Herman (Zihao) Ding
UCLA AUD M. Arch 1 Selected Works 2017-2020
UNIVERSE In mathematics, a set is a collection of distinct objects. Additionally, a set is considered as an object in its own right. Not unlike architecture, there are particular notations in a branch of mathematics. "U," in set theory, stands for "Universe." In a typical Venn Diagram, the two circles notated "A" and "B" are the two circles with overlapping qualities. The terminology of the Franch Bracket is called "container," and the objects inside the container are called "elements." The "elements" in "containers" do not need to be numbers. They can be any objects - including furniture, materiality, architectural program, or any predefined qualities and quantities. Two rooms with conflicting functions that share a physical environment, for instance, begin to call in question what the complexities and contradictions of how human about life in overlapping universes. The overlap of universes and what outside the universes can connote architectural, urban, formal, topological, programmatic, environmental, or even sociopolitical applications to such mathematical logic.
SELECTED WORKS RESEARCH STUDIO_ TIMBER METRO 2035
3
3 IN 1
19
KEY WORDS: MASS TIMBER TOWER/ TRANSPORTATION/ MODULAR FABRICATION KEY WORDS: WOOD FRAME CONSTRUCTION/ HOUSE/ CRAFTSMANSHIP
ADVANCED TOPIC STUDIO CHIRLA
33
GRADIENT SHADOW
45
DTLA LEARNING CENTER
57
FIRE STATION 93
69
KEY WORDS: STEEL CONSTRUCTION/ STRUCTURE/ ATRIUM/ OFFICE
KEY WORDS: GRADIENT/ HOUSING/ SHADOW RANGE/ FEATURE
KEY WORDS: SECTION/ ELEVATION/ SIMILARITY &CONSISTENCY/ SHAPE
KEY WORDS: INFRASTRUCTURE/ PUBLIC FACILITY/ URBAN BUILDING
EXHIBITION AND ART WORKS
INCLUDING: HAND DRAWINGS/ MODELS/ ILLUSTRATION
METRO 2035 INSTITUTIONAL HOUSING Research Studio(2020 Spring): A Forest in the City Instructor: Neil Denari (NMDA)
HOUSING CRISIS REZONING TRANSPORTATION
SENATE BILL 50
SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE
STRATEGY
CULTURE =?
MODULARITY
LESS LIVING COST HIGH-RISE COMMUTING TIME SHARED LIVING
TECHNOLOGY
JOB OPPORTUNITY
MASS TIMBER
PRE-FABRICATION
Architecture has been dealing with the Politics/ Urban strategy, culture, and technology issues for centries. And I believe it will continue to last. This project also starts with a combination of concerns from all those three aspects to imagine how the future residential architecture will be. Its domain is still quite broad, so I narrow the range by giving limited terms, some of which also are from our studio's topic. Basically, it is about how the future residential projects respond to rezoning politics like SB50 and how the mass timber structure can play a prominent role during the development of this trend. Here is a diagram showing all the related things within this discourse. This project will put its lens on the trend of development of affordable housing along the Metro Commute System happening in Los Angeles and the probability of using student dorm as a way to deliver more housing to the society. As we know, students who live by themselves are suffering a lot of living cost in LA to avoid the long commute time, and all those dorm buildings will not be used when they are on vacation. This project aims to utilize those dorms as additional housing to serve the nearby communities. The student who lives in this building can pay their living costs by doing some easy part-time job requested by the nearby society, such as teaching and consulting.
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
29 5
Ground View
Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
6
Main Plan
Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
7
Building A_Student Dorm_PodBunk
Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
8
Section
Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
9
Dusk View
Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
Symmetrical
Asymmetrical
Symmetrical
Centrosymmetric
Centrosymmetric
Non-centrosymmetric
Asymmetrical Symmetrical
Asymmetrical
10
7M
9.5 M
2.8 M
6M
1.75 M
The Module_Trapezo-Rhombic Dodecahedron
Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
11
Building C_Student Dorm_Shared Rooms
Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
12
Connection Type Study
Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
13
Building B_Learning Center
Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
Plan Study_Full-Connect
14
Plan Study_Semi-Connect
Plan Study_Isolated
Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
15
Merging of Units
Massing Study Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
16
Construction Sequence Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
17
Atrium & Cafe Metro 2035
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
18
Building A&C Interior Metro 2035
3 IN 1 Research Studio(2020 Winter): Construct Boxes Instructor: Andrew Holder/ Benjamin Freyinger (LADG)
My project is a house design project focusing on consolidating different housing typologies into one discreet object and then further making it a new type of shared co-living space. This project begins with the idea of reinterpreting Rodolf Schindler's boxy house plan and mixing different house typologies to find the necessary materials about the scale and the functional arrangement that can further be developed. The box as a tool will help to pack those ideas into a whole and enrich this new whole with some structural and artistic features showing the sense of the craftsmanship during the design and construction phases.
HOME / HOUSE #1
=? HOME / HOUSE #2
HOME / HOUSE #3
Each house project must have a client or a group of clients, so here we have three couples trying to share a parcel to do this type of housing design. The first one, Ray and Kevin, a gay couple with no child, wants a house that has a quiet living condition, a separate garden for their dog, and everything else not too compact. The second one, Jack and Rose, wants a house that can separate them from their only child Nick to celebrate their romance and a garden with enough sunshine. The third one, Jolie and Pitt, wants many bedrooms for their adoptive children. To sum up, what they can share might be a bathroom, living room, kitchen or gardens.
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
21
House Study
3 in 1
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
22
Form Finding
3 in 1
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
23
Hill Side View
3 in 1
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
24
Hinging for Consolidating
3 in 1
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
25
Street Side View
3 in 1
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
26
Box Wrapping
3 in 1
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
27
Stitched Section
3 in 1
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
28
Stitched Section
3 in 1
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
29
2nd Floor
Roof
Long Section
Short Section 3 in 1
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
Ground Floor
Basement
Short Section
East Elevation 3 in 1
30
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
31
Communal Court
3 in 1
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
32
Basement Patio & Interior
3 in 1
COWORKING OFFICE -CHIRLA(Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights)
course name : Advanced Studio Steel Atrium Design
instructor: Mark Mack quarter: Winter Quarter 2019
This project expands programmatic focus from the scale of the single-family house primarily conceived in a steel-frame tectonic to that of a small urban, atrium building also constructed in that material, albeit in ways that acknowledge steel as a supple medium capable of materializing and geometrically manifesting as form-active, vector-active, section-active, surfaceactive; or in a hybrid state in tandem with other materials. Together it will explore how steel, in its various guises, organizes and establishes a gradient across the domains of a contemporary public urban fabric (in, say, porous squares, rhythmic serial passages, or terraced semi-enclosed rooms that animate the inner life of a building and put it into play with its broader context.) With the notion of the renewed role of the atrium as a shaper of contemporary public space and ground in mind, the project brief for a California Welcome Center for Immigrants and Refugees, as envisioned by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA,) asks what architectural intelligence and devices can do to promote notions of freedom of movement, association and congregation.
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
35
Street Corner View
Coworking Office - CHIRLA
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
A
Ground Floor
B 24’
C 24’
D 28’
E 32’
F 28’
G 24’
H 24’
30’
1
30’
2
36
30’
3
4
Ground Plan
Coworking Office - CHIRLA
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
Structural Diagram
37
Overall Configuration Coworking Office - CHIRLA
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
2nd Floor
24’
24’
28’
32’
28’
24’
24’
30’
1
30’
2
30’
3
4
38 Mezzanine
30’
1
30’
2
30’
3
4
Coworking Office - CHIRLA
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
+ 56.00 ft
+ 48.00 ft
+ 48.00 ft
+ 36.00 ft
+ 36.00 ft
+ 24.00 ft
+ 24.00 ft
39 + 16.00 ft
+ 1.00 ft
+ 0.00 ft
24’
A
24’
B
28’
C
32’
D
28’
E
Section
Coworking Office - CHIRLA
24’
F
24’
G
H
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
CHIRLA
40
Elevation (Night)
Coworking Office - CHIRLA
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
1
2 30’
3 30’
4 30’
+ 48.00 ft
+ 36.00 ft
+ 24.00 ft
41
+ 0.00 ft
Section
Coworking Office - CHIRLA
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
1
2 30’
3 30’
4 30’
+ 48.00 ft
+ 36.00 ft
+ 24.00 ft
+ 0.00 ft
Elevation
Coworking Office - CHIRLA
42
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
43
Facade - Construction Detail Coworking Office - CHIRLA
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
Basement
24’
24’
28’
32’
28’
24’
24’
30’
1
30’
2
30’
3
4
44 Roof
24’
24’
28’
32’
30’
1
30’
2
30’
3
4
Coworking Office - CHIRLA
28’
24’
24’
GRADIENT SHADOW HOUSING DESIGN
course name : Advanced Studio Landscape Building Design
instructor: Narineh Mirzaeian quarter: Fall Quarter 2018
Got inspired by Kurokawa's Agricultural City, I am interested in how the shadow that is generated by the huge modular infrastructure influences the public sphere within each unit of the community. Simultaneously, lots of architectural discourses are also related to this project such as density vs sparsity, public vs counter public, formal vs informal, etc. Based on those interests, I am exploring how the modular unit of a project can exert agency upon overall organizational and programmatic qualities. Specifically for this project scale and scope, I’m interested in how the unitization of parts and aggregation of these parts can designate more nuanced, gradiated thresholds between the private residential realm and a public realm. I’m also concurrently interested in exploring a gradient of density conditions across the site that can exert some elasticity and be more responsive to local site conditions.
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
SITE BOUNDARY
APPLY THE MODULAR GRID TO THE SITE
TRIM THE GRID BY THE SITE BOUNDARY
HILLSIDE SEEMS TO BE DENSER THAN RIVERSIDE
RIVERSIDE SEEMS TO BE MORE PUBLIC
PUBILIC
DENSITY PRIVATE
SOLAR PATH DIAGRAM
PROGRAM DIAGRAM
N
21 June 21 July/21 May
21 August/21 April
W
E
21 Sept/21 Mar
21 Oct/21 Feb
47 21 Nov/ 21 Jan
30 DEGREE SHADOW
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
21 Dec
S
VERTICAL CIRCULATION DIAGRAM
60 DEGREE SHADOW
Gradient Housing
CLUSTER/UNIT PLAN
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
The resultant organizational strategy across the site deploys the unit to cultivate density towards Riverside and the FWY,
gradually dissipating to a less dense condition along the river.
gradiated field
The of pixels are also harnessed for their capacity to cast dramatic shadow footprint across the site. These shadows begin to inform the hard and soft boundaries between indoor and outdoor
spaces, such as sunken private courts, raised public courts and other components
thresholds between residential and public access , that designate
such as cores and outdoor stair wells.
48
RIVERSIDE AERIAL VIEW
Gradient Housing
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
49
1/32 “ = 1’ ROOF PLAN
Gradient Housing
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
50
1/32 “ = 1’ GROUND FLOOR PLAN
Gradient Housing
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
51
Light From SE Direction
Gradient Housing
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
52
Light From SW Direction
Gradient Housing
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
WRAPING BUILDINGS
FORMING NEIGHBOR
53
1/32 “ = 1’ SECTION
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
DECORATING PUBLIC SPACE
CREATING INTERESTING MOMENT
54
1/16 “ = 1’ SECTION
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
SHADOW RANGE AS ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
On 55
the other hand,
these
shadows
are also utilized as a key feature for the architectural facade and the landscape design in this project.
The real shadow will overlap with the textures which are also derived from these shadows on the facade or the ground to generate a constantly
changing sphere.
Gradient Housing
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
SHADOW RANGE AS LANDSCAPE FEATURES
56
Gradient Housing
DOWNTOWN L. A. LEARNING CENTER
course name : Advanced Studio Elevation And Section critic: Thom Mayne Heather Laborde instructor: Claus Benjamin Freyinger quarter: Spring Quarter 2018
Preston Scott Cohen has called the section “the hidden core of architecture,” a place of great intensity that can neverbe seen. The importance of this observation, however obvious, cannot be understated in light of the effort spent by architects (and historians, and theorists) on the design of the section. Often, much of what makes great buildings great lies in their section, even as this site of such focus and debate nearly always finds itself hidden, wrapped, finished and closed. In the end, elevation is what we see, the outermost surface of an enclosure whether inside or out. Its insistent visibility - its availability - eclipses whatever ingenuity the section might have up its sleeve. Today section is not limited to its status a s a representational technique. Sections are used expansively to illustrate, test, and explore architectural designs. My project for a Downtown Los Angeles learning center attempts to collapse the distinction between elevation, plan, and section as perceived in the underlying characteristics of plan, and section. Here, plan is post-rationalized as a biproduct of working in the round – all section, all the time. Where section is both a generative device and the method for interrogation.
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
MANUAL OF SECTION Extrusion: the direct extrusion of a plan to a height sufficient for the intended use Stack: the layering of floors directly on top of one another—an extruded section, repeated with or without variations Shape: the deformation of one or more of the primary horizontal surfaces of a building to sculpt space Shear: the use of a rift or cut along either the horizontal or vertical axis of a building to generate sectional difference Hole: the deployment of any number or scale of penetrations through a slab, exchanging lost floor area for benefits in section Incline: the manipulation of the angle of an occupiable horizontal plane, which tilts the plan into section Nest: the creation of sectional consequences through an interplay or overlap of legible volumes
59
New Section Generating
Downtown Learning Center
Precedent Case
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
Different Reading of New Section
C
B
60 A
3-D Form Generating
Stair Core Library
Light Well
Library
Meeting Room Learning Room Laboratory
Cafe
Programming Analysis
Downtown Learning Center
To bring awareness to this similarity it becomes essential to prevent specific features such as walls and slabs from being broken, so the new sections are articulated based on this theory, talking primarily about the depth and sequence of the spaces formed by intersecting elements. Some parts are represented at the section cut as discreet poche, and the rest become conspicuous (interior) elevations or even furniture.
East-West Section
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
North-South Section
Bottom Part Plan
Middle Part Plan
63
Top Part Plan
Downtown Learning Center
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
When rationalizing the organizational demands of a typical learning center into consideration, the newly generated spaces can be rasterized in a proper way, can be rationalized into different applicatitons, serving as circulation or used for daylighting spaces at the interior. The whole building works like a heart, absorbing light and people in shafts and crevices, pumping people and natural daylight into the building from the ground.
North-South Elevation
64
Downtown Learning Center
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
65
Main Section Model
Downtown Learning Center
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
66
Main Elevation Model
Downtown Learning Center
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
67
Massing Model
Downtown Learning Center
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
68
Massing Model
Downtown Learning Center
FIRE STATION 93 - A COMMUNITY COMPLEX
course name : Advanced Studio Infrastructure and Urban Function instructor: Andrew Kovacs quarter: Spring Quarter 2019
Located in Tarzana City, the fire station 93 is right next to the Ventura Freeway. The site of fire station 93 could be read as a long stripe that contains five programs, including a fire station, a sit ‘n sleep store, a plant nursery, an office zone, and a shopping plaza. The existing fire station is isolated from the community by enclosed walls and barriers. This proposal aims to challenge the existing situation by integrating all five programs into one building complex, which means previous functions will be partially shared with the public. A combined grid system, according to the original building grid, is adopted to rationalize the new building in terms of the circulation and programs. The consistent envelope means to reinforce the idea of "A Single Building." To avoid unreasonable depth, courts and gardens are introduced into this project to organize the interior spatial sequence. Walking through this integrated community, people can experience five different scenarios. The functions of each one are no longer simple but getting more comprehensive, and it will become more attractive where the two different grid systems are meeting each other. From the house to this building complex, then to the freeway, the scale is getting larger and larger, and their infrastructural features are more and more apparent.
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
71
Conceptual Diagram Fire Station 93
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
Master Plan
72
3rd Floor Plan 1’=1/16”
Fire Station Floor Plans Fire Station 93
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
74 73
Programme
Fuzzy Nomadic Fire Station Life93 on Mars
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
74
Sound Barrier
Fire Station 93
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
75
Public Courtyard
Fire Station 93
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
76
View From Highway
Fire Station 93
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
77
Court #1 Botanical Garden & Shopping Plaza
Fire Station 93
Court #2 A
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
78
Classroom 2
Classroom 1
Art Square
Court #3 Food Court
Fire Station 93
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
79
Elevation of Fire Station
Fire Station 93
Vehical
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
80
Garage
Living Space
Fire Station 93
ART WORKS & EXHIBITIONS :
ROOF TOP AND BACK YARD Organized by Taiwan Academy with Taiwanese-Canadian designer Jimenez Lai, founding partner of Los Angeles-based studio Bureau Spectacular, Rooftops & Backyards features creative urban models, short films, and drawings of Taipei and Los Angeles that explores the issue of limited space in densely populated urban areas, and how the subject is dealt with differently in Taiwan and America. The exhibition demonstrates an interesting comparison between the two cities, according to Lai, whereas Los Angeles practices a kind of “backyard urbanism”, or, a horizontal expansion, Taipei’s expansion is vertical, extending upwards as a form of “rooftop urbanism”. Rooftops & Backyards is particularly timely and relevant since it applies the universal urban experience as a starting point to delve into topics surrounding art, architecture, urbanism, and the way of life between the cultures of Taipei and Los Angeles. Most recently, the state of California decided to amend its housing policy to allow for Accessory Dwelling Unit's (ADUs) to provide additional rental housing to address the housing crisis in California. The need for more affordable housing options is an issue that is prevalent among not only American cities but the world over. The Taiwan Academy hopes to encourage exchange and dialogue between Taiwan and the United States through this exhibition. Responsibility: Drawing Producing Model Making
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
85
Overall view of the exhibition
Roof Top and Back Yard
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
86
Models made for the exhibition
Roof Top and Back Yard
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
87
Hand Sketch
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
88
Water Color
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
89
POOR WORLD
Billboards for Proletariats-YMCA LA GYM
PORTFOLIO-UNIVERSE
90
LA Super Object
