Portfolio of Works by Joon Ma

PORTFOLIO OF WORKS

Reworking existing conditions to generate new forms of usable space Joon Hyuk Ma

CONTENTS

BAMBOO TENT IN BALI

GRID WITHIN A GRID

HINGE[D] CIRCULATION

TIMBER TREE

GROUND MOUND

TADAO ANDO PILGRIMMAGE

INVISIBLE BARN

WET ZONES & DRY PIERS

1 A temporary pavilion employing techniques that leave construction materials completely reusable. 9 Envisioning grid as a device for inclusion and integration

13 Employing scaffolding as a tool to control circulation and transform a transit node into a public square. 19 Reimagining standard structural elements to curate a human experience within a conventional building. 23 Envisioning the ground as structure to move through rather than plane upon which to build

31 Implications and realities of starchitectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s works

33 A man-made structure that blends into and spotlights its natural surrounding

39 Adaptive infrastructure recognizing city edge as changing flood zones

JOON

Constructed Pavilion

Construction Materials

Disassembly

Reuse Of Construction Materials

Life Cycle Of The Construction Materials

GRADUATION TENT IN BALI A temporary pavilion employing techniques that leave construction materials completely reusable. Professional, Bali, Indonesia, 2014 Featured Project on Architizer & Inhabitat Position: Lead Designer Role: Design, Model Making, Construction Management Executed by: Ibuku Structure Consultant: Putra Wiarsa Dimension: 44m x 15m x 13m Client: Green School, Bali

This bamboo tent was commissioned by Green School, Bali to be used for the graduation ceremony and the Conservation Conference Weekend that featured Dr. Jane Goodall as the honorary speaker. The client asked for a tent-like structure that could accommodate 500 people, would not destroy the site (soccer field) or the structural bamboo poles so that it could be re-used, and could be built in 10 days to be used for 10 days.

N MA

Dr. Jane Goodall Speaking In The Tent

Photo By Widi Nalendra

To meet the request of the clients, the concept was to create multiple teepee tents and connect them with structural poles in intervals to ensure additional anchoring support. Then 15cm diameter reject bamboo poles were cut into quarters at a 50cm length and anchored down on the ends and the sides of each bamboo pole to prevent lateral movements. Almost all of the materials used in this project were organic. Bamboo skin rope was used for most of the joineries. Plastic ropes were the only non-organic material to hoist structural bamboo poles together. Most of the resources (labor, bamboo, roofing material) were sourced locally with the exception of the large structural bamboo poles that were acquired from a supplier in Java. The smaller bamboo poles used for this structure were harvested on site. This structure was built in seven days with 15 bamboo workers.

JOON

25.00 m

15.00 m

50.00 m

44.00 m

32.00 m

4.00 m

8.00 m

ROOF

SUPPORT

STRUCTURE

STRUCTURE Bamboo Petung Diameter (structural): 8cm - 15cm Length (structural): 14m- 18m Amount used: 38 Distance Traveled < 100km

ROOF Klangsa (woven palm leaf) Length: 2m - 2.5m width: 40cm Amount used: 2100 Distance Traveled < 3km

SUPPORT Bamboo Tali Diameter (structural): 6cm - 10cm Length (structural): 8m - 15m Amount used 200 Distance Traveled < 1km

N MA

JOON

4 2

14.00 m

12.00 m

32.00 m 44.00 m

EXTENSION JOINT 1

FRONT VIEW 4

LATERAL & VERTICAL JOINT 2

RIGHT ELEVATION 4

AERIAL VIEW 4

STRUCTURAL BAMBOO SUPPORT 3

ROOFING ALIGNMENT 5

N MA

JOON

N MA

JOON

GRID WITHIN A GRID Envisioning grid as a device for inclusion and integration Academic, Career Discovery, Cambridge, MA, 2012 Instructor: Paul Cattaneo Duration: 3 Weeks Location: Kenmore Square, Boston, MA Project: Design a film archive on a site that is currently used as a bus station

N MA

Using Grid Pattern Incisions To Maximize Visual Interaction Between The Interior and Exterior

Our perception of public and private space is determined by ownership rather than the experience. The inevitable force of our capitalistic society has devised a structural system in which short-term economic rationality overpowers the cultural, social, political, and ecological consequences of a design. Such structural forces have created standardizations in our world, which neglects historical, cultural, and environmental characteristics, resulting in sites like Kenmore Square. The grid is used to structure and rationalize the layout of objects, buildings and cities. Virtually any material object, building, or space we wish to acquire are either designed or re-interpreted on a grid. The grid that is used for privatized intentions has leapt into how we design public spaces and perceive space in general. The project reconfigures our perception of the grid from a tool for capital acquisition to a symbol of inclusion and integration.

JOON

Elevation

N MA

JOON

HINGE[D] CIRCULATION Employing scaffolding as a tool to control circulation and transform a transit node into a public square. Academic, GSAPP, New York, Core I, Project II, 2015 Instructor: Nahyun Hwang Duration: 2 Weeks Location: 14th Street and 7th Avenue Project: Design a structure on a corner that hinges The project challenges the divisive characteristics of the grid by engulfing the intersection with the existing scaffoldings on site to suspend car traffic and, as a result, create a new city block that gives a new identity to the site. The site, 14th and 7th avenue, is a node of multiple neighborhoods where it is mostly defined as a passageway to destinations around the area. The non-descript identity of the site led to an examination of how an individual identifies oneself within varying degrees of scales: within oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s room, building, block, corner, intersection, neighborhood, and the city. How much significance does an individual have in assigning an identity to a space? And how much significance does space and location have in assigning an identity to an individual? There is an interesting moment on the corners where people with varying identities are contained due to the traffic lights. Those contained within the corners are more diverse than other corners because of the siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique position as a passageway to major attractions near 14th street. Locals, tourists, workers, shoppers, hipsters, members of the LGBTQ and many other demographics are held together at that moment. In the context of the site, the traffic lights are a hinge that contains and releases diverse group of people. The project was developed on the concept of a hinge that controls car traffic and human flow.

Hinge System

N MA

JOON

Site Analysis : Circulation Informing The Identity Of The Site

N MA

24Hrs Diagram

JOON

Controlling Circulation To Create A Public Square

N MA

The project suspends car traffic in the intersection by creating a physical barrier from the movements of the existing scaffolding on site. Each movement creates a barrier and with four movements the entire car circulation is suspended. In this moment when all car circulation is suspended, the scaffolding creates a new city block that contains people moving to and from different neighborhoods. The containment of the intersection and the adaptability of the scaffolding allow multiple array of programs. When the intersection is fully contained with the scaffoldings, human circulation is liberated and the chaotic circulation pattern that is created within the new city block will offer opportunities beyond a liberated passageway.

JOON

TIMBER TREE Reimagining standard structural elements to curate a human experience within a conventional building. Timber Design + Fabrication Competition / Entry Professional, stpmj, New York, 2013 Position: Intern Architect Role: Designer, Model Maker Location: Boston Society of Architects, Boston, MA Dimension: 15’ x 30’ x 8’

Rafter Joins The Post Directly With A Bird’s Mouth And Tenon

Timber Tree revisits the cantilever and joint details to arrive at a cluster of tree-like structures that not only maximizes internal space, but also addresses the issues of light and ventilation.

Traditional New England Timber Frame

Typical Mortise And Tenon Connection

N MA

Timber Tree is an opportunity to explore new possibilities between wood structure systems and form making beyond conventional post and beam timber construction. Timber Tree consists of a great number of chopped-reclaimed timber blocks (or laminated 2x4 lumbers) supporting thin slabs arranged within a 3-dimensional structural grid. The blocks are shifted horizontally and stacked from the bottom. Thin timber slabs are sandwiched between the blocks and branch outward, creating a tree-like volume and structure. The integrated block and slab stacking act as a stepped load-bearing system, where weight is transferred incrementally from one element down to the next. The clustered tree models act like a wooden vault, giving the overall structure stability. By taking advantage of distinctive wood materiality, high performance compression and tension, workability of fabrication technology, Timber Tree creates a versatile large column-less space with flexible composition and a quick construction process that combines both the digital and traditional tools.

JOON

N MA

A single prefabricated tree module encompasses a complete structure and envelope that is transported and assembled into a pavilion on site. Timber Tree is sprouted and grown in a factory to be transplanted into a wide range of urban conditions.

JOON

GROUND MOUND Envisioning the ground as structure to move through rather than plane upon which to build Academic, GSAPP, New York, Core I, Project III, 2015 Instructor: Nahyun Hwang Duration: 2 Weeks Location: Avenue A and 14th Street Project: Design a Lost and Found as an extension of a Metro Station Ground, where a person stands on a topography, is constantly changing through natural and human forces. What was once a ground, overtime, becomes an underground. Grounds that eventually become the underground have staged our history. Overtime, what is left underground has been forgotten as more and more ground becomes burried underneath the current. Now, the underground is a deposit for infrastructural support for better ground conditions. Opposed to the digging for infrastructural purposes, human burial exposes what is burried underneath by forming a mound. From this process not only do we introduce a new ground but also a new topography. Figuratively, what if the earth that is excavated to create the new extension is placed on the ground to create a new topography and new ground?

N MA

Ground As A Membrane For Layers Of Old Grounds

JOON

Inverting Old Ground As Structure To Move Through

N MA

Ground as a topography frames the way we see the world. If we flip the relationship between ground and humans, topography that frames humans vantage point would inversely frame how humans are viewed. By flipping the underground to the ground, humans are framed by the perforations on the slabs of rammed earth. Visually, the slabs with perforations slice people as they circulate through the space. People can circulate within the new built topography to explore the past objects and traces of East Village New York that has been buried underground.

JOON

Plan

Aerial View

Section AA

Section AB

N MA

JOON

N MA

JOON

TADAO ANDO PILGRIMMAGE Implications and realities of starchitectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s works Academic, Kansai Region, Japan (2011 Dec- 2012 Jan) Dean Rusk Grant & Abernethy Grant Recipient Published: Architects for Peace

I went to Japan to study the social, cultural and economic ripple effects from the buildings designed by Tadao Ando. The report was published as a featured editorial by Architects for Peace.

N MA

How I became interested in Urban Planning 10/14/11

In eighth grade, my dad was sent to London for work and I got to live with him for 2 months. During my stay at London, I had no friends nor spoke good English. All I had was a PlayStation, TV, a Math textbook and a DVD of “Saving Private Ryan.” Whether it was my fascination with war or the movie itself, I watched Saving Private Ryan everyday for 2 months. I originally watched the movie with Korean subtitles, then with English subtitles and eventually with no subtitles at all; in ways, Saving Private Ryan taught me English. By the end of my stay in London, I not only understood what they were saying but also started feeling as if I was part of them. Understanding the power of visual image I started filming. When I film or edit my documentaries, I am very cognizant of time and space dimensions. Where I film and how much footage I use within the timeframe can completely change the message of the video. At Davidson College, I initially pursued ethnographic filming as my potential career. Through continuum of narrowly focused images captured by a camera lens, ethnographic films have the power to send greater messages to the mass. I had the opportunity to produce the story of life and death of Michael Alvin Maloy, which brought awareness to the adversities he faced as an African American scholar athlete at Davidson College despite his astute performance on the court. Focusing on people’s narratives through ethnographic films, I learned the importance of listening to others stories and salvaging the narratives that are being suppressed and ignored. Film on the issue of race at Davidson College taught me to deconstruct the socially constructed term race, an informational video on Know Your Farms taught me the local food initiatives in the Charlotte area, and a promotional video for Wake Up! Summit, which provides information about colleges for underprivileged inner-city students in Charlotte, taught me the severity of the achievement gap in America. One day, I stumbled upon a video blog, “Alone in Tokyo,” by prominent video-photographer Philip Bloom. Bloom has made a career producing “time-lapse films,” manipulating time and space dimensions to alter the way that his viewers perceive the action that he is filming. In these films, processes that would normally appear subtle to the human eye, such as the construction of a city, become very pronounced. As I watched Bloom’s films, I began to wonder whether it would be possible to apply similar techniques to my own ethnographic films to portray how people interact within space in different time. I taught myself how to achieve time-lapse, often using multiple cameras to keep space static but manipulate time. My manipulation of time and space in filming made me acutely aware of the interconnectedness between the actions humans perform and the places in which they perform them. Urban design is the language of the cities; when you walk down a street everything that you see is designed. In cities, it is within this designed space that human beings constantly interact with one another. Through my observations, I realized that built structures transcend the limitations of time since they are the anchor of social interactions of generations past, present, and future. This realization fueled interest in the design of space and particularly in the design of cities. This interest has propelled much of my academic and extracurricular work.

JOON

INVISIBLE BARN A man-made structure that blends into and spotlights its natural surrounding Folly 2014 Design Competition / Notable Entry Professional, stpmj, Brooklyn, New York, 2014-15, Built Location: Sagehen Creek Field Station, Truckee, CA Position: Intern Architect Role: Design, Fundraising, Production Completed: June 2015 Dimension: 24’ x 3’ x 12’ Client: UC Berkeley, Sagehen Creek Field Station

Invisible Barn is a site-specific design proposal that re-contextualizes the landscape by projecting the landscape on to the structure. A barn shaped-wooden structure is sheeted with reflective film on its surfaces. This mirror-finished folly is placed in the middle of the grove and reflects its surrounding environment: different species of trees and plants, sky, ground and the seasonal changes of the site. The reflection of the folly within its enclosed grove allows the structure to smoothly assimilate into the nature.

Structure That Evokes Invisibility Using The Surrounding Environment

N MA

JOON

The bevelled folly has openings with various sizes and depths that connote windows and doors. These solid and void on the follyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s envelope, reflective film, and plywood-framed opening, accentuate the openings. Through these apertures visitors perceive the subtle differences between the real and the mirrored landscape, understanding the depth of the grove and other art installations over the site. The apertures may suggest viewing frames, passages, and benches and visitors are invited to interact physically and visually with them. At the intersections between sculpture and architecture, Invisible Barn loses its architectural shape in nature but encourages visitors to interact with it through overlapping in materials and building techniques between the two disciplines. As a static structure, the folly uses its materiality and the site context to draw a new scene derived from the existing landscape. As people begin to move away, toward, and within the folly, the users will slowly recognize a space within the grove that reflects, mirrors, and animates the landscape of the park.

N MA

JOON

N MA

A barn shaped-wooden structure is sheeted with reflective film on its surfaces. This mirror-finished folly is placed in the middle of the grove and reflects its surrounding environment. The reflection of the folly within its enclosed grove allows the structure to smoothly assimilate into the nature. The incisions that penetrate through the folly allow visitors to maneuver in, out, and around the structure. The barn is shaped as a skinny and long parallelogram to elude the dense trees. Invisible Barn is placed in the core of the grove that lies on the passageway of the Socrates Sculpture Park from the South Entrance. Around the circumference of the grove there are a dozen of birch trees in similar size and equal spacing from one another. Due to the similarity of its size and placement of the trees, the projection on the mirrored surface is similar to what people would see without the folly. The visual illusion that blurs the perceptual boundary between the folly and the site allows the folly to be invisible in nature.

JOON

WET ZONES & DRY PIERS Adaptive infrastructure recognizing city edge as changing flood zones Academic, GSAPP, New York, Core I, Project IV, 2015 Instructor: Nahyun Hwang Duration: 4 Weeks Site: East 6th Street and FDR Driveway Project: Design a Pier on the East River Instead of designing a pier that leads out from the shore into a body of water, Wet Zones & Dry Piers, a prototypical pier, is placed on the city edge defined by the flood zone. The city edge is constantly changing either permanently through construction or temporarily through natural disasters. Wet Zones & Dry Piers seeks to introduce a structure that changes the dynamic of the city edge that is currently defined by built infrastructure and changes during natural disaster.

Changing City Edge Defined By Flood Zones

N MA

Pier Prototype

JOON

Program Changes When

N MA

n the City Edge Changes

Structurally, the columns are positioned to be used as skeletons for the roof and the walls. The angles and the rotation of the columns informs the program. The program changes according to the changing city edge. Wet Zones & Dry Piers on the site, East 6th Street and FDR Driveway, is a hostel and civic space that bounds the city edge that is currently occupied by the boundless waterfront park. When natural disaster hits, Wet Zones & Dry Piers will turn into a shelter and disaster relief center. Spaces are configured to accommodate the duality of the program. For the city of New York, Wet Zones & Dry Piers functions as an infrastructure that bring people into the edge of the city.

JOON

Ground Floor Plan

N MA

Third Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

The branch like columns that extrude out from the core column not only informs the program but also breaks the planar relationship. The stairs, ramps, and courtyards that extend out of the three levels changes the spatial dynamic that each program units are placed on. Wet Zones & Dry Piers can be placed throughout the flood zones in New York. The multiplicity of the structural columns enable it to change the form of the Wet Zones & Dry Piers while expressing its function.

JOON

N MA

JOON

N MA