portfolio
architecture design
caitlin chin
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
A Children’s Hospice
Location: McMaster University Campus, Hamilton, ON
Skill Set: Illustrator, Photoshop, Rhino, Revit, Twinmotion
International Competition: Buildner, Hospice - Home for the Terminally Ill
[confinement // autonomy // play] Sectional Perspective
Boundary of Place
Awards: 3rd Place Winner
Completed: Summer 2021
How does one plan for end-of-life care when they haven’t had the chance to live? The Head in the Clouds children’s daycare hospice for the terminally ill is located on the McMaster University campus in Hamilton, Ontario.
Due to hospitals optimizing functionality and sterilization, the building is not conducive to being a warm or comfortable environment. This project examines the concept of confinement – the boundaries of place. Typical hospital rooms are made up of 4 walls and a horizontal plane for the ceiling. Spatially this box could feel confining and isolating. The design of the hospice utilizes ellipsoid volumes to generate dynamic ceiling surfaces with varying heights that transition into the wall planes to define programmed spaces. The lower ceiling heights create a more intimate environment for the more private programs.
The hospice is near the McMaster Children’s Hospital which is the largest pediatric academic tertiary care teaching hospital. Pediatric palliative patients can access the hospice by foot for those who are able or a quick drive over.
Program Diagram
The placement of the enclosed ellipsoid forms assists the needs of the program within. The forms making up the public spaces, such as the dining area and spiritual space, are closely clustered together. The individualized programs are within forms that are spaced out to provide a higher level of privacy.
The layout of the project provides continuity in circulation and offers various paths to reach the different programming. The circulation allows for the patient to have autonomy put back in their daily life through the ability to pick and navigate their own way through the hospice.
ETFE is used to generate the ellipsoid forms and aid in creating visual connections through the material. The translucent material allows for privacy in enclosed spaces while allowing patients to know that they are not alone in this tough position. The translucency assists the caregivers to be aware of the whereabouts of people within the building.
Autonomous Circulation
[ tree factory ]
Urban Forestry Knowledge Center
[microclimates // play // education ]
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Skill Set: Revit , Illustrator, InDesign
Course: Carleton University, ARCS 5105 Graduate Studio I
Duration: 4 months
Featured In: dezeen magazine, Ten architecture projects by students at Carleton University, 2023
Awards: 2nd Place Winner of the Stantec Architecture Prize for Excellence
The [TREE FACTORY] is the urban forestry knowledge center that aims to educate the public about climate change, and to rekindle the relationship between people and trees. It has a collection of microclimates that choreograph interwoven paths of education, people, and trees. The education of climate change can be daunting subject matter for most and so the [TREE FACTORY] looks to create an experience of playfulness and a bit of theatricality to educate the public. The fly tower is the most vertical element in the building. It is the enclosed vertical circulation for trees in a series of pulley systems that transport trees from the upper level greenhouses to the ground floor to be relocated outside. It is also where the passenger elevators are located, traveling amongst the trees.
Level 3 Floor Plan
CarlingAve.
Look up! Look up! Look up!
The fly tower is also a narrow, tall space that functions as a solar chimney to service the building and a microclimate environement as a final testing area for the saplings before leaving the building. The conveyer belt connects the greenhouses to the fly tower. As a group of school children move around the building, they are always observing the inner workings of the building as saplings zip above their heads.
Site A
Separate Paths for People and Trees
Carling Ave.
Lebreton St. S Bell St. S
Site B
Paths for People and Trees Converge & Outdoor Classrooms
Site C
The Urban Forestry Knowledge Centre
[Cooling Season]
Fresh air pulled through the building into the fly tower. Hot air escapes through the hatch.
[Heating Season]
Hatch it closed and hot air builds up at the top, which is then forced out through the side vent, heating the space.
Transverse Section
Mechanical Room
Woodshop Admin Lecture Space
Filling Box Experiment
Building Fragment Axonometric Detail
Curtain Wall
Double Glazed Curtain
Wall
Roof Assembly
Select Vegetation
300mm Growth
Substrate
Filter Fabric
100mm Limestone
Screening
Roof Membrane
200mm Rigid Insulation
Vapour Barrier
Sheathing
Steel Joist
Parapet Assembly
Gravel
Steel L Channel
Aluminum Panel
Vapour Barrier
50mm Rigid Insulation
180mm Batt Insulation
Kalwall Vertikal
Galvanized Steel
Flashing
South Translucent Wall
Assembly
Kalwall Vertikal
Soffit Assembly
Metal Grate
LED Strip Lighting
Aluminum Channel
250mm Rigid Insulation
Vapour Barrier
Aluminum Panel
Shelf Angle
Steel Column Connection
350mm Steel Column
Mandrel
Split
Steel Washer
Steel Bolt to 500mm
Concrete Wall
South Gabion Wall
Assembly
100mm Gabion Cage
500mm Concrete Wall
Vapour Barrier
200mm Rigid Insulation
100mm Gabion Cage
Below to Above Grade
Connection
200mm Rigid Insulation
Waterproofing
Membrane
700mm Poured
Concrete Foundation
Wall
Vapour Barrier
200mm Rigid Insulation
200mm Concrete Shelf
Flashing
Below
Grade Assembly
200mm Rigid Insulation
Waterproofing
Membrane
700mm Poured
Concrete Foundation
Wall
Vapour Barrier
200mm Rigid Insulation
Gravel
100mm Weeping Tile
Holistic Hub
[hearth // community // home]
Location: Spark Street, Ottawa, Canada
Skill Set: Revit
Illustrator, Photoshop
Course: Carleton University, ARCS 5106 Graduate Studio 2
Role:
Designer, Conceptual Drawings
Team Member: Stuart Thomson
Duration: 2 month
Located on Spark Street in downtown Ottawa, this adaptive reuse project looks to transform a former jewelry store built in 1912 to become transitional housing for the young women phasing out of the Ottawa’s foster care system. The concept of the building is centered around that the hearth as the heart of the home. This project utilized Trauma Informed Design stragegies and we had the honor of having a local Indiginous community partner and experts from Shopworks to help inform our design.
Experiential Section 1
The experiential section drawings were integral to the design process. These experiential sections centred how a resident might interact with the space and the daily journey one might experience. The first journey follows someone’s day to day journey who wants a quite day at home, with limited interactions, opting to use the elevators rather than take the busy central ramp. They start the day meeting with the elder on site. Then they spend most of the day at the rooftop garden before returning to their apartment for a quiet evening.
The second journey follows a resident who works at the cafe on the ground floor and after their shift, goes back upstairs, interacting with people on the ramp and chatting with other residents between floors creating informal social connections. They walk through the communal kitchen to see what is happening in the building, finally making their way back to their apartment.
Botanist Research Cabin
[threshold // natural boundaries ]
Location: Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto, ON
Skill Set: Illustrator, Photoshop, Revit, Lumion
Course:
Toronto Metropolitan University, ASC 201 Design Studio I
Duration: 1 month Site Section
Evergreen Brick Works strives to create a green and prosperous space in the city. The botanists occupying the research cabin are there to assist in monitoring the health and development of the vegetation on site, therefore the project looks to minimize the impact on the existing natural environment on site. The cabin occupies the void space generated from natural boundaries. These natural elements act as “walls”, to create a room within a room. The natural walls include an invasive plant species called phragmites. They occupy the south area of the cabin, and a line of trees create a natural threshold between the living and reseach cabin.
Phragmite Wall
BayviewAve Don River
Evergreen Brick Works
Exterior
Phragmite Wall
OCAD SATELLITE CAMPUS
[driven void // light wells // daylight ]
Location: Junction Triangle, Toronto, ON
Skill Set: Illustrator, Photoshop, Revit, AudoCAD, Lumion
Course: Toronto Metropolitan University, ASC 620 Integration Studio II
Role: Designer,Detailer, 3D Model and Drafter, Renderer
Team Member: Monica Calnan
Duration: 4 months
The OCAD Satellite Campus celebrates various disciplines of art and design. The School of Design encourages learning, fabrication, and studio collaboration. The driving force behind this design is the volumetric forms that traverse the building to encapsulate natural light. Two light wells channel light through the center of the building, all the way to the basement, providing both natural and atmospheric light to areas of circulation. A central void encapsulates the main circulation stairs, bringing warm southern sunlight into these large gathering spaces. The other three voids on the north are programmed as critique spaces or informal galleries, allowing students to peek into or walk through for various programs. Altogether, these prisms create spaces for gathering, circulation, and light.
W Toronto Railpath
Master Plan of the Junction Triangle
Wall Detail Axonometric Parapet Detail
Heritage house
[light // central tower // passage]
Location:
Kaiping, Guangdong Province, China
Skill Set: Illustrator, Photoshop, Hand Drawing Revit, Twinmotion Course:
Toronto Metropolitan University, ARC 920 Advanced Architecture Studio
Duration: 4 month
The house is designed for a multigenerational family spanning three generations.The site for this project is in southern China, in a village called Kaiping. The surrounding context is primarily farmland, with a distinctive building typology known as diaolou. These are unique multi-story concrete residential buildings acted as multigeneraltional housing and as watch towers. The form was generated from the exploration of combining the local traditional building of the concrete tower within a modern idea of building. El Lissitzky designed a utopian project called Sky-hook that experimented with the limits of modern steel with a horizontal cantilevered building. The horizontal cantilevered living spaces are supported by a concrete tower that serves as a vital connector between levels and generations. Programmatically, the house consists of three stacked levels: the grandparents occupy the first level, the common areas are on the second level, and the parents and children reside on the third level.
Kaiping Diaolou
5-Story Historical Residential Concrete Towers
Modern Steel for Horizontal Cantilever Living Spaces
Concrete Central Tower
Tower: Threshold & Passage of Light
Central
Central Tower
Building Section
Within the Central Tower, the apertures that puncture through the thick concrete walls create thresholds and passageways for people and for light. The punctured apertures allow for views both internally and externally to help orientate oneself in such an introverted space. The skylight form diverges from the rectangular prism to a pyramid form to avoid dark corners, allowing light to wash over the surface.
Dining Area
Kitchen
Living Room
Balcony
The Central Tower is the connector of generations, of vertical and horizontal spaces and creates audio and visual connections. The heavy, poche tower can be seen as a barrier of space but it becomes a moment of in-between. The Central Tower is an unassuming component that is heavy programmatically, experientially and is architecturally tectonic.
When Sight becomes touch
[material study // assemblage]
Location: Cartagena, Colombia
Skill Set:
Photography, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign
Course: Carleton University, ARCS 5106 Graduate Studio 2
Role:
Designer, Conceptual Drawings
Team Member: Simaza Najji
Duration: 2 month
In collaboration with Dark Matter University, the studio traveled to Cartagena, Colombia to explore the city and learn about its history. Based on our observations, what interested me the most was the poetics of the wall assemblies and assemblages. The sea salt breeze washes over the fortified historic walls of Cartagena, leaving its mark on the lime mortar, coral stone, and bricks, while the coral stone remains largely intact. We examined the additive nature of building and maintaining the historic walls in El Centro, as well as the subtractive influences on the city. The axonometric drawing depicts the individual materials in their pure form, layered together to illustrate the material lexicon embedded within the city’s walls, while the opposite side shows variations in material assemblages that have developed over time. Due to Cartagena’s climate, the building envelope systems differ from systematic Western approaches. The materials and assemblages have had a dynamic relationship with time, with materials crumbling and being replaced as time passed.
Architecture research centre
Location:
Toronto Metropolitan University Campus, Toronto, ON
Skill Set: Illustrator, Photoshop, Revit, AudoCAD, Rhino, Grasshopper, Twinmotion
Course:
Toronto Metropolitan University University, ARC 920 Advanced Architecture Studio
Role:
Designer, 3D Model and Drafter, Renderer
Team Member: Elizabeth Young
Duration: 2 months
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Architectural Research Centre is located at the edge of the TMU Campus along Dundas and Mutual Street which aims to create a new entrance for the campus. Studies of how architecture affects well-being and its ability to increase or decrease productivity has come to the forefront within the architectural research community. Studies relating to daylight, ventilation, spatial layouts, and materials all take place within this new building. Elements of biophilic design can be found throughout the building, from the curvature of the walls, the natural material palette, and an interior courtyard. Here all the occupants of the building are visually connected on all floors, while the stairs create opportunity for moments of encounter and socialization between interdisciplinary research departments. The overarching goal of the building is to be an example of a space that is designed specifically for the occupants comfort, productivity and most importantly their well-being.
[biophilia // occupant well-being ]
Site Boundaries
Form Generation
South Setback Ryerson Gateway
Pedestrian Traffic Integrating Nature Interior Courtyard
Interior Courtyard
Roof Canopy
Roof Condition
Thermally Broke Perimeter
Roof Frame Awning
Clerestory Window
Clerestory Envelope
Bio-composite Facade Panel
Rigid Insulation
Built-Up 50mm x 150mm
Stud Wall Vapour Barrier
Drywall
Rails
Brick Baguettes
Intensive Green Roof
Gravel
Steel L Channel
600mm Growing Medium
Filter Fabric
100mm Limestone Screening
Roof Membrane
300mm Rigid Insulation
Vapour Barrier
200mm CLT Slab
400mm x 300mm LVL Beam
Interior Glazed Condition
400mm x 400mm CLT
Column LVL Beam
Double Glazed window Wall
System 25mm Air Space
Rails
Brick Baguettes
5 Parapet Assembly
Galvanized Steel Flashing
Bio-composite Exterior
52mm x 52mm Wood
Structure
Water Proofing Membrane
102mm Rigid Insulation
10mm Steel Angle
52mm x 140mm Wood Stud
Backup Wall 25mm Air
Space
Bio-composite Panel
South Panel Assembly
Bio-composite Exterior
25mm Plywood Sheathing
52mm x 152mm Wood
Structure
R20 Mineral Wool
Double Glazed Operable
Window System 25mm
Plywood Sheathing
Vapour Barrier
12.5mm Finished Plywood
Interior
Below Grade Envelope
Waterproofing Membrane
52mm Rigid Insulation
250mm Poured Concrete
Foundation Wall Vapour Barrier
12.5mm Finished Plywood
Concrete Footing
100mm Weeping Tile
Pin-Up Space
Cafe
Exhibition Space
The interior courtyard is used as an escape from the grey city, colourful terracotta baguettes, vegetation, and water feature create a tranquil space that has a sense of playfulness to it. The varying densities of the baguettes are associated with the level of privacy for the program. As well to mitigate light levels. The south wall of the north building has direct sunlight so the baguettes are more dense to improve productivity, while the north wall of the south building is more spread out since this elevation only receives indirect sunlight.
The colours used relates to the amount of sunlight each facade receives. The south wall of the north building uses some darker shades to help absord the direct bright south light, while the north wall of the south building uses light colours to help diffuse the north light.
Interior Wall Colour Scheme
North Building - Wall Facing South Light
South Building - Wall Facing North Light
FORGET ME NOT
Defending the right to place for people experiencing dementia and ageing in the Newtonbrook West neighborhood in Toronto
[placemaking // interdependence ]
Location: Newtonbrook West, Toronto, Canada
Skill Set:
Revit, Rhino, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop
Course:
Carleton University, Final Thesis Project
Thesis Advisor: Natalia Escobar Castrillon
Duration: 8 months
Awards: RAIC Student Medal
OAA Award for Exceptional Leadership Through Design Excellence: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
How can we confront the ableist and ageist-built environment through the lens of dementia? Dementia is an umbrella term for the cognitive condition that affects memory, behavioral reactions, and daily tasks that can lead a person to feel isolated from the rest of the world. It is a condition that progressively worsens over time with no cure. For those with dementia and aging, it is the norm to send them to institutions, removing them from their familiar environment. But what if the neighborhood could adapt so those with dementia did not have to be displaced? This thesis is grounded in my personal experience of a loved one, intergenerational memory, and examining the built world as barriers. Through speculative neighborhood interventions, a more inclusive neighborhood can be explored that embraces interdependent living while also protecting people’s rights to their community and home.
https://repository.library.carleton.ca/concern/etds/ hx11xg68t?locale=en
The Problem
Long-term care in Canada typically refers to a range of services that straddle healthcare and social services, combining medical needs with housing and assistance with daily living. Currently in Ontario, there are almost 43,000 people waiting for a bed in a long-term care home with the waitlist estimated to grow by 1,000 people annually. However, the current system cannot sustain future needs. My grandmother has been living in a longterm care home for the last two years now and it has been a challenging transition for her and my family. She was relocated to an unfamiliar context she had never been to before, 30 minutes awayfrom her original neighborhood. Her home and the local
environment became unsuitable for her to live there. She has been displaced and the built environment has been complicit in this act. Placing people in a new environment could be very disorienting and does not assist in easing one’s mind with dementia. The context of our lives impacts our memory and helps us to place ourselves in the world. The first night of being at the long-term care home, she tried to escape, wanting to go back home. Prior to looking at long-term care, my family tried to hire a Personal Support Worker (PSW) instead so that my grandmother could stay at home but there were not enough PSWs to meet the demand. But is long-term care the only solution?
the PSW and emergency call button are fixed to the wall which constrains customization of the room
fall mats make it difficult for get the wheelchair close to the bed
the distance between the bed and desk does not allow for someone to pass by or sit comfortably beside the resident at the built-in desk wall unit
family visitor my grandmother personal support worker (PSW)
“What if the neighborhood could adapt so those with dementia did not have to be displaced?”
Through the research method of ethnography, I have looked at my family’s personal lived experiences interlaced with interdisciplinary research between disability studies, architecture, urban planning and health sciences. Stories offer contextual awareness by unpacking narratives from unheard voices, which can help us envision alternative futures where marginalized individuals are at the center of the design process.
When thinking back to my grandparents’ house, there was always a particular scent. It had an earthy and jasmine fragrance. This scent would always remind me of my childhood and their home. Growing up I never knew the source of that scent. My father told me it was a honeysuckle bush.
This plant was important to my grandmother. She had planted it because it was one of the key ingredients for one of the herbal teas that she made for us weekly. The tea was to help reduce inflammation and cleanse the body. This was part of her weekly routine until she was unable to cook.
my grandmother planted the honeysuckle bush in the front yard, nurtured it and let it grow
Intergenerational Memory of Placemaking of the Scent of a Honeysuckle
Abnormal deposits of plaque blocks and tau tangles twists blocks signals throughout the brain. The damage first appears in the hippocampus which is essential in forming memories. By the final stage, damage will have affected all parts of the brain as brain tissue has shrunk significantly.
“neuroscientists interpret our experience of space in a non-linear form, as a series of fragmented episodes or memories coexisting in time and space – a fourth dimension.”
Wandering
Having dementia reduces the ability to navigate and remember where they are going because of disorientation and short-term memory loss. People with dementia often walk with a slow, unsteady, shuffling gait. They cannot always interpret the intentions of other pedestrians, having to anticipate other people’s moves can be stressful and tiring. It is recommended that paths are wide to allow different paces of people to coexist. There is a term called “crip time” that resists the contemporary industrial concept of time and accepts that different people move at different speeds. Crip time can also allude to “time travel” - an example related to those with dementia as some can have their mind in one time while their physical body is in another.
Wayfinding
Basic orientation system, usually visual, coupled with the sense of touch, is responsible for our 3D experience of space. Some visual cues to help with wayfinding include signage, district features, anchor points and clear boundaries of space. People with dementia were found to have retained detailed knowledge of their old neighborhoods, including street name and how long it took to walk a certain route. The creation of anchor points such as landmarks, places of activity, street furniture, trees, public art are some basic orientation tools that instills sense of stability. Implementing low barrier such as low fences, and low vegetation provides boundaries but also provides visibility, offering a sense of safety as building occupants can people-watch.
Sensorial Experience
Sensory experiences become important as memory of events fades, but direct sensations remain. Smell is one of the senses that can trigger the strongest memory recall. Smells can evoke memories associated with events that occurred at a different time and place. Tactile stimulation has a positive effect on individuals with dementia as it can reduce anxiety, make someone more alert and improve spatial orientation awareness. Designers also must be aware of patterns for paved surfaces. People with dementia have been known to mistake sharp colour contracts or paving patterns for steps or holes. While busy patterns, repetitive lines, and shadows can cause dizziness leading to falls. Reflective surfaces should also be avoided as they can be interpreted as wet or slippery.
Dementia & Space
This led me to a neighborhood investigation, looking at my grandmother’s typical paths she would have walked and significant sites within the neighborhood that hold memories.
1
2 3 4 5
Starting at the house, she spent most of her day sitting on the couch, looking out the window. The bus my dad took everyday to get to work, helped her keep track of time.
However, as her dementia worsened, her house became more of an obstacle. It was a split house, so by the end she became physically, emotionally, and socially isolated. Journeying out of the house became harder.
When she did leave the house. Curbs and crossing the street became more difficult for her as her dementia progressed. She feared getting caught in the uneven paving and falling, pressured to move at the speed of the city.
The next site is the mall. The mall was the place where my grandparents would bump into all their friends. The built world soon became a social barrier, preventing her from having the informal social interactions she used to have.
Additionally, my grandmother would visit the park near the elementary school to socialize with friends. She also use to frequent this area to walk the grandchildren to school. Her grandchildren now become a source of strength for everyday movements such as stepping onto the curb.
Remaining within her neighborhood would have allowed her to maintain her social network and access spaces that held significant value and countless memories for her.
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Reimagining Livability
The Design Guide looks at reimagining livability in the Newtonbrook West neighborhood as an interwoven site of urban and community interventions to support those with dementia. The following strategies are adaptable and can be applied to other neighborhoods based on the specificity of the community and the residents have a say as to how to negotiate the program and use of space.
9. urban support infrastructure 1 7 2 5c 6 8 5b 9 5a 3 4
Community Interventions
The community intervention programs work as a system that can work together to care for each other. The following community support infrastructure outlined are programs that would have help my family support my grandmother to remain in this neighborhood.
1. Community Kitchen
2. Living Room Gallery
3. Health Hub
4. Activated Parking Lots
Urban Interventions
The urban interventions are the connective tissue linking the community interventions.
5. circulation strategies:
a. wandering loop
b. greenbelt
c. catwalk
6. greenbelt zoning strategies
7. permeable boundaries
8. street meets loop intersection
RH CARTER ARCHITECTS
Location:
5040 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON
Skill Set: Revit, AudoCAD, Lumion InDesign, Photoshop
Purpose: Professional
Role:
Designer, Drafter, Renderer
Duration:
Co-op Student // May 2019-August 2020
Full-Time // May 2021-August 2022
I worked 16-months at RH Carter Architects in 2019 for my co-op year between my 3rd and 4th year in my undergraduate journey. I later returned to the firm after graduating as a full-time designer in 2021. The firm is a medium sized firm of about 40 people, that is specialized in designing automotive retail. RH Carter is responsible for rolling out design concepts for various car companies across Canada. I specifically worked on the Volvo, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Vinfast team but also jumped on other projects for other car companies such as Hyundai, Nissan, Lexus and General Motors.
I collaborated on documents called a DCD, the Design Criteria Document. This document dictates the interior and exterior finishes, lighting, furniture and shows the prototype dealerships of how each dealership across Canada should look like. I also worked on various design concept package drawings.
Volvo Interior Render
Volvo Prototype Ground Floor
