Architecture Portfolio 2023

YUAN GRACE

2023

SELECTED WORKS

ARCHITECTURE

PORTFOLIO YUAN GRACE

2023

SELECTED WORKS

ARCHITECTURE

ABOUT ME In my nascent years of architecture education, I had familiarized myself with architectural and industrial standards, comfortably subscribed to conventions and the confines of a ‘box’. Yet my professor told me to “Think of out the box.” There were no real boxes in this new territory. As i trekked through my education journey in university and realized boxes no longer matter, I plunged into a tumultuous journey of discovery and learning.

Gradually accumulating inspirations, strangely yet often gained from writings and books.

I took the liberty to synthesize them into forces that challenge and radicalize my designs appropriately.

YUAN GRACE Architecture Student, NUS 2002.05.17 | 21 YO 9888 1870 grace.yzx1705@gmail.com

In the process, I have taken a strong interest in the form making processes, especially how I can play the role of a catalyst in the design formulae, appropriately mediating various forces and influences into the architectural tectonics. Currently, I am looking to explore radical architectural representation styles, a medium to narrate and a means for story-tell subsequent projects, this is largely inspired by my peers and their works, I am keen to attempt and innovate new but appropriate graphical representations in my future projects, perhaps starting by seeing more.

I shall continue to seek and embrace new experiences that shall holistcally refine my character and identity as a designer. Simulteanously, I aspire to explore how I can seamlessly integrate into the industry while aligning with my personal interests; This dual exploration serves as a foundational framework through which I aim to discern the nuanced intersections between my evolving design ethos and the dynamic demands of the professional landscape.

SKILLS

EXPERIENCES

Drawing: Autodesk AutoCAD & REVIT, Sketching

Architecture Assistant RDC Architects PTE LTD | April - July 2022 Technical Department

Graphics: Adobe Photoshop, Indesign & Premier Pro Modelling: Physical Modelling, Autodesk REVIT, Rhino & Grasshopper, Trimble Sketchup Rendering: Twinmotion, Enscape, D5 Others: Precedent Studies Site Analysis, Research, Architecture Design

EDUCATION

Assisted in the tender preparation process for Transportation and healthcare projects, and the preparation of presentation documents, graphics and models for private residential and church restoration projects.

Architecture Intern WATG & Wimberly Interiors | March- June 2021 Attained Distinction for Internship Program Architecture Department Worked on 6 master planning projects with landscape architecture and master planning department. Assisted in a range of tasks which included the preparation of presentation documents, drafting technical and construction drawings, modelling, rendering and research.

Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (W Hons) National University of Singapore (NUS) Current GPA: 4.7+/5 Graduating First Class (w Hons) Diploma of Architecture Singapore Polytechnic (SP) | 2019 - 2022 Final GPA: 3.8/4 Attained Distinction for Final Year Project Achieved Gold CCA Attainement

CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

GCSE ‘O’ Levels Fuhua Secondary School | 2015 - 2018 L1R5: 9 Attained 7 distinctions Achieved Excellent CCA Attaintment

Programs Director ArchiVAL2023 Exhibitions Curators Team, NUS | 2023

AWARDS Director’s Honour Roll Singapore Polytechnic | 2021

External Vice President 44th The Architecture Society, NUS | Current

Publication Subcom Member 43rd The Architecture Society, NUS | 2023 President Society of Diploma in Architecture, SP | 2022 Student Director End-of-Year Showcase, SP | 2022

Edusave Merit Bulsary Ministry of Education| 2020

Student Director Emergent Objective Workshop with NPARKS, SP | 2021

Director’s Honour Roll Singapore Polytechnic | 2019

Student Assistant End-of-Year Show Exhibition, SP | 2021

Edusave Scholarship Ministry of Education | 2018

Publication Subcom Member Society of Diploma in Architecture, SP | 2019

National Youth Achievement Award Ministry of Education | 2018

Club Member Badminton Club, SP (2019)

THE VALLEY

Stitching the flows of Urban Thresholds

BLOOMING ECLIPSE

Reduction of Glare through Polarization

PRIMITIVE DWELLING Private Rooms & Living Scapes

THE AVANT-GARDE School of Performing Arts

BALANCED REALMS Revitalizing Commmunity Spaces & Fostering Commercial Balance

THE VALLEY

Stitching flows of Urban Thresholds NUS Architecture | Design 5 Unit 3: Urban Voids | Studio Jacqueline Yeo

Capitalism’s drive for profit has eroded the concept of free spaces, as privatization and commercialization restrict public access and superseded the idea of shared, accessible urban thresholds. This underscores the importance of urban thresholds which mark the transition realms suspended between public and private spaces governed by fixed programmes. These transformative thresholds offering a sense of freedom, occupancy and usage for a myriad of users. Urban Thresholds are private yet public, personalized yet polyvalent, and ultimately accessible for everyone.

However, the mere provision of such spaces does not guarantee their effectiveness. Many of such thresholds remain impoverished, with minimal occupancy and usage. They often exist as isolated pockets, scattered and disconnected even when in relative proximity. Not only are the thresholds spatially univiting, they exist as siloed nodes in Tanjong Pagar Plaza. The latter exacerbates disconnection of the from the existing flow of thresholds running along the Duxton Plain Park. Therefore the Valley Seek to stitch and channel the existing flow of thresholds into focused areas of intervention where the flow is severed or discontinued.

Inspired and informed by the natural and soft tectonics of Duxton Plain Park where the flow is most prominent, series of intervention resembling a valley, aim to extend the ‘valley effect’ that characterize the tectonics, and states of behaviour it induces. The focused intervention seek to amalgamate formerly impoverished urban thresholds within Tanjong Pagar Plaza. Drawing in the flow that consists of diverse demography,the intervention, in conjunction with others , rejuvenate and diffuse concentrate of silver populace with diversity.

1

Child Care Centre

The site is Part of Vanda Miss Joaqium Park, focused on the lushed terrain.

Spatially, the site is composed of dispersed circulatory paths, staggered at different heights (due to the undulating topography) with few disperesed thresholds. There are no hard edges and therefore no boundaries that defines the spaces.

2

Shop Extensions

This is an ancillary area serving Tanjong Pagar Palza and Food market. The site consists of: THe road that serve the Plaza’s carpark, the refuse room. Loading points of adjacent buildingsa nd the fire access way. The site is spatially composed of 2 rigid pedestrian paths with no thresholds. The space is fully defined by harsh edges.

BLOOMING ECLIPSE

Reduction of Glare through Polarization NUS Architecture | Design 4 Unit 2: Performative Perforations | Studio Tan Beng Kiang By: Angeline Ong & Yuan Grace

This study focuses on the design of a facade for the classroom blocks E, F, and G at Nan Hua High School, with the goal of mitigating solar glare, reducing solar heat gain, and improving overall thermal comfort.

The project draws inspiration from the RMIT Design Hub facade by Sean Godsell Architects, particularly the use of frosted glass panels to diffuse light, and aims to optimize visual comfort and mitigate glare through the diffusion of light.

The design process involves prototyping and testing different ways of diffusing light using various kinetic motions, materials, and layering methods, in which we have settled the use of polarizing films to diffuse light and control opacity, based on their effectiveness in reducing glare while still allowing visible light to pass through.

The final design comprises a double-skin facade system consisting of outer modular panels with fixed and rotating discs, and an inner layer of sliding doors and louvers, The design incorporates circular motifs and utilizes a “circle packing” script on Grasshopper to maximize the number of discs that can be packed into a single panel.

It also aims to create a shared identity among students through interactive modules displayed in the classroom and along the corridors. The modules consist of discs decorated with cellophane and polarizing film, allowing for creative expression and manipulation of light transmission.

PRIMITIVE DWELLING Private Rooms & Living Scape

NUS Architecture | Design 3 Unit 1: Cuboid Expositions | Studio Pan Yi Cheng

Formally, respective studios set out to interrogate a series of probes, to draw out dichotomous spatial qualities: Open vs Close, Big vs Small, Seen vs Unseen, Accessible, and Inaccessible which choreograph a prevailing spatial motif/ language. The probe that corresponds to the scheme, suggests a pair of opposing spaces, possessing dichotomous qualities; a siloed solid interpreted as an enclosed, inaccessible, unseen, and small ‘private room’, diagonally position from the opposite element; ascending terrains of seen, open, accessible and big quality, leading up to the former room.

What are the definitions of Private rooms and Terrains in terms of inhabitation then and now? Do they possess any potential to transform our conventional living models? What kind of conversations do they provoke?

Caves serve as the most primitive form of dwelling where humans adeptly assimilate to the landscape by interpreting the vairous hints of convex, and concave surfaces and scale, the topography is according to inhabitants’ subjective and objective senses of comfortability and functionality. Caves, primarily consisting of seemingly random undulations, ironically are provocative and unrestricted milieus. Opposite of a cave formed by natural processes, descending deep into the earth, the aggregated dwelling rises up as an artificial nest, but nonetheless possesses the qualities of a primitive cave that supports perceived/preferred modes of anthropometric occupancy and habitations.

Relative to the cave of free spirits and encourage place-making. The private rooms, when aggregated throughtout the building, are anchored at regular intervals and are predictable and unyielding. Regardless of any external influences, the private rooms (bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms) continue to host programmes and functions necessary to modern living and by conventional standards, regardless of the subjective preferences of those who inhabited them.

THE AVANT-GARDE School of Performing Arts

Singapore Polytechnic | Final Year Project Pedagogy: Defamiliarization | Tutor Dennis Goh

Embracing Sou Fujimoto’s design methodology, the process begins with a deliberate defamiliarization, questioning fundamental aspects of architectural spaces. Fujimoto, influenced by a childhood immersed in nature, seamlessly connects natural elements with architecture, a motif pervading his designs.

Musashino Library, for instance, derives its form from the functional metaphor of ‘strolability,’ echoing a controlled emulation of forest phenomena.

In translating this methodology to the project’s context, the abundant greenery of the site prompted a profound exploration of functional metaphors, resulting in distinct identifiers like ‘improvisation,’ ‘limitless,’ and ‘strolability.’ These intangibles, akin to the sought-after qualities within a forest, became pivotal. Transforming them into tangible architectural elements, diagrams are utilized as form-finding mediums. This endeavor not only explored their integration into the design but also catalyzed the introduction of additional architectural strategies, fortifying the inherent resemblances between the school and the natural environment.

Transitioning to the rationale behind the program, Kampong Glam’s historical significance juxtaposed against Singapore’s rapid modernization underscores the need for cultural preservation. Efforts to conserve the district’s heritage, amidst modernization, present a dynamic dialogue between tradition and contemporary expression, the proposed educational space becomes a conduit for reintroducing traditional forms in an avant-garde context, thereby embodying the spirit of Sou Fujimoto’s design

BALANCED REALMS Revitalizing Commmunity Spaces & Fostering Commercial Balance

NUS Architecture | AR3223 Introduction to Urbanism Urban Gallery | Tutor Matthew Goh By: Nellie Leong & Yuan Grace The constructivist architectural movement, born from early twentieth-century art, diverged from traditional design principles by prioritizing utilitarian aims and propagandist ideals. However, its emphasis on conveying messages and symbols over strict functionality led to many unrealized projects perceived as propaganda art.

Tatlin’s Tower, an ambitious project embodying collectivism in socialist Russia, remained unrealized due to its perceived role as propaganda art. Similarly, the Tanjong Pagar HDB Block’s void decks, once envisioned as communal spaces, succumbed to privatization, transforming into areas residents must now pay to access.

In response, our prototype counters commercialization by formalizing a Social Dining Hall. Inspired by constructivist principles, it composes geometrical forms into a suprematist-conceptual collage. The Hawker program, serving as the central kitchen, contrasts with existing shops, symbolizing an opposing force against commercialization.

Differentiated geometries for communal programs like Cooking stations and Dining Areas challenge commercial uniformity, promoting organic unity and community well-being. Expressing privacy levels in white, grey, and black, the 2D Suprematist collage transforms into a 3D architectural intervention, incorporating truss structures inspired by constructivist architecture.

Elevated elements like Resting pods create a negotiable ground for existing shops and Hawker stores, fostering co-existence and negotiation. Our prototype revitalizes informal spaces, promoting social activities and the communal spirit, balancing residents’ needs with commercial interests. Inspired by constructivist ideals, it envisions dynamic hubs for collective well-being, social engagement, and harmonious coexistence against commercialization pressures.

In essence, our prototype revitalizes informal spaces to promote social activities among residents, reviving the communal spirit reminiscent of void decks. Concurrently, it guarantees the visibility of existing shop fronts despite the implementation. This strategy strives to strike a harmonious balance between the residents’ needs and the commercial interests of shop owners amidst the increasing tide of commercialization.

PEDESTRIANS’ POV

RESIDENTS’ POV

EXISTING SHOP OWNERS’ POV

RESTING PODS

DINING (FREE)

DINING (HAWKER)

ACTIVE COOKING

CENTRAL KITCHEN

A diverse array of seating options, including upright, inclined, and lying positions, seamlessly integrates and enhances the former qualities of resting areas, transforming them into vibrant and engaging social spaces.

In addition to the resting pods, public seating is freely accessible to all, with no obligation to purchase any food items from existing stalls or the central kitchen.

In response to the needs of existing shop owners, they have the option to extend their current stalls, ensuring that their storefronts remain prominent to pedestrians even with the implementation of the prototype.

Similar to void decks, residents are encouraged to come together and engage in communal cooking, fostering interaction and community connection.

The space provides an opportunity for young beginners and amateurs to acquire hawking skills. The food items are priced more affordably compared to those at existing stalls.

1ST STOREY PLAN

DINING Steel Truss Metal Decking Floor

RESTING POD

Prefabricated

CENTRAL KITCHEN

2ND STOREY PLAN

Light-weight Metal Roof

ACTIVE COOKING Window Walls with Frames RC Floor Slab

Light-weight Steel Frame

Polycarbonate Panels

Hawker Stall

ROOF PLAN

Central kitchen

Active cooking

Dining

Resting pods