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CONTACT KELVIN SHIU-KAI HUANG (c) 917.868.1791 (e) kelvsh@gmail.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS _PROFESSIONAL P 01
HEAVYBIT INDUSTRIES - HEXCELL STEEL IwamotoScott Architecture SOMA District, San Francisco, CA 2012 // BUILT
P 02
SCHINDLER UNIFIED CITY Neri&Hu Design and Research Office Jiading, Shanghai, China 2013 - 2014 // ONGOING
P 03
AUTODESK PIER 9 - EDGE CONDITION Competition Entry Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 2015 // DEAD
P 04
MISSION MERCADO PLAZA Rebar Art and Design Studio Mission District, San Francisco, CA 2013 // ONGOING
P 05
THE NIGHT CLUB Mesh Design Build Studio Albany, CA 2011 - 2013 // BUILT
_ACADEMIC A 01
THE PUBLIC ARTIFACT | VIRTUAL WORLDS UC Berkeley - ARCH 101 Instructor: Keith Plymale 2013 Spring
A 02
CED GRADUATION CANOPY UC Berkeley - ARCH 269 Instructor: Lisa Iwamoto 2012 Spring // BUILT
A 03
SHIH-YU LANG YMCA UC Berkeley - ARCH 100B Instructor: Lisa Iwamoto / Rudabeh Pakravan 2011 Fall
NOTE: *Given dates correspond to when I personally worked on each project.
P01 HEAVYBIT INDUSTRIES - HEXCELL STEEL IwamotoScott Architecture SOMA District, San Francisco, CA 2012 This project was an installation for HeavyBit Industries, a communal tech workspace in San Francisco. As the design-build installation lead for the HEXCELL STEEL, my responsibilities included conceptual design, design prototyping, material specification and sourcing, shop drawings, metal fabrication, metal finishing, electrical work, and final project installation. The design of light fixture echoes the logo of HeavyBit, a hexagon. The HexCell Steel light is made from thin, contoured, graphite-blackened, brake-formed steel with vintage Edison lightbulbs in the industrial spirit of the existing building. Concealed steel tubes that run along the top of the installation integrate structure and housing for the electrical wiring. In collaboration with: IwamotoScott Architecture Principals: Lisa Iwamoto and Craig Scott Photographs: Bruce Damonte, Craig Scott, Self Awards: AIA San Francisco 2013 Merit Award, Interior Architecture Category AIA California Council 2013 Merit Award Publications: Architectural Record, June 2013 ArchDaily, July 17 2013
P02
SCHINDLER UNIFIED CITY Neri&Hu Design and Research Office Jiading, Shanghai, China 2013 - 2014 // ONGOING The Schindler Unified City was a winning competition entry for the Asia-Pacific headquarters of the Swiss elevator company Schindler. It is a vision for an architecturally unified complex that houses factories, offices, showrooms, research & development, and a 200-meter tall elevator testing tower. Conceptually, the project is about a dialogue between the Chinese and Swiss traditions The dark, massive base celebrates native architectural typologies and materials. The three white box volumes that rest on the base represent Swiss precision with a finely-crafted channel glass facade and immaculate white interiors. I was tasked with designing the front circulation channel of the building, which moves people between the various buildings, terminating at a parking lot on each end. It also served as a showcase for Schindler’s moving walks. I developed a language of compression and decompression to break up the otherwise monotonous spatial sequence of an uninterrupted tunnel. Skylights, brick screens, and punched openings bring light into this massive space and allow occupants a moment for reflection. I developed the brick texture and brick screen details.I worked on detail drawings and construction documents for 1:1 full-scale mockups of the brick and glass facade details. In addition to assisting our design team with 3D studies and preparing construction documents, I also regularly attended meetings with the client; brick, glass, and metal suppliers; and structural, mechanical and facade consultants. In collaboration with: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office Architect in Charge: Lyndon Neri Design Team: Begona Sebastian, Nellie Yang, Lina Lee, Kelvin Huang, Evan Chen, Goncalo Lopes, Tony Schonhardt, Neri&Hu Rendering Team Drees&Sommer Facade and Mechanical Consultants Jiangnan Architectural Design Local Design Institute (LDI)
P03
EDGE CONDITION - [ interFACE ] Competition Entry Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 2015 [ interFACE ] is an experiment in participatory urbanism, demonstrating the ability of a visually stunning sculptural intervention to instigate public participation through urban exploration. It aims to erode the social, geographical, and technological edges that manifest in a city as diverse and captivating as San Francisco. The installation piece is an array of fins that rhythmically progress along the waterfront, physically and visually connecting the piers. Each fin is a slender, mirrorfinished stainless steel volume. One side is CNCperforated with a digitally manipulated raster image of San Francisco while the other solid mirrored side reflects the surrounding environs of the Embarcadero. In order to conceptually maximize the impact of EDGE CONDITION and to take advantage of the flow of pedestrians, it reinterprets the given 20’ x 20’ site into a long strip. The siting of the fins responds to the “barnacle” seating and allows for a juxtaposition of porosity and obstruction of views along the Embarcadero. At night, light from within the volumes shines through the perforations. The CNC-perforated panels feature images of the diverse neighborhoods, landmarks, and hidden gems of the city. The design includes a simple app to accompany the installation creating a city-wide scavenger hunt. Participants visit each of the sites to check into the app with geo-location to earn fun prizes. The featured images of unique San Francisco locations aim to erode the social boundaries between different neighborhoods by pulling tourists and locals outside of their habitual socio-geographical bubbles. [ interFACE ] documents a history of place, and through its use of advanced digital and manual fabrication methods encourages a conversation between local culture and technology. [ interFACE ] draws passersby into the rich, inspirational narrative of San Francisco, symbolically capturing the potential of each individual to participate in the future of the city. In collaboration with: Arianna Deane, Alex Davies
fig 2. BRAKE FORMING DIAGRAM COUNTERSUNK STOVEHEAD MACHINE SCREW 11 Ga. STAINLESS STEEL SHEET 3”x3”x1/4” STEEL TUBE
FINISH FLOOR SURFACE
1/2” HEX BOLT 6”x6”x1/2” STEEL ANGLE 2”x3”x1/4” STEEL TUBE 1/2” THREADED ROD
f i g 1 . E X P L O D E D A X O N O M E T R I C FA B R I C AT I O N D I A G R A M
f i g 3 . D E TA I L D R AW I N G 1 : 5 S C A L E
P04
MISSION MERCADO PLAZA Rebar Art and Design Studio Mission District, San Francisco, CA 2013 - Present This project is a collaboration between the SF Planning Department, the Mission Community Market, and Rebar Design Group. The goal for the plaza is to create a flexible urban space that can provide opportunities for gatherings, meeting neighbors, and enjoying the vibrant life of the Mission District. The new space would also offer opportunities for community gatherings like the Mission Community Market, as well as smaller neighborhood activities, health fairs, fundraisers and play activities. The new Mercado Plaza would add permanent infrastructure to current market activities such as small business incubation and on-going presence of small local vendors, cultural performances, community events while still maintaining traffic access to this last block of Bartlett Street. The proposed design dramatically improves public safety through the addition of new street lights, a narrower road and traffic calming elements that also add greening and areas for street furniture. Highlights of the design are: wider sidewalks, new trees and stormwater management gardens, unique paving, movable seating and opportunities for local art. **text from SF Planning Department My responsibilities in this project included preparing 3D renderings for the proposal as well as for community meetings. In collaboration with: Rebar Art and Design Group Principals: John Bela, Blaine Merker, Matthew Passmore
P05 THE NIGHT CLUB Mesh Design Build Studio Albany, CA 2011 - 2013 This project is a multi-use playhouse, tire swing, chicken coop, and chicken run structure. It was named ‘The Night Club’ by the two girls you see in the photographs.This was the pilot project for meshDBS, which we took from the first conceptual design phases to design prototyping and 1:1 mockups to final full scale construction. We experimented with found materials and alternative construction techniques. Some of the “trash” that we used included an old shed, tires, steel sprinkler pipe, broken down pallets, billboard tarp, and two reclaimed 8x10 wood beams. Conceptually, the project consisted of three tube elements open to three rectilinear directions. The first was the “old shed,” an old shed that was left on the property which we deconstructed and rebuilt to make a chicken coop. We used billboard tarp as a weather screen. The second element is the “new shed,” which has a concrete-tire climbing wall and steel pipe as structure and wood from broken down pallets as a facade. The third tube is the ‘chicken run’, which provides a large open space for chickens to run around and scratch, which is essential for healthy chickens to clean the dead skin off their claws. Two large wood beams come out of the “old shed” and pierce the “new shed.” The also support an upper platform that can be reached by climbing up the tire climbing wall. The cantilever of the beams also supports a tire swing. The ground is filled with mexican pebbles to provide a safe, soft surface for children to play on. In collaboration with: Mesh Design Build Studio David Brown, Ferdilyn Ramirez, Jamie Copprell
D ETAI LS “old shed” (skin)
“new shed” (skin)
materials: wood, recycled billboard tarp
materials: salvaged steel sprinkler pipe, salvage from wood pallets, rope
“old shed” (frame)
materials: deconstructed shed, additional wood
“chicken run”
materials: chicken mesh, salvaged wood
“new shed” (seating+climbing wall) materials: recycled car tires, concrete
“shifting beams”
materials: salvaged 8x10 wood beams
A01
THE PUBLIC ARTIFACT | VIRTUAL WORLDS UC Berkeley - ARCH 101 Instructor: Keith Plymale 2013 Spring This project was a speculative exploration in dealing with the inevitable sea level rise on the waterfront of San Francisco with rur building program being a new digital arts and film institute, VIRTUAL WORLDS Pier 70 has a long history of shipbuilding. It was used during the second World War to build ships for the US Naval Forces. In recent years, our site, also known as Building 12, has sadly become a dilapidated impound lot for the SF Polive Department, completely inaccessible to the public. We saw Building 12’s rich history in the trusses, window frames, columns, and light fixtures. This old a rich composition of points, lines, planes, and volumes for us to re-draw, re-think, and re-design. Our proposal for Pier 70 is grounded in the desire to create a new space for public life in and around building 12 after the sea level rises, well above the flood plane. The sequence of walkways and plazas guide occupants on a spatial narrative into the past, present, and future. The synthesis of these experiences becomes THE PUBLIC ARTIFACT. Within VIRTUAL WORLDS, the building program includes lobby-admin, day-lit exhibition, black-box exhibition, studio, classrooms, and residences for visiting faculty. The program is spread throughout the public walkways. They are supported by a series of 5’ and 10’ thick freestanding walls that also double as circulation corridors and service spaces. The openings in the walls act as thresholds simulating a scene change in a film. The massive walls also enhance the feeling of this space as THE PUBLIC ARTIFACT, existing as a separate realm, disconnected from the outside world. The intention behind repurposing of the building 12 for public occupation was to use the existing shell as a membrane between the inside and outside world. Our Institute’s buildings, which are boxes clad in a corten and mirror facade, reflecting the image of the surrounding environment. The sawtooth facade shimmers and changes as the occupant’s relative position changes. In collaboration with: Alexander Davies
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SECTION BB’
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SECTION CC’
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SECTION DD’
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SECTION EE’
LOBBY/ CAFE/ ADMIN
DAYLIT EXHIBITION
+15’
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UPPER PLAZA
BLACKBOX EXHIBITION
+49’
+19’
CLASSROOMS
RESIDENCE +21.5’
+39’
STUDIOS
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PLAZA
A02 CED GRADUATION CANOPY UC Berkeley - ARCH 269 Instructor: Lisa Iwamoto 2012 Spring The CED Graduation Canopy was the result of a semester long design-build course in the spring semester of 2012. The goal was to provide a canopy that would be put up every year during the College of Environmental Design Graduation. It consisted of a cloud of laser-cut mylar modules that expands to a volume of roughly 16’ W x 25’ L x 8’ D, but can be rolled up and stored. My classmate Casey Brehm and I designed and fabricated the steel for for the superstructure, which includes 1/4” cables, two 20’ steel pipe rods which act as guide rails for the canopy, and 12 attachments to the building and to the ground. We also provided the drawings for the contractors who installed the 1/2” wall steel angle attachments. We coordinated with a local rigging company to have all of the cables cut and swaged to the necessary lengths. Casey and I also designed the hoisting procedure, which involves using 8 bolted-in winches, separate hoisting cables, and a system of quicklink carabiners that allow us to relieve tension from either the permanent or temporary cable systems in order to put up or take down the canopy. In collaboration with: Casey Brehm, Natasha Bohm, Tiffany Kan, Kate Greenberg, Cyndy Alfaro, Jonathan Izen, Jason Campbell, Sherrilyn Mulyono, Melissa Sandoval, Peter Suen, Leslie Valencia, Carlos Sanodval Photographs: Jonathan Izen, Tiffany Kan, Cyndy Alfaro
A03 SHIH-YU LANG YMCA UC Berkeley - ARCH 100B Instructor: Lisa Iwamoto / Rudabeh Pakravan 2011 Fall The project brief was to design a YMCA in the Tenderloin area of San Francisco. the 40,000 square feet of program were comprised of exercise, community, and service functions. large areas were devoted to a full-size basketball court and pool area, some other areas included a community garden, computer rooms, activity rooms, indoor exercise areas, locker rooms, and yoga studios. We were expected to develop both a strong conceptual logic and to consider practical matters such as structure and building performance. This project is about continuities and discontinuities. The formal logic of my building arose from an investigation of applying contouring methods to complex ruled surfaces. This striplike tectonic that is generated permeates through programmatic, circulatory, and performative aspects of the building. For example, discontinuous “ruptures� in the contours are used as thresholds between spaces, large openings for daylighting, and as wind catchers to provide natural ventilation between the high pressure windward side and low pressure leeward side of the building. less abrupt, continuous changes in the contours can act as stairs or slits for letting in filtered daylight. As for the relationship of the building to the urban context, the site is located in a very interesting place. It sits on the border between an area with many civic buildings (City Hall, art museums) to the south, and the Tenderloin, which is notorious for drug use, the north. the south side of the building opens up to McAllister as the building skin folds down in a receiving gesture while the north side of the building is meant to be less inviting.
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