Resettlement: Using Place-Based Architecture to Create Modern Agricultural Communities

Abstract

Suburbanization has homogenized the development and organization of rural communities in North America and around the globe. By focusing primarily on providing automotive circulation characterized by low population density, the utility and amenity networks required to support communities are stretched to undesirable limits (sprawl) that can negatively impact local economies, natural resources and opportunities for active pedestrian movement. Homogenized building processes can also lead to a loss of architectural reference to communities’ sense of place formed by their unique histories, landscapes and cultures. This thesis looks to repair those frayed connections through architectural intervention by thinking of a locale’s unique attributes first and then responding with regionally sensitive design complemented by a pedestrian focused plan. By creating a visually discernible and tactile celebration of culture and history, communities can reintroduce, enhance and update ways of life that are more applicable to their immediate environment, can foster higher levels of self-sufficiency and can encourage an engaging and social community organized to accept and adopt technological changes of the near and distant future.