(MEDIATING) SEAN LI 李宇翔 SELECTED WORK 2014-2023
PROLOGUE
“In accepting his role, the architect becomes an accomplice to the machinations of the system.” - Adolfo Natalini ‘I am of an inferior race for all eternity.’ -Arthur Rimbaud
“She said, ‘If you go slowly, you risk getting sunstroke. But if you go too fast, you work up a sweat and then catch a chill inside the church.’ She was right. There was no way out.” -Albert Camus
I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man? -Zhuangzi
THE HABITAT FACTORY: BUILDING BEYOND WALLS
Task: HOUSING &FACTORY&PREFAB location: KALSOY, FAROE ISLANDS Date: 2020-2021 Tutor: Beata hemer Partnership: Individual SPECIFICATION: "The Habitat Factory: Building Beyond Walls" is a groundbreaking response to the Faroe Islands' housing crisis. This project transforms a traditional factory into a dual-purpose entity: a site for manufacturing modular rooms and eventually, a community housing area. Workers are pivotal in this metamorphosis, evolving from laborers to homeowners, underscoring a shift from mere production to ownership and belonging. This initiative emerges amidst complex social issues: a surge in divorces linked to housing shortages, a gender deficit, and the cultural assimilation of a growing Asian minority. By converting the production space into living quarters, the project addresses housing scarcity head-on while fostering a sense of community and diversity. Beyond its architectural innovation, "The Habitat Factory" proposes a sustainable, resource-efficient model that resonates with the Faroes' unique cultural and demographic landscape. It symbolizes a future where construction nurtures community, and every home bears witness to resilience and collective effort.
Housing crisis Urban myth in the Faroe Islands states that the emergence of a housing association is responsible for the soaring divorce rate in the Faroe Islands. A decade ago, Faroese people would not get divorced. Since the housing association introduced a renting system in the Faroe Islands, Faroese people have started getting divorced. The Faroese government's focus on renting was prompted a decade ago when several Danish teachers left the country because they could not find a place to rent near the capital. There will be a shortage of nearly 3 000 homes on the rental market for the foreseeable future, which includes roughly a fifth of a country's population of just 50 000.
ASIAN BRIDE More than 300 women from Thailand and the Philippines live in the Faroes. It doesn't sound like a lot, but in a population of just 50,000 people, they now make up the most significant ethnic minority in these 18 islands. In new millennia, the Faroes have experienced population decline, with young people leaving, often searching for education, and not returning. Women have proved more likely to settle abroad. According to Prime Minister Axel Johannesen, the Faroes have a "gender deficit" with approximately 2,000 fewer women than men. This, in turn, has led Faroese men to look beyond the islands for romance. Many, though not all, Asian women, met their husbands online, some through commercial dating websites. Others have made connections through social media networks or existing Asian-Faroese couples. For new arrivals, the culture shock can be dramatic.
MANUFACTURING WALLS AND MODULAR ROOMS
FACTORY AS A NEW SITE FOR MANUFACTURING MODULAR ROOMS
ADAPTABLE FACTORY AS A COLLECTIVE HOUSING PROJECT
FACTORY AS A NEW SITE FOR COMMUNITY SPACE
ON SQUATTING AS A SPATIAL PRACTICE, BUILDING SPACE OF APPEARANCE TOGETHER
Task: Graduation Project Date: 2022-2023， Tutor: Niels Grønbæk Partnership: Collective works SPECIFICATION: The squatter movement has had an underestimated impact on the shaping of urban space in Copenhagen. This proposal explores the spacial practice of the squatter movement in public space, and how the spatial legacy represented by these practices can be a lasting spatial dialogue through new intervention with today's city in the kløvermarken. An architectural ethnography was carried out on Den Sorte Firkant (the Black Square ) with a fridge (2020-now), Folkets Hus (squatted in 1971-now) and Byggeren (1973-demolished in 1980). Through the investigation, the concept of the space of appearance by Hannah Arendt emerged and allied with the squatted public space, which introduced the project into the spacial intervention phase. Those interventions included different scales, the Urban “Squatting ”On Street Lights as the tactic of place-making. Charging stations, firewood stations, bee hotels, and street light swings, all adhere to the street light pole yet activate surroundings at the Small level. At the Middle Level, A Teahouse Squatted Under A Table is designed for a bigger congregation and a shelter, providing homeless, unvoiced youth with a platform. On the architectural level, A Commonalities' House Squatted On A Billboard is proposed with the need for public spaces of the squatter's community where individuals can come together to interact, express themselves, and engage in collective action for civic engagement and meaningful political discourse
MAPPING OF SQUATTER MOVEMENT HISTORY
3D WORKS WITH SPATIAL STORY-TELLING AND ARCHIVE
ARCHITECTURAL ETHNOGRAPHY ON DEN SORTE FIRKANT (1980-2022)
ARCHITECTURAL ETHNOGRAPHY ON KLØVERMARKEN (2021-2023)
ARCHITECTURAL ETHNOGRAPHY AFTER SPATIAL INTERVENTION
CLAN, COMMUNITY, COUNTRYSIDE Task Urabn Design location:Kuming, Yunan province Date: JUNE-JULY,2018,8 weeks Tutor:ZHIHONG WU Group work :Concept generation,Diagram Drawing,Rendering,graghic design SPECIFICATION: This project aims to rejuvenate community ties and address environmental issues in three phases: Reviving Community Spaces: We'll enhance social bonds by renovating traditional spaces and introducing new communal areas, using local involvement and traditional techniques to strengthen cultural identity and communication. Building Clan-Based Infrastructure: By reorganizing resources and constructing elements like canals and communal spaces, we plan to merge family units into a unified, resourcesharing community, promoting collective growth. Implementing Ecological Solutions: Post-community consolidation, we'll introduce hydroponic agriculture to combat lake pollution, fostering environmental responsibility and encouraging wider community cooperation for a sustainable future.e.
SITE & IMPRESSION
RESEARCH OF CHINESE RURAL AREA
THE DISTRIBUTION OF CLAN
STEP1: Reintegration of Dispersed Public Space (patriarchal clan system-oriented ) The first step is to reinforce the existing community of family name, renovate the original activity space, and improve the quality of the current population. Specific sites are chosen to rebound the existed community which shares the same family name. Based on the site survey, It is concluded that the current situation of the site is that people use the public space to grow vegetables, chat, hang clothes and raise poultry. By reintegrating these existing behaviors, the loose bonds will be reinstated, a robust connected patriarchal clan system will be established
PUBLIC UNITS
STEP 2: Integration into New Community (Clan+Regions Oriented) After the re-integration of the clan, the clan was reintegrated with different regions to form a new community-oriented by the district and family. Such a new community was bound together with three elements of Shared resources, future development direction and spatial connection, which was respectively carried out in three linear Spaces: canal, main street and dianchi lake coast.
RAMMED EARTH BULILDINCi DEMONSTRATION DETAILS DEMONSTRATION RENOVATION FOR HOTEL
DEMONSTRATION RENOVATION FOR TEAHOUSE
DENSE YET SPARSE
Task：Studio Design location：DALI, Yunan province Date: SEP. 2018, 4 weeks Tutor: None Partnership: Individual SPECIFICATION: In this project, it is an experiment in the translation of traditional Chinese aesthetic philosophy into a universally understandable architectural language. In the art of classical Chinese calligraphy and seal cutting, it follows the principle of "BEING SPACIOUS ENOUGH FOR A HOUSE TO GALLOP IN BEING SO DENCE THAT NOT A BREATH OF AIR CAN PASS THROUGH," starts from the existing formal language of the existing architecture, combines the function of the studio with the traditional Chinese aesthetic principle, and aims at connecting the so-called mysterious classic Chinese aesthetic with modern architecture. From the plan to the section, the spatial density brings different spatial feelings and endows various spatial programs.
THE SPACE AND FEELING
Plan drawings
AUTORITÆRE GRÆNSER, EN FALSK EN AUTHORITARIAN BOUNDARIES, A FAKE ONE This is a daily dystopia in a city on the border between China and North Korea. The design is a watchhouse, a border market, a square, residences, and children's playgrounds. Here, the legacy of communism and the prosperity of the market economy, juxtaposition, tittytainment and propaganda coexist, and monuments and daily life interact. Here provide dark corners for defectors Here provides a bright tower for the army This is where Mao Zedong is an icon and also a consumed icon, and so is Kim. Life itself is dispelling huge in this dystopia, and building this dystopia is resisting idols. This is a hodgepodge of semantic metaphor and iconic symbolization, the exploding gesture of architecture from the perspective of daily life. It is no longer a spectacle, but like the signboards of cafes and supermarket advertisements, the routine of this dystopia. It is a challenging narrative, not about war, ideology, God's perspective, Western theory, and rationalism here. These single narratives become the background, and people are the protagonists. Where are the people？
PLAYABLE, WATCHABLE, WALKABLE
Task：Stadium design location：Kuming, Yunan province Date: April-May，2018，8 weeks Tutor: Wei Guo Group work :Concept generation, Diagram Drawing, Rendering, Model making SPECIFICATION: This design comes from the in-depth exploration of the typology of gymnasiums and proposes that gymnasiums should be designed as a public building to stimulate the vitality of places and for people's activities, while traditional Chinese gardens are handled adequately based on the relationship between site and people's movements. Therefore, this design is proposed based on understanding the artistic conception of Chinese gardens, which is " mountain-like, water-like, earth-like" in form and " playable, watchable, walkable" in function. Based on satisfying the existing tasks of gymnasiums, it follows the ancient laws and promotes humanity..
FACADE DETAIL
WALKING WITH THE CHANGE OF VIEWS
A VILLAGE, A RUIN, A MUSEUM
Task: Museum Design location : Wulong village,Kunming, Yunan province Date: March-May. 2016 8 weeks Tutor: JIANFENG YE Partnership: Individual SPECIFICATION: The design is a purely conceptual proposal. Facing the problem of the considerable scale difference between the villages on the edge of the urban area and the newly developed areas around it, I conceptualized a part of the existing town as the museum itself, to preserve the rarely seen texture and space in the city. the building USES the relationship between the village's nolli map and the boundary to form the volume, sorting out the original negative space of the town. Then, the column is used as a medium to play a transitional role between the entity and space and can bring the corresponding sense of ruins and sanctity to the site. Finally, the repetition, the divinity and transparency of pillar elements are used to build a landscape along the dianchi lake. The regeneration of village texture, the creation of deity, and commemoration are the critical points of this design.
EVERYDAY MONUMENTALITY
Task：Culture Complex Design Date: MAY.- JUN. 2019，8 weeks Tutor: HUI ZHAI Partnership: Individual SPECIFICATION: Situated amidst the expansive farmland, "Everyday Monumentality" is a project that reflects the potent essence of its surroundings. This architectural endeavor doesn't just adapt to the landscape; it emerges from it, capturing the profound tranquility of the open fields in its structure. The design is deliberate, employing arches, walls, and columns not merely as structural elements, but as thematic devices that signify durability and timelessness. Each space within the design promises its unique narrative, contributing to the complex whole. The project emphasizes the grace of architectural autonomy, prioritizing harmony in proportion, reverence in scale, and honesty in mass. Drawing from the rich lessons of history, the design is a homage to the Beaux-Arts aesthetic, characterized by its sober elegance and profound simplicity. This architectural language, reduced to its most essential form, becomes a silent yet significant commentary on the universal qualities that buildings can embody.interaction within architectural forms. It's about recognizing the monumental impact of architecture in its most accessible, routine form, and how it silently shapes and enhances our everyday existence
PLAN
SECTIONS
CHAIR-LOKIT location：Architacture Studio Date: May.2015 (6 weeks) Property: Group work (leader of 3
OTHERWORKS
LAMP-CUBES Date: JUN.2017 (2 weeks) Property: Group work (leader of 3)
Bio-Architecture Formasana Architectural Intern
2019 aipei, Taiwan
• Revised facade design and modified the solar system of the roof in Taoyuan Waste to Energy Plant BOT Project, Taiwan • Developed facade modifications, Calculated and collected dates for LEED in Taipei Nanmen Market, Taiwan • Coordinated with the senior architects with the plan arrangement and Revised material of the renewal project of Multipurpose Gongguan Distribution Pond, Taiwan • Model making and PPT sorting for the Elderly hospital of national Chengkong university • Assessed preliminary research and drafted the proposal for the project in the Taipei YWCA building project, Taiwan
Kungong Fanya Design Group Architectural Intern
2018 Kunming, China
• Participated in the site analysis, designed each block in the key area urban design in Baoshan, Yunnan province • Participate in the urban concept design, drafted several facades for the market in urban design and market design of a hot spring town, Anning, Yunnan province
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE SURVEV AND JIAMA Date: JULE, 2017 (2 WEEKS) Property: Group work (leader of 4)
China-Japan Urban Renewal Workshop
2018
• Collaborated with four graduate students from Waseda University and Hunan university to develop solutions for the regeneration of an ancient city -- quality improvement design of public space in Phoenix Town, Hunan Province. • Analysed site conditions and problems, Conceptualised the instalments and Introduced a project to activate the local community.
李宇翔 / Sean /Yuxiang Li https://www.instagram.com/seanandxiang/ +45 91191535 liyuxiangsean@gmail.com yli@arkitekterudengraenser.dk