Browsing by Subject "Sustainability"
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Item A discretized approach for solving for the optimal capacity and profit maximization level for a biomass refinery given supplemental sources of fuel(2012-05) Walker, Michael L.; Farmer, Michael; Knight, Thomas; Benson, Aaron G.; Burns, James R.The feasibility of a cotton gin that produces bio-fuels is explored. By utilizing cotton gin trash and supplemental feedstock such as rangeland grass, enough megawatt hours of energy can be produced to satisfy peak and sub-peak energy for power plan requirements. Furthermore, findings have confirmed that the amount of carbon displaced by a power plant relying on biomass energy as source of electricity rather than traditional coal is an additional offset that makes the business model even more appealing. For reasons stemming mainly from the availability of cotton gin trash in the Lubbock area, it has been confirmed that use of biomass already on site at agri-forestry processing centers to manufacture bio-products will also minimize transportation and handling costs. Therefore, at the core of this study is the determination of whether an operator of a power plant chooses to import supplemental biomass in the form of rangeland grass for the production of electricity when there is insufficient cotton gin waste due to a bad season. The decision is based on whether the profits derived from the additional megawatt hours from additional biomass are enough to offset the transportation and harvest costs associated with the imported biomass. A profit maximization model simulating the production and sale of biomass electricity suggests that while lowering the transportation and harvest costs through subsidies does influence an operator’s decision to import, it has a negligible effect on the plant capacity and efficiency. Furthermore, findings in this study suggest that a subsidy applied to the peak and sub-peak prices of megawatt hour prices do in fact have a substantial affect on the capacity and profitability of a plant producing electricity from biomass.Item A Systems-Integration Approach to the Optimal Design and Operation of Macroscopic Water Desalination and Supply Networks(2012-02-14) Atilhan, SelmaWith the escalating levels of water demand, there is a need for expansion in the capacity of water desalination infrastructure and for better management and distribution of water resources. This dissertation introduces a systems approach to the optimization of macroscopic water desalination and distribution networks to tackle three problems: 1. Optimal design of desalination and allocation networks for a given demand, 2. Optimal operation of an existing infrastructure of water desalination, distribution, and storage, 3.Optimal planning for expanding the capacity of desalination plants to meet an increasing water demand over a time horizon. A source-interception-sink representation was developed to embed potential configurations of interest. Mathematical programming was used to model the problem by studying different objective functions while accounting for constraints the supply, demand, mass conservation, technical performance, and economic aspects. Such approach determines the type of technologies to be selected, the location and capacity of the desalination plants, and the distribution of the desalinated water from sources to destinations. For the operation and planning problems, the planning horizon was discretized into periods and a multi-period optimization approach was adopted with decisions made for each period. Short- and long-term water storage options (e.g., in storage tanks, aquifers) were included in the optimization approach. Water recycle/reuse was enhanced via the use of treated water and its utilization was improved by minimizing the losses observed in discharged water resulting from the linkage of power plants and thermal desalination plants and the lack of integration between water production and consumption. Several case studies were solved to demonstrate the applicability of the devised approaches.Item Access to water and sanitation in Atlantic Nicaragua(2011-05) Gordon, Edmund Wyatt; Hooker, Juliet; Dorn, EdwinAfro-descendant communities in Central America have recently made important legal strides by enshrining their right to equal treatment under the law and in some cases their ability to claim a distinct group status in national constitutions. The United Nations recently issued a draft resolution declaring that access to water and sanitation is a universal right, furthering the tools available to marginalized afro-descendant peoples in their battles against poverty and underdevelopment. Unfortunately, implementation of these measures has been slow in some areas and non-existent in others. Though there have been some advances, the situation for Afro-descendant communities remains largely unchanged and the availability of the basic requirements of life for Afro-descendant populations remains among the lowest in the region. Increased attention to the political, social, and especially the material situation of Afro-descendant communities is needed in political circles, as well as in the academic community. There is a lack of scholarly work on the material well-being of Afro-descendent populations in Central America. An important initial contribution in this area would be the compilation, and accumulation of statistical information as a primary step in developing the literature. The focus of this study then is on the Atlantic Coast Afro-descendant populations in Nicaragua. This document will outline the current material circumstances of Nicaraguan Afro-descendant communities using data gathered from a variety of sources, identify the causes of inadequate access to water and sanitation, and suggest strategies to improve the situation of these communities. It is my sincere hope that, at the very least, increased attention will be brought to the situation.Item The adaptive reuse of an architectural artifact : Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital(2007-05) Janusz, Andrea Lynn; Holleran, MichaelThe idea of preservation is fast becoming synonymous with sustainability and more precisely how existing structures can serve a new function through adaptive reuse. This thesis discusses how obsolete insane asylums from the nineteenth century known as Kirkbride asylums can serve a new function while at the same time overcoming the negative stigma that naturally resonates from pop culture to the controversial history within the field of psychiatry. The philosophy of moral treatment that were principle to the design of these institutions such as serene setting and natural light and ventilation are paramount in fulfilling the needs of today's society in the hopes of combating suburban sprawl. Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital will serve as a case study to outline this potential.Item An Analysis of Relationships between the Green Building Certification System for Multi-family Housing (GBCS-MF) Scores and Resident Perception Ratings in Korea(2013-12-06) Lee, Joo HyunThis dissertation investigates the relationships between the scores of the Green Building Certification System for Multifamily Housing (GBCS-MF) and resident perception ratings in South Korea. Sustainability has become important in architecture. Several building environmental assessments systems have been developed and used to promote sustainable developments in different parts of the world. The existing building environmental assessment systems have contributed to an understanding of building related environmental issues. However, the current systems only predict building features and performance in terms of interest to professionals. The systems do not recognize the users of buildings assessed by such systems. More research is needed to understand the users? points of view and to identify effective interventions for the current systems. To investigate the relationships between the GBCS-MF scores and resident perception ratings of building features designed to meet the GBCS-MF criteria, various sets of data were collected and analyzed, including the GBCS-MF score cards, resident surveys, and focus group interviews with professionals and residents. Results show that residents in the GBCS-MF apartments have low awareness of the system. There are differences between the presence of GBCS-MF features and resident perceptions of those features. Additional differences are found between the expectations of professionals and resident ratings on GBCS-MF features. As a result, promoting a dialogue between multiple stakeholders is important in developing meaningful developments for the systems? future. This research has answered a call to provide post-occupancy evaluations of building environmental assessment systems and has widened and deepened the field. Suggestions for future development imply that perspectives of different end users need to be examined from varied research angles and methodologies, including increasing the number of and diversifying research participants and buildings, such as facility management staff and non-GBCS-MF certified apartments. The present study is meaningful as a first time exploratory look at what a building environmental assessment system is like in Korea and how the system functions in that local setting.Item An examination of learning and application of sustainability principles in a collaborative setting(2013-05) Obeidat, Islam; Amor, Cherif; Pati, Debajyoti; Darwish, Mukaddes; Shin, Su-Jeong HwangABSTRACT In this global era, sustainability has become a wide-ranging term used in local and global scale and applied to almost every facet of life on earth. In academia, finding the appropriate means to learn and apply sustainability principles is a challenging educational task that lead to what is often called ‘sustainability gap’. In this study, students from architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture are taught sustainability principles in a collaboration studio course. The purpose of this study is: 1) to understand the gap between learning and application of sustainability principles in collaborative pedagogic settings, 2) to examine the association between collaborative pedagogic setting and students' predisposition to be environmentally responsible during learning and application of the sustainability principles, and 3) to explore whether the symbiosis between sustainability and collaboration might be associated with the students' perception of innovation in design. The objective of this study is to provide data that will help to bridge the gap between learning and application of sustainability principles. A review of literature relative to sustainability and collaboration was conducted. A qualitative (participants observation) and quantitative (survey/questionnaires) approaches used to collect data in this study. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, open coding, independent T-test, One-way ANOVA, and multiple comparison tests were used to analyze the data. The findings show that collaboration between design and allied disciplines might facilitate learning and application of sustainability principles. Similarly, collaborative settings help students to understand the predisposition of being pro-environmentally responsive and their perception of the innovation in design. Finally, collaborative pedagogy has facilitated the conspicuous the identification of the gaps relative to learning and application of sustainability principles.Item The architectural imperative : a dual history of sustainability and informal housing within architectural discourse(2011-05) Taylor, Christine Lynn; Lara, Fernando Luiz; Long, ChristopherThis study is an initial attempt to assemble a dual history of the topics of informal settlements and sustainability within architectural discourse over the past fifty years. During the 1960s and 1970s, architecture adopted a renewed sense of social immediacy, which increased the study into informal and slum settlements, as well as a burgeoning concern of its own ecological impact, which encouraged investigation into sustainable design. While these interests all but disappeared amidst the artistic and political climate of the 1980s, they have again become relevant to architectural discourse, albeit as separate entities. The aim of this study is to unite these two discussions within architecture so that they may together become more potent.Item Back to the garden : promoting sustainable communities by incorporating community gardens into city planning processes(2009-05) Dalrymple, Heather Elizabeth; Oden, MichaelCity leaders and residents are increasingly considering the need to address urban food provision. Community gardens are one aspect of the urban food system that is seeing a resurgence of popularity and support. Although not intended to replace market-based food streams or the federal food safety net, these gardens can provide many benefits to their communities besides increased food security and access to fresh produce. They can encourage community development, especially in struggling areas, by serving as tools for addressing community issues. Because they are effective uses of open space, cities should consider supporting the development of community gardens. Along with a literature review to show the potential benefits of community gardens, this report uses case study research to show the adaptability of community gardens in meeting communities’ diverse needs. Cleveland, Ohio and San Francisco, California were selected to show how community garden provision is addressed in two greatly differing cities. They provide examples of how community gardens can succeed in many types of urban environments.Item Becoming sustainable : creating urban affordable housing in Phoenix, AZ(2013-08) Fonstad, Hannah Marie; Mueller, Elizabeth J.The population of Arizona has increased rapidly in the past two decades and faces an extreme shortage of urban affordable housing to accommodate for this population growth. There are several challenges facing the implementation of affordable housing in Downtown Phoenix including low-density development, high land costs, transportation issues, the current property tax structure, and infrastructure and environmental concerns. The City of Phoenix lacks the necessary policies and programs to encourage sustainable high-density development within the urban area. There are a large number of vacant parcels in the City which have either been passed over by previous development projects, or land which remains to be used from the demolition of older buildings. With the growing need for affordable housing, it is necessary to explore the opportunity to use the vacant land within the City of Phoenix for high-density infill development to include affordable housing. How can affordable housing contribute to making Phoenix a more sustainable city? High-density development creates affordability by increasing the number of housing units available in a given area. High-density is a necessary element in the transformation towards a more sustainable city not only by increasing affordability but also in connection with access to transportation and employment and efficient use of existing infrastructure. The opportunity for an increase in affordable housing within the larger sustainable development goals of urban Phoenix creates the need for an exploration of the relationship between high-density infill housing development and sustainability.Item Bicycling toward sustainability : built environment and policy recommendations to grow the mode share at UT Austin(2016-08) Lofton, Zachary Tyler; Jiao, Junfeng; Zhang, MingDespite significant progress in prioritizing sustainability goals on campus, the University of Texas at Austin is finding it increasingly difficult each semester to ensure its transportation system is efficient and thriving in a sustainable way. In light of this, I have conducted a research project that sought to evaluate the state of the bicycling community on campus and developed recommendations to benefit bicycling and sustainability. This topic is important because transportation is a significant factor in determining a community’s overall sustainability. For this study, I carried out my work in three activity phases. In Phase I, I evaluated the current bicycle infrastructure, policies, and facilities on campus. Phase II involved conducting research on actual bike commuting traffic through surveys, manual bicyclist counting, pressurized tube counters, and a smart phone application in order to gain deeper understanding of usage and preferences for bicyclists on campus. Phase III entailed the analysis of Phase I and Phase II results to compose recommendations for specific actions to increase bike-commuting rates on campus through safe and efficient means. My main findings in this study are that there are many factors influencing peoples’ decisions to ride bikes to campus, and for the University to significantly grow the bicycle mode share and therefore benefit sustainability, a multi-pronged “carrot and stick” approach should be leveraged and tailored specifically to the community context and the core of the campus.Item Campus on two wheels : increasing bicycle mode share on the UT-Austin campus(2012-08) Rosenbarger, Elizabeth Mae; Dooling, Sarah; Machemehl, Randy B.This research report examines infrastructure strategies to increase the bicycle commute mode share. By analyzing existing conditions and results from on-campus participatory events, recommendations to improve and increase bicycling at the University of Texas at Austin campus are proposed. This report includes a literature review of sustainable transportation and university campuses, bicycle infrastructure best practices, bicyclist route preferences, evaluations of bicycle infrastructure, the role of bicycling in past master plans at the UT-Austin campus, and bicycling in other university’s plans. Existing conditions analyze the characteristics of streets in and around campus and data from the Bike-UT survey is discussed. Participatory research events are described and their findings analyzed to better understand how current bicyclists perceive spaces on campus and make their route choices. Finally, considering best practices, existing conditions, and findings from campus research events, recommendations are proposed to increase the bicycle mode share on the UT-Austin campus.Item The city of living garbage : improvisational ecologies of Austin, Texas(2010-05) Webel, Scott Michael; Stewart, Kathleen, 1953-; Ali, Kamran A.; Hartigan, John; Davis, Janet M.; Stone, Allucqu�re R.“The city of living garbage” tours private houses in Austin transformed by their inhabitants into quasi-public places – art environments and permaculture systems made possible by urban waste. The creators of these micro-utopias collect and improvise with salvaged materials like roadside junk, greywater, unwanted animals, and half-forgotten cultural forms to cultivate habitats where undervalued things flourish. They revalue waste through a variety of practices like caring for, teaching, learning, enjoying, and tinkering. Becoming part of these relational patterns is a way to slow down and find wonder and pleasure in the ordinary, but also to act on ecological problems in the larger world. The landscape patches that emerge are lively but vulnerable assemblages that artists, activists, and their nonhuman allies belong to as local characters. By being open for tours, the places loosely connect publics that share modes of attention set on urban natures, salvageable garbage, and vernacular aesthetics. These informal institutions, non-profits, and vulnerable for-profit businesses are caught up in Austin’s current sustainable and cultural development strategies, but also share in an informal economy through their use of valueless wastes. Some articulate with contemporary localization movements that seek to reconfigure water, food, and energy production to decrease their precarious dependence on globalized economies. Others refuse the boundary between art and everyday life by recasting houses as never-ending aesthetic projects. Similarly, as wildlife habitats and urban gardens, they are thriving examples of cultivated places that disrupt an assumed antithesis between cities and ecosystems. These embodied critiques or dreams are small-scale manifestations of what urban natures might become. Borrowing from Deleuze & Guattari, Haraway, Latour, and Thrift, I attend to these places’ ecological and aesthetic relational dynamics that communicate directly through bodies, senses, and forms. This non-representational approach recognizes the contributions of nonhuman agents like plants, animals, microbes, and machines in composing affective landscapes. The writing strives to be a mode of research that is isomorphic with the phenomena it describes. It is impelled by a love of the places, people, and beings it researches; it aspires to preserve a little bit of them by redoubling their presence in the world.Item Climate action strategies for the University of Texas at Austin(2010-05) Hernandez, Marinoelle; Eaton, David J.; Walker, Jim H.This report analyzes the current greenhouse gas emissions inventory for The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin), reviews the carbon reduction strategies being implemented at UT-Austin and other peer institutions, and offers recommendations for strategies that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions at UT-Austin in the future.Item Community-based agriculture and the implications for Central Texas(2012-05) Witter, Claire Elise; Dooling, Sarah; Almy, DeanDue to health and climate change concerns, there is growing interest in a shift away from large-scale agricultural production towards a more localized, organic methodology. These practices help to preserve local ecosystems and require less energy than conventional farming. With this trend, a new form of community development is emerging. Developments that incorporate agriculture are a form of conservation development and have been in existence in their latest form in the United States for the past ten years. Most of the examples are located in the northern, eastern and western United States, including Vermont, Virginia, Illinois, Utah and Georgia. Why has this type of development not yet appeared in Texas? The purpose of this research is to identify the motivations behind creating these developments and to describe how they function, to identify the challenges in the development review process and how they were negotiated, to present a set of issues and lessons learned from the case studies about what matters to the development of a successful case and determine how this applies to potential Texas development. Is this a more sustainable model for development, as opposed to the traditional method for greenfield development? The research is aimed ultimately at exploring this newer type of development, determining whether it is more sustainable than traditional greenfield development and to present a set of issues and lessons drawn from the cases about what matters to the development of a successful case.Item Comparison of LEED to Non-LEED Certified Hospitals with Regards to Patient Perspective and Financial Indicators(2012-10-19) Ulusoy, ErenAs natural resources are decreasing and environmental pollution is increasing, the buildings that play an important role in this problem should be constructed sustainably so their affects are kept to a minimum. Hospitals operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, therefore they are one of the largest energy consumers. Hence designers have started to design healthcare facilities according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria, believing that it will reduce waste production, energy consumption and increase patient satisfaction by creating brighter and less stressful facilities. To understand if the claims are correct or not, this thesis first studied the results of the patient survey, Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and System (HCAHPS), undertaken at most of the hospitals in the U.S., and compares the results to LEED and non-LEED certified hospitals. To find answers for the claims related to the financial benefits, this thesis compared three financial indicators; cost of operation of plant, profitability, and inpatient revenue. In the cases where there is a large enough sample size, a t-test is used to compare two groups, however when the sample size was not large enough, two groups are compared based on their means. For the cost of operation of plant and profitability, non-LEED certified hospitals are performing better. However, the patient satisfaction and inpatient revenues are significantly higher at the LEED-certified hospitals.Item Computer tools for designing self-sufficient military base camps(2012-08) Putnam, Nathan Hassan; Seepersad, Carolyn C.; Webber, Michael E., 1971-; Campbell, Matthew; Morton, David; Novoselac, AtilaMilitary Forward Operating Base Camps (FOBs) support and enable sustained military operations abroad by providing safe locations for soldiers and supporting contractors to eat, sleep, and maintain personal hygiene. FOBs need some amount of energy and water to provide these services but are often located in austere environments that do not have access to grid utilities. Off-grid FOBs are not self-sufficient; they are dependent on supply chains for the services they provide to camp occupants. The challenge of supplying FOBs with fuel and water and removing waste (resource resupply and waste removal comprise logistical requirements) is associated with very high human, monetary, strategic, and environmental costs. There are many research efforts across the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) that seek to reduce FOB logistical requirements, but it is currently very difficult to identify the research efforts that are most beneficial to DoD goals. There are also many factors that make designing FOBs to be more self-sufficient challenging including varying missions, environments, and legacy equipment at currently-fielded FOBs, a lack of baseline data on FOB logistical requirements, an unclear relationship between design changes and resource use behavior, and an unclear valuation of saved resources. This research seeks to develop computer tools and contribute to a methodology that can be used to design FOBs that are more self-sufficient. More self-sufficient FOBs provide high quality services to occupants but do so with mitigated logistical requirements. To this end, a detailed computer model of specific type of FOB (a single 150-person Force Provider module) is developed, and baseline levels of resource requirements are established. Potentially resource-saving devices and other design changes are incorporated into the FOB model and simulated to assess each design change's effect on resource use and waste production. Then, estimated resource savings are weighed against required investment for each design change to arrive at design recommendations. The results of this research effort are specific design recommendations for making the Force Provider system more self-sufficient, as well as computer tools and a methodology that are applicable to other off-grid habitation redesign problems.Item Conservation developments : transitions toward sustainable landscapes and societies(2006-05) Pieranunzi, Danielle Deborah; Moore, Steven A., 1945-Current growth trends make development of greenfields almost inevitable. It is this space, between individual building design and city planning, where much change has occurred in the American landscape and as a result, American culture. Alternatives to the conventional subdivision pattern do exist although these practices have yet to become common among building and development communities, planners or the general public. Similar to the term sustainability, "conservation development" has many interpretations, yet typically it is described as a development that preserves a considerable amount of buildable land as open space which links to an interconnected network of protected lands. In this study, I will examine the discourse on conservation design in terms of four working examples of conservation development and relevant literature. To understand the political, cultural, economic and ecological variables at play in development, I will investigate the different scales of these cases: the building, the development as a whole and its relation to the region. The emphasis on social discourse will reveal values held by the core participants involved in each conservation development. The criteria set by the participants and the practices they emphasize during the development process are recognized as stories within narratives, and together they point toward a desired outcome or, in other words, unique narratives when employed in a particular place. This study will assess first, the degree to which the selected conservation developments are functioning ecosystems and satisfying communities, and second, if they suggest coherent measurable criteria for conservation development.Item Conservation engineering and agricultural terracing in Tlaxcala, Mexico(2014-05) LaFevor, Matthew Cole; Doolittle, William EmeryThis research examines the practice of hillslope terracing in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico. It explores how one popular terrace form, zanja-bordo (ditch-and-border) terraces, is employed in two distinct, though sometimes related contexts: (1) producing crops (agriculture) and (2) protecting natural resources (conservation). It first traces the use of zanja-bordo terraces in traditional agriculture in the region, highlighting some of the major elements of their form and function, issues surrounding their antiquity, and their possible role in the landscape degradation so prevalent in the region today. Moving from this agricultural context, the dissertation next examines the role of zanja-bordo terraces in landscape restoration efforts in Tlaxcala. It demonstrates the key role that active and prolonged maintenance plays in long-term efforts to restore previously degraded farmland back to productive capacity. The dissertation then examines more broadly how government programs to promote zanja-bordo terracing in the region impact farmers, whose ancestors have been building zanja-bordo terraces for centuries. Findings from the collection, synthesis, analysis, and groundtruthing of written data on governmental terracing projects in the state reveal that while perhaps well intentioned, these programs did little to promote sustainable agricultural development or environmental conservation in the region. Finally, the dissertation moves above the 3,000-meter mark to examine the relatively recent phenomenon of high-elevation terracing in Mexico's national parks. Conceived as a means of erosion mitigation, water conservation, reforestation, and even fire suppression, government agencies now construct zanja-bordo terraces throughout the understory of many of Mexico's subalpine forests. A case study of the la Malinche (Malintzi or Matlalcueyatl) National Protected Area illustrates some of the difficulties in examining each of the claimed benefits of terracing in these environments. Whether for agriculture or restoration, as a techno-developmental strategy, or as a tool for soil and water conservation, zanja-bordo terraces are shown to be an adaptable and effective hillslope management technology. This dissertation demonstrates, however, that successful adaptation and implementation of zanja-bordo technologies into different contexts largely depends on the effective planning, monitoring, and maintenance of terrace structures and processes. Ultimately, the sustainability of zanja-bordo terracing relates more to issues of contextualization and human motivation than to questions of technological innovation.Item Defining sustainability in transportation : an effort to strengthen MAP-21(2013-05) Tinjum, Aaron Jacob; Boske, Leigh B.The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies identifies nine current and critical issues facing the United States transportation sector: congestion, environmental preservation, deteriorating infrastructure, inadequate funding, social equity issues, susceptibility to natural disasters, insufficient safety improvements, outdated government institutions and a lack of investment in innovation. All of these issues directly threaten the sustainability of transportation in the United States. While numerous transportation stakeholders have presented definitions of sustainable transportation, there is significant variation and disagreement over what sustainability actually means in transportation. The absence of a coherent, universal definition has undermined the overall effectiveness of transportation plans, policies and programs, including the current federal highway authorization, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) as well as the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program. Through examining the definitions of sustainable transportation put forth by the European Union, Transport Canada, the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities and various state departments of transportation (DOTs), this report seeks to establish a clear definition of sustainable transportation, adopt applicable sustainable transportation indicators and offer meaningful recommendations that help strengthen the overall sustainability of MAP-21 and the CMAQ program.Item Design : a tool for transformation(2009) Ferguson, Beth Jean; Catterall, KateMy graduate research has been focused on testing how visual communication in the form of three-dimensional polemic works can become a tool for effecting social change. The change I am interested in relates to the global energy crisis, and resolving imminent transportation and associated ecological problems by promoting the use of electric vehicles. The main focus of my work has been the use of a strategy that is best described as the transformation of old and iconic artifacts in order to communicate complex new ideas. The main project that I will use to discuss this strategy uses the form and implications of a 1950’s gas pump emblematic of the golden era of petroleum production and the heyday of the automobile as the lynchpin for a conversation with my audience. By tweaking the original meaning of the pump and by juxtaposing an image of gas guzzling vehicles with a proposal for sustainable electric powered vehicles I have created a public dialogue about the current energy crisis and a compelling argument to support the move towards alternate fuels. This 3-D design intervention in public space has proven to be an effective way to, convey a socio-political message, more effective than any poster because it is a functional element which is both warmly received because it hits home an idea in a positive, even humorous way and elicits an emotional response from the viewer. The station not only charges electric vehicles and encourages the public to test ride them, it allows people to re-envision mobility through experience, become involved and take action.