Undergraduate Portfolio | Theresa Chua

CHUA XIN EN THERESA architecture portfolio complete works 2011-2014

Special thanks to: Assistant Professor Erik L’Heureux Assistant Professor Florian Schaetz Adjunct Senior Lecture Mr Fung Jon Chye Dr Lai Chee Kien Mr ClÊment Blanchet Assistant Professor Tsuto Sakamoto Assistant Professor Chen Yu Mr Ng San Son and all who have made this possible in one way or another

TERRITORIAL FRAMEWORKS + STUDIO GO WEST an inquiry of urban form in Paris| Singapore Fall 2014

AGING IN PLACE 2030 & BEYOND towards a new permanent home ownership for the people Spring 2014

THE SECRET GNAWING LIFE a museum for decay Fall 2012

L’INTROVERSION DU FRONT DE SEINE regenerating dwelling and modernity in Paris Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture, Fall 2013

BACK(PACKER) LANE an appropriated hostel Spring 2013

TIME AND TIDE structure and nature in a retreat Spring 2013

THE TREE BESIDE THE WATER a retreat in nature Spring 2012

PHENOMENA spatial abstractions Fall 2011

COURSEWORK selected works from other modules

TERRITORIAL FRAMEWORKS + STUDIO GO WEST: an inquiry of urban form in Paris| Singapore National University of Singapore AR4101 Tutor: Erik L’Heureux, Florian Schaetz Fall 2014 Territorial Frameworks studies the polarities of the Singapore/Paris urban models, setting up interesting discourse into the future of cities. The studio embarked upon the project as a large-scale collaborative research, comparatively breaking down the themes of urban success and formation into the questions of Territory, Density, Infrastructure, Social, Nature, Economics, Politics, Urban Form and Typology.

My area of research was Urban Form. What strikes me most about the two cities is that both are high-density urban environments, but one subscribes to a high-rise vertical urbanism, while the other is an exemplar of a horizontal ‘mat’ urbanism. Given this, what makes a city adhere to one urban model instead of another?

My study traces the history of the urban forms of Singapore and Paris, showing that they could have adopted the same language of high-rise, mass housing prototypes, and garden city models to be the default urban form. However, while Singapore embraced it, Paris has condemned it, choosing to ban all Grand Ensembles and return to the human scale.

SINGAPORE | Figure Ground Comparison 1:5000

PARIS | Figure Ground Comparison 1:5000

“Open Street Map”. http://www.openstreetmap.org/search?query=singapore%20#map=5/51.522/-0.088.

Date accessed 5 Nov 2014.

“Open Street Map”. http://www.openstreetmap.org/search?query=paris#map=5/51.522/-0.088 Date accessed 5 Nov 2014.

New Town Neighbourhood Centre Neighbourhood

Major Arterial

Residential 42%

Precinct

Minor Arterial

Institutions 12.5%

Industry 9% Parks and Recreation 6.5%

Commercial 12%

Roads and Utilities 18%

Town planning concept

Toa Payoh New Town

Ville Contemporaine Le Corbusier 1922

Central City Garden City

Garden City

Ebenezer Howard 1898

Singapore: social utopia

m

4k

urban codes: building controls

SINGAPORE | Gross Plot Ratio, Height Control Maximum height = 280m

Gross Plot Ratio (GPR)

>2.8

2.8

2.1

Subsequent Storeys < 3.6 m First Storey < 5.0m

Peaks Panoramic Vue Landmark

1.6

Conserved Area

1.4

1km

Height Control Incentives for Buildings with Sky Terraces

Residential Developments

PARIS | Envelope Control

SINGAPORE | Envelope Control

1. Urban Redevelopment Authority. “Development Control Parameters for Residential Areas.” http://www.ura.gov.sg/circulars/text/dcdrhb_d0e4.htm. July 2011, accessed 23 August 2014. .

12.6m

8-10m

5-7m

36 storeys ~130 m

>15m

P = 1/1, 2/1, h = 4.5m P = 1/2, h = 3m P = 1/3, h = 2m

31m P+3

P

6-8m

P+4 8-15m Cat

3m

30m 15 24

12 7.5

1

4-5m

10m 7.5 5

15m

12

P m

20

5m

Category 1: Expressway

Common Boundary

3m

5m

Facade height control in relation to road width

Category 3: Minor Arterial

Category 2: Major Arterial

Building Setback

Roofscape couronnement

Buffer Requirements Residential <5 storeys Residential >6 storeys Commerical/ Institutional/ Industrial Green Buffer Urban Redevelopment Authority "Development Control Parameters for Residential Development." July 2011. http://www.ura.gov.sg/circulars/text/dcdrhb_d0e4.htm, accessed 13 August 2014.

charting territory: airspace and underground space

SINGAPORE | Airspace Control 1:350 000

1. Mairie de Paris "Reglements Zone Urbaine Generale." 8 July 2014 http://www.paris.fr/viewmultimediadocument?multimediadocument-id=21576 , accessed 13 August 2014.

PARIS | Airspace Control 1:350 000 Restricted: Tengah Corridor Jet Let-Down Sector

Light Aircraft Training Area ‘A’ Mandai Camp

Restricted: UNESCO listed site Domaine de Versailles

Prohibited {Malaysia): Sultan’s Palace Bukit Serene

Light Aircraft Training Area ‘B’ Seletar Airbase Sembawang Airbase

Restricted: Airport Toussus le Noble

9144 m

Prohibited: Unknown

Prohibited: City of Paris

Restricted: Presidential Hunting Ground Rambouillet, Foret de Marly

3048 914.4 457.2 152.4 (500ft)

Danger: Airport Paris Le Bourget

1 981 m 1158 457.2 152.4 (500ft)

Danger: Pulau Tekong Rifle Range

Danger: Southern Islands Live Firing Range

Prohibited: Mount Faber Prohibited: Unknown

Danger: Nee Soon Rifle Range Prohibited: Unknown

Prohibited: Nuclear microprobe facility Bruyeres le Chatel

Restricted: Istana & CBD

Prohibited: Nuclear research & development site Foutenay-aux-Roses

PARIS | Underground Volume

SINGAPORE | Underground Volume 1. Centre for Aviation. “CAAS upgrades air traffic control as Singapore signs new ASAs.” http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/caas-upgrading-singapore-air-traffic-control-centre-37147. 15 October 2010, accessed 30 August 2014. .

1. Service de l’information aeronautique. “F.I.R Paris LFFF.” http://www.sia.aviation-civile.gouv.fr/.

20 February 2014, accessed 30 August 2014. .

42km

11km

Utility Tunnels ~ 500 000 m3

Sewage Pipes ~ 107 756 000 m3

Underground Linkways, Shopping Malls = ~ m3

Catacombes ~ 7 000 000 m3

Expressways = 3 600 000 m3

Metro Tunnels ~ 7 700 000 m3 Stations ~ m3

MRT Tunnels = 12 320 000 m3

RER ~ 2 944 000 m3 Deep Tunnel Sewerage System = 4 836 000 m3 Power Cables = 989 601 m3

Paris Overground Volume ~ 1 050 000 000 m3 Ammuniion Facility = 3 000 000 m3

Petrochemical Storage = 1 500 000 m3 12

35

Singapore

60

80km

76.5

280

2800km

Paris

1996: Establishment of Sensitive Urban Zones (ZUS)

banlieues: rejection

2006: Implementation of Urban Social Cohesion Contracts (CUCS)

“La Bourgeoisie ne loge pas les travailleurs, elle les stocke.”

Mai 1968

UNESCO World Heritage Site Banks of the Seine, 1991

urban identity, Paris

La Defense, 1970s-

TERRITORIAL FRAMEWORKS

The second part of exploration involves models. My subject of study was nature. Nature is often read as an innocuous aspect of the urban landscape. But we have to recognize that nature is a construct, an instrument employed by both designers and the state to organize the city, often governed and shaped by codes invisible to the city-dweller.

This invisibility is revealed through pins in the models.

A hybrid of nature in Singapore/ Paris is designed to question the assumptions of the urban models of both cities.

A formalistic approach is taken, where how the planting of different types of nature if taken as the determining factor can shape urban form is discussed.

In hybridizing Paris into Singapore, the axis-driven and nodal characteristics of nature in Paris are transplanted into a typical housing estate, Toa Payoh, in Singapore.

In hybridizing Singapore into Paris, the sprawling nature in Singapore occupies any interstitial space it can conquer. Instead of demarcating boundaries by walls, the Singaporean method translates these clear architectural barriers into organic landscape

TERRITORIAL FRAMEWORKS hybrid nature : Singapore into Paris

Models done with Samantha Chia

AGING IN PLACE 2030 & BEYOND: towards a new permanent

home ownership for the people

National University of Singapore AR3102 Tutor: Fung Jon Chye Spring 2014 Work featured in book launch of Re-imagining the Nursing Home in Singapore,

by Fung Jon Chye This project is an interrogation of the notion of aging-in-place in the Singapore context.

In recent years, much emphasis has been placed on aging in a familiar environment such as home. Yet, the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s redevelopment schemes displaces, disempowers, and ultimately runs counter to the aims of building lasting homes for people. The proposed HDB typology attempts to challenge societal assumptions of housing and aging, empower residents with a novel sense of home ownership and foster community in a familiar yet increasingly asocial public housing environment.

ABOUT THE HDB Since independence, the government has recognized the importance of home ownership in empowering citizens. Today, 82% of Singaporeans live in Housing Development Board (HDB) flats, one of the most successful public housing programs in the world. In 1964, the Home Ownership for the People scheme was launched. Initially striving to provide affordable housing for people, the HDB has evolved to become an asset for Singaporeans.

Its ideological meanings of ‘family’, ‘home’ and ‘society’ still persist today. In 2013, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his National Day Rally,

The HDB program is not just about the roof over our heads. It is also a valuable nest egg. But it is not just a valuable nest egg. It is also a home, a home where we sink roots, where we raise families, where we build ties, friendships, emotional ties with our fellow Singaporeans.

Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister, National Day Rally 2013

Rental blocks:

5% of all HDB blocks

Reduction of social space: gradual introversion

HDBs are increasingly socially isolated. The double-loaded corridor was the norm in the 1960s. However, it this typology only remains in rental flats today, which make up only 5% of HDB homes and house low-income families. Dark and narrow, they are perceived to be unsafe. Undoubtedly, a social stigma underpins this typology.

This project envisions a new typology of a reinvented double-loaded corridor and plug-in units that re-empower the people with a sense of home.

AGING IN PLACE 2030

VISION: EMPOWERING WITH A NEW SENSE OF HOME

the new corridor â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;courtyardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; space, externalized circulation and improved

AGING IN PLACE 2030

A steel superstructure frames the existing concrete HDB slab block. The superstructure acts as a frame that holds plug-in bedrooms that can be customized to the family. Existing units on the block become living spaces within the homes. Functions and sky decks are inserted every three floors.

New Steel Structure

Plug-ins: Steel frame with aluminium honeycomb cladding

Original Corridor

New Corridor

Courtyard Common Lounge

Structural Intervention

Shelving In-between space as duct/ service space

Kitchen Toilet Opening

TV Unit

Electrical Riser

New Circulation

Changeable Facade Options

Existing Concrete Structure STRUCTURAL CONCEPT

AXONOMETRIC OF PLUG-IN UNIT

AGING IN PLACE 2030

25MM STAINLESS STEEL ROD RAIL

12MM GLASS PANEL 12MM GLASS PANEL ON COMPRESSED FOAM BLOCK

SLIDING GLASS DOOR TRACK 3MM VINYL FINISH

ALUMINIUM U-CHANNEL

30 MM ALUMINIUM HONEYCOMB PANEL

MESH GRATING FLOORING

150MM STEEL C-CHANNEL

150MM STEEL I-BEAM

SPOT DETAIL 1: BALCONY

20MM TIMBER DECK 200MM REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAM WATERPROOF MEMBRANE

100MM STEEL BEAM BOLTED TO R.C. BEAM 200 X 200 MM STEEL I-BEAM WELDED TO 1000X400 MM STEEL COLUMN

SPOT DETAIL : CONCRETE TO STEEL FRAME STEP CONNECTION

DETAIL SECTION

THE SECRET GNAWING LIFE a museum for decay National University of Singapore AR2101 Tutor: Lai Chee Kien Fall 2012 Work published in NUS Yearbook 2013 Work chosen for Semester 2013 exhibition â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shaken into Consciousness, My sense of smell and healing sharpens extraordinarily. I was a vigilant observer of the secret gnawing life.â&#x20AC;?

Jonathan Safron Foer, , in the Tree of Codes This project presents a physical and visual narration of the decay at Dairy Farm Nature Park. It began with a painting of my emotional response to the weathering and decay at site. Dairy Farm Nature Park was once a dairy farm, and has now been forested. Hence, remains of the farm are embedded in the site, and are slowly being taken over by the forces of time. The overwhelming sense that nature was reclaiming what belonged to it led to a visualization and mapping of the landscape in terms of roots, patterns and growth.

The design was driven by a literary artwork, the Tree of Codes, by Jonathan Safron Foer. Employing similar vocabulary and methodology, the museum of decay is composed of a series of strategically embedded, scattered spaces in the landscape.

THE SECRET GNAWING LIFE

The Tree of Codes was created by a die-cut method, transforming the original novel, The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz, into a whole new story altogether.

The spaces were inspired by an emotional and haptic reading of the vocabulary of the book. Just like how the narrative selectively removes, the symbolic retracing of the old circulation space was achieved by excavation such that users would view the decay at different eye levels, turning decay into an exhibition alongside with the interspersed gallery spaces. Similarly, the soil and ground beams of existing remains have been exposed selectively. Reinforced by structural glass, the secret gnawing life can be viewed along the transition spaces and gallery spaces in the entire architecture.

THE TREE OF CODES

Light Effects and Inversion

Shaken

Linearity vs. Three-dimensionality

Into Consciousness

My sense of smell and healing sharpens extraordinarily

I was a vigilant observer

of

the SECRET GNAWING LIFE.

Key Mechanisms of Decay and Inspiration

The surface of life seemed to scatter into fragments, an enormous featherless dignity, an older material.

Site Study

August has passed, and yet summer continues by force to grow days, they sprout secretly between the chapters of the year, covertly included between its pages. The crumbling book of the calender continues to increase between the boards, dwelling incessantly from the lies and dreams that multiply in it.

Linearization of Decay

But slowly, the world began to set traps, the taste of food, the patch of sunlight on the floor. The movements of limbs, the acceptance of the experiment of life and submission to it.

Series of scattered spaces

Amid the fragments of the extinct landscape, I yawned toward the sun.

Intersections of Decay and Circulation

THE SECRET GNAWING LIFE

The circulation was designed with the spirit of the narrative in mind. Just as sentences could be read both linearly and three-dimensionally, the main circulation route is the linear old circulation route that sinks from the topmost space to the bottom most space. The gallery spaces are interspersed beside it, and designed in a threedimensional circulation across the different strata of the architecture.

L’INTROVERSION DU FRONT DE SEINE regenerating dwelling and modernity in Paris

Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture, Paris Atelier Tutor: Clément Blanchet Fall 2013 Le Front de Seine , consisting of 18 towers each approximately 100m in height, is the tallest district in Paris after the iconic Eiffel Tower and the infamous Tour Montparnasse. Built over the 1970s, it was a modernist utopia of functionalism and mixed-use development. Front de Seine was made up of a dalle (podium) that houses commercial activities and links up the separate towers. The ground level thus served primarily as circulation space for vehicles, the dalle was reserved for communal activity and the towers for purely dwelling purposes.The failure of this project led to a Parisian resistance against the dalle typology and skyscrapers in general. This project examines the problematics of modernist dwelling ideals and questions how the seemingly dehumanizing environment of the Front de Seine can be regenerated.

History of Skyscrapers in Paris, including the development of Front de Seine

PRICE/ M2

The project began with a rigorous study of existing site conditions and research on the role of modernist thinking in Parisian architecture.

The most â&#x20AC;&#x153;capitalistâ&#x20AC;? tower Avant-seine -- the tower with 1. Highest Price 2. Most restricted views towards the Seine 3. Largest radius from its neighbors 4. Lowest corridor area

was to be the site of design intervention.

ISOLATION

VIEW

CORRIDOR AREA

L’INTROVERSION DU FRONT DE SEINE

NO. OF APARTMENTS

ANALYSIS OF AVERAGE SURFACE AREA

BEFORE: PURE FUNCTIONALISM

AFTER: BLURRED FUNCTIONALISM

BEFORE: INTROVERTED ACCESS

AFTER: EXTERNALIZED ACCESS

design strategy

Programmatic reshuffling, densification and “extroverting” the tower

project done with Quentin Sim Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;INTROVERSION DU FRONT DE SEINE

Site model - Before and after of the Front de Seine.

The introverted modernism of the Front de Seine has been inverted. The lines between pure zoning have been blurred. Street activities are brought up to the dalle. Leisure is brought vertically into the tower. Circulation is extroverted.

The Avant-Seine becomes the tower with the best views offered through balcony spaces for all the residents to enjoy.

BACK(PACKER) LANE: an appropriated hostel National University of Singapore AR2102 Tutor: Tsuto Sakamoto Spring 2013 Inspired by the appropriation of utilitarian backlanes into culturally rich spaces that are vibrant with street life, this project is a humble attempt to hybridize the programme of a backpackersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; inn with the original site context of a utilitarian carpark. The site, Kampong Glam, is a bustling tourist attraction rich in malay culture.

The conventional utilitarian function of the carpark is reperceived as an opportunity for streetlife to take place.The existing carpark on site is converted into a multi-storey ramped carpark, which connects to a series of dwelling spaces for the transiting backpacker.

Outdoor and indoor space is blurred into a series of connections interweaving between private and public spaces.

BACK(PACKER) LANE

Structural expression is key. The carpark is a steel structure expressed with steel hollow circular sections. The inn nestled within is a concrete structure.

In-between corridor spaces are composed of metal mesh that allows light to penetrate through the quadruple-volume space. It is buffered by greenery and open to the sky, creating a refreshing sense of refuge and externality in the hustle and bustle of Kampong Glam.

in-between spaces as opportunity for appropriation

section at high tide

TIME AND TIDE: inhabiting structure in nature National University of Singapore AR2102 Tutor: Tsuto Sakamoto Spring 2013 The coexistence of a few typologies along the lim chu kang shoreline was an intriguing point of study. It was observed that the structures of the jetty and the cashin house respond figuratively to the environment in different ways. While the jetty floats according to the tide level, the cashin house remains fixed, its structure being exposed and concealed according to the different tide levels throughout the day. The sea, the land, the ebb and flow of the waves crashing onto the different structures all give the site a sense of ephemerality...

Interlocking bedrooms were designed. Each leads to a private balcony that emerges just Above high tide level, as well as a labyrinth beneath that emerges at low tide level.

Each room comprises of a private balcony that lowers to just above high tide level. Walls are conceived as planes that are recessed from the columns to provide porosity in the dominant wind direction. Wind flows through narrow thresholds that offer views towards the sea while the user travels down the corridor

section at low tide

THE TREE BESIDE THE WATER: a retreat in nature National University of Singapore AR1102 Tutor: Chen Yu Spring 2012 I desire for a space to gather in nature, a structure to withdraw into nature, under a tree, above the water. The chosen site in MacRitchie Reservoir is tucked into a bend. The design intersects with a slightly beaten path that separates a private room from a public gathering space.

This retreat celebrates a tree overhanging above the water. The roof wraps below its branches, and opens up where its canopy is thickest, receiving the climatic elements of wind, rain and light.

PHENOMENA spatial abstractions National University of Singapore AR1101 Tutor: Ng San Son Fall 2011 Phenomena is about abstractions. What is space? As a student embarking on an architectural journey, this project aims to capture space visually. My space of study is the Singapore Art Museum. From photographs to line drawings, space is about what the eye perceives, the light it captures, the resulting atmosphere and genius loci...

MARINA BAY: in search of identity in a spectacle Ecole Special d’Architecture, Ideologies and Architecture Tutor: Brent Patterson Fall 2013 Inspired and intrigued by the towering presence of skyscrapers in every city I’ve visited, especially those in Paris where many would mistake for a “pristine” backdrop untampered by any sense of “modernity”, I decided to base my research on Singapore’s own relentless identity-construction as epitomized by the swanky Marina Bay development.

With reference to writings such as The Spectre of Ideology by Slavoj Zizek and The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord, I question: What are the ideological underpinnings of governments’ obsessive pursuit of iconic skylines? Are we as unique as we proclaim to be?

Where is identity found in architecture? The work shown here is a visual representation exercise of this questioning. Emphasizing the visual flattening of urban form occurring on a global scale.

PANO(PLY) plywood structure for the beach National University of Singapore AR1101 Tutor: Ng San Son Fall 2011 Pano(ply) was a studio group project. We were to create a structure for showering by the beach out of plywood. Much research and tests were done on the material, ranging from joints to structural stability, porosity and water-tightness. The resulting structure is a completely functional interlocking modular design that holds a water tank in the middle. Seats are created around the structure for resting.

NORT R H

SEAT NO

EAST

WEST

WEST

SOUTH

NORT R H

EAST

a0083078Y singapore art museum

through analyses, one discoveres that the smu landscape is a complex entity that has accumulated the multifaceted layers of axes, circulation, human activity, geometry and texture over time. from a humble plain with a few trees during the era of bras basah park to the complex plot that houses singapore management university today, the landscape is an ever-evolving one. hence, this project aims to convey the dimensions of the evolution, together with the axial geometry, enclosure and texture of the smu landscape in a box. landscape as axes carved for an intention

b

c

circulation

b

a

a

LANDSCAPE IN A BOX

axes enhanced with formal landscaping

deciphering smu green: uncovering axial relationships exercise 4 chua xin en theresa a0083078Y

kaleidoscopes emphasising axes in landscape

kaleidoscopes emphasising axes in landscape

cultural value

singapore art museum

through analyses, one discoveres that the smu landscape is a complex entity that has accumulated the multifaceted layers of axes, circulation, human activity, geometry and c texture over time. from a humble plain with a few trees during the era of bras basah park to the complex plot that houses singapore management university today, the landscape is an ever-evolving one. hence, this project aims to convey the dimensions of the evolution, together with the axial geometry, enclosure and texture of the smu landscape in a box.

preservation

mirror emphasising horizontality, lateral expansion of landscape

landscape as axes carved for an intention 70 year old bodhi tree

c

circulation

axes enhanced with formal landscaping

b

a

b prominent axes in landscape

axes enhanced with formal landscaping

people at the box

a landscape as an ever-evolving entity in constant flux

mapping axial relationships at Singapore Management University Campus Green

National University of Singapore AR1724 Tutor: Sini Raffaella Spring 2013

cultural value

c

mirror emphasising horizontality, lateral expansion of landscape

the box as a site -- frames holding views

preservation

prominent axes in landscape

circulation

site vegetation in the 1960s: bras basah park stamford canal

landscape as a composite of texture, enclosure, circulation and their effects on one another

landscape as an ever-evolving entity in constant flux

This introductory module to landscape required students to map a landscape of their choice and capture this landscape in an artpiece within a box.

My site is the Singapore Management University campus green. It is a campus located at the crossroads of national monuments and thus bears strong axes that connect them. The resulting landscape is lush with hidden and meandering paths that serve to connect in a very busy central civics district. These striking features are translated into kaleidoscopes held by planes of varying opacities and textures that bear resemblance to the landscape. people at the box

the box as a site -- frames holding views

site vegetation today: SMU

mirror emphasising horizontality, lateral expansion of landscape

70 year old bodhi tree

enclosure/ exposure in box reflecting site

light and shadow effect of textures

collage of textures with kaleidoscopes blending in: HIDDEN AXES

the box as a site -- frames holding views

light and shadow effect of textures

enclosure/ exposure in box reflecting site

site vegetation today: SMU degree of enclosure/ exposure, tree layout

perspective from side

sections mapping texture

circulation

site vegetation in the 1960s: bras basah park stamford canal

perspective from side

perspective from front

landscape as a composite of texture, enclosure, circulation and their effects on one another

light and shadow effect of textures

collage of textures with kaleidoscopes blending in: HIDDEN AXES

degree of enclosure/ exposure, tree layout

sections mapping texture

perspective from side

perspective from front

CIRCLE WALL concrete ventilation curtain wall National University of Singapore AR2327 Tutor: Florian Schaetz The faรงade design is a filigree structure that simultaneously divides and engages the building to the Spring 2013 DESIGN INTENTION

external environment. The strategy of layering is employed to maintain privacy for the user, filtering direct sunlight and rain while prioritising natural Circle wall is a 1m x 1m concrete curtain wall ventilation. Large voids are cast into the inner layer that faces the user to maximise ventilation,module which that serves to block out rain and wind. It are then partially shielded by an outer layer to is acreteam effort and is a carefully constructed wall ate privacy and reduce direct sunlight. This primary with three layers of pouring glass-fiber reinforced surface is held a distance away to maintain airflow and also to create visual complexity. The layering is concrete.

The rebars are designed and bent such that again emphasized via difference in textures, where the they are concealed in this semi-filigree structure. secondary wall takes on a rough surface to contrast and highlight the smoother primary surface.

Viewed differently from all angles, it is a celebration

Hidden from sight is a third, in-between layer of that porosity and of the climatic elements. The circles tapers to follow the voids of the primary surface. have are lined differently such that rainwater is This layer serves as an additional ledge that reduces rain passing through the Curtain Wall, channelling channelled down behind the top filigree area and water away from the inner layer. Thus the external effectively drained from the facade. environment is filtered through the wall, allowing the play of light, shadow and wind to dominate.

Lightness is emphasized, not merely for ease of construction and transportation, but also to acknowledge the fundamental concept of a Curtain Wall. As a non-structural wall, it is vital that the Curtain Wall maintains thinness to reduce load on the building, where a reduction in weight leads to a reduction in cost.

Additionally when replicated and assembled to form a building facade, the varying disc sizes of the wall allows for a permutation of patterns to further create visual interest. Joints and connections thus take on an important role and have been carefully cast as part of the wall to create a seamless surface.