John Leano works by John Leano

JOHN LEANO works

A commercial tower with an active cooling “green screen” becomes a unique node within a greater development in Shenzhen

TCL HQ

BKL // COMMERCIAL TOWER

Positing a post-COVID hybrid learning environment

HYBRID LEARNING CONCEPT

BKL // EDUCATION LEADERSHIP PIECE

PARQ Parsippany is an architectural design and master planning concept for six multi-family low-rises, two townhome product types, convenience retail, office space and public/private green space on a 45.1 acre site. Key drivers of the project include the anticipation of millennial demographic families and the growing market demand for luxury high-density, urban living. The challenge of meeting specific area, unit and efficiency targets, zoning and ordinance requirements was met with a meticulous messaging of zoning envelopes, building footprints, unit planning and urban design.

PARQ PARSIPPANY

WATG // MIXED-USE MASTER PLAN

In a 1-week exercise, WATG developed a concept for a residential tower - one of a series of high-rises within a proposed masterplan in Monterrey, Mexico. The concept includes a retail podium and tower adjacent to a local park. The tower design borrows from the character of the surrounding mountains through a structurally simple assembly - a pixelized massing and a simple yet elegant curtain wall that reflects the grandeur of its natural setting.

DISTRITO DIEGO RIVERA

WATG // RESIDENTIAL TOWER

The redevelopment of Stabroek District in Georgetown, Guyana involves a comprehensive master plan that improves and revitalizes Georgetown’s historic district - confronting the extant issues of vehicular disorganization and poor sanitation. The proposal includes a new mixed-use tower, a centralized minibus terminal, an addition to the existing indoor Stabroek Market, a waterfront promenade and dock, with an emphasis on pedestrian friendliness. The new mixed-use retail, office, residential, hotel and casino Pearl Tower would be the tallest building in Guyana and its first skyscraper, serving as an anchor and focal point of a modernized downtown and bearing the standard for future development.

WATER STREET MARKETPLACE SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Ramroop Investments, LLC

Ramroop

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

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Ramroop Investments, LLC

STABROEK MARKET EXPLODED AXON

STABROEK DISTRICT REDEVELOPMENT SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Ramroop Investments, LLC

WATG // MIXED-USE MASTER PLAN AND TOWER

Sugar Land includes five residential towers, an office tower, and a +100-key hotel above a retail/parking podium. The critical issue of providing the necessary parking for all programming was resolved by establishing a 2-level parking ring as part of the retail podium. The podium roof subsequently lends itself as one of the project’s most attractive features - an elevated park accessible to residents and the public. The design playfully integrates high-rise tenant living with a suburban sense of community.

SUGAR LAND

WATG // MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT

Vanke, China’s largest residential real estate developer, hosted a competition for the design of a mixed-use 300m tower in Shezhen. Drawing from the familiar density and character of hutong neighborhoods found in many Chinese cities, the design situates three towers - one mixedresidential and hotel, and two adjacent office towers above a multi-level retail podium. The concept captures the meandering and walking experiece commonly found in hutongs but with contemporary sophistication and luxury elegance.

VANKE HQ

WATG // TOWER DESIGN COMPETITION

3D PRINTING MACHINE A machine for Additive Manufacturing. Allows you to print 3d objects from a computer file. Despite its elimination of labor workforce, promises to cultivate local production and custom manufacturing. No need to wait for delivery, just print what you need, when you need it.

AGV ROBOT Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) retrieval system. Kiva is currently the best known model. Rather than pickers collecting goods in a warehouse, these bots do the job faster and with greater accuracy. Navigate courtesy of barcode stickers on warehouse floor and have sensors to prevent them colliding with one another. Accompanying software directs closest bot to where a product lies in the warehouse. Battery operated. Needs recharging for 5 minutes every hour. Slowly replacing human pickers in the warehouse. The robots do not demand health insurance or vacation days.

AIRBNB Online travel site that rents out aps and houses (2008).

ALGORITHMS A set of steps that enables a computer program to accomplish a task. Allows one to search through huge data sets and a vast number of possibilities, quickly and efficiently. For example, can calculate the quickest route for your Uber to arrive.

AMAZON.COM E-commerce corporation and cloud services infrastructure, founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994.

ALIBABA E-commerce corporation in China (1999).

APPLE Technology company founded in 1976.

APPS A computer program (application) for a service that is downloaded to your phone to help you perform a specific function. For example, an application that helps you have food delivered to your home, or an app for navigation or a message app like KakaoTalk. Other popular Korean apps include Naver Dictionary, Memrise, Seoul Bus and the food delivery apps, Yogiyo and Baedal Minjok.

ASSEMBLY BOT Large industrial scale robots used in manufacturing. Popular in auto production and aircraft assembly.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Enabling computers to perform human tasks. For example, telling your TV to turn itself off. Recent systems gaining popularity are Alexa (Amazon), Siri (Apple); and Google Assistant.

AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM) Early example of an automated interface in the banking industry from 1967. Otherwise known as a cashpoint. Early machines used tokens rather than a card and PIN number. Offered convenience, speed, selfservice and 24-hour access to banking that is now taken for granted. Earliest technological platform to enter the city.

AUTOMOBILE Continues to get smaller and more sustainable. Still the primary mode of transportation for many. New car sharing services from Uber to Zipcar will make car ownership less attractive. Driverless vehicles to be commercially viable by 2020.

BICYCLE One of the few inventions of the modern era to withstand the test of time. Still crucial to personal mobility. Has been given a renewed lease of life by bike sharing networks popular in many cities worldwide. Also used for delivery by couriers because its nimble and quick.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/03/a-brief-history-of-theatm/388547/

https://www.90daykorean.com/korean-apps/

High-Speed Robots Part 1: Meet BettyBot in “Human Exclusion Zone” WarehousesThe Window-WIRED, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gy5tYVR-28 High-Speed Robots Part 2: Kiva Robots in the Workplace & in our E-commerce Economy-The Window-WIRED, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU4YMDJNzpg

CARGO AIRCRAFT Aircraft used to carry cargo. These are mostly retrofitted passenger planes with special cargo pallets and containers that are profiled to fit the plane fuselage. Many passenger planes also double as cargo vessels and carry freight in the baggage hold. Typically used for “high value, low volume” goods. For example, Apple’s, iPhone and iPads. A Boeing 777 can carry 450,000 iPhones. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-11/the-iphone-s-secret-flights-from-chinato-your-local-apple-store.html

DELIVERY BACKPACK Essential accessory used by couriers for local (last mile) distribution. Wire mesh or insulated for food delivery.

CARGO SORT CENTER Large facility for the sorting and routing of priority packages. Processes thousands of packages per hour. Located adjacent an airport runway for priority shipping via air cargo. Seoul Incheon Airport, is the world’s fourth busiest cargo airport, behind Shanghai Pudong International Airport (3rd); FedEx World Hub at Memphis International Airport, Tennessee. (2nd) and Hong Kong International Airport (1st).

CARGO ROBOT Semi autonomous, mobile container that moves around the city. Currently being tested by food delivery companies. One popular design is a 6 wheeler by Starship Technologies. Another prototype is Gita, a two-wheel bot designed by L.A. architect Greg Lynn for the firm Piaggia. Choose your color and go out for a stroll. Robots have been active in industrial and hospital settings for a while but now set to be your new pet.

CODES

COMMUNICATION SATELLITE Data network, enabling high speed communication across lData network, enabling high speed communication across long distances. Involves receivers, transmitters and a relay, which is typically a computer controlled man-made machine in orbit. Works courtesy of uplinks and downlinks between the earth stations and the relay. Orbits range vary from low-earth orbit (2,000km); medium-earth Orbit (20,000km) and high-earth (36,000km +). According to Center for Space Standards and Innovation there are currently about 3,500 operational satellites.

BARCODE (UPC A ENCODED BARCODE SYMBOL) The twelve and thirteen digit UPC barcode is the most familiar barcode pattern used today. Comprised of 7 vertical blocks of black and white lines. It was invented by George J. Laurer (with help from William Crouse and Heard Baumeister), an engineer at IBM in 1973 marking the dawn of automated management systems in popular culture. QR CODE Quick Response Code comprising black squares on a white background. Same principal as the barcode but holds more data since information is contained horizontally and vertically.

http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/12286-meet-gita-greg-lynns-cargo-robotfor-piaggio?

DELIVERY TRUCK Specially fitted transportation vehicle for ground delivery. Augmented by route planning software to optimize delivery (or pick up) sequences.

DROP BOX Self service metal box (node) for packages, akin to a mail box found on street corners, office lobbies and supermarkets. Allows an individual point access to an international shipping network.

E-READER A small hand-held tablet-like digital device for the purpose of reading e-books, magazines and newspapers that are downloaded via WIFI from a network. The most popular example, is Amazon’s Kindle (2007). In April 2017 there were over 6.9 million titles available in Amazon’s U.S Kindle Store (Wikipedia and Amazon.com). Not quite the Library of Congress but getting closer everyday.

PAYPAL An online payment system that makes it safe for a customer to transfer money online (1998).

HANDHELD SCANNER Reads a barcode by scanning a laser light over the black and white lines in the code. Some are pocket sized and wearable. Aids in the tracking and management of product inventories.

PICK UP ZONE Small remote pick up location for purchases made online that comprises safety deposit boxes. Opened by a password delivered to the user via an email. Available at grocery stores and train stations and university campuses.

INTERMODAL CONTAINER A metal box for shipping goods based on a 20’ (6.1m) module. Can be used on a ship, truck or train. Perfected by Malcolm Mc. Lean in 1955, when he invented a system to stack containers. Common dimensions are 20’ L x 8’w x 8’-6”h but 40’ modules are most popular in shipping. Many of the items that you have encountered today have most likely been transported via container.

POINT OF SALE TERMINAL Credit card reader. Popular from the 1980s onwards. Replaced the Zip Zap machine. That took an imprint of a card instead of reading the magnetic strip. http://www.creditnet.com/blog/what-will-become-old-zip-zap-machine

SMART SPEAKER Small console that plays music, answers questions and makes lists. Voice activated. Runs via command and AI systems. Remember Hal 9000 in 2001 Space Odyssey!

SMARTPHONE Hand held communication device that works on radio waves / frequency and Internet connection. For example, the Apple iPhone (2007) or the Samsung Galaxy (Android). Developed from early mobile phone (technologies such as that perfected by Motorola in 1973).

TELECOMMUNICATIONS TOWER (MAST) Tower of steel construction to host antenna for the transmission of radio waves. Sometimes disguised as trees and or flagpoles in sensitive areas. Cell phone towers are often shared between different carriers.

LAPTOP / PC Small portable computer.

EBAY Online auction website (1995).

LASER SCANNER Reads a barcode by scanning a laser light over the black and white lines in the code. Found in supermarkets and grocery stores. Aids in the tracking and management of product inventories.

PORT TERMINAL Large scale industrial landscape used for shipping facilities. Can be located on a waterfront or on land (inland port) but adjacent other transportation infrastructure. Typically hosts one or more container yards as well as berths (parking spots from shipping vessels) and gantry cranes for the transfer of containers. In recent years, large port cities from Rotterdam (Netherlands) to Hamburg (Germany) have enlarged their facilities or built new ports on larger tracts of land to meet the demands of containerization. Busan Harbor, depicted here is one such example.

TRIP ADVISOR One travel website offering bottom up customer opinion, reviews and advice (2000).

CONTINGENCY WORKER Also known as a freelancer, part time employed/contract worker/ independent worker, self-employed member of the Gig Economy. Variable benefits, little security and a questionable retirement plan (the hallmarks of the industrial era economy). Obsessed with technological gadgets, collects sneakers and frequents co-working spaces. Supposedly, 60 million in the U.S. will be freelancers by 2020. What the flâneur was to the industrial metropolis, the contingent worker is to the logistical one.

CONVEYOR Mechanical belt used for the fast distribution of packages, goods (and people). Has been around since 1892.

COUPANG E-commerce corporation founded by Bomseok Kim in 2010.

DATA CENTER Large warehouse-like space filled with computer servers and processors that store and process information and deliver search results in micro-seconds. Holds everything from national security documents to your Facebook photographs. (In 2014 Facebook reportedly had about 240 billion photos on its servers). Typically, a dumb enclosure, some are located underground for security reasons, while others are located in cold environments to help with cooling load. Future centers will be smaller in size and more distributed as “object based storage” devices move from storing petabytes to zettabytes and domegemegrottebytes of data. Also known as a Data Farm.

CREDIT CARD A standardized plastic card measuring 8.56 cm x 5.398 cm (3.73” x 2.12”) that is used to make payments. Initiated by Bank of America in 1958 and computerized as a network in 1973. The magnetic strip was introduced in 1979, allowing data to be stored electronically. This has recently been replaced by a chip for added security.

https://bostonreview.net/class-inequality/frank-pasquale-will-amazon-take-over-world

ELECTRONIC PET Electronic dog with a personality. Falls asleep with lack of attention. Like a real dog but without the mess. For example, Genibo is a bulterrier manufactured in Korea.

The Logistical City was the culmination of research and design studios that examined the impact and potential of networked services, infrastructure and modes of production and consumption on architecture. The comprehensive installation included a scale conceptual model, a catalogue of drawings, animated videos, and take-home postcards that constructed a narrative and future projection about the elements and characteristics of the architecture of logistics. GMA PALLET Wooden structure measuring 48” x 40” x 6.5” high. Comes as a Stringer Pallet or a Block Pallet depending on number and orientation of forklift openings. Used with forklift to move large quantities of goods.

CONTAINER TRUCK Large vehicle with flatbed and cab that transports an intermodal container. Typically used for regional and long distance ground distribution.

PORTABLE POINT OF SALE Small gadget that attaches to a smartphone enabling an individual or small business to process credit card payments. For example, Square.

TWITTER Online news and social media platform for messages under 140 characters (2006).

MICROCHIP (INTEL 4004) Small central processing unit (CPU) invented by Federico Faggin, Intel Corporation, 1971. It could perform 92,000 instructions per second and was carved from a single piece of silicon. Allowed the commercial production of small sized computers.

RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION TAG (RFID) A small labelling system that tracks and collects data to keep trace objects. Used in combination with a data network and a reader. A typical tag (chip) can hold 64 characters.

ENTREPRENEUR Self made tech star. Child genius. May not finish high school or becomes a millionaire as a college sophomore. Starts a business in a dorm room or a suburban garage. Owns a foundation. Dates celebrities. Numerous examples exist from Geoff Bezos to Elon Musk to Mark Zuckerberg.

NAVER South Korean search engine (2000).

ROUTER A device that receives data through a phone line and then converts that data into radio waves to be picked up by your computer, smartphone or games console and transmitted into internet data again.

EXPEDIA Online travel website focusing on air travel, car hire and hotel accommodation (2001).

NETFLIX Online entertainment company offering streaming media, and now producing its own shows and movies (1997).

FACEBOOK Social Media Platform with over 1 billion followers (2004).

OPERATING SYSTEMS Software that manages all other functions on a computer and mobile device.

SATELLITE DISH An instrument that receives or transmits information from a communications satellite in the form of radio waves.

FED EX Global priority shipping network (1971).

PACKING BOX Prefabricated heavy duty paper / paper board or corrugated fiber board container. First used in England in 1817.

FIBER OPTIC CABLE Communication conduit comprising thin strands of plastic or glass (fibers) along which data is transmitted via light beams. Suitable for high speed transmission over long distances. Embedded in the ground or laid on the ocean bed.

UAV An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) akin a small automated and driverless aircraft, commonly referred to as a drone. Popularly used in the military but now being primed for home delivery by online commerce companies.

UBER Online on demand taxi service (2009).

SHIP TO SHORE (STS) CONTAINER CRANE Large cranes found at port terminals to move containers from ships to the port yard. Also known as gantry cranes or Straddle Containers. Super Post Panamax (SPPX) or Mega Panamax cranes are gigantic: They can reach across a width of 22 to 23 shipping containers, and a height of 10 containers stacked on deck.

SERVER A centralized CPU shared by multiple computers (clients).

WAREHOUSE Large big box that stores merchandise organized around computer controlled inventory systems and automated equipment.

WAREHOUSE STORAGE RACK Equipment for bulk storage in large interiors.

https://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21666118-miniaturepilotless-aircraft-are-verge-becoming-commonplace-welcome

THE LOGISTICAL CITY

PANAMAX CONTAINER SHIP A super-sized ship that can pass through the newly expanded Panama Canal Locks (completed 2016). Can measure 366m long (or longer) x 49m wide x 15.2m draft (part of the boat that lies below the waterline) and carry a load of 13,000 TEUs (20’ long containers with 20 containers across by 16 high. Extra dredging required at existing ports to accommodate these large vessels.

PACKING ENVELOPE Standardized one rate package size (9 ½” x 12 ½”) used for priority shipping.

http://www.simplyrfid.com/blog/2012/10/31/how-much-info-can-an-rfid-tag-hold.html

CLUAA // 1ST SEOUL BIENNIAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM 2017

FORKLIFT Manual or automated transportation vehicle for the movement of pallets and goods.

WIFI A wireless communication system that uses radio waves to transmit information. Often conceptualized as a net.

SHOPPING WAND Personal hand held smart device that allows you to order goods online by saying the word or scanning a barcode. Amazon.com has a prototype called Dash. Part of a smart network to streamline supply and demand.

ZIPCAR Car sharing service from 2000 (Socar taxi in Seoul).

Winterwaterway renews and reimagines a section of the Erie Canal that is inoperative during winter months. By leveraging the frozen canal water, the canal could effectively become a skating and recreational destination in itself. The surrounding area hosts winter activities and campgrounds. The strength of the project is in the potential of a frozen body of water to yield far-ranging social developments, combining conventional activities in an unconventional manner. The project was shortlisted and became a top 10 finalist.

WINTERWATERWAY

CLUAA // REIMAGINE THE CANALS COMPETITION 2018

Inside, Outside is a light, porous spatial enclosure for the Ragdale Ring - an artist community summaer theater in Lake Forest, IL. The theater is delinated by a simple fence of neon pink nylon rope, like an abnormally-shaped boxing ring or perhaps a corral. The enclosure includes dedicated seating for groups and individuals beneath Ragdale’s tree canopy, offering an intimate yet fully public experience that, in its simple playfulness, conveys a disruptive idea about what it means to be inside, outside.

INSIDE, OUTSIDE

CLUAA // RAGDALE RING ANNUAL COMPETITION 2018

CHOICE HOME

ARCHOUTLOUD: THE HOME COMPETITION 2019 Positing a future of mass custom domesticity

(EYECON)

EMAAR: THE LANDMARK DESIGN COMPETITION 2019 Re-defining what it means to be “iconic”

LAGOS RALLY MIXED-USE MASTER PLAN

ARCHOUTLOUD: IDEAS COMPETITION 2019 Architecture as spectacle for spectators

COLORE

UIC 2017

Color and pattern as architectural material

DISEGNO

UIC 2016

Re-examining the architectural drawing and how an idea moves from line to reality