Date of Graduation

5-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Landscape Architecture

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Landscape Architecture

Advisor/Mentor

Billig, Noah

Committee Member/Reader

Gay, Windy

Committee Member/Second Reader

Jacobus, Frank

Abstract

A city’s urban fabric is constantly evolving through development and decay under the fluctuating rates of habitation. Cities are growing rapidly as populations climb higher, with new demands for the incoming waves of people seeking employment and a place to call home. Austin, Texas is the fastest growing American city today, with a population growth rate of three percent per year. With this growth and its demands for open space, open spaces in the form of urban voids and temporary use spaces become an interest to designers as spaces with flexibility. The approach of this thesis is to understand these spaces as they relate to the urban fabric as well as the opportunities for use while these spaces remain latent. An on-site case study method was developed as a means to analyze the urban voids in a holistic and experiential manner, providing a way for comparison of urban voids from different areas of Austin. The study seeks to understand temporary uses of these sites and the implications of contextual change. With more innovative and creative people in the city, temporary use spaces can open up opportunity for creation, expression, and sharing. Temporary use sites provide a different experience in the city while activating a space which is in transition from latency to permanent use. This transition through time is another aspect of urban voids which has not been deeply investigated by previous research. By studying these transitory spaces, this study reaches a better understanding of the relationship between time and space in a changing urban environment.

Download

Share

COinS