dinh long
front page: “the cashews” photorealistic rendering 22’x12’ (original), graphite pencils
contents
1
introduction
2
dickson
3
subiaco
4
pettaway
5
trastevere
6
abuja
7
rwanda
introduction
my name is long, and i am a dreamer. originally from saigon, vietnam, i obtained my bachelor of architecture at university of arkansas, fay jones school of architecture. this educational experience has provided me with a variety of academic concentrations ranging from basic spatial understanding, historical architecture, tectonic design, computational design, urban planning, social housing, commercial architecture to avant-garde architecture. during this time, i have travelled to places such as canada, england, italy, spain, france, singapore and rwanda, as well as many great states of the u.s. thanks to these exposures, i have learned to be more open-minded about different cultures but at the same time more opinionated about what is universally ideal to humanity. architecture as well as film, music and other art forms has the capacity to manifest the dreams of humanity, which all aim to question what makes us human. religious figures, philosophers and scientists throughout the history have attempted to introduce different theories of why we react so strongly about certain works of art, either by other human beings, nature or divinity. the architectural education has certainly facilitated me to go on my own quest for the answer, to further investigate the meanings of our ancestors’ dreams as well as my own childhood dreams. the following projects are completed during my five years at the school. every project starts with a lyrical narrative about a romantic relationship. the female figure is the architectural piece of poetry, while the male figure refers to the inhabitant, the architect, the city and nature.
she is made of many skins. one stretches from her face to her feet. one connects the heart to the mind. and one wraps around her livelihood and nostalgia.
furniture designer’s house dickson street, fayetteville, arkansas
the city of fayetteville, characterized by its hilly terrain and eco-friendly lifestyle, has a fair mixture of vernacular, Modernist and contemporary architecture on its urban landscape. the site for the house has intricate relationships with the urban dickson street and the suburban church avenue.
church ave.
dickson st.
designed by warren seagraves, the existing office building on the site is supported by standard steel structure on a rationalized grid and enveloped by a brick cladding system. the task is not only to design a private house with a studio and a shop but also to utilize the inherent architectural quality of the existing building in the language of the new design.
the polished concrete surface moves from the roof of the shop, becomes the platform of the porch, folds around the private living quarter and finally turns into the storage of the studio. the matte concrete surface forms the volume of the party room, becomes the platform of the pool and folds up into the roof of the back yard. the brick surface, the transformation of the existing brick veneer, connects the front court to the party room, the pool, the garage and the back yard.
the overlapping geometries become spaces whose functions are assigned based on their levels of privacy from the street. cooking studying
living
meditating planting
parking socializing exhibiting
watching
entering
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she shelters him in compact spaciousness, refreshes his mind under the sun, nurtures his craft with poetic solitude and exhibits his art to the busy street.
trapped in the darkness of fear, the men are searching for the light that leads them to truth and happiness. they hear, she can help them find this light from divinity and within themselves.
subiaco library and chapel subiaco academy, subiaco, arkansas
the subiaco library is commisioned by the subiaco abbey and academy with the objective of expanding their existing collection of scriptures and books. positioned by a cliff overlooking a rural site, the design of the project explores hybridizations of architectural archetypes such as wall, window and stair.
her skins grow out of the earth and forms her serpentine body. these skins are as delicate as the world inside her heart. each one of the heart’s chambers reveals a beautiful secret about her personality. the deepest of this heart puts a man to the silence of spiritual nature.
she was once surrounded by various men. today she is ignored for the aging wrinkles and the outdated new fashion. her children keep leaving her. the gaps, they are making her sad.
pettaway neighborhood revitalization pettaway, little rock, arkansas
located on the suburban south of main street, little rock, the pettaway neighborhood had had it golden era where tight street edge, mixed-use buildings, streetcars and pedestrian friendliness create a true urban environment.
today, south main is ravaged by open parking lots, commercial big boxes and a lack of connectivities between it and downtown little rock as well as between main street and the residential neighborhood.
the mission is to fill the gaps with mixed-use buildings, to run the streetcars through it once again, to encourage walking activities with green boulevards and to create a closed neighborhood within a larger city.
the strip-mall typology is also taken under study to improve its urbanism rather than to consider it mere failure of suburban development. elements such as the sign tower and liner stores not only bring significance and urbanistic feels but also create an opportunity for spatial and stylistic investigations of commercial architecture. the proposed strip-mall has a long gable roof that harmonizes with the historic buildings in the neighborhood. it seeks to close the frontality of food giant’s parking lot and connect with the town green to provide a meaning of centrality to the gathering open space. the building’s other end features stylistic cuts to provide a contemporary look for a small farmers market.
UP
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SMART PHONES
CELL
UNLIMITED DATA
PETTAWAY CAFE
PASTRY BREAKFAST LUNCH TAKE-OUT
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she begins to fill in the gaps. she slows down the cars and invites the men to walk on her pavement. she introduces various types of quality service she can provide. the men begin to return and surround her, making her beautiful again.
he fascinates her with his maturity. but she feels insecure about her much younger age. she observes the liveliness of his heart and the versatility of his compact body. then she starts to project his ideal perfection onto herself.
ludoteca (children’s recreational center) trastevere, roma, italia
roman urbanism is characterized by the city’s high density, narrow streets, disorganized grid and competitions between architectural styles, from medieval to baroque to rationalist. located in the historic neighborhood of trastevere, the site for the ludoteca is positioned adjacent to a middle school and the church of santa cecilia. it is also open to the piazza in front of the church and provided with a glimpse from the river through the narrow via del porto.
the egg, a metaphor for the delicacy and the fragility of children, a room with an enlightening discovery, emphasizes the axis that via del porto imposes on the length of the ludoteca.
the structure and core provides the practical organization for the fluid and open spaces which enhance children’s imagination.
the double façade provides not only natural ventilation and diffused daylight but also playful colorism reflecting trastevere’s lively character as well as a taught continuation of the urban edge.
the path of maturation is a continuous ramp that creates a sequence of play and learn experiences from early childhood to puberty as children move up. as it turns the corner, facing the church’s piazza, the façade loses its playfulness to pay respect to tradition and provide the interior offices with white light.
one day, she impresses him with a dress that is elegantly colorful and organizedly tight. then he learns that underneath the pretty dress is her immense heart. it’s a heart that nurtures the development of childhood into adolescence, the fun, the knowledge, the talent, the health and the empathy.
she is not only the place where men from strange lands come to see the cultures of her land but also where men from different cultures of her land come to reconcile and celebrate their differences.
abuja international community center abuja, nigeria the international cummunity center has the glamor of being in the central business district of abuja, nigeria’s young capital. it is located next to the solemn national mosque and the casual friday market.
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national mosque
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the architecture of the center explores the contemporary technology in structural engineering. the glue-laminated timber structure has a great appearance empathy with a country that has a long history of love and respect for nature like nigeria.
skins
primary bones auditoria
secondary bones tertiary program
lobby
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daily market lobby and art gallery kitchen multi-purpose room library and cyber cafe restrooms lecture hall dance/play theater theater support meeting rooms offices back of house service amphitheater “wave garden� reflecting pools parking entrance
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the curves of the structure are inspired by the organic form of the traditional nigerian arts and crafts. the friday market is encouraged to utilize the central space of the community center and become a daily trading center for the city. the “wave garden� forms an echo of the structure and provides various communal purposes such as children’s playground and community gardens.
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the curves on her body are of the women of her land. the shades of her palms nurture various activities for the men and her children. she becomes a gateway connecting pragmatic lives to spirituality. she is the pride of her people.
the muzungu puts a strange flower on her head and says, “this is the most beautiful flower from my homeland. it will make you the most beautiful woman in your homeland.” the next day comes, and the flower has died since last night. she says to the muzungu, “the flower from your homeland has made me the ugliest woman in my homeland.” then she picks up a bunch of wild flowers on the ground nearby, puts them on his head and says, “now you are the most beautiful man in my homeland.”
social mixed-use development kimihuhura, kigali, rwanda rwanda, the land of a thousand hills, has its capital, kigali, among the fastest growing urban area on the planet. the majority of urban dwellers in kigali are living in shantytowns like kimihuhura with poor condition of traffic, power, clean water and sewage connectivities. many are under threat of having their houses and businesses taken by the government to pave way for newer financial districts. in addition, rwandan dwellings also face corrosion problems caused by the rainy climate.
a typical urban dwelling in kigali features a separate toilet structure and the main house where domestic activities take place. the kitchen, however, is an outdoor space but far away from the toilet. washing and bathing are also done outside the house but with dignity.
cooking space - sleeping space
cooking space - washing space
cooking space - living space
excreting space - sleeping space
excreting space - washing space
excreting space - cooking space
kimihuhura, located on the side of a hill, is bordered by a boulevard on top, a small dirt road at bottom separating the neighborhood from the wetland and another dirt road bisecting it into two parts. traffic connections between these roads are arbitrary, unevenly steep and often used as sewage.
unlike the normative approach to social housing projects, we propose government -funded structures that will accomodate incremental growth. thus the architecture is left to the inhabitants to initiate and expand according to budget. each structure can shelter up to five households and three commercial spaces in various sizes. each unit is provided with internalized water and power access to maximize outdoor spaces, which will eliminate the traditional toilets.
in order to fully implement the incremental approach, the construction will start on unoccupied land to avoid relocating families far away from their social network. markets, parks and schools are also integrated to localize socialization between neighbors. the proposal will triple the existing density and still preserve the traditional living patterns.
the residual space between every two structures become a series of courtyards facilitating outdoor activities for the units. stairways are created through some of the courtyards to provide connectivities between the ground levels.
most of the contruction materials will be local such as mudbricks, claybricks, clay tiles, corrugated metal, wood, etc. concrete despite being imported is the most appropriate for the initial structures. beside underground drainage development, public pathways will utilize permeable paving to help resolve hygene and corrosion problems.
open sewage permeable paving underground drainage
day after day, few old flowers die, but more fresh ones bloom. they become increasingly denser and more colorful. he takes them off his head and puts on hers. then he says, “you deserve to be the most beautiful woman in your homeland.� indeed, she is now.
for more information, visit issuu.com/dinhlong or email orehnid@gmail.com
dinh long
237/18 phan van tri st., binh thanh dist., ho chi minh city, 0902636418, orehnid@gmail.com