[ CHANGING ] PORTFOLIO OF
ZHICHEN GONG 2017-2021
Zhichen Gong | Tristan zg2411@columbia.edu | +1 347-327-3276 | 415 W 118th St, New York, NY 10027
EDUCATION BACKGROUND Columbia University GSAPP, New York City, United States
Jun.2021-May.2022
Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Sep.2016-May.2021
M.S. Advanced Architectural Design | Date of Graduation: May.2022 Bachelor of Architecture | Date of Graduation: May.2021 | GPA: 3.78/4.0
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE LIBAOFENG Studio, Wuhan, China
Feb.2021-May.2021
TIANHUA Architecture Planning & Engineering Ltd. , Wuhan, China
Jul.2020-Nov.2020
ATELIER ARCHMIXING, Shanghai, China
Jul.2019-Sep.2019
Architectural Intern: Participated in site mapping and research for the Taoziping Visitor Center Project; Participated in site and business analysis in Houjia Village Project; Rendering, hand modeling, and phase presentation at Cishan Hotel Project. Architectural Intern: Sketching, physical and 3D modeling in Mountain Hotel design; Site research and analysis in Nanchang construction building façade renovation project; Construction drawing and adjustment in Wuhan Tangjiadun Urban Village Renovation Project; Participated in the organization, interview and video editing of the company's annual meeting. Architectural Intern: Worked on the expansion project of Kunshan Primary School and was responsible for the landscape design; participated in the booth design of Expo; participated in the editing work of the office's 10th-anniversary portfolio.
COMPETITIONS & AWARDS MORE THAN JUST HOUSING
THIRD PRIZE | 3rd ART&TECH National College Student Architectural Design Competition
Apr.2018
Worked as the group leader and was in charge of on-site research, strategies, conceptual and architecture design; deepened the design of housing modules and modes of transportation.
WING PAVILION
Dec.2018
HORIZONTAL CITY OF NO NATION
Apr.2019
LIVE ON ENERGY
May.2019
THIRD PRIZE | Tianhua National Bamboo Design & Construction Competition Worked as the main designer and the leader of the construction team; proposed and deepened the design; organized team members work distribution; participated in the construction task. HONORABLE MENTIONS | eVolo Skyscraper Competition Contributed for concept design, spatial organization design, modeling and diagrams drawing. Link: http://www.evolo.us/category/2019/ HONORABLE MENTIONS | 24H Competition Participated as the group leader and worked on the concept design, modeling, diagrams drawings. Link: https://www.if-ideasforward.com/hypermega
SKILLS SKILLS: Adobe Creative Suite, AutoCAD, Rhino, SketchUp, Revit, Grasshopper, Enscape, Lumion, VRay, QGIS, Microsoft Office, Python, C++, Photography, Vedio Making, Sketch, Watercolor, LANGUAGES: English, Chinese
Contents Competition Works 01
More than Just Housing
from Bridge to Community | Wuhan, China 02
Horizontal City of No Nation from Wall to City | on the Syrian-Turkish border
03
Wing Pavilion
from Bird to Pavilion | Guangzhou, China
Academic Works 04
City as Forest
from City to Forest | New York City, United States 05
Library Wrapped in Clothes from Clothes to Library | Wuhan, China
06
Black Stone
from Theater to Memorial | Frankfurt, Germany
Professional Works 07
Kunshan Primary School Shanghai, China
08
Tangjiadun Urban Village Renovation Wuhan, China
09
Cishan Mountain Hotel Enshi, China
Other Works
01
MORE THAN JUST HOUSING Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge Renovation from Bridge to Community Site: Wuhan, China Oct.2017-Apr.2018 THIRD PRIZE 2018 ART&TECH National College Student Architectural Design Competition Partner: Wu Tianrong, He Congying Role: On-site research, Strategy, Conceptual and Architecture Design, all Drawings in this portfolio -
In China, many cities have built large numbers of welfare housing in suburban areas to retain young talents. But these houses are all the same and the transportation is not convenient, which makes them less attractive. Young people prefer to live in the city center because of its convenient transportation and abundant living and entertainment facilities. But the land prices are very high in the city center, and the government is loath to offer it cheaply to young talents. Is there a way to use the power of architecture to make young talents able to live in the city center while making the government more profits than just selling land to property developers?
Background: Contradictions Among Young Makers In 2017, the Wuhan government launched the "10,000 People Staying in Wuhan" program, which aims to retain young talent and has been followed by a series of supporting housing developments. But these housing projects, located in the suburbs and with a uniform style, are not enough to attract a new generation of young creative talents. The new generation of young makers aspires to enjoy the transportation and recreational facilities of the city center. At the same time they seek individuality and the ability to fully express themselves. However, the city center is already saturated with construction and land is expensive, so there is no reason for the government to offer the land to young makers in the form of welfare housing ......
Housing price-high Housing price-middle Housing price-low Cultural facilities Scenery spot Business district
The Plight of Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge At the same time, there is a historic bridge in the center of Wuhan, Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, which is the first bridge on the Yangtze River for 10,000 miles and has an important historical significance for the new China. Since its completion, it has been one of the most important landmarks in Wuhan. But despite this, it is not an attractive tourist attraction, because there are not many ways to get on the bridge, to walk on the bridge often takes more than ten minutes, and the walking space on the bridge is very small, from time to time there are motorcycles whizzing by, and there is no entertainment space on the bridge, and the sound of vehicles coming and going is noisy ......
Food for Work - “Creativity for Rent” Therefore, I propose an idea similar to "food for work": let the government renovate the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, improve transportation and provide infrastructure, and then attract young makers through rent subsidies to move in. With the power of these creative young people to establish
bridge as an unique public communities, to attract a large number of citizens and tourists and drive consumption. In the end, everyone will benefit and achieve a multi-win. This is what I mean by "More than just Housing".
Let Young Makers Rebuild the Bridge
NOW
STEP1: The government build the framework
STEP2: Young makers diversify the community
STEP3: The public activate the community
The original bridge was used mainly for transportation, which resulted in a lack of sufficient walking space.
Ask the government to install a structural framework for the Bridge that will support residential modules.
Provide the basic living modules for young makers to move in and redesign freely.
Young makers create a colorful community to attract citizens and tourists and boost consumption.
From Bridge to Community: Evolution
Now
2020
Phase 1
2022
Phase 2
2025
Phase 3
2027
Although it is very famous, it has only one function, which cannot bring more interesting urban space to the citizens, nor bring more income to the government.
Let the government to erect a new structural framework and infrastructure to enrich the form of transportation.
Young makers began to move in and continue to bring popularity to the community.
People keep moving in and out, or moving their houses on the bridge, which makes the form of the bridge constantly changing with people's behavior.
Turtle Hill TV Tower
Yingwuzhou Yangtze River Bridge
Setting of Sightseeing Platform
+58m - Plan
Yellow Crane Tower
Multilevel Transportation System The bridge is nearly 1.7 km long, and traffic is the first problem I have to solve. To address different types of needs such as commuting, touring, and freight, I created a multi-level transportation system, which includes a car system, a walking system, and a driverless car system.
Driverless Car System The driverless car system is the heart of the community's public transportation. Through a circular lane, driverless cars travel back and forth to help people get to their homes or other places quickly. If you think of the bridge as a horizontal skyscraper, the driverless cars is its core barrel.
From Bridge to Community: Traffic
From Bridge to Community: Customized Housing
"Look! That's my house!" Customization of living modules full of possibilities The core idea of this project is to give the whole community infinite possibilities and richness with the power of makers, so how to provide a platform for creators to express their creativity is the most important thing. So I have designed a set of living modules that can be customized and designed by the makers. They can design their own house, which allows the house to be flexible enough to not only meet the needs of them, but also to be a way for them to express their own personality.
"Let's live together!" Socializing and forming communities The framework is set up so that the living modules can be conveniently installed and also makes it possible to move them around, which gives the community a stronger social attribute. Residents can choose to live near their friends' or family's houses, and couples can move their own houses together and connect them into one larger house. In this way, the community will meet the social needs of its residents and naturally form clusters.
From Bridge to Community: Public Space For young creators, a public community provides them with a double help: on the one hand, they have a platform to present their ideas to the public, and on the other hand, they have the opportunity to sell their work for profit, helping them to sustain their creative life. For the public, such a community is full of more surprises than a commercial area or a park, where they can also get culture and education, and this exchange is beneficial to both sides.
Underlying space Within frame
Underlying space Outside frame
Galleries, Shopping malls
Market, Theater
A Three-dimensional Community The setting of the framework also formed a “valley”, which allowed me to create a more three-dimensional public space in which to create a more vibrant public community within the limited space. I used the frame to create a distinction between height and interior and exterior, the combination of the two dimensions to form a space adapted to different functions.
Upper space Within frame
Upper space Outside frame
Connection space Within frame
Connection space Outside frame
Galleries, Shopping malls
Market, Theater
Galleries, Shopping malls
Market, Theater
02
HORIZONTAL CITY OF NO NATION Sanctuary on the Syrian-Turkish border from Wall to City Site: on the Syrian-Turkish border Nov.2018-Feb.2019 HONORABLE MENTIONS in eVolo Skyscraper Competition Partner: Wu Tianrong, Chen Yong, He Yingzhi, He Congying My work: Strategy, Conceptual Design(80%), Diagrams Drawing(85%) The world is witnessing the highest level of displacement on record. According to UNHCR, by the end of 2016, 65.5 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violation. That was an increase of 300,000 people over the previous years, and the world's displaced population is still at a record high. Also, during the year, 10.3 million people were newly displaced and the speed of new displacements was equal to 20 people every minute. Under such circumstances, how to resettle the innocent people in war, not only by providing temporary camps, but also by enabling them to continue their lives in familiar environments and maintain normal function of society is the project of the propose.
Border with Wall —— Separation In order to fight for the chance of life, a large number of refugees poured into European countries. Faced with this situation, some countries chose to build border walls to keep out the refugees. But such an approach does not fundamentally solve the problem, and many refugees choose to try more dangerous ways to cross the border, causing chaos.
As an old Chinese saying goes, "Dredging is better than blocking." The core part of this proposal is how to conserve their original environment and provide adequate space. Based on the narrow buffer zone, the skyscraper introduced here should not be simple stack of broken layers, but a transformation from a horizontal lifestyle to a vertical one. In this skyscraper, people can follow their previous habitats in stable societies and get adequate education, training and jobs.
Wall without Border —— Containment
In the primitive world, there was no border and people could travel and communicate freely. With the formation of nations, borders began to appear. The appearance of the border wall further strengthens the concept of
border and intensifies the antagonism between ethnic groups and nations. To change this situation, I tried to reverse the wall's "Separation" property and giving it a "Containment" property, and activate the border space.
Flip - Restore the Sense of Orientation
1. Vertical space on the border
2. Lose the sense of orientation
3. Flip the city plane
4. Restore the sense of orientation and order
Vertical Spaces on the border become shelters for refugees.
Switching to a vertical lifestyle can be disorienting.
Restore a sense of direction by restoring the structure and characteristics of the city.
Restore social order by restoring urban structure and form a new vertical city.
"Win Back Life
During the design process of the Horizontal City of No Nation, I saw many orga This can solve the problem for a short period of time, but when the war continu do not want to live as refugees all the time, which is why many of them
There is an old Chinese saying that "it is better to teach someone to fish than to to get a sense of life. So what I'm trying to do in Wall Without Borders is not a they can get jobs and training, where children can get an education, where they c The cooperation and exchange between cou
e and Dignity"
anizations proposing plans that would just provide shelter and food for refugees. ues for a long time, such relief becomes uneconomical. Also, for the refugees, they m still want to leave the refugee camps for other countries in Europe.
o give them a fish." For refugees, it is more important to get a job, to get dignity, a refugee camp, but a city where refugees can get their lives back. A place where can use their abilities, and where they can finally get an even better chance at life. untries and nations eventually creates more.
Syrian cities all belong to the Islamic city type in the Middle East, and Islamic sharia law has shaped the distribution of the cities significantly. Islam has a clear division between public and private areas, which results in areas with different functions, such as residences and palaces, often with distinct zoning.
Area
The Islamic law considers private property to have a higher status than public property, which also results in private houses having a higher status than public roads. As a result, Syrian cities often have zigzag, irregular roads and even dead ends.
Roads
In Syrian cities, mosques occupy an impor tant position as the center of people's religion, life, and culture. And because all believers are of equal status in Shariah law, mosques are often laid out in such a way as to allow all people to reach the mosque at a relatively equitable distance, so mosques tend to be evenly distributed throughout the city.
Mosque
Muslims need to worship multiple times a day, and people come together to worship together. And because of the hot and dry climate in the Middle East and the strong emphasis on hygiene in Islam, courtyard spaces with pools and plants have become very important social and recreational spaces in the city.
Yard
When Muslims worship, they need to face in the direction of the Kaaba, also known as qibla. For this reason, many buildings in the city are often constructed in a special axis direction in order to face the Kaaba.
Qibla
Flip: Middle Easter
By flipping it, I achieve the creation of space for refugees to survive in the na changes the original perception of space and the city. In order to enable ref characteristics of the original Syrian city in the new city. I consulted a large n translate them so that I can apply the
rn City Translation
arrow border buffer zone, but the shift from a horizontal to a vertical lifestyle fugees to better adapt to this lifestyle shift, I proposed to restore the spatial number of sources to extract the spatial characteristics of the Syrian city and em to the spatial design of this project.
Eight types of areas are formed according to different functions. (Mosque/Headquarters/Urban/ Farm/Bazar/School/Residential/ Park)
The short distance traffic depends on the rich network connections between the buildings, while the long distance traffic depends on the cable car which can move in the vertical plane.
The mosques are evenly placed in the city, influencing the surrounding area, while serving as signs in the city to help orient refugees.
Holes were made in the walls and used as courtyards, and some of these courtyards were reoriented with their axes facing the direction of Qibla and became places of worship and socializing for the neighborhood.
Flip: Transportation & EquipmentTranslation In urban scale skyscrapers, traditional elevators can not meet the needs. Here we prpose a new elevator with a cylinder shell and a square cabin. With this structure, it can move any direction and keeps inner cabin horizontal. Rails are set sccording to needs. Rails and these new elevators form a more free and efficient traffic network together.
The first-level traffic net breaks the restriction of vertical traffic by rail elevators, achieving efficient traffic. The second-level traffic net forms a high- coverage transportation net in blocks through stairs, elevators and passenger conveyors, so as to supply the first-level traffic net and get more convenient traffic.
03
WING PAVILION Guangzhou Water Bird Park Pavilion from Bird to Pavilion Site: Guangzhou, China Oct.2018-Dec.2018 THIRD PRIZE in Tianhua National Bamboo Design & Construction Competition Teamwork My work : Team leader, Main designer, Construction, Presentation in the conpetition This is an actual construction project that I was involved in, which is located in a waterbird garden in Guangzhou. In order to create a subtle connection between the site and the architecture, I made many sketches during the design process, trying to extract the form of the bird spreading its wings and give this form to the architecture. When I entered this competition, I was pressed for time, and the material we used, bamboo, is a very special material, they bend when they are forced, and because each bamboo is different in length and diameter, it is impossible to predict how much each bamboo will bend. In order to create the desired curve, we made a lot of manual models in a short time to refine the shape. In the actual construction, we also encountered material shortage and the construction period was only ten days. I constantly adjusted the design and was forced to give up many of my previous ideas. In spite of many regrets, when I finished, I still felt a genuine happiness as an architect.
Draft
Physical Modeling
Digital Modeling
Construction Process
Finished
04
CITY AS FOREST Study on Carbon Sequestration Materials for Façade Planting from City to Forest Site: New York City, United States Sep.2021-Dec.2021 Academic work，Individual Work GSAPP, Adv Studio V, 21Fall, Studio: Reset Instructor: Prof. David Benjamin -
The Climate Crisis and the Green New Deal According to UN-Habitat, cities consume 78% of global energy and produce 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the fate of humanity has come to an important point in time. If we do not achieve net zero global carbon emissions in the next 10 years, we may lose our last chance to save ourselves.
For this reason, New York City has proposed the new green deal. Its main content is a bill that requires many of city’s buildings to significantly reduce overall emissions by 40% by 2030. It makes the New York City the first city in the world to require all large existing buildings of 25,000 square feet or more - of which there are 50,000 citywide - to make energy efficiency upgrades to reduce energy use and emissions, or face stiff penalties. At the same time, NYC CoolRoofs program promotes climate justice by prioritizing the installation of reflective roof coatings in New York
Volunteers with sustainable south bronx help paint a rooftop white at an nyc coolroofs project site.
City’s most heat-vulnerable communities to help lower local temperatures and mitigate the health impacts of the urban heat island effect.
Those parts of the city that are not being utilized However, in addition to roofs, there is much more area of the building that is not being utilized, the façade. And if we don't just paint buildings into white, but use plants on the surface to continuously sequester carbon dioxide, perhaps cities can stop being the culprit of greenhouse gas emissions and instead act like a forest to continuously absorb carbon dioxide and improve our climate.
Module Unit: Turning Waste into Treasure Carbon emissions from the production: 0.17 kg/unit CO2 absorption per unit: 0.15 kg/year
Waterproof layer Carbon emissions from the production of this part: 0.02 kg/unit Eco-felt Carbon emissions from the production of this part: 0.06 kg/unit Recycled plastic filled with fallen leaves Carbon emissions from the production of this part: 0.09 kg/unit
Fallen leaves are part of the ecological cycle in the forest, but in the city they are just seen as trash. However, when crushed, they can be fluffy and porous, allowing plants to take root like soil and providing insulation. The leaves can also be recycled for biogas generation, plywood production and composting.
Form: Light and visual effects
Eco-felt (formerly known as Ecospun) is a polyester felt made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles (composed of PET). It takes 10 plastic bottles to make 1 pound of Eco-fi fiber. eco-fi felt is very breathable and absorbent.
Acrylic is a pure liquid, non-toxic, non-hazardous, non-flammable, open cap, soluble in water, easy to wall cracks combined to form a solid waterproof layer, performance characteristics are more stable, the application effect is more ideal.
Combined with architecture: A dynamic façade water system 1.Space for plants to grow 2.Contains capillary fiber tubes to direct water and nutrient solution 3.Insulation layer to avoid damaging structural walls
Control the undulation of the material surface to control the shading that the plant can receive.
During heavy rainfall, some of the rainwater will be filtered and stored in the building, reducing urban sewer pressure and the potential for flooding.
On sunny days, water is supplied to the façade from the building, keeping a steady supply of water for the plants.
Stratification in height: Adapting to city in different heights Central Park Tower 1550 ft
The height above 400ft is a high-rise space, where wind speed is faster and temperature is lower, making it more difficult to carry out regular maintenance, so plant some hardy and wind-resistant plants, such as matted plants and coneflowers.
The height of 80~400ft is the mid-level space, where people no longer have easy access to the facade, so some ferns, vine and etc. are mainly planted, and the annual harvest and maintenance are carried out by special personnel. VIA 355 ft
Enclave at the Cathedral 232 ft Ordinary apartment 60 ft
The height of 0~80ft is the low level space, where people can use the space of the building facade relatively easily (such as with the help of fire escape or balcony), so some vegetables can be grown in this height space.
City System: Wiser policies, more jobs, better city
Empire State Building's estimated façade area: Roughly 50 tons of CO2 per year.
4 LABOR 1 DAYS 1 BUILDING (100m2) 59 kg CO2/year
82,300 m2
60 LABORS 1 WEEKS 1 BLOCKS 4130 kg CO2/year
New York apartment estimated street façade area: Roughly 53 kilograms of CO2 per year.
400 LABORS 1 YEAR 300 BLOCKS 1239 ton CO2/year
90 m2
2000 LABORS 2 YEARS 1 MAHATTAN ISLAND 24597.1 ton CO2/year And help reduce building e n e r g y c o n s u m p t i o n by
20%~40%
2022
2023
2025
2030
2050
Start of installation
Part of the blocks completed the installation
Complete installation throughout Manhattan
Achieve the 30% reduction in carbon emissions goal of New York City
Achieve carbon neutrality goal
The building surfaces are used to receive sunlight, rainwater and CO2, and are combined with the building water system to create a water cycle and balance.
All units can act as building thermal insulation a n d re d u c e b u i l d i n g energy consumption.
The mid-part units are us collect leaves and transpo to the fallen leaf factory.
810 units can be installed here, which can absorb 118kg of CO2 per year. It takes 4 workers to install it in 1 day.
The lower part units are used to grow vegetables and sell them nearby.
In the city, when the buildings are installed with these materials, they will produce vegetables and leaves like a running factory. The vegetables can be sold in nearby communities, providing local residents with fresh, organic vegetables and reducing carbon emissions from long-distance transportation.
In addition, 2 workers are needed to collect and transport the leaves, and they can collect about 20 blocks of leaves a day.
A Circular Urban Syste
It takes about 288 people to collect all the leaves in Manhattan once, once a week for 3 months, and they can work with residents to collect and store and recycle.
Part of them are used to make plywood, which can be used as raw material for furniture.
Some of them are crushed to make filler for the units, and the produced units are then transported back to the city for installation.
Part of them are used for Biogas generation to produce clean energy.
sed to ort ed
The leaves are transported to the leaf factory on the outskirts of the city.
em Will Be Constructed
Part of them are composted to produce fertilizer.
On the outskirts of the city, "Leaf Factory" will be built. Leaves from the city are recycled to the leaf factory via transportation team: part of the leaves are used to generate electricity through biogas (part of which feeds the transportation team), part is used to make plywood, part to produce fertilizer, and part to produce the units themselves.
05
LIBRARY WRAPPED IN CLOTHES A community library in a retired worker's neighborhood from drying Clothes to Library Site: Wuhan, China Oct.2018-Dec.2018 Academic work，Individual Work Instructor: Prof. Zhou Wei -
In Wuhan, where the weather is humid, people like to hang their clothes and quilts outdoors on sunny days to avoid mildew. In Gufeng community, there is a large area where residents set up frameworks to hang and dry their quilts. So when the government decided to build a new library there brought about a huge conflict. Therefore, I decided to integrate residents' behavior of hanging and drying clothes into my design as an element, so as to preserve the functions they urgently need, and make the library have an changing appearance through this behavior, which forms a resonance between the library and the original community. The library, though wrapped in plain clothes and quilts, is a palace of knowledge, which reminds me of a well-known poem in China: " 腹有诗书气自华。" It means that even in his simple clothes, a man who has read many books will appear noble.
Background: Habits due to Regional Climate Wuhan is an important city in the Yangtze River basin, located in the center of Jianghan Plain, where there are many lakes, one quarter of the whole city is covered with water. Coupled with the heavy rainfall in summer and the humid climate in the city, Wuhan people have formed the habit of drying clothes. As long as the weather is good, people will take their clothes and quilts to hang outdoors. In many residential buildings, clothes hangers will be picked out to dry clothes.
Contradiction: The Urgent Need of the Site In Gufeng community, the behavior of drying cloths is also very common, and residents even requires the removal of trees that block the sun in the neighborhood in order to gain more space for drying clothes. As the only large open space in the whole community, a lot of clothes racks have been set up here, where residents usually bask their quilts and themselves in the sun. Therefore, when the government wanted to build a community library on this open space, it would no longer exist, which brought a contradiction between the new function and the old function.
Inspiration: Local drying clothes racks So I try to use the power of architecture to find a compatible possibility between the two functions and activities, and explore the connection between different Spaces through one form. I was inspired by a common local drying clothes racks.
Changes with the Weather By making the behavior of drying clothes as part of the architectural design, a resonance is created between the architecture and its environment. When the weather is sunny, both the library and the surrounding residential buildings will be covered by clothes, and as the wind blows, the blowing clothes will offer the library and the surrounding residential buildings with the same skin. When it rains, the surrounding residential buildings and the library are free of clothes, and the drying racks become their common formal language. As the weather changes, the library and the surrounding residential buildings take on a synchronized appearance.
Plan 1F
Plan B1F 1. Lobby 2. Reading room 3. Editing room 4. Reception room 5. Exhibition room 6. Casual dining area 7. Audio/visual room 8. Training room 9.Youth Space 10. Lecture hall 11. Book repository 12. Office 13. Rooftop terrace 14. Toilet 15. Elevator 16. Equipment room
Plan B2F
1. Lobby 2. Reading room 3. Editing room 4. Reception room 5. Exhibition room 6. Casual dining area 7. Audio/visual room 8. Training room 9. Youth Space 10. Lecture hall 11. Book repository 12. Office 13. Rooftop terrace 14. Toilet 15. Elevator 16.Equipment room
Roof
Structure
Glass Curtain Wall
06
BLACK STONE Frankfurt World War II Memorial from Theater to Memorial Site: Frankfurt, Germany Nov.2018-Jan.2019 Academic work, Individual Work Instructor: Prof. Liu Hui -
...Instead of objects left over from the war, the black stone displays a series of Spaces. Visitors will be inspired by the special atmosphere created by these Spaces. They will experience the scenes of being respected in a military parade, crawling in a cold and dark trench, being separated from friends and family, and meeting them only in a dream. This series of Spaces will constitute a flowing stage in which everyone will become an actor, just as we are also playing our part in our history... Visitors should know that when they stand before the Black Stone, it will reflect themselves, just as we stand before history, it will also reflect our future. As an old Chinese proverb says: History is a mirror that reflects the vicissitude of life.
Background: Reflections on War After World War II, the famous "Frankfurt Judgment" made many people think about the origin of the war, and whether the sin of the war was really just the fanaticism of one man. If we only think so, we will not stop the war. In order to reflect on the war, many war memorials have been built, but most of them only display the relics of the war in glass cases, but the viewers stand outside the glass cases and see only history. If we only treat the sad past as history and put ourselves out of the way, we will never get enough warning and think that war is something far away from us. Therefore, the Black Stone memorial is to let all visitors no longer stay outside, but once again "enter" into that history, to relive the displacement of each person in that history, only in this way, people will realize the essence of the war: War is chaos and tragedy for all.
Concept: A War Memorial that Displays Space Instead of War Relics Instead of objects left over from the war, the black stone displays a series of Spaces. Visitors will be inspired by the special atmosphere created by these Spaces. They will experience the scenes of being respected in a military parade, crawling in a cold and dark trench, being separated from friends and family, and meeting them only in a dream. This series of Spaces will constitute a flowing stage in which everyone will become an actor, just as we are also playing our part in our history...
Visitors should know that when they stand before the Black Stone, it will reflect themselves, just as we stand before history, it will also reflect our future. As an old Chinese proverb says: History is a mirror that reflects the vicissitude of life.
Translation: from History to Space
Step 1: I will make an abstract restoration of that period of history, extract key events from it, and reconstruct them into "stages".
Step 2: I will set up five characters with different identities and construct five narrative "stories" to recreate the war from their perspectives.
Chessboard
Missing
Battlefield
Awaiiting
Get decorated
Wanna go home
Incubus
Departure Walk on eggshells Fate
The Parade
Lost in the crowd
Different Paths
Out of ontrol
Ghost Nihility
Falling down
Brainwashing
Step 3: Visitors will play different roles as they walk through their respective "stories" and experience a series of "stages", in some of which they will be both audience and actors, experiencing those moments of the war again from a first-hand perspective.
the Ruler
2-R：Brainwashing
3-R： The Parade
4-R：Walk o
3-G： The Parade
4-G： Ba
3-S： The Parade
4-S：Ba
3-F： The Parade
4-F：M
the General
2-G：Chessboard
the Soldier
2-S：Departure
the soldier's Families
2-F：Departure
the Masses
1-All：Fate
2-M：Brainwashing
3-M： The Parade
4-M：Lost i
on eggshells
5-R：Out of ontrol
6-R：Falling down
attlefield
5-G：Get decorated
6-G：Incubus
attlefield
5-S：Different Paths
6-S: Wanna go home
Missing
5-F：Awaiting
6-F：Wanna go home
5-M：Different Paths
6-M：Ghost
in the crowd
7-All：Nihility
Enclose - Departure
Gradient - Out of Control
Increase the degree of enclosure to strengthen the separation to simulate the picture of the departure of soldiers and their families.
The undulating ground evokes anxiety and tension of the visitor.
Height - Falling Down
Light - Wanna Go Home
Use the feeling of weightlessness created by a sudden fall in height to create feelings of fear.
The contraction of the space itself is used to realize the visual effect of forced perspective, making the light at the end of the space seem very far and seem very close.
PLAN - 4m 1 . Fate 2 . Departure
4 . The Parade 5 . Lost in the crowd
7 . Missing 8 . Different Paths
3 . Brainwashing
6 . Battlefield
9 . Ghost
PLAN - 8m 10. Falling down 11. Wanna go home 12. Get decorated
13. Incubus 14. Chessboard 15. Awaiting
16. Walk on eggshells 17. Nihility
5-R：Out of ontrol
4-R：Walk on eggshells
6-R：Falling down
7-All：Nihility 6-S:
Wanna go home
5-G：Get decorated
4-S：Battlefield
6-F：Wanna go home 5-G：Get decorated 4-F：Missing 6-G：Incubus 5-M：Different Paths 4-M：Lost in the crowd 6-M：Ghost 2-M：Brainwashing 3-M： The Parade 1-All：Fate 2-G：Chessboard 2-F：Departure
5-F Awaiting PLOT:
The soldier's Families: "The name on the list of the dead soldiers on the radio yesterday must be someone with the same name. But why hasn't he written letter for so long?" SPACE: The window between the two streamlines that are cut off is just in alignment, which encourages people to look at the other side and wait for the accidental appearance of the other side.
4-S Battlefield PLOT:
The Soldier: "The moment I crawl under the barbed wire, I suddenly realize that there is no glory on the battlefield but death."
SPACE:
Low passages force visitors to change their way of passing.
4-M Lost in the crowd
3-R The Parade
PLOT:
The Masses: " 'Countless me' become a strong collective, but which one is the real me?"
PLOT:
The Ruler: "I love these cheers, the people love great heroes, war is the best means."
SPACE:
The four-walled mirrors reflect the innumerable visitors, symbolizing the countless individuals of the group who have been assimilated and lost their sanity.
SPACE:
The space picked out in the streamline constitutes the "parade platform"
KUNSHAN PRIMARY SCHOOL Internship at ATELIER ARCHMIXING, 2018 Summer Site: Shanghai, China Team: Zhuang Shen,Tang Yu, Zhu Jie, Deng Jian,Tang Long, Gong Zhichen, etc. My work: Landscape design, Construction drawing and adjustment, Rendering, Mastere Plan & Plan drawing
Plan Floor 2
Master Plan
Plan Floor 3
TANGJIADUN URBAN VILLAGE RENOVATION Internship at TIANHUA Architecture Planning & Engineering Ltd., 2020 Fall Site:Wuhan, China Team: Zhang Yufei, Shi Lei, Deng Xiaobing, Zhang Yong, Xiao Pu,Wei Zijie, Gong Zhichen, etc. My work: Construction drawing and adjustment, Modeling, Document Preparation
Plan Floor 5~10
Green space layout
CISHAN MOUNTAIN HOTEL Internship at LIBAOFENG Studio, 2021 Spring Site: Enshi, China Team: Li Baofeng,Wang Tong, Cao Yu, Zhang Shiwei, Gong Zhichen, etc. My work: Schematic Design, Rendering, hand modeling, and phase presentation
Section A-A
Section D-D
DENGLI PAVILION Academic work, 2017 Spring Site: Wuhan, China Individual work
THE FUTURE OF PREFABRICATED BUILINGS Academic work, GSAPP, 2021 Fall Site: Manhattan, New York Team: Zhichen Gong, Yifan Shen, Qingfan Wu My work: Strategy, Computational Design with Grasshopper & Scout, Diagrams Drawing
Diagram of Design Space
Sunlight Analysis
Influenced by my mother, I began to study art at an early age, which helped me develop exceptional artistic abilities. When I was in middle school, I enjoyed thinking about the laws of the changing world, no matter from the perspective of philosophy or social economy, and architecture became the best way for me to combine my abilities and hobbies. Although I majored in mechanical design when I just entered university, I still chose to transfer to the Department of Architecture two years later. However, after studying in the Department of Mechanics, I gradually began to think about whether architecture could constantly adjust its form and space like machines, so as to give more positive feedback to users' needs and respond to changes in the environment. Thus, I developed another vision of architecture: The changing architecture. The changing architecture presents itself on multiple levels. One is that architecture can be transformed into dynamic spaces with the change in people’s behavior. this process creates a stronger bond between the architecture and its users. It can be that by intentionally leaving white space in the design for users to complete, the architecture will be gradually enriched by users with different personalities, and finally develop its own unique personality. It can also mean that the space of the architecture can be altered. With the help of changeable devices and components, the space enclosed by the architecture can be adjusted, which makes the architecture more flexible for the change of environment or users’ demand. Architecture that can be changed enhances the relationships between the architecture and people; it provides the possibilities for people to change architecture, thus giving people a greater sense of involvement and identification. Adaptable architecture also allows more possibilities, thus being able to solve problems that cannot be solved by static architecture. I am eager to explore the ways architecture can change to respond to the actual needs of people and how technology can develop characteristic of architecture.