SELECTED PORTFOLIO 2023
Haomiao Zhai RIBA Part 2 Graduate +44 07529186757 haomiao.zhai@aaschool.ac.uk haomiaozhai.arch@gmail.com
Haomiao Zhai Email: haomiao.zhai@aaschool.ac.uk Instagram：@how_to_miao Phone: +44 7529186757 Graduate Route visa Architectural Assistant, London
Education: Architectural Association school of Architecture Diploma Programme(MArch), RIBA part 2 University of Liverpool First-Class, Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, RIBA Part 1
2018-2020 Liverpool, UK
Xi’an Jiaotong- Liverpool University Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture
2016-2018 Suzhou, China
Skills:
Professional experience:
Used Frequently: Rhinoceros Blender V-ray AutoCAD
Jiakun Architects, Chengdu, China Architectural design Intern
Adobe Creative Cloud Indesign Photoshop Illustrator MicroStation Knowledge of: Grasshopper Revit Sketchup Vectorworks Enscape
2021- 2013 London, UK
January 2021 - June 2021 Chengdu, China
The project includes heritage renovation of industrial sites, the new-build residential apartments and rural community libraries. My skills include concept design, 3D modelling, and visual representation through renders and collages. Produced documents mainly in Rhino, Sketchup and Photoshop. Fell within the scope of RIBA stage 1-4. Cendes, Chengdu, China Architectural design Intern
Summer 2018 Chengdu, China
The project includes a gym station, a hotel and primary school project. Produced documents mainly in Sketchup and Photoshop. Fell within the scope of RIBA stage 1-2.
Honors & Awards: ETS High Pass award Architectural Association
May 2023
First Class Scholarship University of Liverpool
2018 - 2020
Alumni Prize of Best Computer generated image University of Liverpool
June 2020
Best performance in Year 2 students John Rankin Prize: Best Sketch design in BA2 University of Liverpool
June 2019
1
Architecture for youth: A non-institutional school
4
Homely house: Co-living apartment
7
Terraced Horizons Museum
AA Year 5 Studio project, Studiolo An observatory on counter-production
UoL 3rd year studio project, Liverpool
Competition project
2
Sewing the energy gap: Living in Gas
5
Pure gallery: Gallery for each citizen
8
Practice selected projects
AA Year 4 Studio project, The Tenet of Ecology
UoL 2nd year studio project, Liverpool
3
Frame of Reference: Film University
6
Spaceship: Post-Covid community
UoL 3rd year studio project, Liverpool
Competition project, Paris
Internship in Jiakun Architect
!!! Click image for the project info and click project date on the left corner of the page to return this page !!!
金顶鸟瞰图
41
书院以原有地势作为基座，顺势而为，与景观梯田一体化，共同形成统一的体量； 梯田向建筑汇聚集中，并在屋顶达到高峰，形成场地中鲜明且具统率力的精神地标。 利用屋顶水面反光，使金顶上眺望时，能看到一个显明的建筑轮廓。
Architecture for youth: A non-institutional school learned from the counterculture spirit AA Year 5 Studio project Tutor: Davide Sacconi, Gianfranco Bombaci with Matteo Costanzo
The project investigates how architecture can articulate the fragile threshold between individual and collective identities, between the creative production and transmission of knowledge and its disciplinary reduction into social norms and institutions. The inquiry departs from a specific subject in China, the Shamate, a group of teenagers who in the 2000s challenged the way of life imposed on the young rural migrants by the political and economic system, giving life to a peculiar form of counterculture. Learning from this subject, the project imagines the studiolo as an architecture that supports the process of producing, creating, and exchanging knowledge: a school of relationships, a self-research centre, a living archive of experiences and practices where the endless negotiation of spaces and rules can amplify the individual and collective potential of being humans in a state of transition.
1:33 Model. The height difference creates a blurred border for each platform, leaving the space separated but united.
A non-institutional school beyond the normalised educational system can glue together this fragile youth, offering a platform of emancipation, where they could invent a new social role.
While rooted in a specific geographical, economic, and cultural condition, being a Shamate is a universal human condition, a possibility to inhabit the thin threshold
between individual and collective identities, between the desire for production and exchange of knowledge and its appropriation through norms and institutions.
Sewing the energy gap: Living in Gas AA Year 4 Studio project Tutor: Jonas Lundberg, Andrew Yau with Kayu Chen
The project is purposed to store the excess energy from potential resources that used to be underestimated and adjust the energy instability of authorities’ energy supply. The infrastructure is the new kinetic pneumatic fuel storage operated by the local community. It provides shared energy and place for surrounding neighbourhoods, reducing their reliance on the existing energy mix. The distinctive feature of this infrastructure is its shape-changing inflatable structure, which is visible to each user. Real-time monitoring of gas volume allows for efficient storage adjustments, while working hours and collapse percentage align with community-engaged activities, ensuring maximum benefit. With a focus on ecological interests, our project challenges centralized energy distribution and promotes community energy storage as a social enterprise, fostering a sustainable energy future and empowering local communities.
The interior pockets kinetic response to gas pressure.
1:50 Testing of dome foot
Minimum version of gas storage
1am
2am
3am
4am
5am
6am
7am
8am
9am
10am
11am
12am
1pm
Pumping in time 4:00 - 5:00 AM
2500 20 m x 30 m Samba clubs / Nightclub Special events
The top levels function as volume indicators, while the middle level and under-dome level inhabit the community. Air beams are inset at the stitches to limit deflation and create
Each household energy comsumption
2pm
3pm
e desired party space.
4pm
5pm
6pm
7pm
8pm
9pm
10pm
11pm
12pm Energy storage Plan Explosion Range
Band / artist show Circo Voador/ Barra Music/ Samba clubs / Nightclub Special events
Frame of Reference: Film University 3rd year studio project, Liverpool Tutor: Richard Dod
The film school, which is located near the Stanley Dock in north Liverpool, aims to express this city’s film culture to all visitors. The project’s emphasis on public participation sets it apart from traditional film schools.
Concept model: Drawing to Volume
For the overall planning strategy, the school only occupies half of the site and left an open plaza for all citizens to rest and enjoy the film’s atmosphere. Divided into five zones, including a film pavilion, film plaza, reception, main functional area, and external film studio, the design offers a curated film-related journey. Visitors can witness film production in the studio and explore studentmade film facilities in the workshop. Academic teaching areas are elevated to maintain a focused learning environment, while the film culture zone allows visitors to enjoy studentproduced films and encourages students to share their work.
Concept model: Volume to building
South elevation
North elevation
The artificial light brings vitality to the school during night time.
Film Studio
Workshop
External Studio
Lecture room / Classroom
Library / Writing room
Office / Meeting room
Cafe / Cinema/ Indoor exhibition
Outdoor cinema/ Exhibition
1
Privacy level
2
3
4
5
Frame of Reference: Film University UoL 3rd year studio project, Liverpool
Atrium: The openness of this place stimulates students to interact and join in various activities.
Film plaza: From the overhanging meeting room, people can view the plaza and the ocean in the distance.
Homely house: Studernt Co-living apartement 2nd year studio project, Liverpool Tutor: Richard Dod
Activities
Space of the living unit
Forms
4m Sleeping
4m
The primary goal is to create compact and efficient living spaces that seamlessly integrate bedrooms, bathrooms, and work areas. These units will be incorporated into a coliving apartment, acknowledging the emerging trend of co-living that fosters extended kinship among students during their social transition. The design considers the emotional challenges related to relocating and adjusting familial relationships, aiming to mitigate feelings of loneliness. The project seeks to promote community living and human interaction by optimizing spatial layouts, validated through physical models.
Change clothes
Study
Minimize the primate space The task asked to minimize living units to 4mx4m box. By overlapping and piecing spaces in various levels, a high-efficient space has formed.
Ascend a staircase
Exercise
Rest
Shower
Imagine the daily routine
Toilet
Referring to the motion study by Eadweard Muybridge, the daily motions are tested. Platforms' heights are based on the test, and they replace the furniture making space elastic for multiple users.
Life inside living units
0.7m 1.45m
0m
-1.2m
Four Levels • Level 1: Sleeping • Level 2: Study & Cloth changing • Level 3: Exercise • Level 4: Entrance & Bathroom
4mx4m private unit
Site Analysis
Transport
Church
Shadow
Building height
The entrance is set up based on the transport node and the route to universities.
The crucifix of the recent chapel remains. The grid refers to another cathedral bombed in WW2 in the site.
Living units are in maximum sunlight areas, and the darkest place transformed into a central courtyard.
The height of the project is limited to 14 meters by the nearby terrace houses.
Set designed spaces on site
Living unit
Multi-functional atrium
Recreation room
Shared catering
Vertical circulation
Co-working & Meeting
Cafe & Library
Reception
Red - Circulation, Black - Public space, Brown - Private space
Public space : The void left by private units
Void
Corridor
Shared space Resting
Kitchen
Eating
Storage
Eating
Public space: Multiple functions integrated with private units
Shared catering
Cafe & Library
Muti-functional atrium
Co-Working room
Billiards Room
Meeting room
Cinema room
Garden
Public space: Multi-functional atrium & corridor
Aerial view. Intersection of space & Human activities
Aging facade: As time passing by, stains will record history on this Brutalism building.
s
Precast concrete cladding decorates the in-situ concrete building. The zigzagged facade indicate the functions inside.
The crucifix in the entrance of the old church is remained as part of the east facing facade.
Pure gallery： A place for each citizen to share their stories 3rd year studio project, Liverpool Tutor: Anna Gidman
Air gallery
The urban explorer arrived at a space like no other. Beautiful sculptures were situated on an undulating surface, and slots in the ground showed glimpses of space beneath. Curiosity pulled her into the building, where she descended slowly down. There she encountered a large area with an undulating ceiling. The soft light came through from above. She wandered around the space and stopped at a painting that stirred something inside her. As she stood there, tears came to her eyes. Exploring further, she looked out on to a courtyard where leaves of ivy were softly moving in the breeze. She then ascended stairs rising higher and higher until she reached a new linear space. The art displayed here was beautiful and intense. With a sense of direction and purpose, she continued.
Extension of existed building
Existed terrace house
A. Urban block & Street B. Waste land & Train station
Entrance & Exist of journey
City gallery
Underground gallery C. Building scale
First Test Woolen yarns were used to fix the fabric. Because the thread is flexible and soft, a very crazy shape has been formed.
Second Test Wooden sticks were applied to fix the fabric. The flexibility of timbers is not as high as yarns. But the control on the fabric's boundary is insufficient.
Third Test The fabric is sewed to a cardboard-paper box ( Based on the site boundary and existed building). The model corresponds to the site and suits the demand.
City Gallery: Equal engagement gives to each citizen.
Variations of hanging chain model shells using plaster models
1. Underground gallery entrance 2. Air gallery entrance 3. Staff entrance 4. Reception 5. Clack room 6. Loading area 7. Bicycle parking 8. Parking A. Bar street B. Train station C. The art work D. Rebuild street
The Gallery Connects and reconstructs the urban context.
First & second floor
Air Gallery: Transparency lets everyone be themselves.
Basement -1
Basement -2
Underground Gallery: Hidden stories are expressed by artworks.
Spaceship: The operating manual for Post- Covid community
Hospital & disinfection of entrance
Competition project, Paris
The project aims to create a resilient and secure post-Covid community that provides a model for healthy urban living amidst the lingering threat of infectious diseases. The community will prioritize the health and wellbeing of its residents by incorporating a domestic medical system, equipping each residential unit with essential medical supplies and facilities for immediate care and isolation. Access to telemedicine services and resources for self-monitoring will also be provided. To minimize residents’ need to venture outside, a streamlined community delivery and storage system will be implemented, ensuring efficient supply of essential goods and services. Public spaces within the community will be redesigned to promote physical and mental well-being while minimizing the risk of transmission. This includes implementing pedestrian track systems to guide safe movement, reimagining facilities such as churches, gyms, and social spaces to accommodate reduced capacities, adequate ventilation, and regular disinfection protocols. The community’s infrastructure will be adaptable and flexible, allowing for quick adjustments in response to changing circumstances and potential future outbreaks.
Consultatio
Treatmen
Examinatio
Care & Isolat
on
Church and Memorial room
Storage & delivery
Housing units (4F) Memorial Room
Delivery robot in corridor
(3F) Pray room and confessional
Delivery track
(2F) Atrium
(G) Storage
nt
on
ation
(G) Garden
(1B) Automatic disinfection
(2B) Unload area & Freight elevator
Outside
E
D
B
A
C
E
D
Mourn for death, struggle to survive. A. Storage B. Church and memorial room C. Hospital and disinfection D. Gym E. Social center
Public spaces within the community will be redesigned to promote physical and mental well-being while minimizing the risk of transmission.
Terraced Horizons Museum Competition project 2023
TOILETS
Our architectural concept for this project can be defined as “Terraced Dual Nature.” It involves the interplay of two contrasting but complementary levels: Upper-Level Lightness The upper level of our building features a lightweight steel truss system that supports a delicate and open roof structure. This design element creates an impression of lightness and openness. Our upper terrace is envisioned as a place of serenity, where we can enjoy unobstructed views of the surrounding landscape. It feels as if it hovers above the earth, almost weightless, and embraces the surrounding nature. Lower-Level Solidity The lower level of our structure employs a robust brick and stone system, forming a substantial base that grounds the building. This solid foundation not only provides structural stability but also serves as a continuous platform that seamlessly integrates with the natural terrain. It is designed to offer a sense of permanence and durability, anchoring our building to the landscape.
1:200 Section
Skeleton Competition project 2019
The design aimed to explore a creative and convenient method to move from one floor to another. Functionally, a slope is combined into the staircase, allowing users to slide down. Morphologically, inspired by the spine of a whale, the staircase is not only the mimicry of organic form but shows the order and firmness of the skeleton. We try to explore how whale’s spine is interlocked and create the elegant self-supporting structure. The art of natural geometry is entirely presented in the design. Structurally, two concrete ring beams running through the staircase support the cantilevered steps and the slide. The reinforced beams are constructed in-situ after the placement of precast components. Loads of users transfer through the steps to the ring beams at one end. At another end, the steps become thinner to reduce the selfweight. 17 identical precast units are adopted that reduce the complexity of the production, minimize the cost and increase the feasibility. The components are locked together by the convex and concave joint and connected by two concrete beams. By altering the number of units, the height of the staircase is also adjustable to suit the various condition. Materially, UHPC (Ultra-HighPerformance Concrete) is chosen to increase the capability and durability of the structure.
4 28mm diameter stainless steel handrail 5 20mm diameter steel anchoring steel bar 10mm steel base plate 10mm steel shoes (bolted into concrete floor slab)
TOP
floor plate 2
MID
DLE
(x15
)
BAS
E
floor plate 1
2.4 1/20 scale Section: connection among components
4 7 2
5 UHPC (Ultra-High-Performance Fibre-Reinforced 1 Concrete)
UHPC provides high structural capability and durability. After polish, the staircase is smooth enough for users to slide from above. 3
5
acrylic panels
Steel
3 The balustrade designed as the extension of the steps. 6 It refers to the case that designed by Giorgio Borruso.
The whole structure is self-supported. Steel connection is used to bolt the staircase to floors.
2.1 Top component
2.2 Middle component
2.3 Base component
1 precast concrete component (75cm depth in stairs/ 100mm 01 Top component depth in slide)
3 reinforcement 02steel Middle component 150mm depth in-situ concrete beams (not shown in illustration) 3.fixing Steel bolts reinforcement 6
5 20mm diameter steel anchoring steel bar 0310mm Basesteel component base plate 10mm steel shoes (bolted into concrete floor slab) 20mm diameter steellight anchoring steel bar 75.LED round steel floor
2 15mm thick segmented acrylic balustrade panels
3 steel reinforcement 1. Precast concrete component (75cm depth in stairs/ 100mm 150mm depth in-situ concrete beams (not shown in depth in slide) illustration) 2. 15mm thick segmented acrylic balustrade panels 4 28mm diameter stainless steel handrail 3. steel reinforcement 5 20mm diameter steel anchoring steel bar 150mm depth in-situ concrete beams (not shown in 10mm steel base plate illustration) 10mm steel shoes (bolted into concrete floor slab) 4. 28mm diameter stainless steel handrail 5. 20mm diameter steel anchoring steel bar 10mm steel base plate 10mm steel shoes (bolted into concrete floor slab) TOP
150mm depth in-situ concrete beams (not shown in illustration) 6. Fixing bolts
10mm steel base plate 10mm steel shoes (bolted into concrete floor slab) 7. LED round steel floor light