Portfolio 2017-2023

Portfolio

Selected Works

2017-2023

Content

Vernacular botanical garden based on underground railway

2019 indivisual thesis project

Playground and bike route alongside riverbank

2020 professional project

My projects strive to create environmental integrity with harmonization or confrontation by weaving the existing context and implanted architecture or landscape all together.

Flagship car store x residential space in old block

2017 indivisual studio project

Re-infrastructuring NCKU

2019 indivisual studio project

Redefine city gate with a 1km-sequence of public spaces

2023 professional project

Workshop, publication, studio tutorial, photography

professional project indivisual studio project & appendix

City's Disclosure 01

Site/ Kaohsiung City, Taiwan (2019)

Instructor/ Chen-Luen Hsueh (clhsueh@mail.ncku.edu.tw / (+886)6-2757575#54109)

Awards/

Grand Prize, Kaohsiung City Architects Association

Honorable Mention, Department Thesis Design Award

Attendance, Int'l Forum for Architecture Thesis Design (Ministry of Education)

Reveal, reconnect, and revegetate

The project aims to discover the changing in Kaohsiung City from the industrial to the post-industrial era, trying to assume the future with co-existing greenery and industrial sites by implanting a vernacular botanical garden to replace a totally wiped-out massive urban renewal. In the upcoming future, the garden will gradually spread out along the railway site and become part of the net project of the "National Botanical Garden Plan of Eco-Ark".

Vernacular botanical garden based on underground railway

Model Collage/ design node 1: "Seed Forest" Timeline/ the evolution of "Black Painting", a local paint party rooted in Kaohsiung City

1917-94 _日本淺野水泥株式會社 _台泥接手，'94停工

_林爽文事件，舊城破敗

1908-86

_ 縱貫鐵路修建後，鳳山支線首站 _'41高雄車站啟用，'86三塊厝車站停用

1899-1992

_鮫島煉瓦工廠

1937-2020

_ 南進政策，興建高雄站場及宿舍區 _'18鐵路新村拆除剩下二公頃

The confrontation between the city's development and its identity Kaohsiung City thrived with the development of railways and ports but gradually fell apart with political development after the railway went underground. Walking along the 16km railway route, I start to observe both sides of the railway, from the emerging replanning area, the Main Railway Station, to the suburbia. There is a huge gap between the intensity of urban development and of my personal perception of the 2km bend of the railway.

Vanishing infrastructure as the industrial city's last identity

At the 2km bend of the railway, the Gu Mountain and Love River along with 3 nodes form a strong industrial city image to me, and almost reflect the city's past and upcoming future.

The first cement factory in Taiwan, the Love River that used to be a wood storage pond, and the old settlement of Sanfong Market Street, which is crowded on New Year's Eve but extremely deserted during weekdays.

Is it possible to both preserve the vanishing urban memory and prepare for future demand?

Breeding

Purifying Programming

The 2km green industry, at the turning point of the era

From the seed bank inside Shou Mountain, the seed forest next to the cement factory, the purification park on Love River Railway Bridge to the data center at Sankuaicuo Station, the three nodes of the botanical garden are connected by urban farms and flower gardens, along with campuses and abandoned industrial areas, to create green productivity in a post-industrial society on the premise of purifying the land.

The selection of plant species at important nodes also refers to the《Red Book on Conservation of Native Plants in Taiwan》, so that the post-railway botanical garden will become part of the context of plant conservation in Taiwan's flatlands after returning to the local texture in the future.

[Node 1] Seed Forest: tall tree nurseries begin from riverbank wetlands

Places cut out by the circulation area become wetlands and tall tree nurseries with land -restoring functions. The elevated path once built for cement transportation is now used for connecting the seeds bank inside Shou Mountain. The newly constructed intertwined path weaves the planting nursery and existing urban context altogether. The center of the forest is equipped with a botanical garden office and a community activity center to provide services for the aging population in the old industrial area. The pillars act like indoor forests and the backfilled earth connects circulations from the ground to the roof. On the rooftop, the view of the Shou Mountain, Yuanheng Temple complex, and the cement factory brings back industrial memories.

1/100 Design Model (60*120cm)/ texture of the once industrial city...

Taiwan Cow-tail Fir H=20m

Machilus zuihoensis H=15m

Ground Ivy Honeysuckle

plant tower

roof terrace

Oldham's Azalea

[Node 2] Perception Purifier: a parasitic pedestrian bridge and purificatory surroundings

Part of the railway bridge body is retained and reprogrammed as composter machinery. The 12-meter-high canopy defines an area for citizens to recycle daily leftovers and get back clean soils. From the plaza, people may easily get access to the bridge, as it slightly tilts and cantilevers southward to provide spatial experience that resembles sitting on a turning train. With the gentle slope and stepping, people may observe the river under the bridge and even get on ships at the dock. Floating islands are planted with purificatory plants, and also resemble the floating woods of the city's industrial era. Neem and eggplant trees are carefully planted in an abandoned electric power plant. Walking on the bridge, visitors experience the overlapping of industry and nature across from the river.

Azalea

Plan(+1.5m)/ spatial intervention to transform the Love River into "Perception Purifier" C D C' D'

CC' Section/ canopy that defines soil exposed plaza and community activity space 8 City's Disclosure /

Community Marketing Seed Library

Herbal Garden Heritage

railway station herbal garden

station heritage tea house

seed library farmer's market Masterplan/ design node 3: from market street to "Greenfinger Data Center"

mansions' melo canopy San-Fung Arch Market 0 5 10 20 40m

9 City's Disclosure /

[Node 3] Greenfinger Data Center: from market goods to seed distribution

As soon as you leave the new railway station, you can smell the native herbs such as cinnamon and mint, which mark the entrance of SanFong Market Street.

The seed library floats on the formal railway route and has skins that act as seed storage. People may walk around the slope to lend seeds back and plant on nearby gardens. In between the ground level and the underground railway lies a distribution center, to send seeds to nearby schools and outdated industrial areas.

Compared with the old settlements, the other side of the railway is a newly constructed mansion area. The 8-meter melon canopy defines the height of the future publicity while maintaining the overall productivity of the Botanical Garden.

[Shou Mountain]

seed gallery

tree logistic station research centre

seed library mansions' melo canopy

railway

Flame Gold-rain Tree

Beadtree

seed data center and herbal garden above the underground railway that weave the urban contexts altogether

Section/ the multi-layered seed center constructed above, on, and under the ground

Thoughts:

What if the main industry for a post-industrial city is somehow green, eco-friendly, and full of vibrancy...?

What if the railway constructed by the Japanese for colonization usage could be used as a massive linear urban void space, to connect scarce habitats within a crowded city...?

What if formal massive industrial devices can still serve other purposes in the coming future, and live their new life...?

What if the main urban regenerate strategy is overlapping, instead of wiping all out?

What if manmade constructions can become mediators between human activities and natural landscapes, complex historical and cultural conflicts...?

1/100 Design Model(60*120cm)/ Node 3 (Greenfinger Data Center), Node 2 (Perception Purifier), Node 1 (Seed Forest)

1/50 Detail Model (60*80cm)/ Node 3 (Greenfinger Data Center)

Playful Pier 02

Playground and bike route alongside Yilan River Bank

Site/ Yilan City, Taiwan (constructed, 2019-2020)

Role/ Project Architect

Contribution/ SD & DD & CD Documentation

Team Member/ Han-Hsun Tsai(CD), Shen-Ju Chen(Construction Supervisor)

Supervisor/ Sheng-Yuan Huang(Principal), Huang-Shie-Yao Liu(CEO), Chih-Chung Yang(Construction Manager)

Reshape the dike from a barrier to a playful landscape

The dike built alongside the Yilan River in 1901 stopped seasonal flood and turned Yilan City into a habitable farming wonderland. By reshaping and distorting the dike, the project aims to build a continual public spatial sequence from a wooden monumental platform of the dike's builder, several lookouts and bike stops, to a playground that merges manmade and natural riverside landscapes together.

In-Between/ the playful landform that bridges human activities, river system, and mountain view.

Materials that reflect macro environment and playful activities

As the river joins and turns toward the sea, the dike-like landform covered with pebble stones protects the playground from the flood, yet ensure silver grasses' growth, forms a protective yet penetrable landscape.

The enclosed playground with synthetic rubber and terazzo paving shapes a soft and safe area in the middle of the grassland. The shade provided by the viaduct marks the resting area with weather protection.

The stele monument on the concrete dike was constructed for commemorating the embankment. The ironwood platform and basalt stairs define the monumental and timeless area, also downscale the existed massive concrete dike to human level.

Section

transition of material and atmosphere Environmental Plan/ the river joint and location of the Playful Pier Site Plan/ the elevated bridge and the curved contours of dike-shaped landform

RC dike (filled with vernacular shrubs)

Flagship car store x residential space in old block

Site/ Tainan City, Taiwan (2017)

Instructor/ Po-Nian Chen (framework.arch@gmail.com / (+886)4-2475-7612)

Award/ Youth Talent Award, Tainan City Architects Association

From Old Block Context to Future Branding Center

The project aims to combine residential spaces with an automobile brand center together at the intersection of an old city block and a blank street corner that opens to the future. Therefore, I unleash the energy of organic alleys, transform them into a radical architectural form, and turns automobile into both horizontal and vertical moving landscapes.

The Chimera Hotel is the co-branding production of Adagio Hotel Company and Lexus Automobile.

(Existed) Hotel Adagio

(Newly Proposed) Hotel Adagio Extension x Lexus Flagship

Site & Program/ the orthogonal street system, organic lanes within, and liberation of context Spatial Experience/ take a trip down organic lanes, and be surprised at the all-around vitality Sensational Void/ the void within hotel Chimera that reinterpretes lane spatial experiences

Organic Context Liberation and Walking Experience Transformation

Being planned in the colony era, the street system of Tainan City is orthogonal with roundabouts for traffic usage. However, the essence of local life lies in the organic lanes and pedestrian zones within blocks. Therefore, the configuration strategy puts emphasis on liberating organic context and transforming rich walking experiences, in pursuit of a sensational marvel when you walk or drive by.

Xi-Men Road

Kuo-Hwa Pedestrian Zone

Zun-Wang Road

Chung-Cheng Road

Fu-Chiang Road

residential

entry route

lobby

brand museum

residential

roof club

brand library

brand cafe

terrace lab / repair

parking tower elevator

Scenario: A Dramatic Experience of Moving

- 3 gigantic tubular structures that exhibit automobiles

- 1 light orange "carpet" for your car to drive on

- 2 escalators for tenants and undulating path for cars beneath

- 3 cantilevered tubes and zig-zag spatial trusses

- 5-floor high skybar for visitors and club members

- 10-floor high visual wonder of the parking tower and the void

1/200 Design Model Collage (60*90cm)/ intertwined layers of context, space, and functions

NCKU Main Campuses

Grounding the Future 04

Re-infrastructuring National Cheng Kung University

Site/ Tainan City, Taiwan (2019)

Don-NingCampus

Instructor/ Yu-Hsiang Hung (ashousean@thu.edu.tw / (+886)4-2359-0121-38100-214)

Selection/ 《Typological urbanism: from academia design experimental field to praxis of campus gene repository》,Yu-Hsiang Hung (published, 2020)

Future Ground and University Pedagogy Reprogramming

Ground as circulation zone:

the same accessibility to all pedestrians, students and community.

Ground as education zone:

the mediator between departments by inserting contrast programs.

Ground as green zone:

the second GL to avoid vehicle and connecting open green spaces.

discipline spectrum discipline grouping

cross-displinary program insertion connected greenbelt

Tainan

Railway

Station

Tainan Park

Shiao-Dung Park

Dung-Hsing Park

Chang-Jung Senior High School

Tainan First Senior High School

Elementary School

Dung-Ning Park

Li-Hsing Campus

Kuang-Fu Campus Cheng-Kung Campus

Sheng-Li Campus

Tzu-Chiang Campus

Cheng-Hsing Campus Ching-Yeh Campus

Masterplan/ an educational infrastructure that creates cross-regional public network Program Analysis & Transformation/ reversed program insertion as padagogy compensation

Typological conflicts & transformation

From Harvard Yard to NCKU: The Potential of Campus "Ground"

To sum up, Harvard Yard is a self-contextualized place that acts as an interface of the campus ground and unexpected knowledge cross-exchanges . That is the advantage of the continual ground, and the disadvantage of NCKU, a campus split by vehicles and roadways. Therefore, I proposed a cross-campus continual ground network, which functions as general education and pedestrian zone, to solve the current traffic problem and create more crossdisciplinary education spaces, naming it "Future Ground".

New Design Matrices (Selected )

The aerial view of the campus center.

1860s Harvard Yard, Harvard Univ.

2018 Banyan Yard, NCKU

2040? Banyan Yard, NCKU

The formation of campus open spaces.

The entry unit and foreground, towards a functional landscape.

connection between new ground and formal entry car route pedestrian route new learning cell under the new ground

City Green Gate 05

Redefine city gate with a 1km sequences of public spaces

Site/ Hsinchu City, Taiwan (2021~2023)

Role/ Project Architect, Construction Supervisor

Contribution/ SD & DD & CD Documentation, Construction Supervision

Supervisor/ Sheng-Yuan Huang(Principal), Huang-Shie-Yao Liu(CEO), Chih-Chung Yang(Construction Manager)

Award/ Honorable Mention, Taiwan Landscape Design Award (planning phase)

Tear down the walls to see green forests

The City Green Gate project, in which I did most of the design and was responsible for on-site construction supervision , aims to reorganize disarrayed surroundings and recover the urban environment with an ecological landscape and simple structures. Intersections between institutes, campuses, and the city become a welcoming landscape with undulating hills, flood detention areas, and public plazas.

1/100 Design Model Collage (120*400cm)/ The plaza, boulevard and public facilities with simple and elegant forms mark the welcoming atmosphere along the road .

[Section A] campus entry plaza

[Section B] boulevard of campus life, city bus station

[Section C] long distance bus station

Constructions with respect for Local Ecology and Collective Memory

As the project architect and construction supervisor of the City Green Gate project, I am fully in charge of on-site design adjustments. The roots of old trees, hidden pipes, site topography, and even pieces of advice from university faculties and students can result in changes in design. Despite the complex and repetitive fieldwork, I get to have a chance to fix the design decision I made with more familiarity with the site. As the pictures show, I was describing the design of the public toilet within the Long Distance Bus Station, to the Municipal Secretary of Hsinchu City Government. It was my first time to work on-site, despite taking the pressure, I enjoyed the beauty of making decisions and understanding the thoughts of different groups

Construction Records/ endless coordination and communication in pursuit of better results...

Me Construction Supervisor, Fieldoffice Architects

Municipal Secretary Client, Hsinchu City Government

President for General Affairs Land Administrator, National Tsing Hua University (NTHU)

General Landscape Consultant Consultant, Hsinchu City Government

Overall Water Permeability

Material and Tectonic System: New Interpretations of Locality

During the construction phase, we tend to merge the existing and the newly implanted material, to create a rather familiar and timeless atmosphere. The layout sorts materials with parameters such as "height", "water permeability", and "nostalgia", to compare the initial attempts of the design and the outcome. While creating a public welcoming urban space, it is more exciting to create a sense of "familiar unfamiliarity" by making the unseen be seen, which is what I have been striving for, the new interpretations of the locality.

concrete monolithic ornament

compressed paving brick

recycled stone plates

hollow brick fence + concrete slab

stainless steel control gate

stainless steel sun visor

bamboo-cast concrete (cut 1/3 bamboo and stick to the architectural formwork)

bamboo forest

flower stand elevated path

hollow brick fence

pebble retaining wall

grass seam

precast concrete slab (brush pattern)

formal stone pave

Nostalgia

toward the NTHU Libary

[Section B&C] Reconnect the once-enclosed university to urban environment

The intersection between the NTHU campus and the city used to be a 500-motor parking area, a 200-bike parking area, a post office, and the campus's north gateway. Through series of negotiation, the university agreed to move these facilities to the inner parts of the campus. Since then, the physical boundary of land property had gradually vanished. This vital junction suddenly becomes a public welcoming landscape with undulating hills and plazas. Most important of all, none of the 143 old trees within the site is sacrificed

The Big Lawn

Fragment plan/ With the reconfiguration of "served" and "be-served" facilities, the site becomes a much welcoming combination of flood detention landscape, plazas, and refurbished public facilities.

[Section A] Campus gate as a vital and historical urban node of the city

The campus gate of National Tsing Hua University was designed by the prestigious Taiwanese sculptor Ying-Fung Yang in 1977 and once had an elegant look and scholarly temperament. But in recent years, motors and shrubs divided the plaza area into several segments which were hard to pass by. By reorganizing the campus gate surroundings and recycling certain existing materials, citizens can walk freely and safely again, the bustling city also enjoys a delightful forest view. Most important of all, the citizens, students, and faculties regain their historical pride.

Chronological Review/ the evolution of the NTHU campus gate

[1950]

[1977]

[2020]

[2023~]

Tear down the walls to see bustling cityscapes, penetrating sunlights, and green forests...

[Section B] Bus station as both the meeting and anchoring point of the once-fragmented urban space

After the deconstruction of campus walls and the land grading process, the road was widened 1.5m and the once fragmented environment was integrated into a continual public spatial sequence. The undulating grass hills prevent floods on severe rainy days and create tranquility within the bustling city. The

skyline also resembles

1:100 Model Collage(120*400cm)/ The bus station canopy also defines nodes for roaming routes from pedestrian way, pebble retaining wall, and the undulating grass hills

Landscape Section/ The continual spatial sequence from urban to the campus environment. The flood detention landscape was created with on-site earthwork balance principle.

canopy

elegant structures in the campus.

Site condition in 2021.6/ fragmented urban space divided by walls, bulletin board, and flyover bridge

pebble retaining walls

earthwork

[Section B] Reconnect the once-enclosed university to the urban environment

After the relocation of the post office and parking area, the new intersection between campus and the city consists of a public plaza, an undulating grass hill, and the Boulevard of Campus Life which connects the night market, multiple public facilities, and ends at the NTHU Library.

Sketches for Constructions/ for on-site communication, material division, and tectonic reminders

Taiwanese Fir Formwork monolithic ornament stone pave th=6cm

clinic toward the NTHU Libary toward the night market

1:50

[Section C] An absolute horizontal skyline that unveils a serious of public space

The long-distance bus station sits aside the campus plaza, creating a continual public spatial sequence. As the road gets wider, motor riders on Guang-fu Road have safer driving space. The bus station canopy is about 4.2m high and gets higher with the road sloping, and its elegant, absolute horizontal skyline corresponds to the university's rational style and slightly sloping site topography. The bamboo raw concrete also reminds people of Hsinchu City's ancient defensive landscape.

bamboo raw concrete

cement + mortar finish with cement paint

steel plate th=8mm

cement and mortar finish

stainless steel frame th=1.5mm

tempered glass th=6mm

cement and mortar finish

cement + mortar finish with cement paint

bamboo raw concrete

concrete with cement finish drain

1:20

1:50 Unit Study Model/ finding the fusing form

Model Collage(60*200cm)/ The combination of folded plates creates an efficient yet elegant undulating skyline, yet the masses and columns resemble surrounding landscapes

Construction Section/ the ticket station wall

Towards a Walkable City: The City Green Gate as regional engine

The project was granted by Central Government, and executed by the Hsinchu City Government (HCG) with the collaboration of several land management units, such as the National Tsing Hua University (NTHU), the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and the Professional Training Center of Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

By connecting urban nodes with existing water or public campuses, the network for roaming citizens and migrating animals may spread outward to the once-abandoned areas, the college town, the residential area on the east side of the National Highway, and the fields nearby Touquian River.

Roaming Network

Potential Walkway (Tangible)

Potential Walkway (Marking)

Potential Green Space Public Campus Water

Green Space Water Route Hospital / Institute

《1*3》 discovering free-stand prepressed structure

Designer within a 6 people group / 2017

1*3 is a structure made of simple units with repetition, and can be dismantled and reassembled with ease.

We start from a simple mechanic system that three bars can stand on the ground once they're bounded by a ring, and gradually came up with an arch form. To stabilize the structure and intensify the spatial feeling, the arch repeats on the X-axis and turns out to be an intriguing bar structure. People may look at it as a doorway, or stand below to observe the details of the connections.

《Tung

Hai University Intermediate Unit 6 design studio: Staging the Balcony》

Technical studies tutor / 2022

The research-based design studio led by YuHsiang Hung in THU is held in the fall, 2022. I was invited as technical studies tutor to give advice to students' works on structural systems, construction, and detail design.

《Typological urbanism: from academia design experimental field to praxis of campus gene repository》

Selected studio work / 2019 (published)

My studio work《Grounding the Future: Reinfrastructuring NCKU》is selected within the publication edited by Professor Yu-Hsiang Hung.

《Days Above the Cloud》

Author and Editor / 2018 (published)

The photography diary includes site-specific records and my thoughts about architecture and splendid landscapes during my internship in Yunnan, China.

After I published the diary, I also held several lectures in the Department of Architecture in NCKU and cafe shops, sharing my personal experiences and images with my classmates, school faculties, and the public.