JFan Portfolio V1 by Jeanie Fan

J E A N I E FA N P O RT F O L I O VO LU M E I 1 9 9 9 - 2 0 1 0

CONTENTS E A R LY

WORKS

P ROFE SSIONAL

WORKS

P E RSONAL

P H OTOGRAP H Y

P ROJE CT S

GRAP H ICS

FIN E

ART

E A R LY

WORKS

E A R LY

BUT TE R F LY H O U S E An Addition to a Masterwork of Modern Architecture

WO R K S

The following are selected works from my undergraduate

STR AW B E R RY C R E E K

study, between 1999 and 2003. In retrospect, the shortcom-

This was one of my very ﬁrst design projects. The assignment was simple but telling. It was based on one of the fundamentals of architecture: the understanding of movement and containment. The assignment was to design 3 resting places along a strip of the Strawberry Creek on campus; one for 2 people, one for 4 people, and one for 12 people.

ings of each project are more apparent; these early projects show my fundamental understanding of architecture and design. They also show my early approach at problem solving. Model making was (and still is) my favorite and best design tool; and I had earned a reputation in the studios for my model making skills. I was often invited back by former professors to give model making presentations to their classes. What distinguished me from my classmates was my methods of representations and presentations. I used simply cardboards and chipboards, but every joint and seam on my model was a conscious decision, I made each one of them work toward my advantage at articulating my intentions and designs. One of the most important elements of a model is its base, and it is often neglected by students. I initially started putting considerable attention on making my model bases because I found that it made my models looked good. But as I learn and mature in architecture, my instinctive approach to the model base revealed a deeper motivation in me: I wanted to “build“ the earth, I wanted to understand the site. Model making is a conscious, selective abstraction, the process is an exploration and the outcome reﬂects apprehension. Since model making was a tool, my models were far from pristine. I drew and sketched on them as I would on paper. I built them but took them apart often. And I didn’t hesitate to toss out non-working models. With limited surviving documents, the following projects are examples of my early designs and their processes.

The first sketches on the top right were diagrams from the course lectures. They were the essence of the lesson. These two simple diagrams made a profound impression on me, and had many influence on my later projects. The next two on the right are design sketches from my sketchbook. My design was generated from the lecture diagram by pulling and pushing its ‘curves.’ At the ‘trough’ of each curve, perpendicular to the movement on the main path, was a space for stopping. Besides lateral movement, the gathering places also stepped up or down from the main path according to the use of the space. See model photo and diagram on the right. The gathering space for 12 people stepped up from the path, and placed at the intersection with the highest traffic; it could also serve as a ‘stage’ for student functions. The gathering place for 4 people was proposed for the other end of the site, at the intersection with less traffic; its proximity to a nearby foot bridge across the creek was ideal for informal gathering. The gathering place for 2 people stepped down from the main path; placed under the densest canopies of surrounding vegetation, it was an ideal place for private meetings. 6

The objective of the project was to design an addition to Louis I. Kahn’s Esherick House for housing a collection of rare butterﬂy specimens. The Esherick House looked as if a rectangular mass that had been cut and craved; planes and volumes were cut out from the block to create windows, doors and balconies. The house’s ‘subtractive’ composition was the inspiration for my design. Borrowing the language of the house, my proposed addition was a ‘subtraction’ from the dense mass of the mature vegetation on the site. The design took the concept further by proposing a basement; a subtraction of the ground below. The addition itself was also a ‘subtractive’ mass, with its outdoor display area pulled away from the rest of the building. The void created in between became a piece of the open butterﬂy garden.

SW I M M I N G S C H O O L

TR AV E LI N G H O STE L

A Swimming School was proposed for the City of Oakland, and the site was a strip of land under a series of highway overpasses. The site had an inverse topography; while the surface of the site was ﬂat, the varying heights of the highway overpasses gave the site an up-sidedown terrain.

A new hostel is proposed for the City of Berkeley, to accommodate its increasing tourism. The site is located about a mile from the university campus, in a small local commercial hot spot.

There were 3 required programs for the assignment: a swimming school, an ice skating ring, and a library/research center. And for my design I added one more-a steam garden, to complete my concept of articulating the 3 stages of water--vapor, liquid, and solid. My proposed design was organized in the same progression; a steam garden occupied the front of the site to welcome visitors and would serve as a local park; the library was behind the garden; the swimming school was after the library; and at the very end was the ice skating ring. All 4 programs were organized by a continuous wall with an increasing width meandering through and around the columns of the highway overpasses. The wall was at its thinnest, and perforated, in the steam garden. The wall continued to increase in width as it moved through the site. At the end it became the blocky masses of the ice skating ring.

STEAM GARDEN

LIBRARY

COURTYARD 1

SWIMMING SCHOOL COURTYARD 2

ICE SKATING RING

The hostel was designed to house 60 guests, and to be used as the local community gathering place, with a small auditorium and an open gallery. Inspired by the gridded layout and rhythmic forms of 2 Los Angeles restaurants--72 Market Street and Kate Mantilini, by Morphosis, I designed a truss and modular unit system. Each module was a metaphor of each guest, and they would all come together to form a hostel--the community. The modules were to be prefabricated offsite, and be hung from the grid. Some modules would be adjustable according to the seasons; in the summer, they could be pulled away from each other to let in more air ﬂow, and in the winter, the modules would be pulled back together to keep warmth. Like most matters in the universe, they expand or contract according the temperature. The top of the building was left unﬁnished for future expansion, at the mean time it functioned as a roof garden.

EXPAND

MODULES AND FUNCTIONS

CONTRACT

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROTOTYPES Las Vegas was a fast growing city that had a huge shortage of schools. This design exercise was to design a school prototype that could be easily regenerated for various sites in the city. We were given 3 sites, while we were to develop one complete design for one site, we were also responsible for a schematic layout for the other two.

trafﬁce

existing nearby schools

An extensive research on school building types and various site analyses were done prior to the development of the ﬁrst design. Based on my observations and personal experiences, the function of an elementary school classroom changes constantly, and the changes happen in seconds. Derived from the building blocks of the Las Vegas suburbs, I gave each classroom--a ‘positive block,’ an ‘negative block,’ an outdoor space. Every teacher I interviewed desired an outdoor classroom, my ‘negative block’ would achieve that and more, they could make the rooms feel bigger and would serve light wells that would lit up this complex building.

zoning

Above Left & Right: 3D model. Classrooms were grouped by grades and deﬁned by applied surface materials. Below: Alternative designs for 2 additional sites.

residential commerical mobile park

BASEMENT access

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 1 PLAN

LEVEL 2 PLAN

LEVEL 2

ROOF

PROFESSIONAL

WORKS

All drawings by applicant unless noted otherwise

HUDSON

PA N O S

SITE DIAGRAM

H OU S E

Location: Healdsburg, California

The Hudson-Panos House was designed as a vacation home

country rolling hills. To take advantage of the characteristics

Design/Completion: Dec. 2006 to Oct. 2008

for a young family, who lives in San Francisco. This was

of the site, the house is mostly ‘opaque’ to the south, and

also one of my ﬁrst major projects with Swatt Architects;

‘transparent’ to the north. The plan consists of 2 parallel

Type: New single family vacation home

I worked closely with the principal Robert Swatt through

wings that are slightly offset to create a linear courtyard, and

Lot Area: 9.6 acres

all phases, and managed every aspect of the project, from

are connected by a solid service-core. A large two-story vol-

Building Area: 2900 sq ft livable area with 680 sq ft carport

developing drawings to facilitating communications. Prior to

ume with clerestory glazing over the public spaces creates an

the Hudson-Panos House, I had participated in numerous

vertical counterpoint the the mostly horizontal design, and

Budget: 1.6 million

projects in the ofﬁce, and had earned the principals’ trust

bathes the interior with natural light. The detached carport

Awards: 2008 Western Red Cedar Awards, Citation Award

with my diligence and meticulousness.

anchors the east side of the house, and a 50 feet long swim-

Notable Points: This house is entirely off the main electricity grid. Electricity is provided by a 3.4 KW photovoltaic array. located on the upper roof, and a 5 KW battery back-up system.

The Hudson-Panos House is set on a long, slender knoll on

BUILDING DIAGRAM II

BUILDING DIAGRAMS I

ming pool terminates the linear composition to the west.

a 9 acres hillside property. The knoll, running east-west, is

Besides getting a thorough education on the construction

bordered by a forest of trees on the east, south, and west

process of a house, most importantly, this project taught me

side, to the north is an unobstructed view of the wine

the spatial qualities of light.

Project Role: Project Architect • assisted principal architect through all design phases: made model, researched codes, developed drawings, assembled Design Review packages

MASSING

• produced and managed Construction Documents: produced 80% of document set, while assisted by a teammate for the remaining 20%, coordinated with consultants, managed data flow • assisted principal architect through Construction Administration: coordinated meetings, managed paper work flow, developed supplemental sketches, solved on site problems. • managed all clients and architect communications: assisted clients through all stages of decision making, from selecting interior finishes to plumbing fixtures, to selecting furniture and arranging furniture at the very end.

SECTION ANALYSIS

south

STUDY MODEL

north

Page 4 Lower Left: East elevation and entry courtyard. Courtyard is covered in granite gravel, and post stones mark the rhythm of one’s progression through the space. Landscape design by Lya Gomez.

Right: Construction photographs

MBr

Lower Right: Living room with entry beyond, and upper level landing above. Entry canopy from the exterior is extended into the house, creating a sense of compression before one enters the double height space at the living and dining room. D

Page 5 Left: Design diagrams done by me, to illustrate my understanding of the project, and how I perceived the principal architect’s design.

Right: West elevation at dusk.

Top Left: Upper level and lower level ﬂoor plans. Top Right: Design sketches, studying the exposed glue-lam beams. A ﬁreplace was originally planned for the house between the living and dining room, but was deleted during construction. The clients loved the spaces even more without it. Right: East wing and entry courtyard. 16

Right: Design Development sketches. As the Project Architect, I took the lead on interior designs. To the right are some of the design sketches developed and used during the Design Development phase. These sketches, though not entirely accurate, were most helpful to the clients, since most of the time they did not understand our 2 dimensional drawings. To the far right are the key materials and ﬁxtures used in the project. I also helped propose and select materials and ﬁxtures for the house, and held the clients’ hands through every step and decision.

STUCCO P-GRAVEL

PAINT

ALUM. WINDOW EXTERIOR

METAL CLAD WOOD WINDOWS

CEDAR SIDING

DOUG FIR WINDOW INTERIOR

MAPLE CABINETS

Right: Custom interior details. One of the main features of this house is its exposed structure. And to make the exposed glue-laminated beams look nice and be consistent with our design intents, a series of custom interior details were developed. These were critical details that could have either make or break the design. We insisted on making the face of the glue-lam ﬂush with the ﬁnished sheet rock, thus the contractors had to make careful calculations for their framings. One of the most unusual detail is how we set the tracks for track lighting to lit the spaces. Instead of hanging the tracks from the bottom of the beams, which is the most common way to solve the problem, our tracks are set above the beams, in between the ceiling boards. Although it caused a lot of complains from the contractors, the result was beautiful.

CESAR STONE COUNTERTOP BELMONT STONE FLOOR TILE

BATH TILE 1

EXTERIOR LIGHTS

BATH TILE II, III, & IV

BOCCI DINING ROOM LIGHT FIXTURE

Right: View of interior from living room. The house is entirely open to its environment, blurring the boundary between inside and outside. Dining room is open to patios on both north and south side. The west end wall of the house on the lower level is a series of bi-fold doors. When these doors are open, the kitchen opens up to the pool, and becomes an “outdoor” kitchen.

Top Left: View of living room from dining room. Top Right: Kitchen. Exposed structure makes running ducts and flues difficult. A flowing sheetrock soffit, detailed as an extension from the wall, hides the flue of the cook top vent hood.

Left: North elevation photo montage. Due to the steep slope to the north of the house, it is almost impossible to photograph this north façade. This montage shows the linearity of the house.

Bottom Left: Master bedroom looking west. Master bedroom has its own private terrace that over looks the view to the north. Bottom Right: Dining room at night. Fire pit at north dining patio completes the outdoor country living.

Professional photography by Russell Abraham 20

PE R E I R A

H O U S E

Location: San Rafael California

While the Hudson-Panos House was under construction, I

Brazilian architects like Oscar Niemeyer. Furthermore, it

Design/Completion: Nov. 2007 to Apr. 2008

was entrusted as the Job Captain for a small remodel project

reminds me of Le Corbusier’s Pavillon de I’Esprit Nouveau.

Type: Single family home remodel

Brazilian couple, bought a typical 1950s California ranch

Lot Area: 8750 sq ft

house in the suburbs after the birth of their ﬁrst child. The

Building Area: 2400 sq ft livable area with 500 sq ft garage

property has a great view from the backyard, and the house

Budget: $300K

new home without tearing down the existing building.

Project Role: Job Captain • assisted principal architect and project architect through all design phases: constructed digital 3D model, researched codes, managed drawings • produced and managed Construction Documents: produced 90% of document set, while assisted by a senior teammate on few critical details, coordinated with consultants, managed some data ﬂow

in San Rafael, the Braz-Pereira House. The clients, a young

is in good condition. The clients wanted to modernize their

Another notable feature of completed project is the diagonal rock “pathway” embedded in the tile ﬂoor, visually separating the living and dining room. The “pathway” follows an existing axis from the original plan, it runs from the interior space, through the glass wall, out onto the rear patio, and into the landscape. It creates a visual axis connecting the new and

The design for this remodel was inspired by the unique pas-

and the old, and inside and outside. This symbolic feature

sion and heritage of the clients.The clients sent us a montage

is ﬁnished in small stones and recalls the traditional Calçada

and asked if we can make their house feel bigger with a glass

pathways of the clients’ childhood in Ipanema Beach.

wall on the back of the house. We said sure. So we designed

As the Job Captain, I developed and managed drawings, and

a glass wall, but we also protected it with a deep overhang.

most importantly, developed exterior details to anchor the

The large and thick overhang, with a circular opening in its

new roof to the old house and ﬁgure out proper drainage.

canopy, is supported by 2 steel columns with 4” diameter. It reminisces the free ﬂowing modernism made famous by

sketch by Robert Swatt

BRAZ

West facade before and after. Although the ﬁnished project has a lot more building, the yard does not feel like it has gotten any smaller. on the contrary, the space feels a lot more generous and livable.

• participated in Construction Administration: develop supplemental sketches as needed • managed some clients, architect, and contractor communications

CALCADA PATHWAY

CASA DAS CANOAS BY OSCAR NIEMEYER

sketches by Robert Swatt

CLIENTS’ ORIGINAL CONCEPT

Top Row: Inspirations to the ﬁnal design. Bottom Row: Sketches for 3 schemes by Robert Swatt. 22

East facade before and after. The existing ranch home’s board-and-batten exterior is left largely intact and painted a charcoal color; by contrast, the new living room core is executed in stucco and painted a crisp white. 23

Right: The new west wall of the house is now a glass wall. The ceiling height grew from 8 feet to 14 feet in the new living room. Bottom Left: Section diagram through center of living room. Profile and mass of old structure is poché in light gray. Bottom Right: View of living room with kitchen beyond and entry to the right. Page 13. Top Left: Living room, south wall. It was the clients’ first priority to turn this house into a place where their child will have lots of rooms to play and run around. I think we have accomplished that quite beautifully. Top Right: Living room from entry. Bottom Left: New floor plan with old house footprint poché in light gray. Graphic montage shows the concept and origin of the stone accent strip. Bottom Right: Kitchen. Professional Photography by Marbel Feres

als and residents. We met with the city ofﬁcials, established

Design/Completion: Dec. 2007, pending

olises) and more environmental friendly construction meth-

good connections, and passed design review with an unani-

Bottom Left: Module plans

ods has never been more urgent than now. When our client

mous vote. We are still in the process of ﬁnding a factory, the

Type: Pre-fabicated single family home

Seth Krubiner came to us with his idea of a prefabricated

project has slowed down due to the downturn of the econ-

Lot Area: 2940 sq ft

house, we were ecstatic. Seth’s goal is to eventually launch a

omy world wide. But we are still looking forward to module-

Far Right: Model photos showing approximate assembly order of the modules once arrived to job site.

Building Area: 2083 sq ft livable area with 386 sq ft garage

line of affordable and modern prefabricated homes, where

setting-day.

Budget: $650K

new company. But ﬁrst, we’ll build his house; it will be the

Project Role: Design Assistant / Job Captain

model home for the new adventure.

• assisted principal architect through design phase: made model, modiﬁed digital 3D model, research codes, arranged meetings, produce and manage drawings, prepared Design Review packages, and presentation boards and PowerPoint slide shows

H O U S E

98’-0”

BEAUDRY STREET

The need for more affordable homes (especially for metrop-

P R E FA B

30’-0”

Location: Emeryville California

Top Left: Site diagram, showing opacity of north and south end walls. Natural light reach the interior through east and west glazing at private courtyards.

K RUBINE R

clients can easily order modules to build a house through his

The site of the Krubiner Prefab House is located 2 blocks from our ofﬁce. The property is a long and narrow in-ﬁll lot, in a mixed use area of Emeryville. Planning for a prefab house is not much different than planning for a site-built stick-frame

55TH STREET

home. For this project, the close proximity to the nearby houses means to bring in light while maintaining privacy is

• managed clients, architect, and consultants communications

a challenge. The solution is to bring in light with skylights

• layout alternative designs with prefab modules

north facade is almost entirely opaque with a few punched

and open up the building on its east and west ends. The windows strategically placed to avoid direct alignment with our neighbor’s. On the south facade, glazing is mostly on the upper level and steps back 1/3 of the width of the building,

T MAIN

R AFF

providing our client and his neighbor more privacy. The Krubiner Prefab House will be built from 7 modules, sizes ranged from the smallest 8’-2”W by 23’-6”L by 13’ H to

RESIDENTIAL

the biggest 15’-6”W by 39’-6”L by 12’H, which is the maximum

SITE-BUILT

size of the truck bed that will deliver the module from the fac-

MODULES

tory. Site work will be done while the modules being built in a factory. And we imagine the entire house will be assembled in one day. I helped the client to arrange neighborhood gatherings and we received many supports from local profession26

COMMERCIAL

GREEN ROOF ROOF DECK SOLAR EYEBROWS

Top Four: Elevation renderings.

Top: Photo montage. Using 3D model built by colleague, I exported model view and collaged building into its eventual setting.

Bottom Left: 3D rendering showing building masses. Bottom Right: Building section diagram showing modules and site-built spaces interactions. Blue representing prefabricated modules, while yellow indicating site-built spaces.

Bottom: Axonometric drawing by Robert Swatt during design phase, showing major components of the building.

EAST ELEVATION

SOUTH ELEVATION

NORTH ELEVATION

WEST ELEVATION

ADD ON ROOF OVERHANG

ADD ON SKYLIGHT MODULE

ADD ON EYEBROW

3D Model by Crystal DeCastrol

ADD ON BAY WINDOW

MODULE 6 MASTER BR 14’-6”Wx12’Hx23’-6”L MODULE 5 MASTER BATH 15’-6”Wx12’Hx14’-6”L MODULE 3 STAIR TOWER 6’-4”Wx30’Hx11’-4”L

MODULE 4 GUEST SUITE 15’-6”Wx12’Hx39’-6”L

Drawing by Robert Swatt

SITE-BUILT LIVING ROOM SLAB AND WALLS

MODULE 1 KITCHEN/DINING 14’-6”Wx13’Hx23’-6”L

MODULE 2 DEN/OFFICE 8’-2”Wx13’Hx23’-6”L SITE-BUILT GARAGE/ENTRY SLAB AND WALLS

T E A

HOU S E S

Location: Silicon Valley, California

The Tea Houses started years ago when I was still an intern

in the construction of the ‘box.’ Swatt agreed, expressing the

Design/Completion: Fall 2002 to Summer 2009

at the ofﬁce. The client ﬁrst come to my boss for an exten-

proﬁle of the I-beam tells one how tea houses were made.

sive remodeling of his 6000 square feet house, then during

My careful construction of the glazing on the model with

Type: Pavilion

the remodel, he told my boss his desire for a pavilion on his

plexiglass became the minimalist frameless look that the ac-

Lot Area: 2 acres

2-acre property, a place where he could retreat into nature,

tual construction was striving for. This model was one of the

Building Area: 1134 total sq ft; ‘meditation’ tea house: 270 sq ft; ‘sleeping’ tea house: 372 sq ft; ‘visioning’ tea house: 492 sq ft

away from the main house. The vision was realized as three

reasons that got me my ﬁrst job right after graduation.

Awards: 2009 AIACC Design Awards, Merit Award

intern from my school’s internship program. At the time, the

Project Role: Design Assistant

and small scale design models had been made, the direction

• assisted principal architect through design phase: made model, drafted building, designed graphics and montage

for the design was clear, but not everything was worked out.

• how I made the model had many inﬂuence on how the project as detailed and constructed in reality

tern, there was little expectation for me to deliver any actual

Top: The three tea houses each has its own unique purpose. In the top photo is the east elevation of the ‘sleeping’ tea houses, a place for overnight stays. Bathing in the morning sunshine, the tea house almost disappears into the landscape. Bottom: .Connected to the ‘sleeping’ tea house by a service bridge is the ‘visioning’ tea house, seen in bottom photo. The ‘visioning’ tea house is for intimate gatherings and creative thinking.

tea houses. In the spring of 2003, I was sent to Swatt Architects as an tea houses were still in their infant stage; various sketches

One of my assignments was to build a 1/4” scale model of the three tea houses from a set of schematic plans. As an inwork that could be used for the job. However, my diligence, my craftsmanship, and my meticulousness surprised my boss and won his attention. Although I didn’t participate in the later phases of the project, how I made the model had many inﬂuences on how the project was detailed and constructed in reality. I studied the ofﬁce’s previous work, and felt that I had an instinctive understanding of Robert Swatt’s work. So when he told me that the tea houses would be lifted off from the ground by concrete towers, I added a small detail to my model: scoring evenly spaced horizontal lines on the gray museum board to represent board-form concrete. He agreed, the tower should be board-formed. When he told me the tea house ‘boxes’ would be steel framed, I took the liberty and decided that these would be I-beams, and expressed them 30

Right: Construction details and model photo. These were the details that made the construction possible, and they made the ﬁnished building look almost just like the model. The simplicity was deceiving. The model photo gives a better view and understanding of the placement of the tea houses. In the foreground is the ‘meditation’ tea house. Behind are the ‘sleeping’ tea house and the master bath corridor that connects to the ‘visioning’ tea house.

Top Left: ‘Visioning’ tea house with its patio doors open, facing view to the south. Bottom Left: Model photo, south elevation. The Tea Houses model became the most traveled model in the ofﬁce, it has been displayed in book signings, various meetings and professional functions.

details by project team

Far Right Top and Bottom: These are some of the earlier graphics and montage I did for the office. The elevation and plan composition was used in the firm’s first monograph and subsequent publications. The montage was a graphic technique that had never been tried in the history of the office: I created a 3D view from a photograph of the model. While most other offices were going heavily on 3D computer rendering, my office valued a lot on handcrafted design models. This simple technique allowed me to kill two birds with one stone.

Professional photography by Timothy Grifﬁth 32

H O US E S

Location: Sunol, California

The Fischer-Rice House is currently under construction; it is

Green Home, but we took the matters into our own hands,

Design/Completion: May. 2008, projected to be completed by May. 2010

about 50% complete. Changes are happening everyday on

and make intelligent decisions on what is applicable and

the job site, the following construction photographs will be-

practical for our project.

Type: New single family home

come obsolete almost as soon as I complete this portfolio.

Lot Area: 5.33 acres Building Area: 4072 sq ft building area with 2-car detached carport Budget: 1.67 million Project Role: Project Architect • assisted principal architect through all design phases: made model, researched codes, developed drawings, assembled Design Review packages and attended DR meetings • produced and managed Construction Documents: produced 100% of the document set, coordinated with consultants and their drawings • assisted principal architect through Construction Administration, sometimes performed site visits on my own: coordinated meetings, managed paper work ﬂow, developed supplemental sketches, solved on site problems.

When this project is ﬁnished, the clients will not have plaque

The clients for this new home are a retired couple, who are

or certiﬁcate on their wall, but they will have a beautiful,

building their dream home with their hard earn savings. The

comfortable home, with many of the features that

clients ﬁrst came to us seeking to build a LEED or Green-

are inherent in any Swatt houses but listed on

Point Rated certiﬁed house. With a background in bio-tech-

the Green checklists as Green building criteria.

nology and being extremely environmentally conscious Bay

What I realized is, in order to make a signiﬁ-

Area residents, our clients had high goals, they were aiming

cant step forward on sustainable design and

to achieve at least LEED Gold certiﬁcation or 250 points on

construction, we the architects must take

GreenPoint Rated checklist. However, as the project contin-

the biggest responsibility at making a

ued, while the planning and design of house sailed smoothly,

difference, it should not be left

the projected fees and material costs to obtain any of the

for a third party to ‘qualify’

Green certiﬁcations became overwhelming. With an abso-

our work

drawing by Robert Swatt

FISCHER- H O U S E

WEST ELEVATION RENDERING

lutely ﬁxed budget--whatever the clients have in their savings and retirement fund, and they do not wish to work again, every penny has to be spent wisely. This was an eye-opening

WEST FAÇADE

experience for everyone on the team! And it was a reality check on the practicality of these green building checklists. We all care about the planet, we didn’t give up on building a

• managed all clients and architect communications: assisted clients through all stages of decision making, from selecting interior ﬁnishes to plumbing ﬁxtures

EAST FAÇADE

Top: Simpliﬁed lower level ﬂoor plan from construction document.

Top: Simpliﬁed upper level ﬂoor plan from construction document.

Bottom: Building analysis diagrams done by me base on my understanding of the project. One of the most dynamic features of this house is the interlocking of its various spaces, both laterally and vertically.

Bottom Left: Site photo and model montage, showing the one possible view of the ﬁnish house from the main street. A series of similar site photo montage were prepared for the Design Review, they helped us win our case.

F Grg

Brk

Ldy

D K

Bottom Right: Selected perspective sketches from Design Development design boards, along with clippings from magazines and catalogs, showing our design intends and suggesting ﬁxtures selections. As the Project Architect, I took the lead on interior designs. This was a similar exercise I did for the Hudson-Panos House, but this time I have improved my sketches greatly. In addition, I’ve put these sketches and images onto 18x24 card stocks, so the clients can take them home and travel with them as they go shopping. Although some of the designs have changed over time, these sketches proved to be very helpful.

Stdy

MBr

Bottom: Model photos and detail keys.

Left and Top Right: Interior details. Left top and bottom are plan and section of ﬁreplace. Far right is a section of the most complicated wall in the entire house--the media room wall. Interior detailing has become very natural to me after years of training. Shown on the right are details of the two most complex element in the Fischer-Rice House.

Right: Roof edge and exterior detail. The most important design element of this project happens along the roof edges. Shown on the right are 4 typical details, some of them have slight variations. Unlike our previous projects, this house has many ﬂush conditions at roof and wall connections. Besides waterprooﬁng, all exterior material have different thickness at various condition, a lot of careful planning is required to achieve the look we are after. Furthermore, when changing the material from stucco to wood, the most important detail is to seal or use a reveal molding to separate the 2 materials, otherwise, the stucco will tint the wood along the edges. Detail 5 is a typical detail for such transition.

Bottom: Interior photograph. View of house from stair tower, looking toward Living Room. Media/Family Room to the left, 2-story Dining Room to the right, and, with Living Room beyond and Upper Level brdge above in foreground.

PERSONAL

PROJECTS

RICE

FIEL D

GA R D E N

Location: Lafayette, California

This is actually one of my projects in the ofﬁce, known as the

Design/Completion: August 2009, pending

Abraham-Unni Remodel. My boss has done a design for the

Type: Graden remodel

design is the most ideal for the site. So I took a plan of the

Project Area: 2000 sq ft

project home, and experimented with my own design.

project, but after careful observation, I do not believe his

This is a very small project, all the clients wanted to do was to renovate their back porch and the stairs going down to the pool deck. They will also redo the pool, but it would be a design-built. My boss designed a series of beautiful wood bridges and concrete walls and steps meandering down the steep backyard. However, as I was drafting and integrating his sketches into a 3D model on the computer, I noticed an Bottom: Existing site photos Far Right: Stepping rice ﬁeld inspiration photos and design sketches

inefficiency in the design. There was a lot to build for such a small project; all the concrete work is becoming very massive on such a small site. There must be a simpler way to do this, I thought to myself. What immediately come to mind when I look at this project is the stepping rice fields in the mountains of Indonesia. If I can grade the steep backyard like the stepping rice fields, it may reduce the number of retaining walls. I would propose

OLD DESIGN

using a very deep-root glass, like Zoysia glass or similar, to

Pros

keep the soil in place. The steps will dive into undulating

NEW DESIGN Cons

Pros

grass waves as they turn corns and gentally merge into the

A lot to build, very massive

More natural, less massive

surrounding site. And instead of using concrete, I propose

A lot of forming required for the concrete

The small amount of corten steel proposed may save some money

using corten steel for retaining walls and steps. Three prefabricated steel boxes retain the hill and serve as steps. The direction and shape of my path are similar to my boss’s, because I agree it is the best progression to experience this

Import less soil

Import more soil

Less maintenance, plantings could let overgrown

More maintenance to keep shapes

garden, but I replaced the wood bridges with stone slabs, and the pace down my path is quicker. 42

Cons

Less play area for children

More plan area for children 43

Top: Elevation study. Bottom: Detail sketches for edge retaining wall and typical construction of corten steel boxes. Bottom Right: Site section

ZOYSIA GRASS, ITS DEEP ROOT COULD HELP IN KEEPING THE STEPPING GARDEN AND UNDULATING GRASS WAVES IN THEIR SHAPES. IT GROWS WELL IN ALMOST ANY TYPE OF SOIL AND IDEAL FOR TEMPERATE CLIMATES IN LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA.

CORTEN STEEL RETAINING WALL AND STEP BOXES FILLED WITH DECOMPOSED GRANITE.

STONE SLAB STEPS, AND IMAGES BELOW ARE PROPOSED ACCENT PLANTINGS TO BRING IN COLORS.

There was enough distance and elevation change for me to create 5 steps for my stepping garden, with 30” runs for every 14” rise, and the last step to be retained by a 30” tall corten steel edge wall. On the north end of the pool will be a spacious wood deck (to be done in ipe), extending under the canopy of the largest oak tree on site. A small existing cantilever deck off the rear bedroom will also be redone in ipe and cable railing, recalling the larger deck. 44

WINDMIL L

LA N E

GA RD E N

Location: Pleasanton, California

My friends Linda and Jim’s backyard is completely destroyed

Design/Completion: Oct 2009, pending

by their 3 teenager sons and their playful husky. They have

Type: Graden remodel

modeling and additions, but no work has ever been done to

Project Area: 1500 sq ft

the yard. In recent years, Linda has tried to build a vegetable

had the house for twenty years, it has gone through a few re-

garden, but the dog keeps chewing up her plants. With one boy about to leave the house for college and her strong desire for a vegetable garden, she and Jim decided it is time to redo the yard. They asked me for ideas. They have a small

Top Row: Existing site photos Bottom 3 Rows: Planning sketches. To ﬁnd the rhythm of the space, I tried applying a grid to the existing plan. There were many ways to draw this grid, to follow the lines of the property lines, or follow the lines parallel to the building. The grid I found most useful was the one that combined the lines of the building and the lines of the property. The monotony of track homes called for a more whimsical gesture in the garden: a gentle wave curve in the ground, partially inspired by the existing round hot tub, with one side being grass, the other decomposed granite.

budget, and plan to ﬁx up the yard on their own. The only sunny spot in the yard is a patch of land by the south-west corner of the house. All the wood planters and retaining walls in the yard are need to be replaced. There is

an old hot tub in the yard, but it is no longer useable. The boys use it as a ﬁre pit for all kind of experiments. They also envisioned a water feature in the yard. Linda would like to use stone walls in her yard while stay within her budget. After a few studies of the site, I generated a master plan for the garden. I propose gabion wall for all of the new retaining walls in the garden. The metal cages for the gabion wall are pretty inexpensive, and Linda would have many choices of stone to choose from in a wide range of prices. There will be an enclosed gardening area, by the south-west corner of the house, taking advantage of the sun shine. At the current location of the hot tub, there are few options: One, they can rebuild the hot tub; Two, they can remove the hot tub and pave the area for outdoor siting; Three, they could pave the area as proposed by option Two, and install an above ground hot tub later if desired. The three main ground cover I propose are grass, decomposed granite, and mexican pebbles. 46

Top: Detail sketches for wood fence, typical gabion wall, and water feature. Bottom Left and Right: Photo montage of garden before and after

CONCRETE PATIO FOR SEATING, A SMALL TABLE FOR 4, OR A GARDEN LOVE SEAT FOR 2

GRASS

EXISTING HOUSE FOOTPRINT

EXISTING WOOD DECK PLANTING BEDS

GRASS BLACK MEXICAN PEBBLES BORDER THE EDGE OF THE HOUSE

DECOMPOSED GRANITE, IN A LIGHT TAN COLOR

WATER FEATURE, WITH WATER RUNNING DOWN A GABION WALL, AND A POND BELOW BORDER BY STONES FROM THE WALL

GABION WALLS, METAL CAGES FILL WITH ROCKS OR STONES, CHOICES FOR STONE ARE ALMOST UNLIMITED, AND THEY ARE VERY EASY TO BUILD

WOOD FENCE IN CEDAR OR RED WOOD, STACK HORIZONTALLY, FINISH WITH SIKKENS FOR DURABILITY

P H OTOGRAPHY

GRAPHICS

PHOTOGR A P H Y I have always had an interest in photography ever since I was a child. But without any pointers and guidance, that potential was left unexplored for years. In later years, with some scholarship money, I ďŹ nally got myself a SLR camera, but even then photography was mostly a method of archiving to me -- taking photos of my school projects, archiving my drawings and painting, taking snap shots at family functions, etc. It was not until I met my late piano teacher, Ken Durling, did I learn about the art of photography. Ken was a pianist, a photographer and a pilot. I had lessons with him once a week at a local piano studio, and I often saw him with his camera gears, either on his way out to a shoot after my lesson or just came back from one. So I started asking him a lot about cameras and photography. Then one day I requested to be taken along to one of his photo trips. From then on, for the next 2 and half years, I became a very proliďŹ c photographer. And I began to see photography as form of painting. Ken passed away in 2007 in a car accident. I am still shooting, but I miss him deeply. I can never thank him enough for opening my eyes to photography.

G RAPHIC

D E S I G N S

As with most architecture graduates, I started out doing graphics at the office when I first entered the work force, and like most of us, at one time or another, have designed a business card or postcard for a friend or family. These small design exercises punctuate my other rather long and laborious architectural design assignments. Their short time span and immediate results make them quite satisfying; they to keep my creative neurons firing. My graphic design experience range from designing magazine advertisements to designing book covers and layouts for

Title: Swatt Architects: Livable Modern

entire books. One of my ﬁrst freelance assignments was to

Hardcover: 108 pages

design a logo and business card for a salon in Berkeley, back

Publisher: Images Publishing

in 2003. Although over the years, various artists have modi-

Design Phase: Oct. to Dec. 2005

ﬁed the business card, the logo has stayed the same and still

Publish Date: July 25, 2006

in use. I have subsequently designed numerous posters, party

Dimensions: 10.3 x 9.2 x 0.7 inches

invites and wedding invitations. There was also a period when I designed advertisements for local businesses at Turkuaz, a Turkish-American magazine. These assignments were harder than they seemed, because most of the businesses did not have any marketing materials or established graphics, the few of us, who were responsible for these ads, were literally putting designs out of thin air. We wanted to be careful with our designs, because whatever we do would or could contribute to the business’s identity. In fact, couple of the business owners adopted elements from our ads and made them into their marketing materials.

Title: InsideOut New Modern West Coast Architects Hardcover: 225 pages Publisher: Images Publishing

This was Swatt Architects’ ﬁrst monograph. To en-

Design Phase: Oct. 2009 to Current

sure quality and control over the contents, Robert

Publish Date: Predicted winter of 2010

Swatt, the president of the company and my boss,

Dimensions: 9.25 x 9.25 x 1 inches

decided to have me layout the entire book, from cover to cover, in-house. By the winter of 2005, I

Title: Fair, Balanced...and Dead

pened at the capitol in California. This

This is the ﬁrm’s second monograph, and I am cur-

have worked for Bob for about 2 years, and have

Author: Steve Swatt

was a self-publishing book, and I didn’t

rently working on the layouts. This is a celebration

proven my graphic creativity through various graphic

Paperback: 336 pages

want the author to spend huge amount

and a kick-off to our new company, Swatt | Miers Ar-

design assignments, brochures, ﬂyers, awards submis-

Publisher: Trafford Publishing

of money on stock photos, the chal-

chitects.The book will be consist of projects by Swatt

sion portfolio layouts, etc. Bob trusted me with his

Design Phase: Nov. to Dec.. 2008

lenge was how can I avoid using images

Architects ﬁnished in the last couple years, and new

ﬁrst book. I worked full-time on the book for a little

Publish Date: Sept. 23, 2009

that are copy righted and what can I do

and future projects by the new company. Above is

over 2 months. Then a package was assembled to

Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches

with the snap shots author sent to me

the current design of the book cover, which has gone

for reference. The solution was a hand

through numerous iterations, see thumbnails on the

sketch by me base off a photo. Diagram

right. The challenge of this assignment is to keep our

above showed the layering of how this

style looking consistent without looking the same as

cover was composed.

our last book.The last book was done well, but there

On the right are three of my more substantial graphic work.

the publisher in Australia. In 6 months the book was

The ﬁrst one is the design of Swatt Architects’ ﬁrst mono-

published and shipped to various bookstore world

graph. The second one is a book cover and jacket design for

wide. By early 2008, Images Publishing shared with us

a novel. And the third one is the design of the Swatt | Miers

that our monograph was ranked as one of their best

Architects monograph.

selling small format architecture books. 54

This project was a book cover design for a novel, by award-winning reporter, Steve Swatt. The novel was about a reporter solving a murder mystery hap-

are still so much room for improvements. 55

FINE

ART

DRAWING S draw (drô) v. drew, draw, drawing, n.... 3. to bring, take, or pull out, as from a receptacle or source.... 5. to sketch (someone or something) in lines or words; delineate; depict: to draw a vase.... In Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, the definition of “draw” as to pull or extract comes before the definition of “draw” as to produce a sketch of a person or thing. And that’s how I think of a drawing: a drawing is the result of the artist pulling and pushing the pen or pencil on a surface, and the pen is the receptacle that brings the information the artist has in his or her mind to the drawing surface. The process of producing a drawing is all about decision making. Every line and stroke has its consequences. Every line and stroke influence the next. To draw is to think.

DUCK DUCK GOOSE

ORCHIDS

DRAPERY STUDY

EGGCRATE

STILL LIFE STUDY

18” x 24” Pencil on paper

18” x 24” Pencil on bristol

9” x 12” Pencil on bristol

16” x 22” Charcoal on bristol

PERSPECTIVE STUDY #1

PERSPECTIVE STUDY #2

PERSPECTIVE STUDY #3

18” x 24” Pencil on paper

18” x 24” Charcoal on bristol

unﬁnished ARCHITECTURAL DETAIL 16” x 22” Pencil on bristol

NUDES

A N D

BAC K S

I have always been interested in the human back. Often times, one tends to think that the human back is easier to draw than the front of the human body, after all, the back does seem to have fewer lines. Yet, the back the hardest to capture. I am obsessed the human back, and I find the human spine to be the most expressive line in the human body. The shape of the spine tells a figure’s post. And the curvature of the spine and its subtleties are as elusive as a desert snake. To accurately depict a figure, I first conceptualize the form of the model’s spine; I pay close attention to the various subtle change in the bends and curves, lights and shadows in and along the figure’s spine. To articulate the skin tone of the human back post another challenge. Although the back seems to be a large area consists of an uniform skin tone, the artist cannot simply fill up the shapes he/she has defined with the medium at hand. It takes careful observations, and sometimes an artistic license, to sculpt the flesh on the human back. I am still exploring and practicing drawing the human back, finding it’s subtleties ever more mysterious. Following are few examples from my exploration that I found to be more successful than the others.

NUDE #1 left: Study 18” x 24” Charcoal on paper right: Drawing on Brown Paper 18” x 24” Charcoal and white highlight on brown paperv NUDE #2 Nude With One Leg on Stool 18” x 24” Charcoal on paper

FOUR NUDES A four panel study of the human back in oil sticks on paper 18” x 24” Panel 1

Panel 2

Panel 3

Panel 4

Study

MASTER

CO P I E S

I think sometimes young artists are too obsessed with finding and defining their own style too much and too early. It is understandable, because society praises and encourages originality. We all want to be original. We all want to have a style that identifies ourselves. However, in the search for originality, we forgot to pay homage to the old masters. Most of the time we have very superficial encounters with their work; we look at their work in monographs or museums, expressed our admiration with oohs and aahs, and go home happy. Looking at their work is not enough, I think the best way to learn to draw and paint is by copying the old masters’ work. This is not a new learning technique, it has been used for centuries and by various disciplines. For example, to learn how to play music, the apprentice often starts with hand copying the master’s sheet music. Copying master paintings is not original, but one will learn a tremendous amount from this exercise. The followings are four Master Copies of four master pieces by Cézanne, Dürer, and Van Gogh repectively. From these exercises, I have learned a lot more about these artists and their work. To reproduce the work as close as possible, I paid closed attention to these masters’ choices of color and their combination. I saw colors that I wouldn’t have normally noticed in these works before, for example, bright red strokes in Van Gogh’s “Portrait of Camille Roulin,” and purples in Cézanne’s pears. I have also become bolder with my own color choices since these Master Copies, some you can see in the “Four Nudes” on the previous pages.

Master Copy: JEANIE FAN (1981-) 16 1/2” x 19 1/4” Oil stick and oil pastel on bristol

Master Copy: JEANIE FAN (1981-) 23 1/2” x 16 1/2” Oil stick and oil pastel on bristol

Origional: MAN WITH A PIPE c. 1890-2 PAUL CÉZANNE (1839-1906) 73 cm x 60 cm Oil on canvas

Origional: ITALIAN CERAMIC POT c. 1873 PAUL CÉZANNE (1839-1906) 42 cm x 56 cm Oil on canvas

Master Copy: JEANIE FAN (1981-) 14 1/2” x 17 3/4” Pencil and white highlight on gray paper Origional: FEET OF AN APOSTLE c.. 1508 ALBRECHT DÜRER (1471-1528) 17.7 cm x 21.7 cm Ink drawing with white highlighting on green paper

INK

WASHES

Besides striving for a precise depic-

BOY LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW

THE ARTIST’S DORM ROOM

tion of the subject, ink washes post

18” x 24” Ink wash on paper

a different challenge because they require a “looseness” in the artist’s hands. The artist needs to learn to ‘let go,’ learn to trust the ink and water color. It took me various attempts before I produce the following 2 pieces. The Master Copies showed previously have certainly helped build up my conﬁdence. The key is to let the ink and water color ﬂow without feeling I was losing control. No matter how the ink and color bleed and blend into each other, at the end, I know I will make sense of them all, will make every bleed and blend as if they were all intentional.

Master Copy: JEANIE FAN (1981-) 10 1/2” x 13 1/2” Oil stick and oil pastel on bristol Origional: PORTRAIT OF CAMILLE ROULIN c. 1888 VINCENT VAN GOGH (1853-1890) 43.2 cm x 34.9 cm Oil on canvas

S U P P O RT I N G

M AT E R I A LS

FOR

XIN

JEANIE

FAN