Hanyang Yan‘s Architecture Design Portfolio

HANYANG YAN

Southern California Institute of Architecture

M.ARCH II | 2022-2024

©2023

hanyang_yan@sciarc.edu

+1 (217) 693-8598

Hanyang ( Kevin ) Yan is an architecture student and interaction designer who is currently pursuing a professional Master of Architecture II degree at the Southern California Institute of Architecture. He is actively exploring the interaction between human and space, and how spacial design can create a great experience for users.

One of Hanyang's key strengths is his ability to create stunning 3D models and renderings. He has an exceptional understanding of how to use various 3D modeling software and has the ability to create highly detailed and accurate models that are able to accurately convey his design intent. He is also skilled in creating animations and virtual reality simulations, which allow users to fully immerse themselves in the design and experience it as if it were real.

Overall, Hanyang's combination of architectural and interaction design expertise has given him a holistic understanding of design and the ability to create cohesive and functional solutions that improve people's lives. His background in architecture has provided him with a strong understanding of space, form, and function, while his expertise in user experience (UX) design has honed his ability to create designs that are not only visually appealing, but also intuitive and user-friendly.

Enchanted Classrooms 01

Designing the Experience for Children

Fall 2022

SCI-Arc 2GAX Design Studio Project

Site: Diamond Ranch Elementary School

Diamond Bar, CA

Collaborate with Yaoyu Lin

Instructor: Rachael McCall

Children will not only learn in class but also learn a lot of things from the environment around them, like their classrooms.

To build a classroom for children, we started with simple objects, like the wine container, and the lock, and then imagine the changes on them, as we can see in the cabinet.

We combine high-res and low-res into three different classrooms and let flora grow out of them. Just imagine flowers and leaves growing out of our classrooms, how amazing! We use bright vivid colors and shiny textures, which represent children’s curiosity and will attract their attention. Also, as we make our classrooms with daily objects, things will be recognizable in the section, which also encourages children to learn.

In terms of the site, we made full use of the slope and gave a height different to the three classrooms. They are connected to each other at different levels, forming an interesting indoor circulation.

The three classrooms represent three learning themes.

The concept of the first room is “absorbing”. It is a reading room, and it is quieter than the other rooms. If we take a closer look, you can see some part of spaces, and special bookshelves made by primitive objects wine containers. Also, we put our daily objects together with books, which means it is equally important to learn in our daily life as learn knowledge from textbooks.

The concept of the second room is “experience”. It is a music classroom, its wall has more noise on the wall its outline is slightly more vivid than the others. We have put some swings and seesaws, and yoga balls. Also, we have some tunnels with a special light, which encourages children to explore. It has a more complex roof, where we populated low-res and high res items, providing children opportunities to explore and create.

The third room is “enlightening”. It is developed vertically, just like a tree house, and we have incorporated many low-res natural elements, like the big tree that can be climbed, flowers, and mushrooms into our architectural design. The tree, for example, work as the supporting elements, and platforms grow from the trees.

If you look at the back facade, you will find we use more los res objects as start points to develop our space, which is different from the front side. The spaces are natural continuation of the classroom spaces, with similar functions and features. Also, we tried to make a sharp contrast between the interior and exterior facades by using different tones. We use more cold colors for the exterior, and warm colors are more used for interior decoration.

We kept the same concept when designing the exterior space. We start from the plan and use many large daily objects, where students themselves can be in these objects and observe from a micro perspective, which is also helpful for their learning process.

Theme I: Absorbing

Theme II: Experiencing

Theme III: Enlightening

Lighten Up 02

Attach Emotions to the Lumine

Fall 2022

SCI-Arc 2GAX Visual Studies Project

Collaborate with Ella Cui and Yaoyu Lin

Instructors: Rachael McCall and William Virgil

Light controls the world around us. It controls how much we sleep, work, and even the locations we go to. Without light, we would not be able to navigate our world. The symbolic element of light being knowledge comes from our ability to see in natural daylight and seeing is believing. Much uncertainty lies in the dark, which can be used as a control tactic to manipulate human experience. The amount of light we receive in a day can affect our psychology. This is why prisoners exposed to little to no daylightcan enter psychosis. But the light we so greatly depend on also became the thing causing damage to our lives and disrupting our circadian rhythm.

The universe has conspired to make it somewhat easy for humans to decide when to do what. During the day, our literal and metaphorical lights are brightest. At night, our lights are more varied and dynamic. Technology gives us the power to let night and day bleed into each other. Thanks to lightbulbs, we conjure an imitation of the day at night but not without consequences to the quality of our sleep and, therefore, the quality of our waking hours.

The light bulb helped to establish social order after sundown, extended the workday well into the night, and allowed us to navigate and travel safely in the dark. Without the light bulb, there would be no nightlife. But unfortunately, the modern light bulb has turned into an element of abuse of power, specifically electrical power.

We are entering a new age of technology where even the most minor details of our day-to-day are attached to AI. Siri is asked to add bananas to our shopping list, and Alexa is asked to switch on the kitchenlights when we get home. Yet, it’s not as common for AI to help us regulate our emotions. The primary role of the proposed lamp is to shed light on today’s competitive society when it comes to working. We always chase something at the top of the mountain and forget to create time for ourselves. This lamp would exist to illuminate different hues throughout the day. By attaching a memory to the overall form and the tone of its glow, users would be able to link the emotion to what they are seeing.

3D scanning technology has revolutionized the way artists and architects work. It allows them to create highly accurate and detailed digital representations of real-world objects, which can be used as a basis for further design work.

One of the primary ways that 3D scanning is used in art is to capture real-world objects and turn them into digital models. For example, a sculptor could use 3D scanning to create a digital model of a clay sculpture, which they could then refine and modify in a computeraided design (CAD) program. This allows the artist to work with a highly accurate and detailed model of their sculpture, which can be viewed from any angle and manipulated in various ways.

Similarly, 3D scanning can be used in architectural design to capture existing buildings and landscapes. This allows architects to work with accurate and detailed models of existing structures, which can be used as a basis for further design work. For example, an architect could use 3D scanning to create a digital model of an existing building, which they could then modify to test out different design ideas. This can save time and money compared to traditional methods of measuring and drawing existing structures by hand.

Another way that 3D scanning is used in art and architectural design is to create custom objects or structures. For example, an artist could use 3D scanning to capture the shape of a person's face, and then use that data to create a custom sculpture. Similarly, an architect could use 3D scanning to create custom elements for a building, such as ornate columns or decorative trim.

Finally, 3D scanning can be used to create highly accurate replicas of historical objects and structures. This can be particularly useful in architectural conservation and restoration, where accurate measurements and models are essential. For example, a 3D scan of a historical building could be used to create a highly accurate replica for display in a museum or exhibition.

In summary, 3D scanning technology has numerous applications in art and architectural design, from capturing real-world objects to creating custom structures and highly accurate replicas. It allows artists and architects to work with highly accurate and detailed models of objects and structures, which can save time and money compared to traditional methods of measuring and drawing by hand.

Head 3D Scanning

Aspen Art Museum Transformation 03

Material and Tectonic Studies

Fall 2022

SCI-Arc 2GAX Material and Tectonic Project

Collaborate with Ella Cui and Yaoyu Lin

Instructor: Randy Jefferson

The Aspen Art Museum, founded in 2014, is located in Aspen, Colorado. The building is diagonally divided into two parts. one is enclosed with an opaque concrete wall, while the other part is transparent with glass facade and wood woven rainscreen. The transparency and open view planes invite the outside to engage with the building’s interior and allow the inside to see the exterior surroundings.

A long-span three-dimensional wood truss above the third fl oor level, covering both interior and exterior space. The wood truss covers slightly more than half of the roof area, extending from edge to edge of the building plan, and along a diagonal from corner to corner. The architect’s concept called for a truss with chords on a 4 ft square grid with top and bottom chords off set by 2 ft in each plan direction. Web members were to be of curved wood forming a wave shape that connected to the chords only at tangent points. A laminated spruce LVL material – Kerto-S – was chosen for the chord material to provide the required strength. The thicke profile between the half-laps helped improve the members’ buckling strength

Primary Structure

The building design incorporates a unique feature in the form of a long-span three-dimensional wood truss above the third-floor level, which covers both interior and exterior spaces. The wood truss covers slightly more than half of the roof area, extending from edge to edge of the building plan and diagonally from corner to corner. The architect's concept was to create a truss with chords on a 4 ft square grid, with top and bottom chords offset by 2 ft in each plan direction. This arrangement of chords was intended to provide the required structural support while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing design.

Secondary Structure

In addition to the chord structure, the web members of the wood truss were designed to be curved wood forming a wave shape that connected to the chords only at tangent points. This design creates a visually dynamic effect, as well as providing a unique structural element that contributes to the overall stability of the building. To ensure the necessary strength, the chord material was made of laminated spruce LVL, specifically the Kerto-S material. The choice of this material was due to its ability to provide the required strength while maintaining a thin profile.

Tertiary Structure

The use of Kerto-S material also helped improve the members' buckling strength, thanks to the thick profile between the half-laps. The design of the wood truss provides a durable and robust structural element that also adds to the visual appeal of the building. It is an example of how architects can utilize wood in building design to create unique and functional structures that meet both aesthetic and structural requirements. The wood truss adds a distinctive feature to the building, while also serving as an essential structural element that contributes to the building's overall stability and longevity.

The Building Before Transformation

The Building After Transformation

Wood Truss Stop

Wood Stop

Aluminum Horizontal Member Catwalk

Facade Members

Facade Members

Bolt Vertical Support

Horizontal Support (Connected to Horizontal Connectors)

Roof and Facade Connection Details

Alumininum

Caption

Roof Finish Layer

Pipe

Filling

Water Proof

1/5" Insulation

Top Birch Plywood

Horizontal Support

Bottom Sill Glass Panels

Wooden Truss Members

Top Connections

Birch Plywood

Top Sill

Steel Columns

Aluminum

Horizontal Member

Aluminum

Vertical Member

Double Glass Panels

Transformation Details

Fabricate the Tiles

Robotics, Clay and Concrete

SCI-Arc Robotics Workshop

Instructor: Curime Batliner

Robotics and architecture have been increasingly intersecting in recent years, as architects and builders have begun to explore the use of robots in construction, fabrication, and design. Robotics can be used to automate and streamline many of the manual processes involved in construction, such as site preparation, bricklaying, and welding. Additionally, robots can be used to fabricate complex, customized building components, such as prefabricated wall panels or structural elements. Robotics can also be integrated into the building itself, for example through the use of robotic walls, moveable partitions, and adaptive lighting systems. This can not only improve the functionality and energy efficiency of buildings, but also open up new possibilities for architectural design.

1. Shaping and drying the Clay

2. Pouring the Concrete

3. Waiting for it to dry

Gamify to Save Our Planet 05 Using Games for Climate Action

HT 2200 Theories of Contemporary Architecture I

Instructor: Marcelyn Gow

Gamification can be a powerful tool in engaging people to take actions that contribute to saving the planet. By making sustainable actions feel like a game, people are more likely to participate and be motivated to make changes in their behavior. For example, gamification can be used to encourage people to reduce their energy consumption, recycle more, or choose environmentally friendly transportation options. By offering rewards, points, and challenges, gamification can make sustainable behavior feel more rewarding and enjoyable. This can help to create lasting habits that contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle.

The importance of gamification in saving our planet lies in the fact that climate change and other environmental issues require urgent action. By engaging people through gamification, we can create a sense of urgency and inspire action on a large scale. Additionally, gamification can help to break down complex environmental issues into manageable, actionable steps. This can make it easier for people to understand the impact of their actions and feel empowered to make a difference. Ultimately, gamification has the potential to create a more sustainable future by motivating people to take action and inspiring positive change.

TA: Justin Doro

We are now pushing our planet to the corner. According to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the average global temperature in 2021 will be about 1.09 degrees Celsius warmer than it was between 1850 and 1900, while the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air continues to rise. By observation, with the help of the increasingly influential media, the public has become aware that our beautiful blue planet is slowly withering away. However, an interesting fact is that even though humans have increasingly expressed their concerns about the climate crisis since ancient times, few have acted on it. On the other hand, the magnitude of human impact on the Earth's environment has long been a source of concern for some scientists. Even if the term Anthropocene has not been officially recognized by the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), it is strong enough to prove that humans have had a huge impact on the Earth.

Climate change is a result of the accumulation. There are different ways of accumulation that lead to climate change, including waste, dust, and viruses, but they are essentially similar in nature. These accumulations will not only negatively influence our planet, but they will also trigger excessive anxiety about our environment. If we do not take action, a greater accumulation of disasters awaits us, such as the mass extinction of species, and a climate more unsuitable for survival and agriculture. In contrast to the Anthropocene, some scientists have proposed the concept of Post-Anthropocene as a long-term objective, which describes the gradual disappearance of the negative impact of humans on the Earth after about 50 years. So how do we design for our planet, and our future as architects?

Using a top-down approach to tackling growing environmental problems may not be a cure-all. We may find some inspiration from literature. In Rereading Barthes and Nabokov, Zadie Smith uses “Deciphering” and “Distangling” to characterize two writers, Barthes and Nabokov, and their writing styles. Some architects prefer “Deciphering”, which is originally used to describe writer Vladimir Nabokov’s writing style, meaning readers should fully understand and follow writers when reading their books. When applied to environmental protection, it encourages the public to follow more brilliant decisions that will allow humans to enter the "Post-Anthropocene" era faster. I agree with this approach to a certain extent, because most of the "Deciphering" in response to the ecological crisis was done by professionalists based on sustained, comprehensive research, and experts make speculations based on the facts they have observed. They have considered various scenarios and given their opinion from an optimistic or pessimistic point of view respectively. However, some other architects believe this is a good

approach but might not be the best solution to deal with the climate crisis. We can use “Distangling” to describe their idea, which means writers should only act as guides in literature, and readers should have enough freedom to explore and experience themselves. According to J. B. Jackson, the landscape "contains the full imprint of the human community in the land." It is, in his memorable words, "a complex and moving work of art, a copy of a significant collective experience". Some wise leaders are indeed important in this process, but the even more important thing is the spontaneous participation of every person on the planet. From a macro perspective, the world population will exceed 8 billion in November 2022, and in this case, it might be a wise choice to incorporate as many people as possible to participate in this. But how do we achieve this in architecture?

Some architects and scholars have chosen to use storytelling as a way to inform and engage people in the movement to combat climate change. For example, as Rania Ghosn and El Hadi Jazairy suggest in Geostories, one can present the study of the Earth in an engaging way to raise awareness of its protection. This approach does work, but most people in reality don't actively seek to find and read these stories. However, games, as one of the most popular mass media, seem to have their unique advantages.

As a very important part of our daily life, games are a common form of human-computer interaction, and they have a great potential to motivate a great number of people for their hugh influence. In general, games bring players the thrill of rising adrenaline hormones and the satisfaction of completing commissions. In recent years, the concept of "gamification" has been introduced and widely used, which indicates that any non-gaming things can be turned into attractive activity by turning it into a game. To be more specific, the application of in-game elements in a non-game environment can inspire more people to spontaneously engage in certain things, even those who seldom play games.

Some activists are now beginning to propose the application of gamification to protect our planet from a higher level of the climate crisis. There is a frustrating fact that seems contradictory but is true - few have acted on it even though most humans have expressed concern about environmental impact since ancient times. According to research reported by the China Climate Communication Project Center, over 90% of respondents believe that climate change is happening, but only 27.5% are willing to pay the full price for the carbon emissions they generate. Based on the features and potential of games, large game companies including Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft, and Tencent

formed the Playing for the Planet Alliance under the initiative of UNEP, which aims to encourage more people to participate in the preservation of our planet using games.

Just like game design, adding an effective incentive can encourage more people to participate. For example, Ant Forest by Alibaba Group is a good example of integrating game and social elements into an ecological conservation plan. In Ant Forest, each user will have a virtual tree that will generate energy based on the user's daily carbon footprint. When the energy is accumulated to a certain level, users can choose to let Ant Forest plant a real tree (including pokeweed, lemon, and camphor pine) of their choice in the desert of northwest China, and they will receive a certificate at the same time. At the same time, the game has a strong social aspect, as users can help other users water the virtual tree and "steal" the virtual energy from other users. Sometimes, they also compete with other users in collecting virtual energy and the number of trees they help plant. This combination of fun, socialization, and incentives have attracted many users and has largely contributed to the progress of desert reforestation. Although we have to admit that economic interest is also a big factor that companies have to consider their economic interests when designing games, it's certainly an excellent start to gamification to save the planet.

As a typical public medium, good games have been recognized to have a huge potential to spread information, and can subconsciously change players’ minds and ideas as they experience them. In Playing for the Planet Alliance’s Annual Impact Report in 2020, when a game has a big enough impact, then it can motivate millions of people to adopt a more low-carbon lifestyle. Cultivating a forest can solve the problem of carbon emissions in a certain place, but if we want to finally solve the climate problem, the key still lies in our next generation in the long run - Only when humans in the future know that environmental protection is a good thing will more people keep planting more trees. Contemporary architects are also trying to incorporate gamification in their works to encourage people to take action to address the climate crisis in different ways. The features of video games include attractive visual graphics and background music, attractive story background, etc. They will attract players while making them reminisce even after they exit the games. With the help of modern technology, architects can present their ideas and theories in a gamified way, including AR, VR, science fiction, Metaverse, voxelized architecture, etc. For example, in architect Liam Young's latest fiction Planet City, he proposed his idea by envisioning a post-Anthropocene world in which one billion people from different cultures live together in a single city that generates a constant flow

Figure 1 Ant Forest 49 Salix Forest in Kubuqi, Inner Mongolia, China

of energy, while returning most of the occupied land to the Earth, allowing it to recover. Young’s practice turned out to be very effective because the public tends not to focus on things that are technical or theoretical, but on something that resonates and engages them more often subconsciously changing their attitude toward environmental protection. In other words, contemporary architecture can be represented in a more gamified way, which greatly increases the potential to provide opportunities for public engagement and to make people start thinking about how to save our planet.

On the other hand, contemporary architecture sometimes ignores human-computer interaction in many cases, as many architects are committed to creating buildings that look environmental-friendly. However, they may have overlooked the enormous potential of gamification in addressing the climate crisis. Inspired by games, They can design for a more interactive experience between the users and the building itself - the users can participate in the "growth" of the building through their own environmentally friendly behavior, or the users can receive instant positive feedback from the building. For example, I can envision a building that helps cope with the climate crisis. The residents of this community collect and recycle a portion of their household waste, which is pressed into building construction materials (bricks, facades, etc.). Some of these materials will be used for the construction and renewal of the community's public facilities. We can imagine that the residents see their environmental-friendly actions causing positive changes in the neighborhood, such as their recycled milk cartons being made into a beautiful sculpture in their community garden, and their recycled old wooden furniture being turned into part of the neighborhood pavilion, and all changes are easily visible to anyone in this community. In this case, this positive instant feedback encourages these residents to spontaneously continue their environmental behavior, which in the long run can positively impact the climate crisis.

Thinking about our world in a gamified way can help save our planet. As architects or creators, we should not only think and create the world in a traditional approach but also build our world in a way that builds virtual games and gets more people involved in fighting the climate crisis.

Bibliography

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Axel, Nick, Daniel A. Barber, Nikolaus Hirsch, and Anton Vidokle. Accumulation: The Art, Architecture and Media of Climate Change, 9-12. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2021.

BBC. “Climate change: IPCC report is 'code red for humanity' ”, last modified August 9, 2021. https://www.bbc. com/news/science-environment-58130705\

China Dialogue. Ant Forest 49 Salix Forest in Kubuqi. 2019. https://chinadialogue.net/zh/1/44303/

Fitz-Walter, Zachary. “What Is Gamification? Education, Business & Marketing (2021 Examples)”, Accessed October 5, 2022. https://www.gamify.com/what-is-gamification.

Ghosn, Rania, and El Hadi Jazairy. Geostories: Another Architecture for the Environment, 11-25. New York: Actar, 2018.

Gross, Michael. “Life after the Anthropocene.” Current Biology 30, no. 1 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.cub.2019.12.030.

Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. Traces of J.B. Jackson: The Man Who Taught Us to See Everyday America, 1-10. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2019. Playing for the Planet. “P4P Annual Report 2020”, accessed October 5, 2022. https://playing4theplanet.org/playingfor-the-planet-report-2020.

Sina News. “ ‘Playing for The Planet’ is becoming a reality”, accessed October 12, 2022, https://news.sina. cn/global/szzx/2021-03-05/detail-ikftpnnz2587074. d.html?wm=3049_0032

Smith, Zadie. Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays, 42-57. New York: Penguin Press, 2009.

Sohu. The user interface of Ant Forest. 2011. https://www.sohu.com/a/500150303_114760

Wang, C. “What makes Ant Forest successful?”, accessed October 5, 2022, https://chinadialogue.net/zh/1/44303/ Wikipedia. “Anthropocene”, accessed October 5, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropocene Young, Liam. Planet City, 33-42. Fitzroy: UroPublications, 2021.

Figure 2 The user interface of Ant Forest

One Flew Over Berlin Wall 06 Using Games for Climate Action

HT 2200 Theories of Contemporary Architecture I

Instructor: Erik Ghenoiu

TA: Justin Doro

The Berlin Wall, which stood from 1961 to 1989, was a physical and symbolic division between East and West Berlin, and a stark reminder of the Cold War. The Wall had a profound impact on the people living on both sides. For those in East Berlin, it represented a barrier to freedom, preventing them from traveling to the West and reuniting with friends and family. It also served as a constant reminder of the authoritarian regime that governed them. For those in West Berlin, the Wall was a daily reminder of the East German state's repressive policies, and a symbol of the broader conflict between East and West.

The Wall also had a significant impact on architectural design. In East Berlin, the regime built large-scale, utilitarian housing blocks that were meant to demonstrate the superiority of socialism over capitalism. These buildings were designed to be functional rather than aesthetically pleasing, and were often criticized for their lack of charm and character. In West Berlin, by contrast, architects were free to experiment with new forms and styles, and the city became a hub of avant-garde architecture. This period of experimentation produced a number of iconic buildings, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the Hansaviertel housing complex.

Overall, the Berlin Wall had a profound impact on the people on both sides of the divide, and its legacy can still be seen in the city's architecture today. The Wall served as a stark reminder of the ideological conflict between East and West, and it shaped the design choices of architects in both parts of the city.

The Berlin Wall, as a symbol of the division of a country and an architectural expression of power, was a winding barrier system containing guard towers and two separate concrete walls. Even though it has been more than 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, today it is still seen as a symbol of ideological division. It also serves as an objective record of the megastructure of history, giving us a perspective on this history and how architecture works as a weapon. It was built in 1961 to divide East and West Berlin, stopping people from fleeing to West Germany. Over the years, the wall became a grim symbol of the Cold War. Since then, the Berlin Wall has seemed to separate two worlds with Todesstreife (Death Strip), indicating that crossing this wall may cost lives. The two sides had opposing ideologies, economic, and foreign policies, and the wall was considered unbridgeable at the time. Countless people have tried every possible way to get over the Berlin Wall to West Germany. Still, most of them failed eventually - the two perfectly parallel concrete walls and the guard tower in between were not just useless ornaments. They are a terrifying deterrent, brutally separating East and West Berlin and scaring off those trying to cross the Berlin Wall.

Cambridge Dictionary defines a wall as "a vertical structure, often made of stone or brick, that divides or surrounds something". In terms of weaponization, the wall often exists to serve as a barrier to trespass the boundary, and there are various differences on either side of the wall that make the existence of this wall necessary. The wall, as an architectural element that abruptly divides space, has never been innocent. Lambert sees the wall as one of the manifestations of architectural violence, representing the role of a group of people who build a wall to control others and profit from it. Rem Koolhaas sees the wall as a barbaric architectural tool used to forcibly separate the flow of people on either side (usually fleeing from one certain side to the other).

If we do not consider the physical form of the wall, the wall can be viewed as a form of boundary. It is often used metaphorically in literature, symbolizing an insurmountable gap and the desire of people in different positions to live with each other. The wall (boundary) has a strong attraction because it introduces a specific dilemma: it is the isolator and the witness of space. The physical boundary blocks the flow of information and witnesses all the life on both sides. The virtual boundary allows people to "peek" into the opposite landscape and complicates the connection between the two sides, which makes the existence of a wall (boundary) much more complex.

In many cases, the boundary (wall) serves as a separation between different communities of

consciousness. It's like when we make a collage where two utterly different clip art colors are put together, and the dividing line in the middle distinguishes the different ideologies. It sometimes encourages prying eyes - the two sides of the wall represent two ideologies, and the space behind the wall becomes an essential way for them to present themselves.

The Berlin Wall was not innocent. it was the weapon against opposing ideologies and those who tried to "break out" of prison. Because too many people tried to flee from East Berlin to West Germany via West Berlin, the East German government urgently built this winding Berlin Wall. Those who build the wall will keep increasing its “thickness” by significantly increasing the difficulty of crossing this wall. The thickening wall also gradually became an effective deterrent to those who wanted to cross it, and it scared off the vast majority of people. In other words, it slowly turned from a symbolic wall at the beginning to an impenetrable barrier that is difficult to cross. Berlin Wall did not exist as an entity until thousands of people fleeing from East Berlin to West Berlin prompted its construction. Then in 1961, the Berlin Wall became barricades surrounded by steel thistles, which soon became a megastructure of two 5-meter high walls and numerous watchtowers. Thus, it became increasingly difficult to cross a border.

The Berlin Wall can also be considered a battlefield, where the weapons are architecture. The people from East Berlin did not sit and await sit fate, they tried to build "doors" on both sides of the Berlin Wall to confront the "wall". However, the door's existence is certainly not what the people who built this weaponized megastructure wanted because it does not follow the meaning of building this wall for isolation. Thus, the battle between the "builders" and the "stowaways" began with a huge difference in power. People on both sides of the Berlin Wall embarked on various quests, including forcibly driving their cars into the wall, flying over it with aircrafts (mainly hot air balloons), and even building 11 tunnels under Bernauer Straße used to help people escape from East Berlin to West Berlin. East Berlin had expected this condition before the Berlin Wall was built. They shifted the Berlin Wall slightly to the East Berlin side before it was built - so that patrols could even catch or shoot people who managed to cross the wall, as they are still in East Berlin.

As a divided city, Berlin's architectural style was utterly divided by the Berlin Wall, reflecting the completely different ideologies on both sides of the wall. While it is difficult for people on both sides of the Berlin Wall to cross the wall, they can easily see what they wish to show through the architecture on the other side. West Berlin's

architecture tended toward classicism and neoclassicism, focusing more on aesthetics. At the same time, the West German government invited many famous architects to design some of the best-known buildings, including Le Corbusier, Peter Eisenman, and Rem Koolhaas. It has many large city parks, better greenery, and a somewhat softer architectural appearance than East Berlin. Influenced by the Soviet Union and Communism, East Berlin planned and built many collective housing units during this period, with tall, neat, simple square buildings in the typical socialist style. The residential buildings in the West Berlin neighborhoods are more freely combined, while the residential buildings in East Berlin received Soviet influence and are usually simple rectangles or strips. By separating two completely different ideologies, the Berlin Wall gave the two sides of the wall completely different architectural styles.

Though demolished, the existence of the Berlin Wall may continue to be influential. The long ideological division has left the two sides of the wall with many differences that are difficult to bridge by the sudden change in a short time. It is like a scar after a tear, which leaves a mark even after it heals.

There is still an invisible "Berlin Wall" between East and West Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, East and West Germany still needed to be better integrated into

many aspects. Decades of division have left the two parts of the country with too many differences in economic development and ideas. Because of the difference in the level of development between East and West Germany, there is still a significant population exodus from East Germany to West Germany in search of better career opportunities. According to surveys, there are few highend skilled jobs in East Germany, and xenophobia still prevails. We may have to wait longer for the differences between East and West Germany to be fully bridged.

People are trying to fly over the Berlin Wall, although it is challenging. As a representative weaponized megastructure, the construction and dismantling of the Berlin Wall bear witness to the division and slow healing of post-World War II Germany and the enormous role of a building in history and politics. As Lambert says in Weaponized Architecture, "No line they [architects] trace can be innocent," and architects should acknowledge their contribution to history and their impact on the world. Although it might be difficult to completely eliminate the negative impact of the Berlin Wall on the city, we as architects can try to use the same idea of weaponized architecture to bridge the gap brought about by decades of division. There is no way to avoid discussing politics and history, but we can make the world better with responsible design.

Figure 1 Rem Koolhaas's Design about a Berlin Wall in London

Bibliography

Aguirre, Jessica C. 2014. “The Story of the Most Successful Tunnel Escape in the History of the Berlin Wall.” Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag. com/history/most-successful-tunnel-escape-historyberlin-wall-180953268/.

Blakemore, Erin. 2019. “Why the Berlin Wall rose— and how it fell.” National Geographic. https://www. nationalgeographic.com/history/article/why-berlin-wallbuilt-fell.

Broadbent, Philip, and Sabine Hake, eds. 2012. Berlin Divided City, 1945-1989. N.p.: Berghahn Books.

Cambridge Dictionary. 2022. “WALL | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary.” Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/ wall.

Global Daily. 2019. “Thirty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall: East Germany still lost.” Sina Global. http://global.sina. cn/szzx/article/20191109/05bb28b808c51000.html.

Koolhaas, Rem, and OMA. 2008. Studies at the Architectural Association School of Architecture of London: “Berlin Wall as Architecture” and “Exodus". Swiss: EPFL Press.

Lambert, Léopold. 2012. Weaponized Architecture: The Impossibility of Innocence. N.p.: Actar D.

Niblett, Robin, and Gitika Bhardwaj. 2019. “Why We Build Walls: 30 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall.” Chatham House. https://www.chathamhouse.org/2019/11/why-webuild-walls-30-years-after-fall-berlin-wall.

Pugh, Emily. 2014. Architecture, Politics, & Identity in Divided Berlin. N.p.: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Pugh, Emily. 2017. “Building Divided Berlin.” Getty Iris. https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/building-divided-berlin/.

Figure 1 Rem Koolhaas's Design about a Berlin Wall in London