Urban Design Media Portfolio Brian Xiao

PGH:

URBAN ANALYSIS BRIAN XIAO MII-PS Integrated Innovation Institute

48-753 Fall 2019 School of Architecture Putu Dawkins

A01 - Exploratory Map A02 - Terrain A03 - Networks and Distributions Project 1: Mapping Context A04 - Bird’s Eye A05 - Exploded Perspective A06 - Environmental Simulations Project 2: Drawing Site A07 - Diagram A08 - Project Drawing*

A01 Exploratory Mapping This assignment is intended to deepen your understanding of your site and its urban, social, and ecological context. You will produce an exploratory map, which makes connections between at least one quantitative geographic feature, at least one qualitative geographic feature, and at least one demographic feature. This will encourage you to think spatially about socio-political, cultural, and ecological issues. The goal is to hypothesize on spatial connections and disconnections, explore spatial questions using data, and build representational and technical skill.

This map shows the Los Angeles County Area Median Household Income levels along with highways, alternative fuel stations, and MTA Park and Ride. Before examining these seemingly disparate data sets, I did not have much expectation, but simply wanted to explore and see if there would be a relationship between them, much like how James Corner describes a map can “reveal� by uncovering realities.

The purple dots and their sizes show their locations as well as relative size. Additionally, I have also mapped the location of MTA Park and Ride. When we view them with household income levels in LA County, there begin to be a few interesting things to note.

Unsurprisingly, both MTA and Alt. Fuel Stations occur more frequently along the highway system. They also appear with more frequency in the downtown Los Angeles Area as well as in Santa Monica, near the beach.

However, why do they appear less in the south side? Could that be related to higher poverty levels and crime rates? Additionally, there are no MTA stops along the main highway between Sierra Madre and Pico Rivera (Rosemead Boulevard), a very high traffic thoroughfare. There also do not seem to be fuel stations or stops along the 110 Freeway between Downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena.

For my first exploration in Urban Media Design course, I indulged my curiosities as well as my homesickness for Los Angeles.

However as I progressed through the course I decided to explore further my temporarily adopted town of Pittsburgh, examining issues of accessibility, walking comfort, as well as use of space.

A02 Terrain This assignment is intended to develop critical three-dimensional thinking. You will produce a three-dimensional model and define a question about your context that explores the issue of section - from transportation and accessibility, to stormwater flow or heat islands, to urban form, to microclimate, etc.

This question will guide the process of taking sections through your model, and creating a map which incorporates these sections to reveal their connection to one or more geographic features.

In this exercise, I was curious about the sloping of the pathway between the Integrated Innovation Institute, located on the corner of Forbes and Craig and the corner of Forbes and Morewood, where the Tepper School of Business and Morewood Gardens are located.

The upward slope between iii and Tepper is rather uncomfortable.

In the summertime, it is frustrating, and in the wintertime there may sometimes be slippery patches of ice — not to mention the puddles of icy water often splashed onto pedestrians from passing drivers on Forbes.

The slices of terrain show here present a deeper understanding of not only the sloping of the path itself, but also the contours of the hills on either side of Forbes and the ravine near Hammerschlag Hall. Pittsburgh is an incredibly interesting location to examine through this method of diagramming, as a city of so many bridges and hills. By preseinting slices of the terrain we may visually view the space in multiple dimensions.

E S

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RBES WALKABILITY

pe Walking Comfort m Integrated Innovation Institute to Morewood Gardens ong Forbes Ave, Carnegie Mellon University

50 M

A03 Networks + Distributions

This assignment will have you identify relationships between multiple objects of interest in your urban fabric. You can either create networks between them, or analyze their connectivity using an existing network of your choice. You will include a heat map underlay for your network map.

Now that you have begun to define an urban question, use this week’s map to underline your focus and refine your exploration.

In our study of networks and destributions, I decided to examine our spaces from a different point of view: human relationships.

The cohort of the Master of Integrated Innovation for Products and Services Advanced Study program is a small one. In addition to our small roster, we occupy two small spaces: the iii classroom building on the corner of Forbes Ave and Craig St, as well as our studio on the corner of Craig and Filmore.

What if there we days in which we had a preference for whether or not we may see one another on the street?

In this diagram, I have traced common routes to and from both locations according to informal interviews with colleagues. Using these routes as curves, running the curve attractor workflow in Grasshopper, I have created a heatmap to visually communicate the inherent probability of bumping into a fellow iii classmate.

Perhaps this diagram would be useful for those in our cohort avoiding an ex-significatn other?

Craig Forbes

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Craig Forbes N E

W

S

Likelihood of Running into Integrated Innovators on Their Way Home Based on interviews of common routes taken home Snapshot of Craig Street Block

100 Ft

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Your drawing will have at least five layers of information: at least three data layers (quantitative, qualitative, and geographic), and at least two interpretive layers, with information you created yourself. This information will serve to unfold a thesis about spatial phenomena, and will describe directions for further investigation of site. Choose a scale appropriate to your hypothesis.

The project for Module 1 [Mapping] is a richly layered 24�x36� drawing that will utilize skills developed through your work on issues of:spatial data projection, contingency, terrain, networks and metabolisms collage, layering, and composition.

Mapping Context

P01

users of wheelchairs or crutches.

commuters of lesser ambulatory ability such as

may not be an option for senior citizens or

uphill with 12% or higher grade of slope, this

to simply walk. However, if that route is mostly

day, an able bodied commuter may make a choice

example, if bus lines were too overcrowded one

great ambulatory ability the others. For

explore the options available to commutes of

This type of interpretive examination may

Murray Avenue.

Shady, none on Forbes, and severe sloping down

were to simply walk, there is some sloping up

and less so down Murray. If the same commuter

frequently as the 64 route heads through Forbes,

this route by bus, crowding occurs more

down Murray Avenue. If a commuter were to take

Shady Avenue to Forbes Avenue, and eventually

comfort” of one single route taken up from north

analyzed both the “walkability” and “crowd

Additionally, as an interpretive exercise, I

imagery and street centerlines of Squirrel Hill.

ed from that area, both overlaid on satellite

well as the Allegheny County Slope data extract-

Transit lines that commute through the area as

In this mapping I have shown the Port Authority

ent a sketch of a busy area of Squirrel Hill.

For Module 1 project, I have decided to pres-

FIFTH AVE

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BRIAN XIAO INTO. URBAN DESIGN MEDIA FA19

DENSITY 9,300/sq mi

POPULATION (2010) 11,363

AREA 1.222 sq mi (3.16 sq km)

CITY PITTSBURGH

COUNTY ALLEGHENY COUNTY

STATE PENNSYLVANIA

COUNTRY UNITED STATES

40.438072°N 79.922972°W

NEIGHBORHOOD OF PITTSBURGH

SQUIRREL HILL NORTH

500 ft

N

1325 - 1548

1005 - 1135

764 - 1005

0 mins

15% - 24.99%

SHADY AVE

5% - 9.99%

FORBES AVE

MURRAY AVE

15% - 24.99%

ROUTE WALKABILITY ANALYSIS BY SLOPE MEASUREMENT AND TIME

0 mi

764 - 1005

25% - 39.99%

134 - 438

BUS ROUTE CROWD COMFORT ANALYSIS BY AVG. WEEKDAY RIDERSHIP AND MILEAGE

5% - 9.99%

1.4 mi

26 mins

15% - 24.99%

MURRAY AVE

764 - 1005

A04 Bird’s Eye This assignment will have you developing a bird’s eye drawing of your site and its immediate context.

Use the tools introduced last module to create a 3D model. Choose and save a bird’s eye view using NamedView, and export the view using Make2d.

Refine this first drawing in Illustrator, and include at least two layers of information in addition to the building masses, streets, and land surface.

Your second drawing will be an aerial from Google Earth, matched exactly with your first drawing. You will take this drawing into photoshop to process it and highlight your site. Color may be employed, but make it purposeful. Consider lineweight and transparency carefully.

I explored further outside of Craig street area in this aerial exercise. I asked questions of sight and sound as I made my diagramming of the Carnegie Mellon main campus.

What is the distance visible to me if I were walking along the Cut and needing to see an arriving bus coming along Forbes Avenue? This visible area is shown in the field of blue, with the central point of view labeled by the blue dot.

Additionally, using an iPhone app that measures volume, I took a walk from Wean Hall back to the Integrated Innovation Institute. The sound of traffic often varies along Forbes. I was curious to quantify the noise levels in my daily walk. In the second diagram, I have taken the same information and presented it as not a path, but a heatmap.

Doherty Sout 52.6 dB CFA 54.4 dB

Doherty East 57.7 dB

Bridge 53.9 dB

56.8 dB 59.8

MM North 71.7 dB

Carnegie Bosch Institute

Peace Garden

Hunt Library

College of Fine Arts

Schenley Park

Tennis Courts

Miller Gallery The Cut Donner Ditch

Gesling Stadium

Bookstore 75.3 dB

Carnegie Mellon Universit Alumni House

Skibo Gymnasium

Cohen North 64.7 dB

M 8

Hamerschlag Entrance 51.2 dB

th Wean Hall Entrance 53.0 dB

Integrated Innovation Institute 71.1 dB

Tepper Rear 87.0 dB

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Integrated Innovation Institute

Scott Hall Robotics Institute

Gates Center for Computer Science Newell Simon Hall Tepper School of Business Cyert Hall

BES

FOR

AVE

Bento Service 74.8 dB

ty

OD WO RE

MO E AV

Morewood Bus Stop South 82.7 dB

Tepper Entrance 54.6 dB

Morewood Bus Stop North 82.7 dB

Carnegie Mellon Noise Level and Visibility Map: 5:45 PM Tuesday Night Min 51.2 dB Scale

Avg 64.8 dB

Camera at 635 m Walking route from Wean Hall to CMU iii Visibility Range Perspective of Visibility Port Authority Bus Stop

Brian Xiao

Max 87.0 dB

A05

Exploded Perspective This assignment will pull you down from the birds eye to the ground. You will walk through and around your site to understand its position; its adjacencies; sound, smell; how busy it is, how warm, how fast; how it is navigated, who or what it is navigated by, etc. Thus far we have engaged with site as connected to a larger repository of information, at both the city and county scale, using GIS information.

You have worked with layers of data to build models, expand hypotheses, and come to conclusions about issues of context. This drawing is much more about the way you experience and understand site. It is an integrative approach to site exploration in which you will work towards creative articulations of time and space; dissolving boundaries and inventing modes of representation which illuminate a portrait of a space and place - is it fragmented, explosive? linear, directed? Open, or closed? Vegetated, or barren?

For this site analysis exercise, I chose the intersection of Penn and Centre in East Liberty. Having shopped at this Target that sits at this intersection for a year, I had always been curious about the factors affecting the traffic. As denoted by Illegal Turn A and B, at these two intersections, drivers commonly commit flagrant red light violations. Often, these drivers make near misses of pedestrians. What is even more interesting to note is that these drivers often make these right turns without slowing or pausing, at many times even honking at the pedestrians at the crosswalk.

Upon observation of the site on a Sunday morning, I noticed a few things: the distance between cars’ stopping positions and “No Turn On Red� signage are quite far. The sightline between stopped cars on Penn facing West, denoted by Sightline B is at least 124.5 feet long. It is also interesting to note the presence of other signage and traffic lights in the drivers field of vision between the stopping position and the correct light.

Similarly, drivers stopped at Centre facing North also have difficulties in seeing the No Turn On Red signage. Despite the sightline being only 62 feet long (denoted by Sightline A), as evident from the aerial view, Centre Ave is curved. The signage is quite clear to stopped drivers in the left lane, but not so to drivers in the right lane, namely, drivers who are about to make a right turn.

Exacerbating the issue is a large tree obscuring the signage from view. Additionally, as evident from Google Maps congestion data, Centre Ave heading North at this intersection is often quite clear compared to the perpendicular Penn Ave, so drivers are driver at a faster speed, increasing the chance that they will not notice the signage.

A06 Environmental Simulations This assignment involves site analysis using Ladybug, an open source environmental plugin for Grasshopper. Using research and the provided scripts, you will produce three drawings.

The first drawing will be a set of climate diagrams including a wind rose, outdoor comfort graph, and sun path. You will also include a climactic diagram of your choice, for example monthly precipitation, which aligns with your design proposal.

The second drawing will be an aerial, using the same view as Assignment 4, and will show sunlight hours on the site. You may need to adjust your model terrain and add vegetation for more accurate results. This analysis can be used to evaluate the number of hours of sunlight received by vegetation in a park, the hours where direct sunlight might make a certain outdoor space comfortable or uncomfortable, and can be used for shadow studies.

The third drawing will also be an aerial, preferably the same view as Assignment 4, and will be a radiation analysis. Radiation analyses are useful for building surfaces where you might be interested in solar heat gain or shading interventions; areas for solar panels, where you might be interested in the energy that can be collected; surfaces representing outdoor spaces where radiation could affect thermal comfort or vegetation growth, etc.

Walks around the Integrated Innovation building can be sometimes difficult and uncomfortable. How may we quantify these comfort levels using Ladybug simulations?

WIND ROSE Hourly Data: Wind Speed (m/s) Calm for 2.03% of the time = 73 hours Each closed poyline shows freq. of 0.7% = 26 hours

Wind m/s 13.86 11.55 9.24 6.93 4.62 2.31

OUTDOOR COMFORT GRAPH 1 JAN 8:00 - 30 MAY 19:00

CLIMATE & COMFORT ANALYSIS INTEGRATED INNOVATION INSTITUTE Carnegie Mellon University

<0.00

6 PM

3.00< 2.40 1.80

12 PM

1.2

4612 Forbes Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15213 40°26'39.8"N 79°56'52.5"W

0.60 8 AM JAN

ANALYSIS PERIOD SPRING SEMESTER 1 JAN 8:00 – 30 MAY 19:00

SUN PATH 1 JAN 8:00 - 30 May 19:00

FEB

-3 = Extreme cold

MAR

-2 = Cold

APR

-1 =

MAY

Cool

0 = Comfort 1 = Warm

2 = Hot

0.00 -0.60 -1.20 -1.80

3 = Extreme Heat

-2.40 <-3.00

AVG MAX & MIN TEMPERATURES (FARENHEIT) 71 62 49 36

21 JAN

49

39 40 23 FEB

30

MAR

APR

MAY

Weather Data

iii @ CMU

N W E

v PLAN VIEW

AERIAL VIEW >

S

Hours of Sunlight 9< 8 7 6

ALLEY SHORTCUT TO STUDIO 0~2 hrs of direct light

FRONT ENTRANCE 1~3 hrs of direct light

PRINCIPLE LIGHT SOURCE 4~6 hrs of direct light

5 4 3 2 1

kWh / m2 N

100 ft

<0

SUNLIGHT ANALYSIS INTEGRATED INNOVATION INSTITUTE Carnegie Mellon University

ANALYSIS PERIOD FALL SEMESTER 1 AUG 8:00 – 30 DECEMBER 19:00

4612 Forbes Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15213 40°26'39.8"N 79°56'52.5"W

487.07< 438.36 389.66 340.95 292.24 243.54 194.83 146.12 97.41 48.71 <0.00

FRONT ENTRANCE GLASS 48.71 kWh per / sq. m.

*WEST WINDOW 292.24 kWh per / sq. m.

FRONT ENTRANCE PAVEMENT 97.41~ 389.66 kWh per / sq. m.

RADIATION ANALYSIS INTEGRATED INNOVATION INSTITUTE Carnegie Mellon University 4612 Forbes Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15213 40°26'39.8"N 79°56'52.5"W

ANALYSIS PERIOD FALL SEMESTER 1 AUG 8:00 – 30 DECEMBER 19:00 * majority of thermal transfer

P02 Drawing Site Your multimedia perspective drawing will illustrate your understanding of your site, and serve to ground your design project in a strong take on the dynamics of place. This module has introduced a number of representational techniques and modes of understanding: from (1) site analysis standards like viewshed analysis, sun paths, major axes, building zoning, etc.; to (2) collage representations which utilize multiple projections to uncover textures, experience, and place; to (3) environmental simulations including wind roses, thermal comfort diagrams, sunlight hours, shadow diagrams, and radiation analysis. You must utilize at least one element from each week. By layering multiple understandings of site, this drawing encourages hybridity and the delineation of a strong and multidisciplinary spatial perspective. Use projection, contrast, color, texture, and line weight wisely.

And what of the comfort of the walk between the iii studio space and the classroom? For cold? Wind?

What about dirt and grime?

In this drawing, I used information I gathered from simulations such as daylight, sunpath, radiation analysis and wind rose, to examine the experience of walking to and from these two buildings.

Additionally, I have also layered with these diagrams, views of the walk as well, in the form of an exploded, cubist perspective. These photos communicate the implicit, qualitative experience of this pathway to complement the simulation diagrams.

WALKING COMFORT INTEGRATED INNOVATION INSTITUTE CLASSROOM — STUDIO SHORTCUT Carnegie Mellon University

Dirt and Grime

le Chipot

4612 Forbes Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15213 ANALYSIS PERIOD NOV 11 2019 — NOV 18 2019 11:00 AM – 02:00 PM

Experiential View

Integrated Innovation Institute

Walking Comfort Based on temperature and wind levels

Studio

Integr

Classr

Sun Path Analysis

ers Dumpst

s mpster HCI Du

Litter g Lot Parkin Debris ucture Constr

Mud

East View

/s 0 m 6.2 to p u d N Win

/s 6 m 5.2 to p u SW d S Win

Aerial View Camera: 427 m

Wind SSW up to 5.26 m/s

rated Innovation Institute

room

Climate Comfort Graph

iii to Studio Path Plan View

Heat Level kWh / m2

2 PM

3.00<

7.66

2.40 1.80

6.13

1.2

4.60

0.60

3.07

0.00

1.53

-0.60 -1.20

<0.00

-1.80 -2.40

*prone to acculmulating

<-3.00

11 AM NOV 11

NOV 18

-3 = Extreme cold

patches of ice / snow -2 = Cold

-1 =

Cool

0 = Comfort 1 = Warm

2 = Hot

3 = Extreme Heat

A07 + A08 Unfolding a Project For this assignment, you will take the central idea behind your project and illustrate it in a multilayered drawing. This drawing will illustrate how, in particular, your project spatializes the conceptual heart of your work. You will use an axon, elevation, section, section perspective, or floor plans as the base layer of your drawing. You must include (1) a diagrammatic layer to draw attention to how your project connects to your concept, and (2) an illustrative layer to provide another layer of specificity and texture (this can be simulation, photos, more specific diagrammatic linework, contextual information, etc).

Can we reduce the glare into the iii classroom windows on the West side of the building?

What of a warm place to gather?

Perhaps the iii studio should be moved to the classroom instead, and the administrative offices above be moved to what is now the current studio space.

What if...

Unused space South of upper level. How might we remodel that area

Sketches made while on a train

Viewing deck offer 160ยบ view of Oakland

Upper Deck shades classroom windows from distracting glare

Balcony overlooks ravine View of Hammerschlag Hall

Ample natural lighting in lounge area 40% reduced direct sunlight to classroom

Balcony open to more sunlight and warmth during cold months

Front Entrance

Optimized for Variable Needs of Integrated Innovation Ins

North

Wes

Suggested Remdeling of Integrated Innovation Institute 4612 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 40°26'39.9"N 79°56'52.5"W

Lower Level Plan

C

A A

E

B D

A. B. C. D. E.

Administrative Offices Main Classroom Lower Level Bathroom Rear Exit Stairwell

E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M. N.

Stairwell Team Meeting Rooms Large Conference Room Quiet Study Area Library Data Closet Upper Level Bathroom Kitchen Lounge / Viewing Deck Balcony

Upper Level Plan

Balcony F

F

F

G

H

K J E

Viewing Deck

I

L M

N

stitute Program

st

East

South

Academic

Administrative

Co Working

Relaxing

Can the iii building foster better social connections between colleagues who constantly work with one another in cross functional teams?

The connections between Integrated Innovations students are some of the most valuable aspects of the program.

Therefore the iii building must become a social space and foster interpersonal relations

Ample natural lighting in lounge area

Viewing deck offer 160ยบ view of Oakland

Upper Deck shades classroom windows from distracting glare

40% reduced direct sunlight to classroom

North

Academic

West

Administrative

Balcony overlooks ravine View of Hammerschlag Hall

South

Co Working

East

Relaxing

Lower Level Plan

Upper Level Plan

Thank you very much.

www.brianxiao.com