JOANNA LUO
Selected Works 2008-2014
“ Recognition of the drawing’s power as a medium turns out, unexpectedly, to be recognition of the drawing’s distinctness from and unlikeness to the thing that is represented, rather than its likeness to it, which is neither as paradoxical nor as dissociative as it may seem.
” Robin Evans from Translations from Drawing to Building
WORK CAREWRITE APP
01
LIWWA
02
NATIONAL DANCE FOR OBAMA
03
PETROPOLIS OF TOMORROW DRIFT AND DRIVE MASTERPLAN PETROLEIRO
04 05 06
CLOUD CONDENSER
07
Freelance | Spring 2013 Client: Harvard Business School Team
Freelance | Spring 2013 Client: Ahmed Moor & Samer Atiani
Freelance | Fall 2012 Client: Anjali Khurana
Rice University Yr 04 | Spring 2012 Prof. Neeraj Bhatia
Rice University Paris Yr 05 | Fall 2013 Prof. Pierre David and John Casbarian
BLURRED MEGACHURCH
08
THE SPIRIT OF THE ZOCALO
09
GRADIENTS OF MOVEMENT
10
Rice University Yr 04 | Fall 2011 Prof. Grant Alford
Rice University Yr 03 | Spring 2011 Prof. Carlos Jimenez
Rice University Yr 02 | Spring 2010 Prof. Michael Morrow and Gordon Wittenberg
FREELANCE | SPRING 2013
CAREWRITE
CLIENT: HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL TEAM
Carewrite was founded by a group of Harvard Business School students competing for the best business idea in their class. Each team was given a sum of money to realize their ideas. They wanted a logo. I gave them a brand. The bee icon is commonly associated with writing and was designed with calming and sensitive colors to invite users to experience the app. This app is targeted to caregivers who want to keep in touch with their loved ones. They would often come into hospitals with unorganized stacks of notebooks and papers with their medical history. This app allows friends and family members to enter their doctor appointments into the calendar, note their prescriptions, input their doctor’s information and choose their caregivers, who will receive updates for upcoming appointments and any other alerts. Phase two of the work with this client was to redesign their interface. In this proposal, I wanted the client to highlight the major advantage of using a smartphone for medical records: the search engine and organized locations to input information. This team won first place for their competition, and we are continuing to d with the app.
FREELANCE | FALL 2013
LIWWA
CLIENT: AHMED MOOR AND SAMER ATIANI
liwwa aims to address structural problems with funding small and medium businesses by enabling people to invest in other people’s businesses. The Middle East and North Africa region has one of the lowest rates of financing of small and medium enterprises. Many if these cases of finances are delivered through inefficient state banks, while private banks usually finance based on personal relationships. liwwa wants to offer a “peer-to-peer” lending system that allows small and medium enterprises by allowing investors to collector principal and risk-premium. liwwa means “banner” in Arabic, which also implies a community gathering in a district. Using this idea of the banner as attractor, I wanted to incorporate this image into the logo. The idea went through many evolutions (to the left) to express the banners.
FREELANCE | FALL 2012
NATIONAL DANCE FOR OBAMA CLIENT: ANJALI KHURANA
National Dance for Obama is a flash mob organization with the aim to encourage people to cast their vote for the 2012 Elections. Nineteen flash mobs across the nation performed on Saturday, October 13, 2012 as part of the grassroots effort and unprecedented display of Obama’s re-election. The client approached me to design a logo for their efforts which would be used on the website and t-shirts all over the country. Due to strict time constraints and the number of cities involved with the flash mob, the logo had to be produced quickly, identifiable, and bold for a t-shirt. Inspired by Matisse’s “The Dance” painting, I wanted to invoke the same sense of movement and togetherness. While most flash mobs are very spontaneous. These shirts aimed to unite people together amongst a crowd and voice a message.
RICE UNIVERSITY YEAR FOUR STUDIO | FALL 2012
THE PETROPOLIS OF TOMORROW EDITORS NEERAJ BHATIA AND MARY CASPER
Brazil is one of the largest oil producers in the world. The latest discoveries off the coast of Rio de Janeiro put Brazil in the top ten list of oil producing nations. The latest findings in the Santos Basin challenge the notion of land-based urbanism associated with oil production. Several “offshore cities� are emerging off the coast to harvest this new found oil in response to greater distances, using helicopters to transport oil workers to these vessels. This studio develops a new type of water-based urbanism focused toward a floating frontier city to aid this logistical crisis. The Petropolis of Tommorw 0.5 (above, left) began after a semester of research about the oil industry and the context of our project, Rio de Janeiro. A new book of the research and our projects were compiled into a book published by Actar in November 2013 and is available on Amazon.
RICE UNIVERSITY YEAR FOUR STUDIO | SPRING 2012
DRIFT & DRIVE
Master Plan in collaboration with Weijia Song and Alexander Yuen PROF. NEERAJ BHATIA
Drift & Drive is a master plan proposal for the deployment of supporting vessels and infrastructure for the Brazilian offshore drilling industry, capitalizes on the latent cycles of the sea and oil extraction. The proposal establishes a hybrid system of moving and stationary islands to optimize the transportation of oil, energy, and people and create a new way of life at sea. The Brazilian offshore master plan is comprised of two loops, each of which is bookended by a hub island (the central hub island acts as both a starting point and a terminus for both loops). The northern loop runs on a fourteen day cycle (twelve days of drift and two days of drive). This frequency aligns with the established work cycle for oil rig workers of two weeks on the rig for working and one week off for rest. Thus, while workers are on the rigs, their family members can occupy the drift boat, and both worker and family can meet at the hub after two weeks. The southern loop works on the same principle, but since it is half the length of the northern loop, the drift boat of the southern loop has a frequency of one week but still aligns with the established two week on/two week off schedule of the oil workers by making two revolutions. Look for animation here.
CURRENT OIL ROUTES
RETROFIT AND EXTEND PIEPLINES
20 Routes 80 km-360 km round trip Crude Oil Tankers 35 tonnes of fuel/day Total Daily Fuel Costs $525,000 for fuel
BRAZILIAN CURRENT
PROPOSAL
65+ Routes 250 km-700km round trip Oil Shuttles 20 tonnes of fuel/day Total Daily Fuel Costs $975,000 for fuel
HUB INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
AGRARIAN ISLANDS per individual entire system
17352 tons
amounts based on typical yearly Brazilian diet
ENERGY ISLANDS
715 Mwh
using solar and wave energy the energy islands produce electricity for the network
Energy Islands act as charge stations to power the drift boat on its journey up-current
OIL LOOPS
FOOD
2017 FOOD
OIL
PEOPLE
2016
OIL
FOOD
OIL
PEOPLE
FOOD
OIL
PEOPLE
FOOD
OIL
PEOPLE
2014
PEOPLE
FOOD
OIL
PEOPLE
PHASING DIAGRAM
2018
2022
2050
RICE UNIVERSITY YEAR FOUR STUDIO | SPRING 2012
PETROLEIRO PROF. NEERAJ BHATIA
Petroleiro, “Oil Tanker� in Portguese, is a mobile oil boat that is re-ballasted by different loads of oil, water, and drilling waste. The boat collects drilling waste and oil workers after their shift at each oil platform, treats the drilling mud and ballast water through pipes that pump into designated hexagonal units, and creates a different surface environment every two hours from the first group of oil workers to the very last group that boards the boat. The individual hexagonal units are calibrated to create four different surface environments every two hours while the oil workers are awake on the boat. As oil workers are picked up, 155 hexagonal tubes are gradually filled with filtered ballast water to allow for the units to create curbs for recreational field boundaries, seats and tables for dining, amphitheater viewing steps, and platforms for performances. While the other 95 hexagonal tubes are gradually filled with processed drilling waste sediment, pushing up housing units like elevators, every two hours. The monumentality provides the Brazilian offshore oil industry with a new typology for both the needs of the oil industry and the master plan
HOUSING UNITS ADAPTIVE SURFACE 1700 RECREATION
THREE FLUIDS AT WORK
1900 DINING
DRILLING FLUID 2100 ENTERTAIN
BALLAST WATER OIL
2300 REST
DYNAMIC UNITS
TRANSFER OIL, DRILLING FLUID, AND WORKERS WITH THE HUB
FLUID PISTONS
DRILLING FLUID
BALLAST WATER
DRILLING MUD TANK
OIL BALLAST WATER TANK
OIL TANK
TRANSFER OF GOODS VIA HUB TO DRIFT BOAT
NESTING AXONOMETRIC
SECTION OF INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL SCHEDULE
EXISTING FPSO
HORIZONTAL STORAGE
FIELD OF PROCESSES
administration services volleyball court
wrestling mat
four square
1700 recreational surface
kitchen tether ball court
badminton court kitchen
lounge area food stalls lounge area
small cafe
1900 dining surface
laundry rooms private dining tables
long dining table
kitchen
laundry room lounge area
tiered 3D IMAX theater
storage storage game night lounge area
bar kitchen
2100 entertainment surface
laundry room kitchen
storage
storage stargazing area
storage
path laundry room
storage
2300 resting surface
RICE UNIVERSITY PARIS YEAR FIVE STUDIO | FALL 2013
CLOUD CONDENSER PROF. PIERRE DAVID AND JOHN CASBARIAN
The studio project is situated on the periphery of Hausmannian Paris of what used to be known as the “faubourgs” or suburbs. Today the faubourgs are where the majority of urban transformations are concentrated in Paris. The challenge of the studio is to find a way to rethink the balance between program, structure and the expression of the building’s envelope. The site of the project is the existing location for the Rice School of Architecture in Paris, and the intention of the project is to cantilever over the neighboring building. Through a series of “figura” paper model explorations, I was interested in designing a horizontal datum that cantilevered over to both of the sides of the site, to inspire architecture students as they hovered over the city, allow joggers to see the city appear as they climbed higher and higher along a spiral path, and provide residents a greater sense of past and present Paris in the faubourg. The structure of the project is a combination of a large truss beam, a forest of columns, and a service wall in the background of the building. The synthesis of the three components allow for volumes of suspended programs to gain unobstructed views of the city.
TRAJECTORY CONNECTION TO WALL +12m
PROGRAM INTERMESHING
SUB-CATEGORIES OF MAIN PROGRAMS
MAIN PROGRAMMATIC RELATIONSHIPS
INTER-PROGRAMMATIC SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS
LIBRARY & CLASSROOM
RSAP
PRINTING & MODELING ROOM
SPORTS CENTRE
NUTRITIONIST
GARRY & JOHN’S OFFICES
RSAP
CLASS ROOM
SPORTS CENTRE
STUDIO
KITCHEN & LUNCHROOM
HOUSING
HOUSING
STUDENT HOUSING
LIBRARY & CLASSROOM
WEIGHT & CARDIO ROOM
LAP POOL
PRINTING & MODELING ROOM
WEIGHT & CARDIO ROOM
LAP POOL
STUDIO
KITCHEN & LUNCHROOM
PENTHOUSE
GARRY & JOHN’S OFFICES
LOCKERS
NUTRITIONIST
CLASS ROOM STUDENT HOUSING
PENTHOUSE
APARTMENTS
APARTMENTS
PROGRAMMATIC PROPORTIONS
LIBRARY
GARRY & JOHN’S OFFICES
PENTHOUSE
CLASSROOM
STUDIO
PRINTING & MODELING ROOM
LAP POOL
WEIGHT & CARDIO ROOM
LOCKERS
NUTRITIONIST
LUNCHROOM
KITCHEN
STUDENT HOUSING
TRAJECTORY
APARTMENTS
STRUCTURE
CLASSROOM
MECHANICAL
ISOMETRIC OF MEGACHURCH IN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON
RICE UNIVERSITY YEAR FOUR STUDIO | FALL 2011
BLURRED THRESHOLD PROF. GRANT ALFORD
Seeker megachurches thrive in sprawl. The ease of flowing in, out, and around the site, provides a sense of freedom to seek out spirituality and refuge at one’s own convenience. The blurred nature of the transition from the outside to the inside creates an unintimidating and approachable space. It allows a sense of curiosity and exploration without commitment. Rather than looking solely at the isolated architectural object’s interiority or exteriority, I have chosen to look at both the inside and the outside, as spaces to attract people from all sides of the site in Downtown Houston by organizing four quadrants of different programs that every downtown needs to establish a community, something that Houston severely lacks. Regardless of individual backgrounds and where they are on their spiritual journey, this megachurch is an opportunity to use the different amenities, without fully committing to a single church, pastor, or religion.
MEGACHURCH PROGRAM
HOUSTON MEGACHURCH THRESHOLDS
lakewood church
isolated architectural object
chapelwood church
gridded or faux-gridded organization
second baptist church
sprawling architectural objects
FOUR FORMAL STRATEGIES
DISPERSAL OF FORM continuous form
single entry
multiple entries in stacked form
dispersal entries
even more dispersed entities
colliding form
subterranean form
angled form
TOPOLOGICAL MOVES ON THE SITE Colliding Form
Continuous Form Even More Dispersed Entities
CONTINUOUS FORM AND VES ON THE SITE VIEWING OPPORTUNITIES
Continuous Form and Viewing Opportunities Colliding Form
ous Form
Form
Subterranean Form
Angled Form
Subterranean Form
Subterranean Form and Green Space Angled Form
Melding into Qudrant and Sunken Plaza
Interconnecting Forms above Amipitheater
A
A
Angled Form
SUBTERRANEAN FORM AND GREEN SPACE Subterranean Form and Green Space
Melding into Qudrant and Sunken Plaza
Interconnecting Forms above Amipitheater
B
MELDING FORM AND SUNKEN PLAZA Melding into Qudrant and Sunken Plaza
B
Interconnecting Forms above Amipitheater
N
16
1 4 0 2
INTERCONNECTED FORMS AND AMPHITHEATER Interconnecting Forms above Amipitheater
8
32
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
SECTION A
SECTION B
1 0
4
1 0
16 8
2
4 2
16 8
AXONOMETRIC OF FOUR QUADRANTS
N
16
1 4 0 2
UNDERGROUND FLOOR PLAN
8
32
ISOMETRIC SITE PLAN
SECTIONAL MODEL OF SUBTERRANEAN COLUMBARIUM
1/4”=1’- 0”
SOUTH ELEVATION
ZOCALO
NORTH ELEVATION
RICE UNIVERSITY YEAR THREE STUDIO | SPRING 2011
THE SPIRIT OF THE ZOCALO PROF. CARLOS JIMENEZ
ZOCALO
Mexico City’s Zocalo is the heart of the city. A gathering space for many centuries for ceremonies, parades, religious events, and proclamations, the Zocalo is an empty void that plays a large role as a political, artistic, and cultural hub. Dense blocks of historical buildings surround the Zocalo, creating visual and physical barriers from getting to it. The proposed Americas Cultural Center sits within the dense city block, but it acts as a thoroughfare to connect the two sides of the block. It reinvents the centered courtyard typology of the historic center by shifting the courtyard away from center, loosening the proximity to the adjacent buildings for passage. One of the only green spaces in the historical center, these shifted courtyards allow performers, artists, tourists, and residents to gather as an alternative to the Zocalo. Housing spaces for performances and exhibitions to showcase the different cultures of the Americas, this project opens up the block for passage, while providing both permanent and temporary spaces for a constantly active society and culturally rich city.
LONG SECTION AB
UPPER GALLERY AND VIEWING SPACE, PEAK OUT TO CITY STREET
OPEN AIR PERFORMANCE SPACE, “SPIRIT OF THE ZOCALO”
OFFICE CATWALK AND LOWER GALLERY SPACE
SHORT SECTION OF NORTH SIDE
B
LUIS GONZÁLEZ OBREGÓN
c
THIRD FLOOR PLAN
B
LUIS GONZÁLEZ OBREGÓN
c
CALLE DE DONCELES
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
A
CALLE DE DONCELES
A
SECOND FLOOR PLAN
NORTH ELEVATION VIEW
MODEL 1/16” = 1’-0”
SOUTH SIDE SECTION VIEW
RICE UNIVERSITY YEAR TWO STUDIO | SPRING 2010
GRADIENTS OF MOVEMENT in collaboration with Alexander Yuen PROF. MICHAEL MORROW AND GORDON WITTENBERG
Located in southwest Harris County, this transit center is an integral part of the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority’s plans for expansion. While the transit center facilitates the different modes of transportation, it is also a 24-hour, 7-days a week space that functions as a part of the commute to work and a marketplace with fanned platforms facing the courtyard. Parallel to the highway, commuters enter the building on the west side, or are dropped off on the north and south sides of the building, while the visitors mainly drive into the structure from the east entrance. The connection of the east and west sides, or the “assembly line bridge” that begins on the second floor is visible upon entering and exiting the transit center from the courtyard and the platforms. The bar and balcony above the highway provide excellent views and the commotion of a car city.
HOUSTON STRIP MALL
PARKING/RETAIL REVERSAL
RETAIL DIET
59 610
KOWTOW TO INTERCHANGE
SITE PLAN OF BELLAIRE, HOUSTON, TEXAS
ARTICULATION
EXTENSION Site Plan
0
25’
75’
150’
250’
ROOF SHADING AND VENTILATION SYSTEM
8 AM
GREEN ROOF
CAFE AND BAR METRO PLATFORM
RETAIL STRIP
8 AM
COURTYARD LEISURELY AND TIMELY PEDESTRIAN FLOW
MULTI-USE PLATFORMS RESTAURANT
LIGHT RAIL 8 PM
BUSES
PARKING
DROP-OFF
BICYCLE PARKING
8 PM
EFFICIENT VEHICULAR FLOW PARKING SATURATION
Balcony
Bar
Train Platform
Bus Platform
Train Platform
Bus Platform
Waiting Area
Car Drop Off
Metro Office
Outdoor Market Space
Outdoor Market Space
Entrance to Parking
Fine Dining Restaurant
Entrance Quick Shop
Open Courtyard
Car Drop Off Coffee Shop
Open Entrance
Ground Floor Plan
0
32’
64’
128’
256’
Second Floor Plan
0
32’
64’
128’
256’
Third Floor Plan
0
64’
32’
128’
256’
Fourth Floor Plan
Balco
Bu
Train Platform
Bus Platform
Car Drop Off
Metro Office
Outdoor Market Space
Entrance to Parking
Fine Dining Restaurant
Entrance Quick Shop
Open Courtyard
Car Drop Off Coffee Shop
Open Entrance
Ground Floor Plan
Fourth Floor Plan
0
0
32’
64’
128’
256’
32’
64’
128’
256’
Second Floor Plan
0
32’
64’
128’
256’
Third Floor Plan
EDUCATION
Rice University
Houston, TX
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, May 2012 Candidate for Bachelor of Architecture, May 2014
EXPERIENCE
Thomas Phifer and Partners
New York City
Junior Architect, June 2012-Present
K2Ld
Singapore Summer Intern, June-August 2011
Cannon Design
Shanghai, China
Summer Intern, May-August 2010
Nelson Chen Architects Ltd Hong Kong
Summer Intern, June-July 2009
AWARDS
Texas Architecture Foundation, O’Neil Traveling Fellowship Europe, August - December 2013
Odebrecht Award for Sustainable Development Drift & Drive Petropolis First Place, 2012
Mary Ellen Hale Lovett Traveling Fellowship Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Summer 2011
JOANNA LUO 2440 north boulevard houston, tx 77098 joanna.a.luo@rice.edu