Portfolio & Resume | Architecture by Choo Hui Zhi

NUS M. ARCH PORTFOLIO

CHOO HUI ZHI A0171818Y

YEAR 5 SEM 1

+65 84036960 choo.hui.zhi@u.nus.edu www.linkedin.com/in/choo-hui-zhi issuu.com/choorros Hui Zhi is an architecture Masters graduate at National University of Singapore. Her degree has enabled her to develop a keen eye to detail, has attuned her aesthetic sensibility and equipped her to problem solve critically. And most importantly, it has developed her grit for learning as she continues stepping out of her comfort zone. She aspires to conceptualise designs with her personalised branding, reflect critically on her experiences in the creative industry, and collaborate with like-minded individuals to support her creative endeavours.

M.A. (Arch) •

Architectural Design Thesis

B.A. (Arch) •

Aug 2017 - May 2019

University Town College Programme •

Jan - May 2020

Relevant modules: Architectural Practice, Spatial Computational Thinking, Urban Design Theory & Praxis, Strategies for Sustainable Architecture, Building Environmental System and Modelling, Cities and Nature, Public Speaking and Critical Reasoning

2-year multidisciplinary academic programme, which is part of a students’ undergraduate degree

Capstone project: Redesigning the needs analysis framework for Nan Hua High School Service Learning Club • • •

Developed a well-received Needs Analysis Framework based on theories of community development, which will be implemented by future batches of students in NHHS-SLC and with different community partners Collaborated with students through online lessons to teach them about the framework and its related theories – with students securing an average of 6.68 out of 7 for their review quiz Performed systematic data collection and analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of our framework, resulting in an improved performance in user-friendliness and scalability than the original framework

NUS Semester Exchange Program • •

Managed studying architecture and urban study modules in the University of Seoul (UOS) and extracurricular activities like UOS Cycling Club and UOS Cooking Club effectively Modules completed: City and Man (A+), Beginning Korean Language (B+), Architectural Design IV (A+), Urban Renewal (A+)

GCE A’Levels with 2 distinctions

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Coordinated with my colleagues in the award-winning hotel and residential projects, such as Parkroyal KL, Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay and The Hyde at 11 Balmoral Road Conceived the tender, construction and authority drawings with AutoCAD for authority submissions and to aid contractors in the construction and costing Analyzed shop drawings provided by the contractors and proposed alternative solutions, which ensured buildability and retained the firm’s design intent Designed the 3D model on Sketchup to communicate architectural designs Developed meeting minutes during weekly progress and site meetings for The Hyde, which have optimized and organized the progress of the project

Collaborated with my colleagues in the winning entry for Guangzhou Knowledge City Masterplan Competition, Agile Ampang (residential) and Capital Square (commercial) competition, amongst projects from China, Malaysia and Singapore: Developed the 3D model on Sketchup to visualise designs Created renderings to enhance the sensory visualisation of spaces using Enscape, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop Conceptualised concept diagrams on Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop to simplify and organise the thought-process behind the design Communicated with directors and colleagues about project developments and design ideas

Conceptualised, pitched and wrote (SEO writing) viral articles and advertorials for their lifestyle website, like “14 Lesser-Known Cafes Within 10-Minute Walks From MRT Stations”, which have garnered over 20.5k shares Coordinated with clients, such as Ministry of National and Development, Artbox Singapore and IKEA Singapore to market their campaigns and launch their products at media function events Assessed and communicated article ideas with colleagues at monthly meetings, securing 4 out of every 5 ideas proposed

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Strategized fortnightly publicity material for college events using Adobe Creative Suite for an audience of more than 650 students and professors Managed the creative direction of all events and their related material, like Halloween makeup design and prop design for formal dinners Liaised with other team members and college professors to execute college events and initiatives, like Inter-neighbourhood Shield (board games competition) and Inter-college Halloween

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Oversaw administrative tasks and meeting minutes during monthly meetings Initiated college-wide space improvement initiatives, which challenged students’ existing perception of spaces in the college Negotiated with college professors and students in the process about the extensiveness of our projects

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Collaborated with my teammates in teaching vulnerable children at Dream School Foundation’s summer camp and rebuilding the school library at St Charles Matric School Spearheaded the conceptualisation of the travel booklet using Adobe Creative Suite Designed illustrated cards and publicity material for our fundraiser, which were lauded by the public Brainstormed and administered engaging team-bonding activities

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Led 11 studio representatives in collating and disseminating information to the whole cohort of 148 students

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Coordinated with professors and the office administration to facilitate administrative processes

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Conceptualised publicity material for TAS events, which amassed an audience reach of more than 650 students within the faculty Managed the Nusstudios Instagram account by sifting through and posting students’ works to facilitate exchange of ideas within the community

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Trained at least thrice per week, in addition to recreational exercises, and improved 3000m race performance from Singapore T&F Series 2016/ S2 (20:45.66; 5th individual placing) to National Inter-School Track & Field Championships (20:08.78; 5th individual placing), which contributed to VJC’s 1st team placing in the National Inter-School Track & Field Championships Inspired teammates through tenacity and setting example as a role model - received the Most hardworking Track & Field member and the Colors Award – Singapore Schools Sports Council

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Spearheaded the creative direction of storybook illustrations using traditional art mediums, like watercolour and alcohol-based markers, which were published into a book Negotiated with the staff at NLS about technical requirements of the storybook which were written by incarcerated mothers for their children

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Organised and synthesised teaching materials for Mathematics, English and Civic education for summer camp with elementary school students Managed a class of 20 students when teaching them Mathematics and English, which helped bridge the academic gap between vulnerable and mainstream students, empowered their academic capabilities and encouraged them to continue schooling Championed students to reflect on their interpersonal skills and self-confidence through hands-on activities for holistic development

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Coordinated with sponsors and donors to organise books for the school library, which improved their quality of educational resources Collaborated with teammates to paint a mural for the school library, resulting in a spatially more inviting area Led a group of 10 volunteers to fix, clean and varnish old shelves to enhance the students’ experience in the library Initiated a colour-coding shelf system, hence efficiently compartmentalising books compatible with the students’ academic level

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Presented to 30 visitor audience about the historical and cultural influences of the award-winning Cathedral of the Good Shepherd during the Architectural Heritage Season

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Communicated with the docent and relevant staff members to resolve visitors’ enquiries during the tour

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AutoCAD, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Indesign, Sketchup, Rhino, Enscape, Microsoft Office, Archicad, Lightroom, Twinmotion, Figma, Adobe Premier Pro

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English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien

Foreword

Striving for a Well-Balanced Life

Behind every successful architecture student is a village - of nurturing professors, understanding parents, a strong support system of friends, a trusty hard drive and ever-so-reliable printing aunties at Sunshine Plaza. Notably, I would like to extend my appreciation to the professors that have taught me for their mentorship - even on a personal level, their words of wisdom has given me the space to grow as an individual. I am also grateful to my parents for their immeasurable love and acts of service especially during crunch time, like buying meals, making nourishing herbal drinks and doing my share of the household chores. And I am extremely appreciative of my friends for bouncing ideas with me, checking in on my well-being and the emotional support through all those long discord study sessions together. To whoever flipping through this portfolio, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this. These drawings only represent a fraction of the blood, sweat and tears through my architecture education, so invite me for a cup of coffee to discuss how I can value-add to your company. Lively & Passionate

Pushing Boundaries

Self-Motivated Hardworker

Creative Mind

Humble Learner & Collaborative

Reflective

Always Learning With a Growth Mindset

Problem Solver

Table of Contents ––––

Architectural Ethnography for Memory Preservation

Thesis Prep

City of Anamnesiology

Year 5 Semester 1

Retrace

Year 4 Semester 1

The Community Shelf

Year 3 Semester 2

Social Sauna House

Year 3 Semester 1

104

Selected Internship Projects

Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe Indesign

Thesis Prep Thesis Supervisor: Dr Simone Chung

Architectural Ethnography for Memory Preservation Spatialising Memories of Lost Architecture Synopsis “Memento Mori” is a reminder of mortality - everything will eventually die. Similarly, Singapore’s built environment faces the inevitable destine for ruin, removal, and change because of our tabula rasa approach towards redevelopment, which discounts the nuanced real-lived experience of the people that once inhabited the place and its genius loci. Could we give the voice back to the people by anthropomorphizing architecture as a storytelling medium and an entity with consciousness – one that can store memories, remember, and forget? Since the 1970s, there has been a boom in scholarship on memory studies which are traditionally centred around humans. Even in the field of architecture, it has been limited to what has been outlined in the Art of Memory (Yates, 1966) – which conceptualizes the brain as a physical space that stores memories like how one store’s objects in the room. Hence, this thesis argues that architecture can have memories by examining it with the most influential memory model, the Multi-Store Model (MSM) (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968), which proposes that memory consists of three stores: a sensory register (SM), short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) and information is transferred between these stores. Acknowledging that this model is an oversimplification of the memory-making process, it still lays the foundation for deeper inquiry of architecture’s memory-making process through the stories of its people. Since buildings are destined for death, this thesis aims to spatialize memories of lost architecture using Architectural Ethnography (AE) and drawing as a process to link the past, present and future, to conceive an experiential archive. The archive should provoke the imaginative reconstruction of the lost architecture to appreciate its architectural ghost. Keywords: Preserving Memory; Architectural Ethnography; Memento Mori; Architectural Ghost; Multi-Store Model; Drawing as an Architecture

This Architectural Design Thesis Prep Research in Semester 1 will be succeeded with Architectural Design Thesis in Semester 2. This research was done concurrently with the Design Options Studio in Year 5 Semester 1.

Multi-Store Model: In Humans Data from the SM is 1

Environmental sensory stimulation

Sensory Memory (SM) encodes environmental stimulus

transferred to the Short Term Memory (STM) Consolidation of data from STM to the Long Term Memory (LTM) through rehearsal, activating the 5 senses or strong emotions

Architecture with Memories and a Consciousness

Humans

Introduction

Multi-Store Model: In Architecture Architecture

What if architecture could embody the memories of its inhabitants?

If many inhabitants share the same experiences, encoded information can be transfered from the STM to LTM of the architecture. An emotional or multi-sensory event can create stronger memory links.

Case Study: Hougang

Collage of Hougang’s Urban Fabric This collage is a documentation of the urban fabric and the author’s corresponding emotions across space and time. Photos reflect the on-the-ground realities, yet they can encapsulate the subjective site reading - through cropping, altering its saturation and sharpness. Blurry textures from accidental photographs were used to signify how memory of certain areas was haphazard due to Hougang’s repetitive landscape. This draws on how memory tends to homogenise objects to optimise the memory system – remove the accumulation of former operations and free its processing capacity.

An Escape from the Present The present state of Hougang is depicted in the top-half of the drawing, contrasting with the inverted historical landscape. The inverted landscape disorientates the viewers and prompts them to study it in detail, which enables viewers to think more critically about the seen and unseen spatial vestige of time. Employing different materiality, such as collaging and sketching, produces different strokes, textures and tone that builds up the atmosphere of the drawing and uncover fresh perspectives about the subject.

Case Study: Hougang

While this illustrated comparison of various historical maps highlights Singapore’s rapid development, it reveals the city has memories because it displays a pattern of behaviour. Some traces persist, others evolve and efface with time, liken to memory-making. Cartography provides visual contrast and hierarchical organisation of information so that viewers can 1911

1943

easily identify important elements and trace patterns of change in the landscape.

Given the limited resources available online and the illegibility of older historical maps, synthesising the information into cartography is challenging and requires cross-referencing of other materials.

1963

2005

1998

2021 SOURCE: Historical maps of Singapore, digitised by Department of GEOGRAPHY, National University of Singapore

TIME GROUND ROAD FOREST SWAMP WATER BUILDING

DISTANCE

Cartographic Historical Traces – A Theatre of Tabula Rasa

Case Study: Hougang

Hougang’s memory can be conceived as a mechanism that layers information with time, like a palimpsest. Some layers cannot be retrieved because they are forgotten and no triggers are present to activate them (which draws on the abovementioned ideas of human memory).

A graphical method has been employed to chart the evolution of memories in Hougang against time – with the y-axis representing time and x-axis space. Connecting science with art can appeal to the viewer’s emotions, hence making it a powerful medium for storytelling. The palimpsest grows vertically upwards and the top of the canvas is left empty, which suggests that Hougang’s future remains unknown and awaits new layers of memories to envelope it with time.

Palimpsest of Hougang

Time Capsule of Kangkar Village A narrative composition to tell different facets of history in Kangkar – from a fishing village to the housing estate that it is today. Forgotten traces of the tiger spotting, village life, fishing as a recreational activity and fish market, were recorded.

Case Study: Hougang

This drawing creates multiple narrative compositions to tell a series of stories on a single canvas. Different viewpoints were employed to memorialise the different facets of history in Kangkar. The drawing’s rhythmic sequence of attention follows the chronological order of storytelling – from the past to the present and into the unknown future. Led by the long horizontal bridge, the viewer is forced to journey on the bridge, which marks a temporal boundary, from the foreground of the image and closer to the viewer. A pencil effect is employed to create a sense of nostalgic wonder. The omission of colour serves to not draw viewers’ attention away from the details. Details reveal the profound architectural and environmental changes in Kangkar, through juxtaposition of textures against bleached out spaces. However, when creating this drawing, there was unintentional homogenization of histories for the ease of pictorial representation. For example, the “loose form of auctions”or the

privileging of the lingua franca, Teochew, which discriminates against outsiders, were not elaborated in the drawing. While the drawing gives an overview of the narrative of Hougang, it is not useful in providing concrete information about its history and the lived experiences of its people. Rather, it serves as a complementary visual aid to written research, which could be circumvented by integrating supplementary text in the drawing.

Last Days in Rochor Centre

This drawing depicts the days leading up to the demise of Rochor Centre (RC) – the residents’ memories, hopes and dreams are playfully depicted by their conversations and activities. Based on the critic of “Time Capsule of Kangkar Village”, this drawing incorporates text, through speech bubbles, to enhance its narrative. Colours are strategically employed to showcase the intangible qualities of RC. With residential blocks in their distinct primary colours, the vibrant colours also reflect its lively and diverse urban community. An acute three-point perspective of RC mimics the perspective from a surveillance camera to show the social control of Singapore’s landscape via the Land Acquisition Act. This idea of the spatially distributed agency of the built environment is evident as activities against the state narrative are done in hidden view, like criticising governmental policies, as compared to more patriotic activities, like hanging the Singapore flags. To draw viewers’ attention to the vibrant community plaza, a three-point perspective is employed as attention is usually drawn to vanishing points. Additionally, tonal separation is also used – with darker objects for the foreground and brighter objects to appear closer – which help accentuate RC’s bustling nature. However, due to the drawing’s large-scale, pictorial representation of smaller-scale details, like the activities in Rochore Kongsi Home for the aged, is tedious to represent. Such information is comically imposed through text and misplaced graphics. Due to limited information online and lengthy interview clips, some conversations featured in the drawing are paraphrased or imagined based on the research information. which could have compromised the authenticity of RC’s landscape.

Rochor Centre is also conceived as a vertical kampong with a strong kampong spirit, amongst its neighbours.

Rochor Cen meeting sp supermarke

Rochor Centre as a landscape of care for the wider community. Rochore Kongsi Home for the aged was home for the destitute elderly. “Kongsi” is a Hokkien phrase that signifies “to share” and illuminates the nature of the home as a place of mutual support. Not only was care shown by their attendants, but also from the wider community of residents and shop owners in the neighbourhood.

A bitterswee fire in 2014 stepped for

Five stages of grief: denial and anger. Denial is unexpectedly short-lived because just like many other Singaporeans, they have resigned to the unrivalled control the government has on Singapore’s material landscape and it is near impossible for the shrewd government to overturn their decisions. The next stage of grief is anger, through the flurry of online commentary and outcries bemoaning the government’s decision.

Five stages lobbies for their decisio

The loss of a home for residents and shopkeepers can be understood through the five stages of grief, which outlines the pattern in the experience of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Due to the strong emotions it posits, it can be incorporated as a memory preservation technique in AE. Strong emotions help with memory retention. Incidents, like the fire at the electronic shop in 2014 or stories of neighbourly encounters along the corridor were fondly remembered by many residents.Hence, these STM become cemented in the LTM of RC’s memory and were elaborated in the drawing.

Case Study: Rochor

ntre is a community node for formal and informal gatherings of people from all walks of life. The doorstep of the electronics shop is a spontaneous pace to engage in discussions about local and international topics. The function of this complex is also supported by amenities, such as the bank and et which form a loop around the plaza area, hence injecting vitality to it.

eet memory for many residents was when an electric shop caught 4 but also showcased the camaraderie of the community as many rward to help put out the fire and call the authorities for assistance.

Rochor Centre is plastered with the inevitable fate of relocation. According to many residents, they first received the news of the en-bloc one day when they found “Notice of Possession” pasted outside their doors. It came as a shock for them because there was no consultation between the people and the authorities, and they were not given any prior heads-up.

Rochor Centre is seen as a “blockage” to the development of Singapore, which signals the privileging of the new in replacement of the old and ill-functioning.

of grief: Bargaining, which begins when one creates petitions and support and signatures in hopes that the government will overturn on.

Five stages of grief: Depression. One would translate this anger into a series of photo essays and pop-up events to remember the landmark, which invites a wave of nostalgia. Hipsters in their attempt to document the place flock to Rochor Centre for their last photoshoots.

Five stages of grief: Acceptance occurs when residents resign to their inevitable fate for en-bloc – they realise that their efforts are futile, and it is only a matter of time before the government will demand the return of the land. The generational difference in their response to the en-bloc is also evident due to the differences in their geo-histories.

Framework for Memory Preservation Hence, this thesis posits a memory preservation framework based on the abovementioned cases studies.

1. Gathering cold data and formulating warm data Through synthesizing information from traditional orthographical drawings, coupled with fieldwork, and speaking to stakeholders, one can build up a database of cold and warm data. Fieldwork is pertinent because of its ability to tease out the tangible and more importantly, the intangible qualities of the site that can only be experienced.

process of information sorting conceives a network of relations between different aspects of the site, which is material for critical reflection. Understanding why certain memories of the architecture are translated into the LTM, like the involvement of strong emotions, engagement of the 5-senses or because it was a prominent memory that many stakeholders experienced, can be noted for steps 3 and 4. 3. Drawing as a methodology Drawing should not be seen as an end-product, rather a process of

2. Employing the MSM

meaning-making. The act of drawing is a re-membering of fragments of

By positing that architecture has a memory system, information gathered

memories from various sources to form a coherent narrative about the

can be categorised in the MSM with a systematic reference to time. This

architecture.

Critical Discussion

4. Architectural Ethnography (AE) as a provocative medium

Due to the projective nature of drawings, supplementary texts, like con-

Creating the AE should employ the findings of the MSM. Whether through

versation bubbles, can be included. They give the drawing more context,

transcending scales, manipulating perspectives, or charting movement

allowing it to be informative, while provocative.

in space and time, the drawing should uncover unseen realities, such as changing seasonal colours and scents over time. Additionally, it should be injected with the autonomy of the author – by synthesising the author’s subjective reading of the site, the resultant drawing should be interpretative and evocative and layered with vibrancy through human activities for vivid storytelling. Hence, architecture can be embodied as an extension of human life instead of being a standalone – it lives, breathes and like us, it has a life and memories of its own.

Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe Indesign Creality Ender 3 Enscape Sketchup

Year 5 Semester 1 Tutor: Ar Khoo Peng Beng

City of Anamnesiology: A Tapestry of Time Synopsis “People call me a philosopher or a scientist or an anthropologist. I am none of those things. I am an anamnesiologist. I study what has been forgotten. I divine what has disappeared utterly. I work with absences, with silences, with curious gaps between things. I am really more of a magician than anything else.” Laurence Arne-Sayles, interview in The Secret Garden, May 1976

This City tells the story of an alternative Singapore if we subtract Singapore’s violence to city planning. Since the 1960s, the state has engaged in rampant tabula rasa of our city fabric – the erasure of memories of our disgraceful kampong past, an amplification the rags to riches narrative and an alteration that has indelible consequences to our physical and cultural landscape. Imagine an alternative Singapore in which we grew organically based on the evolving needs of humans – minus the tabula rasa – and we allowed our kampong villages to evolve, old trades to be preserved and our thriving biodiversity to continue propagating. What was once a bustling Teochew fishing village and market, Kangkar was a multicultural and multireligious village – with Catholicism being the primary religion - that was livened with festivals and teeming with biodiversity. Coconut plantations were in the rage at one point nestled among primary forests and sometimes there were occasional visits by wildlife animals like tigers and even crocodiles. Memories is likened to a palimpsest, which layers information with time. Traces can be effaced and overwritten by new ones. Similarly, this city follows the traces of the past based on the typological heritage, natural history, cultural heritage and programmatic memory of the past, while evolving with modern needs. The product is a city of contradictions in memory – while it tries to retain memories of the past, it seems like amnesia is the inevitable fate of the city. With the uprise in technological advancements, buildings soar in the sky, flying houses are no longer a distant dream and farmland can harvest crops unattended. However, as we progress as a city, we are too consumed with fads that we become stuck in a vicious, never-ending chase for the next novel thing. We no longer can distinguish which memories are real or fake and our memories of the past more hazy and distant. This Design Options Studio was done concurrently with the Architectural Design Thesis Prep Research.

Site Context

Site Map Kangkar, Hougang

A Collage of Hougang’s Urban Fabric Its lack of distinct character and repetitive urban fabric – the indistinguishable HDB blocks and dull asphalt concrete roads is broken by the peaceful water body at Punggol Waterway, unorthodox pop-up events and the rare traces of biodiversity. Blurry textures from accidental photographs were used to signify how memory of certain areas was haphazard due to Hougang’s repetitive landscape.

Site Context

What if Singapore embraced organic growth? A critique on Singapore’s development: Given Singapore’s pragmatic approach to development, the city is in a constant state of amnesia – tabula rasa of the natural landscape to make way for modern developments. Could this project speculate the future of Singapore if we embraced organic growth and bridge the lost memories of the past with an imagined future?

Warm Data

An Escape From The Present This drawing depicts the idea that memories are fluid, metamorphosising and layering over each other to form the urban fabric. There lies an idea of breaking free from today’s grid-like landscape to embrace the old way of life.

A Floating City My futuristic vision of the city as one that is lightweight and dynamic.

Warm Data

1911

1911 1943

1963

1998

2005

2021 SOURCE: Historical maps of Singapore, digitised by Department of GEOGRAPHY, National University of Singapore

TIME GROUND ROAD FOREST SWAMP WATER BUILDING

Historical Traces – A Theatre of Tabula Rasa

DISTANCE

Comparison of various historical maps highlights how Singapore’s urban fabric is constantly morphing, yet it reveals that the city has memory because it displays a pattern of behavior. Because of the tabula rasa approach to development, the city is unable to organically develop – contours are flattened, waterways are straightened, greenery is receding, roads are organized in a grid and blocks of chunky buildings are artificially layered on our landscape.

Warm Data

The city is a palimpsest Hence, the urban city is likened to the layering of memories, like a palimpsest, some traces evolve and eventually get effaced with the passage of time while others persist.

Model Photos

The Bondage City A city can be conceived as a malleable object, just like clay, it can be sculpted based on external forces. This model attempts to portray the city as being trapped, manipulated and without a will of its own. By using different textures and juxtaposing different shapes reinforces the tension that is faced between the state and the city and enslaved by modern desires. This idea of the bondage city is reflected in my fictional city - one that is enslaved by modern technology and lifestyles.

The Urban Fabric Weave Layering of various material fabrics is liken to juxtaposing different textures, porosity and structures of the city fabric. Different fabrics are in tension with each other, and some buried beneath the others with a few textures trying to dominate the weave. This mirrors the urban fabric of the city in which has multiple layers of contradictions and textures.

Warm Data

Original photograph of Kangkar vicinity taken today, which has been manipulated to reflect the different histories.

Kangkar was once a predominantly Teochew fishing village with a fishing village situated at the end of Upper Serangoon. Despite its demise in 1984, its strong kampong spirit lives on. Many former residents – some who were fish and ice dealers – used to go back to their old houses every morning. There was an abandoned wooden house in the village that was built in 1930, which served as an informal clubhouse that residents went back for meals. Unfortunately, none of these is around anymore.

Kangkar Fish Market was the most important fish market in the North-Eastern side of Singapore till 1980s. Fishes sold in the market were from Punggol, Changi or kelongs in the South-Eastern Coast of Johore. Merchants would set up offices in attap huts clustered around the market.

Kangkar was a bustling fishing port, home base for about 90 offshore fishing boats and 16 fish merchants, with 40 tonnes of fish changing hands in a few hours each morning. Between 4-7PM daily, motorised boats started coming into Kangkar with their catch from the kelongs. Boats were tied to the jetty and workers would offload their catch to a giant shed where they would arrange the fish in neat piles on the floor and cover them in ice for potential buyers.

Today, Kangkar has transformed into a housing town as part of the Hougang urban planning area, ridden with traces of its former landscape as a fishing village. The drawing’s long horizontal axis gestures to the vastness of the unexplored history.

Instead of the fishing activities of the yesteryears, the nearby Serangoon River is linked to Punggol Waterway which hosts a series of water recreational activities today like kayaking and water playgrounds.

Warm Data

Residents used to love fishing at the nearby Tampines Fish Farm and along the Serangoon River. Many enterprising villagers also took advantage of the depressions of the quarries to rear fish. Children used to catch guppies, mangrove crabs and clams from the nearby streams, where Punggol Park is at today.

While there was a strong religious presence from the nearby Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Kangkar was a multi-cultural and multi-religious village. Residents lived harmoniously despite their differences and celebrated various festivals, like Lunar Seventh Month, Christmas and Mawlid Nabi (Prophet Mohammed’s birthday).

Crocodiles, tiger-spottings, piracy and gangsterism plagued plantation workers, residents and fishermen of Kangkar.

The natural landscape of Kangkar has also undergone a lot of changes – from a primary forest to reforestation of coconut plantations. Sand dunes which were a common sight in the neighbouring Tampines precinct formed the backdrop of this composition as a reminder of our rich biodiversity and natural environment before rapid modernisation.

The bridge represents a temporal boundary of the past and present. Walking along the bridge, the old lady seemed to have experienced Kangkar’s development since she was a child – from its humble beginnings as a fishing village to the housing new town of today. She also seemed to have accompanied us through the whole storytelling journey as she walks closer to the edge of the drawing, it signals an ambiguous future for Kangkar as it continues evolving.

250M

200M

Masterplan: A tapestry of Time The urban city is likened to the layering of memories, like a palimpsest. They evolve based on Natural Heritage, Typological and Programmatic Memory.

Process

250M

200M

Layer that freezes in time:

Layer that undergoes rapid change:

Drawing from the past, the following can be extracted from the palimpsest to inform the new city:

Considering modern needs of man, it speculates the future city to be:

5. Typological and Programmatic Memory: One that can encapsulate modern lifestyle needs and technological advancement, like hydroponic and a modern twist on traditional fish markets, through shifting façades and moving housing modules

2. 3. 4.

Natural Heritage Memory: Contours can inform the new city grid, pathways and waterways, Typological Memory: Only build architecture on the footprint of old kampong house; houses on stilts, Programmatic Memory: Network of kampong communities, Programmatic Memory: Drawing programs of the past, like the fishing culture and living close to nature

Architecture as A Tapestry of Time

Spatial Abstraction

Typological Memory: Different housing typologies co-existing and growing organically at different rates – evolution of the kampong house to mass engineered timber vertical kampongs. And the evolution of a new building typology based on the previous kampong house building parcel.

Programmatic Memory: Decks and bridges in between levels with a host of activities that draw on the programmatic memory of the past, such as the market culture. For older towers, programs like elderly care will be present to cater to its users. And likewise, newer towers houses amenities like libraries and playgrounds.

Natural Heritage Memory: Both under and above water, humans co-exist with nature, such as the native crocodiles and tigers.

Modern needs: Humans also evolve with time to embrace modern technology like Virtual Reality, aquaponics and flying homes.

Holonic Network: Each housing unit as a holon that operates on the building and urban scale, as a network of communities.Within each tower cluster, housing units are clustered differently based on the spiral dynamic needs of the users (from survivalist to more holistic organization of units).

3D Printed Model

Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe Indesign Adobe Premiere Pro Figma Sketchup SparkAR Twinmotion

Year 4 Semester 1 Tutor: Dr Simone Chung

Retrace Synopsis RETRACE allows users to integrate the past and present by providing a valuable immersive experience that can be passed on to future generation. It is inspired by the loss of heritage in Venice, the influx of modernization and urbanization has diluted the culture and heritage in Singapore. Fortunately, urban artefacts such as murals and sculptures are integral in preserving culture and heritage. Yet, they are often one-dimensional and present a myopic view of the artist’s interpretation and the state’s narrative of our heritage. At present, these artefacts provide on-the-surface account of history but does not value-add to the audience and fail to capture the spirit of our heritage. RETRACE aims to think more critically about these vital urban artefacts and provide layer meaning to them through the seamless integration of the physical and virtual space by using AR technology. Located in Downtown due to the concentration of artefacts, it integrates the tangible and intangible qualities of the urban context in the wayfinding process. Users can organically experience the city and gain a more holistic, multi-dimensional approach in appreciating the urban artefacts. RETRACE goes beyond an educational tool as it provides useful information for users to immerse in our heritage. Interactions captured in the virtual space can be translated into real life, providing a more impactful experience. It is user-friendly, age-friendly and aimed at all groups of people in society regardless of their interests and tech adeptness, users can feel a sense of nostalgia and strengthen intergenerational gaps.

with Josiah Tan Xian Zhe

PROVISION SHOP MURAL

HYPOTHESIS: STB X NHB X RETRACE

CANTONESE OPERA MURAL

SINGAPORE RIVER SCULPTURES

Speculative collages How Retrace interfaces the physical and virtual space - Urban artefacts and their related surrounding environment

Preface

Based on Invisible cities, Zenobia, Octavia and armilla, this project aims to showcase the lightweight, slender and chaotic nature of these cities as illustrated in the readings. Zenobia is everyone’s dream city - it is built on dry terrain, high pilings and platforms and balconies on stilts at various heights. Octavia is a spider website city,. Its foundation is a thin net - its citizens live life in uncertainty, not knowing how long the net will last. And finally Armilla is made of a forest of pipes, taps and sprouts. While it looks like a tranquil environment, beneath it’s facade lies a more sinister and dictatorial regime which governs the people. The spatial and tangible components of these cities are translated into the model. The painting depicts the intangible experiences of the cities. While they depict a picture perfect world, their people are liken to puppets - their lives are being manipulated by the higher beings. Some realise that they are stuck in oppressive lives and try to break free from their masters’ reigns. But most live in oblivion - or maybe they choose to be oblivious - in which each day is dull, repetitive but picturesque.

Invisible Cities: Thin & Tangled Thin Cities: Armilla, Octavia & Zenobia

Site Context

Overview Map Urban artefacts in the Downtown Core

User Diagram How different users navigate this system

User Experience

User Interface Storyboard Urban Artefact AR & Wayfinding AR

Virtual world of Retrace Everton Road neighbourhood and speculation of the shop interior based on the Provision Shop mural

User Experience

Prototyping With Figma

User Interface of our AR website

Documentation of the user experience

Site Analysis

Site Analysis of urban artefects Murals

Site Analysis

Site Analysis of urban artefects Murals

Site Analysis

Site Analysis of urban artefects Sculptures

Site Analysis

Mural Analysis

11 12

16 4

27 22

9 7

6 5 18

14 26

5 20

Food 1. Coconut grater 2. Beancurd seller 3. Sun-dried goods 4. Canned product 5. Fresh produce 6. Traditional bread

7. Traditional snacks

Architecture 8. Air vents 9. Wooden shutters 10. 5-foot way 11. Canvas shelter 12. Bamboo blinds 13. Traditional signboard

Provision Shop Mural

Object Scale Critique Based on the annecdotal stories by the mural artist and our family

Outdated practices 14. Ice cutting 15. Gunny sack on wood plank 16. Pulley tin can 17. Weighing scale 18. Tikam tikam

Household items 19. Samfu 20. Vespa 21. Singlet 22. Scourer scrub 23. Aluminium pail 24. Fermentation crock

25. Feather duster 26. Tin dustbin 27. Traditional calendar 28. Newspaper

Mural Analysis

Object Scale Critique Based on the annecdotal stories by the mural artist and our family

Mural Analysis

Object Scale Critique Based on the annecdotal stories by the mural artist and our family

Mural Analysis

Urban Scale Critique The location of the urban artefact might not be suitable, considering its modern, gentrified urban context

Mural Analysis

Time Period Critique Urban artefacts are often one-dimensional and have little educational purpose for the audience. While the provision shop mural may look like it comes from the 60-70s, to the untrained, it spans across 3 decades!

Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe Indesign Enscape Sketchup

Year 3 Semester 2 Tutor: Ar Chaw Chih Wen

The Community Shelf Synopsis This project is a community-centric building which integrates an elderly leisure club, student hostel and community bicycle parking lots. It makes use of the shelves as an integrated system – for storage, as a surface for interaction, as the façade and as a structural system. The central idea is - how can my shelves initiate a handshake? By analysing case studies of elder care and student hostels, as well as on-site storage spaces, they inform my design on how to structure community storage spaces. I deviced a 15x15cm shelf module unit as the building block of all my shelving units. Through investigating human interaction patterns in spaces, the strategic pairing of rooms and he curation of surfaces in between those rooms for interaction, my design allows my target groups - the elderly, students and the public - to intermingle with each other. Its boxy design is juxtaposed into the natural terrain makes for an interesting narrative. Steel and reinforced concrete are employed in my building to add on to its minimalist aesthetic.

Site context

Site analysis

Sunset Way, Singapore

Case studies

Peacehaven Nursing Home

NTU Crescent Hall

Recreational arcade

Double room

Recreational arts lounge

Recreational outdoor lounge

Panorama collage

Programe Transition Space Ventilation Boundary marker

Case studies

Site analysis

Case studies

Site analysis

Case studies

Concept

How can shelves initiate a handshake? Creating the moment of interaction amongst the shelves

How can shelves initiate a handshake? How can shelves initiate a handshake? Elderly – student community garden Elderly-student community garden

Concept

How can shelves initiate a handshake? How can Section A-A’shelves initiate a handshake?

elaboration

Section A-A’

Concept

How can shelves initiate a handshake? How can Section B-B’shelves initiate a handshake? Section A-A’

elaboration

Concept

Space planning

Roof plan Concept

120x120cm

15x30x120cm stairs 90x90cm 30x30x30cm shelf unit 75x75cm 45x45x45cm shelf unit 60x60cm 45x45x45cm chair 45x45cm 45x90x90cm coffee table 30x30cm

60x60x60cm shelf unit 15x15cm module

90x165x90cm counter

120x120x120cm shelf unit

Dimension shelves Dimension of of shelves

Rationale of the dimensions of the shelves

Using 15x15cm shelf module as Usingthe 15x15cm basic unitshelf for allmodule shelvesas and the basic unit for all shelves and furniture furniture

Concept

Reception

Laundry room

Reading room

Training room

Common kitchen

Toilet

Gym

Arts and craft room

Common hall

4 sharing dormitory

2 sharing dormitory

2 Sharing dormitory

Shelving Shelving as as aa surface surface for forinteraction interaction Different walls levels of activity Different walls have have differentdifferent levels of activity

Passive walls

Active walls

Concept

Training room

Single room

Games room

Pantry

Arts and craft room

Physical therapy room

Movie theatre

Dance studio

Shelving assurface a surface interaction Shelving as a forfor interaction Different walls have different levels of activity

Different walls have different levels of activity

Passive walls

Active walls

Concept

TBC

How can shelves initiate a handshake? How can shelves initiate a handshake? Student facility – common kitchen

Student facility - common kitchen

Concept

How shelves initiate a handshake? How cancan shelves initiate a handshake? Elderly facility – training room

Elderly facility - training room

Concept

How can shelves initiate a handshake? How can shelves initiate a handshake? Public – elderly – student interaction

Public - elderly - student interaction

Concept

How shelves initiate a handshake? How cancan shelves initiate a handshake? Public community courtyard

Public community courtyard

Design process

Elderly facility arrangement I

Student facility arrangement I

Overall arrangement II

Design process

Overall arrangement III

Elderly leisure club 1. Games room 2. Arts room 3. Dance room 4. Physical therapy room 5. Training room 6. Pantry 7. Theatre

Student hostel facility 8. Rooms 9. Pantry 10. Gym 11. Reading room 12. Rception 13. Common hall 14. Shared grandstand

Overall arrangement IV

Design process

2nd storey

Student hostel 1. Single hostel room 2. Double hostel room 3. 4-people hostel room 4. Toilet 5. Storage

Student hostel 1. Single hostel room 2. Double hostel room 3. 4-people hostel room 4. Toilet

1st storey

Elderly leisure club 1. MNE 2. Movie theatre 3. Games room 4. Pantry 5. Arts and craft room 6. Toilet 7. Dance room 8. Physical therapy room 9. Training room

Student hostel facility 1. Reading room 2. Common kitchen 3. Laundry room 4. Gym 5. Shared garden 6. Common hall 7. Reception 8. Toilet

Elderly leisure club 1. Movie theatre 2. Games room 3. Pantry 4. Arts and craft room 5. Toilet 6. Dance room 7. Physical therapy room 8. Training room

Student hostel facility 1. Reading room 2. Common kitchen 3. Laundry room 4. Gym 5. Shared garden 6. Common hall 7. Reception 8. Toilet

Community facility 1. Bicycle parking

Design process

2nd storey

Student hostel 1. Single hostel room 2. Double hostel room 3. 4-people hostel room 4. Toilet

1st storey

Elderly leisure club 1. Movie theatre 2. Games room 3. Pantry 4. Arts and craft room 5. Toilet 6. Dance room 7. Physical therapy room 8. Training room

Student hostel facility 1. Reading room 2. Common kitchen 3. Laundry room 4. Gym 5. Shared garden 6. Common hall 7. Reception 8. Toilet

Concept

Student hostel

Student & elderly shared facilities

Exploded axonometric of model

Space planning

2nd storey

Student hostel 18. Single hostel room 19. Double hostel room 20. 4-people hostel room 21. Toilet

Community facility 17. Bicycle parking

Space planning

1st storey

Elderly leisure club 1. Movie theatre 2. Games room 3. Pantry 4. Arts and craft room 5. Toilet 6. Dance room 7. Physical therapy room 8. Training room

Student hostel facility 9. Reading room 10. Common kitchen 11. Laundry room 12. Gym 13. Shared garden 14. Common hall 15. Reception 16. Toilet

Community facility 17. Bicycle parking

4-people hostel room

Arts and craft room

Pantry

4-people hostel room

1. Functions are paired based on the level of activity of the walls. Shared walls beteen functions are formed.

Community garden

3. Pantry arrangement in both facilities are lined up for the community garden.

5. Addition of toilets.

Aggregation of rooms

Concept

Entertainment

Fitness

Study room

Leisure

Reception

2. In each facility, rooms are arranged linearly based on function clusters.

4. Hostel rooms are arranged based on he same perimenters of the 1st storey

1. Arrange elderly and youth shared facilities side by side.

2. Inject circulation path in between the facilities.

3. Create a sunken courtyard with bicycle parking lots around the building.

Assemblage of building on site

Concept

4. Introduce structural elements and skylight.

5. Introduce youth hostel on 2nd storey.

6. Add bicycle ramps and stairs to connect 2nd storey to the surroundings.

7. Increase connectivity to surrounding bicycle paths and park connector.

Shelving as a structural system Structural shelves extend from the first to second floor to the roof Shelving as a structural system Structural shelves extends from the first to second floor to the roof

Shelving as a facade Community bicycle storage on its porous facade

Structural system

Construction detail

Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe Indesign Enscape Sketchup

University of Seoul exchange program Year 3 Semester 1 Tutor: Marc Brossa

Social Sauna House Synopsis This project is a community-centric housing unit integrated wuth a public sauna. It is a modern adaptation of Louis Khan’s expression of the distinction between the served and servant spaces. It features rooms as walls - with 1m deep walls and flexible spaces that can cater to different needs and privacy of their occupants. On a larger scale, the building’s facade is dynamic as well which can be adjusted according to the preferences of their occupants and the time of the day. The buidling facade is an eclectic mix of concrete, bricks and steel for its rustic aesthetic. This integrated complex builds on the mutually benefiical relationship between the elderly and the university students . Both the retired elderly and students need a part time job to supplement their income and fulfil their need for companionship. This social sauna house is sensitively constructed due to its strategic location at the intersection of circulation paths between the young and old, which also coincides with the historical Vietnam Memorial Park.

really broke + no friends!!!

—University students often lament about the zerosum game of balancing sleep, grades and a social life. A part time job adds on to the mounting list of things to do when one needs to earn that extra pocket money for those date nights with friends, while trying to pay off student loans. Often sleep deprived and stressed out, they would air their grievences on social media to their online friends - barely any that they actually keep in contact in real life. One can only dream of having a social life...

Anatomy of a Uni Student

2030

years old

Mostly antisocial, one-room dwellers that barely speak to their neighbours unless absolutely necessary.

Arguably one of their favourite hangout spots include the library and for richer students, the cafes near school. And the PC bangs too!

1000

0900

Washing up

1000

Washing up

1000 Homework

1400 Class Lunch alone

1800

Dinner alone

1900

Part time job Dinner alone

Part time job

— They complain about the heaps of assignments in school. But ironically, they also spend most of their time updating their social media platforms about the lunch they just ate...

0000

0000 Homework

Homework

0200

F S

—Routine

Potential use of programme

— Faced with the high cost of living, in addition to expensive school fees and increasing one-room rental fees, students are part time job during the school semester.

The Social

“gucci” eyebags and a kimbap in hand while rushing for classes, this is just a typical day of a life of a broke and tired student.

Private Bedroom with toilet

Private Bedroom with toilet — Most of their social interaction happens online on social media. Or else, it would be with the stray cats on campus or the adorable dogs that are on evening walks with their owners.

— Burning the midnight oil is just part and parcel of the daily life of a UOS student, espcially with the forthcoming midterms.

Living Room

really bored!!

Anatomy of a Senior Citizen Halmeoni enjoys trading gossips with the other grannies in the other neighbourhood. shy when it comes to making friends with the young people of UOS.

els are way out of their budgets. More down-to-earth types, they would much rather pay a minimal fee to do healthy leisure activities.

Routine

They enjoy going to the Daytime DIsco to boogie with their friends. And for the singles, it is

about the high cost of living. Hence, retired seniors would typically

love.

and less strenous part time jobs which help to kill time as well.

Sauna House

Whether rain or shine, be to prepare a feast for family dinners. Their only off-days from the kitchen would be during the weekends for family outings.

One of their favourite past time include taking long walks in the park in UOS. For the more adventurous souls, they venture to Baebongsan for a hike.

Apart from their life savings, another thing that #sparksjoy is their grandchildren!

auna — Choo

Hui Zhi | Marc Studio—

Concept

Site analysis

Concept

Roof plan

Aggregation of units on site

Concept

1:50

Designing the housing unit

Concept

Aggregation of units

Concept

Flexible unit design and furniture

Concept

Interior atmosphere

Space planning

Typical floor plan

2.5

Space planning

Ground floor plan

2.5

Facade design

Facade design changes with time of the day

Elevation

3.75

7.5

Section

Section A-A’

Section B-B’

Construction detail

Prefabrication building system

Construction detail

Model photos

FDAT Architects December - June 2021

Selected Internship projects Synopsis As part of the NUS Architecture Internship Programme, I did my 6-month stint in FDAT Architects and I was very fortunate to have participated in a range of award-winning hotel and residential projects, such as Parkroyal KL, Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay and The Hyde at 11 Balmoral Road. Under close mentorship of my supervisor and the director, I was involved in the tender and construction stages through producing technical drawings, attending site meetings and developing meeting minutes.

Internship work

The Hyde The Hyde is a residential condominium development located on 11 Balmoral Rd, Singapore. The project is new construction, which involves designing the building, its facilities as well as landscaping design.

Internship work

Parkroyal KL Parkroyal KL is a commercial hotel development located on Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. The project is an Additions & Alterations (A&A) work, which involves revamping its façade, interior design of spaces and landscaping.

Internship work

Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay is a commercial hotel development located on Raffles Boulevard, Singapore. The project is an Additions & Alterations (A&A) work, which involves revamping its façade, interior design of spaces and landscaping.

DP Architects April - August 2019

Selected Internship Projects Synopsis During my 4-month stint in DP Architects, I was very humbled to be allocated to the design team. I did a range of architecture projects - not only in Singapore, but also overseas in China and Malaysia. Under close mentorship of my supervisor and the director, I was involved in the designing process and the production of drawings showecased in this section.

Internship work

Community plaza at the waterfront

Shopping belt at the waterfront

Guangzhou Knowledge City Compeition - Winning entry

Internship work

Waterfront

Old core masterplan

Guangzhou Knowledge City Compeition - Winning entry

Internship work

Island view

G A R D E N VIEW Garden view

Wenchang Hotel Indigo, Hainan

Internship work

Arrival boulevard

Plaza view

Capital Square Competition entry