johan cheah // portfolio vol. 1
“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it� -Michaelangelo
ONTENT
PORTFOLIO VOL. 1
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CHAPTER 01 DESIGN 1
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VISUAL COMMUNICATION 1 DESIGN 2
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VISUAL COMMUNICATION 2
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CHAPTER 02 DESIGN 3
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VISUAL COMMUNICATION 3 DESIGN 4
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CHAPTER 03 DESIGN 5
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CHAPTER 01
My journey through architecture probably begins with the first LEGO set my parents bought for me. Growing up, I have always aspired to create. Fascination in the built world led me to enroll into The University of Texas at Austin Architectural Engineering. I initally did not apply to the School of Architecture, fearing that I would not be good enough, but looking at my degree plan I saw a lack of opportunity for me to develop creatively. Halfway through freshman year I applied to join the Architecture + Architectural Engineering dual degree program. I did not want to live with regret of never trying. While away in Hong Kong, I received the email that I was accepted and flew back to complete a rigorous summer studio session...
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JUMPMAN DESIGN 1 // PROF. SMILJA MILOVANOVIC SUMMER 2016
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My first project, lasting a week long, involves the idea of “microprograms.� We examined a single activity, in my case, jumping, and were constrained to design a small volume to cater to the chosen activity. Slants cut into the volume direct the user upwards with an attracting sky light at the top. Variations in height of cantilevered slabs give the jumper different modes in which they can arrive to the top.
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THE STOP DESIGN 1 // PROF. SMILJA MILOVANOVIC SUMMER 2016
This is a short one week project designing a bus stop attached to the corner of an existing building in downtown Austin. The idea of is based off a double decker bus, where people waiting short term linger on the bottom floor, while those who intend to wait longer can congregate upstairs turning the bus stop into a social stop.
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LIBRARY OF SHOES DESIGN 1 // PROF. SMILJA MILOVANOVIC SUMMER 2016
My “client” is an ex NBA All Star who has been spending his retirement collecting a vast collection of basketball shoes. I was tasked to develop a space for him to archive and showcase his collection. The complex consists of a main archival building, a half sized basketball court, and a display space. There is a high and a low end to the existing site. Stands for spectators are carved to take advantage of the difference in elevation. The design is inspired by traditional libraries with a “reading room” in the center and shelves along the edges. Basketball is a very vertical sport. Slants in the sawtooth roof design and the design of the shelving point visitors upwards. Visitors begin on the ground and travel along two stairs on the edge and ascend to a second floor, like a basketball player ascending to perform a slam dunk.
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LINE, SQUARE, RECTANGLE VISUAL COMMUNICATION 1 // PROF. JOYCE ROSNER SUMMER 2016
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A study of composition using line, square, and rectangle elements, which expored the relationships established by alignment, shape, and proportion
Breaking down a tool into its working components through hand drawing without the use of a drafting board. In this case, a selfie stick.
TOOL DRAWING VISUAL COMMUNICATION 1 // PROF. JOYCE ROSNER SUMMER 2016
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PERSPECTIVE VISUAL COMMUNICATION 1 // PROF. JOYCE ROSNER SUMMER 2016
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A collision of volumes hand drawn without a drafting board using two point perspective techniques
Learning to draw axonometrically aided with the use of a triangle and drafting board.
AXONOMETRIC VISUAL COMMUNICATION 1 // PROF. JOYCE ROSNER SUMMER 2016
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LIVING WALL DESIGN 2 // PROF. MICHAEL BENEDIKT SUMMER 2016
Instead of culminating into one final project, for this design studio we were tasked with a series of short one week miniprojects that involved designing fundamental aspects of architecture: a wall, a door, a window, and a roof. Each element involved a practical as well as a poetic aspect to the design and narrative. The first of the projects was the wall. The wall is comprised of a series of modular planter boxes attached to pivoting rods allowing the wall to move and adapt, providing another layer of life to the wall.
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HIDDEN DOOR DESIGN 2 // PROF. MICHAEL BENEDIKT SUMMER 2016
The next project was the door. The concept is a marble veneered door that would seemlessly blend with a marble wall to seperate an open space from a sacred space. The user would have to apply some effort to push the door open, but as the marble is only veneered, the door would be lighter than its bulking appearance.
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DREAMER’S WINDOW DESIGN 2 // PROF. MICHAEL BENEDIKT SUMMER 2016
After the door, came the window. The client is an avid reader and so the design of the window pertrudes out of the building and features surrounding glass to seemingly let the user escape from reality. The design is divided into a grid based on dimensions of how the human body likes to sit or lay down. The grid breaks up the mass into storage bins and multiple levels are featured for different layers of interaction and use.
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FOLDED ROOF DESIGN 2 // PROF. MICHAEL BENEDIKT SUMMER 2016
Finally, the last of the series of miniprojects is the roof. Inspired by origami, the art of Japanese paper folding, I sought to make the surface of the roof to be bend and folded. Using the triangle as the basis, as it is the strongest shape in structures, I created a structural hierarchy of wooden beams. The edges of the surface fold upwards to invite users under, as well as collect rainwater into a pipe that runs down the columns.
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THE WAVE VISUAL COMMUNICATION 2 // PROF. IGOR SIDDIQUI SUMMER 2016
Visual Commucation 2 was an introduction to the software program, Rhino, and into the world of possibilities of digital fabrication. We began by starting off with a simple cube, and making small iterative changes to create new shapes with developable surfaces. With these new shapes I chose two and combined them using boolean operations to amass a unique form. The form is then able to be fabricated through a laser cutter, which is then hosted on another surface designed in Rhino and fabricated through layers of sheets of cardboard.
OBJECT UNFOLDED
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01_ORIGIN
02_MOVE EDGE
03_MOVE FACE
04_SCALE1D
05_MOVE EDGE
06_MOVE EDGE
07_MOVE FACE
08_MOVE EDGE
09_MOVE EDGE
10_SCALE1D
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J_MOVE EDGE
I_FOLD FACE
H_FOLD FACE
G_FOLD FACE
F_MOVE EDGE
E_FOLD FACE
D_MOVE EDGE
32'
C_FOLD FACE
21'
B_MOVE EDGE
10'
A_ORIGIN
0
I02
H03
I02/H03
I02
B08
I02/B08
C05
I02
C05/I02
H03
C05
H03/C05
I02
H03
I02/H03
C05
B08
C05/B08
I02/H03_I02/B08
C05/I02_H03/C05
E01/F01_E02/F02
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EXPLODED ISOMETRIC
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CHAPTER 02
I quickly learned how different architecture school was from engineering school. It was two completely different ways of thinking, In engineering there there are right and wrong answers, but in architecture there seems to be an infinite number of solutions to design. After summer studio, I had about a week and half to rest before the fall semester began. My first semester in both architecture and engineering...
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CAPITAL LOOP DESIGN 3 // PROF. KORY BIEG FALL 2016 PARTNER: RAYMOND CASTRO (FIRST HALF)
We began the design process by analyzing a precedent, the Denmark Pavillon by BIG. We created a ruleset based off the design of our precedent, and tried to find ways to expand upon or break those rules parametrically. The core of the Denmark Pavillon was the infinite loop. BIG pegged that a core piece of Denmark’s identity is bike travel so they designed it so that visitors can continuously circulate throughout the structure by bike. I took the idea of the loop, and multiplied it, intersected them, broke them, and combined them. Then we were tasked with the program of creating a visitors center using the ruleset we established earlier. The visitor center consists of three loops housing three types of program and intersect to create unique spaces. The loop runs through all dimensions, horizontally and vertically, and morphs with the existing landscape to create hills allowing for a new level of interaction and activity.
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THREE PROGRAMS
SECTION 01 40
THREE INTERLOCKED LOOPS
STRETCH FOR PROGRAM
PINCH/SQUEEZE
REBUILD WITH LESS POINTS
MODIFY
SECTION 02 41
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3 1 4 B
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PLAN 01 1 Exhibition space A Section 01 B Section 02
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PLAN 02 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Retail Cafe Auditorium Reception Admin Library/Archive Restrooms
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BRAZOS ST
E 13TH ST
W 12TH ST
CONGRESS AVE
E 12TH ST
E 11TH ST
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CONCEPT TOWER VISUAL COMMUNICATION 3 // PROF. MATTHEW LEACH FALL 2016
Studying the properties within Revit’s adaptve components system, we were challenged to create a tower that could be changed parametrically using easily editable adaptive components. In my design I created a series of hexagon profiles and panels which could vary in size and material.
PROFILE //
STRUCTURE //
FACADE // 49
ISOMETRIC //
OPTION 1
OPTION 2
OPTION 3
ISOMETRIC // ISOMETRIC //
OPTION 1 OPTION 1
OPTION 2 OPTION 2
OPTION 3 OPTION 3
PLAN // PLAN // PLAN //
ELEVATION // ELEVATION // ELEVATION //
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DEFINITION //
ELEVATION //
THE NEST VISUAL COMMUNICATION 3 // PROF. KORY BIEG FALL 2016
In this Visual Communication module we were taught of the paramatric nature of Grasshopper for Rhino. I created a script with several variables to produce different nest like domes.
DEFINITION //
JOHAN CHEAH
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HERITAGE NEIGHBORHOOD INTERVENTION DESIGN 4 // PROF. CHARLES DI PIAZZA SPRING 2017 PARTNER: STEPHANIE LAWRENCE
The Heritage Neighborhood is located northwest of the ever expanding downtown Austin. We were tasked to analyze the neighborhood alongside a precedent and apply the ideas of that precedent to master plan a future for the neighborhood to account for the growing population density of Austin. Our precedent was an unbuilt project, the Vertical Village by Tham & Videgard Architects. The basic idea of the project was to maximize green space by minimizing building footprint. In order to do so, the architects built upwards creating single family homes that were three or four stories tall. Hedges created enclosures for private as well as public garden spaces. This idea applied well to the neighborhood in that we are able to increase density without compromising the identity of single family housing. Mixed use apartment complexes would only lie on the edges where there are major roads. We converted old historical buildings into commercial and community spaces. A pedestrian path runs through the parcel of land like a spine and opens into Shoal Creek. Public spaces are created which were originally non existent, bringing more life to this neighborhood.
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ZONING
EXISTING SITE
PRECENDENT STUDY
PROPOSED SITE
AUSTIN, TX
HASSELBY, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
150% INCREASE IN DENSITY
SINGLE FAMILY
COMMUNITY SPACE
MULTI FAMILY
MIXED USE
COMMERCIAL
SCALE: 1”-200ʼ STEPHANIE LAWRENCE + JOHAN CHEAH
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3100 GUAD DESIGN 4 // PROF. CHARLES DI PIAZZA SPRING 2017
In this studio, we were challenged to develop a mixed use complex in order to accommodate the growing population of downtown Austin but also consider the existing Heritage Neighborhood, which mostly consists of homes from the 1940s. My goal was to optimize the living condition of the residents that would live here through living modules and program. Units are rotated to face southwards to maximize optimal sunlight and views. Directly south of the site is the University of Texas and downtown. By rotating the units, not only does this create an interesting and dynamic facade, but it gives each unit more of a individual feel as opposed to a unit amongst a whole in a typical apartment complex. Roof slants are given to the top floor modules that reference a house like typology and allow for clerestory windows. This sense of individuality refers to the single family unit identity of the existing neighborhood.
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Program stacked: Private Public Parking
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Individual units formed Pedestrian corridors cut Courtyard space created
Units rotated to maximize sunlight and views
PLAN 00 1
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Ramp Pool Parking Storage lockers Vestibule Maintenance
UP
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PLAN 02
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Terrace Open to below 3BR Unit 1BR Unit
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UP
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PLAN 01 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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GUADALUPE ST
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Amphitheater/Ramp Pool Fitness Center Community Center Laundry Coworking Space Courtyard Retail
Early concept model
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ONE BEDROOM UNIT (ONE MODULE)
THREE BEDROOM UNIT (TWO MODULES)
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CHAPTER 03
I now had a year of both architecture and engineering schools under my belt. Over summer break, I lived with my older sister in Seattle for a month and got an opportunity to work with her architecture firm creating models. After my experience in school, I felt like I began to view space in a different way as I began to explore the city. But still there is still much more to learn if I am to pursue everything from design to construction. The engineering classes begin to get harder, and design studio begin to start integrating structure and building systems...
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BARTON SPRINGS SPA DESIGN 5 // PROF. MICHAEL GARRISON FALL 2017 PARTNER: RAYMOND CASTRO
This was a two a half week long project spent developing a potential new spa in addition to an already proposed new master plan for Austin’s famous Barton Springs. Barton Springs is a recreational public all natural pool in the heart of the city, a staple of Austin culture. Part of the Barton Springs experience is not in just the pool itself but rather it is the combined experience of everything that encompasses it; the breathtaking views, the signature diving board, tanning and people watching, and the nearby Zilker Park, the running trails, and the local food trucks. My partner and I decided to question what really is a spa, and could one experience a spa like they do Barton Springs in a la carte fashion? We began the design process by splitting up the program and determining potential lines for views and paths that do not disturb the site’s landscape. The sight of Barton Spring’s fresh waters entice visitors into a journey through the trees. The paths, inspired by the Town Lake running trails weave spa visitors amongst the site’s luscious trees, giving them an escape into a forest. The program sits on top piers as to only barely touch and seemingly float above the ground. Wood buildings blend interior and exterior spaces and translucent roofs illuminate dappled light of tree leaves and branches into spa spaces. The paths culminate into a marquee diving point that levitates over the pool paying homage to original diving board.
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IPE Decking
Strongwell Fiberglass
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site
important trees marked
program
general massing formed
parking lot recessed, new trees planted
view lines established
areas of potential
intersections marked 73
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GUELPH MARKET HALL DESIGN 5 // PROF. MICHAEL GARRISON FALL 2017
Guelph, Ontario is a growing city that desires a new market hall that will bring life to its developing downtown area. In summary, the master plan calls for a premier destination that will attract population growth to drive economic and cultural development, as well as adhere to Guelph’s sustainible goals. The site is is located in a unique position, at the border between the current downtown and the developing downtown and an intersection of Gordon St, a major city artery, a pedestrian path that connects the site to the river, and a railway. Historically, crossroads indicate a point of significance, like in ancient Roman city planning where the forum is placed at the intersection of the two major streets. The forum for Rome was not simply just a market center, but a cultural center, so I sought to design a cultural hub for Guelph. These three points of entry create opportunites for public space, and these public spaces blend to form the building footprint of two bars coming together. These two bars are then manipulated to create a dynamic green roof structure with a cornucopia like shape, that symbolically spills out food into main multipurpose plaza.
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points of entry into site
opportunity for public space
building footprint formed
blend public space with building space
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Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate City Hall Train Station Armory Police Station New residential tower New train station Sunken courtyard Main plaza Park space
t space in warm weather while keeping visitors warm in cold weather
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City sanitary main
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3
60 (°F)
2.5
50 2
(in)
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30
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0.5
10 0 Rainfall Avg Temp Min Temp Max Temp
Jan 2.4 19.4 12.4 26.4
Feb 2.24 20.5 12.9 28.2
Mar 2.76 28.4 20.7 36.1
Apr 2.87 42.1 32.7 51.6
May 2.87 53.2 42.4 64.2
Jun 3.07 62.8 51.8 73.8
Jul 3.22 67.3 56.1 78.4
Aug 3.58 65.3 54.7 76.1
Sep 3.43 58.3 48.2 68.4
Oct 2.8 48 39 57
Nov 3.19 36.3 29.8 43
Dec 3.15 24.3 18 30.7
0
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extrude volume
green roof
play
culture
extend for program
pinch at points
economy
train platform added, service path established 81
SECTION 01 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Sunken plaza allows for natural light in basement floor Skylight illuminates main stairwell atrium space Green roof insulates heat well Heating system can melt snowfall Living roof system collects rain water Water is stored in large storage talk Water is heated or cooled in radiant system Hot water warms interior space Green wall irrigation system
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Rain water Living Roof Growing media Irrigation tubes Low flow fixtures Potable water emergency backup City sanitary main
Storage tank
Black water treatment
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(in)
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panded market space in warm weather while keeping visitors warm in cold weather
0 Rainfall Avg Temp Min Temp Max Temp
Jan 2.4 19.4 12.4 26.4
Feb 2.24 20.5 12.9 28.2
Mar 2.76 28.4 20.7 36.1
Apr 2.87 42.1 32.7 51.6
May 2.87 53.2 42.4 64.2
Jun 3.07 62.8 51.8 73.8
Jul 3.22 67.3 56.1 78.4
Aug 3.58 65.3 54.7 76.1
Sep 3.43 58.3 48.2 68.4
Oct 2.8 48 39 57
Nov 3.19 36.3 29.8 43
Dec 3.15 24.3 18 30.7
0
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Rain water
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FLOOR 00
FLOOR 01
FLOOR 02
FLOOR 03
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Small shops Sunken courtyard Dining area Food court vendors Maintenace Water tank Restrooms Vendor breakroom Loading dock Vendor storage Vendor lockers
Market hall Reception area Performance hall Restrooms Administrative offices
Collaborative work space Terminal Restaurant/Bar Train station
Outdoor terrace Restrooms Storage Classrooms Balcony
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Railing Plant selection Growing medium Filter sheet
Wood cladding
Drainage layer Waterproofing layer Vapor barrier Concrete slab Ribbed metal sheeting Steel truss 9’ Steel beam
Motor Sliding mechanism Latching mechanism
Insulation Acoustic pad Wood ceiling
Bifold hangar door system
Concrete Radiant heating/cooling pipes
Concrete foundation pad
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in cold cold weather Bifold hangar door system allows for expanded market space space in in warm warm weather weather while while keeping keeping visitors visitors warm wam in
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The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture + Cockrell School of Engineering
johancheah@utexas.edu 817.996.8484
www.johancheah.com