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Date of Graduation

5-2027

Description

This research investigates attainable housing for the missing middle through the integration of mass timber construction, prefabrication, and biophilic design. The project proposes a modular housing system that leverages the structural efficiency, quality control, and ecological performance of mass timber while emphasizing replicability as a means of adaptability rather than uniformity. Through prototyping modular systems, material life cycle studies, and iterative design across replicable and adaptable units, the study examines how prefabrication can accelerate construction timelines without erasing local, cultural, or temporal specificity. Central to the research is an expanded understanding of biophilia, not as applied aesthetic, but as a material and social system shaped by time. Weathering, decay, renewal, and seasonal change are treated as design inputs, informing the selection of materials that visibly age, decompose, and re-enter ecology life cycles. These processes are used to articulate reciprocal living, where housing participates in the ongoing exchanges between human habitation, community continuance, and environmental systems. The prototype is positioned as a strategy for revitalizing areas of urban decline, particularly within underutilized and declining commercial districts. By stitching housing into the existing fabric of cities, the system is designed for deployment across multiple scenarios, including dense urban blocks, unused parking lots, and remote or transitional sites. Modular units are configured to respond to situational constraints while maintaining continuity across community scales. The outcomes of this study include a set of principles for temporal biophilic housing, a replicable and adaptable model for missing middle development, and a clarified framework for biophilic design that moves beyond abstraction. By making explicit connections between health, wellness, material cycles, and social structure, the project positions housing as an active agent in strengthening both community relationships and environmental awareness.

Publication Date

2026

Document Type

Book

Degree Name

Bachelor of Architecture

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Art

Advisor/Mentor

Holland, Brian

Disciplines

Architecture

Keywords

Art and Design

The Seedling

Included in

Architecture Commons

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