three heights in mind will allow for different experiences depending on what part of the session the child is engaged in. A welcoming landscape with integrated therapeutic elements will provide a relaxing environment for the children.
The design will become a vessel through which the children arrive, enter, receive therapy within, and then are delivered back into the world. Developing the environment to be a sequence that the child travels through will help to assimilate what is learned during the therapy sessions into the child’s everyday world.
Film Influenced Architecture - Jon Quell
Informed by the film making process, can architecture exist as a sequence of spaces, arranged in a series to reveal a compelling story?
Film has always been a major influence in my life as it has always taught me something new or just made me laugh. There has always been an importance of film and movies for me, just as there has been for architecture. This year I want to discover a strategy of connecting the two in a way that has never been done before. 
I believe there is a meaning behind film that could be brought out in the design of architecture. A film involves the evolution of a story, a series of scenes interconnecting with each other to complete a tale, or a journey. These scenes represent different emotions that underlay the aspects of the story, revealing something new and untold to the viewer. I feel architecture acts the same way, revealing different stories and emotions as you experience differ- ent buildings, or homes. It is almost poetic if you think of architecture as a film, a storyboard if you may, creating emotions as you walk through. It are these aspects of film that I want to bring out in my research and designs as I try to unfold the hidden connection that may exist be- tween architectur and the movies.
