05 WEDGE FOREST

WEDGE FOREST

CHILDCARE CENTER WITH GREEN PLAYSCAPES

CHILDCARE CENTER & GALLERY | Stamford, USA Critic: Miroslava Brooks Group Work: Tingdong Xiong. spring 2021

On a vast grassland, kids will be carefree to play and healthy to grow in an architecture that invites the nature to design the interior.

Challenged by a myriad of socioeconomic, technological and physical constraints, children today are engaged in radically different modes of education, play, and ways of experiencing life. Play is an itegral part of the urban fabric. The open function of kid’s play equipment mean to stimulate imagination, tapping into children’s ability to transform and invent new uses for common objects. Natural and artificial playscapes are organically connected in the Wedge Forest to proposes a playful place with wedge landscapes germinating from the interstitial places between cluster modules inspired by Isamu Noguchi. The wedges tightly connect the playrooms to the vast grassland contexts and branch out a landscape system which keeps over 90% of the existing trees. A forest with diverse plants growing on the wedges reinterpret an assemblage of soft and hard natural landscape for kids to play, wander, and learn.

Rock & Noguchi Cluster Sharp vs Round Corners to Reinterpret Wedge Relationship

Unit x1

Interlock x2

Interlock x3

Interlock x4

Bar with Wedge Openings

Planar Iteration of the Modules

Form Iterations (Left) / Exterior View of Cluster Joints (Above)

Rocks Dropped on Green Playscapes

With the reinterpretation of natural rocks, the clusters merged together with exterior playscapes. Bricks and stuccos on the facades jointed with material seams and provided an transition from roughness to smoothness. The curves and corners of the form, the extension of the landscape, propose a cluster of playful rocks on the green playscapes.

Skylight Detail (Left) /Interior Green Floor Detail (Left) Typical Wall Section (Right)

Accommodating the Sun & the Plants

The construction emphasizes the joints of material transitions, and the penetration of sun radiance and greenery wedges. Multiple material joints prvent the stuccos and bricks from cracking. Skylights are generated from the geometric logic of the clusters. Interior green floors are efficiently designed with double water-proofing system and minimum visible components.

Interior View in Playroom (Left) / Longitudinal Section (Above) / Elevation (Above)

Alive on Wedges

Different floor textures are penetrating from exterior playscapes. Sunlight, trees and insects draw the kids outside to enjoy the natural air. Days are alive on the wedges and the forest of hope is growing.

INSTALLATIONS

STRUCTURE EXPERIMENT OF TESSELLATION & TENSEGRITY

STRUCTURE DESIGN & MODEL | Hypothesis & Practice Critic: Dr. Mohamad Al Khayer | Sep - Dec 2021 Group Work: Bolai Ren, Yulun Liu.

Scope of Work:

+ Tessellation ring single/triple layer; paper fold translating 2D vs. 3D. + Tensegrity ring as a combination of tessellation units.

The tessellations generalized planar geometries to higher dimensions and a variety of spatial sculptures.

The tensegrity models followed the design principle of opposed and balanced compression elements with a continuous tensile force, thereby creating an internal prestress that stabilizes the entire structure.