architecture portfolio by Karen Wang

karen wang architecture portfolio

INDIVIDUAL UNDERGRADUATE WORK 01

songshan culinary institute 02 re-ligare institute 03 kinetic light space studies 04 poetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s retreat 05 wall of awareness

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201 1 201 0 200 200 9 8 200 7

DEC

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win

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vellum furniture competition 07 re-kinetic installation 08 design village competition 09 thesis show

TEAM PROJECTS

PG 42-45 PG 38-41 PG 46-49 PG 50-51

PG 04-17 PG 18-21 PG 22-29 PG 30-33 PG 34-37

contents

PROFESSIONAL WORK

PG 52-55 arata isozaki and associates 11 PG 56-57 architecture for humanity 12 ho+hou studio architects 13 pfau long architecture

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

songshan culinary institute

PROJECT LOCATION DATE ADVISOR

Songshan Culinary Institute Taipei, Taiwan Sept-May 2012 Doug Jackson

augment temporalities to enhance local perceptions of place

time-specific strategies as circulation and programmatic approach

final section model

INTENT

CONCEPT

OVERALL

PROGRAM/CIRCULATION

DETAIL

SEQUENCE

CLADDING

strengthen cultural rhythms of nomadic identities

While architecture has always been grounded to its site and situation: the physical and cultural conditions of a place, digital technology and concepts of modernism however not only emancipates matter from proximity but also space from place. These disconnections cause architecture to become increasingly homogenous, passive, and irrelevant since knowledge and information can be extracted from virtual distances rather than the immediate presence.

This thesis first examines the relationship between architecture and sense of place, identifies issues with the separation of place in contemporary architecture, and then proposes design strategies that enhances local perceptions of a place so architecture can be more relevant to people of a specific culture.

space

The projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal is to strengthen the relationship between place and space in Taipei so the locals can relate their architectural/spatial experience with their desires to embody cultural identity and creativity, ultimately generating new perceptions about themselves and the place.

time PHYSICAL, CULTURAL, DIGITAL

place RHYTHM AND PACE

ISSUES WITH SCALE nomadic identity

High speed rail to Taichung

Wind Rose Diagram

Sun Path

NATURE

Average Precipitation

VVG Bistro, Xinyi District,

Psychometric Chart

INFLUENCE ON ARCHITECTURE

PHYSICAL DE

RIA

Transportation areas

Building Circulation

Site Strategy Figure ground relationship

Bou Ai Residence

URBAN

SIT

content overload

DIN

Site Circulation

Relationship to street

Mar 12

TO M

Apr 08

Major Transit Roads

VVG Bistro RE

LIG

Modern translations of religious symbols

Additions to historical architecture

Incorporation of vernacular forms

Apr 29

HISTORY

Symbolic representations

Huashan 1914 Park

AR Attitude towards historical architecture

Perception of identity through experience and memories

Ideals of classical beauty

TIF AC

Architecture designed to co-exist with artifacts

INFLUENCE ON ARCHITECTURE

CULTURAL EN

Apr 29

RT AIN

Modern values of purchasing food

Du Hsia Yue Restuarant

Modern performance space typologies

Traditional performance space

LIFESTYLE

AT IO

Apr 22

Traditional values of purchasing food

Museum and art typologies

Values on learning / openness of architecture

Jianguo Floral Market

Apr 20

CIA

Dependency on information and connection

INFORMATION

3D Modeling design Level of transparency

interactive design Parametric form generating processes

BIM modeling Skin Performance calculations

Apr 29

third paradise Shilin Night Market

GIN

DIGITAL

Jun 30

Kinetic Architecture

In 2001, the Taipei City Government converted Songshan Tobocco Factory into a park comprising city-designated historic sites, historic structures and architectural highlights (the Baroque-style garden, an ecologically landscaped pond, a public bath and a multi-purpose auditorium).

INFLUENCE ON ARCHITECTURE

Perception of place not limited to proximity but network connections.

fragments of the past

Maximizing screen surface

Bou Ai Residence

Nothing is arbitrary Perception that any form can be fit into context

Understanding a place through images and data instead of experience

Virtual social interaction

Xinyi district is considered the financial district of Taipei. Key buildings including Taipei 101, Taipei City Council, Taipei International Convention Center, Taipei World Trade Center, and various shopping malls and entertainment venues.

XINYI DISTRICT

PE AU

SONGSHAN FACTORY

Perception of efficiency, comfort, security, and openness of a place.

Mar 08

Annual Precipitation

Sun Path Model

The capital and largest city of Taiwan, in the northern part of the country. Founded in the 18th century, it was ruled by the Japanese from 1895 to 1945 and later became the headquarters of Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Nationalists when they fled mainland China (1949). Population: 2,630,000.

MP UT ER MA CH IN ES SO FT W AR E SA TE LL IT E

Guang Fu South Road TECHNOLOGY

Jun 30 Taipei Fine Arts Museum

ZHONGXIAO EAST ROAD

Heating and Cooling days

TAIPEI, TAIWAN

Jan 22 SU

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

modes of separation HOMOGENIZATION

time

space

strategies of separation RELIC OF SPACE

place

Dislocation of space from place; buildings that are unresponsive to local context in its form or materials. Generic plans, catalog homes. container architecture.

space

place

time

Preserving space without consideration of its contemporary function. No awareness of time besides decay. A static image closely tied to the object.

Each strategy requires the users’ conscious participation of relating to the immediate occupied space and its surroundings. In making physical these connections, users can notice particularities of a place that are previously concealed by architecture.

VIRTUAL SPACE

time TIME-SPECIFIC EVENT

PROGRAM

• augments occurrences that corresponds to functions of a space. • The space itself changes instead of relying on the users.

SENSORY ENHANCEMENT

FACADE

• Light and shadow, materials and tectonics, solid and void, and opaque and transparent

SOCIAL NEGOTIATION

PROGRAM

• Physical alteration of space by a group of people which may result in unpredicted observations of the surroundings.

DE-FAMILIARIZATION

FORM STRUCTURE

• Hierarchy, structure, scale of space to introduce unanticipated or unfamiliar experiences that breaks pre-conceptions of a space

EXPLORATION

CIRCULATION

• Exploratory circulation should be motivated by a desire to discover more about the surroundings, instead of it being a selection of program.

space

Absent of physical space. Separation of time and space. Logic related to networks and fluid associations instead being of dependent on proximity.

consumer vs. didactic networks DISPOSE

BUY

PREPARE RESEARCH

LEARN

PREPARE

CONSUME

LOAD

DISPOSE

BUY

CONSUME

SELL

PREPARE

SELL LOAD RESEARCH

LEARN

CONSUME

RESEARCH

CONSUME

LOAD

LEARN

PREPARE

RESEARCH

DISPOSE SELL

SELL

LEARN

BUY LEARN BUY DISPOSE

INTENT

CONCEPT

OVERALL

PROGRAM/CIRCULATION

DETAIL

SEQUENCE

CLADDING

LOAD

recurring events

The goal is to address the issue with virtual distances and homogenous space by strengthening the relationship between space and place. The experience is thus depended upon a specific time that relates the event to the place. It creates a dialogue between inside and outside, the user and place, and program and space. Program can relate to the place by framing temporal natural and cultural phenomenon occurring at a given site that influences on interior activities. Timespecific events also capture moments pertaining to the use of a space. This can encourage the user to think about one’s relationship with the locale and challenge the significance of this relationship.

Time-specific events must re-embed relationships by augmenting frames of occurrence that corresponds to functions of a space. The experience transforms static forms into events that requires participation. The space may frame one specific moment of the day where the interior has a completely different function.

Amphitheater and atrium spaces are connected to outdoor patio space for lunch break.

12:00

9:00

5:00



Vendor spaces open to outside for afterschool hours and activities for the adjacent elementary school.

Restaurant space becomes accessible from the market.

Restaurant space transforms into space for night market.

22:00

Cafe opens when service space is connected. Classrooms are open for morning culinary classes.

18:00

market space is opened for traditional markets.

16:00



temporal program

cultural rhythms The program is organized into two bays: private and public. On the private side are offices, kitchen labs, auditorium, and food vendors. On the public side is the cafe, retail store, atrium, restaurant, and amphitheater. Based on movement of the circulation module, different sequences of experiences are emphasized depending time of the day. Bellow is possible schedule of emphasis according to the specific culture of its surrounding users.

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

INTENT

CONCEPT

OVERALL

PROGRAM/CIRCULATION

DETAIL

SEQUENCE

CLADDING

The project was developed as a series of horizontal volumes divided into two bars with a central ‘spine.’ Each program space has a different volume transparency and scale to generate layered experiences that would ‘defamiliarize’ users upon entering a space. The dichotomy of public and private functions is emphasized by the articulating the path within path concept where users are bridged across the spine space as a moment of reveal.

Stepped amphitheater creates an entry to the open market with cantilevered atrium space.

12.00

9.00

FORM OF ENTRY

12.00

The way of entry to the building becomes fluid where the ground floor becomes sunken and open to the surrounding urban context. There is also a metro connection on the south side to solicit people from all parts of Taipei. Inside the underground market are six vertical circulation cores that connects people to specific functions.

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

INTENT

OPEN MARKET

REVEALS

AMPHITHEATER

The central â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;spineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of the building not only provides intfiltration of natural light but also makes the act of buying and selling transparent to the public.

The semi-outdoor space is a place of recession and refuge for a panoramic view of the surrounding city and pedestrian street.

LECTURE HALL

CIRCULATION UNIT

Suspended over the main entrance, overlooking Zhongxiao E. Road and Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, for people to acquire knolwedge of the area.

The shifting of circulation units is visible from the exterior and from all parts of the institute, making the act of change a visual statement of rhythmical activities.

CONCEPT

OVERALL

PROGRAM/CIRCULATION

The stepped amphitheater is a place where the community gather to socialize and interact. It also provides an alternative entrance to the center of the underground market. SUNKEN ENTRY

DETAIL

SEQUENCE

The ramped descend from the street level to the underground market simultaneously reveals movement and filters natural lighting to the space.

CLADDING

media

room

media room

class

orium

audit

meeti

ewc

room

media room

class

orium

storag

audit

room

media

lobby

en kitch

media

lobby

chen

kit

g zo

loadin

servi

cafe-

newc

cafe

g zo

loadin

meat

newc

cafe

meat

atrium

retail newc g zo loadin

vend

retail

cafe

newc

cafe

g zo

loadin

servi

cafe-

meat

Bar atrium

servi

cafe-

room

cafe

media

lobby

Bar

newc

g zo

room

class

lab

room

kitch

vend

retail loadin

servi

cafe-

media

lobby

atrium

g zo

patio

room

class

lab

room

Bar

vend

retail loadin

servi

cafe-

lab

kit

atrium or

vend

retail

ewc

storag

ng roo

meeti

chen

Bar

vend cafe

media

kit

atrium or

retail newc

patio

room

class lobby

chen

Bar atrium

room

class

audit

lab

room

orium

ewc

storag

ng roo

meeti

room

kit

vend

media

lobby

chen

Bar

patio

room

class

lab

room

media room

class

audit

lab patio

room

class

lab

room

orium

ewc

storag

ng roo

meeti

lab patio

room

class

lab

media room

class

audit

ng roo

meeti

room

orium

ewc

storag

lab patio

media room class

audit

ng roo

meeti

lab

room

orium

ewc

storag

servi

cafe-

meat

buy

relax

research

play

learn

sell

The underground market extends in an uninterrupted space that also embeds routes of vertical circulation that connects to other parts of the institute.

The cafe and restaurant are located on the ground floor to provide informal gathering atmospheres and unmediated access. By framing views of the pedestrian street and outdoor field to Songshan tobacco factory, visual participation connects people to urban functions.

The design strengthens connection to academic functions that are parallel to the labs. Researchers share similar paths with students so that interactions can be solicited unexpectedly. Negotiation of circulation may become necessary.

People are drawn to open spaces at the stepped amphitheater and enter the night market from an inclined ramp or ascend an elevator to the rooftop open space where a panoramic view of the city is revealed. The exchange between inside and outside facilitates the notion of play.

Classrooms, lecture hall, and the media room are accessible by more dynamic and complex paths that encourages simultaneous exchange of ideas. It promotes both academic and social interaction by weaving together adjacent programs.

To provide efficient ways of loading products and for employees to arrive at their work spaces, direct paths are articulated. Visual interaction is fostered by locating administrative functions in the center of the building.

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

CIRCULATION MODULE

Aluminum track system

Perforated aluminum screen Round staggered 0.312â&#x20AC;? x 0.468â&#x20AC;? holes 40% open area Channel glass panels Translucent glass panels provides light while veiling and blurring the view

INTENT

CONCEPT

OVERALL

PROGRAM/CIRCULATION

DETAIL

SEQUENCE

The module acts as a visual indicator of changing sequences. Through four scenarios of connections, programs are bridged across the central spine to generate varied sequences tailored to time-depended needs. This simulates the impression of walking between allies into different spaces that frame views of the site where users have a intended way of experiencing space according to timely needs. Heavy-duty extruded aluminum I-beam tracks, four wheel adjustable hangers Awith machine turned ball bearing wheels and heavy-duty door guides. 11-16 gauge zinc dichromate plated steel parts.

CLADDING

MODES OF CONNECTIVITY BAY 01 Connects served and service spaces to activate program.

BAY 02 Connects public programs to 2nd floor private programs through vertical circulation.

BAY 03 Connects private programs to second floor or underground programs.

vie

er oth

p ro

gra

pa ms

BAY 04 Connects alternate public and private program spaces

ces

view of other cir

r view of exterio view

of m

ove

vie

section model

culation bays

ent

f ce

ntra

l co

rrid

view analysis

Secion model showing the relationship between underground market, restaurant, and auditorium spaces and how they connect to the circulation system.

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

INTENT

CONCEPT

OVERALL

PROGRAM/CIRCULATION

DETAIL

SEQUENCE

CLADDING

user vs interior

user vs movement

user vs exterior

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

cladding material: recycled vinyl

Taiwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s platic industry started in the 1950s and the country consumes about 4.5 billion plastic bottles annually, however, it boasts 73 percent recycling rates, according to the Environmental Protection Administration. Nearly 180,000 tons of used plastic were collected and turned into raw materials worth $140 million, which cut down garbage disposal costs and carbon dioxide emissions. The cladding material uses recycled vinyl and other post consumer trash that is enforced with Polli-ber (A patended Miniwiz technology) that is strong, light weight, UV resistant, and fire resistant. It emts 40% less carbon during life cycle of plastic and uses two-thirds less energy used in manufacturing as opposed to new material.

INTENT

CONCEPT

OVERALL

PROGRAM/CIRCULATION

DETAIL

SEQUENCE

CLADDING

viewing box Contrasting with the opacity of the main cladding system, the viewing box spaces provide clear views of the outside. A conscious awareness of movement and time around the building.

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

PROJECT

re-ligare institute

CONCEPT

LOCATION DATE ADVISOR

DEVELOPMENT

ACSA Steel Competition Re-ligare Institute 10th Ave and 17th St, New York Winter 2010 Thomas Fowler

Faced with this state of affairs, a cooperative of individuals have decided to create a place to practice â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;beingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;: the Re-ligare Institute. By fostering and celebrating not-doing, not-having, stopping, and wholeness,the organization intends to give people a space to step back and become reconnected with themselves, others, and nature.

Faculty, administration, and staff will support patrons to accomplish such goals and conduct research concerning the practice of being. Architecture is to become a sanctuary for finding, studying, enjoying, and developing being. As such the building will provide a necessary retreat from real world diseases, promote healing, and foster a re-connection at the individual and collective levels.

Given its intense focus on being, the Re-ligare Institute demands a building of great quality that highlights phenomenological presence at all levels and scales. Developing being means to offer pedagogies directed to the subjective (personal, individual self), intersubjective (social, collective self), and objective (environmental, no-self) dimensions of human experience.

This translates into practices directed to observing, studying, exercising, and expressing beingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mind, body, and connectivity to others and nature. And while these aspects of being do not occur in isolation, it is appropriate to focus on one or the other to foster particular developmental gains. Hence, the Re-ligare Institute demands programmatic separation and connection, that is, dedicated places to work on our physique or inner mental-scape as well as areas where we can come together in society and nature.

Located adjacent to the highline elevated park in New York, the re-ligare center is accessible from the park and on the street level to attract the public to main programs such as meditation rooms, dancing and yoga rooms, classrooms, cafe, and restaurant. The upper section contains relaxation programs such as saunas, massage rooms, and hydrotheraphy pool rooms. The lower section contains service spaces such as administrative offices, research laboratories, and treatment rooms. The design uses â&#x20AC;&#x153;photosynthesisâ&#x20AC;? as a metaphor for regenerating energy and well-being to develop a spatial organization of two towers. The process of healing involves interactive support and individual contemplation. Vertical complexes densify activity while providing flexibility and reveals by views. The towers takes its form from chloroplast cells that are stackedly to create void spaces that promote infiltration of light.

For this reason, the Institute seeks to establish fluid yet carefully crafted relationships between urban and architectural spaces, exterior and interior, culture and nature, self and others, and so on. In the spirit of healing and growing being, the Institute professes sustainability understood in its widest and deepest sense: the affirmation, appreciation, and support of all life.

vocabulary development

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

cladding system study

tertiary structure

CONCEPT

glazing

DEVELOPMENT

photovoltaic cell panels

void space as experiential awareness field

In the creative vacuum of the void of potential space, new and possible translations of experience into new representations can be more readily made; as the spaciousness of awareness creates a flexibleness of fixated ideation and loosens fixed representations and internalized object relations. The field is fluid so compact sequences of mind and bodily responses can be more easily dissolved or interrupted in the void of potential space.

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

kinetic light space studies

MODEL 1

MODEL 2

PROJECT LOCATION DATE ADVISOR

Kinetic Light Space Studies n/a Fall 2009 Terry Hargrave

MODEL 3

SPATIAL REPRESENTATION

HOUSE OF FREE WILL

IN-BETWEEN SPACE

A study of representation of relationships using a paralleling language of notations.

An exercise to preserve autonomy of the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience

Contrasting with the house of freewill, this project encourages active user-participation

Architectural space, both absolute [defined by mass/ perceptual] and abstract [social/psychological/conceptual] is the media for this project. representation itself is conditional. It embodies a sense of intention for an effect or outcome, but such is knowingly impossible in a world with plural experiences and traditions, varied perceiving abilities [blindness/deafness, etc], varying intellects for deciphering, and differing motivations to make sense of it all.

Absolute space: Conceptions of space in architecture and its surround have evolved radically during the past two centuries. Rene Descartesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cartesian space, the 17th century system of absolute and rational enlightenment, describes an ordered orthogonal geometric universe. Emblematic of a world emphasizing enlightenment through personal reason rather than tradition,the Cartesian spatial system proved a useful tool for structuring/ordering architecture and its designed surround.

Abstract space: Now, we dwell in a multitude of overlaping and often competing spheres each with their own spatial conditions. An awareness of gender, political hierarchies, economic access, commodity driven, relationships with nature, defensibility, community zoning, and forth all generate their own psychic spaces as well as built-form responses. These are part of the conditions of a modern and post modern world. These are relational spaces, primarily mediated by their inhabitants through dialectics rather than absolutes.

power 06

transitory The density of basswood members determine the degree and gradient of light filtering through the model,

separation Parts of the whole imply an overall function used to connect a greater function of space

space of power represented by the brightest component

03 02

refuge

static node that is constant throughout motion

instability

submissed Darkest space of the model Transition: Changing the degree of light from dark to bright.

Using pin joints at each corner and fixed connections to the center, the model can be twisted,when force is applied to the ends.

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

SPATIAL REPRESENTATION

SPACE OF FREE WILL

IN-BETWEEN SPACE

A study of representation of relationships using a paralleling language of notations.

An exercise to preserve autonomy of the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience.

Contrasting with the house of freewill, this project encourages active userparticipation

Variation in the density of flooring depths produces accoustical qualities that users indirectly notices after walking across the pavilion.

MODEL 1

MODEL 2

MODEL 3

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

MODEL 1

MODEL 2

MODEL 3

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

The suspended corridor with a skylight system and indirect light system to emphasize the instability and tension. It is a more direct way of the user to be aware of the space. The intention was that the lighting quality and suspension would enable the user to relate their own state of mind to the space.

MODEL 1

MODEL 2

MODEL 3

time lapse studies

longitudinal section

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

poet’s retreat

CONCEPT

PROJECT LOCATION DATE ADVISOR

DEVELOPMENT

Poet’s Retreat Rural San Luis Obispo County Fall 2008 Robert Arens

casting everyday object The ten week course is didvided into seven projects. The first phase focused on relating three everyday objects based on a common theme. The second phase focused on composing the objects onto a spatial field making gestures that would enhance the position of walls and roads based on light and shadow positions of the site.

plaster relief transformed into landscape with walls

composing and casting the void

The project representation methods alternated between 2-D and 3-D translations to study relationships in elevation, void space, and form. I chose objects with interiors that could be extracted that would in turn change the exterior appearance. Object acting as a container of three states of properties: air, liquid, and solid. List of projects: 1. Poetry of Everyday Objects 2. Casting Everyday Objects 3. Composing and Casting the Everyday Void 4. Creating a spatial field 5. Topography of the Field 6. Inhabiting the Field: Retreat for a Poet 7. Constructing the Field: A retreat in detail

composition of openings

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

prgram and detail development The program consists of 75 square meters of interior space and a variety of outdoor spaces. Rather than a prescriptive list of spaces, however, students were given simple notions requiring interpretation on their part: they would have to define the qualities befitting spaces for writing, relaxing, sleeping, cooking, hygiene and storage are before translating them into architectural terms. Not a permanent residence, the project was described as a retreat for a writer to work on their poetry and sometimes stay overnight. Occasionally poetry readings would be arranged for the poetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friends in one of the outdoor spaces. In developing the program of the retreat, Le Corbusierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Five Points of Architecture acted as guiding principles in that simple volumes can lend poetic results. A specific construction method using heavy timber structure clad with metal on structural insulated panels was used. The focus was on interior and exterior articulation of volumes. Guiding the user along an axis, the user would encounter reveals that would align a view of with the voids of the site.

CONCEPT

DEVELOPMENT

topographic study

sectional model exploring tectonical issues Sectional models not only simultaneously revealed interior and exterior views of the design but also a 3D wall section of the building envelope and its construction.

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

wall of awareness

CONCEPT

DEVELOPMENT

PROJECT LOCATION DATE ADVISOR

Wall of Awareness Sichuan Province, China Spring 2008 Keith Wiley

digital development

Although the wall often is a passive element, it performs a crucial and powerful role in the composition of architectural spaces. theWALL project asks the designer to critically question the condition “wall.” Many distinct issues are assigned sequentially, with each introduced through a lecture of precedents and sources of inspiration, such as material, details, etc. Since the project was assigned after the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, I designed a wall to raise awareness about natural disasters. I adopted “stacking” and “layers” as an aesthetic expression to stimulate effects of being on an earthquake site. Transparency of the wall was achieved by using shards of glass between solid materials. The condition of the wall is a visual statement of a significant event with no differentiation between inside and outside environment.

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

DEDICATION the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sichuan Province resulted in 69,227 fatalities and is the 19th deadliest earthquake of all time. The Zipingpu Dam is believed to have fluctuated the pressure of the fault 1,650 feet (503 m) away; this pressure probably increased the power of the earthquake and accelerated the rate of movement for the fault. This wall acts as a visual dedication memorial for family members and for furture awareness.

D exploded axonometric drawing

CONCEPT

DEVELOPMENT

motion study

CAUSE OF FATALITY While most earthquakes are caused by movement of the Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tectonic plates, human activity can also produce earthquakes. Four main activities contribute to this phenomenon: storing large amounts of water behind a dam (and possibly building an extremely heavy building), drilling and injecting liquid into wells, and by coal mining and oil drilling.

material study Basswood Cork Chipboard Pa i n t e d B a s s w o o d B r a s s Tu b e Plexi Glass

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

re-kinetic installation

PROJECT

LOCATION DATE ADVISOR TEAM

CONCEPT

DEVELOPMENT

Re-Kinetic Installation Swarmbrella Robert Kennedy Library, Cal Poly Spring 2010 Thomas Fowler Emily Ho, Nathan Kiatkulpiboone, Nicholas Pappas, Karen Wang

concept sketch

study model

Swarm- a synchronized mass made up of interacting parts. Inspired by the properties of skin, the project emerged through skinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to rip, tear, and heal. In addition to digital and analog studies, we used a found object (the umbrella) as the module to replicate movement. The installation is the first layer for the skeleton of a developed skin system. Once we created one module, we decided to study different configurations of the same module and how one action would affect another.

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

site composition

constructing the module Once we created one module, we decided to study different configurations of the same module and how one action would affect another. The project took another turn as we studied three-dimensional properties of the module and configurations with different sized umbrellas. We went so far as to develop a kinetic building skin system that would allow natural filtered light to enter when the module is open and less light when closed.

CONCEPT

DEVELOPMENT

determining the form Once the 54 kinetic modules are connected to each other into a 9’x6x ‘fabric’, the flexibility of each module enabled the installation to stretch according to gravitation or applied force.

installing on site

Located in the center of the atrium, the installation acted as a sculptural center piece that can be viewed from the inner ring of the library. It is also accessible from two balconies from two floors. The railing bay determined the degree of rotation of the installation.

BALCONY

3RD FLOOR INTERIOR

2ND FLOOR INTERIOR

BALCONY

ATRIUM GARDEN

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

rebar chair

PROJECT LOCATION DATE TEAM

Rebar Chair San Luis Obispo, CA Fall 2009 Ian Carney, Karen Wang

DESIGN Rebar is a reinforcement material that is typically embedded and invisible in built structures. Due to its hidden nature, it is made out unfinished tempered steel, making it susceptible to rusting. The goal of this chair is to expose the inner-core of rebar for the human interaction.

CONCEPT

DEVELOPMENT

Vellum Design Build and the College of Architecture and Environmental Design(CAED) initiated almost a decade ago (2004) a design competition and exhibition that encourages participants mostly students, from the California Polytechnic State University, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo - to create original furniture designs and have their submissions juried by a panel of experts in their field. Intended to inspire creative thought and challenge participants to press the boundaries of design, the Vellum Competition offers a tangible experience and exposure to the industry.

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

CONCEPT

DEVELOPMENT

CUT

SPACERS

6’’ WELD

CUT DRILL BEND 24’’ LATHE

95°

WELD

CUT DRILL LATHE

BEND

ergronomics The chair has a slight 15 degree back incline and springing force.

18’’

LATHE WELD

CUT DRILL LATHE BEND

profile component

66’’ BEND

construction process 10-ft 3/8” diameter rebars were cut into three sections for lathing. The ends were drilled so the members could be loaded into the lathing machine. Each member was labeled for its lathing length. Then the members were bent separately to the profile shape. Lastly, rebar pieces were welded together along with spacers to form the final product.

CUT DRILL

WELD

12’’ SPACERS

KAREN WANG

CUT

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

design village

CONCEPT

PROJECT LOCATION DATE TEAM

DEVELOPMENT

AIRBAG San Luis Obispo, CA Spring 2012 Scott Leinweber, Tam Tran, Karen Wang

Design Village is an architectural competition hosted by Cal Poly in the experimental structures lab behind campus. Student teams form colleges throughout California and beyond, design habitable structures that must be hand-carried up a mile-long dirt road into the Poly Canyon Experimental structures Lab. Over the week-end, students are invited to live in them.

TRANSFORM

PARACHUTE RE-FOLD

The Metamorphosis theme is based on the increasing need for adaptable architecture and flexibility in design. We challenge you to embrace a design that has multiple functions, iterations and uses, and integrate this idea into your own community and continuing design. This year opens a new creative opportunity to be judged on multiple iterations of each project, allowing for a greater understanding of each design and design process. This transient nature will hopefully translate to our own temporary community: flexible, interesting, beautiful, and fleeting.

The canopy of a military parachute was integrated with a light weight structure with the fabric folding onto itself to create stages of inflation. The daytime phase is when the fabric is velcro-ed at certain points to produce an expanded form. The air-tight nature of the parachute catches wind and thus generates more interior space. The night-time phase is when the fabric is velcro-ed at all connection points to produce a condensed form for thermal comfort.

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

STRUCTURE Each of the four points of the structure is staked to the ground with three steel round-bars that are inserted into a tubular metal joint. The frontal connections are elevated higher than the back to level the structure. 1” and 3/4” steel tubes and 5/8” steel round-bars were used for the bottom load-bearing structure. 3/4” PVC pipes and paracord ropes were used for the upper structure for non load-bearing fabric suspension.

CONCEPT

DEVELOPMENT

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

cache: thesis show

PROJECT LOCATION DATE TEAM

Cache Thesis Show Berg Gallery San Spring 2012 Jackson Studio

This exhibition features numerous unique and provocative undergraduate architectural thesis projects whose diverse themes are united in their ambition to re-frame the physical world as a place of augmented experience

The showâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s augmentation is intended to demonstrate the potential for architecture to produce physical operations on the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sense of reality.

Operations that are commensurate with the highly participatory, interactive, creative, and authorial types of experiences that the public has already embraced in the other forms of media which have so far dominated the contemporary discourse on digital and network culture.

Projection Surface

The format of the exhibition capitalizes on the themes of participation and augmentation presenting each thesis projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s content as a series of informational layers ranging from the purely physical to the purely virtual and accessible through both traditional as well as novel forms of viewing.

Extra Content

The basic display system is comprised of two primary elements: a low projection surface and a magic decoder pad. While primary content is projected from above to the projection surface, the magic decoder pad allows visitors to view extra content, projected from below.

Layer-Extra Content

DECODER PAD

PROJECTION SURFACE

PRIMARY CONTENT

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

professional work

3d modeling / rendering

diagramming / presentation

ARATA ISOZAKI & ASSOCIATES hong lou meng world visitory center schematic drawings / programaming

physical modeling

1:200

1:1000

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

interior rendering

plan development

diagramming / presentation

isozaki sketch

DA CHENG OFFICE TOWER COMPETITION schematic drawings

physical modeling

BAISHA MASTERPLANNING volume and building type study

physical modeling

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

taitung cultural center rendering

site analysis diagram

ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY Santo SecondarySchool Rendering, Haiti

Rainwater Harvesting Technology Solukhumbu Development Project, Nepal Above Ground Tanks Ferrocement Tank A type of above ground RWH tanks is the ferro-cement RWH tank. This technology goes back 30 years or more. The combination of mortar with steel is to provide a strong framework which can hold the force of the water as well as effects of expansion and shrinkage due to changing weather conditions. RAINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current West-Africa programme focuses on this technology. These tanks are usually 10,000, 12,000 or 14,000 m3 of size depending on site and contexts. The tank size should be sufficient to allow for household or school water needs to be met during the prolonged dry season (generally in the months running from September to June). It is also possible to build multiple tanks provided the capture area (the roof) is large enough. Contamination risks are limited, and are further reduced by using a coarse-screen filter and first-flush system.

Stone Masonry Tank This type of tank is made of large stones and cement, which provide a strong framework, and is in most cases relatively easy to construct. It allows increasing the storage capacity up to 60 m3 or more, depending on site and context. These tanks store water from roof runoff and are mainly constructed at community facilities like schools or health centres. Contamination risks are limited, and are further reduced by using a coarse-screen filter and first-flush system.

Rainjar A rainjar is a rainwater harvesting tank which has a much smaller capacity compared to other types of tanks, due to the fact that no reinforcement is used. The shape of the jar is made in such a way that is depends on its on construction for strength. This makes it a very cost-effective design. The Thai Jar is probably the most known type of rainjar. It is a very popular type of tank, since people can, after training, easily construct and even finance their own rainjar. The capacity of this type of tank ranges from 200 litres to 6.500 litres.

HO+HOU STUDIO ARCHITECTS interior elevation

tucheng office tower, taiwan

material study

PFAU LONG ARCHITECTURE magnes museum, berkeley interior rendering / wood sliding door

magnes museum, berkeley detail drawings

magnes museum, berkeley Iinterior elevation

noot bar residence opening design

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

contact

karen wang education

honors

experience

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Bachelor of Architecture Class of 2012

karen.shinye.wang@gmail.com 360.921.4869 skills

Rhino Sketchup V-Ray

Robert Hifumi Odo Scholarship Nominee Design competition based on student work 2010 Anderson Competition Honorable Mention Haiti shipping container competition Chicago Street Furniture Competition Finalist Architecture for Humanity 2011 2012-2013 Arata Isozaki+Associates, Shanghai,China July 2011

Jan-Jun 2011 Sept-Nov 2010 Sept 2010

junior architectural assistant Architecture for Humanity, San Francisco, California intern Ho+Hou Studio Architects, Taipei, Taiwan intern Pfau Long Architecture, San Francisco, California intern United Design Group, Shanghai, China intern

Adobe Creative Suite AutoCAD

Woodshop tools Metalshop tools Plaster casting languages

Mandarin fluent Japanese basic

KAREN WANG

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO