Carolyn Wu Portfolio

Carolyn Wu Portfolio 2018

01

Lakeview Avenue

Mixed-Use Housing Project for Dundas West

02

Gateway Park

Asylum-Seeker Centre and Marketplace for the Junction

03

Robson Square in Past, Present and Future A Proposal for a Rainwater Collector

04

Designing the Image Imagining a Public Plaza

05

Time Warp

A Public Reading Room

06

Personal Works

A Collection of Portraits

01 Lakeview Avenue Mixed-Use Housing Project for Dundas West Architectural Design Studio III Instructor: Jonathan Enns Fall 2016

For this project, I was to design a new mixed-use residential building in the Dundas West neighbourhood in Toronto.

Currently, the site is occupied by a Beer Store and a vast parking lot, and is right beside the Lakeview Avenue Public Parkette, which is currently very dark and empty. When designing the building, I had to keep in mind Toronto zoning laws, which required mid-rise buidlings to be no higher than 20 metres and had specific setback rules from the street.

My proposed building is a reflection of the Lakeview Avenue Parkette. The curve of the building mirrors the shape of the parkette, creating an urban alleyway. To emphasize the alleyway as a public space, the setback of the building is oriented towards the alleyway rather than the street. The curvature of the building also creates a rounded area in the alleyway, which can be used as a patio for the public amenities on the first floor.

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Lakeview Avenue Dun

das

Stre

et W est

Ossington Ave

Site Plan | 1:500

Public & private programs

Circulation

Parkette & Alleyway

Entry points

Level -1

Level 01

Level 02

Level 03

Level 04

Level 05

Plans | 1:100 2

One Bedroom Level 05

Studio Two Bedroom

One Bedroom Studio Level 04 Two Bedroom

Studio One Bedroom Level 03

Two Bedroom Three Bedroom

Studio Two Bedroom Level 02

One Bedroom Three Bedroom Gym

Restaurant Level 01 Commercial Space

WC Laundry

Level -1

Exploded Axonometric

Parking

East Elevation | 1:200

North Elevation | 1:200

West Elevation | 1:200

South Elevation | 1:200 3

Transversal Section | 1:200

Longitudinal Section | 1:200

Perspective Render Front View

Perspective Render Lakeview Avenue Laneway

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02 Gateway Park Asylum-Seeker Centre and Marketplace for the Junction Architectural Design Studio IV Instructor: Matthew Allen In Collaboration with Jaime Ahn and Hasti Mangha Winter 2017

Our proposal for Dundas West is to build a new transit hub to increase connectivity and community. Gateway Park includes multi-season programs such as a city market, an asylum-seekers centre, recreational facilities as well as over seven acres of new public green space. New connections between the GO Transit train, the Union-Pearson Express train, the Toronto Transit streetcar, and the Toronto Transit subway train make travelling into, out of and within the City of Toronto easier than before.

The Park itself is a man-made structure with purposely designed hills to allow for different activities. The south hill is the highest point in the park and acts as an observation area, the north hill is mildly sloped and has a winding meandering path to allow for light walks and strolls, and the central hill is rather steep to allow for more vigorous activities. These hills sit on an arched tunnel, which covers the train platforms, trusses and a dirt fill. A bike path also runs along the west side of the park.

The Asylum-Seekers Centre offers shelter and transitional services to Toronto’s new refugees. It is embedded into the west side of the park, tucked within the quiet residential neighbourhood. The building is designed to address the fragile psychological states of residents to help them transition to a new life in Canada. The design concept was to create a building that promoted community and felt as much like their homes as possible, with public programs on the first floor, a mix of public and private on the second, and residential rooms on the third.

The City Market is embedded into the east side of the park along busy Dundas Street to promote encourage passerbys to stop and enjoy some time in the market and on the park.

The first floor of the market has a variety of stores to suit commuters using the trains such as a gallery to walk through while waiting and a convenience store to grab something on the way home. The third floor has stores to suit those using the park such as an ice cream shop.

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Project Site Asylum Centre Services Employment Centre Services

Site Analysis

Asylum-Seeker Centre Backyard Playground

Winding Path Lookout Point Entrance Plaza

Dirt Fill Tunnel Structure Trusse Structure Train Platform

Asylum-Seeker Centre

Basketball Courts City Market

Parking TTC Subway Concourse

TTC Subway Train Platform

Exploded Isometric 6

Roof Plan | 1:750

Longitudinal Section | 1:500

Plan Level 03 | 1:750

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Plan Level 01 | 1:750

Transversal Section | 1:500

Plan Level -1 | 1:750

Transversal Section | 1:500 8

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Level 01 1. Intake Offices 2. Health & Mental Wellness Clinic 3. Fitness Centre 4. Staff Room

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2

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Level 02 5. Classrooms 6. Computer Lab 7. Career Centre 8. Children’s Daycare/Lounge 9. Kitchen 10. Living Room

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6

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Level 03 11. Lounge 12. Laundry Room 13. Bedrooms 13

Asylum-Seeker Centre Plans | 1:250

Porthole Windows Provide discrete outdoor views out while minimizing views in

Housing vs Services Building split into two ; housing units and service centres

Embedded in Hill Hill is extention to Asylum-Seekers Centre’s courtyard

Division of Programs Programs become more private as people move up floors

Entry Points Entrance for housing is separate to entrance for service centres

Circulation In addition to two egress cores, housing units have own stairs

Asylum-Seeker Centre Diagrams 9

7 6 5

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2 1

Level 01 1. Tourist Centre 2. Equipement Rental 3. Art Gallery 4. Market Office 5. Bakery 6. Convenience Store 7. Flower Shop

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Level 02 8. Restaurant

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City Market Plans | 1:250

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Level 03 9. Event Space 10. Cafe 11. Ice Cream Shop 12. Food Shack 13. Candy Store

Embedded in Hill Visitors can enjoy their food on the hill which is connected to market

Entry Points Market is accessible from trains and recreational facilities

Division of Programs First level suited for commuters; third level suited for park users

Circulation Egress core connecting market to park parking lot below

Perspective Render Train Platform 10

03 Robson Square in Past, Present and Future Precedent Studies of Past and Present, and a Proposal for a Rainwater Collector Project Location: Vancouver, Canada Landscape Architecture Design Studio Instructor: Jane Wolff Fall 2017

Throughout this semester, I studied Robson Square in its present and past state as precendents. These two studies helped me develop a proposal that addresses Robson Square’s future concerns while considering the strengths and unique characteristics of its present and past state.

While studying Robson Square in its present state as a precedent, I observed that the most essential characteristics of Robson Square were its blurring of boundaries between architecture and landscape, as well as its planting pattern which is organized along the edge and messy within the park. I also chose to study Robson Square’s past proposal where a skyscraper was to be built as this moment in time was the catalyst to its current design. This proposal emphasized the park’s unique quality of boundaries blurring.

For my proposal, I decided to address three problems - climate change, the lack of program and the park as a divided space. My proposal will address these problems by taking the existing domes and flipping them upside down as rainwater collectors. Within the pillars holding the domes up are sand, gravel, and pebbles to naturally filter rainwater into a fountain, which would act as an open cistern. During the summer, the fountain would not only be a great space to sit by, but would also provide evaporative cooling. During the winter, the fountain could also be frozen using the existing infrastructure to be used as a public ice rink.

My proposal emphasizes the blurring of boundaries in that Robson Square will not only blur the boundaries between architecture and physical landscape, but also the boundaries between architecture and dynamic environment.

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Robson Square is located in the downtown core of Vancouver and it is built over three city blocks. It is made up of three principle - the BC Law Courts on one end, the Vancouver Art Gallery on the other and the University of British Columbia’s Robson Square in the middle.

Climate Change Vancouver’s climate is projected to be like that of San Diego by 2050, meaning there will be more rain and hotter summers.

To address stormwater, I propose to flip the existing domes upside down for a rainwater collector, and raise the structure above the ground plane to create a canopy.

Divided Park Robson Street currently segregrates Block 51 from the rest of the park. I propose to close this street and add smaller mound with trees. This mound would not only be a stormwater management strategy, but would also provide a shady area for people to sit under and interact with.

Lack of Program The sunken court is rarely used except for three months during the Winter where an ice rink is set up for public skating. I propose to incorporate a permanent fountain in this area with public seating. This fountain would act as the rainwater collection cistern.

Existing Problems 12

Site Plan | 1:700 2017 Existing Garden

Site Plan | 1:700 2050 Rainwater Collector

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Tiered Topography It is hard to tell where th buildings begin and end.

The blurring of boundaries between architecture and landscape is emphasized by tiered terraces, which allow visitors to experience the park at different levels.

Planting as a Frame The twin allee frame along the edge of the park separates the surrounding buildings from the more messy and random planting inside the park. This makes Robson Square a green oasis within a concrete/glass jungle.

Separated by Circulation The park is separated into two sections between Blocks 51 and 61. Currently, Robson Street cuts through the park

Past Proposal A 55-storey black glass skyscraper was originally proposed to be built. This proposal highlights the uniqueness of Robson Square’s current design in that the the boundary between architecture and landscape would have been very blunt.

Diagrams 2017 Existing Garden

Transversal Section | 1:150 2017 Existing Garden

Longitudinal Section | 1:150 2017 Existing Garden

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Microclimate As the sunken court is below ground, it is the coolest spot in the park, making it an ideal space for people to gather during hotter weather. There are also no programmed activities during the summer, making this space good to develop.

Unified Park The 800-block of Robson Street is permanently closed to unify the park as one. This leaves a empty space where the street once was.

Planting as a Frame To address the empty space, a grassed mound, much like the existing one, will be built. Trees will planted with no particular planting pattern to contribute to the existing idea that planting within the park is messier.

Drainage The feature of water blurs the boundary between landscape and architecture not only physically as waterfalls fall from one terrace to another, but also dynamically as the architecture interacts with rainwater to create a fountain and ice rink.

Diagrams 2050 Rainwater Collector

Transversal Section | 1:150 2050 Rainwater Collector

Longitudinal Section | 1:150 2050 Rainwater Collector

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Perspective Render 2017 Sunken Court

Perspective Render 2050 Rainwater Collector

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04

Designing Imagining a Public P

Architectural Repre Instructor: Winter

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the Image Plaza in 2D and 3D

esentation Studio III Dan Briker r 2015

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For this studio course, we explored working in Photoshop and learned to manipulate images to create atmosphere and construct architectural renderings from a base image. For the final assignment, we were to collage images of existing buildings to create a render of a public plaza. Afterwards, we were required to recreate the Photoshop image as a 1:200 physical model.

Final iteration of the Photoshop image is on page

When turning the image into a model, the challenge was in recreating the buildings accurately without design drawings. Many of the buildings had to be redesigned again by myself. The model was to be kept all white and was therefore created using only two materials - foam core and bristol board. To create texture, I explored different techniques such as peeling, layering, scoring, and bending.

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05 Time Warp A Public Reading Room TimberFever 36 Hour Design-Build Competition In Collaboration with Jessica Gu, Daniel Qi, Jad Bitar, and Vivian Kinuthia September 2017

TimberFever is a 36 hour design-build competition created for architecture and civil engineering students. The task is to design and build an installation that acts as a reading room in the urban context of Toronto. Each team was given an object which must drive the design concept as well as a set of books.The installation was judged not only for its structural integrity, but also for architectural merit.

TimberFever was inspired by an antique wooden block.

Upon entering, the reading room twists upon itself, creating a descending space with a bench at the end where visitors can read their books and get lost in time. The books are tucked into custom-fit frames and are held in by reflective pieces. The installation is structurally supported with crossbracing both along the left face and the top.

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05 Personal Works A Collection of Portraits

Portrait Charcoal | 18” x 24”

Portrait Pencil Crayon | 14” x 17”

Portrait Pastel | 14” x 17” 20

Carolyn Wu

+1 778 636 2233 carolynj.wu@mail.utoronto.ca