Date of Submission
Spring 5-12-2026
Degree Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Architecture
Department
Architecture
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Ehsan Sheikholharam Mashhadi
Abstract
According to a 2018 survey of the United States, loneliness has reached generational highs, particularly among those who substitute social media for in-person social relationships — from dating to political engagement. Despite this knowledge, digital interaction continues to displace physical community. The root of this turn to the digital is the lack of adequate public spaces. This project investigates how the built environment can reclaim civic spaces by offering meaningful, in-person alternatives to digital interaction.
Drawing on Henri Lefebvre's Right to the City and Anthony Vidler's writing on occupied spaces, alongside an analysis of historical civic precedents, this research maps the recurring failures of past public initiatives and categorizes successful public spaces. This inquiry reveals that successful civic spaces must accommodate a spectrum of social sensibilities — from open forums for public debate to intimate settings for private conversation and spaces dedicated to self-directed learning in the public sphere.
The methodology was to identify four distinct spatial typologies, each facilitating discourse in its own way with a diverse range of participants. These typologies were then tested through central, linear, and radial organizational arrangements, examining how each configuration shapes the voids and social opportunities that emerge between them.
Yet space alone is insufficient. Many well-intentioned public spaces fail due to hostile architecture, transactional experiences, and hyper-surveillance — conditions that discourage lingering and suppress open engagement. This project navigates these pitfalls, ensuring that the resulting spaces foster discussion and occupation without invoking fear or exclusion.
By juxtaposing these historical typologies and filtering them through the specific needs of contemporary life, this results in a new civic space, one oriented around conversation, reclamation, and belonging. Rather than replicating the detachment of online platforms, this project responds directly to a widespread hunger for genuine connection and renewed participation in public life.