Architecture Portfolio 2023 by Min-wei Ang

MIN-WEI ANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS 01 SIMULACRA: MEMORY AND EXCESS IN THE HYPERREAL 02 UNCANNY REALISM: FALSE RUINS 03 ISLANDS & ARCHIPELAGOS: SCATTER 04 VESSELS: SHALLOW CAVITY 05 TERAANGA HOUSE 06 WHATCHEER FLOWER FARM 07 CLUTTER, COLLECTION, MESS 08 DOG_01 09 PRINTMAKING WORK

MODEL INTERI0R: ELECTRONIC WASTE PROCESSING SPACE

01 SIMULACRA: Memory and Excess in the Hyperreal

RISD BArch Thesis Project, Fall 2022 - Spring 2023 Advisors: Cara Liberatore, Evan Farley Role: Individual Work

How can we navigate the potential of digitality without losing sight of or giving up on a world that we have devastated? It is inevitable that we would have to find alternate paths of survival and creation to offset the consequences of the anthropocene after the visceral deterioration of ecology and resources. Living in a reality where planned obsolescence is very much built into our systems, there is a false equivalence between the ideas of ‘newness’ and ideas of ‘progress’. where systemic failures, exploitation and breakage are buried under the shadows of success. In the spirit of Broken World Thinking and moving past the facade of novelty growth, how do we “take breakdown and decomposition as our starting point, in order to find an equilibrium” between our rates of devastation and the fragility of the world we inhabit? this project aims to explore these concepts through the lens of speculative fiction - utilizing the genre as an analogy for the present, and a tool to project a potential imagined future.

premise The initial direction of the project was cemented by a desire to conduct a study on the life-cycle of matter and the notion of “waste” materials. How can we begin to imagine a different approach to the notion of the disposable and the unwanted? Through establishing an understanding of value systems associated with “waste”, we can begin to separate value into various categories, from monetary to sentiment, a resource to be used in place of excavation. As Jennifer Gabrys stated in her book, digital Rubbish, a natural history of electronics: “Seeing it as a process involving transformation and remainder, not erasurfe through expenditure.”

“The most ubiquitous hallmark of the anthropocene is trash”

electronic waste The decision to focus on electronic waste is linked directly to the impact of increased digitization in our day and age, with planned obsolescence becoming integrated into our cycles of consumption, a false equivalence has been struck between newness and progress.How can it be contained and localized in its disposal process to achieve the least detriment? In the study of material transformations and the relationships that exist in between, an archive will be created to document and represent our cycles of consumption and waste-generation, to visualize how ‘uselessness’ and ‘valuelessness’ are determined, as well as to grapple with the process of preservation and the fluctuation of attitudes towards these objects.

digital waste • Outdated/duplicate files • Old backups • Obsolete software programs + file formats • Abandoned websites + domains

• Digital spam • Archives of defunct organizations • Corrupted files

both digital and physical streams of waste will be considered. Key definitions include seeing waste as a measure of human impact - unwanted material that is removed from its original value and purpose. Dust as a mark of the past and a reminder of the imperishability of matter. Through all states of growth and decay there exists dust, the perfect unit of recuperation. Lastly, the consideration of error and glitch as culturally constructed binary concepts in the determination of right and wrong, mistake and intention. These exist as a “rupture in the continuum of an idealized artifact, a subversion of a smooth, technically perfect surface. “

WASTE

ERROR + GLITCH

DUST

tape storage centers will be considered as an alternative archival space in comparison to seemingly limitless cloud storage to limit data hoarding when confronted with digital notions of waste, whilst a hypothetical electronic waste processing plant will act as a vessel for the consideration and management of physical electronic waste. to evaluate these seemingly different states of existence within one perspective, a third space will serve as a lens through which the physical can exist alongside elements of virtuality.

methodology and approach speculative fiction as a lens

Using speculative fiction as: 1. an analogy for the present. 2. a tool to project a potential imagined future.

Production Shot: Metropolis, 1927

Special Effects: Metropolis, 1927

Precedent Studies Working with tangible materials offers an innate set of rules for manipulation, something that is often emulated in the digital rendering to achieve realism. The creation of an ‘illusion’ becomes the representational key to framing a project, embracing the seams and imperfection of physical materials, a contrast to the almost streamlined work flow on digital platforms. Thresholds and boundaries are explored and crossed through the blurring of the seams that exist between the digital and physical, done through the utilization of film-making techniques such as lighting design, framing, backdrops, matte shots, flats, as well as age-old techniques like anamorphic projection.

world-building through the digital diorama

Blender Set_01: Electronic Waste Conveyer Belt

Blender Set_02: Electronic Waste Factory

Blender Set_03: Data Center

texture mapping and object projection by beginning with a blender model , limits of realism were experimented with through the seemingly limitless creative potential of the digital, setting a general atmosphere to be experienced, taking inspiration from the many film-making techniques that have been utilized throughout centuries to present convincing illusions of sight. in the setting up of an illusion, anamorphic projections were relied upon as a technique to blur the lines between the digital and the physical, the two dimensional and the three dimensional. a 3d model was used to configure the points of projection from a desired, predetermined framing, resulting in mapped model texturing that will reveal a seemingly hidden object - only when viewed from the exact perspective.

Factory Ground texture

Storage Room Ground texture

Data Center Ground Texture

Conveyer Belt Texture

final model images

lighting test for filming_01

lighting test for filming_02

upload center atmosphere test

model set-up in gallery

film stills

MODEL INTERI0R_01: DATA STORAGE CENTER

MODEL INTERI0R_02: ELECTRONIC WASTE STORAGE AREA

film stills

MODEL INTERI0R_03: ELECTRONIC WASTE PROCESSING SPACE

MODEL INTERI0R_04: ELECTRONIC WASTE PROCESSING CONVEYER BELT

film stills

MODEL INTERI0R_05: DATA UPLOAD STATION

02 FALSE RUINS Uncanny Realism

RISD Advanced Studio, Fall 2021 Instructor: Carl Lostritto Role: Individual Work

The diorama as an object provides multiple facets for interrogation. This project is sited in the abandoned Soviet mining town of Pyramiden, located in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Residents of this town evacuated the area in a mere three hours, leaving behind scattered artifacts of their previous lives, with much of it remaining largely intact due to the cold weather conditions. However, with the introduction of ruin photography, authorship in the process of documentation becomes a key driving force in the project itself. The construction of each diorama seeks to emulate the active participation of a photographer in the realm of ruin photography, engaging in the idea of arranged ruins. An artificial state of decay is explored, driving at ideas of authenticity and the curation of an illusion.

DIORAMA RENDER

DIGITAL DECAY Texture Generation

“To create, and to destroy.”

BITMAP TEXTURES

BITMAP WINDOW DRAWING

The process begins with the creation of a binary bitmap drawing. Bringing into view the importance of the pixel, a step is taken towards the digitalized roots of this project. A scene of a cityscape caught at a specific point of disintegration is constructed pixel by pixel, engaging in construction and deconstruction; to create and to destroy simultaneously. Original MACos preset patterns are manipulated, tying back to ideas of authenticity and ownership.

BINARY BITMAP DRAWING

PEN-PLOTTED DRAWING_01

PEN-PLOTTED DRAWING_02

PEN-PLOTTED DRAWING_04

PEN-PLOTTED IMAGERY A system of connections and hierarchy is established through the generation of pen-plotted drawings. Reflecting a cyclical feedback loop of data, HPGL commands are sent to the pen-plotter to bring the otherwise digital information into an physical state. These drawings are then scanned and fed back into a Blender file as digital textures.

PEN-PLOTTED DRAWING_03

DIORAMA VIEWS

DIORAMA RENDER_WINDOW

The use of 3D modeling and animation programs like Blender has been key to the process, being the tool used to create a feigned reality in the virtual space. Each set of constructed dioramas establish an atmosphere of decomposition, yet pushing forth the constant reminder that this state is not naturally occuring, having been heavily edited and curated - inviting the viewer to enter this space as a willing voyeur. The presented views are constantly in flux throughout the animation, actively concealing and revealing information. Thus, a state of distinct realism accompanied with obvious visual deceit is arrived at, in the building up of this false ruin.

DIORAMA RENDER_01

DIORAMA RENDER_02

PATH ANIMATION

03SCATTER

Islands & Archipelagos RISD Advanced Studio, Spring 2021 Instructor: Hans Tursack Role: Individual Work

Scatter is a campus designed for a theoretical North American branch of the European Graduate School (EGS), located in Catskills, NY. The project pushes back on the traditional elements of a campus, proposing a speculative future scenario and posing ideas from the perspective of the post-human. Heavily motivated by the concept of designed ruins popularized in 19th century representations of landscapes and structures, core principles of occlusion and manipulated disintegration are used to engage in dialogue about inevitable obliteration and the inherent transience of materials.

AXONOMETRIC DRAWING

FORM FAMILIES

FORM FAMILY_01 The first step of the process is the design of form families. The three categories include shared compounds (dormitories, lecture halls) individual spaces (galleries and meditation rooms) and features in landscape design (ponds, gardens and platforms). These object-like forms provide a repeatable palette of ingredients that can be further manipulated in both scale and placement.

FORM FAMILY_02

FORM FAMILY_03

PLAN DRAWING

“Future cities are themselves ruins. Our contemporary cities are destined to live only a fleeting moment, give up their energy and return to inert material.” - Arata Isozaki, Incubation Process, 1962

SCATTER

Striking a balance between human intervention and technology, the campus layout is organized by the blending of ideas of accessibility and form generation animations created through physics engines in the animation software maya. each program is assigned to a fragment and scattered across the plane, resulting in an organic, but fixed design principle.

AXONOMETRIC DRAWING_01

AXONOMETRIC DRAWING_02

AXONOMETRIC DRAWING_03

FORM-FINDING ANIMATION

PATH ANIMATION

04SHALLOW CAVITY Views Into The: Vessel

RISD Advanced Studio, Spring 2022 Instructor: Evan Farley and Maxime Jean-Lefebvre Role: Individual Work

The program of a porcelain recycling facility engages in the process of reuse within the ceramic industry, investigating and reimagining the impact of post-consumer content within the natural cycle of growth and decay. The framework of production contends with the idea of material purity, establishing a series of outputs from substrates seen as undesirable like discarded toilets and sinks, extending their shelf-life through reformation and allowing access to a variety of potential uses. The core objective of the factory is to act as a channel between the public and the specific processes of reclamation in its various stages, pushing against the finality of perceived obsolescence.

AXONOMETRIC DRAWING_BIRD’S EYE

VESSELS_CONCEPT RENDER

Located in the Valley neighborhood in Providence, RI, the chosen site is in close proximity to factories, whether new or abandoned, that have been key elements of the city’s industrial history. The proposed ceramic recycling factory hopes to cultivate a relationship with the existing Steel Yard, promoting and revitalizing a culture of craft and creation, as well as introducing a potential cyclical reuse program into an area with large amounts of industrial refuse. Through the process of slip casting ceramic objects,these concepts were brought into physical realization, allowing one to observe not just dents and dips upon the surface, but the negative space created as a secondary layer, bringing into question our preconceived notions of what constitutes a vessel.

VESSELS_FINAL CAST OBJECTS

SITE PLAN

PLAN DRAWING_1ST FLOOR

PLAN DRAWING_2ND FLOOR

MODEL PHOTO_01

MODEL PHOTO_02

The construction of a model at 1/2” scale was a necessary next step following the slip casting of ceramic vessels. Stemming from an interest in the illusion of depth, an inquiry into perceived shallowness is embarked upon through the manipulation of exposed surfaces and ground. The vessel begins as a duplicitous object, its true limit obscured through containment. Within the largely subterranean factory, subtle moments of reveal allow for glances into the hidden cavities, generating further intrigue in the unseen.

MODEL PHOTO_03

MODEL PHOTO_04

MODEL PHOTO_05

MODEL PHOTO_BIRD’S EYE

05 TERAANGA HOUSE Women’s House Competition

Kaira Looro, Spring 2021 In Collaboration With: Min-wei Ang, Deji Nela Eclarin, Fawz Hussein, Yingshan Lei, Mary Seol

To foster respect, hospitality, community empowerment, and solidarity through collective action - this is the message shared by both teraanga, a traditional Senegalese value, and their women’s fight to break cycles of oppression. Altogether, the proposal provides a venue for collective action in respect to the traditional Baghere housing compound typology that inspired the form and concept. Constructed using local materials and techniques, Teraanga House creates a platform and safe space for women to foster dialogue, education, and community engagement in the true spirit of teraanga.

PERSPECTIVE RENDER_01

SECTIONAL DRAWING

PLAN DRAWING

GUTTER DESIGN DIAGRAM_01

GUTTER DESIGN DIAGRAM_02 EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC DRAWING

Our proposal articulates this by designing spaces that would feel safe through visibility by providing multiple thresholds of access to accommodate varied levels of community engagement. Distinct rectilinear spaces dedicated to education and management are united by the roof, which is framed by a permeable circular wall that acts as both protection and invitation. The structure is organized around a central courtyard which is mirrored by external courtyards across the circle wall to extend programs outdoors. The roof, as a whole, acts as a canopy for the entire square space; it symbolizes a sense of unity. While primarily shielding occupants from the elements, the roof’s generous tilt allows ample light and air to enter as well, bringing vitality into the house. The various angles and overhangs were strategically planned to allow daylight into the spaces while providing shading during summer heat. Because of the inclined roofs and gutter system, rainwater circulates into a central courtyard, which then becomes a focal resting point for the movement of both people and water.

JOINERY DESIGN

PERSPECTIVE RENDERS_01-03

06 Whatcheer Flower Farm RISD Integrated Building Systems, Fall 2022 Instructor: William Ryall In Collaboration With: Zane Abu Hamdan, Shane Su Jing Huang, Min-wei Ang

The Whatcheer Flower Farm is a non-profit organization that prioritizes the growing, rescuing and distribution of flowers in Providence, Rhode Island. The proposed redesign of the establishment hopes to better capture the vitality of this location; unlocking spaces that have fallen into disrepair over the decades and opening up the area to further community engagement and participation.

AXONOMETRIC DRAWING MASSING DIAGRAM

Project

SECTIONAL DRAWING Project

Drawn Type

What Cheer Flower Farm Jing Huang

Date 11/15/2022 Scale

Drawn

What Cheer Flower Min-wei Ang

Type

Tectonic Diagram

Date 12/ Scale

EAST ELEVATION Project

Drawn Type

What Cheer Flower Farm

Shane Su

East Elevation

Date 11/20/2022 Scale

3/32”=1’

PLAN DRAWING_GROUND FLOOR Dike St.

Refuse Room

Parking Lot

Loading/ Unloading Dock

394sf

Storage 1800sf

Stem Processing

Compost Room

2693sf

360sf

Maintenance/ Utilities 200sf

Egress

1200sf

566sf

Courtyard

Maintenance/ Utilities 200sf

Shop

Agnes

Meeting Room Restroom 200sf

St.

Reception 400sf

Lobby 1500sf

Project Multipurpose Room

400sf

Balcony

Multipurpose Room

Medium Classroom 440sf

400sf

Workshop

Conference Room

Balcony

803sf

Workshop 803sf

Small Classroom

404sf

Small Classroom 333sf

What Cheer Flower Farm

Drawn

Min Wei & Zane

Type

Date 12/02/2022

Balcony Scale

First Floor Plan

1/16”=1’

333sf

Lecture Hall

Medium Classroom

1396sf

440sf

Cafe/ Lounge/Waiting Area 2936sf

Staff Reception 955sf

Egress

Egress Balcony

Conference Room

Egress Office

Maintenance/ Utilities

150sf

404sf

Egress

200sf

Maintenance/ Utilities 200sf

Restroom

Office

220sf

150sf

Maintenance/ Utilities

Restroom 250sf

200sf

Office 150sf

Office

150sf

Executive Office 404sf

150sf

Executive Office 404sf

Office 150sf

Office

150sf

Office

150sf

Office 150sf

Floor

Second Floor

PLAN DRAWING_2ND FLOOR

Office Office 150sf

150sf

PLAN DRAWING_3RD FLOOR

DETAILED SECTIONAL DRAWING

MODEL PHOTO_01

Ceramic Tile

R30

Wood Glulam Beam

Hempcrete R36

Glazing R6

Wood CLT Slab 6” Ceramic Tile R20

Mineral Wool Deck Plank Steel Angle

Hempcrete R36

Glazing R6

Curtain Wall Facade, Triple Pane Glass

Facade Mullion

Air Barrier

Wood Ceiling Wood Glulam Beam

R28

Cinderblock Rockwool R19

Glazing R6

Flooring Mineral Wool Concrete

Gravel

Footing

MODEL PHOTO_02

07 CLUTTER, COLLECTION, MESS

Clutter, Collection, Mess is an examination of the value of objects we surround ourselves with in our daily lives. Their accumulation is often an afterthought following procurement; this project aims to scrutinize the line between trash and treasure. The threshold between imagery appearing ‘real’ and ‘unreal’ is explored with the translation of objects often regarded as clutter into digital spaces - do they obtain or lose value within the 3D realm? Images of clutter were collected and fed into an AI image generation engine, later being used as textures in a digital model. The final experience designed takes the form of a Virtual Reality mini-game, where the viewer is able to pick up and stack elements of trash whilst stuck in a room, unable to leave or to discard of these objects.

08 DOG_01

DOG_01 is a physical diorama built to illustrate the story of DOG, a crea-

ture that chances upon an abandoned pet store. Though artificially created, it grapples with concepts of identity and history as it looks longingly into the broken facade of the store, dreaming of a past that never existed.

09 PRINTMAKING WORK