Papers by D. Jason Miller
Intersections Between the Academy and Practice, 2015
Against a geographically isolated and economically — if not culturally — impoverished backdrop, b... more Against a geographically isolated and economically — if not culturally — impoverished backdrop, brothers B.B. and D.D. Dougherty founded Watauga Academy, a forerunner of Appalachian State University, in 1899 to provide educational opportunity for the region. Its founding ethos reflected the character of its community: a self-reliant and self-sustaining institution with a pioneering and nimble spirit. From these humble beginnings, Appalachian State has emerged as a nationally-recognized regional university characterized by a commitment to sustainability and innovative education. It is an institution that appreciates a bootstrapping sensibility.
Applying Project Based Learning in an Undergraduate Design and Construction Program at Appalachian State University
Journal of Green Building, 2018
INTRODUCTION Project based learning (PBL) fully engages students in the subject area, promotes te... more INTRODUCTION Project based learning (PBL) fully engages students in the subject area, promotes teamwork, transdisciplinary collaboration, allows student teams to engage and solve community design problems and can ultimately lead to broader student worldviews. PBL, however, presents significant curricular challenges, including project definition and meaningful student assessment. The authors began the process of exploring PBL through a National Science Foundation Transformation Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (TUES) award. The program was piloted for two semesters under the TUES award and has now completed its eighth semester overall operating as a special curricular track in parallel with an existing, traditional curricular program in Building Science. With four years of dedicated PBL program experience to inform their efforts, the authors are currently reworking the existing Building Science program curriculum to fully integrate a PBL cap...
On the Trail: Field Documenting Built History
How might we understand better what it means to design and construct sustainably by exploring the... more How might we understand better what it means to design and construct sustainably by exploring the history and built legacy of structures on the Appalachian Trail? This paper uses the little bits of architecture known as shelters, or lean-tos, as an investigative lens to examine complex design and construction issues by scaling down the problem in order to scale up sustainable strategies. Research and in-field documentation of twenty shelters – nearly 10% of the shelter system – cataloged and evaluated a wide historical range of design values and construction techniques used along the Appalachian Trail since the 1920s. The resulting abbreviated structure reports survey the architectural elements, establish the socio-historical context, and examine the built significance of each shelter in the geographic study. The social, economic, and environmental impacts of buildings are increasingly-present considerations for both professionals and the public. Whether site analysis and site logistics, material selection and detailing, or passive design and behavioral design strategies, this paper considers what it means to design, and design with resilience in mind, when the site is remote, and when the only energy available to construct – or assemble – is human energy
BackPacked Architecture: The Appalachian Trail and Its "Primitive Huts
Journal of Appalachian Studies, 2015
An architectural study of the "primitive huts" found along the Appalachian Trail offers... more An architectural study of the "primitive huts" found along the Appalachian Trail offers an opportunity for insight into a bygone era in which social works projects—such as New Deal programs that formed the Civilian Conservation Corps—and the need for modest backcountry shelters helped construct the world’s most popular recreational footpath through the heart of Appalachia. Since its initial completion in 1937, the Appalachian Trail has been extensively relocated, rebuilt, and reallocated from private to publicly owned land. Anchoring this 2,100+-mile footpath is a network of approximately 250 trail shelters. These little bits of architecture represent an enduring conceptual, communal, and constructive by-product of a social experiment in regional development envisioned by Benton MacKaye, implemented by Myron Avery, and endlessly maintained by volunteers, hiking clubs, and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Yet precious little attention has been devoted to cataloging the ro...
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Papers by D. Jason Miller