Kariakoo Market Design: Smart Food Systems
Student Name: Sohini Bhatia
Project Advisor: Naomi Darling
As of 2020, Eastern Africa has faced a food insecurity crisis affecting millions of people due to factors such as economic instability, high food prices, and climate change. Tanzania, in particular, has a large population that depends on smallholder farming, which faces challenges due to stagnant production, climate change, and limited access to food by marginalized families. The recent fire that destroyed the Kariakoo Market, the largest and busiest market - and one of the biggest retail spaces for fresh produce - in Dar es Salaam, has highlighted the need for innovative approaches to urban agriculture that can ensure food security and sustainability.
This project proposes a market redevelopment design that incorporates hydroponics and circular food economy principles, using Harvest, a plugin for urban food production simulations. The aim is to explore viable options for controlled environment agriculture in urban spaces in Tanzania, estimate the time required to create climate-smart agriculture and ensure food and nutrition security while reducing emissions and improving economic viability. The study builds on the growing trend of urban agricultural systems that have made a difference in how food systems are approached globally, including highly technical installations that are environmentally friendly and result in a high yield (Benis, and Ferrão). The project aims to contribute to the creation of more resilient and sustainable food systems in Tanzania and potentially beyond.
References
Benis, Khadija, and Paulo Ferrão. "Commercial Farming Within The Urban Built Environment – Taking Stock Of An Evolving Field In Northern Countries". Global Food Security, vol 17, 2018, pp. 30-37. Elsevier BV, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2018.03.005.

Biking San Juan: Creating a Resilient and Livable Community Through Bike Infrastructure
Student name: Addi Kessler
Project Advisor: Naomi Darling
My thesis targets the rural and urban planning of San Juan Island and strives to provide a set of design strategies and proposals to equip the island with bike infrastructure. San Juan Island, which is nestled in the northwestern corner of Washington State and is only accessible by ferry from the mainland, is a major tourist attraction. The island is home to approximately 8,000 year-round residents. The summer population spikes to 20,000 with seasonal residents and visitors. Of these visitors, a significant amount travel via bicycle to tour the island and take in the scenery. However, San Juan Island has virtually no bike lanes which means drivers and riders are forced to share rural roads with cars driving up to 45 mph.
I grew up on San Juan Island, and I have always been complacent to the fact that the island and our town, Friday Harbor, do not accommodate bikes, because this is the model I have seen across the United States. However, after studying abroad in Copenhagen and spending six months riding around an urban setting designed from its core for bikers, my perspective on what a community can and should provide for all non-car-drivers has shifted drastically. Bike lanes can be integrated seamlessly into an urban fabric, and most importantly this makes biking enjoyable and accessible for all community members. My goal is to take the strategies and design practices I have experienced in Denmark and use them to shift my towns emphasis from the ease of cars to the user experience of walkers and bikers. These two modes of transportation create human experiences that connect us with our surroundings in an intimate and environmentally conscious manner.

The Integration of Net Zero and Vernacular Vietnamese Architecture
Student Name: Linh Mai
Project Advisor: Naomi Darling
Rapid urbanization and globalization have brought about cultural erosion in Vietnam reflected in International Style buildings that dominate today's skyline. On top of that, global warming and the negative consequences of human dependence on fossil fuels have aggravated the rising sea level and air and water pollution, which heavily affects the South of Vietnam, particularly Ho Chi Minh City, the economic center of Vietnam.
Recently, in COP 27, Vietnam reaffirmed its commitment to net zero by 2050, as initially declared in COP 26, making great strides and investments in the green building sectors. However, Vietnam has no pilot net zero building projects, specifically in the residential area. Buildings are responsible for over 30% of the city’s total energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, new-built buildings are high in embodied energy and embodied carbon. Net zero designs, which produce as much energy as they consume, can reduce fossil fuel-reliant energy and promote the implementation of renewable energy. Regarding materials, building methods, and passive design strategies, Vietnamese vernacular architecture is an excellent example of low embodied energy. Thus, the widespread implementation of net zero designs with vernacular architecture attributes will reduce the energy consumption of the building sector and the embodied carbon and energy during the construction process. My thesis focuses on the revitalization of Vietnamese traditional culture and the application of the environmental principles developed by our ancestors in combination with modern net-zero design strategies to optimize the sustainability of building designs. The product of my thesis is a mid-rise, mixed-use net-zero residential development located in Thu Duc City, a municipal city under the administration of Ho Chi Minh City. Thu Duc City is currently under development to become the city's new financial and technological center.
This thesis is a design guide to how Vietnam can move forward with its net zero goal by 2050 and minimize the environmental impacts caused by the building sector while prioritizing the health of Vietnamese people.

Exploring the Self: Reconstruct the Past and Imagine the Future
Student name: Qingyang Wei
Project advisor: Lisa Iglesias
My artworks reflect my identity expression based on a range of cultural norms that I have experienced in my life. Through my studio practice, I express my autonomy and rebel against the patriarchal social expectations regarding how I am supposed to think or behave. I implement cultural change by sharing my personal worldview through my artworks as I reach toward reconciliation within myself.
Inspired by contemporary female artists from China and the United States, I remix my autobiographical experiences with Chinese ideologies and folk tales, and western contemporary feminist literature. The resulting images are featured in a series of charcoal drawings and acrylic paintings, where the former is influenced by traditional Chinese landscape paintings and Daoist beliefs about nature and humans, and the latter features expressive brushstrokes inspired by western ideas about automatic drawings revealing subconscious thoughts. Ultimately, these two approaches are fused into a double-sided artwork: the charcoal drawings are attached to the back of the acrylic paintings on stretched canvas, demonstrating the inseparable and mutually-inclusive nature of the impact of the two cultures that affect my artistic expression and personality.
My thesis project is a visual interpretation of feminism and feminist cultural productions, where I articulate my own complexity as an independent human being, ultimately proclaiming self-autonomy and emancipation through a series of expressive paintings.