CHRISTOPHER PIN.
CONTENTS.
Studio Work.
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Leftover Spaces A STEP center in Downtown New Haven
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Design Research.
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Cultural Surfaces A Norwegian cultural center
Throwing Architecture A multi-faith center & daycare in a forest on Horseshoe Bay
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Mining Vernacular GAN-hallucinated tracery
Addition By Subtraction A community center in Regent Park
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Objects Digital objet trouvé
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STUDIO WORK.
SCHEMATIC VIGNETTES
LEFTOVER SPACES. A STEP Center in New Haven
Second Year Graduate Studio Fall 2020
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Schizophrenia is often described as constituting a ‘wide spectrum.’ Practitioners are called to address a large variety of symptoms, causes, levels of severity, treatment modalities, personalities, and recovery. Considering the multiplicity of the client, a building that houses the STEP program should provide equally diverse clusters of space; flexible spaces, seasonal spaces, meandering spaces, spaces that are purposefully inefficient, unconventional and asymmetrical. By taking the site’s existing ‘leftover spaces’ seriously, the project can offer spaces where a suffering mind can meet a friend, a sponsor, a partner, a family member, or a practitioner.
1/32” MODEL
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0
5m
N 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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10m
GROUND FLOOR PLAN Community Center Reception Childcare Display Kitchen Flexible Community Space Auditorium Flexible Community Space Gallery Outdoor Seating
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Classroom STEP center // Individual Support STEP center spaces STEP center // Reception STEP center // private entry Elevator access to lower level Gallery
AXON // SECTION D, SECTION E
N LEVEL 2 FLOOR PLAN
1 2 3 4
0
20m
Classroom STEP center spaces STEP center // Group Support STEP center // Reception
Public stair to western courtyard, overlooking community center spaces
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East facing STEP center spaces
N LEVEL 3 FLOOR PLAN
1 2 3 4 5 6
0
20m
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Residency Office Flexible open work space In-house Practitioner Offices Resource Library Flexible meeting space STEP center spaces
Gallery Exterior pathway through site Classroom Flexible Community Space STEP center // Outdoor Garden STEP center // Group Support Resource Library Practitioner spaces
AXON // SECTION A
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N WEST CLIENT SPACES
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10m
The building is partially outward facing and partly concealed, on the west and east respectively. This offers a variation in the sense of privacy at a larger scale, and a temporal variation across the year; the east portion of the STEP center receives even north light throughout the day, providing optimal shade for the summer months; the west portion of the STEP center, more closely connected to the building’s immediate surrounding, brings in direct afternoon sunlight.
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N EAST CLIENT SPACES
1 2 3
Outdoor Garden Indoor STEP Center Spaces Office Garden
A B C D E F
Individual Support Individual / Family Support + Quiet Room Individual Support Informal group meeting / waiting area Informal Client/Practitioner corridor
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10m
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NORTH ELEVATION
WEST ELEVATION
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0
10m
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Studying leftover spaces, unruly geometry, and overgrown architecture through digital and physical model studies. 1/4” = 1’ model above; basswood, steel wire, plaster-finished PLA print, resin print
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THROWING ARCHITECTURE. A Multi-faith Center & Daycare in a forest on Horseshoe Bay
Graduate Design Studio Fall 2020
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At it’s best, architecture offers a spatial index of a contextual milieu. If the context that precedes a design is best understood through it’s cultural artifacts, what design principles might be gained from the direct study of these artifacts? Throwing Architecture references the horizontality and material aggression of abstract expressionist art in the mid-19th century. Using these cultural touchstones as the nucleus for design, drawing methodology, site, program, volume, and tectonic language are developed to match initial research. Located on a forested peninsula off of Vancouver Island, a multi-faith center and daycare offers idiosyncratic visitation for the small population that inhabits the bay as well as those traveling to and from the port.
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N GROUND FLOOR PLAN A C D G
0
Auditorium / Congregation Center Contemplative / Singular Spaces Daycare Gardens
10m
N DAYCARE CENTER D1 D2 D3 D4 D5
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Daycare admin office Admin. reception Outdoor pick up / drop off Cubbie storage Kitchen
0 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10
Interactive food prep Multipurpose space Sleep room Collective learning Shaded terrace
D11 D12 D13 D14 D15
10m
N MEDITATION GARDEN
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10m
Reading nook Flexible play area Storage Staff work room Staff break room
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N CONGREGATION CENTER
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0
10m
The procession through the site continues to the north-east where the path splits radially. The visitor can choose to enter the congregation center above, or follow the sites sloping grade condition to the individual contemplative spaces to the south-east. Wood and concrete are intended to ground each respective interior condition, both concealed by a powder-coated aluminum wrapper. christopherpin.com christopher.pin@yale.edu 646.321.3688
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Using a pathway that follows the terrain below grade, the smaller contemplative spaces can be entered without traveling through the congregation building. Visitors might also pass through the garden before finding the entry stair. These spaces offer a processional end point to the project, following the slope of the site while the adjoining buildings rise from the landscape.
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ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION. A Community Center in Regent Park
Undergraduate Design Studio Spring 2018
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Canada’s mental health care has been aptly described by the board of the CMHA as “behind most western countries... when it comes to spending public health care dollars on mental health.” The trickle down effect caused by mental health attrition is proven to be consequential to employment, education, and the physical health of the city; Consideration of the human psyche should be on both the political agenda as well as the urban planning agenda. By subtracting a tower from the Regent Park Revitalization Plan, a block might be developed to address the communities integration on a city scale, as well as an experiential scale. Mixed used program on the site is developed in response to principles recognized by the OECD, in consideration of Toronto’s laneway vernacular, and by taking stock of urban planning principles championed by Jane Jacobs. christopherpin.com christopher.pin@yale.edu 646.321.3688
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1:500 MODEL // REGENT PARK REVITALIZATION PROPOSAL, 2025
1:500 MODEL // REGENT PARK SOCIAL HOUSING, 1960 Displacement of nearly 80% of residents, confusion regarding property boundary, isolation from the rest of the city, and the singularity of residential land use led to a loss of community and a lack of defensible space. Regent Park was stuck in a cyclical process of disrepair.
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The contrived plan for Regent Park proved not only an inadequate solution to unslumming, but a catalyst for further depredation and indigence. The cities revitalization plan addresses the obvious symptoms of the previous social housing scheme, however not without cause for change.
Public open space Residential use Commercial
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1
3
2
4
By (1) reducing the tower, (2) connecting a community storefront to the park, (3) offering mixed used community facilities, (4) maintaining the transect laneway, and creating further channels through the block, the time-spread and diversity of use might increase.
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On-site care facilities Collaborative spaces / health care incubator
Reading rooms and meeting spaces are nestled on the roof, tucked away from the ground condition of the site. The importance of these spaces might differ from visitor to visitor.
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1:500 // URBAN SCHEME MODEL birch plywood, polystyrene, PLA
1:500 // URBAN SCHEME MODEL birch plywood, polystyrene, PLA
Studying options for maintaining the laneway, connection the park to public transit, and softening the vertical massing
South facing aerial view towards the park
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Ground floor entry Seasonal Atrium Water channel / winter skating Community store front Public presentation space Reading room Stroll garden
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10m
6 4
N GROUND FLOOR PLAN
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1
0
20m
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Community retail In-patient check in Daycare Seasonal atrium Water channel Community center concierge Raked seating / Skate tying
SECTION A The ground floor of the building encourages pedestrian flow incorporating feature storefronts and various seasonal uses. christopherpin.com christopher.pin@yale.edu 646.321.3688
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4 1
A
3
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B
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B 1
2 C
5 3
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5 A
D
AXON // IN-PATIENT CARE E
D
E
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Kitchen Visitor space Reception Workshop space Individual therapy Garden Single In-patient unit
The buildings spaces were developed in reference to principles recognized by the OECD as important for developing a program that can address new ways to provide primary and secondary mental health services to the community:
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C
F
1. Data mining: the ability to track the quality and efficacy of the services being provided
N LEVEL 2 FLOOR PLAN
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0
20m
1 2 3 4 5 6
In-patient building Research lab Individual office loung & sleeping rooms Reception & archive Community center admin. *Workshop spaces lettered above
2. Bolstering Primary Care Services: expanding the role of primary care services in order to reduce stress on secondary care pipeline, and ultimately bridging the alarming treatment gap. 3. Incentivize Collaboration and Initiative in Practitioners: financial incentive might create increased working hours and collaboration christopherpin.com christopher.pin@yale.edu 646.321.3688
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North facing half-court on the third floor.
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F
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N LEVEL 3 FLOOR PLAN
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0
20m
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
In-patient building Workshop spaces throughout Half-court recreation space Reception & admin. Community center lounge Fitness Area BoH Fitness Area
Recreational space awaits on the third floor, usable as a community facility, a group therapy space, and for service worker exercise. Similar to the spaces on the floor below, deliberate frames views to the gardening the sky are intended to increase the restorative impact of these spaces.
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H
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G
F
E
North facing reading room
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D
C
AXON // OVERALL BUILDING
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A B C D E F G H J
Feature storefront, community retail Daycare Research hub Workshop Spaces In-patient building Fitness recreation Hanging gardens Workshop spaces Planted Roof
A
B
Reading rooms on the roof are positioned throughout a stroll garden. In the case of both experiences, views are curated for privacy. christopherpin.com christopher.pin@yale.edu 646.321.3688
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DESIGN RESEARCH.
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CULTURAL SURFACES A Norwegian Cultural Center
Competition Entry (team of 2) Spring 2019
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N OSLO HARBOUR
0
100m
The earth communicates it’s history through Isostatic rebound, slowly unveiling glacial movement across Norway. This history is only perceivable over incredible lengths of time and at great distance with LiDAR scanning technology. These unique geological conditions found across Norway change relative to the scale one experiences them at, and the modalities used to convey this story also have a spectrum of their own –a realm made up of qualitative graphs and narrative cultural artifacts. Carving a new relationship between the earth and the building, this cultural center is a study on how a similar stories might be achieved architecturally.
A NE
W
A NE
A NE
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B E
B E
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C SE
A NE
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B E
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C SE
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B E
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C SE
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D E
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D E
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E E
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C SE
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D E
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E E
Geological transects cut through kilometer distances of the Norwegian terrain, compressed into time-distance graphs; a visualization of glacial movement over four thousand radiocarbon years. Cultural objects capture this sensibility as they consistently imbue a geological sensitivity to their Norwegian context.
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Contemporary and historical material is manipulated to recount the story of the Norwegian earth. The surfaces of the architectural object offer a historical register for the visitors of the site.
EAST ELEVATION // LIBRARY
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0
20m
NORTH ELEVATION // STUDIOS
SOUTH ELEVATION // AUDITORIUM christopherpin.com christopher.pin@yale.edu 646.321.3688
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The building program is split into 3 massings with gently sloped ground planes that anchor the building into the site. Glacial movement is further expressed through oblique moves in elevation.
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A B C D
Auditorium Studio Library Fiskehallen Grain Silo Akershus Fortress Vippa Food Market
N 1 2 3 4 5 6
GROUND LEVEL FLOOR PLAN Entry Seating Library Reception Exhibition Space Cafe 500 seat Auditorium Studio Reception
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10m
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+12,800
+12,800
Small incisions along the east wall offer dancing slivers of light throughout the day. Light primarily streams into the library through the skylight and south facing portal, emphasizing the drama of the rippling concrete interior. GRADE
+9,800
+9,300
CIRCULATION The building floor is framed as an oversized stair, gradually guiding the visitor to the top floor of the building. As the visitor ascends the building, its north and south ends offer larger areas for moments of pause.
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GRADE
N 1 2 3 4 5 6
LEVEL 4 FLOOR PLAN 500 seat auditorium Studio Library stacks Loung + work space Reading Room Bridge
+7,800
0
10m
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MINING VERNACULAR. GAN-Hallucinated Tracery
Graduate Seminar Spring 2021
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The 21st Century has seen the rise of Artificial Intelligence as the progenitor of much of the aesthetics of our everyday lives. These algorithms are also primed to become tools to “mine” the same fabric of reality they alter. Considering the contemporary ease of data accumulation, datasets offer a new contextual boundary for designers. This project uses Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models as a form of contextual research, later used to inform design. The potential for latent patterns, hybrid reading, or entirely foreign ideas of ‘context’ make one question where the line is drawn in regards to ‘vernacular’ of a site.
1300 images collected over the course of a few sessions, continually fed into a GAN model. The model was trained four times at 1500 steps.
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Pixplot, a data analysis tool developed by Yale’s Digital Humanities Lab (DHL), was used to organize the dataset in order to further refine the eventual training set. This is an open source tool run through Google Colab, and hosted using Github. The above image captures the analyzed and organized dataset in the PixPlot interface
close up capture of a PixPlot cluster
http://pixplot.yale.edu/v2/facadelanguage/#
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Runway ML and other free style transfer apps offer CNN models to scrape and transfer features across images.
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GAN models were trained to generate facade ornament based on a continually growing image bank of Yale facade tracery. The above array represents the latent space of the GAN model. christopherpin.com christopher.pin@yale.edu 646.321.3688
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Paul Rudolph, Art & Architecture Building Facade
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Testing a 2D to 3D worflow using mesh modeling software
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Marcel Breuer, Pirelli Building
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Paul Rudolph, Art & Architecture Building Facade
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OBJECTS. Digital Objet Trouvé
Ongoing
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These set of images represent an ongoing exploration of digital image and object making. Not yet spatial, the imagery exists three dimensionally in different forms. Methods of extracting geometric and pattern intelligence from different software is paried with explorations that project these found ideas into more wieldly virtual environments. This process might be better described through analogy, an interest in foraging out into the world of pixels, algorithms, and polygons and seeing what might be salvagable after returning home.
3D fractal imaging software can be used to generate highly technical patterns. These can then be directly compared and collaged with much more analog and coded historical ideas of patterning. The above image, a plate from Owen Jones’ canonical pattern book, is one such example.
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