Fon Chan Collection of Works

misplacement of matter(s)

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Independent Thesis Major Project | Supervised by Rory Hyde Delirious Yallourn: Transformation of Yallourn ‘W’ Power Station to the Hydro City of Tomorrow ABOUT

Project Type: Site Location: Project Completed: Project Duration:

Conceptual City, Renewable Energy Reinhabitation Yallourn ‘W’ Power Station, Yallourn VIC 3825 November, 2021 14 Weeks

SOFTWARE

Digital Modelling: Graphics:

Rhinoceros 6 Enscape Renderer, Adobe Photoshop

Pollution

(n.) Misplacement of Matter Thesis Statement

A State of Entropy

I define ‘pollution’ as ‘misplacement of matter’, e.g. Ketchup on collar, objects won’t be considered as wrong or dirty without their context.

Yallourn is located at the east of Melbourne. Once there was an Old Yallourn Town which has a population of 5,000, however, the government decided to demolish the town since they’ve found brown coal under it. Now the original town has become an open cut which the size of the mine is bigger than the entire Melbourne city.

Yallourn has 3 exposed coal mines which each of the sites equals the size of a town. The wounds of land once were towns, now they have become sunken vacant land. Yallourn power station is closing down in a few years. We extract matter out of land to construct our city, we are left with a state of entropy with misplaced matter. What is the correct place for all the matter? This proposal transposes the fragmented area into a city of tomorrow, introducing a self-sustained core of the future city for the foreseeable expansion. Hydro energy is introduced as coal mining declines, while augmented by civic spaces that serve the community and represent them architecturally. The revived Yallourn is imagined to be a collage of the archaic and the current.

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

I see our Anthropocene as an experiment of sand mixing. When we stir the sand, it is impossible to restore the original state by stirring it in a reverse direction, but an increase of entropy, a state of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. Yallourn is in a state of entropy which is irreversible through restoration. Flooded sunken land, abandoned power station, jobless workers. This project recontextualizing the misplaced matter by introducing city planning with the Garden Cities as precedent which aims to restore the people to the land, by planning the land with a view to the very latest of modern requirements. The new planning adapts to the existing builds and eventually reviving the land.

Misplacement of Matter(s)

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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Misplacement of Matter(s)

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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Misplacement of Matter(s)

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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Misplacement of Matter(s)

Garden Cities of Tomorrow

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This project is introducing a core for the city providing essential infrastructure such as power, water, jobs and civic spaces while allowing future urban expansion radially. Programmes of master plan are referring to the demolished Yallourn Town programmes which civic spaces, town hall, homes, schools and sports grounds are placed in the grid to provide essential facilities for the town to grow. Siting in a flood prone zone, misplaced water is a major issue of Yallourn. The new urban model reorients the misplaced floodwater to energy by embedding hydro energy systems as coal energy declines. Floodwater is stored in the water tanks of cooling towers, treated then distributed for reuse. Elongated journey and height difference of water channels turns flowing and flushing force into energy through turbines along the way ideally replace part of the coal energy consumption of the city. Water once was misplaced, now it is displaced to revive the land. Exposed Pipes in Civic Spaces The pipes and overhead aqueducts are fully exposed to acknowledge the importance of the hidden systems in our cities which have constructed our daily comfort. They were treated as an eyesore which we barely noticed their existence until they stopped working. The exposed energy generation process rise consciousness on energy consumption by making the process entirely visible. The public spaces along the water rings provide connections for the existing fragmented builds, augmented by civic spaces that can serve the community and represent them architecturally referencing Roman civic architecture. Coal power station in the centre is repurposed as a water treatment plant. In The Turbine Room, the Water treatment system shares the same space with the library. The coexistence of both in the same space addresses the neglected systems that constructed our daily comfort. Water treatment plant is placed in a reversed circulation of the former coal-burning process. Acknowledging that the entropy of Yallourn is irreversible through restoration. This transformation of Yallourn Power Station to a Hydro city of tomorrow is a revival of Yallourn. It is imagined to be a collage of the archaic and the current. Fon Chan | Collection of Works

Misplacement of Matter(s)

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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Fon Chan | Collection of Works

Misplacement of Matter(s)

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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in-between powers Supervised by Andre Bonnice Parasitizing EPA: Challenging the Power of the Authority ABOUT

Project Type: Site Location: Project Completed: Project Duration:

Renewable Energy Reinhabitation Office of EPA Victoria, Carlton VIC 3053 June, 2021 14 Weeks

SOFTWARE

Digital Modelling: Graphics:

Rhinoceros 6 Enscape Renderer, Adobe Photoshop

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Power

(n.) 1. Energy, 2. Authority Throughout the energy generation process, we often bargain with power. Accessibility to power seems to be a privilege. We cannot access our own electric meters unless authorized. We must pay to be supplied with power. We need power to access power. While our human eye perspective can only be in one place at a time, we often find ourselves lost in the constant flux of visible and invisible due to our lack of power. “I will wake up and remember to breathe, Breathe in the fresh air that is nature’s gift to us. I will walk the earth and remember its flora, fauna and People are all part of a living community. I will acknowledge and follow the first protectors of this land, That the land I walk upon should be treated with care and respect. I will recycle and reduce my waste consumption, And remember that we all live on one planet. I will quench my thirst with water and remember, That water is life. I will protect the precious resources our environment provides to us. Fulfill my commitment to ensure its safety, And remember that change starts with me.” These words are shamelessly written on the Atrium wall of Environment Protection Authority on big prints, meanwhile, having all the office lights on overnight on Saturday midnights. This project reinhabited the office building of EPA as a way to challenge the power of the authority, which aims to regulate and protect the environment yet doing the opposite. The new EPA is reimagined by having EPA’s manifesto as the brief. ‘In-Between Power’ is a journey of criticising our position towards the current power. Power, as in both power generation and power of the authority.

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

In-Between Powers

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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In-Between Powers

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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In-Between Powers

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Double Facade The existing fully sealed energy hungry curtain wall is replaced by double facade consist with Algae light harvesting panels and adjustable shading partitions. The habitable space in between is a transition from closed to opened, providing a casual workspace as an extension of the office.

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

In-Between Powers

By having Modern Architecture and Climate by Daniel Barber as reference, this project is criticizing the current standard use of fully sealed energy hungry curtain walls and the active air conditioning system to achieve comfort. The existing curtain wall is replaced by a double facade consisting of algae light harvesting panels and adjustable shading partitions. The habitable space in between is a transition from closed to opened providing a casual workspace as an extension of the office. Algae is applied to the energy generation process of the building which is ideal to be self-sustained.

The algae of the facade panels are grown in the rooftop algae pools then pumped into facade panels and roof membranes for photosynthesis. At night , algae is pumped to the centrifuge system to extract biofuel oil for energy generation. The centrifuge system is powered manually by the rotated door at the entrance. Wastewater collected from the office as

algae nutrients. At the end, water is treated by algae and ideally flows to the water tank on the roof for reuse. rooftop acting as a passive house. The sinking pool below naturally cools down the air in and hot air is out through the roof openings. Compared to the existing enclosed EPA building, the current design opens

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skylight is opened to ventilate the building from atrium to rooftop acting as a passive house. The sinking pool below naturally cools down the air in and hot air is out through the roof openings. Compared to the existing enclosed EPA building, the current design opens spaces while increasing its accessibility and transparency both architecturally and systematically.

Comfort does not have to be energy hungry. Power does not have to be authorised. This project is a challenge to the current norm and a request for the authority to take their responsibility.

1. Energy 2. Authority Fon Chan | Collection of Works

In-Between Powers

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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In-Between Powers

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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In-Between Powers

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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reorient the misplaced

Non Architecture Competition | Finalist ABOUT

Project Type: Site Location: Project Completed: Project Duration:

Open Competition, Mine Reinhabitation Zibo, Shandong, China November, 2020 4 Weeks

SOFTWARE

Digital Modelling: Graphics:

Rhinoceros 6, Z Brush V-Ray Renderer, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator

I, the witness of history, Laid calmly between the land. Nourishing thousands of homes, I was cherished by the Zibo families. Soon, mining breaks the calmness… Once a nurturer of the land is now forgotten by my sons. With a body dusted with coal and soil, What is my role and destiny? Sedimentation. Filtration. Concretion. Shifting of matter, the misplaced is retrieved. Floating soil surrounded by the sculpted land, Remembered by sons and embraced by newcomers. I’m revived. I’m water, the witness of all.

Fon Chan & Rachel Low Jin Hui | Collection of Works

Reorient the Misplaced

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Description Water, the origin of all lives and civilization, was once carrying thousands of houseboats ‘Lian Jia Chuan’ along the land of Zibo. However, since industrialization, the land has turned into a mine, people no longer live on water. While the age of mining is gone, the exhausted land is abandoned. Coal and soil are left tangling in the tailing pond. The misplaced matters and water lost their positions and become ‘pollutants’. By orienting the misplaced matters, the roles of water and soil that once lost are found. While the misplaced coal and soil reborn into floating village, recalling the lifestyle on houseboats, the water revived, and once again nurturing her sons.

Reorient the Misplaced

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The site is in an abandoned mine in Zibo, Shandong. To revive the land, our proposal recalls the origin of the land where villagers lived on house boats, nurtured by the flowing water between the creeks.

Fon Chan & Rachel Low Jin Hui | Collection of Works

Reorient the Misplaced

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Inspired by Zibo ceramics and AIMO KOIMO floating pottery by DO.DO., large scale molding, 3D printing technology and floating architectural prototypes are introduced to Zibo, establishing a new relationship between local traditional craftmanship and emerging technology. Through reprocessing, the misplaced coal and soil found its right place, evolving from ‘pollutants’ into an architecture that houses different activities, connecting people from different period of time and tells the story of place.

Fon Chan & Rachel Low Jin Hui | Collection of Works

kowloon city 2.0

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testing in progress... The Architecture Drawing Prize 2020 | Participation ABOUT

Project Type: Site Location: Project Completed: Project Duration:

Open Competition, Mine Reinhabitation Zibo, Shandong, China November, 2020 4 Weeks

SOFTWARE

Digital Modelling: Graphics:

Rhinoceros 6, Z Brush V-Ray Renderer, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator

On the land that once was a sea, All sorts of chaos grow, adapt and evolve wall-to-wall. Endless dynamics bring the testing ground to life with overlaid memories of Kowloon City... Wandering in the maze of time and space, Is this a building in the city? Or a city within a building? Kai Tak, Hong Kong.

Fon Chan & Rachel Low Jin Hui | Collection of Works

Kowloon City 2.0: Testing In Progress...

Fon Chan & Rachel Low Jin Hui | Collection of Works

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Kowloon City 2.0: Testing In Progress...

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Hong Kong, an extreme complexity where people adapt, negotiate and live along with. The hardly habitable living condition has made the city a testing ground for the world. “If it works here, it works anywhere else.” Super tight homes. Double deckers. Interlocking bridges. The tightness is a limitation, yet, it is also an opportunity. This proposal reimagines the retail industry as a testing ground, an idea incubator for anyone to design, manufacture and test, ranging from handicraft, fashion, interior to architectural prototype... The interventions slowly occupy the testing ground. Growing from zero, the process mimics place finding in cities, occupying from 0% to 100%, then 120%. Sitting on the former airport in Kai Tak, the reclaimed land once was a sea is where growth, adaptation and evolvement take place. Sculpted by endless movements, the city is an archive of Hong Kong culture. While new interventions are overlaid with the memories of the Kowloon City, this a maze of time and space where chaos occurs wallto-wall. This is Hong Kong, the testing ground.

topological modelling SOFTWARE

ABOUT

Project Type: Precedent: Project Completed: Project Duration:

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Maya Digital Modelling Task Carson Pirie Scott, Chicago, USA April, 2018 3 Weeks

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

Digital Modelling: Autodesk Maya Graphics: Octane Renderer, Adobe Photoshop

Topological Modelling

SPHERES

DOUBLE SPIRAL

FLORAL BALL

CHRISTMAS SPIRAL

LEAF

BRANCH

VINE

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GRIDS

Carson Pirie Scott, designed by Louis Sullivan, is a classic Art Nouveau commmercial building built in Chicago at 1889. The complex organic ornaments on facade is inspired by swirling gesture of plants which made the building significant.

This Maya modelling task is focusing on the transition from physical to digital, capturing complex details as true as possible with limited sources. Later, elements from the facade are retrieved to create new architectural elements with the same language.

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

2022 31 31

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structural details Zooming into the Structure of Ice Rink... ABOUT

Project Type: Large Span Structure Design Configuration Site Location: 60-88 Cremorne Street, Cremorne 3121 Project Completed: Oct, 2018 Project Duration: 12 Weeks SOFTWARE

Modelling: Drawing:

Rhinoceros 6 Rhinoceros 6, Autodesk Revit

In groups of 3, we designed and documented an indoor ice rink sited on 60-88 Cremorne street, Cremorne 3121. The Sport facility requires a large span structure to provide a column-free space for the ice surface. Cross-Laminated timber (CLT) is used as the primary structure for structural integrity, meanwhile, to add aestheticity to the space.

A. ROOF DETAIL (3D)

FRAME DETAIL (2D)

B. ROOF DETAIL (2D)

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

Structural Details and Regulations

According to the Building Code of Australia (BCA), the Cremorne Ice Barn is considered as CLASS 9B: Assembly Building in which people may gather for social, theatrical, political, religious or civic purposes. This includes schools, universities, childcare centres, pre-schools, sporting facilities, night clubs, or public transport buildings. The ice barn also falls into the category of CLASS 6: Retail because it has servicing programs supplied to the public such as cafe and restaurant.

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In the design process, programs and circulations are planned by considering BCA regulations and International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) rules. In the stage of documentation, elected parts of the project is configurated 3-dimensionally to give a better understanding on the feasibility of the project.

D. WALL TO FOOTING DETAIL (2D)

C. WALL TO FOOTING DETAIL (3D)

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

More details

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Mixed-use Office + Hotel Skyscrapper ABOUT

Project Type: Mixed-use office+hotel skyscrapper Site Location: Collins Street, Melbourne 3000 Project Completed: Jun, 2020 Project Duration: 14 Weeks SOFTWARE

Modelling: Drawing:

Rhinoceros 6, Autodesk Revit Rhinoceros 6, Autodesk Revit

Unitised curtain wall system is used as the typical facade of the tower on both office and hotel levels. The high transparency of facade allows broad perspective for hotel rooms. The curtain wall system is breaked into precast modules that are able to be installed from inside of the building without scaffolding. It is suitable for high level facades on skyscrapers for easy installation and maintenance. The modules are installed with adjustable bolt allows unify components to be installed on-site. Even if there are slightly difference of distance between facade and slab due to the curved geometry of floor slab, through adjustment they can be fitted along the slab edge. Aluminium spandrel panels are used for the overhead mechanical above ceiling, connecting with the glass panel by stack joint. Considering the sound insulation need for the hotel levels, split mullion with flexible gaskets is used for a higher acoustic performance. By separating the building components, the transmission of sound and vibration from one room to another can be reduced. Fon Chan | Collection of Works

Structural Details and Regulations

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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hand drawing

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Visualising my world... ABOUT

Project Type: Daily Pencil Sketches Project Duration: Ongoing... MEDIA

Tools: Pencil and Charcoal

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

Hand Drawing Adding human touch to this digital world... With more than 10 years of education in pencil drawing, hand sketching has become a way of communication in the idea development process.

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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The structural representation of architectural drawings are influential to my reinterpretation of human body forms. using strong lines and shades to define human geometries. Though digital drawings are dominating in the field, the aesthetics and organicness in hand drawings are hard to be achieved by any alternatives.

future furniture

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Down to humanscale... ABOUT

Project Type: Project Completed: Project Duration:

Furniture Material Exploration June, 2021 6 Weeks

MEDIA

Material: Polyester Stuffed Stockings and Cement Mix

Stock-crete Stockings blooming from concrete. This furniture series responds to the challenge of exploring the transition of hard and soft achieved by concrete soaking. Inspired by the aesthetics of traditional knotting art, stockings are knitted together like a blooming bud. Polyester stuffed stockings are soaked into concrete forming a hard structure which bears weight, while the fluffiness of bud provides comfort to the butt and interacts with the human body.

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

Future Furniture ABOUT

Project Type: Project Completed: Project Duration:

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Furniture Material Exploration April, 2021 2 Weeks

MEDIA

Material:

3mm Plywood and Timber

Tension Bench

Load-bearing soft plywood. What can we create with 3mm plywood? Natural elasticity of plywood is used to create tension while being bent into curves. The tension provides strength to the material and formed a surface which bears weight.

Fon Chan & Chun Man Hui | Collection of Works

visual merchandising

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Outside of work, I am a small plant business owner. ABOUT

After graduation, I decided to take a break from my 5 years of studies. I had lots of ‘first times’: I worked in post office, brewed kombucha, had my braces, caught covid... I also carried out an idea in my mind : creating a job for myself. My partner and I love plants and we decided to turn our interest into a side business. By participating in the entire business process from planting, photo taking to marketing, we gained a better knowledge about visual merchandising. Through analysing popularity from social media, we understand what visual attracts most attention. This experience is an opportunity to understand market needs so as to inspire my visual representation in architecture. More importantly, plants helped me to be recharged for the upcoming challenges.

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

Visual Merchandising

Fon Chan | Collection of Works

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LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING YOU. fonchan.design@gmail.com