STORYBOARDS
Architecture Design; Conceptual Design; Urban Design; Architecture Research
In commenting Nikolai Leskov's article, Benjamin once said that the storyteller was a person whose wick of life was slowly burned by the soft candlelight of his stories. This is the foundation of the unparalleled breath surrounding the storyteller. I have always been interested in people and cities, constantly observing this familiar but strange world. There is no lack of eyes for observation and hands for drawing in various fields. They select the most amazing parts of complicated information and organize them into a complete chain, either consciously or subconsciously. Under their narration, the listener can put the body outside and the mind inside. There are many materials that can make up a story, which can be memories from individuals or groups, a person’s spirituality and experience, as well as history and ongoing events. These priceless fragments are all gems left over from the panning in the thoughts of river over and over again. I lack the power to be a storyteller in front of the stage, but I am willing to draw quietly what I know and what I feel on the storyboard. You, the readers' eyes will make them alive.
In commenting Nikolai Leskov's article, Benjamin once said that the storyteller was a person whose wick of life was slowly burned by the soft candlelight of his stories. This is the foundation of the unparalleled breath surrounding the storyteller. have always been interested in people and cities, constantly observing this familiar but strange world. There is no lack of eyes for observation and hands for drawing in various fields. They select the most amazing parts of complicated information and organize them into a complete chain, either consciously or subconsciously. Under their narration, the listener can put the body outside and the mind inside. There are many materials that can make up a story, which can be memories from individuals or groups, a person’s spirituality and experience, as well as history and ongoing events. These priceless fragments are all gems left over from the panning in the thoughts of river over and over again. I lack the power to be a storyteller in front of the stage, but I am willing to draw quietly what know and what I feel on the storyboard. You, the readers' eyes will make them alive.
My study interest lies primarily in architecture design and research, particularly at the intersection of architecture, sociology, psychology, and other humanities. Further, the relationship between architecture and people in both an individual and group sense is also of great interest. For these reasons, conducted analysis on the site problem from a sociological perspective in several studios, explored the inner needs of the users through psychological methods, and subsequently designed an ideal space for users as much as possible through the methods of space, form and function. From this perspective, as a platform of interdisciplinary collaboration, Princeton align especially well with my interests, especially in areas of art, history and archaeology, the form and evaluation of cities and architectural theory and design methodology.
01 RIBBON
Architetcure Design | Studio
Team member: Hanyi Zhang, Ziyao Geng Fall 2022
San Francisco is a vibrant city known for its cultural exchange and fusion across different regions. It is a place where something special happens: people from diverse cultural backgrounds come together and create new cultures. In particular, our location in the Mission District is a meeting point of American, African, Latin, and Asian cultures, and this building will serve as a focal point that connects cultures and communities.The design of this building incorporates all the transportation spaces outdoors. It features a continuous, upward spiraling ribbon that guides pedestrian flow from the northeast, northwest, and southwest directions, while seamlessly traversing the transparent and sleek facade.
No man is an island.Our site not only serves as an intersection, but also is located at the transition from the neighborhood to the commercial zone and the transition of the city's green spaces. These characteristics give us opportunities to consider our project at three aspects with height differences, serving as the intersection of physical and cultural contexts and the extension of the Bernal Cut Trail.
Under these conditions, we are thinking about making a flowing and flexible place that welcomes everyone from neighborhoods and hosts many kinds of events. So we react to the site in three ways: use split levels to react to the topography, use ramps to introduc e people from many directions, and use glass box and handrail to blur the boundaries of interior and exterior. To response to the roads and outline to our site, we place two directions grid into our site; extrude a basic shape of our interior plate; duplicate the plate. And split the plates into different levels to response to the height difference in our site; add two main cores and some columns as structures; exte nd some platforms to break the segregate of interior and exterior space; adjust the shape according to the shape of our site; use ramps to connect different levels; and use glass as facade materials to blur the boundaries and create a transparent effect between interior and exterior. To minimize the effects of slabs and ramps to transparency, we try to make our slabs as thin and continuous as possible. And have flexible layouts. So we choose concrete and waffle slab as our material and structure and use triangular shapes to respond to our distort grid. Our Footprint Area is 9600 sq ft and total area is 19500 sq ft. Several programs are organized into our building, mainly including different service rooms, cafe, bike kitchen, market and educational spaces.
In order to maintain the connection with the sidewalk and the lane of the north side, the basement floor is open to the outside and contains parking lots. Responding to the concepts we mentioned above, the ground floor is quite open to the community for supporting the city’s public requirements like bike kitchen and movable commercial retail spaces ，galleryand some offices and meeting spaces. Following the ramps and stairs up to the second floor, there is a long span market that desires activated types of different selling. This was translated as an increase in division throughout the space both interior and exterior by using continuous layer height changes.
Moving up to the 3rd floor, the area is further divided into an education hub with a more quiet environment for study,connected to a productive roof garden as a playground for children. Our volume is separated into two parts according to the different gird directions. Each zone has one air handler on the roof top to deliver fresh air into our building. Meanwhile, natural light is introduced into our building by these skylight windows in the middle, and brought to all four floors by an atrium under it. Site
There is a three-level atrium in the intersection of two directions of this building, where people can see through and have a general view of the whole building. It also introduces natural sunlight into the interior and cuts down artificial lighting costs. To protect from fire emergencies, we place a horizontal fire shutter on the second floor and split it into two-level ones. The handrails are also shaped into curved sections to cover and hide the edges of ramps and slabs, and make the appearance of the building with the effect of glass overlapping, transmitting, and reflecting.
To obscure the edges of the ramp and make it as inconspicuous as possible, glass handrails are utilized. The handrails are curved at both ends to cover the ramp, effectively concealing its presence. The transparency of the glass material allows for a seamless integration with the surrounding environment, creating a visually appealing and cohesive design. This design approach not only ensures the functionality of the handrail but also enhances the overall aesthetic of the space while effectively hiding the ramp. The facade's glass panels are designed with varying densities of grid patterns to reflect excessive sunlight. This feature helps to regulate the indoor lighting and thermal environment, ensuring a comfortable ambiance. By strategically placing the grid patterns on the glass surface, the reflected sunlight is diffused and controlled, preventing glare and excessive heat from entering the interior space. This approach not only enhances the visual appeal of the facade but also promotes energy efficiency and occupant comfort within the building.
We have also conducted research on ADA design within the complex. In areas such as restrooms, kitchens, and parking zones, we have ensured reasonable turning distances to accommodate individuals with disabilities. Additionally, an adequate number of designated accessible parking spaces have been provided, with sufficient space for easy exit from vehicles. These considerations aim to promote inclusivity and accessibility, ensuring that individuals with disabilities can navigate and utilize the facilities comfortably and safely.
Our project is characterized by continuous layer height changes, as a result, the façade of the building is covered by glass in order to blur the boundaries inside and outside. On the west surface, we use fritted glass to block the horizontal sunlight and make a semi-transparent impression. The whole space would be illuminated. The empty floor on the first level provides light to the under-ground parking space.
02 FOLSOM GREEN
Green, the color, sustaining human race, a shade that binds us in communal grace.
Affoldable Housing Design | Design Studio
Team member：Hanyi Zhang, Ziyao Geng, Olivia LaVeccia Spring 2022
Folsom, located in the Bay Area of California, is a city that harmoniously blends natural beauty with urban charm. It is renowned as the hometown of Johny Cash. The area is characterized by sprawling green hills and abundant vegetation, making the preservation of its natural landscapes a top priority. The lush greenery serves as a significant and cherished feature of Folsom's scenic environment.The adjacent Johny Cash Trail adds vibrancy to the area and has been incorporated into the design to create a looped bike path within the site. By integrating the trail into the design, it enhances the liveliness of the location and provides a recreational amenity for residents and visitors alike. The looped bike path allows for a seamless and enjoyable cycling experience.
Folsom Greens is defined by three core strategies and beliefs. Our first strategy is to deliver an impactful project while still containing development costs. Our second strategy is to delivery a high quality of life for our residents. Our third strategy is to create a mixed-income community. Folsom Greens consists of 264 units over 16 acres, and of those units 202 are subsidized affordable and 62 are market rate rental townhouses. Unit
Three sizes of the units are set, 100-1b units, 52-2b units, and 50-3b units in total. Different unit types stack in each building for efficiency, with the 2b and 1b units on the side, three-bedroom units at the corners. By using similar layout, the floor area is increased and these l-shaped buildings are formed, which helps to enclose the public spaces and green spaces for the community that reflects our concept.
Our 16-acre site has a 50foot change in elevation from the southwest corner to the northeast corner. To capture the view of rolling mountains and respond to the typography, we put the smaller townhouses behind stepping down the slope, and put the apartment buildings in front. This forms a reproducible pattern, and we have two clusters of three apartment buildings enclose semiprivate courtyards, with townhouses behind.
We grade the southwest portion of the site. On the northeast, we maintain the slope and create steps in both the buildings and the landscape. So the buildings would flow along the slope, and the buildings share the same scenery.
At Folsom Greens, the site’s 202 affordable apartments are distributed across six buildings. Based on the first basic volume model, we develop two L-shaped buildings in the Southern area, according to the concept of the enclosing courtyard. On the north portion, changes are made to the three architectural types, so that they fit the height differences of the topography, forming new forms of stepped-like buildings.
Our total development costs are $94.7 million, which is the cost for the 202 affordable units and the lower part of our Central Green, and 9 acres of our total site. We use $55 million in tax credit equity, which includes both 4% credits and State tax credits While this is near to the threshold of $60 million that our financial consultants have advised us is feasible to place, it allows us to deliver all 200 affordable units in a single phase of development.
Groups of three buildings are arranged to enclose courtyards, with a central courtyard formed within each group. The courtyards serve as shared facilities for the families, serving as a connection point between the entrances and exits of the buildings.
The central Green connects the townhouses and apartments communities and serves as the sites’ main amenity corridor. Our 4 main amenities are a fitness center, community center, child care center, and a Bike cafe. The buildings are conveniently located along the central path so users can easily move between different amenities. The fitness complex includes a gym, basketball and pickleball courts, outdoor fitness equipment, paths for running, and space for indoor and outdoor classes.
Circulation
Child Care
The community center includes a space for eating, cooking, and gathering and the communal kitchen connects to an outdoor kitchen garden and a bbq area. The child care center serves families on the site and includes two classrooms, an outdoor playground, and a shaded waiting area for parents to gather. And finally The bike cafe serves both Folsom greens residents and the public and specifically caters to Johnny cash trail users, and the cafe includes indoor outdoor seating, bike fixit station and a covered storage area for residents.
Responding to the site slope, the buildings include variation n height, with some spaces in the third floor that can be used as terraces and are designed both to add visual interest and achieve the project’s desired unit count. Meanwhile, the first-floor apartments include a small private patio, and the second and third floor apartments include a small terrace. The buildings form two clusters of three, with each cluster surrounding a semi-private green space. The common area in apartment buildings connected with the green space in the middle increases the connectivity of the public space. The central green spaces along with the apartment buildings also produce an environment-friendly experience.
03 THEARDS
Green, the color, sustaining human race, a shade that binds us in communal grace.
Architetcure Design | Studio
Team member: Hanyi Zhang
Fall 2021
The positioning and posture of the body can conceal the relationship between objects. When studying food architecture, documenting the position and condition of the hands can reveal the connections between various objects. Indeed, one can imagine that there are hidden threads connecting the hands, food, utensils, and furniture together. These threads symbolize the intricate relationships and interactions between these elements in the context of food architecture. The hands serve as a bridge, gracefully navigating and orchestrating the flow of movement and engagement between the different components, ultimately creating a harmonious and immersive dining experience.
Food has its power to activate space and people, so I focus on the influence of food on our daily movement, from the scale of the Oakland city to the very small scale of the table. After do the series drawing of food and movement in different scales, I find the movement on the table is really interesting and inspiring. After observing the diner table of my home, I recorded some instants of my roommate and me on the table and drew this one to show how the food influenced our movements. In this drawing, we can see the relationship between table setting and people’s hands. Hands have place to stay, move over or move back and forth, influenced by the place of food.
And there are also other kinds of table manners for different culture. My home has a food exchange culture, but there would more patterns of movements for different kinds of table. So I do some survey and observation on line and in some restaurants and drew these pictures. We can see the different interactions between food and our hands on different table. But these drawings share the same core ideas. The first one is movements happen in in-between space on table, and the red curves usually connects the constant elements. And the second one is to capture some instants on the table into the drawing. These ideas inspire me to start my design from the in-between space in our site. I generate some different patterns of pavilions from my previous drawing. And define the in-between space and connect to the constant buildings in our site. So that the site can be a huge table, and I introduce some threads pavilions to active the inbetween space and act as a guiding elements to introduce people into our site. For example, the threads stretches into the other side of the freeway to guide people into the buildings. As the interior space, I use the table way to design for more interactions. Most of the markets and restaurants are in the fluid space to have more in-between interactions for the customers.
And I draw this plan in the way of my drawings of table. I try to capture some instant moments of this site, so I add as many details as I can to make the picture alive. This threads blur the distinction between exterior and interior space. They can act as the structure, the envelope of the buildings and define some exterior markets and restaurants. Some threads can reach into the buildings, so the envelope of the interior space has openings to intersect with the threads, to form a consisting feeling from outside too inside. In this section we can see the intersection of the building and threads system. And these thread system would fill in the inbetween space of the site, and form a semitransparent space when we see through one side to the other side. It can be a visualization canvas of people and gathering in our site.
Sweet Home for Unknowns, Dramatic Stage for Rebels
Art Complex Design
Individual Work | Design Studio
Fall 2018
An artist needs a hotbed to alleviate stress before he comes famous. People tend to focus more on famous artists than their growing process. The artists that are not so famous need a more liberal social environment while more artists establish art communities for communicating and sharing their financial stress. Since the middle of the last century, artist communities have spontaneously emerged in Beijing. They rented houses from farmers, transformed them into studios and dormitories and held regular exhibitions in open spaces. With the development of the city, these art communities have moved from the Old Summer Palace to Caochangdi, Songzhuang, 798 Industrial Zone, and Huantie Art District. However, rising rents have commercialized these art parks. Combining the trend of commercialization with the artist's shared community is one way to support their development
Migration History of Unknown Artists
As the end of 1980s, a group of unemployed migrant artists gathered in the Old Summer Palace. They started to establish the Artists Village, which grew to nearly 400 people over the next five years. Though they could only live a simple life, here they were free to create works, thus opening up a road to Chinese contemporary art.
Low rent and free lifestyle were most attractive for artists. In the heyday of the Artists Village, under-known painters, poets, performance artists and musicians held exhibitions and gatherings in the forests and courtyards. But in the fall of 1995, the Artists Village was dismissed.
Gas Tank Structure
At that time, Songzhuang was a rural village in the east of Beijing. Its sparse population and low rent were the major reasons for artists to move here from the Artists Village in the Old Summer Palace in 1995. Since 2000, Songzhuang has become not only a place for artists to live and work but also a home for the unknown.
Driven by the pressure of natural gas, this waste tank can rotate and rise. When natural gas is full, the tank can rise to the very top.
This cylindrical tank is centripetal. At the center, visitors can find interesting exhibits around you. Therefore, studios and galleries are arranged on the inner side of tank.
Needs of Unknowns
In 2001, industrial plants in DAD of Jiuxianqiao road was retained and leased to artists for their creation and exhibition. After more than 20 years of development, it has become the most prestigious international art district in Beijing. However, its commercialization has driven up rents. Consequently, most underknown artists had to leave.
There are a lot of artists here, most of whom are beyond unknown. They have diversified needs from basic necessities to art trading mode and from creative environment to cost control. These six needs have different performances at different times of the day. The importance and timeline are shown in this chart.
Public domain
Artists here need community facilities to cut down their expenses. Appropriate lecture hall, comfortable coffee place, viable sports facilities such as climbing wall and bike racing track could produce much possibility of workstyle and lifestyle.
Studio
Different studios are designed to adapt for diverse art actvities. Double-deck floor can be used flexibly to get active high-height space as well as peaceful low-height space .Structure of steel pillar and wire make sure of high stability, low expenses and fast fabrication.
Exhibation
This wall is for the special collection of a month to show their art works. Other art works could be exhibited either in a free museum or in artists’ own studios.
Private space
Artists here need community facilities to cut down their expenses. Appropriate lecture hall, comfortable coffee place, viable sports facilities such as climbing wall and bike racing track could produce much possibility of workstyle and lifestyle.
Shared space
Artists here need community facilities to cut down their expenses. Appropriate lecture hall, comfortable coffee place, viable sports facilities such as climbing wall and bike racing track could produce much possibility of workstyle and lifestyle.
Dormitory
Artists need places to refresh themselves from creative but laborious work. Single dormitory arrayed along the broadest circle can provide a compact but also relaxing atmosphere for them.
Study room
If people who live here want to enrich themselves by reading, researching and discussing, they can book a study room and enjoy their own space without interruption.
Business room
Artists here can book an exchange room to sell their artworks or for other business need. Also they can organize salon here to
For far-from-famous artists who cannot afford to live here or reduce budget as low as possible, there are free shared room. Everyone
In order to attract more potential buyers, the first floor and roof top are fully open to the public. The first floor is a collection of exhibitions, conferences and amenities. The adjustable roof can provide space for inflatable entertainment equipment. However, the middle layer needs to be used by artists to work and live. The shared studios are on the inner side while private dormitories and facilities are on the outer side. The concentrated accommodation and shared spaces helps under-known artists to reduce costs.
When the tank is raised, ubiquitous space is created, and when the tank goes down, it will disappear. What's more, sunlight enters from the central opening. Therefore, this interlayer becomes a perfect place for special exhibition. If the tank is raised, visitors can walk in and appreciate artworks in it. In other cases, it can be used as a wire house of artworks.
Different artists’ studios require windows of different sizes. Transparency is important to exhibit their artworks, so is creation process for potential buyers and exhibition opportunities. Floors can also be designed with varying degrees of privacy. The requirements for space may vary among different kinds of art. It is the same case for individual artists. In addition, two or three artists often share a studio and may be separated because of their concerns.
Artists' needs are closely related to the form and function of space. Diversified spaces can maximize their needs. Artists in this site can hold exhibitions and salons on the first floor, then enter the studios where they create art works and relax on the middle layers, and then directly go to the interlayer (when the tank is raised) or roof-top park (when the tank goes down). The visitors can join lectures, visit exhibitions and studios and go to the interlayer of THE Show when the tank is raised.
In order to use space without damaging this tank, there are only three shear walls inside the tank, which support the steel structure inside and around the tank. The middle height of the tank surface is partially hollow to illuminate the dormitories. The staircases connecting the studios are hoisted on the steel structure with thick steel cables.
05
OMNILOOP
People come and go, only the tracks remain where they are.--Willem Koerse Urban Design | Competition Team member: Hanyi Zhang, Jishan Duan Summer 2018
Imagine waking up from your sleep, seeing your schedule and location route on your phone, and remembering that you have an entrepreneurial exchange to attend today, you find that your room and other communicators' rooms have been moved to their respective locations at night, greatly reducing your commute time. All you need is to get out at the right time on your phone. Your home and studio are all adjusted by an omni-system, making the most of physical and intellectual resources at your disposal. This is the future manifestation of cities fulfilling their “obligations of hospitality” in peacetime of what Derrida said about the city of refuge. Coupling with modern Internet of Things Technology has become an important way for omniloop to adapt to the rapid expansion of cities.
Huantie is an abandoned circular railway in the northeast of Beijing that used to be a test site for new trains. The train compartments passed the test here and then transported to stations. Once an important industrial base thanks to its transport advantages, it has now become an emerging residential, commercial and cultural area. Due to its remote location and low rents, a number of artists and entrepreneurs have gathered here, making this area alive.
5 kinds of functions in Huantie
The five functional elements are not evenly distributed along the circular railway, where 75% of the residential route, 50% of the commercial distribution, 20% of the infrastructure, 30% of the ecological landscape, 20% of the cultural facilities and there is also a tendency to distribute unevenly across regions.
There are many green spaces inside and around Huantie. The greening rate of more than 50% can provide a good living and working environment for people, and the design and renovation of green spaces can be quickly realized in some modular ways.
There is a legacy water system inside Huantie, which comes from a reservoir in the north of Beijing. This lake can regulate the microclimate in Huantie, forming dark green areas. The surrounding commercial area can promote the economic growth of the park.
Buildings and landscape elements form clusters around Huantie, which is surrounded by several low-density residential areas, overcrowded commercial office areas, two museums and water station and other infrastructure.
The Railway in Huantie itself has its value. The original two-track test tracks can be transformed into a number of tram tracks to reduce the commuting time across different areas of the park.
The developed areas in Huantie account for about 50% of the total, and most of the rest is wasteland, but has spontaneously formed a road network. The circular railway is divided into layers according to the speed, forming a loop in the current functional aggregation area and diverting cars on the railway. The campus follows the current function aggregation area and inserts new functions according to the coordination. The green belts and walkways are embedded in a modular way to quickly diversify the landscape of the park.
Modular landscape units make it possible to customize and quickly pave the landscape.
Modular units is composed of plant layer and structure layer.
Structure layer contains water supply, purifacation and fixing devices, suitable for various combinations.
Landscape is formed according to the state of people, such as using exodic type to enhance privacy in a crowded area.
This belt can be woven gradually inward from the outer ring of the tracks.
There are some natural resources to be renovated in this site.
The original natural landscape of the site contains green space and water system, and the natural resourse is renovated and protected to form the Huantie Natural Park.
Landscape adopts a modular design that can be continuously implanted from the track circle inward.
In crowded area, set up architectural opuscule to absorb or guide the flow of people.
Residential Units
Combining different landscape units can form a continuous landscape belt.
Landscape Transfer Factory
Residents can choose modules by themselves to build their own studios, and they can meet or separate on a powered track.
Different walkways can be combined with different types of landscape units and assembled on the structure layer.
Residents can adjust the units here in Transfer Factory: add or reduce modules, adjust the ratio of working and living units, repair units, etc. Different components are stored in warehouse, which can be choosed according to users' needs.
Tracks with greenland park
Walkway is similar to the railway track, reflecting the history of this site.
This raised rail units can form multiple spaces from up and down.
Walkway is parallel to the railway track, with its own power to move devices.
Similar to the residential units, the landscape and walkway are also assembled in a modular way, which could create different moods of space.
Forms of railway tracks can produce different states of occupants through architectural opuscules. Linear or free form provides various levels of order.
Modularization can be a way of life: it has certain limitations and solves user design problems; it is also operable, providing users with different options. Modules with learning ability and environmental adaptability are new ideas for urban organization. The most representative modular design in Omniloop is people's exclusive car, which runs through the construction process of the park. From the very beginning, when a series of functional groups had not been built in the park, the car became an omni-cell of Huantie, providing the necessary conditions for people living and working in it like a RV. The car runs on the track to realize the function of social interaction in human society, providing an active communication environment for entrepreneurs and artists.
Omniloop uses cars as a vehicle to transport people and materials to other parts of the park through erected trams or organized shuttles within the park. Cars in Omniloop, like intracellular transport cells, have become one of the carriers of rapid passage and accurate transportation. Everything is modular. From cars which people can choose to live or work in to landscape greening, they can be produced, processed and combined in the form of prefabricated modules to form a diversification under a limited budget and construction period.
Omniloop has its own APP where you can view daily information such as weather, location, health, news, activities, services and car status.
The free choice of plans and facades in many standardized accessories highlights the diversity of omniloop. People achieve sustainable development through second-hand trading and shared space. The interpretation of individual ideals and environmental responsibility is the foundation of the formation of this small city. With the help of APPs and other intelligent city methods, it independently performs its "obligations of hospitality" and absorbs a variety of individuals under safe conditions.
Chassis
You can choose the shape, size, wear resistance and power source of the chassis in this app. Clean energy and trams are also available for your selection.
Main parts
Users can choose the right cars according to their own needs and preferences. The car can be stacked up to the third floor, and with the corresponding load-bearing structure can be stacked into eight floors.
The roof is composed of different proportions of indoors and balconies and users can choose different degrees of lighting according to their needs.
Due to gatherings and exchanges between artists and entrepreneurs, cars sometimes form a salon train where people can share the common parts of their cars. Salon trains can be interlinked or interlaced, as can inspirations and business opportunities.
There will be more stories on the parallel tracks. Accidental encounters trigger more exciting opportunities. At this point, people get out of their cars to see their passengers, and then meet again on their way out. The uncertainty of the city is magnified. Probative socialization comes from online to offline.
The quick construction device next to the landing track can add accessories to your car at any time.
