Architecture Portfolio for MSA

Left: Sanbao Historical District

Middle: Hongfu Market Right: Elevation of an Apartment

All the photos are taken by me.

Based on my investigation of Guangzhou as an architecture student, I summarized bottom-up practices by characterizing them in five elements: site condition, spatial limitation, appropriation, materials and specific results. Site conditions meant people lived in places with a certain degree of freedom to transform their houses, such as old districts and unmanaged communities. In this condition, over time, it is often found that the current living space has a certain degree of limitation due to the growth of family members or the decline of living quality. When the living condition is no longer guaranteed, the residents often appropriate particular shared public space to meet their demands. Meanwhile, people often seem to enclose the occupied space with materials that are cheap, light, accessible and durable. Ultimately, the majority of bottom-up practices would deliver unique and diverse outcomes, continuously altering over time and needs.

Proliferation of Balcony Renovation of Apartments

Academic Project

Instructor: Zhehui Chang (from Studio Alpha)

Instructor's Contact: changzhehui@gmail.com Source: Studio Alpha Open Project 235 Independent Study

From Sep, 2022 to Nov, 2022 Location: Guangzhou, Guangdong

Individual Project

The site is in the residential area of a university in Tianhe District, Guangzhou. I've lived here since I was two years old. Residents here were permitted to remodel their houses slightly. It is interesting that almost every five years, the balconies in my community would grow outwards, and enclosure materials were constantly being renovated. It seems that the needs of the residents are not always being met.

Based on the situation mentioned above, I reconstructed the balconies in my community. It was a self-motivated project, and I made some changes in my design approaches compared to my previous projects. I tried to reduce subjective elements during design and use the design to trigger bottomup practices constructions. I offered a system for residents instead of only designing space, so users had chances to take part in the design and build up the balconies they liked. Besides, residents could solve their overflowing garden and living problems. The new system was provided with a steel frame, which was the only fixed element in this project. And residents could choose partition walls and enclosure materials freely to customize their balconies. For economical and environmentally friendly thinking, all the materials used were local and low-cost, like stainless steel pipes, wood, wire mesh etc. These materials were used frequently in the site and showed up preferences of residents.

The design results are varied and dynamic, with the balconies growing and changing over time.

Site Condition

Four Steps of the Expansion of Balconies

The venue is in a residential area of a university in the Tianhe district, Guangzhou. I have lived here since I was two years old. The residential building where I live was designed as a group of two buildings, erected on the garage of the ground floor, in order to accommodate more residents. Each building has three units and eight floors in total, with two households on each floor. Thus a total of 96 households live here. The orientation and layout of the two buildings are identical, both having a north-south orientation, with a balcony, study and second bedroom on the south side and a kitchen, bathroom and master bedroom on the north side. Between the two households are staircases. The spacing between the two buildings creates a terrace on the first floor, where the previous designers designed a green area in front of each one of the unit entrances, leaving the rest of the space free for the residents to use.

The houses here are not commercial properties, so there is no property company to manage them, which gives the residents certain freedom. The earliest changes occurred on the first floor of the terrace. Residents would place stools and drying racks from their homes, and chat and dry their clothes on the terrace. Later, when the initial plants on the green area died out, some residents found that the green space could become their vegetable patch and therefore planted many of their own plants on the terrace. And then, the residents of the first floor simply eradicated the green area and enclosed it with a steel fence, using it as their own garden or as a toy room for their children. Since then, the greenery on the terrace has been decreasing and the yards of the first floor residents have been getting bigger and bigger.

Ground Floor was a overhead parking lot.

Residents began to appropriate more space.

In addition to the residents live in the first floor, residents live in the second floor to the eighth floor are also keen on re-decorating and reconstructing their balconies. Almost every five years, the balconies would grow outwards, and enclosure materials were constantly being renovated.

In 2000, the residents simply placed potted plants on the windowsill. In 2010, the residents' balconies expanded outwards and they welded stainless steel to the outside of the original window frames, which protruded a distance of roughly 600mm, creating a small space for plants and sundries. In 2017, the government issued provisions for the installation of lifts in residential buildings over six storeys. However, the residential building was not originally designed with a space reserved for a lift, so the addition of the lift required a new concrete pour. This allowed the residents to build an addition to their house area. The lift was added to the north side of the residential building, which was attached to the original reinforced concrete structure. The length of each floor addition is the same as the distance the lift extends. The majority of the inhabitants chose to completely enclose the new addition with concrete walls and use it as an interior. Some were still not satisfied with the existing area and wanted to add a stainless steel enclosure outside the window, while a small number of them used the new space as a patio. After two years, due to the different timing of the lift construction in each unit, the addition was not allowed any longer, so the residents failed to enclose added balconies by concrete and glass. These concrete balcony additions were left unused for some time and then enclosed by the residents with various construction wastes, allowing the residents to create their own gardens at minimal cost. Additionally, the residents of the eighth floor have erected planters on the roof, cultivated vegetable plots and built a sunroom which can be used as an outdoor living room to entertain friends.

North Elevation

Lifts must be added which gave residents a chance to expand their balconies with concrete materials.

Illegal expansion was banned and residents failed to enclose added balconies by concrete and glass.

Different Useage of Balconies on Site

The residents of the neighbourhood use their balconies in nine different ways. Initially, most residents used it as a garden, and some would enclose it completely. Later, the residents were no longer satisfied with the original balcony space and expand their balconies. Some would use this space entirely for extra daily use, and others would combine part of the balcony with their living room. Besides, some elderly people liked to grow flowers and other plants, and they would turn the unused rooms in their homes into balconies.

Residents regard their balconies as garden.

Residents use their balconies for extra daily use, such as drying clothes and doing exercise.

Residents expand their garden into interior space.

The New Balcony System

In order to solve residents' overflowing garden and living problems, I introduce a new balcony system and create a harmonious new facade.

A. Steel-Framed Structure

B. Plastic Box

Residents can add a lightweight functional box with three basic elements: windows, doors and walls, which can be freely combined by the inhabitants according to their needs based on this new structure.

C. Enclosure Materials-Explosion

The Enclosure materials have three levels from the interior to the exterior. The innermost level is the original windows. Some of the windows have been replaced with doors during the renovation. The middle layer offers the residents four options, all of which are derived from the enclosure materials used by the inhabitants of the site. Aluminium railing is selected for the outermost layer, which is cheap and accessible.

Rendering of Elevation

Fourth Floor Plan to Sixth Floor Plan

The neighbourhood is inhabited by a diverse group of people. The design is a response to their needs after the research on them. The result shown here is only one possible scenario; in fact, the residents can constantly change their balconies according to their preferences. There are shared areas between residents on the same floor and it is up to the neighbours to decide how to use them.

02

Hongfu Community Center

Reconstruction of Hongfu Market in Guangzhou

Academic Project

Instructor: Hechen Qu (from Studio Alpha) Instructor's Contact: quhechen@outlook.com Independent Study

From Mar, 2022 to Nov, 2022 Location: Guangzhou, Guangdong

This design is located in a local market named Hongfu Market in Guangzhou. The block where Hongfu Market is located is characterized by different types of stalls. In addition to interior stalls, vendors occupy empty spaces around Hongfu Market to set up their temporary stalls, so they are free from stall rent, and the price of their commodities is lower than others. As a result, residents who live in this block and people who live nearby both choose Hongfu Market to buy food or for daily use. Besides, the arcades in the north of Hongfu Market attract a large number of visitors. They are also interested in the hustle and bustle of the market. Therefore, there are overloads of people in the block, and the site condition is chaotic.

By researching local people's spontaneous transformation practices of the market and types of stalls, I transform them into spatial prototypes for renovation, aiming to bring the surrounding atmosphere into the new market building. I reconstruct the ground floor to the third floor of the Hongfu building by introducing residents' and visitors' circulations. Besides, I put some stack boxes in the renovation. Each box has a specific function, where the PVC box mainly takes over the function of visitors, while the concrete mainly takes over residents'. The space outside the boxes is all open to the air, which restores the street views in the block. Regarding materials, I am dedicated to using local materials such as metal folded panels, polycarbonate folded panels and steel to consist a down-to-earth atmosphere. I hope the chaotic vibe of the market significantly improved while keeping the functionality to meet the local needs.

Individual Project

Site Condition

The History of the Market

Arcade

Ground floor for selling Upper floors for living

Overload Shoppers

Lower commodities' prices attracted residents living in the block and people living nearby.

1999 2013 1980

The market was on the ground floor of arcades on both sides of the road facing the street.

Vendors began to set up stalls in the inner alleys of residential areas to eliminate shop rent and urban management.

The number of vendors increased sharply, and the market space was insufficient. The ground floor of the Hongfu residential building was converted into a formal market.

Hongfu Block locates in a crowded residential area in Liwan District in Guangzhou. Vendors' stalls gradually spreaded from the main road to the alleys in the block, and finally Hongfu Market was established in the center of the block.

Vendors are exempt from rent by occupying vacant spaces. They spontaneously created stall spaces according to different topography. The drawing on the left is the site range where I found these special spaces, and the building in the center of the block is the Hongfu Building that I chose to renovate. I will translate these spaces and use them for the renovation of Hongfu Building.

Hongfu Market is set up on the ground floor of the Hongfu Building, a ninth-floor building at the centre of the block. The vendors use not only the interior space but the space between the building and surrounding fences. Other stalls set by vendors are distributed around Hongfu Market.

According to the different relationship between streets and spaces, the spontaneous stalls can be divided into six types: stalls in the alley, stalls on the first floor of the building selling goods from the side, stalls on the slope at the entrance, stalls in the arcade facing the main street, stalls on the sidewalk by the wall and stalls in the first floor of the residential building. They are temporary, removable, easy to open and close.

Stalls on the Site

Stalls in the Alley

Stalls on the Slope at the Entrance Stalls in the First Floor of Building selling goods from the side

Stalls in the Arcade Facing the Main Street

Stalls on the Sidewalk by the Wall Stalls in the First Floor of Residential Building

Stalls Gradually Appropriated the Street

In 2013, the ground floor of the building was converted into a market, but it could not accommodate the temporary vendors. The steel fences became the first step for vendors to occupy the space. After that, they installed steel folded panels on the columns of the fence and used plastic baskets, wooden boards, etc., to build a simple stall to create an interior space that could shade and shelter from the rain. The aforementioned process thoroughly used the fences on the south, north, and west. Especially the stalls on the west side, there is enough space for vendors to add a plastic arch roof to create a temporary shopping street with stalls on both sides.

South Street Stall

Stall Prototype and Translation

Prototype

Top View

Translation

West Street Stall

North Street Stall Ⅰ

North Street Stall Ⅱ

Outdoor Stall between Buildings Indoor Stall by the Wall Outdoor Stall with Shed on the Slope Outdoor Stall with Shed by the Wall Indoor Stall with Integral Shed Indoor Stall with Divided Shed

Continuation of Intrusive Properties

Site Condition Design

Market occupied the first floor of this residential building horizontally.

Attraction of the Block

In addition to the market, new functions are introduced in the renovation. New boxes are stacked vertically.

Introduction of Two Circulations

Visitors Residents

Visitors come for the traditional houses in the block, especially the facade of arcades. They are also interested in the hustle and bustle on the street.

Residents come for the cheap and wide variety of commodities. People live in surrounding blocks will also come to this block.

Residents and Visitors Streamline in the Block

Visitors mainly come from the main road facing the arcades, they pass through the alleys or the indoor market and finally see the Hongfu Market. Residents in this block can directly reach Hongfu Market along the narrow alleys in front of their houses. Residents in other blocks will mainly choose inner alleys that cannot be opened to traffic and walk to Hongfu Market.

A. Residential Circulation

According to the intrusive property of the site and residents and tourists at the same time.

Circulations

B. Visitors' Circulation

There is a patio on the first floor in the middle of the Hongfu building, and there are symmetrical stairs on both sides of the patio. The staircase on the south is close to the quiet alley and is hidden, so it is used for residents. The north stair is close to the market entrance and faces the noisy street, thus using it for visitors. But the two stairs are not entirely isolated, everyone can use them, and they are accessible to each other through the 1st to 3rd floor. There is access control management before entering the residential area, so there is no need to worry that visitors will break into the private space of residents.

In addition to using the original stairs, an escalator directly to the second floor is placed at the entrance on the north side to attract people. Additionally, two lifts were added to the south side, serving visitors and residents, respectively.

and the two types of people, I decided to continue this property in the vertical direction, and designed two circulations for

The design demolished the original first floor to the third floor, expanding the Hongfu market on the ground floor into a vertically four-story community centre.

The old reinforced concrete columns are preserved, and the newly inserted boxes are steel structures. Since the weight of the newly added box is very light, the original building structure can bear the weight of the new structure, so the new steel beams directly pass through the concrete columns.

Fair-Faced Concrete

Perforated Aluminum Plate

Most buildings on the site are old, bare, and grey, with prominent dividing lines in the horizontal direction. Concrete is strong, sealable and soundproof.

Three concrete boxes are placed to restore the roughness of the site. They are used as food processing zone, meat and seafood market and chess room.

The vendors use mesh wire and steel to enclose public spaces on the street to store their goods. These materials look like a perforated aluminium plate, which is light and easily removable.

Perforated plates are used as the materials of the handrails and also used to wrap the stairs, so as to highlight the sense of volume of the stairs.

Blue Steel Folded Plate

Translucent PVC Folded Plate

Blue steel folded plates are frequently used in temporary stalls as shelters. Residents also use them as enclosure materials. This kind of material is bright, light and accessible.

Blue steel folded plates are directly used to enclose the stalls and bar counters in the community centre. This material is regarded as the decoration of the facade in the design.

Residents use plastic plates to enclose their balconies for windproofing and children's safety. This material is light, translucent, low-cost and easy to install.

Translucent PVC folded plate is the facade enclosure material of three PVC boxes. Compared with concrete boxes, PVC boxes are light and notable, reflecting the introduction of new functions, which are livehouse, showroom and snack bar.

Community Bookshop next to a Metro Station Design of Bookshop in Guangzhou

Design Studio Ⅱ , Academic course

The Second Year in SCUT Instructor: Wenbo Lai Instructor's Contact: laiwb@scut.edu.cn Individual Project

From Feb, 2020 to Apr, 2020

Location: Guangzhou, Guangdong

The venue is located in the busy commercial area of Wushan Square, and it is close to the exit of the metro station and at the crossroads. The buildings around the site are all commercial-residential mix, and the west side is close to the university's retired teachers' flats, so the residents here need a place for exercise. Based on the site conditions, I want to design a bookshop that is integrated with the community event spaces.

The majority of thebookshop’s first floor is open space, providing an activity area for the community. A 4.7-metre high flexible space has been designed on the south side, with a 2-metre space above it for hanging community equipment such as chairs, display boards, telescopic tables, etc. The steel structure is used to support the weight of the above community apparatus in addition to supporting the concrete bookshop on the second floor. The steel beams are fitted with rails which are connected to curtains, allowing the space to be divided to suit different uses. Moreover, there is a café, a garden, public toilets and a warehouse on the first floor. The warehouse is used to store additional community equipment. The second floor is mainly the bookshop, which is not owned by individuals or the government, but by the community. All functions here are operated and managed by the community. The bookshop is divided into the north block and the south block, connected by a wooden bridge in the middle. Walking on the wooden bridge and surrounded by plants, one gains peace in nature and reading.

Individual Project

exit of subway and a subway pavilion on the site.

2. Introduce a rectangular box in the northsouth direction and define three entrances.

3. Elevate the box to ensure smooth traffic in the square.

the box into two parts and the courtyard in the middle.

5. A staircase and a wooden bridge connecting the two boxs are placed in the courtyard.

6. Add concrete walls, and fully open the first floor to the community.

8.450 4.850 ±0.000

-0.300 8.450

Community Film Screenings

The curtains on all sides are pulled up to form a quiet viewing area, and the screen and stands are stored above

Community Sports Grounds

The curtains all around are opened, and the first floor is a small open square, which can be sheltered from the sun and rain.

Community Chess Area and Children's Play Area

By drawing only part of the curtains, the space can be divided into two parts. Chess equipment is also suspended above for storage.

North Entrance

Community Exhibition

The display panels suspended above are put down, and the spotlights installed on the steel beams provide light at night.

Main Entrance

Coffee Bar Warehouse Garden

Bicycle Parking Outdoor Reading Area

Community Space

Up Up Down

Main Entrance

Subway Ventilation Pavilion

Wushan Subway Exit B1

Extended Home

Renovation of a Historic District in Guangzhou

Design Studio Ⅵ , Academic course

The Fourth Year in SCUT Instructor: Jiang Feng Instructor's Contact: jfeng@scut.edu.cn

From Mar, 2022 to Jun, 2022 Location: Guangzhou, Guangdong

Group Project

Research: Team Work, Jiang Zhu, Run Cao, Shunjie Chen Design and Drawings Individually

The site is located in a historical and cultural district of Guangzhou named Baohua Road, Duobao Road and Baoyuan Road District (Sanbao District). It is a residential district, and the district has a modular division relationship from a house to the district.

Based on the study of the traditional bamboo houses of Guangzhou in Sanbao District, it is found that the bamboo houses, new blocks, new neighborhoods and Sanbao District have similarity in topology and the comparability in function.

Based on the parallel structure of four dimensions mentioned above, this design divides the Sanbao District into several strip-shaped neighborhoods along the north-south direction, and then divides the strip-shaped neighborhoods into blocks. After that, the public space and various public functions were arranged orderly to meet the needs of modern life that could not be met in the original bamboo houses. The residents there could regard their private houses as bedrooms for only sleeping, and the whole district would become their home. The market became the kitchen of the district, the square became the living room of the district, the green space became the patio of the district, and the library becomes the study of the district.

Location

The design is located in Sanbao District, a residential, historical and cultural district in Guangzhou. Sanbao District was the core components of Guangzhou Xiguan City in the past, where there are a large number of traditional residences.

China Guangdong Guangzhou Liwan

Analysis of Site Photos

The alley behind houses is useless.

Too crowded to live in traditional houses.

Parks for the neighborhood.

A bridge connects two buildings.

Empty

Topological Analysis and Regeneration of the Area

Topological Similarity

There is topological similarity in four dimensions. A trunk connects all branches, showing the parallel structure.

Unit Division

It is new understanding and definition

Sanbao District

definition of the block, neighborhood and district.

People live in a kind of dwelling called "bamboo tube house", which is also called "bamboo house" in Cantonese. The bamboo house is deep, usually more than 12 meters, while its width does not exceed 4 meters. There is a long corridor in the bamboo house, which connects all the rooms. The plan of the bamboo house shows the parallel structure.

New Definition of Block:

The street connects the buildings on both sides. The residents on both sides communicate on the street, so they are closer. Therefore, the street and the buildings on both sides are defined as a block.

New Definition of Neighborhood:

The commercial street is northsouth, and it is regarded as the corridor of Bamboo House. The commercial street and several blocks besides are defined as a neighborhood.

Randomly select a strip in Sanbao District to design, trying to build replicable operational models.

Spatial Analysis of Bamboo House and Spatial Generation in the District

A. Spatial Similarity

a. Basic Information

Bamboo House is a kind of traditional folk residences built in west Guangzhou City in typical Lingnan style at the end of the 19th century. Bamboo houses are usually rented by low- and middle-income residents. A bamboo house is generally divided into three parts: front, middle and back. The front is the hall, the back is the kitchen, and one or more bedrooms and ventilation courtyards are arranged in the middle.

b. Axonometric Drawing of Bamboo House

B. Spatial Translation and Placement

a. Spaces in a Bamboo House

b. Translation According to the walking track and the topology

c. Spaces in the District

c. Similar Spaces in the District

d. Place Public Spaces in the District

Bedroom Kitchen Livingroom

House Market Plaza

Studyroom Courtyard Balcony Patio Corridor Public Staircase Private Staircase topology in the section

Bookstore Park Viewing Platfom Activity Patio Shopping Street Alley Skywalk

Design Operations in

1.0 Renovate for Each Building

2.0 Connect the Buildings in the Block

The public spaces are located on the first floor and above, so an air corridor is erected.

The public space is mainly located on the floor, and an external staircase is set facing to direct the flow of people in the vertical direction.

Standing at the Entrance of Alley and

The plant wall on the right side was replaced by low shrubs and a pleasant playground area. The design makes use of the roofs of some houses as public activity spaces in order not to take up more ground space, and air bridges are erected between the roofs.

the ground facing the street direction.

Public spaces at the first floor and roof are not connected by direct paths, and individual tour staircases are provided.

Standing on the Sports Platform and Looking North

This is the roof of a mahjong hall. I designed a continuous sloping shed. Table tennis tables are placed on the roof to cater for the residents' sport and entertaining needs. The 3rd and 4th floors of the northern residential building are transformed into an activity area too.

Senior Activity Center

Activity Area on the Roof

Children Activity Center

Platform

Skywalk Cantonese Opera Park