ALFRED TO
architecture portfolio
HON CHIU ALFRED TO British Born Hong Kong, 1989 alfred0101@gmail.com (708) 804-1810 220 Triphammer Rd, #6 Ithaca, NY 14850
EDUCATION 2014-2015 CORNELL UNIVERSITY College of Architecture, Art, and Planning Master of Architecture II Candidate
EXPERIENCE 2008 FUJI XEROX HONG KONG Quality Department Graphic Design Intern
Activities US and Them Option Studio
Anger-Love Management presentation at 2014 Venice Biennale, led by Caroline O’Donnell & Michael Jefferson
2009-2014 ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY College of Architecture Bachelor of Architecture
Honors Magna Cum Laude, GPA 3.802 Activities Guest Interviews Student Representative Phyllis Lambert (2013) Herman Hertzberger (2014)
2000-2008 ST PAUL’S COLLEGE Secondary School
Activities Music Union
Chairman (2006-2007)
Senior Choir
Student Conductor (2006-2007)
AWARDS 2012 Edson and Fletta Danforth Memorial Scholarship Awarded 2010 Samuel Horwitz Memorial Scholarship Awarded 2011-2012 Samuel Horwitz Memorial Scholarship Nominated
SKILLS Rhinoceros Grasshopper Kangaroo Autodesk AutoCAD Autodesk 3Ds Max Autodesk Revit Adobe Illustrator Adobe Photoshop Adobe Premiere Pro Adobe InDesign
APPLICANT FOR POSITION IN ARCHITECTURE
CONTENT Overture
Platonic Coral
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Dictionary of Received Ideas*
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US Embassy Research
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US Embassy in Gaza
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Raw Nature, Cooked Nature Research*
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Florigami*
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Sympathy and Surface*
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An Artist’s Studio, Gallery, and Residence
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24/7 Embodied City
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Quadruplane
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Part One - Graduate work
An argumentative Prelude Venetian recitative Scherzo on a theme of vulgarity Interlude to an unfinished movement Étude in robotics Aria Part Two - Undergraduate work
Sonata in Mies major Toccata and Fugue in Five parts Coda
* group projects
Dictionary of Received Ideas
- The “Origami” revamping architectural cliché Instructor: Enrique Walker | Summer 14 Team: Snigdha Agarwal, Jianwu Han, Rodrigo Garcia Mora, Alfred To
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Received Idea Manual 1. Plan composition compose floor plans consist of triangles and trapezoids
The Dictionary of Received Ideas is a decade-long project that documents and interrogates “received ideas” - ideas depleted of their original intensity due to recurrent use. Like Gustave Flaubert’s unfinished work of the same title, the project began by exposing the fundamental elements that the cliche is comprised of, producing a “design manual” as a joke on the idea - in this case, “the origami”. The roots of this
2. Allowed geometries the more irregular the better
cliche can be traced back to FOA’s seminal project - Yokohama Terminal in Japan. However, through repeated copying, the original idea of smoothness forw connectivity has been reduced to mere aesthetics of faceted planes and continuous surfaces. The goal of this 2.5-week-long workshop was to
misuse the idea, forcibly reinvent a new meaning for an otherwise “bad” idea. The traditional method of “form follows function” is thus inverted - begin with
3. Assembling planes right angles are so 1950
a preconceived form, then post-rationalize the idea. Ultimately, it was a lesson on making conscious design decisions, to avoid falling into the trap of blind following.
θ ≠ 90 °
4. Circulation on steep surfaces
“Misusing” cliche
split diagonally, slightly shift to accomodate ramp/stairs
5. Surface treatments do not mask the crisp, sharp planes
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continuous surface
continuous path of activities
NYU Tisch School of the Arts 1
2
3
4
? ?
what if?
Problem: a school of “performing arts” that does not “perform”.
Continuous path of Activities
1. Foyer
The “creases” are imagined as paths, while surfaces are conceptualized as fields where activities take place. The building corner, then, becomes animated, showcasing its “performances” to the city.
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2. Crit Space
3. Theater / Cin
nema
4. Library / Media Lab
5. Leisure
“misused” cliche From a formal aesthetic to a means of encouraging social interactions, the project pays tribute to Herman Hertzberger’s philosophy of social architecture
continuous surface continuous path of activities The idea of smoothness as a formal aesthetic is reinterpreted as a strategy to create social interactions. Oversized landings of various uses
energize an otherwise mundane circulation path. The folding planes are deliberately shaped to encourage eye contacts across multiple floors. The necessity for an origami-aesthetic became secondary to the social performanceof the design
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US and Them
Anger-Love management - 2014 Venice Biennale
The main interest of the studio is the “architectural behaviors” inherited in US embassies around the world that constitute America’s national identity. The initial stage involved critical analyses of over 30 embassies through drawings and physical models. The behaviors are characterized as narcissism, fear, and empathy. They correspond to America’s history and development in foreign policies. The accumulated work, titled “AngerLove Management”, was presented at the US pavilion of the 2014 Venice Biennale.
US Embassy Research The Hague, Netherlands
inconsistency & order The facade of the US embassy in The Hague features a pattern that deforms as it stretches along the building. This model expresses such negotiation of maintaining an order and play of rhythm.
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half open constraining threads begin to affect overall pattern. A fabric is used as a metaphor here: fibers are woven together in a consistent way to create a homogenous surface. Yet, when exterior force is applied, the fabric deforms to react to the change, producing an irregular pattern.
closed “fabric� appears homogenous.
US Embassy Research Beijing, China
from symmetry to Miesian
Located in a newly developed district, the US embassy in Beijing strives to reinterpret traditional Chinese planning principles with a contemporary architecture style. The asymmetrical site plan is developed from two perpendicular axes for official and public uses.
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IIT Campus
Barcelona Pavilion
Chinese Quadrangle
The entering sequences and hierarchies of courtyards embody the characteristics of traditional Chinese quadrangles. The articulations of the buildings are reminiscent of Mies van der Rohe’s architecture, which flourished in America during mid-20th century. The door-like consular pavilion and the airy chancery building convey America’s ideals of openness and transparency.
US Embassy in Gaza A design study on America’s vulgarity Instructors: Caroline O’Donnell, Michael Jefferson | FW14
Subsequent to the initial research and presentation at the Venice Biennale, the studio drew inspiration from the behavioral characteristics of existing embassies, and produced a set of “group manifestos” that express America’s identity, and in this case, its vulgarity. The country’s most iconic places - Times Square, Las Vegas, or Disneyland are extremely commercial and vulgar, but no one can deny their popularity. Using the commercial aspect of Americanness as a trajectory, this project imagines that future embassy constructions will also have corporate sponsors; the building will serve as a billboard to promote American products and services.
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initial approach: eroding iconicity of logos through excessiveness
breakthrough: considering icons as figures that occupy a larger body
Rather than designing a canvas for holding logos, this project is a design of logos. The clash between the inherent ridiculousness of the concept, and the level of sophistication that an embassy building demands, ultimately created a productive prompt for design.
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2
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billboards are more than all right
sea
Gaza’s unique political situation and America’s foreign policy with Israel are an opportunity for America’s narcissism - a vulgar display of power at the city’s most prominent place is in fact empathetic rather than ostentatious.
ambassador’s office
consular office
biometrics
cashier +
| auditorium
tion
forma
ule | in
vestib
s
ed locker
automat
figures in body: By conceptualizing embassy programs as figures within a body (embassy), the main conceptual subject is no longer controlled by the preconceived logos.
site model: Embassy dominates the skyline of Gaza, engulfs the presence of the Palestinian Legislative Council building
Figures penetrate or morph into another. The act of “accumulation� becomes an image in itself
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figures in body: Chancery spaces composed of corporate logos occupy a larger body of generic embassy offices
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form catalog:
conclusion:
3-dimensional transformation of icons
Pop Art as an art form relies very little on the iconicity of every day objects - the subjects are interchangeable, the paintings gain meaning through the artists’ technique and intent. In the end, through accumulation and distortions, only the mere “shells” of the corporate logos remain, the spaces take on new purposes and aesthetics.
Raw Cooked
Nature
Initial stage: Geography & Ecology analyses
Instructor: Tao DuFour, Ph.D. | Ongoing Team: Lea Stagno , Alfred To
The studio problematizes the meaning of “ecology�, and frames it as an anthropological concept. The analysis stage deals with the intertwined relationships of the alluvial geography and the urban context of Porto Alegre, in the southermost state of Brazil.
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liquid earth - a dynamic system in flux
Rio Gravatai
Conflit in Use Pollution by Agriculture Pollution by Domestic Sewage Pollution by Industrial Effluent
Rio Sinos
Conflict in Use Pollution by Domestic Sewage Pollution by Industrial Effluent Pollution by Urbanization Deforestation Erosion by Urbanization
Rio Cai
Deforestation Pollution by Agriculture Disordered Mining
Rio Jacui
Decrease in Biodiversity Pollution by Agriculture Disordered Mining
Lago Guaiba
Pollution by Industrial Effluent Pollution by Domestic Sewage Pollution by Agriculture Disordered Mining Erosion by Urbanization
1979 - 2005
2005 - present
Discussion about a natural reserve began
Scope of state park established
Bill for creating the state park and surrounding protected area passed (law no. 12-371)
the ecological site, the first phase involved analyses of a governmental report produced by the State Secretary of the Environment (SEMA). The 1200-odd-page document covers the environmental conditions, flora and fauna, economy, and the bureaucratic history of the state park. Above is an evocative chart that visualizes graphically the evolution in time from ambiguous claims to laws regarding the creation of a natural reserve. The timeline also corresponds to Brazil’s political environment in history.
1989
2000
1985 1985 2015
1995
1994 1980
1980 1979 2010
1979
1975
1990 1976
1975
2005 1976 1989
2004
1970
1958 - 1979
To gain an understanding of the political background for
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1985
2002
2001
1965
1970 2000
1980
1979
1960
1965 1995
1975
1994 1976 1958
1960 1953 1990
1989
1970 1958
the stabilization of bureaucratic policies & formation of state park
Conflit in Use Pollution by Agriculture Pollution by Domestic Sewage Pollution by Industrial Effluent
Rio Sinos
Conflict in Use Pollution by Domestic Sewage Pollution by Industrial Effluent Pollution by Urbanization Deforestation Erosion by Urbanization
Rio Cai
Deforestation Pollution by Agriculture Disordered Mining
Rio Jacui
Decrease in Biodiversity Pollution by Agriculture Disordered Mining
Lago Guaiba
Pollution by Industrial Effluent Pollution by Domestic Sewage Pollution by Agriculture Disordered Mining Erosion by Urbanization
1995
2005
1965 1994 2004
2002
1990
2001
2015
1989 2000
1960
1958
1985
1995
2010
2005
2004
2002
1994
2001
2000
1953
1980
1995
1989 1979 1990
1976
1990
1994
Rio Gravatai
between land and water flux or edge?
This
series
of
diagrams
and
models
problematizes the conventional way of representing the edge between land and water as a hard line. The two conditions both shape each other simultaneously through the natural mechanism of erosion and deposition. This led to our hypothesis that pollutants from land in water will eventually find its way back to land, through surface runoffs, soil erosion, and deposition in the rivers. Despite the structural differences, the relationship of the two are extremely intertwined, as they are both part of the same system.
Above: A temporal, spatial condition in relation to a dynamic flow.
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zones
urban
industry
agriculture
Florigami Anti-static
Instructor: Martin Miller | FW14 Team: Savannah Chasing-Hawk, Irene Garcia-Saez, Alfred To The seminar is an investigation on kinetic systems that react to human occupancy, daylight, or sound. The project is spiritually related to an abandoned prototype of foldable solar panel module done in an IPRO seminar at IIT in 2013. At the time, the hinge mechanism was too weak for the application, but the solution for accomodating panel thicknesses is re-applied here. This prototype utilizes the principles of “rigid origami� to create an intricate movement that is driven simply by rotation and pulling.
above: florigami in action scan QR code to view https://youtu.be/cGqPa9lHmzI
left: A series of studies were done to investigate the reliability, tolerance, and stress behavior in rigid origami designs. The principles we learned were then applied to a radial, floral design, which became the basis for the prototype.
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mechanism / assembly:
retracting mechanism - elastic band
The movement of the prototype rely heavily on the smoothness and ease of operation of the “flowers”. Not only are the “tape hinges” virtually resistance-free, the geometry equalizes and distributes any force and stress imbalance throughout the entire module, dramatically increasing the reliability. As a result, the seemingly complex driving system only consists of two motions: rotation and pulling. Thanks
opening mechanism - 6-point outwardpulling action driven at center
to the low demand for torque, three flowers form a module and share a servo motor via a transmission to reduce the electrical complexity and chance of failure.
transmission
servo motor
system triggered by light sensor via Arduino
Sympathy in&depth Surface & difference Instructor: Andrew Lucia | FW14 Team: Snigdha Agarwal , Alfred To Collective work presented at ACSA 2015
tangent analysis: Surface tangents are scaled according to the surface curvature at the point.
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This
visual
representation
seminar
examines the act of seeing, the order, and organization of light. By reproducing Louis Sullivan’s final treatise, the class questions the relevance of architectural ornaments in a contemporary practice, and the mutual engagement of the observer and material observed. The left image strips away the organic reference of Plate 10, only preserving the organization of the surfaces. It illustrates the attunement of human eyes towards images of a specific type of structure.
top: finished plate middle: exhibition at Cornell AAP bottom: milling in progress
normal analysis: Surface normals are scaled according to the surface curvature at the point.
Size x = 0.120 Extent x = 350 B = 6.319
Size x = 0.306 Extent x = 139 B = 1.333
Size x = 0.420 Extent x = 97 B = 3.498
Size x = 0.218 Extent x = 179 B = 2.134
Size x = 0.302 Extent x = 139 B = 2.610
Size x = 0.137 Extent x = 289 B = 1.771
shadow analyses: Contrasts and levels are filtered methodically to understand the organization and distribution of data.
An Artist’s Studio, Gallery, & Residence
A Space Problem
Instructors: Ronald Krueck, Yugene Cha | FW12 Project won the Edson & Fletta Danforth Memorial Scholarship 2013
Situated in a generic lot in Chicago, the project is a space problem that focuses on modulation of space, amplification of light, resolution of scale, fulfillment of proportion, purpose of structure, and authenticity of material. The composition evolves from three volumes of residence, studio, and gallery. The interior and exterior spaces are divided and unified by the subtle gestures of shifting planes.
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composition - decomposition
v1
v2
p1
p2
v2p2
v3p3
volume / program studies
mediating exterior & interior
inter-component relationships
materialization
From the site plan to interior organization, the composition is comprised of a single vocabulary - rectangle. One rectangle is interwoven with another, overlapping and changing directions, to shape and mediate the spatial flow. The use of stone, wood and metal is to fulfill the full spectrum of colors, and create a dialog between the paintings and the spaces they inhabit.
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1999
24/7 Embodied City Chicago’s post-Interstate Highway Recovery Instructor: Steven Brubaker | FW13 The construction of the interstate system wiped out thousands of homes. Drivers benefited, but neighborhoods paid the price. The Dan Ryan Expressway that runs through Chicago has long isolated the West Loop neighborhood from the city center. Decades have passed but the trauma remains. To design a pedestrian friendly, highly mixed-use area, our approach is to build outward from a core, activate the void, and stitch archipelagos together.
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Five intersecting rings to recreate a center and rebuild neighborhood
Haymarket Square Monument
Bars/Restaurants
Randolph
Labor Leader Hall of Fame
Culinary Institute
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Life Science Incubator
Hotel / Conference Center
Grocery
Washington
Madison
Entertainment Center
Grocery
Museum
Jefferson
School
Adams
Des Plaines
Office/Loft Office
Church
Halsted
Green
Hotel
Greektown Retail District
Residential
Monroe Catholic School
Center for Human Spirit
Children’s Museum Middle School
West Loop Town Square
Jackson
Life Science Manufacturing
N
Entertainment Retail
Building up 4 neighborhoods based on existing condition that surrounds a center
Des Plaines St as a residential and educational corridor
Halsted St as an entertainment corridor
New Town
Residential Highrise Labor Leader Hall of Fame
Museum Monument
Service Retail
Resident Amenities
Roof Garden
Outdoor Exhibition
Outdoor Grill
Hotel Spa
Culinary Festival
Fresh Market
Culinary
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Hotel Culinary Institute
Hotel Conference Center
Hotel Amenities
Residential Highrise Children’s Museum
Coffeebar
Boutique
Kids’ Apparel
Toy Shop
Outdoor Banquet
Resident Garden
Outdoor Exhibition
Resident Amenities
Soundstage
Night Clubs
Restaurants
Bars
Grocery Chain
Manufacturing Building Entertainment
Office Middle School
Casual Dining
Boutique
School Vegetable Garden
Office Rest Area
Outdoor Cafe
Ethnic Deli
Retail
Hotel Luxury Retail
Office Elementary School
School Entrance
Loft Office Elementary School
Campus Walk
Campus Walk Service Retail
Rooftop Communal Sports Ground Space
Resident Amenities
Roof Garden
Service Retail Greek Food
Residential Highrise Restaurants
Education
Rooftop Sports Ground
Communal Space
Communal Space
Gymnasium School Cafeteria
Fast Food
Loft Office High School
Greek Food
Greektown
Smooth transition of programs along two main corridors
central plaza Night and day
William H. Whyte documented people’s behaviors in public spaces and illustrates the keys to success for plazas in his documentary Social Life of Small
Urban Spaces. The research was highly influential; his recommendations have shaped some of the best urban spaces in America.
Quadruplane
triple-zero highrise in Chicago Instructors: Werner Sobek, Francisco Gonzalez-Pulido | SS13
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THE QUADRUPLANE ALFRED TO
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago Spring 2013 Triple-Zero High-Rise
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The project was conceived as a highrise that consists 7315
of four planes. Two concrete planes define the elevator extend to the air. The wintergardens built within the facade
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Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. hc. Werner Sobek Prof. Dr. Timo Schmidt Prof. Dr. Kerstin Puller Francisco Gonzalez-Pulido/JAHN
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(4-UNIT)
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layers allow year-long outdoor use for residents, as well as mediate the harsh winter weather in Chicago. 3657
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1. Massing determined by aspect ratio and depth of units. 2. Open up view for neighboring building. 3. Create public plaza at the front and private park. 4. Reinforce directionality of massing.
lobby The glass elevators at the north and south offer panoramic views to the river and the city. To avoid confusion, a large display made of LED bulbs and translucent onyx shows elevator information and acts as a visual feature in the lobby.
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steel cable operable flap
balcony girder
facade “blades�
mullions uncoated clear glass solar cells
facade fins
exterior facade assembly Flaps on North/South facades are computer-controlled to regulate air flow in the cavity space. Ventilation in apartment units is provided by a heating/ cooling system typically used in office buildings (Trox). The system is embedded in the mullions and directly draw fresh air from wintergarden.
wintergarden The outermost layer encloses a wintergarden that mediates the harsh winter in Chicago and provide green space for residents. The air flow in this highly breathable space is controlled by rotating flaps on both ends. The facade also makes use of tension elements to maximize transparency.
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