DIANA ANG
selected works 2008 - 2012
1
2
Academic 4 18 30 34 38 50 66 74
Flux House Le Strates de Paris Dispersed Horizons Esplanade The Breezeway Gulf Coast Film Archives ZeRow House New Kai Tak
Things of interest 92 94 throughout
Light Box Reconstructing ‘Transparency’ Photography
Professional 98
Andlinger Center
3
Left: Philharmonie, Berlin; Right: Saint-Pierre, Firminy
4
Constellations
5
Flux House A recombinant house in suburbia
Course ARCH 301 Duration One semester Professors Sean Lally Michael Robinson Collaborator JessyYang
The problem of the suburban house lies in the increasing division of family members. The convenience of technology has led family members to become hermetic, leading to a house that is no more than a collection of separate rooms. This trend limits the spectrum of human interaction and experiences. Our solution is to redistribute amenities, such as light, temperature, acoustics, et cetera, to maximize spaces that encourage family interaction and minimize spaces that demand privacy. A set of formal systems is deployed to accommodate the redistribution of these amenities: surface undulation, infill, and skin. Together, these systems create different atmospheres to accommodate various levels of interactivity from different times of the day to seasons of the year. In the second part of the studio, the system used in singlefamily house is then used in an entire housing development to decrease divisions among households.The houses are cluttered around communal courtyards, and the system expands to promote communal activities such as a swimming pool. Changes in season and differences in interests among dwellers are the variables of interactions.
6
7
Renaissance
17th - 18th century
contemporary suburban
The yardstick to measure flexibility of interaction in a particular space
complete pinks: THE LIFEPODS
inbetweens: THE SPACES IN FLUX
complete blues: THE OPEN FIELD
Historical and projective trends 8
1.
SURFACE
bathroom, gathering space (above)
limited gathering space
visual control, temperature control
acoustic control, skylight, sitting space
2.
INFILL
3.
SKIN
LAYER
container, sitting space acoustic panels, carpet, tiles, wood, textures draws back, flushes against edge
gathering space, acoustic control
concrete, stairs, cushions, appliances, decorations
INSERT
curves, changes in materiality and opacity visual control, acoustic control, study space
cushions, lighting
vertical circulation, study space
tables, storage, heating, lighting, electrics
slides, folds
Systems together create spaces with different amenities, which govern their flexibility and degree of privacy 9
Street and aerial views
Section BB
Section DD
Section AA 10
Section CC
Section EE
Section FF
3D print model shows the range of activities accommodated by the three systems: surface undulation, amenities infill, and skin 11
Second floor plan
Approx. 1000 sqft 1-2 people / household
Approx. 1600 sqft 2-4 people / household
Approx. 2400 sqft 4-6 people / household
Housing development
Detail section 12
Ground floor plan SUMMER
Second floor plan
Second floor plan
Ground floor plan
Ground floor plan
AUTUMN
WINTER
lighting
heating
cooling
13
Perspective from the second floor
14
Perspective from interior unit
15
Section perspective 16
17
L’Alhambra, Granada, Spain
18
Curvatures
19
Le Strates de Paris Strolling the city layers Hotel, Paris 12th Arrondisement
Course ARCH 601 RSA Paris Duration One semester Professors Pierre David John Casbarian
The narrow site in the heart of Paris mediates the urban and the residential context and lies in the intersection of infrastructural and historical layers of Paris. The hotel reveals various experiences of these layers for both hotel guests and the public. A void that separates the service building from the main building opens up the ground to the sky, allowing continuous views for hotel rooms and revealing a remnant of the Roman aqueduct system. Vertical and horizontal axes shape hotel masses to curate unique views from each room. The public spaces on the street and roof levels frame the city in unexpected ways and highlight the Parisian promenade experience.
Aquaduct Cardo Meridian
Historical axes intersect at the site and become a point of departure for exposing further artifacts through architecture
20
RER
Vertical axes
Luxury of views
Horizontal axes
Site plan
21
Initial figura
Final figura
The “Figura” was an iterative method to understand the relationship of forces surrounding the site
The “Machine” generated studies of atmospheric strategies perceived from within the building 22
Exposing the layers:
4. Upper promenade: Zig-zagging path creates viewing angles that open to monuments of the city. Concrete mounds provide resting places.
3. Hotel blocks: Apertures highlight con-
trasting atmospheres: the vastness of the city to the west and the intimacy of the neighborhood to the east.
2. Lower Promenade: Variation of column densities and widths create changing views of lush trees lining the historic Avenue RenĂŠ-Coty.
1. Underground: Reflection pool dis-
play remnants of the ancient water system, the Roman Aquaduct.
Hotel guests
Pedestrians
Axonometric view 23
Section AA
Preserving views from existing buildings behind 24
Section BB
Section FF
Section CC
Section DD
Section EE 25
The Upper Promenade reveals a view of Sacre Coeur
26
Individual rooms are furnished with luxury of views: the glamour of the city on one side and the simplicity of residential life on the other
27
The Lower Promenade provides a pleasant transition between the urban and the residential sides
28
29
Left: Houston,Texas; Right: Bordeaux, France
30
Geeometry
31
Dispersed Horizons Montmatre, Paris
Course Replaying Modernism RSA Paris Duration Three weeks Professor Jim Njoo Collaborator Igraine Perkinson
This project questions the presence of icons in Paris and seeks to redefine their relationship within the city with a new typology: dispersed horizons. Paris is a city saturated with monuments and icons. The higher they are, the more significant they become as markers along the cityscape. Whereas traditional icons emphasize the singular, the permanent, and the solid, dispersed horizons draws from the multiple, the ephemeral, and the layered. The pavilions are permutations of Neue Galerie in Berlin by Mies van der Rohe. Neue Galerie creates a grey zone between building and monument. It is this disappearance act that becomes the point of departure for dispersed horizons. The pavilions are strategically deployed so that throughout the day, they display the city and become invisible. At night, the city looks back at the illuminated pavilions as horizons that delineate Montmatre hill. It is at this moment that the horizons achieve their full effect by becoming a new threshold between building and monument, monument and city fabric. Again drawing from Neue Gallerie, each pavilion in dispersed horizons collapses the platform that displays the city and the plinth that houses the program. Following a number of site specific operations (attach, replace, extend, scrape, amplify, bridge, insert, excavate, extrude), the platform that displays the city becomes programmatic as it responds to the specificity of the site, acquiring varying gradients of openness based on programmatic density. Each operation reveals and improves the site at critical locations by enhancing the social experience for both temporal and permanent inhabitants.
32
Neue Gallerie
Neue Gallerie
Dispersed Horizons
Dispersed Horizons
33
Site section
Site plan 34
Dispersed Horizons as a new threshold in the city fabric
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 35
Esplanade Houston, TX
Course ARCH 302 Duration Two weeks Professor William Cannady
This was a hand-drafting design exercise to study the relationship of facade design with its corresponding interior spaces. Understanding of textures, transparency, and choice of materials was stressed with the minimal rendering technique of black colored pencil.
Section 36
Typical floor plan
Elevation 37
The Breezeway Houston, TX
Course ARCH 302 Duration Twelve weeks Professor William Cannady Collaborator Ethan Feuer Tangley Lofts KarlaWallace Landscape
This pragmatic studio program was to design two four-story lofts for empty nesters with four private garages. Each loft unit occupies a floor and is roughly 2,400 sqft. The two apartments are pushed to the edge of the site to maintain proximity to the streets, maximize distance for direct view between the two buildings, and to take advantage of the communal space in between.The two buildings are connected by a covered walkway (the breezeway), which provides a patio that links primary circulation core with the loft units on each level. The patio will be relatively cool throughout the year due to the north-south prevailing wind direction, and becomes an outdoor living room for the dwellers. The interior emphasizes on open spaces that flows into one another.The landscaping elements and program between the two buildings are developed based on shadow placement. Recycled wood is used for the breezeway and louvers to shade from the South sun, while zinc panel is chosen for durability. Four water cisterns hold grey water to maintain the courtyard. The roof material is built-up roof with a layer of white gravel to minimize heat absorption.
38
Site Plan
Program organization 39
Detail section of the walkway
Landscape elements
Opposite page: ground floor plan 40
TANGLEY RD.
DUNSTAN RD.
20’
41
Lighting study (plan)
Lighting study (elevation)
Section AA 42
A 2
5
4
3
2
1
B
B
11 6
7
8
9
10
10’
1. Patio 2. Kitchen, dining 3. Living room 4. Master bedroom 5. Her closet
A
Typical floor plan 6. His closet 7. Guest bedroom 8. Study room 9. Storage 10. Laundry
Section BB 43
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.
zinc parapet flashing flashing & counterflashing 8” CMU Block with applied moisture barrier base flashing fiber cant strip reflective paint and white gravel built-up roof 4” Polystyrene insulation VM Zinc Cassette panels standard profile stainless-steel drilling screw fixing bracket 1/2” air gap 1.5” Extruded polystyrene insulation liquid system (Henry Airblock 31) 5/8” Densglass exterior sheating unfaced batt insulation 6” structural metal stud 5/8” gypsum board & interior finish aluminum cladded wood window (awning) aluminum cladded wood window (casement) built-in bookshelf beyond column beyond bamboo flooring
Typical structural and mechanical bay drawn by Seth Goodman for class reference 44
Detail wall section, Dunstan Apartments
North elevation facing interior courtyard
South elevation facing Dunstan St.
45
Rendering of south-facing interior spaces: guest bedroom, study room, and kitchen
North facade faces the interior courtyard
46
Aerial view showing relationship between Dunstan and Tangley Lofts
View of the Breezeway, looking at the pavilion
South facade of Dunstan Lofts
47
Left: Dunstan Lofts, right:Tangley Lofts
48
49
Left: Houston,Texas; Right: L’Alhambra, Spain
50
Softness 51
Gulf Coast Film Archives Houston, TX
Course ARCH 401 Duration One semester Professor Carlos Jimenez
The Film Archive is a main project in developing midtown Houston as a lively, pedestrian friendly urban center. As one of the first major institutions in this under developed area, the building becomes a visual reference for the city to identify midtown. The Film Archives appears as a permanent mass in its modest neighborhood. The building’s mass is “eroded� to bring appropriate qualities of natural sunlight to various programs, as well as visual connection through spaces and levels. The main wall of the courtyard tilts away from the courtyard as it reaches the second level. This allows indirect northern light to flood the exhibition space and amplify the courtyard as a social center accessible from both entrances.
Process sketches
52
53
Site plan
Final model, view fromWinbern St.
Study models 54
55
Lower level plan
Ground level plan
1. Lobby 2. Bookstore 3. Multipurpose 4. Cafe 5. Exhibition spaces 6. Patio
56
7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Office Archives circulation Archives stacks Mech./Elec. Storage
20’
Second level plan
Third level plan
57
Section AA
58
Section BB
Section CC
Section DD
Structural
Egress
HVAC 59
Elevation fromWinbern St.
Elevation fromWest Alabama St.
60
1
2 3 4 5
6 7
8 9 10 11 12
13
14 15
16 17 18 19
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.
1/16� Zinc flashing and polyutherane board Modified bitumen roof Concrete slab on metal deck Metal ceiling on frame, suspended from slab by steel tie rods Recessed can lights Steel stud with gypsum board, insulation, waterproofing membrane Concrete shear wall Terrazzo flooring (epoxy resin matrix terrazzo) 7� Concrete slab Beam beyond Glazing Motorized sun shading system Double gypsum board with insulation, steel column beyond Aluminum ac grille painted white Concealed truss girder covered in gypsum board Perforated metal screen beyond Carpet Acoustic wall Waterproofing membrane
Detail wall section 61
Lower level
62
Second and third levels
Above:View of the lobby fromWest Alabama St. Below: Archives stacks, reading and viewing booths, archives circulation
63
Interior courtyard
64
Gallery space on second level; the lightwell brings light and visual connection to the archives in the lower level
65
Left: La Tourette, France; Right: Barcelona to Paris
66
Diffused
67
ZeRow House 2009 Solar Decathlon Houston, TX
Course Rice Building Workshop Duration Two semesters Professors Danny Samuels Nonya Grenader Collaborators Students from engineering and architecture majors
The ZeRow House, a zero energy row house, was started by students at Rice University in 2006 and involved more than thirty students from Engineering and Architecture majors.The design was inspired by the row-house typology, which is native to southern United States. The house was built on campus and transported to Washington, D.C. for the 2009 Solar Decathlon. After the competition, the ZeRow house was placed in Houston’s Third Ward as a part of Project Row Houses, a public art project in Houston. Constructed for $140,000, the ZeRow House was built for lower income consumers. It uses passive design strategies, local materials, smaller appliances, and is powered by solar panel array. The wet core and the light core are the central organizing elements in the 800 sqft house. The wet core accommodates water and energy systems, whereas the light core brings natural light in. As a part of interiors team, I was involved in design development, construction documentation and assembly of the interior spaces, as well as construction on campus.
68
Floor plan, drawn by SD and CD teams
69
1. Interior elevation, bedroom. Split-system AC reduces electricity usage
2. Interior elevation, bathroom 70
3. Interior elevation, kitchen:The kitchen as a thickened wall plugs to the wet core, which houses water and energy systems
4. Interior elevation, living room work station: Shelfs can be reshuffled according to changing needs 71
Interior view:The light core is the main source of natural light as well as an extension of living space
Chassis arrival on campus 72
Construction
Interior view: Finishes include bamboo flooring and non voc wall paint
Departure for the National Mall
ZeRow House at 2009 Solar Decathlon 73
Left: BagsvĂŚrd, Denmark; Right: Approaching Singapore
74
Undulations
75
New Kai Tak Masterplan and Urban Design East Kowloon, Hong Kong
Course ARCH 602 Duration One semester Professor Albert Pope Collaborators Overall: 11 studio members Pearl River Delta research and phase I masterplan: Igraine Perkinson, Alex Stitt (p. 76-78) Street grids and parallel blocks: EileenWitte (p.82-89)
1. Research. In this studio, eleven students conducted investigation of Pearl River Delta and its relationship to its context in multiple scales, from world megalopolises to Hong Kong, one of the densest places in the world. The research brought us to design a master plan for 800 acres of reclaimed land in Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong. 2. Masterplan. An ever-changing city of rapid urbanization, Hong Kong is composed of a patchwork of compact highrises (“packed solids”) and undeveloped landscapes (“charged voids”). The masterplan facilitated the productive tension between packed solid and charged void, with an ‘X’ figure that contains both. The strong figure creates an identity for New Kai Tak and shapes the emergent context. 3. Parallel blocks deployment. At the fabric scale, three existing Hong Kong typologies - parallel blocks, urban villages, and housing towers - were transformed to increase the quality of space in the densely packed city. My partner and I took on the design of the street grid, as well as the transformation and deployment on site of the parallel blocks typology. The parallel block is a remarkably flexible building type, despite its infamy for hyper-rationalism and repetition. The size, distance, and configuration of the blocks are variable, which allows the type to range in density from the urban village to the housing tower. Acting as platonic vertical planes that organize the spaces between buildings, the blocks configure the region between the voids of Kai Tak, Kai Tak Central, into a gradient of increasing openness.The Canal Blocks tests the scale limit of an independent parallel blocks development.
76
77
1. Research
Research book compiled by the studio in the first five weeks led to the discovery of Kai Tak as a site 78
World megalopolises
PRD Industrial cluster and projected integration
PRD density
Growth of PRD from 1978, projected to 2020 79
2. Masterplan
Process: Variations of schemes in masterplanning 80
Site borders Shenzhen, the fastest growing city in the Pearl River Delta
Kai Tak Airport was abandoned in 1998
The site is longer than Central Park in Manhattan, NewYork 81
Forces acting on the apron:
1. Context: External forces flow in.
2. Voids: Internal forces flow out.
3. Circle: Monorail connects P.O.I.
4. Cross: Shortcuts connect context.
Grid evolution
c.
o.
e.
a. b.
d.
f. g.
n. m.
i. j.
h.
l.
k. d. KAI TAK PARK e. NODIUM f. KAI TAK CENTRAL Area: 300,000 sqm Pop: 91,530
a. MONORAIL - EXPRESS b. MONORAIL - LOCAL c. GROUND TRAM
Organization of the apron 82
g. NETWORKED PODIUM Area: 965,000 sqm Pop: 205,600
h. CANAL BLOCKS
l.
NEW KOWLOON WALLED CITY
Area: 130,000 sqm Pop: 23,220
Area: 2,300,000 sqm Pop: 178,000
i. KAI TAK CANAL j. FINANCIAL TOWER k. FRACTURED PODUM
m. HONG KONG STADIUM
Area: 475,000 sqm Pop: 48,000
Area: 108,000 sqm Pop: 50,000
n. CITY ISLAND o. KAI TAK VILLAGES
Rendering by phase II masterplan group
Masterplan
Rendering by phase II masterplan group
83
3. Parallel Blocks Deployment a. Kai Tak Central b. Canal Blocks
a.
Parallel blocks: Reifying the figure
84
b.
Parallel blocks: Reifying the edge
Parallel Blocks Case Studies: SHEK KIP MEI
KWAI SHING WEST
DISTRICT POPULATION: 11,430 YEAR: 1964 Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon Private housing estate 8 blocks, 19 levels, 3648 units total 1,220 sqm/floor, 50 sqm/unit
DIS TRICT POPULATION: 13,900 YEAR: 1953 Sham Shui Po, Kowloon Public housing 29 blocks, 7 levels, 7,363 units total 11 - 55 sqm / unit
DISTRICT POPULATION: 15,200 YEAR: 1975 Kwai Shing Circle, Kwai Chung Public housing 15-22 levels, 5300 units 800 sqm/floor, 23 - 55 sqm/units
Point-loaded
Perimeter gallery
Single to double loaded corridor
CIRCULATION
OPEN SPACE
OPEN SPACE
CONTEXT
MAN WAH
85
Kai Tak Central
1
2
3
most dense
least dense most dense
1
1
2
3
Transformation of parallel blocks to enhance quality of public space 86
20m
The dense repetition create traditional street life. The insertion of outdoor spaces at residential levels above “opens the wall� and create visual and physical connection.
least dense
2
3
20m
Every other block slides forward to lessen density and increase exterior spaces.This amplifies the inside-out nature of gallery housing and intensifies social interaction.
20m
The blocks are parallel in two directions, creating large open spaces between buildings and a smooth transition to the adjacent housing towers and canal edge. 87
Section showing the range of open spaces within and between the blocks
88
89
The repetitive blocks along the hard edge of the park create the ‘phenomenal density’ of traditional urbanism
The loose blocks along the soft edge of the canal the create a ‘packaged density’ while also providing new shared public ground
90
Canal Blocks
While the housing towers are identified by verticality, the canal blocks exaggerate the horizontality of parallel blocks. A podium with communal facilities connect all blocks.
Residential levels
Location of Canal Blocks within Kai Tak
Programmed public spaces are located within the voids of the blocks
Podium level
Street level 91
Three islands and two voids
The monorail intersects the old and new fabric and emerges as a new monument in Hong Kong 92
The two organizing voids in Kai Tak apron: the park and the canal
“Nodium� - Nodal Podium is a permutation of the housing towers typology
The New KowloonWalled City occupies the old Kai Tak runway 93
Light Box
Course Joy of Materials Duration Two weeks Professor Carlos Jimenez
94
Students were to express three materials constrained in a cube of 30” x 30”. The “Light Box” plays with the opacity and transparency of wood through Birch plywood, Birch veneer, and light, acquiring different personalities and usage during day and night.
95
Reconstructing ‘Transparency’
Course The Architecture of Books Duration Four weeks Professor Reto Geiser
Taking the role of both the editor and the designer, students reevaluated and defined appropriate form for the content of the essay “Transparency”, written by Colin Rowe and Robert Slutzky and published in 1963 Perspecta 8. The understanding of the text relies on the reader’s continual access to the referenced works. The approach is to present the work as a study material. To maintain a clear presentation, the body text is surrounded by its references. Images fold out from the cover, while footnotes act as a bookmark. Color-coded numbers in the body text help readers navigate references. The generous margin allows for fast-pace reading as well as space for hand-written notes.
Clear separation of image, text, and footnotes
96
Color-coded navigation system
The textblock is attached to the cover using ‘perfect-bind’ technique
The footnotes also act as a bookmark
Material choice reflect the separation of images and text: thick cardstock for the cover and thin yellow-toned paper for the textblock
97
Above: Hoboken, New Jersey; Below: Itacha, NewYork 98
Drawing a line
99
Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment Princeton University, New Jersey
Office TodWilliams Billie Tsien Architects Preceptorship duration One year Teams Design architects: TWBTA Associate architects: Ballinger Structural engineer: Severud Associates MEP: ARUP Landscape Architects: Michael vanValkenburgh Associates Inc.
This 127,000-square-foot nanotechnology facility weaves in natural light and social spaces throughout, challenging the typically closed nature of laboratory facilities. The underground laboratory spaces have access to three sunken courtyards, which are connected to public spaces inside and outside the buildings. These linked public spaces transform the engineering quadrangle into a part of the university fabric. Andlinger houses facilities in engineering and applied science, including nanofabrication facilities, clean room space, imaging center, offices, a lecture hall, and research laboratories. The project underwent a Value Engineering phase for six months, during which I was involved with the redesign of the exterior envelope and fenestration schemes. This budget-cutting process was taken as an opportunity to refine and develop the design concept. Construction started in November 2011 and is planned for completion in 2015.
Site plan taken from Princeton University’s website 100
Rendering above was done in collaboration with Evan Ripley 101
Site plan
Structure All structure below the campus level is made of concrete. This is not only structurally reasonable for basement construction but also functionally appropriate to accommodate the low vibration requirements of the clean room spaces. Structures on campus and 200 levels are made of steel for cost efficiency as well as speed of construction.
102
Garden level plan
West elevation from Olden St. 103
Lower campus level plan
104
Upper campus level plan
East elevation 105
200 level plan
Energy-efficient strategies The university requires all of its buildings to meet its own sustainability standard equivalent to LEED Silver. Green roofs are used for storm water retention.The building also uses radiant heating and cooling, as well as cascade chilled water. Passive strategies include design that encourages the use of public stairs and the use of landscape elements to shade interior spaces.
106
Roof level plan
South elevation 107
Office Lab Lab Support Building Support Classroom
200 level
Upper campus level
Lower campus level
Garden level 108
Section AA: North-South section cutting through graduate students offices and lecture hall, showing daylighting strategies
Section BB: East-West section cutting through lecture hall
Section CC: East-West section cutting through north tower and research courtyard 109
Exterior envelope, Value Engineering process
The multiple iteration of the exterior envelope and fenestration schemes during the VE process revolved around: 1. Change from big openings and ribbon windows to punch windows in offices and labs. This allowed for shorter-span, less expensive bond beams to replace steel tubes. The corresponding elimination of expansive spandrel glass also allowed for a more honest expression of building transparency.
2. Reduction of Petersen K-Brick areas. (a)A secondary, lower grade brick was introduced in less public areas (shown in red). (b) Areas of exposed structural concrete were also increased (shown in yellow).
3. Elimination of brick pockets for exterior shading. The alternative metal shield simplified construction and reduced cost.
4. Change from recessed to protruded radiators. This reduced complexity of construction.
Rendering at SD by Tod Williams
110
Rendering at the end of CD by DBOX
3
North-West view, 50% Construction Documents phase
1 2a 2b North-West view, alternative I Office block wall section Left: 50% CD; Right: alternative II
4
Recessed radiator
Protruded radiator
111
Typical office window, alternative I
Plan
Exterior elevation
112
Plan
Section
Interior elevation
West office block window, alternative I
Plan
Exterior elevation
Plan
Section
Interior elevation
113
Value Engineering process
South-East view, 50% Construction Documents phase
South-East view, alternative I
114
Typical lab window, alternative I
Plan
Exterior elevation
Plan
Section
Interior elevation 115
Value Engineering process
South-West view, 50% Construction Documents phase
South-West view, alternative I
116
Typical public punch window
Plan
Exterior elevation
Plan
Section
Interior elevation
Typical garden level window
Plan
Exterior elevation
Plan
Section
Interior elevation 117
Value Engineering process
Rendering at SD phase by Tod Williams
Rendering post CD phase by DBOX
118
Lecture hall north facade window, alternative I
Plan
Exterior elevation
Plan
Section
Interior elevation
119
Value Engineering process
Lecture hall courtyard, 50% Construction Documents phase
Lecture hall courtyard, alternative I
120
Further efforts to reduce spandrel glass continued to be more of a desired conceptual move and less as a budget saving move. 121
Wall section diagrams
West facade, section at lecture hall 122
West facade, section at lecture hall
North facade, section at grad student offices
Typical section
North facade, section at office block
Section at public garden portico Section at campus level connection 123
West facade, section at cleanroom
Section at lab 124
Section at cleanroom
East facade, section at chem storage
Handrail studies
125
Interior finish diagrams, garden level
Excavation volume: 57,385 cu.yard 126
Interior fnish diagrams, upper campus level
127
128
Presentation model at 50% CD 129
Understanding Scale
In architectural practice, our preconceptions of transforming society through theories and ideas fade in compromises. Without the freedom to carry out isolated experiments in academics, architects’ ability to work out the main idea faces a different kind of complexity in the built environment. The understanding of scale gives one a capacity to organize information into places, and such skill becomes significant in retaining the main concept while simultaneously working with interdependent participants (consultants, contractor, client, bureaucracies, etc.) Windows at Andlinger How do architects decide the placement of windows in relation to the thickness of the wall, to its interior spaces, to its immediate façade and fifty other facades of the same project, and to its placement in the university campus? What is the ultimate solution that speaks the language of the architectural scheme, logical to the construction process and cost, practical for the users, and durable for the type of activities it protects for years to come? And how does one even begin with so many competing aspects? The initial concept was simple. All windows facing west and south will be recessed to account for the direct sunlight - this will also give space for the exterior louvers - while those facing north and east will be flushed with the face of brick in favor of indirect sunlight; there will be awning windows on some offices. There is also a 2� reveal for ease of construction. These result in variations in flashing and sill details. By the start of CD, it was agreed that the flushed windows gives a more commercial than institutional character to the building. Moreover, the shadow line of recessed windows gives depth and animates the facades. Thus, most windows, despite of its orientation, become recessed. This is significant since the buildings lack openings and look flat; most of the nanotechnology labs require complete isolation from outside. This change has decreased the variations of detail in CD. From studies developed by the curtain wall consultants, it turned out that the in-swing casement window will be more effective for natural ventilation than the out-swing awning. This was followed by studies of the different types of in-swing casement windows, its language of placement in each glazing bay, and its detail relationship to spandrel and clear glass. 130
There are also radiators, which have to be put under every window to keep condensation and heat off the building. Apart from the New Jersey building code, Princeton also has its own regulations. The radiators cannot protrude from the floor for maintenance purposes, and the steel construction does not allow for the radiators to be flushed with the floors on certain levels. As a result, a 1-foot high and six inches deep radiators have to be incorporated into every window. This resulted in the development of four types of radiators with direct relationships to the window frames. Changes are still happening, and with these changes and compromises the concept becomes clearer. Although these are a result of discussions with consultants, it is ultimately the architects who have to understand (and draft) why and how a flashing detail that works with the bricks, waterproofing layer, studs, columns, and interior spaces can express truth to the exterior envelope and overall concept of the building. Working in such a small scale, it seems easy to fall into obsession of drawing details and losing sight of why they have been drawn a certain way along the road. Making constant changes through DD and CD in building details can become a mundane and overwhelming task, given the tedious nature of the work. However, with a good understanding that concepts can and should align in multiple scales, it might not be so difficult to be constantly surprised by how things come together, conceptually and literally.
Model at 50% CD
Perspective at 100% CD, rendering by DBOX 131
Left: Basel, Switzerland; Right: Bordeaux, France
132
Mirror images
133
Blurred horizons 134
Left: Copenhagen, Denmark; Right: Leaving China 135
Left: Ronchamp, France Right: Paris, France 136
Sway
137
138