Fei Chen | work samples
Fei Chen
915-3900 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA feic@design.upenn.edu (+1) 215-559-4625
Fei Chen EDUCATION University of Pennsylvania Master of Architecture Landscape Studies Certificate
AWARDS Philadelphia, United States | 2009-2013
Green, Urban, Global exhibition Philadelphia | 2013 Mario J Romanach fellowship
University of Toronto Honors Bachelor of Arts Major of Architectural studies-design | Major of Economics
Toronto, Canada | 2005-2009
PennDesign | 2011 E. Lewis Dales Traveling Fellowships PennDesign | 2011
EXPERIENCE
Student award nominee
Atelier Jean Nouvel Paris, France | Feb. - Aug. 2012 Intern architect - facade panelling development for Philharmonie de Paris - submittal material preparation and model making for National Art Museum of China
Volunteer honorarium
Contemporary Architecture Practice Intern architect - schematic diagram design - presentation and book layout - video making Peddle Thorp Architects-Shanghai Intern architect - CAD drafting for residential building Toronto Design Exchange Curator assistant, Front desk Grigorian Design Group Intern architect - CAD drafting and image rendering - presentation and booklet layout Academic Employment Graduate Assistant - Master of Architecture Core Design Studio III assistant - Research assistant of IKStudio -Simon Kim
PennDesign | 2010
New York, USA | Jun. - Sep. 2011
Shanghai, China | Jun. - Aug. 2010
Toronto, Canada | Feb. 2008- May. 2009
Shanghai, China | May. - Aug. 2008
PennDesign | Sep. - Dec. 2012
Toronto Design Exchange | 2008 Faculty of Arts and Science Dean’s list University of Toronto | 2006
SKILLS 3D and Rendering Rhinoceros Maya Grasshopper + TSpline Vray + Maxwell 2D Drafting AutoCAD Revit Model foam, wood, acrylic
Graphics and Video Photoshop Illustrator InDesign Lightroom AfterEffects Premiere Language English| Fluent Chinese | Native French | Intermediate
fei chen | work samples
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Infused Fields Monastery for the Order of the Cistercians Bucks County, Pennsylvania A “field condition” was created by the superimposition of various mappings of the site; multiple “thresholds” are extracted from the field and furthermore transformed into programmatic and formal language. The monastery employs herb planting as a medium that activates different programs across the day and the seasons; which helps to construct a ever lively site and generates new economic possibilities for the monastery. The overall form is composed by discrete volumes which were all one part of a pure cube, which represents the sublime of the spiritual world of the Cistercians. Eight buildings indicated the eight Canonical Hours of a monastic day, which structures the daily life of the monks and lay brothers. Each volume is calibrated to accommodate various programs with the focus of the integration of plantations. A large deck is introduced as a continuous carpet that blends the architecture and the existing topography, and also as an operational base for herb planting lots, which can be easily obtained by removing part of the deck. A combination of perennial and seasonal plants helps the conservation of biodiversity.
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The cube represents the strict order of Cistercians
The cube is divided in to eight volumes
Volumes being adjusted in position and height to accommodate different programs
Rotate the roof towards south and apply solar panels
Apply fenestration to south-east facades
Add on green roof to reduce the heat loss in the winter and to cool down the room during the summer.
A deck that create a continuous carpet that connects the buildings and the topography
Treatment on the deck encourages promenade and blends into the landscape
General G en ra O Of Offices ice
Library L ibr bra y
Father a he Ab A Abbot bbo ott O Office f ce Classroom C ass oom General G n r lM Meeting eetti g R Ro Room o m
Chapter C h pter H House u e
Chapel C hapell
Nave N e
Refectory R efe ory ef
Kitchen K h and d Pantry antry
Screening Room S Lateral La L ae erra / V Vertical e ic Circulation C lat on
Gate G Ga ate House Hou use / Lobby Lobb by
Guest uesst D Dining in nii g R Room om
Visitor V is tor Hall Ha
Bookstore B ooks kst re
Infirmary n m ry
Monk o Hall alll
Lay L ay B Brother rothe H Hall al
Garden G ar de en n
C Cloister oiss
Kitchen Kitch t h n and a d Pant a try antr y
Nav Na ave a v ve
Chap C h p hap pe e el
Screening S c e n ng R Room om
Chap Ch Cha C hapter ha h hap a ap pte p ter te e Ho H Hou o ou use us u se s e Inf In nfir fiirma firm ffirma iirm ir rma rrm m ma ary ary ry Guest G Gu Gue u ue estt D e Din iin niiing nin ning n ng Room ng om m
Re Refe R efffe efe e e ec ctory cto c ct to to tory orrry ory y
Mo on onk n nk kh ha all Vis isito isi iisit sito s ito orr Ha o alllll all
Gene Ge Gen G en ene e ne errral al O Offf fffiices iice ces ess Clla Cl assroo ass a sroo om
G e Hou Gate H us se / L se Lobby Lob o y
Cloiste Clo Clois Cloi C lois lloi loist ois oist ois isst ster ter tte er er Gardens Gard G Ga ar ard dens
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Bookstore Book Boo B ookstore ook o ooksto oo ok ok okst ks ksto kstor sto st sto orrre ore e General Meeting Room
La atteral te eral e ral all / Vert Vertic Ver V Ve ert r c rtic ca cal al C al Circ Circula Circulat Ci irculat cu ulation ulatio la ation tittion io on n
Lay L ay ay Brothe B Bro Brot Broth Brro rotthe roth th ther h rH Ha Hall al l
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Library Libr L Lib ib ib bra rrary rar ra ary ar a rry y
Father F ather athe ath a tthe ther th he err Abbo Ab A Abbot bbo bbo ott Offic Of Off Office ffffiiicce fffi ce
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Planting Strategy
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4 3
14
April
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8
7
6
9
10
11
July
12 13
1 - Gate house
October
2 - Visitors Hall 3 - Father Abbot’s Cell 4 - Office 5 - Chapel 6 - Library 7 - Infirmary
8 - Classroom 9 - Refectory 10 - Kitchen 11 - Monk Hall 12 - Lay Brother Hall 13 - Barn 14 - Cloister
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Iron
FeO
Fe2O3
Fe2O3
Fe2O3
Fe3O4
Hydrated Fe2O3
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8.2
7.0
4.0
Symphonic Transformation Performing Art Center, Battery Park City, NY Group project with Hanxiao Liu
Situated at the lower west Manhattan, this project is developed based on a site driven strategy which aims to create a green corridor that provides a visual connection of the parks of the neighborhood and the Battery Park at the waterfront. The employment of green spaces throughout the building serves as a catalyst of programmatic organization. The green area on the ground level helps to form an site responsive, uninterrupted path; which swirls up and become a shared public area for both visitors and the students of the music conservatory located on the third level. On the theater floor, the green space transforms into the resting area for music goers during the intermission; and on the rooftop it buffers two programmatic zones. The green space leads a route of promenade through the building, activates and pauses human activities, and make all the programs seamlessly work together as a cohesive integration. The architectural design was dictated by the aggregation of a single unit, which transforms according to the requirements of site, program, space and circulation. This building also incorporates a hybrid structural system with intensive landscaping both in the interior and exterior.
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0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Water Content
Roof Terrace
3d Building Section
Seperate Merge
Rooftop Theatre
Green space as the catalyst of program organization Connect
Two major auditoriums
Top create buffer zone between two programmatic spaces Mid create shared public space for different programs
Bottom create visual connection with the site
Program Strategy
Outdoor Theatre
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TOP OF THE BUILDING = + 133.00’
I.
22 ‘
27.0 ‘
5‘
6FL
UPPER AUDITORIUM
II.
16 ‘
20.0 ‘
4‘
5FL
RECORDING STUDIOS
Theatre Interior
11 ‘
14’ 6”
3’ 6”
4FL
REHEARSAL ROOMS
III.
9’ 6”
13’ 1”
3’ 6 “
3FL
CLASSROOMS
IV.
10’ 6”
14’ 2”
3’ 6”
2FL
RESTAURANT
V.
CAFE / BOOKSTORE 24 ‘
27’ 6”
3’ 6”
1FL
AGL
Rooftop Garden
Terrace of Music Conservatory
Wall Section 21 ‘
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A 1
outdoor auditorium
artists lounge
open to below cafe Rehearsal room
backstage
library
DN bookstore
A 2
DN
tea room
DN
open to below
DN artists' lounge
DN
A 3
information/ customer service
music store
Rehearsal room
open to below DN
retail
A 4
retail
storage bar
exhibition space cloak room
cloak room
cafe
restroom
scenary storage
staff office
scenary storage parking
changing room
entrance loading/
backstage
backstage
service area
costume storage
Ground floor Plan
Lower theatre Plan
Top Soil
Âą0.00
Geo-textile drainage/filter
0.80
-2.40
Glass curtain wall
High density protective layer Waterproof membrane Foam insulation Vapor barrier Breath layer Screed sloped to drain Floor slab Concrete fill Metal decking Steel beam
0.80 0.80
Upper theatre Plan
Polished Turkish Limestone tile Deck Mortar bed 1 3/4"
Stainless Steel Gutter 4" drain concrete curb
sprinkler
Scratch Coat
top soil
Polished Turkish limestone tile
3.60
top soil
Concrete tank Bond coat -6.00
EPS EP PS rigid rig igid ig gid id foam ffo oam am m insulation in nsssul n ulllat at atio to tio on n EPS
EPS E EP PS rig PS rrigid ri gid gi gid d foam ffo oa oam am insulation am in insu in ns su sula sula atio at io on n
Mortar bed Mortar bed bond coat
Building Structure
Slope to drain
A 1
A 1
A 2 A 2
A 3
A 4
A 3
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Building model 1/16”=1”-0’
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Museum board
2
1
3
LandRover Defender 110 by Shilgi Architects, ISRAEL
cadcoaching.co.uk
LandRover Defender 110 by Shilgi Architects, ISRAEL
LandRover Defender 110 by Shilgi Architects, ISRAEL
HUMMER by Shilgi Architects, ISRAEL
Longitudinal Section
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Shifting Hybrids A New Hotel & Residential Building TriBeCa, New York This building is designed to become a microcosm of the Tribeca area, and to reflect the sophistication of the neighborhood. A cohesive architectural language is employed formally and programmatically to exhibits a fluid flow from the exterior facade to the interior partitions, and to construct a continuous experience of spaces as people moving from one area to another. The typology of residential floor plans is broken by inserting different public programs and allowing them to carve out the floor plates. These public areas, either quiet or vibrant, will serve the residents and hotel guests, and will also invite visitors from all over the city.
Front Facade Detail
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Bakery
Inventory
-8.50
-10.00
Grocery down
Pharmacy
-10.00 ±0.00
Plan B1
Loading Zone
Doorman ±0.00 ±0.00 Residence Entrace
Retail 1 Luggage Check-In Hotel Entrance Fitting room
Retail 2
±0.00 up ±0.00
Drop-off Area
Public Entrance to B1
Plan F1
Storage
open to below Kitchen +12.00
down
Terrace
down
Bar
Plan F2
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Section drawing composite
3d Section
2nd floor terrace
2nd floor terrace night view
Main entrance
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Rhizomatic Fabrics Aggregated Streetscape Aspern, Vienna, Austria Group project with Qiyao Li
The intention of the project is to design a population of streets as architectural mega-forms. By populating these mega-forms through an urban territory, these streets should generate a rhizomatic urban fabric to connect the fragmented postmodern urban projects of the city of Vienna. A traditional Vienna’s Gothic street typology is replaced by three mega blocks which cracked into smaller components. Conditions of high density alleyways, exterior open spaces and broad passages are redefined by reconfiguring the height and placement of the components. A series of curvilinear spaces is introduced three dimensionally to identify the various conditions of a street, which transform from open plazas to lobbies to completely interior rooms. Under this paradigm, the street is no longer the left over area between buildings but a spatial experience intergrated above/below/inside the buildings.
Vaults
Traditional Street Typology Passage
Superposition of Mega-Blocks One-Sided Arcade
Cracking and Merging
Arcade and Alley
Open Plaza Emergence of New Sreet
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Street Typology A
Street Typology B
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Study Model
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C B
B A
A
A
Physical Model 1/32”=1’-0” 3d print component + Museum board
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B
D E G
G
F C
D
E
F
Plan
C
D
E
F
Section
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Drifted Grid Relaxing Center and Library Iceland Group project with Qiyao Li
Based on the research of Mies’s National Gallery of Berlin and the BMW car project by Olafur Eliasson, this project employs the grid system in multiple layers of membranes in orders to negotiate and create micro-climates and use environmental factors as agents to generate connections and separations of spaces. The building consists of three layers, each of them has an undulating form that is developed by the principle of catenary system. Water floods into the bottom bath level on a daily basis, the different flooding area on low tide and high tide generates a shifting and ambiguous boundary that delineates the interior and exterior. The grid of the mid membrane applies a gradient of distance towards the outside therefore results a change in magnitude of undulation. The membrane reads from flat floor plate to structural support, where it meets the bottom layer becomes enclosed room and where it joins the top layer a skylight is cut out. The roof is designed as translucent membranes pillows to better conserve the heat in the interior and to make the second floor a light filled space. Thin columns are employed to differentiate the spatial quality from the bath level.
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Low Tide
interior
transitional
exterior
Medium Tide
interior
transitional
exterior
High Tide
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1
9
A
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
A Amphitheater
Relaxing Area
B
B
Amphitheater
Rest Zone
Cafe
C
C Performance Area
D
D
Amphitheater
Sauna
Massage
Steam Room
Steam Room Cafe
Hot Bath Hot Bath
E
E
F
F
Cold Bath Hot Bath
Sauna
Sauna
Hot Bath Sauna Rest Zone
relaxing area
Cafe
G
G
Pool
Changing Area
Bath
reading area
Cafe
Cafe
Sports
H
H
Office
Changing Rest Zone
Reception
I
I
Library Level Plan
I
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H
G
F
E
Bath Level Plan
D
C
B
A
I
H
Column Positions
Entrance
Shifted Grid Magnitude
Library / Study Area
Slippage
G
F
E
D
C
B
A
Outdoor Tidal Bath 0
10
20
40
80
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A CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) Analysis is executed in order to visualize and evaluate the various micro-environments generated by formal differentiations. By carefully designing the placement and size of openings, the flow of the hot and cold air can be controlled therefore different types of indoor spaces can be achieved with the same formal strategy.
Indoor Bath
Outdoor Bath Viewing from 2nd Level
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05:32-05:51
03:26-03:28---06:37-06:44
Scenario 2 The staircase make of transparent materials enables the transition of viewing/being viewed of a subject.
Scenario 1 A twisted staircase creates perplexity and also allows 360 degree viewing conditions for the subjects situated in the middle.
Urban Spectatorship
03:14-03:20
Avery Fisher Hall Lobby Reappropriation Lincoln Center, New York
Scenario 3 Staircase also encourages subjects to consicously engage in the change of vantage point and invites them to sit down and observe.
A staircase becomes a vantage point which generates a series of spectator-event scenarios. The conventional configurations of programs are rewritten and recomposed through these specified vantage points, movements, and calibrated light conditions. The arrangement of program produces different scenarios of viewing and being viewed. Different programmatic spaces are connected, and each one becomes the extension of the others.
01:26-01:35 stage(stand)---actors(viewers)
stand(stage)---viewers(actors)
Scenario 4 Moreover, Staircase has the quality of both stage and stand, on which the subject becomes the performer and the viewer at the same time according to different reference frames.
Staircase scenario application daytime concert DJ night
1, 2
service
3, 4
VIP
stage sta
Bar Lounge DJ stage
stands
film screening
private events
screen 3
seating g
dance floor d
cafe Bar Service Bar storage
backstage
4 platform p latfo
catwalk
seating
dance floor
change room
stage
stands
canopy
2
3 3, 4
swing dance class periodic programs spatial flow
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fashion week outdoor concert
exsiting 2nd floor lobby
+18' 0" cafe
section2
DJ stand
Bar service section1
dancing floor
reappropriation
+21' 10"
concert seating
runway +18' 0"
inversion
branching
wrapping
movie screening/ exhibition +34' 5" bench +30' 9" DJ stand
+36'
+41' 4"
+39' 1"
private event +47' 6"
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Professional Works Philharmonie de Paris Atelier Jean Nouvel Panelling System development of the Philharmonie de Paris. Using 2d and 3d tools to design the paving system of the grand walkway, the and the screen. Created 3d simulation for the coloration of panels based on the images designed by the graphic artist and helped to produce the shop drawing for a 1:1 prototype.
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W06 B
6A
W0
( D
( E
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