JEFFREY WEICHEN KUO
JEFFWKUO@GMAIL.COM 760 504 9697 JEFFWKUO.COM
THE OFFICE FIT-OUT: STRUCTURED Winter 2015 | UCLA Architecture and Urban Design ARCH 121 | Instructor: Erin Besler
START-UP NO.3 CORE
START-UP NO.4 CORE
START-UP NO.1 CORE
START-UP NO.2 CORE
Our class was divided up to work on three buildings, each designed uniquely by separate individuals. This was a big excercise in communication and trust due to the nature and scale of the group project. Each building was assigned three groups, each group would be one of the following: structured open plan, unstructured open plan, and structured private plan. Two others and I were assigned to a structured open plan for “a group of start-up companies.” This was assigned to the top three floors of the building. The start-up is a dynamic entity which can grow and migrate. To regulate and compensate these issues we created a system of working blocks to localize their areas, but also catalyze the opportunity for cross-start-up interaction. block structure could be detrimental to the floor’s atmosphere as a whole, because even the smallest degree of separation between start ups could promote a competitive atmosphere between them.
START-UP NO.7 CORE
drawing: 8th floor grouping diagram image: 1:5 model
CIRCULATION CORE
START-UP NO.5 CORE START-UP NO.6 CORE
1:5 Model
ABOVE THE FINISHED FLOOR: VOIDS Spring 2016 | UCLA Architecture and Urban Design ARCH 143 | Instructor: Gabriel Fries Briggs
This project originated from forming a pile of rocks inside of a acrylic cube, then documenting them with plans and elevations. As an exercise to move into the realm of more complex NURB modeling, we used these forms as our base models. What intrigued me most about my formation of rocks, were the void spaces that it created. At no point were any of the rocks touching at more than 4 points due to their irregular shapes. I took this inspiration and created a wire-frame that higlighted these points of interest. First I transposed my orginal object into a lattice structure which in a sense was the friendliest representation to the idea of void space. The last step of this exercise required a system that would support our free standing panels, so I designed a framing system to enhance the sense of void space by placing extrusions on the edges of the openings.
image one: third iteration model image two: first iteration model image three: second iteration model
first iteration model
second iteration model
1. rocks in an acryllic cube
2. digital model of rocks
3. void delineation
4. void weaving
5. void framing
third iteration model - plan perspective
third iteration model - unrolled surfaces
VERNON, L.A. NORMALCY + PRIVACY Spring 2017 | UCLA Architecture and Urban Design ARCH 123 | Instructor: Jimenez Lai Partner: Anton Lundblad
Project music video: https://youtu.be/d7HTsilR0AM
This brief presents the problem of gathering existing program and combining it into a single structure. We looked at the city of Vernon in Los Angeles, an industrial zone with a population of 144. In addition to the combining of program, we were asked to incorporate Vernon’s first park. Our study of normalcy focused on privacy. Privacy dominates Vernon due to its use of warehouses, barred windows, and lack of public spaces. We convey the motif of privacy through verticality and porocity, the higher and more porous the building goes, the more private it gets. Accessibility is limited through knowledge of cores, and separation of buildings creates sense of individualism. In terms of representation we looked at images by Filip Dujardin— images which conveyed eerily normal architecture.
image: axonometric cut image two: interpretive rendering
Elevation Render
DARKROOM: TAPERS AND EXTRUSIONS Fall 2015 | UCLA Architecture and Urban Design ARCH 141 | Instructor: Mohamed Sharif
Inspired from the text “How to Lay Out a Croissant� by Enric Miralles, this project takes a spin on his instructions to take the drawing further. Sprouting from the geometries of a croissant, tapered walls come up from a 2D drawing to form a collision of spaces which encapsulate a central space. Through these extrusions, the problem of accessibility and circulation presents itself. Implemented in the center-most extrusion, the main vertical-wall enclosure, are a series of apertures which not only allows light to penetrate the structure but also allows circulation platforms to be more dynamic. This structure is curve-heavy and demands a balance in vertical elements, so the implemented windows act as a supplement to the vertical and horizontal nature of the navigatible pathway. The circulation incorporated into this project weaves through the windows and above and below the ground zero.
portfolio cover: site isometric image one: model (north) image two: model (southwest) image three: model (bottom)
Model (bottom)
GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY: UNDERCUT CAFE Summer 2014 | UCLA AUD - Jumpstart Instructors: Mira Henry & Georgina Huljich
This project situates itself at a cliff edge, adjacent to the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California. From the top of the retaining wall to the top of the hill is a 15 foot drop. The edge faces west, and is a prime destination for tourists to admire the coast and beautiful sunsets of Los Angeles. Functioning as both a bookstore and cafe lounge hybrid structure, this building takes advantage of the steep grade and elevation drop by incorporating deep sawtooth cuts into the ground and retaining wall These step-like cuts would provide entrance to the building, but also serve as spaces where people could enjoy their food or read books from the cafe and bookstore above. To delineate the interior spaces of the structure, the building uses a corner pivot motif where only the corners of the separate “bars� touch each other, which further emphasizes the over-all negative space motif.
drawing one: plan image: model elevation drawing two: section perspective
model elevation
section perspective
PORTMANTEAU : DORM + THEATRE
Fall 2016 | UCLA Architecture and Urban Design ARCH 122 | Instructor: Katy Barkan
This brief presents the problem of incorporating a dorm into a theater. Students were asked to design a building which incorporated a (given) theater but also comply to the programmatic needs of the public and private spaces. The theater given, was awkwardly designed; it was a symmetrical trapezium-esque form that is undercut and stands at a 23’ high. Taking this troubled theater, I decided I wanted to camouflage its indecisiveness as a form through a two-grained grid system. The first and third floor are the same in form and units used; the second and fourth floor also the same, with the exception of a roof garden. All the forms and units used in both grains were derived from the provided theater’s angles. In terms of programmatic needs, similar units or “blocks” were used in order to avoid overly micro-designing. In terms of circulation, three core central stair cases were fitted into the grid layout before the two different grains were designed.
image: model with open roof drawing one: ground floor plan diagram two: two grain master grid
Ground-floor plan
Two-grain master-grid diagram 3:32 Model
READYMADES + EXPANDABLES
Spring 2017 | UCLA Architecture and Urban Design ARCH 142 | Instructor: Andrew Kovacs Partners: Jacob Garson, Ashely Gomez, Yuna Kim, Biqin Li, Desiana Permata “Most Habitable” Award Calpoly SLO Design Village 2017 Competition
The readymade structure, was the starting point to design and produce an “instant shelter” for Cal Poly’s Design Village competition. Competition parameters included the banned use of unaltered pre-manufactured structures, so in the style of the artist Kevin Cyr we sought to use modified elements of readymade store-bought structures into our design. Dismembering the components of two pop-up canopies, one black and one white, we used the legs and pitches to create a larger footprint which could separate into different rooms and exhibit a striped elevation pattern. We outfitted the tents with domestic furniture and detailing, down to silverware and slippers, to make our shelter more comfortable to live in. The black and white striping, which we applied on every object in the shelter, including our clothes, serves as a type of blank screen for the user to project their own image of domesticity onto. With these components, we made a structure which can be erected in 15 min and serve as a comfortable home to anyone in need of instant shelter.
Personal responsibilities: Designing and making custom 3D printed joints for canopy modifictions, and canopy layout-design.
SURFACE + PHENOMENA : CHARLES RIVER Summer 2016 | Harvard GSD - Career Discovery Landscape Archecture | Instructor: Zaneta Hong Polarized river timelapse: https://youtu.be/WvkFjQaukoo
The site given was the Charles River in Boston, MA. In terms of phenomena, I was not particularly drawn to mapping pedestrian movement data on the sidewalks, nor was I drawn to the movement in the trees, but I was drawn to more specifically the changing surface textures on the river. Although I did not know it at the time, the most interesting phenomena was the moving oil on the surface of the water, it was exceptionally hard to map. Being a pedestrian on the ground, only gave me a number of viewpoints in which I could document its movement. By using a polarized filter on a timelapse video of the river, I was able to capture some aspects of the phenomena (link above). A few factors played roles in the movement of this residue, pedestrian movement on the river, geese, and of course the relatively strong winds that came through the channel. Through several site visits, I mapped movement of kayaks, canoes, ferries and boats.
diagram left: Hybrid-section depicting stacked water typologies at each cut. diagram right: All movement data projected over the river.
SYSTEMS + INTERVENTIONS
Summer 2016 | Harvard GSD Career Discovery Landscape Architecture | Instructor: Zaneta Hong
This brief engages the idea of systems as a mode of analysis. Before designing an intervention, our group of 20 landscape students took two weeks to analyze the site of the South Bay in Boston. We looked at permeable and impermeable spaces, vegetation, transportation routes, topography, building heights, zoning and program, fence locations, privacy, etc. Once we mapped all these, we then produced synthesis maps that overlayed the data in order to see if there were any correlations. The analysis showed a huge divide in program and accessibility where a railroad on elevated ground just rips through the city (depicted in plan on next page). To combat this dissonance, the proposed intervention takes on the idea of covering the railroad and converting the space into a ecological haven through which animals and people can commute across. This approach solves the problems of programmatic segregation and ecological assimilation through a smoothing effect.
drawing one: axonometric section drawing two: sections drawing three: dissonance plan
THE LOOP + THE STITCH Great Rivers Greenway Competition (Winning Design) Spring 2018 | St Louis, Missouri Stoss Landscape Urbanism | 3 month design period Featured on WLA, ArchDaily, Fox News STL Team: Chris Reed (Principle) Katherine Harvey (Project Manager) Gillian Hutchinson (Project Manager) Elaine Stokes (Designer) Ziwei Zhang (Designer) Jeffrey Kuo (Designer) Jose Devora (Designer) Urban Planning for the American City Alta Marlon Blackwell Architects Damon Davis Mallory Nezam De Nichols Amanda Williams David Mason and Associates Lochmueller Diversity Awareness Partnership HR&A Personal design responisbilites: Designing kit-of-parts with axonomentric drawings (shown on the right), scale-accurate section perspective drawings (seen on final boards), key analysis maps for developing and deciding greenway alignments, and laying out final presentation boards. Final presentation boards must be coordinated with design team on devilerables and focus areas per space on the board. Final boards must be cohesive and easy for the public to read. See last page for official project statement and final boards.
trestle underpark - section perspective
railroad prairie - section perspective
1 SKINKER + FORSYTH INTERSECTION
4 VANDEVENTER
2
3
TECHNO PRAIRIE
FOREST PARK AVENUE
5
6
NORTH GRAND
The Chouteau Greenway began as an east west proposition: connecting green space to green space, Arch to Park. But is this one line enough? There are neighborhoods both north and south and stories of the city that deserve attention and unearthing, that are crying out for equitable consideration and meaningful engagement. Our concept begins with a recognition of the multiple narratives of St. Louis that shape its identity, both good and not so good. An iconic landmark, a beloved park, nationally recognized universities, biotech and innovation - these identities are present and strong. But there are others – hidden stories, a neighborhood erasure, histories of racial tensions. This proposal acknowledges these icons and lost histories, gives voice to the myriad of amazing voices and places that make St. Louis what it is and assembles and reconciles them into the Chouteau Greenway.
UNDER TRESTLE PARK
EFFECTIVE AND SAFE INTERSECTION
1
We propose an east-west Loop that connects Washington University to Forest Park to downtown and the Gateway Arch. We have also proposed a north –south Stitch, that connects Fairgrounds Park and North St. Louis to Tower Grove Park and South St. Louis. In this way the Chouteau Greenway inscribes itself into the city, connecting assets, opportunities, neighborhoods, and people across its rich and diverse fabric. The Loop + The Stitch wind through spaces that are connected by movement, as imagined on a bicycle, in a stroller, or in your jogging shoes. The Loop + The Stitch are about mobility, access and opportunity. The farther reaching ambition pairs mobility with a romance for the city. The discovery, enchantment, and appreciation that viewing a place through the lens that movement can afford.
KEY CONNECTIONS TO FOREST PARK
GREENWAY PARKWAY
BJC WASHU MEDICAL CAMPUS FAST-TRACK BIKE LANES ON VANDEVENTER
2
4
3
KINGSHIGHWAY OVERLOOK CROSSING
ACTIVATE VACANT LOTS
CORTEX
5
TECHNO PRAIRIE
6 SLU
FOREST-MARKET CONNECTION
GRAND CENTER
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB
7
FOUNDRY ARMORY SLU SLU MEDICAL CAMPUS COMPTON HILL RESEVOIR PARK
BOWTIE ECO-PARK GRAND JUNCTION DEVELOPMENT HUB
HARRIS STOWE
MILL CREEK VALLEY PROJECT
8 7 GRAND
8
MARKET STREET AT THE MALL
GREENWAY AT MALL
9 RAIL PRAIRIE
CONNECTION TO ILLINOIS
9 CHOUTEAU LANDING RAIL PRAIRIE
Stoss Landscape Urbanism Urban Planning for the American City ALTA Marlon Blackwell Architects Damon Davis Mallory Nezam De Nichols Amanda Williams David Mason and Associates Lochmueller Diversity Awareness Partnership HR&A
MILL CREEK VALLEY PROJECT
CHOUTEAU LANDING
BOWTIE ECO-PARK
ST. LOUIS ZOO
NORTH GRAND
UNION STATION
JEWEL BOX
BUSCH STADIUM
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
STEINBERG SKATING RINK
MCDONNELL PLANETARIUM
RAIL PRAIRIE
BARNES JEWISH HOSPITAL
ARCH GROUNDS
CHOUTEAU LANDING PAD
FOREST PARK LOOKOUT CITY OVERLOOK CHOUTEAU PUMP TRACK
CHOUTEAU OVERLOOK
MISSISSIPI RIVER LOOKOUT
CHOUTEAU ADVENTURE PARK
KINGSHIGHWAY (LOOKING WEST)
CHOUTEAU LANDING (LOOKING WEST)
TOWER GROVER PARK
GRAND JUNCTION SLU MEDICAL CAMPUS TECHNO PRAIRIE
CHOUTEAU LANDING
FAIRGROUND PARK BARNES JEWISH HOSPITAL DOWNTOWN
GRAND CENTER FAST TRACK BIKE LANES VACANT LOT ACTIVATION
CHOUTEAU PARK STEINBERG SKATING RINK
THE GROVE
FAIRGROUND PARK VACANT LOT ACTIVATION
KINGSHIGHWAY (LOOKING EAST)
FAIRGROUND PARK (LOOKING SOUTH)