Portfolio2024_Mengyao Zhang

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Little Village

Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Project: Eutaw Marshburn Elementary School, PreK-8

Professor: Rahman Azari, Ute Poerschke

Individual Work Spring 2023

Starting from the image of a sloped roof and a small house, I want to make a school that hope the children will feel familiar and warm. All the double-pitched roofs are for classrooms and the single-pitched roofs are above the public spaces, such as the cafeteria and library. The classrooms of different age groups are partitioned on the floor plan without interfering with each other. The three classrooms facing south make a gradual setback, while the classrooms in the north are in a straight line, creating a sense of distinction and liveliness. An atrium is set up in the middle of the building, where children can come out and play directly. The structure of the gymnasium is a large-span quilted structure, and the sloped roof on the second floor is also a quilted structure along the slope. The other spaces are of column network and load-bearing wall structure. The façade is designed to add liveliness and interest to the space, with large open windows and dark wood walls on the first floor. The classroom spaces on the second floor alternate between large rectangular windows and small, scattered windows.

Analysis

• SITE PLAN Program

Section Program Analysis

Ground Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

Cafeteria Perspective

Courtyard Perspective

EUI of My Design - Cove Tool Design Massing : 32.13 kBtu/ft2/yr

Analysis - Cove Tool

1. sDA: 47%

2. ASE: 32% (LEED requires sDA of 55%.) (ASE should be below 10%.)

PERFORMANCE CROSS SECTION

This daylight analysis added more windows and shading devices than the last design, so more shading was also added to bring it to a more balanced state. Most of the areas are well lit, especially in the spaces adjacent to the atrium.

For ASE, the majority is currently in a state of compliance. However, there are classroom areas adjacent to the southeast that are in a state of excessive sunlight exposure. The measures that can be done should be to add shading devices.

Zoning Plan - Ground Floor

Zoning Plan - Second Floor

Daylighting

SunFlower Housing

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Project: Residential and Mix-use building design

Professor: Ute Poerschke

Individual Work

Fall 2022

From a urban point of view, the Railpark show the movement gesture and seems like a flowing river in the busy and high city in Philadelphia. Softly connect the neighborhood, like a necklace insert into the city. When come to our site area, the house is flowing out of the railpark, like the pearls coming out from the necklace of railpark, continuing the language of free curve to design the house. Showing the movement and fluent of the house. When people walk into the site, they can first feel light, sound, air of the size of the house, but then smoothly see the whole sight of the building gradually. So house design is like invert to the city background. In the city context, the building and streets are straight, and the railparks is the curve. In my deisgn, the outline of the house is curve shape, and the inside walls are straight.

The north building is a café and tea room, using a lobby space connected to the Rail Park. And the first floor of the mixed residential building is for commercial use, while the second floor is intended to continue the landscape of the Rail Park to form a garden, with part of the building serving as a community library. The residential units are located from the third to the eighth floor. The materials used are CLT wood, White Concrete and curved glass.

• Site Plan 1/32''=1'

• Ground Floor Plan 1/16''=1'

• RailPark Floor Plan 1/16''=1'

• Section A-A

• Structure Model

Structure: CLT Beam & Column, White Concrete Wall.

Material: Wood Wall in Residential Unit Floor, Curved Transparent Glass.

• Elevation

Library Perspective

Entrance Perspective

Leaf City

Affordable Housing and Sustainable Community

Location: Oil City, Pennsylvania

Project: Urban Design & Housing Design, 3D Printing

Professor: José Duarte

Group Work, Teammate: Tariq Kenanah, Michelle Wong Fall 2023

The inspiration of the urban concept is from the leaf veins and the inherent beauty of the natural environment that graces our chosen site. Our vision is to seamlessly integrate with the existing landscape using a soft and organic approach, promoting a sustainable and health-conscious lifestyle that encourages residents to leisurely stroll in proximity to their homes. We designed a green ring enveloping the entire site, which designed many natural trails, can be assigned for hiking and biking and walking. Using the organic curve lines for the road circulation inside our area and connecting the existing streets at west and east directions.

In essence, based on the goals for more communication and social opportunities for people in the community, we want to generate more open spaces or plaza spaces that will be defined as a new urban living room inviting whole community to come and input vitality to the space.

Community vision and strategy

1. Networking – Cultivating an interdependent world through the creation of a tight-knit community.

2. Sustainable Lifestyle – Promoting walking and bicycling as viable choices, encouraging residents to adopt a sustainable lifestyle, with a focus on the implementation of a green ring.

3. Nature – Nurturing a green city ethos, fostering organic growth, establishing soft connections that activate the community and invite collective energy input.

Intial concept diagram - Green ring around the site and division of

Leaf Veins - Inspiration from the natural setting of the site

Urban Grammar

Shape grammar rules and application

The urban grammar begins with formulating the central park at the core, followed by structuring road systems, blocks, and housing plot locations. These serve as general rules, with our design introducing specific grammars, transitioning from straight lines to dynamic curvilinear forms.

Shape grammar rules

application

Road direction & Programs

Urban blocks

Design variations

Integrating - various dwelling types in one city block: Single unit house & duplex & apartment & public building

Incorporating - numerous plazas and green spaces, our design aims to offer neighbors an urban living room, fostering a new and sociable lifestyle.

The overall functional zoning concept consists of a horizontal central green park in the middle, with public buildings and apartments on either side along the park, where the apartments are indicated by the color red.

The configured roads predominantly adopt a one-way layout across the site.

Longitudinal Section

Short Section

Perspectives

Community and Aerial view

Through east entrance

Axon of two urban blocks

Axon of two urban blocks

Two Urban Blocks

Aerial view

To explore the geometric freedom of 3D concrete printing, a pentagonal column was rotated to add dynamism to the design. This pillar is a metaphorical representation of the art and engineering that could coexist with the Pennsylvania environment.

Generated Toolpath and the Printed Structure

A wall element was extracted from the house design to showcase the printabiltiy of the curved wall. Printed at 1:2 scale, each wall is similar in design with regards to the overhang angle, but vary in thickness and curvature throughout the housing design.

Toolpath Generation Steps

Progression of Toolpath Generation

A clean and streamlined aesthetic was achieved by employing a simple, yet elegant toolpath to harmonize with the vertical strip windows. The toolpath considerations were integral in crafting a reflective space to foster a peaceful atmosphere within the structure.

Print 2 Beam

InterLock

Location: Watkins Glen, NewYork

Project: Automotive Research Center & Museum

Professor: Shadi Nazarian

Individual Work

Spring 2022

The design consists of two rectangular boxes interlocked in plan and section. The overlapping part in the middle is used as the atrium. The two boxes are contrasted in material. The museum uses glass and the other box uses stone.

Original Growth: The design of the museum is stepped according to the terrain of the site, and rises layer by layer according to the height of the site to better integrate the specific terrain.

Terrace: The winter survey found that the site itself has fewer trees, so if you want to add more green plants, the second floor is set back, and the exit platform can be used as roof green plants.

Exhibition Theme: According to the research on racing car parts, the overall architectural design style wants to reflect the mechanical sense of the racing car structure. At the same time, the theme of the design exhibition is defined as the display of retro racing cars according to the chronological order of invention. Therefore, this building wants to reflect historical retro and a sense of future technology.

Atrium: The connecting part of the two buildings serves as the atrium, the atrium serves as the garden landscape, connects the floors, and people can communicate between the different floors.

Tracks: Roof Tracks investigate material possibilities for the retro racing car.

Ground Floor Plan

Cross Section Long Section

Main Entrance Perspectives

Exterior Perspectives

Trigger

Location: Beijing, China

Project: Art activity center that activates historical district

Professor: Bing Wang, Ying Qi

Individual Work

Spring 2017

Chongwai No. 6 is located in the second ring of southeast Beijing, at the northeast corner of the Temple of Heaven, belonging to the cultural preservation construction control zone. It is adjacent to Guangqumen Inner Street in the north, Chongwenmenwai Street in the west, Fahuasi Street in the south, and Xingfu Street in the east, covering an area of about 0.8 square kilometers. The main house here was built in the 1940s to the 1970s. It is now a demolition detention area. There are nine illegal buildings of about 1,600 square meters in the area. The current situation of land use is crowded, poor construction quality, backward municipal conditions, poor environmental sanitation, high voices from the people, and strong desire for renovation.

This project is located in an old historical district in Beijing. It is concerned with questions: whether art can activate urban space, the relationship between art and people and the old district. To be an artistic activity center for tourists and residents. The design strategy takes the crowd as the starting point, designs different space functions for people of different ages and different needs, and uses artistic techniques to attract people to come to achieve the purpose of activating urban space and community vitality. It is hoped that important buildings in the historical district can be valued and protected, and culture can be spread.

Art History & City Development

This design project uses the method of art to intervene in the urban space to act as a trigger for Beijing's historical districts to activate the old city. The development of art is long, and various art forms have played a role in architecture and urban space. From the 13th century Renaissance to Baroque Rococo, Neoclassicism and Romanticism, to modern art and contemporary art, the study of art history is inseparable from the development of the city.

Art and People & Community

After analyzing the population of this historical district, it is divided into four groups according to age criteria. Children and the elderly are the main residents of the community. The 20-year-old young people and 30-year-old family members who come to visit are targeted at the crowd.

Site Mapping

The Temple of Heaven Antique City located at No. 91 Fahuasi Street is not only full of antique folk customs, but also modern fashion. The antique jewelry placed along the antique street forms a unique tourist landscape. Although the antique street is not long, it is full of vitality.

Nangangzi Catholic Church is a district-level cultural relic protection unit. Located at Tiyuguan Road, Chongwen District, Beijing. It was built in the second year of Xuantong in the Qing Dynasty (1910). At that time, the Beijing Catholic Main Church planned to build a church and a congregation of nuns.

19th to 20th century 20th to 21th century 13th to 18th century

Protected courtyard

courtyard

Nangangzi Church

Art Museum

Antique City

User Category

Group: Children

Age:

6-12

Children are characterized by liveliness, like running, and require safety. They can be designed in a diversified space with platforms and height differences, and they can run on the roof.

Group:

Age:

Group:

Age:

Young people around the age of 20 like to watch art exhibitions and like novel things. They can be combined with spaces such as art cafes to absorb culture and knowledge in a relaxed atmosphere.

The elderly are characterized by poor physical strength, inconvenient legs and feet, inconvenient to go up and down, and they like a quiet atmosphere. Need to design barrier-free ramps to ensure safety. The design space is a low-rise space combined with the courtyard.

Group: Age:

Family members around 30 years old are mostly parentchild activities, and the design can focus on parentchild interaction space.

Children

Age: 6-12

The space designed for children's activities is mainly children's art workshops and painting classrooms, through the ladder-shaped space to make children more happy activities. The flow of children can also go from their own children's hall to the special children's reading room on the second floor of the bookstore to study and read through the corridor.

Group:

Age:

The elderly

50+

The entrance and exit of the space for the elderly in the community should be on the north side of the site, close to the residential area. It is a community library with various categories such as art, movies and music. People can talk, read and spend leisure time here. Age: Age:

Young people

The space for tourists and young people is mainly at the main entrance on the south side. It is an art exhibition hall, a coffee shop and a souvenir shop. The design site is close to the historical building Fahua Temple in the Chongwai No. 6 area. A fixed exhibition will be held to spread history and culture Knowledge, attracts the flow of people.

Group: Group: 30-40 20-30

Family

The first floor of the multi-person family activity space is an art bazaar, where activities are held regularly, and commercial activities are added based on the historical background of this place to drive consumption and activate the city. Art is a good way to bring people closer to the city.

The exploded axonometric drawing mainly embodies the spatial forms used by four different groups of people. Through these spaces, different circulation lines are formed, so that people can enjoy activities inside, achieve the integration of indoor and outdoor spaces, and activate the entire community.

Integrate New with the Old

Location: Jinan, China

Project: Hongjialou Cathedral area renovation design

Professor: Ying Qi, Qipeng Mu

Individual Work

Spring 2018

Built in 1905, the Hongjialou Cathedral is a twin-tower Gothic building, and the largest Catholic church in Jinan and North China, also known as one of the three famous Catholic churches in China. It occupies an important position in modern Chinese religious architecture. The whole building is majestic, with grand beauty and solemnity. The space inside the church is large and shocking, with windows on all sides and good internal light. In the afternoon, the sunlight passes through, creating a warm environment that matches the sense of rituals of religious places, giving people a sense of spiritual purification. The architecture of the Chinese and Western walls has unique characteristics. The Hongjialou Cathedral is indeed the most beautiful building of western style in Jinan.

The Church Landscape Park is located on the north and east sides surrounding the Cathedral. The overall design concept is to take advantage of the original site landscape on the north side of the church to create an open park and cultural buildings enclosing the church. The different entrances and exits of the park welcome people from different directions. The wooden platform creates a sense of envelopment and warmth in the church, increases opportunities for people to communicate with each other, draws closer the relationship between people and the church, and enhances the spiritual image of the church in the city.

Renovation based on View Accessibility

Sight analysis analyzes the view of the church from four directions, east, west, south, and north, and proposes a transformation strategy for each direction.

West facade need broaden. Remain the landscape.

Remain

Shape generation diagram

of some annexes Surrounding sense of enclosure Echoing different interfaces

Demolition

Church Landscape Park Master Plan

Tourist Service Center

Tree platform

Church Research Museum

ISland PArk

Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Project: Water Taxi Station Design

Professor: Felecia Davis

Individual Work

Fall 2021

My design of Threshold concept is inspired by my study case Threshold and Japan's Karuizawa Senju Hiroshi Art Museum. The water station terminal is located on the banks of the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, in a transition area from the city center to the other end of the city. My main concept is to reduce the volume of the building by designing curves and glass materials. I want to integrate the building with the surrounding natural landscape (river and green plants) to create a natural lighting space. Trees can be planted in the plane and the circular opening of the roof, and the roof plan is designed as a landscape park, allowing people to walk in the building and have sufficient indoor and outdoor space to communicate, relax and feel the nature while waiting for the boat to depart and arrive. It is like the center of a small waterfront space, making pure functional spaces interesting and diverse, enabling people to communicate in community activities here, and sparking different sparks.

Model: 1/8'' = 1'

A-A LONG Section

B-B CROSS Section

Other Works

Pencil Sketch: Exploded Detail Drawing, Spring 2022

Professor: Darla Lindberg

In architecture, there is no such thing as good idea. There is only expression. Carlo Scarpa Cite in Marco Frascari's "The Tell-the-Tale Detail"

This is a column in Stuckeman building in Penn State campus. The axon shows the connection details and how the nails work. The bottom part can be draw out from the vertical column.

Material model making Rammed Earth model, Spring 2022

Rammed Earth Wall Section Axon and Final photo of the model. Just like cooking, follow different recipes, like the various degree of mixing dirt, sand and cement, to get different colors of soil, the layering effect is beautiful.

Other Works

Manual model: Suzhou Humble Administrator's Garden, 2015

Ancient building model making Chongang five-step flat body fighting arch, 2016