Portfolio Architecture: A Collection of Works by Kevin Chen

PORTFOLIO

1” Finish Flooring 1.5” Acoustical Underlayment 1” Plywood CLT Panels - 3 Ply CLT Panels - 7 Ply Wood Strap Ceiling

1” Finish Flooring

2” Acoustical Underlayment

1 1/4” Plywood

Electrical Cable Chase

CLT Flooring Panels 3-Ply

CLT Flooring Panels 7-Ply

HVAC Ducts

Sprinkler Piping

Wood Strap Ceiling

collection of works

ARCHITECTURE

12”X24” Glu-lam Girder

Facade Unit Top Frame

Window Header

Window Units

Window Sill

2” Cypress Veneer

1/2” Air Space

CLT Wall Panels 5-Ply

3” Polyisocyanurate Insulation

Facade Unit Bottom Frame

Vapor Barrier

CLT Wall Panels 5-ply

Kevin Chen 2015

Table of Contents

Cambridge Public Library

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Boston Fashion School

Core II Studio: Fall 2010 Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts

School for the Arts

Core II Studio: Spring 2011 South End, Boston, Massachusetts

Dewey Square Urban Analysis

Representation Studio: Summer 2011 Financial District, Boston, Massachusetts

Assembly Square District Plan

Urban Planning Studio: Fall 2012 Somerville, Massachusetts

Environmental Systems

Sustainability/Environmental Systems: Spring 2013 Phoenix, Arizona

Housing and Aggregation

Housing Studio: Spring 2013 Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts

Comprehensive Design Studio

Comprehensive Studio: Spring 2014 Fenway/Kenmore, Boston, Massachusetts

Core II Studio: Fall 2010

Contents

Cambridge Public Library

Program: Location: Project Duration: Professor:

Library Cambridge, Massachusetts Five Weeks Rebecca Whidden

Core II Studio: Fall 2010 Cambridge, Massachusetts “Architecture has to follow the diversity of society, and has to reﬂect that a simple square or cube can’t contain that diversity.” - Toyo Ito

At the core of every library is the consortium of knowledge found within its books. In this project, the books become a part of the architecture as they are featured and become the centerpiece within the void. Immediately surrounding the tower of books are the reading spaces partitioned out of the ground ﬂoor and at times these reading spaces penetrate into the tower itself. This tower of books are enclosed by two masses that house other program necessary to run a library and additional program for the community to use. Sited in a neighborhood predominantly consisting of MIT students and other research facilities, the library would not only serve the highly intellectual but also others within the surrounding community. Natural daylight is highly desirable for reading which is what gives shape to the facade wrapping around the void. This mesh of interwoven steel thickens at the center where it acts as a screen to protect the books in the stacks while it thins at the sides, where the reading spaces are located, allowing maximum natural light for its users. This facade along with the plinths, created by the cross-circulation, helps to create interesting moments of lighting where the light can be seen as patches on different surfaces within the void. a a: Main Reading / Study Space, Render Opposite Page: Project Overlaid on Site Photo

Cambridge Public Library

a: West/East, Section b: Study Meets the Source, Render c: Second Floor Reading Space, Render d: Multiple Levels of Interaction, Render e: Iterative Models, Models f: Main Floor, Plan

Cambridge Public Library

Boston Fashion School

Program: Location: Project Duration: Professor:

School / Multi-function Boston, Massachusetts Five Weeks Rebecca Whidden

Core II Studio: Fall 2010 Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts

“Fashion is Architecture: It is a matter of proportions” - Coco Chanel

Back Bay, Boston is known for two main architectural features, its rowhouses and bay windows. Situated in the middle of this iconic neighborhood is the Boston School of Fashion. This project is found on Newbury Street on an infill rowhouse condition. Utilizing the bay window found on the majority of the buildings in the area, this allows many presentation spaces to be formed on the facade to showcase work from the school while also allowing plenty of light to penetrate deep into the building. The project aggregates bay windows on the public facade maximizing views from the inside-out along with the outside-in. The frontal circulation/atrium space maximizes the indirect sunlight allowed into the space; illuminating the studio spaces with desirable soft lighting. The top floor are private housing quarters for guests and critics to stay for the duration of events and shows. The separation of program in both front/back and by levels increases the privacy the further you move away from the entry. The first floor is public, the second is the institutional spaces, and the third are offices and dorms. The front public space is porous with stairs that wrap-around the space creating moments to “peek” into other more private spaces but not allow access, while the back becomes more solid as the purposes change. a a: Transparency of Public Space, Render Opposite Page: Project Overlaid on Site Photo

Boston Fashion School 11

c b

a: Public Circulation Space, Render b: West/East, Elevation c: First Floor (Public/Multi-use Space), Plan d: Second Floor (Studio), Plan e: North/South, Section

Boston Fashion School 13

School for the Arts

Program: Location: Project Duration: Professor:

School / Multi-function Cambridge, Massachusetts Eleven Weeks Erkin Ozay

Core II Studio: Spring 2011 South End, Boston, Massachusetts

“There are three forms of visual art: Painting is art to look at, sculpture is art you can walk around, and architecture is art you can walk through.” - Philip Johnson

The arts covers a broad spectrum of disciplines ranging from the physical arts such as painting and sculpture and performance arts such as theater and orchestra. A school for the arts would need a building that will be able to serve the different artists, musicians, and actors of all skill levels and also must be able to adapt for different uses. Spaces need to be able to be morph to allow multiple disciplines to utilize effectively which is the driving idea for the massive multi-use space floating in the bar above the school. This space can be configured in multiple formats with a retractable wall system; which could be open one day for dancers, and divided another day for the different instruments and musicians of a band. This special space is raised above the rest of the school to show the identity of the school to the world around them. The rest of the building take on the form of a typical school with classrooms and offices, along with studios and auditoriums organized to allow different levels of sunlight in depending on the dicipline. Furthermore, the lobby forms a smaller gallery space that overlooks an outdoor amphitheater for cross pollination of ideas and disciplines.

a a: South Facade/Entry, Render Opposite Page: Project Overlaid on Site Photo

School for the Arts 15

a: North/South, Section b: Multi-Purpose Space, Render c: Main Entry, Render d: Ground Floor (Communal Spaces), Plan e: Second Floor (Classrooms/Art Studio), Plan f: Division Walls System, Sectional Axo

School for the Arts 17

Dewey Square Urban Analysis

Program: Location: Project Duration: Professor:

Urban Analysis Boston, Massachusetts Five Weeks Anthony Piermarini

Representation Studio: Summer 2011 Financial District, Boston, Massachusetts “Space not only contains actions but also constitutes a part of social relations and is intimately involved in our daily lives... people alter space and construct new environments to better fit their needs.” - Mark Gottdiener

Under the thin veil of Dewey Square lies the intricate labyrinth of history, transportation and urban life. Tucked underneath the green public square lies a maze of public transportation mixed with interstates and highways. Life in Dewey is not what it seems as the square comes bustling to life during the rush hours of Boston ﬁltering pedestrians from the nearby ﬁnancial district into cars, buses, and trains, to get home. Dewey Square has not always been like this. Over a span of 350 years, it was established as a transit node for Boston and stayed that way till the present and will be so in the future.

a: The Buildings of Dewey, Bird’s Eye Render Opposite Page: Intertwine Networks, Sectional Axo Render

Dewey Square Urban Analysis 19

c a: Special Approach to Dewey, Diagram b: Infill of Dewey, Timeline Diagram c: Floor Height Heatmap, Birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eye Render

Dewey Square Urban Analysis 21

Assembly Square District Plan

Program: Location: Project Duration: Professor:

Urban District Plan Somerville, Massachusetts Twelve Weeks Anthony Piermarini

Urban Planning Studio: Fall 2012 Somerville, Massachusetts “The primary object of the park is as a rural resort, where the people of all classes, escaping from the glare, and glitter, and turmoil of the city, might find relief for the mind, and physical recreation.” - Egbert L. Viele

Assembly Square is the next up-and-coming region in the City of Somerville. The land will soon become a commercial center located in a prime location along I-93, the MBTA Orange Line, and its proximity to Boston. The City of Somerville is one of the most paved cities in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, with 75% of the land mass under asphalt, and one of the most densely populated cities in the state. These factors make this region a highly desired space, bordering the Mystic River and one of the largest parks in the city, Draw Seven Park. This project draws the surrounding neighborhood into the district with lines of greenery mixed in with elements of urban landscaping. The meandering paths bring you to the district which continue to allow you to walk around in the district to experience the sites and sounds of the district.

The importance of this project is that it connects the surrounding neighborhood with the newly built Assembly Row project. There are multiple transect moments through the site from the access points to the district. The pedestrian access arrives by going through the pedestrian-focused parkway arriving through a threshold moment entering the district. In the district, there are three moments in the district, one focusing on the commercial, one on the residential, and one on the community. Throughout the site, green spaces are emphasized and extended to reach out to the city.

a: Layered Studio Site Model, Model Opposite Page: District “Gateway”, Render

Assembly Square District Plan 23

c a: Landscaped Pedestrian Approach, Render b: Building Program, Diagrammatic Axo c: Detailed Site Plan, Rendered Plan

Assembly Square District Plan 25

a: Commercial-Centered Urban Park, Render b: Five Key Transect Map, Diagrammatic Axo c: District â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gatewayâ&#x20AC;?, Diagramatic Model d: Commercial Extensions, Diagramatic Model

Assembly Square District Plan 27

Environmental Systems

Program: Location: Project Duration: Professor: Collaboration:

Apartment Complex Boston, Massachusetts Twelve Weeks Timothy Cooke Jean Lotin and Tao Dong

Sustainability/Environmental Systems: Spring 2013 Phoenix, Arizona “Form ever follows function.” - Louis Henry Sullivan

Situated in the subtropical desert climate region, this project focuses on the use of environmental systems to create small homes focused on passive systems to regulate the environment inside the house. This takes advantage of many buffering systems to absorb heat during the day and radiating it at night. It also providing appropriate shading for the summer and direct gain during winter. Most systems react the the extreme sunlight in this region but other systems provide cooling such as landscaping, evaporative cooling, and heat massing. The form of the home reﬂects all the functions of the systems to make the building viable.

a a: Interior View, Render Opposite Page: South Facade/Exterior View, Render

Environmental Systems 29

b a: Building Data, Spread b: Heating/Cooling Systems Data, Spread

Environmental Systems 31

a: Timeline Iterations, Diagram

Environmental Systems 33

Housing and Aggregation Program: Location: Project Duration: Professor: Collaboration:

Apartment Complex Boston, Massachusetts Twelve Weeks Christopher Genter Sijie Dai

Housing Studio: Spring 2013 Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts “Architects can’t force people to connect, it can only plan the crossing points, remove barriers, and make the meeting places useful and attractive.” - Denise Scott Brown

Replacing a parking lot and rundown parcels in the neighborhood of Dudley Square, this housing project satisﬁes the housing need in an actively redeveloping area. The project focuses on the idea of community by creating landscaped urban parks serving both the residents in the housing and neighborhood. The two housing types focused was the courtyard type buildings and apartment type buildings. My research focused on the courtyard type buildings.

These courtyard buildings focus on a smaller scale community between the tenents of the structure. Each room has direct access to the central courtyard, where a stoop condition is provided connected between it and the plinth along with it and the exterior. Apartments have a unique connection between the interior with the exterior, the buildings are rotated to create interesting spaces between while aligning the buildings to different factors from the site. The public face has work+live apartments to activate the urban park while the private space contains only the doors to enter the apartments. The interplay between the private community space and the public community space shape the relations between building and neighborhood.

a: North Bird’s Eye View, Render Opposite Page: Site Plan, Plan

Housing and Aggregation 35

a: Sub-Plinth Level, Plan b: Plinth Level, Plan c: Unfolded Elevation, Elevation d: Plinth to Apartment View, Render e: End to End Access, Sectional Axo

Housing and Aggregation 37

Kevin Chen

Building B3 / Facade

To Plinth Elevation

To Site Elevation

c Building B3 / Stair Scheme / Inner Courtyard Kevin Chen

Kevin Chen

d Building B3 / Stair Scheme / 3rd Floor

Building B3 / S

DN DN

UP UP DN

DN UP UP UP DN

UP UP UP

DN N

Kevin Chen

1/32” = 1-0’

a: Street-side Facade, Render b: At-Grade Stair Allocation System, Render c: Second Level Stair Allocation System, Render d: Third Level Stair Allocation System, Render e: Unit Aggregation Diagram, Plans f: System of Stairs, Section

Building B3 Unit Aggregation

Housing and Aggregation 39

Comprehensive Design Studio

Program: Location: Project Duration: Professor: Collaboration:

Institution / Multi-function Boston, Massachusetts Twelve Weeks Michelle Laboy Jean Lotin

Comprehensive Studio: Spring 2014 Fenway/Kenmore, Boston, Massachusetts “You cannot simply put something new into a place. You have to absorb what you see around you, what exists on the land, and then use that knowledge along with contemporary thinking to interpret what you see.” - Tadao Ando

When someone thinks of heavy timber constructed buildings what comes to mind? A simple log cabin? A building with heavy timber structure? Will it change depending on what it faces; reacting, adapting, conforming, to changing conditions? Now can that building begin to evolve? Will it breathe? Can it shade itself on sunny days? Provide comfort for itself and others? Can the building come to life?

Focusing on the use of heavy timber framing with cross laminated timber construction in combination with sustainable design strategies, the building reacts to the potential future needs of Boston University. The flexibility of the spaces created allows for easy transformation of the spaces to accommodate different program, ranging from classrooms to offices, while taking advantage of the Boston climate to offset mechanical heating and cooling. The project also creates vast landscaped space to take advantage of the view of the Charles River north of the site. This landscape also reactes to possible future conditions, such as rising sea levels, by allowing the river to flow into the site and prevent the building from being flooded. The main feature of the building is the interstitial space which tempers air before having the air circulated through the spaces beyond while also providing adequate multi-use space for people to gather.

a: North Facade, Render Opposite Page: Project Overlaid on Site Photo (North)

Comprehensive Design Studio 41

d a: Undeviating Future Scheme, Diagram b: Precarious Variance Scheme, Diagram c: HVAC System, Diagramatic Section d: At-Grade Level (Interstitial Space, Restaurant, Bookstore), Plan

Comprehensive Design Studio 43

a: Interstitial Space Shadows, Render b: Site Plan, Plan c: East/West, Section d: Fire Rating Diagram, Diagramatic Plan e: HVAC Supply/Return Diagram, Diagramatic Plan

Comprehensive Design Studio 45

a: Peel-Away Roof Cut-Away Section, Sectional Axo b: Flooring and Chaseway System, Sectional Axo c: Peel-Away Wall Cut-Away Section, Sectional Axo

Comprehensive Design Studio 47

a: South Facade, Render b: Project Overlaid on Site Photo (South) c: 1/32” - 1’ Site Model Inset, Model d: 1/4” - 1’ Model Interior Photo, Model

Comprehensive Design Studio 49