ADM: Architecural database management
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Abstract
To complete a Post-Professional degree in Architecture, with a concentration in Historic Preservation, a prototype architectural reference database will be created for the thesis. Using Microsoft Visual FoxPro 5, an architectural reference database will operate as an independent software program. To illustrate the database's functionality and usability, the input data will compare Dutch/Flemish architectural styles and construction methods in Amsterdam and New England between 1600 and 1800. The thesis will include a written portion, an illustrated glossary of terms, and photographs of selected examples of styles. This type of project is necessary because the existing architectural data are not standardized and contradictions often occur. The primary problem with the architectural record is that it is a built record. The normal passage of time exposes the structure to degradation due to environmental effects, while understanding and knowledge about the structure are also left open to viewer interpretation. The written portion of the architectural record (i.e., histories, analyses, and descriptions) is a varied, widely dispersed, and a dynamic body of knowledge, thereby making data compilation difficult and ad hoc queries next to impossible. Few of the written records are comprehensive, even fewer include in-depth studies, and still fewer are electronic or computer oriented. To regulate this architectural evidence, a relational architectural reference database needs to be created. An Architectural Reference Database will be useful to anyone involved with or interested in architecture. Students studying architectural history will find it helpful in understanding how various architectural styles are related. Architectural historians and professors will use it as more comprehensive architectural textbook. Preservationists will be able to use the database in identifying and documenting structures. An Architectural Reference Database is a tool that needs to be created and provides appropriate demonstration of research skills to warrant a Post-Professional degree in Architecture, wuh a concentration in Historic Preservation.