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From For To With: Towards an Allographic Approach in Architecture
No full textAlthough transformations to buildings are inevitable, architecture often aims to achieve idealized, finalized artifacts that refute the passage of time. This professional bias towards temporality – or the problem of permanence – creates and perpetuates non-reciprocal relationships between architects, users, and the built environment that often results in the exploitation and alienation of the people the discipline attempts to serve. By examining architecture's failure to account for diverse temporalities, this research sheds light on the ways in which architects overlook their potential to cultivate meaningful social interactions with the built environment. The architect’s role, therefore, needs to be redefined as a translator of collective desires and needs, as a designer of structures that promote agency and empower individuals to engage with their environments. This paradigm shift implies an inquiry into the architect’s conventional design apparatus and the expansion of its scope to include tools that embrace temporality and contingency as key variables.
The thesis proposes a shift in focus from the production of artifacts to the design of architectural scores inspired by allographic arts. Allographic thinking shifts the emphasis from end product to process; forcing a renegotiation of author-designer / performer-user relationships, focusing on affordances and obstacles, favoring user agency, and embracing contingency.
The context of the Habitations Jeanne-Mance, a post-war social housing in Montréal, acts as a case study for an exploration of the disciplinary problems of permanence, alienation, and non-reciprocity, as well as the testing ground for a speculative design intervention that integrates allographic thinking into architecture to create a system that promotes user participation, indeterminacy, and reciprocal relationships between residents and their built environment
Queer Arrival: Uncovering the Spatial Narratives of QTPOC Newcomers in Toronto
No full textToronto’s urban landscape is continuously shaped by immigrants, queer, and marginalized communities. Historically, immigrants have established ethnic “Arrival Cities” to foster mutual support, and queer communities have carved out queer spaces like the Church-Wellesley Village to cultivate safety, belonging, and visibility. Positioned at the intersectionality of marginalized identities, Queer and Trans People of Colour (QTPOC) newcomers are also actively contributing to the evolution of the urban landscape, giving rise to a new spatial typology – the “Queer Arrival City”.
Existing research on Arrival Cities and queer enclaves remains constrained within narrow conceptual boundaries, overlooking the broader spectrum of urban arrival. Arrival Cities are typically examined through an ethnic minority lens, focusing on neighbourhood dynamics, while queer enclaves are studied predominantly from a white, middle-class gay male perspective. These approaches neglect the intersectionality of race, gender, sexuality, and class in the production of diasporic spaces, leaving QTPOC newcomers underrepresented in both academic and public spheres.
This thesis addresses these gaps by uncovering the spatial narratives of Toronto’s QTPOC newcomers in constructing their “Queer Arrival City”. It specifically examines how QTPOC newcomers navigate Toronto’s built environment and the role of the Church-Wellesley Village in their migration. Furthermore, it explores the design of a public space that materializes QTPOC newcomers’ spatial narratives as a place of belonging and visibility.
This research employs a Queer of Colour Methodology (QOCM) integrated with Participatory Action Research (PAR) to foreground intersectionality and actively engage QTPOC newcomers in both the research and design process. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from three phases of community engagement - surveys, interviews, and focus groups, this thesis introduces the novel “Queer Arrival” framework, encompassing both infrastructural and individualized spatial typologies, while articulating a collective “Queer Diaspora Spatial Consciousness” in inhabiting public space. The research culminates in a design proposal shaped by the active contribution and lived experiences of QTPOC newcomers.
Ultimately, by positioning QTPOC newcomers as the primary holders of knowledge production, this thesis fosters an inclusive, community-driven research environment and design process, while prioritizing QTPOC newcomers’ empowerment and agency in shaping their future built environment
Assessing Critical Metal Incorporation in Ca-Carbonate Minerals using Cyanobacteria: Application to Mine Site Environments
No full textMeeting the current global market demand for critical metals will require an increase in the number of mining operations in Canada. While mining will generate mine tailings, which can be an environmental concern, tailings also present an opportunity for carbon sequestration and metal recovery. Carbon sequestration in mine tailings can be implemented by using divalent cations from the tailings to form stable carbonate minerals. Ultramafic mine tailings typically contain an abundance of divalent cations, including various transition metals, that can be incorporated into carbonate minerals. During this process, critical metal enrichments are possible, and thus tailings may become valuable sources of metals as high-grade ore deposits continually become less accessible for mining. Microorganisms, including cyanobacteria, can contribute to carbonate mineral precipitation, however, this process is understudied with respect to transition metal incorporation into biogenic carbonate minerals. This thesis explores the application of these processes to ultramafic mine sites through two laboratory experiments using a pure culture of cyanobacteria, . In the first experiment, a biosorption study explores the metal sorption abilities of . in a nutrient limited environment. The second experiment examines the incorporation of transition metals into precipitates during microbial mineral carbonation.
In Chapter 2, the ability of . to remove Co²⁺ and Ni²⁺ from solution via biosorption in a nutrient limited environment what tested in a lab experiment. Comparison between nutrient enriched conditions and a nutrient deficient condition (simulating an ultramafic mine site solution) was conducted in mono-metal and di-metal systems. The results revealed that measured nickel and cobalt concentrations were lowest in the first 3 days of the experiment, which indicates a fast metal removal rate. The biosorption of nickel and cobalt was upwards of 34.2–49.4% removal of metal from solution. Imposing nutrient limitations caused increased production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which can increase metal sorption, and resulted in a decrease in measured nickel concentrations in solution in the di-metal system. The findings from this experiment indicate that inducing additional stress through metal exposure and nutrient limitations can increase the metal biosorption capacity of . .
In Chapter 3, a microbially induced carbonate precipitation experiment was conducted to test the incorporation of nickel and cobalt into biogenic calcium carbonate mineral precipitates. These results are preliminary due to an experimental failure that occurred. Nevertheless, the measured concentrations of dissolved cobalt and nickel in solution indicated metal(s) removal success of up to 89.5% and 94.5% in the first day after metal addition. Observation of the biofilms using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed nanometer-scale amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) precipitates. This preliminary result suggests that inducing calcium carbonate precipitation may remove dissolved metals solution.
The results from Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 together reveal that . can quickly remove metals from solution, which could be applied to both metal recovery and remediation projects. Data from this research could be applied to the development of photobioreactors at ultramafic mine sites. The outcomes suggest that inducing nutrient limitation can enhance metal removal by increasing metal binding through enhanced EPS production. The research presented in this thesis will contribute to the development of sustainable mine operations, with the aim of recovering metals from tailings, and lowering CO₂ emissions, thereby working towards net-neutral mining operations
A Stay in the Interchange: Regenerative Cohousing in the Greater Toronto Area
No full textSatellite cities built around the 1960s across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) represent the modernist belief in comprehensive architecture. The suburban arrangement of apartment towers, single-family bungalows, and warehouses – that once provided Toronto’s workforce population local access to affordable housing and stable employment – must now adapt to an ever expanding live-work pattern of a global city. Building on Koolhaas and Aureli’s theory of architectural congestion, the thesis reframes Toronto’s infill development of dense suburban homes not simply as isolated objects of market urbanism but more importantly as new pieces towards the possible intensification of pre-existing community relations, towards socioeconomic solidarity.
The thesis proposes a cohousing model to be situated alongside the many underused suburban malls within the GTA, using the sites’ potential as borderland between residential neighbourhoods and employment lands to rebuild new pathways for meaningful socioeconomic interaction. The design thesis relies on a two-part research process of 1) documenting the past – through census data, Google Maps Street View images, and a collection of journal photos that captures everyday suburban social life and 2) reimagining the future – through diagram analysis of analogous projects of urban morphology (Chapter 2) and building typology (Chapter 3) that captures the potential of urban redevelopment to preserve and/or heighten workforce population’s perception of community belonging. The contemporary issue of constant migration-and-outmigration in the GTA due in part to housing unaffordability is tackled in the thesis through cohousing homeownership, with the understanding that a singular architectural response to the concept of housing security – between home and migration, between permanence and transformation – is no final answer. But a key part in the on-going self-discovery of why we continuously decide to stay living-and-working within a specific community, to continuously participate in the political life of our chosen city, and on how the spirit of a comprehensive architecture can evolve in mediating this inner social desire
An Architecture of Happiness: Home in Harry Potter
No full textThis thesis seeks to explore the architectural value of fantasy spaces, their ability to create home places for their audience, and the design insights they offer to the discipline of architecture. Any home, whether imagined or physical, exists to evoke emotional comfort, human connection, and positive experiences, ideas which are central to the larger field of architecture and design. Fantasy worlds have often been overlooked by architectural scholars, despite that storyworlds have always created home refuges for their audience: freeing stifled imaginations, touching hearts and minds with deep emotion, and providing relief from real-world conflicts, agitation or boredom. This thesis begins to bridge the gap between architecture and fantasy worlds by evaluating the architectural setting in Harry Potter as a legitimate home place, one which can bring real emotional and psychological benefits to its dwellers. By investigating the use of narrative emotions and the imaginary construction of settings, the world of Harry Potter can reveal new design perspectives which evolve and broaden the potential of real-world architecture and home design
Numerical Evolution of Correlation Functions With Applications to Dynamically Localized Quantum Fields
No full textThis thesis presents two topics at the interface between computational physics and Quantum Field Theory (QFT). This first part of the thesis is a comprehensive study of a numerical evolution scheme for the correlation function of a scalar quantum field. In particular, it explores how one can numerically simulate a bi-scalar function that simultaneously satisfies a time dependent partial differential equation Partial Differential Equations (PDE) in two independent spacetime coordinates. We demonstrate an algorithm that is capable of performing time integration in two time coordinates and yielding convergent numerical results for not only the correlation function, but also for quantities of interest relating to the quantum field. Moreover, we demonstrate a number of methods that can be leveraged to optimize the speed along with the required memory of the algorithm.
The second part of this thesis is concerned with the effects of dynamically localizing the vacuum state of scalar quantum field in (1 + 1)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. Given recent develops in formulations to a measurement theory for quantum fields, localized field theories have emerged as a potential candidate in developing a relativistically consistent measurement theory. However, concerns have been raised regarding the use of these localized fields in realistic, experimental setups due to the fact that one must dynamically localize the field. The result of this localization would be a loss of purity in the experimentally accessible modes of the field, and thus would not be useful as a measurement device. Utilizing the methods presented in the first part of this thesis, we study the effect of localizing quantum field degrees of freedom by dynamically growing cavity walls through a time-dependent potential. We use our results to show that it is possible to do this without introducing non-negligible mixedness in localized modes of the field. We discuss how this addresses the concerns, raised in previous literature, that the high degree of entanglement of regular states in QFT may hinder relativistic quantum information protocols that make use of localized relativistic probes
Multi-Wavelength in vivo Photon Absorption Remote Sensing: Towards Non-Contact Label-Free Functional Vascular Imaging
No full textBlood oxygen saturation (SO2) is an important functional metric in the diagnosis and monitoring of blinding eye diseases and cancer. Additionally, SO2 imaging has high value in illustrating changes in blood oxygenation within a vascular network, particularity when changes are demonstrated within the context of surrounding biological structures. This has promising potential to provide valuable information to researchers and clinicians on the mechanisms of disease progression and the efficacy of treatment.
Various techniques have been explored for SO2 imaging, however limitations of inaccuracy in measurement, a requirement of contact with the tissue and the reliance on exogenous labels have prevented the clinical adoption of these approaches. Photon absorption remote sensing (PARS) is a novel imaging technique that is label-free, non-contact and absorption-based. When a photon is absorbed by a biomolecule, energy can be released through radiative or non-radiative relaxation. Most imaging modalities are limited to capturing one form of relaxation contrast, however PARS is capable of capturing both simultaneously. The unique PARS approach has promising potential as an SO2 imaging modality. This thesis explores work which furthers efforts towards accurate, non-contact, label-free SO2 imaging using PARS.
First, system developments are implemented to demonstrate the first multi-wavelength in-vivo PARS system. The use of independent excitation paths, power compensation, and the improvement of the secondary excitation generation enables the reliable and consistent in-vivo multi-wavelength PARS imaging of chicken embryo vasculature. Additionally, the power compensation of incident excitation pulses is critical for quantitative SO2 measurements to ensure that measured SO2 is not impacted by power variations in the excitation source.
This is followed by the development of techniques for in-vitro phantom studies. A blood oxygenation and deoxygenation protocol is developed and tested, enabling the time-efficient and low-cost preparation of blood samples at various oxygenation levels. Additionally, a flow phantom is developed with a 50 micrometer channel which successfully enables PARS signal to be captured from blood in an in-vitro flow phantom. This experimental setup was unable to demonstrate a change in PARS signal across various blood samples at differing oxygenation levels. Simulation is used to demonstrate that the blood preparation and samples are not the cause of the unsuccessful result. This result is determined to be a consequence of the flow phantom design. The knowledge gained through the iterative design process provides valuable insight to guide future flow phantom developments.
Finally, in-vivo experimentation of the multi-wavelength PARS system successfully demonstrated the variation in blood oxygenation during the hypoxia and recovery of a chicken embryo. The hypoxia holder was designed to modulate the ambient oxygen inside the holder and induce states of hypoxia and recovery. This highlights the success of the PARS multi-wavelength system in demonstrating a relative change in SO2 in-vivo.
The presented work furthers efforts towards accurate, non-contact, label-free PARS SO2 imaging through the development of the first multi-wavelength in-vivo PARS system, in-vitro blood and flow phantom developments and the in-vivo demonstration of relative change in SO2 measured using PARS
Towards Humanoids Operating Mobility Devices Designed for Humans
No full textHumanoid robotics is advancing rapidly, with significant potential to address challenges in disaster recovery, manufacturing, and healthcare. Despite progress, current humanoid capabilities remain limited, particularly in terms of efficient mobility over long distances. Integrating humanoid robots with personal transporters (PTs) like Segways, offers a promising solution, enabling them to operate more efficiently in human-centric environments such as factories, malls, and airports. This approach not only preserves the humanoid's ability to navigate complex, uneven terrain with its legs but also enhances versatility, allowing for faster, more energy-efficient movement on flat surfaces.
This thesis explores methods for enabling bipedal humanoids to operate PTs, focusing on the REEM-C humanoid riding a Segway x2 SE. The research begins by analyzing human interactions with Segways to reverse-engineer their internal controllers, leading to a high-fidelity simulation model. This model informs the development of control algorithms for the REEM-C, enabling successful simulation-based demonstrations of humanoid-driven Segway motions, including translational, rotational, and mixed maneuvers. Building on this, balance stabilization strategies are devised for actuated balance boards, addressing both frontal and sagittal plane control through an integration of admittance control strategies.
A comprehensive analysis of bimanual manipulation is also conducted, emphasizing manipulability and stability within a constrained workspace. Using a combined manipulability-stability metric, collision-free bimanual trajectories are generated, demonstrating improved stability during dynamic tasks such as manipulating objects of varying shapes and masses. This analysis underpins the implementation of bimanual manipulation strategies needed for operating the Segway’s LeanSteer handlebar.
The final contribution consolidates all findings, presenting a whole-body control strategy that enables the REEM-C to ride a Segway safely and effectively. A stack-of-tasks quadratic program is utilized to ensure stability, balance, and bimanual control in dynamic conditions. Experimental validation demonstrates the feasibility of this approach, showcasing the REEM-C’s ability to operate a Segway under real-world conditions. This research provides a step towards more versatile and adaptable humanoid mobility solutions for everyday human environments
A Low-Cost Technique for improving Angular Scan Range of Phased Array Antennas
No full textWith the emergence of modern communication technologies, there has been an increasing
demand for faster and higher-quality communication, which necessitates higher bit
rates and, consequently, greater bandwidth. This shift has driven the adoption of higher
operational frequencies, such as millimeter-wave bands. For instance, 5G mobile communications
operate in the K band (18–27 GHz) and Ka band (27–40 GHz), while satellite
communications often use the Ku band (12–18 GHz) and Ka band. However, as the operational
frequency increases, path loss becomes significantly higher, requiring the use of
higher-gain antennas to compensate for this loss. A key drawback of using high-gain antennas,
such as parabolic reflectors, is the difficulty in steering the beam to cover a wider
angular range.
Phased array antennas provide an excellent solution as transmitting or receiving antennas
for that reason, as they provide a high gain with the ability to electronically steer
the beam to other directions by changing the progressive phase shift between the array
elements.
Designing a high-performance broadband phased array antenna with a wide angular
scanning range is challenging, as the antenna parameters are interrelated and require tradeoffs.
For example, increasing the distance between elements reduces mutual coupling and
increases the effective aperture of the array, thereby enhancing its gain. However, this also
causes grating lobes to appear at lower scan angles, thereby limiting the angular scanning
range. Additionally, a larger element spacing necessitates a wider electronic phase shift
range, requiring a more linear phase shifter with frequency, which complicates the design
of the feeding network.
The focus of this research is to investigate a low-cost approach to improving the angular
scanning range of phased array antennas through the use of a wide angle impedance
matching layer (WAIM), employing two techniques. First, A general analytical method is
provided to characterize the array’s scan impedance variation in the presence of nearby
reflecting surfaces, such as a ground plane or WAIM layers. Second, the generalized Smatrix
technique is used to model the array unit cell and transmission line (TL) models
for WAIM layers. The WAIM layer offers a low-cost, scalable solution to increase the angular
scanning range of phased array antennas without altering their lattice configuration
or feeding network. This makes it a modular solution, simpler than other techniques.
In this thesis, Both main WAIM modeling techniques are investigated, applied to different
array examples (slot and dipole arrays). Then, the GSM method is used to design
a fully dielectric WAIM laye
Dynamics of Golf Discs using Trajectory Experiments for Parameter Identification and Model Validation
No full textThe trajectories of flying discs are heavily affected by their aerodynamics and can vary greatly. The growing sport of disc golf takes advantage of these variations, offering seemingly endless disc designs to use in a round. Despite the increasing popularity of disc golf, most manufacturers lack a scientific approach to disc design and instead use subjective assessments and inconsistent disc rating systems to characterize disc performance. This leads to more guess work for players. This thesis addresses this issue by presenting a physics-based disc trajectory model optimized using experimental trajectory data, and by exploring the possibility for a standardized disc rating system.
A novel stereo-camera-based methodology was developed to capture three-dimensional initial conditions and trajectories of disc golf throws. This data was used to identify the aerodynamic coefficients of physics-based models. These models included six aerodynamic coefficients that depended on five independent variables. Disc wobble was included as a variable affecting the aerodynamic coefficients for the first time. Its effect on model performance was compared to simpler models, which excluded it. The models used various coefficient estimation methods for parameter identification, including polynomial functions and a recently proposed deep-learning approach. The deep-learning approach modelled some relationships with a neural network, which had the benefit of allowing the model to form the most appropriate relationships without relying on functional approximations. Polynomial functions were also used to augment a model that used coefficients previously determined from computational fluid dynamics. These approaches were validated using experimental trajectory data. The model using a mix of computational fluid dynamics data and polynomial functions showed significant improvement over the baseline computational fluid dynamics model. The complete polynomial approaches resulted in the best performing models and showed good agreement with the validation data. The neural network approaches mostly performed well, but could not beat the pure polynomial approaches. The incorporation of disc wobble as a variable affecting the aerodynamic coefficients showed a negligible improvement over the models that disregarded it. Further model improvement is unlikely without first addressing measurement errors in data collection, particularly pertaining to disc attitude, which is the disc plane's orientation relative to the global coordinate system.
The possibility of a trajectory-based test standard for discs was also explored, highlighting the need to carefully choose standardized initial conditions to evaluate disc trajectories with a wide range of flight characteristics. Possible approaches for quantifying flight numbers were also discussed. Considerations for disc mass, initial spin ratio, and air density were also highlighted as these factors were shown to affect disc flight and can have implications for a testing standard.
This research contributes to the growing work surrounding disc golf, by proposing a capture method for three-dimensional disc golf trajectories and validated physics-based disc trajectory models, and by exploring a standardized disc rating system. This work contributes to the understanding of disc behaviour for both manufacturers and players alike, and propels disc golf towards a more scientifically informed future