portfolio2016 by Chen Di

Design of Balance Chen Di's Portfolio U.Va School of Architecture

RESUME

Di Chen

Education Background:

08/2014- University of Virginia with Master Program in Architecture graduate date - 05/2017 09/2008-06/2013 Southeast University(SEU) with Major in Urban Planning

Working Experience

01/04/2016-01/08/2016 Stantec, Charlottesville Extern

Visited construction site of Frederick County Public School in Winchester, Virginia and communicated with clients.

08/2013-09/2013

Woods Bagot, Shanghai Intern

Helped to finish large amount of work including designs, diagrams, translations and etc.

Won employers’ high praise because of professionalism, commitment, and creative thoughts and ideas.

07/2012-10/2012

Tianhua Architecture Design Co. ltd, Shanghai Intern

Research & International

05/2015-06/2015 U.Va China Summer Program “Emerging Typologies“

Visited multiple cities to witness the stimulus behind the rapid development of China.

Did urban research by visiting site, making maps and diagrams, and writing an essay.

02/2013-06/2013 graduation Project “Barcelona Encounters: Meeting Place”, La Salle, Barcelona

Visted Barcelona, Madrid, Sevillia and Granada in Spain.

Worked with Spanish students from La Salle to do urban research on Cerda Grid in Barcelona.

07/2011

communication program between TU Delft and SEU

05/2010-06/2010 Research on the relationship between the newly built residential blocks and old ones in Nanjing

Visited and collected information about over 80 residential blocks in the central city of Nanjing with three other partners.

Communicated with more than 50 interviewees to get better understanding of this issue.

07/2009-09/2009 Cultural Preservation Survey in the old town of Nanjing (with students from Nanjing University)

Took interview with local residences and participated in taking photos of the old buildings in this area with an NGO.

Working Skills

Revit, Rhino, Grasshopper, AutoCAD, SketchUp, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Indesign

Awards and Honors 2014-2016

U.Va School of Architecture Departmental Aid Award

2012

scholarship from Jiangsu Transportation Institution

2011

Honorable Mention in the “S+C2011” International Competition

Univeristy of Virginia dc2dk@virginia.edu 434-249-5014

Penetration

Between the Walls

Gallery & Library

Washington D.C., US Academic/Independent Supervisor: Ripple, Jeana - University of Virginia 2015.3-2015.5

Activation

In-between Street

Productive Village

Chalottesville, US Academic/Independent Supervisor: Lorenz, Esther - University of Virginia 2014.8 - 2014.12

Integration

In&out, Tradition&Modernity

Courtyard House

Nanjing, China Personal/Academic/Independent 2012.8 - 2012.10

Interaction

with Site

Biological Research Center

Nanjing, China Academic/Independent Supervisor: Luo, Jianli - Southeast University 2010.9 - 2010.11

Other Works

Penetration

Between the Walls Gallery&Library 1

Metro exit 0.00ft -20.00ft down

up down

dow

outdoor gallery -14.00ft

down

-12.00ft

outdoor gallery down

down

-10.00ft

-12.00ft

down

down down

cafe -8.00ft -10.00ft

outdoor gallery

SITE

down

outdoor gallery

-16.50ft

down

-6.00ft -19.00ft

secondary performance space

down

secondary performance space

+3.00ft

down

outdoor gallery +9.00ft

0.00ft

+4.50ft

dow

n up

Dupont Circle

50FT

Located between the two population concentration of the Metro exit and the Dupont Circle, this p ro j e c t p rov i d e s t h e opportunity to link these two spots and creates an active public space in between as right now these two places have little connection.

WHY THE WALLS?

The unique site which has an existing builiding on the boundary requires a partition wall to seperate. Thus, another wall paralell to it helps to define the public circulation on the ground level, creating a streetlike space on the urban scale. Meanwhile, on the building scale, the walls can also perfectly be integrated with the programs of library and gallery by being turned into stacks or armature

1.5ft 3ft

link of the Metro & Dupont Circle

walls into shelves and armatures

PLANS

offic

-20.00ft

offic

0.00ft

down

dow

tunnel

dow

+26.00ft

dow

+26.00ft

outdoor gallery -14.00ft

down

outdoor gallery

-12.00ft

down

-10.00ft down

down

stacks

-12.00ft

stacks

lobby down

down

+39.00ft

+26.00ft n

dow

down

cafe -8.00ft -10.00ft

outdoor gallery

down

outdoor gallery

-16.50ft

up down

down

dow

down

-6.00ft

-19.00ft -19.50ft

secondary performance space

down

secondary performance space +3.00ft stacks

down

-23.50ft

performance hall

outdoor gallery +9.00ft

0.00ft

-23.50ft

+4.50ft

dow

down

50FT

offic

dow

+78.00ft

dow

offic

+52.00ft

3rd floor plan 1/16" = 1'

offic

classroom

50FT

2nd floor plan 1/16" = 1'

offic

50FT

ground floor plan 1/16" = 1'

below ground floor plan 1/16" = 1'

dow

+65.00ft

dow

classroom

balcony

classroom

studio

down

reading area stacks

+91.00ft

stacks

studio balcony

research

studio

balcony

down

down +91.00ft

+91.00ft

stacks

research

stacks

childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s space

stacks

reading area

stacks studio

+78.00ft

+91.00ft research down

indoor gallery up

dow

indo

or gall

ery

50FT

4th floor plan 1/16" = 1'

50FT

5th floor plan 1/16" = 1'

50FT

6th floor plan 1/16" = 1'

50FT

7th floor plan 1/16" = 1'

SECTION

50FT

WALL DETAILS

solid wall integrated with stacks

In order to keep the consistency of the building language, the walls are made of horizontal pieces, which become louvers on the facade and stacks in the interior space.

windows with louvers

1 2

3 4 6 5

Since this building has a huge west elevation exposed to the harsh summer west sun, the louvers are quite crucial for both thermal performance or interior lighting condition. Along with the frosted glass window and ceiling, they helps to provide reflected dif 7

1. 100/150/15 mm welded steel box-section edge joinst

6. 450/40mm louver covered with wooden veneer for shading

2. 600x600mm reinforced concrete column

7. 450/40mm louver covered with wooden veneer as stack

3. frosted glass glazing

8. insulated wall

4. 420/500/20 mm welded steel box-section edge beam

9. 240mm reinforced concrete slab

5. frosted glass ceiling

frosted glass ceiling 100/150/15 mm welded steel box-section edge joinsts

420/500/20 mm welded steel box-section edge beam

300mm insulated wall covered with wooden veneer

600x600mm reinforced concrete column

frosted glass glazing

450/40mm louver covered with wooden veneer

240mm reinforced concrete slab

Activation

In-between Street Productive Village 13

URBAN RESEARCH

The site is located in an interesting context: adjacent to railway and belmont Bridge which are some form of strong spatial barriers and in between the lively Downtown Mall and the quiet Belmont Neighbourhood. 14

space between the site and the Downtown Mall

How to get across the railway

IN-BETWEEN STREET

This project is all about connection of Downtown Mall, Friendship Court and Belmont neighborhood. Residences in Friendship court can easily cross the road to get to the public space in the productive village. However, the connection with the Downtown Mall and the Belmont Neighborhood is faced with the barrier of the rail track and the existing Belmont Bridge. To cross the railway, there are 3 three ways: to simply walk over the rail, to cross by a pedestrian bridge or to go underground. The first solution will encounter security problems and the third one may easily create negative space for public. So the best way to get to the Downtown is to use a pedestrian bridge, which can integrate with the in-between street. As for the connection with the Belmont Neighborhood, with the bridge bring heavy traffic to the south corner of the site, people from the Belmont Neighborhood cannot cross the intersection freely. Therefore, by removing the bridge, on the one hand people can get rid of the heavy traffic on the ground; on the other hand the Downtown Mall may have the opportunity to extend to the east. For the street space, something new may take place. The street faรงade can transform into stairs, add more openings, to invite people go into the building and to extend the public space into the interior.

railtrack - urban barrier

Belmont Bridge - New barrier

railtrack - urban barrier

Belmont Bridge - New barrier

C A

Integration

In&out, Tradition&Modernity Courtyard House 23

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PAST & PRESENT

main room yard

service

main room traditional house in Nanjing plan

main room

yard

main room

section

This project aims to achieve the integration with interior and exterior

traditional house in the south Nanjing old city

and balance between tradition and modernity. Traditional Chinese residential buildings have strong complex in achieving harmony between nature and artifacts. Unlike western architecture, Chinese houses usually regard courtyards as essential composition, rather than simple decoration for the building. In Nanjing, the traditional house possesses a concise form. There are two rows of rooms, between which there is a small yard. This yard is just like a guset room, not only inviting family and friends, but also sunshine, wind, raindrops and snowflakes into the heart of home. I wish to design a courtyard house based on this traditional form in order to find a new form of living architecture and to evoke people's memory of the harmony between the nature and our ancestors. 24

Insert a yard between the two rows of rooms.

Courtyard in Chinese architecture is surrounded by rooms unlike the garden of western house, which surrouds the room.

By removing volume, two yards acquire visual connection.

In Chinese building , space is continuous. Even if the place is unable to reach, some visual or spatial connection will be created.

A corridor connects the two rows and divides the yard into two smaller yards.

Corridor in the Classical Garden of Suzhou serves as a soft boundary through which vision, air and space can go.

Two narrow gardens link the yards together so the all the yards may unite as one.

These narrow paths in Chinese architecture bring people some dramatic feeling of space.

washroom main room

bedroom living room

video dining room

yard

service

studio main room

M o ve t h e e a st vo l u m e northwards in order to create one more yard.

There are usually more than one yard in a Chinese building and in some rooms people may feel that they are surrounded by the nature.

The most important rooms are placed near the main yard and the others are on one side.

The main rooms face directly to the yard and those service rooms are on the short end of the yard. 25

INTERACTION BRTWEEN HOUSE & YARD

Taiji, a concise form expressing the great wisdom of ancient Chinese, can represent the core spirit of all aspects of Chinese culture, including architecture, in which such spirit is expressed as the intertwined interior and exterior space. The house is surrounded by the yards while at the same time, the yards can be viewed since they are located among rooms. In this way, integration between exterior and interior is achieved.

All these yards have direct or indirect connection with each other. People may wander from one to another. Therefore, the space become continuous. Moreover, in some special positions, people may perceive the existance of at most three yards during the same time. Such feeling might make people believe that the house looks larger than its real size. This kind of design method can be often seen in the Classical Garden of China.

I use timber which distinguishes from concrete on the ground so that a wander lane in this house can be illustrated. As long as people follow the lane, they may reach all the places and all the views in this house.

section 1

section 3

section 2

section 4

bar living room WC

dining room kitchen studio

1st floor

meeting

bedroom

entertaining

2nd floor

CONSTRUCTION

While the main structure of the house is made of concrete, I want to use wood in roof structure to evoke people's memory of the traditional house of China. Those wood beams are just like a kind of pretty decoration on the celling.

1. tile 2. waterproof layer 3. insulation layer 4. 100mm wooden ceiling 5. 150mm wooden ribbon

6. steel cap 7. gutter

tile waterproof layer insulation layer

100mm wooden ceiling

8. 300mm reinforced concrete

9. glass window

150mm wooden ribbon 10. sliding glass door

wooden beam

supporting structure

FURNITURE DESIGN AS ARCHITECTURE

I transform a traditional Chinese pattern called "yunleiwen", a pattern of clouds and thunder, into the structure of sofa. This elements can be found in the base, back and armrest.

This pattern can be designed as the armrest of the sofa.

It can also be used to support the cushion or function as the division in the shelf on the back.

Interation

With Site Biological Research Center 35

INTERACTION WITH THE SITE

large trees on site

architecture studio

100-year-old factory building

This project lies in the north part of the capus of Southeast University, Nanjing. This area possesses a quiet atmosphere with beautiful landscape and several historical buildings. How to create the

interaction

with site and reach the balance between the special campus environment and the newly built biological research center is the key to this design.

The research centre to be built contains major functions that include: ˙6 common laborotaries with corresponding dressing rooms, preparation rooms and other facility ˙ 2 sterile laboroties witn corresponding dressing rooms, preparation rooms and other facility ˙ 1 lecture room and several discusion rooms ˙ a public area including coffee, library and etc Total area: 3600 sqm

These elegant trees within the site impress me a lot as they play the role of a beautiful and quiet background for thinking and researching, and thus an image of using vertical window as frame to form a portrait of the trees occurs to me. The best place to see these trees is on west part of the second floor and will attract researchers everywhere in this building. On the one hand, the easy access to the pretty view of the yard contributes to the relaxation from long time working; on the other hand, the trees stimulate people's gathering and discussion ispiring them with new ideas.

A big volume in the east of the site is coordinated with the two large buildings and corresponds to the parking lot.

By cutting off volume from the middle of the west wing, a platform can provide people who enter from the gateway of the historical building with access to the inner yard.

A slim and long volume parallels with the old building in the south and is embraced by the trees.

The L-shaped plan creates exterior space with various views and atmosphere, which also has visual and spatial connection with the small park in the west.

A void space goes through the building, functioning as transportation and illumination.

Facing the main yard, this void space becomes the best place to see the view of the trees and yard.

Two small patios are inserted in the east part.

The facade of the west wing is open to the yard, blurring the boundary of interior and exterior.

TREE PORTRAIT

All the stairs point to the tree in the center of the courtyard. Therefore no matter which stair people walk on, they will find that the beautiful tree lies at the end of their short trip. Besides, the wooden stairs stand out the concrete brick wall, becoming visual focus of the void space.

section1-1

section2-2

section3-3

section4-4

section5-5

section6-6

mechanical

Two ste r i l e l a b s w i t h t h e i r corresponding dressing rooms,preparation rooms and document rooms unites as two blocks located on the first floor. The six common labs are on higher floors and there are two types of them. Two of the labs along with their corresponding rooms consisted as two blocks float above the discussion area(common lab2). The other four(common lab1) seperate into two blocks occupying the east part of the building. Every two labs share one small garden on the second floor.

waste storage

office

preparation

sterile lab

document & research reception preparation

cafa

lecture hall

sterile lab

common lab1 document & research

First floor plan common lab2

sterile lab

Second floor plan

Third floor plan mechanical

common lab preparation

discussion

document balcony research

common lab preparation

mechanical

preparation common lab

document & research

common lab preparation

document research

common lab preparation

reading document balcony research

common lab preparation

document research

The garden and the rest area could become an informal public space for researchers in these two labs. The visual and spatial connections would stimulate spantaneous meeting and discussion, which are benefitial for research affairs. 43

YARD

The floating corridor provides another angle to view the yards.

Along the west wing, people perceive the exterior space from different level.

The sunk main yard makes the large tree as the visual and spatial focus of the yard, which could even become the stage background for outdoor lectures or other activities. Facades towards the yard are transparant, allowing the most access to the exterior space. The garden on the west is lifted to a higher elevation, transforming the space from an inwards atmosphere to an extention to the larger campus context. On the east, two balconies are faced with parking lot, which offers the labs green views. A piece of wall prevent the space between the newly built research center and the historical building from turning to a lifeless linear space. It divide the in-between space into two relatively independent space while still indirectly connected. The west part might lead people to reach the platform thus to enter the inner yard, while the east part functions as the entrance plaza to the building.

Fabrication

Instructor: Jeana Ripple, University of Virginia Academic/Independent 2015.1 - 2015.4

Other Work 46

Instructor: Matthew Jull, University of Virginia Academic/Independent 2014.7 - 2014.8

Instructor: Esther Lorenz, University of Virginia Personal/Academic/Independent 2014.8 - 2014.12

HIDDEN ROOM

Instructor: Matthew Jull, University of Virginia Academic/Independent 2014.7 - 2014.8

“LOOP1”

“LOOP2”

Because the path to the hidden room does exist and there cannot be any doors or locks on the entrance of the hidden room, the project should distract people’s attention from the right way and manages to maintain people always walking on the wrong path. Thus, an endless loop through the four non-hidden rooms can be very effective. The loop and the right path are intertwined and integrated with each other, so how to keep people away from discovering the hidden room? Solution is that the path of the loop is safe and wide and the right path to the hidden room is rather risky and narrow. Therefore, one tends to stay in the loop by choosing easy path. Besides, the path to the hidden room also forms another loop intertwined with the bigger one, making it even more difficult to look for the true way. Unless one tries the harder path all the way by turning around and jumping up different ramp, should he or she still possibly return to the safe but false path. This project attempts to convey a metaphor of design and life, that by facing challenges and discovering new possibilities, one may jump out of the old routings and conventions to find the hidden truth.

“RIGHT PATH to HIDDEN ROOM”

Hand Drawings