Mingyang Zhu
PORTFOLIO
Carnegie Mellon University B.Arch 2026
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Table of Contents 01 Meta-Morphosis
02 Craig Street Theater
Architecture Design
Architecture Design
4 - 14
15 - 21
03 Culinary Institute
04 Bird Safe Facade
Architecture Design
Facade Design
22 - 28
29 - 35
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Table of Contents Other Works
06 Altitudes
05 The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial
Foundamental Computational Design
Architecture Competition
36 - 37
38 - 39
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Meta-Morphosis A Steel Necklace that construct the identity of a place through its cultural, social, and ecological systems.
Pittsburgh will is studied as a collective site and a "necklace" will be developed to address activities, housing and infrastructure. The "necklace of steel" will be these three different architectural/urban interventions to address cultural, social, and ecological issues in Pittsburgh. Group Work with Angela Yang
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Stage 1: Pittsburgh Culture + Identity Through Event, Housing, Infrastructure Pittsburgh's built environment consists of systems on multiple levels, social, political, and ecological. It is a network of relationships, from territory to people and objects. People, Places, Things, and Events Context consists of people, places, things, and events. Each person can exist in one or even more categories. In considering these elements, Pittsburgh faces series of historical legacy of political, social conditions, infrastructural, and ecological issues in challenging its identity, and through research and exploration of some of these times and histories, a "TRADING CARD", which highly summarizes Pittsburgh's cultural and built environments, was created to serve as the cornerstone of the overall project. 5 Cards of Large-scale Event and Infrastructure
5 Cards of Mid-scale Event and Housing
5 Cards of Small-scale Individual or Event
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Stage 1: Pittsburgh City Spatail Analysis and Constituency Diagrams Facilities
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Analyze Pittsburgh's urban culture and social heritage and connect the dots with geographic trends and event connections.
Neighborhood
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Analyze Pittsburgh's neighborhood culture and demographic changes and connect the dots with geographic trends and event connections.
Industries
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Analyze Pittsburgh's historical processes and industrial sites and connect the dots with geographic trends and event connections.
Braddock Defeat
French Indian War
1835 Coal Mine
1867 Braddock Site
Edgar Thompson Work
Carnegie Steel
Homestead Strike
Whiskey Rebelion
Great Steel Strike
Great Steel Strike
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Stage 2: Pittsburgh City Operation + Typology Site Taxonomy Analysis
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5
3
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Historical Taxonomy Research 1
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In the research 1, Pittsburgh's steel, coal, and lumber transshipment industries are the primary subjects of analysis. By visualizing and spatializing Pittsburgh from the 1850s through the 1970s, the rise, expansion, and decline of Pittsburgh's iron and steel industry is found to be related to various urban areas.
Historical Taxonomy Research 2
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The catalog of cultural, social, political, and ecological conditions in Pittsburgh is further developed and spatialized and categorized in this phase. The evolution of Pittsburgh's steel industry, its connections to various neighborhoods, and its consequences and impacts on workers are shown through the phases. Consider the connections of each condition and its network at this particular time period.
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2
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3
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The rise of steel and industry in Pittsburgh attracted many workers, and the demographic dividend allowed Pittsburgh's economy to peak during this time. But the corresponding exploitation of capital led to an increase in workers' hours and a decrease in earnings. The decline of the steel industry by the 1970s, along with the decline of the surrounding region's infrastructure and the ensuing strikes, shows the contradictions and complexities of Pittsburgh's capital, industry, and workers.
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Stage 4: Necklace Development Typology + Culture Meta-Morphosis
Herrs Island Site 3 Herrs Island
Site 2 Hill District
Site 1 Gateway Station
Strip District
Gateway Station
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Stage 4: Necklace Development Typology + Culture Meta-Morphosis Elevation For Gateway Station, we pulled the underground lines tot eh floor level and stacking it, making the whole rail system above and transporting through city scrapers, and linking the rest two sites.
Credit to Angela
Design By Me
Parasitic growth started at Strip District is examined and the scaffolds begin with crawling into existing warehouses and parking lots. This Site will be not introduced in this Portfolio.
For the this site, I have taken a part and deepened it. I took the basic modules and frames from house NA and seed vault as a starting point to simulate the form and process of growth and extension of the system.
Design By Angela
Design By Me
Credit to Angela
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Stage 4: Necklace Development Typology + Culture Gateway Station
Iso Section Long Section
Plan
The Gateway Station, situated in downtown, is central to Pittsburgh's transportation network, efficiently connecting citizens to various city parts. It elevates the rail system above ground, intertwining with skyscrapers and linking key sites. Positioned at major business hubs, it blends modern technology with urban elements. The station fosters a future of integrated transportation and recreational spaces, enhancing urban life and efficient movement.
Credit to Angela
Imagined Vignette
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Stage 4: Necklace Development Typology + Culture Herrs Island
The 12x12 blocks form private living areas, with some interconnected and others misaligned, offering diverse growth possibilities. An arclike mesh frame differentiates open, semi-open, and private spaces, adding areas for relaxation, play, and socializing.
Selected arc spaces become communal kitchens, encouraging residents from various blocks to cook together and share experiences.
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Stage 4: Necklace Development Typology + Culture Herrs Island
The core walkway and vertical core serve as primary circulation, while the open platform and minor stairs help to link between living units and half-open spaces.
Detailed Part Plan
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Stage 4: Necklace Development Typology + Culture Herrs Island The Following two Section Drawing demonstrates the daily living and activities visitors and workers currently experiencing.
Site 3 General Bird View
Detailed Part Long Section
Detailed Part Short Section
This blend yields a dynamic living space where convenience and community thrive. Herr's Island evolves into a complex with affordable homes, communal kitchens, sports fields, and an open-air theater, plus revitalized waterfront boardwalks and marinas. These features enhance lifestyle, encourage water activities, and boost the city's economy.
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Stage 4: Necklace Development Typology + Culture Herrs Island
Render
Vignettes
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2
3
4
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Craig Street Theater For the vision of the street theater around the campus and community transformation
By analyzing the existing site and conditions, a carved and chopped stone-like theater and its complex space that is quiet, calm and open on the outside but intense and dynamic on the inside is created. People use this theater to watch performances, to communicate, and to feel the impact of energy and silence.
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Site Analysis and Context Discovery & Precedent Study
Precedent Study Blue Barn Theater Study & Iterations
Site Map Context
Six iterations of the Blue Barn Theatre. Using symmetry, rotation, push and pull to create sculptural spaces.
Taking into account the city contexts we can see that the site is a vibrant area that connects the students of the university campus with the residents of Pittsburgh.
Through the study and analysis of the prcedent Blue Barn Theatre, I found its undulating shape and the characteristic of dividing and reuniting the outside and the inside, inspired by this, I broke up the original dull unidirectional theatre and interspersed it between the auditoriums, and reshaped the outside space with a stone sculpture-like shell.
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Programming massing Diagram
I redesigned an ordinary rectangular theater by adding two stages extending in opposite directions, linked to a central large stage, to enhance audience interaction, employing acoustic curtains and vibrant interiors suited for CMU students' rehearsals and performances. Top Level
Step 1
Step 2
Second Level
Step 3
Step 4
Ground Level
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Exploded in City Context
Detail Explode Diagram demonstrating specific structure assembly and design ideas.
Theater Exploded Detail
Installing overall deisgn into the street context.
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Plan 1 With Contexts
Plan 2
Section 1 With Contexts
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Analytique Drawing Demonstrate material and spatial relationship of Theater
By analyzing the existing site and conditions, a carved and chopped stone-like theater and its complex space that is quiet, calm and open on the outside but intense and dynamic on the inside is created. People use this theater to watch performances, to communicate, and to feel the impact of energy and silence.
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Rendering
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Culinary Institute Broadacre Kitchen Integrating Social, Ideology, and Environment
A proposal for the culinary Institute in Pittsburgh. Group Work with Tina Han
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Site Analysis & Field Drawing Development
The analysis of road, area, population, city context as well as the Site. MEAT
LIVESTOCK
MANURE
CROPS
NEW VARIANTS
NEW FLAVORS
BLUE HILL LOCAL FARMERS
BETTER FODDER
EXPERIMENT
DAN BARBER FARM TO TABLE
SCIENTISTS INCOME
LABS
KITCHEN
ORGANIC FARM LOCAL FARMER
INNOVATION CHEFS
RESTAURANT
TABLE
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Hierarchical Field Drawing Development
Making field drawing becoming the prototype of culinary institute
Isometric Field Drawing
The iteration and the process of field drawing
By developing a precedent in the form of field mapping, a prototype for how people live, learn and play is created. This is the foundation and building block for further design of the Culinary Institute. The basic abstract pattern fragments come from field drawing, a logic that will be continued in the next step of architectural development.
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Circulation & Logic
Parti & Space Overall Entrance
Basic Geometry & Volume
Circulation
Linear Connection
Entrance & Expansion
Kitchen & Greenhouse
Elevation & Cultivation Credit to Tina
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Exploded Diagram + Structure
Structure & Context Detail Mortise & Tenon Structure supporting inner canopt and floor Outer wood beam for decoration and sunlight filtering
Moments Through Inner, Inter, Outer three different perspectives to demonstrate the activities students and visitors Expereinced with
Inner Hallway
Iron mesh and steel frame constitute of greenhouse system
Outside View
Entrance View
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Institute Building Performances Detail
Showing detailed activities and events happening inside the building, demonstrating the relationship of each space
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Rendering 1
level 2 Showing the activity that School students Experiencing currently
level 1 Showing verticle fan shape cultivation area and activites
level 3 Depicting the farm market that open to neighborhood and residents
Team Work
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Bird Safe Facade Bird perspective Focused Facade Design
Building on the situation of Bird hitting glass, research and analysis of the Frick Environmental Center, prototype architectural modules that can make the glass wall on the north facade safer for birds while allowing specific human experiences. Team Work with Angela Yang
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First Phase: Frick Park Environment Center Analysis Greenhouse in Daytime
Greenhouse in Larger Scale
The Flying bird cluster are very easy to hit the window in flight. The window glass usually present to be transparent to birds.
A broader farm environment and system to show a better information background, actively relating birds to farm, demonstrating the bird system living within the farm system.
Greenhouse in Night
Greenhouse Solutions
During the night the strong glaring light penetreate through glass also cause the crash. At a larger scale, bird closely related to farmland and greenhouse, which is the problem we need to solve.
Through research and analysis, some preliminary consensus and solutions were summarized and actively practiced to protect birds from hitting the glass.
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Second Phase: Frick Park Environment Center Analysis
Team Work
Genereal Analysis We emphasized the connection between nature and the building, illustrating the life within. The design effectively links the forest to the architecture, with residential houses portrayed at the street's end. Through line drawing, we vividly represented tree species and birds, creating depth and layers to depict the landscape and spatial relationships. Building Analysis On the far left of the drawing is the deciduous forest, which mostly contains tall and aged trees such as black cherry, oaks, maples, beeches, ash trees, etc., developing great views for people on the second floor and third floor balconies. So the environment actively connects people both visually and physically.
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Third Phase: Facade Module Design
Building on the situation of Bird hitting glass, research and analysis of the Frick Environmental Center, prototype architectural modules that can make the glass wall on the north facade safer for birds while allowing specific human experiences. Final Module Development 1
Intial Idea Brainstorming
Credit to Angela
Final Module Development 2 Iterations
Credit to Angela
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Third Phase: Facade Module Design Final Module Exploded
Single Module Isometric
Final Module Development 2
In the latest experiment, I crafted a 6x12 base frame, incorporating curved surfaces to balance bending, light ingress, and visibility within a graceful amplitude. We refined the sloped frame surfaces to address the randomness of previous designs, ensuring stability and achieving a varied shadow and module effect by focusing on three frame points. We transformed the 6x12 frame into numerous 2x2 waffle structures, adhering to the 2x2 rule and demonstrating the hierarchy of smaller modules within the larger one. This structure helped subdivide surface areas within the frame, organizing divided blocks into a secondary module. By vertically slicing these blocks and connecting them with iron bars, we created a tectonic module that conveys a stereotomic essence.
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Third Phase: Facade Module Design Final Module Arrangement
Credit to Angela
And that we have larger components, and we keep mirroring Module Combination again in the X axis. Therefore we have a greater module consisting of two components. we use panel fixing joints, or pieces, to fix the module and components and stack them one by one together to make them able to stand freely. Now the basic, layered module is founded. We have tried a number of arrangements. By rotating them at set angles, we were able to get different views through the pieces, and they kept changing, creating light and shadow and an interesting visual experience.
Credit to Angela
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Renders Rendering created here are used to represent the authentic environment and light, shading effect of the design.
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The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial
4. Drop
7. Transport
Credit to Tina
Credit to Tina
Credit to Isabella
2. Grasp
5. Ripple
8. Result
Credit to Tina
Credit to Tina
Credit to Tina
3. Climb
6. Enlarge
8. Reflect
Credit to Isabella
Credit to Isabella
In today's world, where uncertainty grips the globe and political tensions are at an alltime high, humankind is faced with a threat that may be worse than many pandemics put together: nuclear weapons. Nuclear explosions have not ceased, as various controlled tests of these destructive weapons have continued for years afterwards. For this competition, we chose the nuclear test site of Lop Nor for a deep reflection and design, comparing nuclear war to a falling drop of water, and transforming people's frenzied behavior into throwing a stone into the lake, in order to show a kind of ritual reflection and selfanalysis on the use of weapons.
Lop Nur, XInjiang, China 41.725°N, 88.3588°E
1. Enter
Team Project with Tina and Isabella
The left 9 diagrams represents and demonstartes a ceremonial process of rediscovering nuclear bomb and its consequences. People entering this memeorial site choose to pick up a stone and move up to the center point of the elevated lake, dropping the stone and rethink the meaning of it.
Plan + Section
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The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial
Eye Perspective
Wide Angle Perspective
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Altitudes Team Project with Patrick
1 Triple Rectangular Prisms
Using iterative thinking and Grasshopper script to create multiple designs and generate the finest one.
Sketch Idea & Module Process
30°
Object #2 (White) Object #1 (Gray)
Ini�al Volume
Split volumes into two right triangle and define each new volume as a new local “Object”
Rotate the Objects 30° on previous cu�ng plane.
Slice all Objects into two right triangles.
2 Diagonal Midpoint Triangle Slices
4” 2” 4”
2”
4”
4” Between the two pieces of each sliced Object, shi� the volumes with the smaller cross sec�on in opposing direc�ons by 2” (21) along their cut axis.
Slice all volumes into two right triangles
Between the two pieces of each sliced volume, shi� the volumes with the smaller cross sec�on 4” (22) in opposing direc�ons rela�ve to the other shi�ing volume belonging to the same Object.
Credit to Patrick
Altitudes The core mechanism of the ruleset involves splitting a volume into two right triangles, achievable by cutting along a rectangle’s diagonal or a right triangle’s altitude. After initially dividing a rectangle into two right triangular prisms, this splitting method is recursively applied to each right triangle, with each subsequent volume shifted variably in opposite directions after each split.
3 Split and Rotate along cut Plane
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Altitudes
Ruleset Iterations Exploded Axon The ruleset of the strategy creates to sets of identical mirrored assemblies that are defined as “Objects” in the ruleset.
Aerial
Eye Level
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