portfolio_2022 by kmyang1029

PORTFOLIO Kung-Min, Yang_2022

Education

Kung-Min, Yang

born on Oct. 29,1992, in Taiwan kmyang1029@gmail.com

Biography

Bachelor of Architecture (5 years program) Department of Architecture, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

LanGUAGE

Kung-Min, Yang was born and has lived in cities. World Expo 2010 was the first time he was attracted by the charm of architecture. NCKU taught him about publicity, sociality, and the responsibility of architecture. Nevertheless, in the process of a sizable public project, spending most of the time on scrutiny and bureaucratic procedures struck him that architects should pay more concentration on users and architecture itself. Now, he is seeking an orientation of his architectural practice.

Taiwan Mandarin

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

Skill

Ultimately I want to become an independent architect and run my own office. I learned the insufficiency when architects only focus on publicity in public buildings from my 3.5-year work experience. I regard architecture as the combination of space, construction, perception, and intention (pp.74). It seems to me that residences in Taiwan, which compose over 50% of a city, generally lack the embodiment of the intentions and values of both dwellers and architects. Thus, learning how to materialize the bottomup perspectives of community and environment from citizens is essential for me. At present, I long to define the orientation for my future architectural practice through conducting research in terms of diversified houses and their contextual relationships.

'11 Sep - '16 Jun

Native

English

TOEIC (2015) TOEFL (2022)

Japanese

JLPT

(2022)

Autocad Sketchup Illustrator Photoshop Indesign Rhinoceros Vray

certification

Certification of Architect (in Taiwan)

Test Date Scores/ MyBest Scores/ Total Scores

825/ 99/

102/

990 120

advanced advanced intermediate intermediate intermediate primary primary

UNDERGRADUATE '11Sep

‘13Nov-‘13Nov

CAREER

Enrolled to NCKU

Church at a Corner

Adviser: Yu-Lin Chen

56 ‘14Sep-‘14Dec

‘15Mar-‘15Jun

5 Houses in Taipei

Adviser: Yi-Hsiang Chao

‘15Oct-‘15Dec

Cross the Mountain toward the Sea

Adviser: Holing Chang ‘16Jan-‘16May

Superficial City

Adviser: Jue-Zhi Gu

'16Jul

Worked as Intern at MAYU

Architects

Graduated from NCKU ‘16Aug-‘16Dec ‘16Dec -‘17Dec

APPENDAGE

‘18 Mar-‘18Dec ‘19 Feb-‘21Jun

What is architecture? Cities mentioned above in Taiwan Timeline in Taiwan

74 75 75

‘21Apr

Worked as Intern at GUU Architect Served in Military Conscription Worked at hLc Architect Worked at Chien Architects & Associations Received Certification of Architect

66 67 67

UNDERGRADUATE

The motif of architectural training in National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) is fostering students to become architects, including the integration of different building aspects, the concern of publicity, and the social responsibility of architects. Yet, it was haunting in my mind that, even if reluctant, we would learn the skill to organize well and make the “good” building (effective, rational, legal, etc.) in careers. It seems to me that an undergraduate school is a place for trying different concepts and methods. Therefore, I merely followed the predefined process from giving proposals, revising plans and sections, to representing them by the perspectives. I always thought “what is the essence of this type of building” or “what is inadequate to happen in this place”. Sometimes I simultaneously started from both the site and the building type independently, and search for their cross point (, which is a very unreliable way.) Because, in my opinion, the principle of “good” building is always similar, if all the designers start by putting functions and volumes on the site, they will probably get identical answers. That is the thing I call “automatic design” and really want to avoid. In general, I would conclude my four school works as my attempts to seek the margin of architecture. In chronological order, Church at a Corner embodies traditional and reliable values: publicity, geometry, and clarity. Five Houses in Taipei is still in the parameter of feasible building. In this project, I gave myself some realistic restrictions and tried to create a new typology and manipulation method. Cross the Mountain toward the Sea jumps off the parameters of the building, through which I tried to find something out of functions. Superficial City set the unrealistic outcome initially to conclude the conceptual journey in school. After the journey, it seems to me that NCKU is both a traditional and inclusive architectural school. It not only provides professional training but also does not judge ones as unqualified students just because they are not on the way that teachers pre-set. Overall, I am willing to show my highest respect for it.

Superficial City City fantasy New Taipei, Taiwan

I wondered about the living conditions which people living in dense cities face nowadays. Therefore, I found an area, observed how it formed, and recorded the phenomena. Yong He, the densest city in Taiwan as well as a satellite of Taipei, was planned to be a Garden City, deriving from the theory by Ebenezer Howard: a city composed of residences, parks, and schools only for 30,000 people. Now it is settled by more than 210,000 people. Based on mere 5.7138 km2, the density of the population is about 38,000 people/ km2, exceeding the second densest city on earth (36,273 people/ km2.) Thus, I think observations in Yong He could tell a lot. Moreover, some new phenomena were recently discovered in Greater Taipei, including Taipei, New Taipei, and Keelung. They also gave interesting insights into the development of cities. Instead of finding problems and solving them, I organized those observations and phenomena in Yong He and Greater Taipei and exaggerated them to describe the humans’ living conditions, like the way a utopia/dystopia novel works. 6

Superficial City

Taipei

Yong He

* Yong He is a residential satellite of Taipei. 7

Phenomena in contemperary cities 01

Co-construction In Great Taipei, public subway facilities, stores, and private housing shared the same structures. Mall-ization In Great Taipei, every kind of public facility, if it is big enough, will be built as a department store or a mall. Fragmentation In Great Taipei, utilities are distributed in three dimensions, which makes systems fragmentized. Naturelessness In Great Taipei, people live alongside nature but do nothing with it unless it causes damage. Negative Film In Yong He the image of a city depends on the rest space which is not occupied by buildings. Parkinglessness In Yong He, it is rather difficult to find a parking space.

shared construction 01

People cannot see but acknowledge the whole system.

Typhoon in 2014 04 07

Plan-invalidation In Yong He, there are some urban plans never implemented.

Bigness In Yong He, housing gets bigger and bigger.

Street-occupation In Yong He, well-shaped public space is not necessary. Residents occupy streets and alleys for communication.

* These phenomena may provide clues to the future city image. 8

Superficial City

new housing 08

night market on the street 09

* [The wonder, the wonder, the... no!] A transport hub is a mall, an arena is a mall, a cultural park is a mall as well.

* Taipei Transport Hub (X) Q Square Mall (O)

air pollution 04

air pollution map 04

Yong He urban plan with gardens in 1955 07 * Underground parking garage (X) Foxconn Syntrend Mall(O)

A lot of parking lots are outside the dyke.

The road was planned in the 1950s but has never implemented until now. 06

urban plan in 1950 07

* Taipei Arena (X) Far Eastern Department Stores Affiliated Baseball Field(O)

* Conclusion: BOT turns all public facilities into malls ; what a magic it is! city image 05

urban plan in 2009 07

scandles of build–operate–transfer policy 02 9

01 01 R2

07 07

04 08 07

E2 10

Superficial City 07

scale: 1/8,000

01 08

“... The town affords a market for the surplus produce of the country, or what is over and above the maintenance of cultivators; and it is there that the inhabitants of country exchange it for something else which is in demand among them. ...” by Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith provided a hypothesis that cities began with exchanging surplus produce. The exchange systems, concretized into networks of roads, are the foundations of cities.

* A city is based on not block of function but exchange systems, consisting of road networks. 11

scale: 1/2,500

Block's Type in Yong He Dwellings

Commercial Buildings

Schools

hotel & entertainment building in residential district

housing in residential district

housing in commercial district

residential district

housing around the school residential district

Orthogonal educational district shop on 1F commercial district

residential district

housing in commercial district R1

shop on 1F

residential district commercial district

residential district

housing in residential district

school C1

housing in commercial district

housing around the school office residential district

commercial district

school hotel

Haphazard

shop on 1F

housing in residential district shop on 1F residential district 12

Superficial City

educational district

commercial district

housing in commercial district C2

residential district

housing around E2 the school

Xizhou Street Market

scale: 1/4,000

scale:

1/80

B C canopy A

quilt shop vegetable stall The street is occupied by the stalls and people.

M7 M8

canopy B

M4 M9

M5 M2

The stalls are arrayed in order in the market building.

M3 canopy C

cloth shop Logistics wait for one another because of the road's width. meat stall People can stop and have a meal in the market.

Superficial City

scale: 1/1,000

Chapter Void

Chapter Sanctuary Chapter Integration

Chapter Superimposition

Superficial City

Superficial City Chapter Superimposition Chapter Void Chapter Sanctuary Chapter Integration Chapter End

scale: 1/8,000

switches of urban phenomona 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

Chapter _Superimposition

Yong He needs the fulfillment of the urban plans to ameliorate its problems. Yet, there are a lot of reasons resulting in the non-implementation of the plans, like fast-changing administrators, inhabitants' disagreement, or local culture reservation. A “genius” official figured out the fact that we could let all of them, the local market and the planned road across, coexist by building them at different altitudes. This conclusion seems apparent but deepens the incorrigibility of the city as well. As time goes by, the full picture of the city is gone, and the fragmentized scenarios are the only clues that people can recognize the city.

Superficial City

"We need our memory street to remain." -electors

"We want a planned road to drive cars." -electors

"We need more public space." -electors

"We want preservation of the old historic housings." -electors

"We need to reserve the street market for business." -electors

"We want more housings for the next generation." -electors 19

Black Hole Image from the Internet

Chapter _Void

Yong He, an infinite swirl of the crowd, relies on massive transportation to compensate for its lack of function. Buses, cars, and more scooters jam on roads originally planned for 1/7 population now. The parking lots are always occupied, leaving more drivers idling around looking for a vacancy. A paradox has it that a parking space for a scooter can always be spared between another two. ... The center of the black hole, a naked singularity, like an atrium of the heart without any contraction and seeking for uninterrupted flow of blood, constitutes of spiraling double helix, absorbing the crowd and cars flood in the city and then finally solidifying into a Babel of density.

shopping mall

anchor store

scale: 1/8,000

vender market, museum, sport track / 27m~33m

theater, department store / 12m~27m

roads, park, shopping mall / 0m~12m

DNA Image from the Internet

department store

parking lots, subway track / -30m~0m

vender market

roof garden 21

Chapter _Sanctuary

Someday, air pollution is finally out of control by humans’ regulation. Citizens are forced to minimize the surface of the city in order to enhance the efficiency of purifying and transporting air. They build a cage to keep themselves in a sweet condition, their sanctuary, an embodiment of the exchange network system. Citizens from now on get rid of the air, the weather, and the environment in which the city is located. It is the second revolution of liberation from places. What an unprecedented success.

Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao Dome Over Manhattan by R. Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao Dome 22

Superficial City

1. Air in cities gets polluted.

2. People want a dome but it is too expensive.

3. People build a cover with Air purifier above roads and streets.

4. Because people living far from the streets can not enjoy the fresh air, they try to enhance the cover into a structure.

5. People build housing attached to the structure.

6. People finally build all housings together to prevent disasters.

Chapter _Integration

Homo Urbs, evolved from Homo Sapiens, are born in the city, grow in the city, and eventually die in the city. They do not really need to know how much they rely on Mother Nature. Maybe some of them have never seen living animals or crops throughout their lives. In this world, cities are integrated circuits, public facilities are programs, and inhabitants there play as terminal signals. By getting through different programs, Homo Urbs make expectable diversity in their societies.

Circuit Image from the Internet 24

Superficial City

People in cities are formed by different kinds of functions.

system of public space

city made like an integrated circuit

Chapter _End

Twelve Cautionart Tales by Superstudio

DESIDN REGULATION IN SUPERFICIAL CITY • For the practical development needs, the whole city is cut into several districts, called DEVELOPMENT UNITS. • Each development unit possesses diverse FACILITIES, including residence, commerce, education, physical training, park, and transportation. • The public transportation system, including human and energy transportation, should be arranged at the designated elevation level. • Replacing the traditional ratios of urban zoning, the FACILITY RATE of each facility in the development units should follow the designated value. • Replacing the traditional building coverage rates, the OBSTRUCTION RATES, the ratio that volumes occupy the central void, should not be lower than the designated value. • When the construction is in progress, the developer in charge should ensure airtightness between the CITY and the OUTSIDE. • Developers have obligation to coordinate with each other. 26

Superficial City

Cities are tools to control density. Unlike Plan Voisin by Le Corbusier, a Superficial City controls the minimum density of a city. The project condenses the over-expansive but inefficient cities caused by humans’ infinite desire into efficient scales, and cities finally become the Walls, and eventually, lines on the map. The Walls create new infinite lands along the Z-axis. A new exchange system and self-sufficiency here bring a new equilibrium, doing anything but not concerned with the outside world. The Walls, exceeding any tribulation of nature, are artificial paradises. Afterwards, the outside world will start a new evolution cycle.

28 Superficial City Library

School

Roof Garden

Typical section, deriving from Typical Plan by Rem Koolhaas, is a machine to control the minimum population density. The section works through multiplying along roads to avoid redundant occupation of land. The dyke-like structure is able to resist severe external force, isolate residents from hazardous environments, and enhance the efficiency of transportation.

Exterior facade/ An exterior façade with submarine-like windows protects people from polluted air and rain outside.

Interior facade/ It can be classical, gothic, modern, or anything you like.

Air exchange system/ Exhaled air with CO2 in the city will be sent to the roof garden to purify.

Light regulator/ It regulates the natural light and illuminates the city. If the sunshine is insufficient, the regulator will light itself.

Truss/ It is used to resist the lateral force, such as wind and earthquake, and reduce the moment at the columns’ bottom.

Parking lots

Subway

Store

Theater

Restaurant

Gym

Swimming Pool

Housing

Electrical vehicle/ Gasoline ones are banned

Pipe and machine zone/ Pipe and machines at several altitudes can lower the energy of depletion during transportation. In the same way, the water pipe can be put at a similar level as the reservoir, like Roman aqueducts.

scale: 1/300

Housing/ A housing unit is composed of the public strip (3m), private strip (5m), and expansive strip (1.5m). The public strip is an alley and residents are allowed to occupy part of them to extend their daily life to public space. If a family rents several adjacent housing units, they can be connected vertically or horizontally through the expansive strip.

Superficial City

scale:

1/300

[Project Epilogue] The Lament for My Theoretical Dream In school, I had chances to read about theoretical projects, such as Plan Voisin by Le Corbusier, Plan for Tokyo by Kenzo Tange, episodes of works by Superstudio, utopia/ dystopia novels, etc. Moreover, I were taught that architects need to be ambitious and use architecture, a powerful weapon, to boost the environment. However, at some moments, I would suddenly be struck deeply by the fact that architects are no longer powerful as they were before. Most architects work by arranging given functions in buildings, checking the regulations, and taking legal responsibilities for them. Especially in Taiwan, a place for utilitarianism resulting from our colonization history, architects usually are led by the nose by pretentious clients or sophisticated officials without respecting architects’ profession. When I realized all the fantasy imagination for the future world eventually becomes paintings on the offices’ wall, doing a thesis design by utopia/dystopia way is necessary. Unlike ordinary architecture projects, I do not want to solve any problems or give any promising futures. On the contrary, I just intended to say what we are (or what I am) in this specific era, place, and culture by observing, describing (not analyzing) the phenomena, and transforming them into sentimental illusions, the lament for my theoretical dream. After all, I have to leave the ambition here and move on toward reality.

Main Reference: S,M,L,XL by O.M.A., No-Stop City by Archizoom, Stop City by Dogma, Twelve Cautionary Tales by Superstudio, Linear City by Peter Eisenman and Michael Graves, The Wonder City You May Live to See by Harvey W. Corbett 32

Superficial City

scale: 1/1,000

5 Houses in Taipei Housing Taipei, Taiwan 453m2

This project is located in an ordinary old-developed residential district in Taipei. The highlight of the site is that the housing nearby is a work named Hong Lu by famous Chinese-based architect, Da-Hong Wang. The task in this project is to respond to the motif of Hong Lu, provide a perspective on housing in Taipei, and design a 5-storey housing. As for me, I am not fond of the view that people only regard housing as real estate and the consequence that almost every housing in Taipei is standardized; the housing units resemble, are completely stratified by floors, and possess a similar set of rooms with little public spaces. I try to make a new typology of housing, more livable and diverse, like houses in the countryside.

5 Houses in Taipei

scale: 1/3,000

Zhongxiao East Road, the main transverse road in Taipei

Hong Lu, a work by a famous chinese based architect, Da-hong Wang

scale:

1/400

Hong Lu demonstrates traditional Chinese culture: patriarchy, table custom, and seclusion via the position of the study room, the dining room, and the appearance of the main façade. Additionally, a separate circulation for servants shows the aristocratic status of the architect. (Da-Hong Wang lived in Hong Lu for years.)

* In contrast to Hong Lu, a house in pluralistic soc 36

5 Houses in Taipei

scale:

1/200

13am 14am 15am

11am 10am 9am

movement of the sunlight 12am

13am 14am 15am 15am 14am 11am 10am

13am 12am

9am

Archetype is our first task. The room is formed with the intention that people should explore the physical condition in architecture. The room, setting for a person’s sleeping, living, and working, presents two characteristics. First, a central column and beams above subtly divide the square room into four parts. Second, the position of openings introduces environmental context, natural light, into the room. Therefore, a person living in the room will arrange his/her furniture according to the relationship he/she wants to keep with the sunlight. (For example, if he/she does not want to wake up in the early morning, he/she will keep the bed from the southeastern window.)

cieties today wants to be unique and have more interactions with people, like a family member. 37

scale:

1/300

skyline

The houses are designed for people who usually have guests and are willing to keep relationships with neighbors. Windows and seats along the staircase are created for chatting and rooms with changeable sizes can fit multiple uses. Moreover, if one gets invited to his/her neighbor’s houses, he/she will find the interesting difference between his/hers and the neighbor’s.

south facade back balcony

de ws ca do a f in st w ea s of t lo

e ad ac all f t es w w a

north facade street

* The staircase around creates a gradual experience of backing home; houses vary according 38

5 Houses in Taipei

scale:

1/150

+380 +380

+380

+115

+415 +80

+380

+80

+415

±0

to it.

1F House with a longitudinal valley

2F House with a central balcony 39

Eccentric central column The cylinder column, the concretized image of the building, is seemingly functionless in the space. Yet, residents will find their own perspectives on the column.

Higher zone 1 Higher wood floors and lower ceilings make standing people feel uncomfortable. Therefore, people prefer to sit or lay down.

Higher zone 2 People get closer to the floor in the higher zone than they are in the lower zone. Maybe they are more willing to mop the former with a rag to make sure it is clear.

Lower zone The lower zone is designed for standing activities, like cooking.

Edge of two zones If a dinner table is adjacent to the edge of two zones, people on the higher side can sit on the floor and people on the lower side can sit on dining chairs.

Odd space Odd spaces exist to imply something behind.

Two Kinds of Walls Sheathing-like wooden walls, ceilings, and floors are used in the interior to imply the procedure of fair-faced concrete walls with timber patterns.

Edge of the Balcony There is a little space for people to sit in front of the balcony.

Tiny window Residents can peek out of the city through a tiny window and it is hard for the passengers to look inside. Tiny windows make the rooms castle-like.

Roof place with a cover Water tanks on roofs are designed to maintain the water pressure in Taiwan; they are used as a cover for roof activities simultaneously.

Staircase around People can browse their surroundings by the special semioutdoor staircase.

Kitchen Kitchens with windows are arranged next to the staircase. Therefore, cooks can easily spot who is coming for the dinner.

Although the houses vary throughout the whole building, some common characteristics are shared among those houses. Those characteristics serve for the interactions among people or between one to the house.

* How can we explore such a house? 40

5 Houses in Taipei

scale:

1/150

+680

+980

+1015

+1280

+680 +1315 +980 +715

+680

+980 +1015

+1280

3F House starting from a balcony

4F House with a transverse valley

5F House starting from a bar 41

scale:

water tank

public space on the roof

balcony

kitchen next to the staircase

tiny window

central column

staircase around higher zone

lower ceiling for air conditioner & keeping people to sit or lay down

table at the edge

5 Houses in Taipei

lower zone

1/150

scale:

* Something is varied; something is common.

1/150

special higher space residents can see Hong Lu here

staircase around

special higher space

tiny window

edge of the balcony

lower ceiling for air conditioner & keeping people to sit or lay down

[Project Epilogue] Interaction with Architecture In the mature market of housing estates, sophisticated architects are prone to use walls, closets, and fixed bookshelves to conceal pillars, use delicate ceilings to conceal beams, and keep floor even to fit the trend of universal design. Owing to this dedication, house units can avoid traditional taboos, easily be used, and circulated in the market. Leading a life in housing is just an extra bonus in a deal. Thus, architecture itself totally disappears in housing and in people’s living. I intend to make architecture reappear in people’s lives. People deserve to take more time to look at it, touch it, and explore it; moreover, to consider it one of the family members. For the sake of this reappearance, every unit is made uniquely: some pillars are independent, floors vary for different purposes, and the semioutdoor staircase around the site serves as a tool for one to experience the surroundings and hang out with the neighbors. Although the units differ, to meet the general demands, they still have some common characteristics and no housing unit includes more than one storey. Moreover, the slightly eccentric cylinder pillar and the pipe room are the only two things that remain unchanged over the 5 floors. That is to say, they are the anchors for residents to compare the variations throughout the houses. To be more specific, if people living there invite one another to visit their houses, this pillar will be the coordinates for them to identify.

Main Reference: House in White by Kazuo Shinohara, House in Uehara by Kazuo Shinohara, Apartment in Okachimachi by Go Hasegawa 44

5 Houses in Taipei

north facade street

we social space

est facade neighbors' solid wall

south facade

east facade

neighbors' back balcony

Hong Lu's lots of window

house lower zone

higher zone

Cross the Mountain toward the Sea Landscape Kaohsiung, Taiwan 2.422km

This landscape project requires the site to be located in Kaohsiung for the purpose to discover and do something for the city. Kaohsiung is a city with a tremendous port. Through knowing the city and her history, I found her origin, a trivial fishing harbor, and a poem written for the visiting experience of the harbor before it developed into such a big port. I chose the path which appeared to be the one that the poet had passed, as the site for the project, discovered its hidden features, and explored the relationships between humans, mountains, and the sea to passengers.

Cross the mountain toward the sea

completion of Taiwan High Speed Railway

railway shift for exploiting woods expansion for export processing zone

repair and expansion after WWII

navy airport second expansion into 16 docks & 19 warehouses

military airport turned into civil use

the first railway for sugar & rice export

the first expansion into 7 docks

Cross the mountain toward the sea

military airport

small fishing harbor

The beginning of transportation development in Kaohsiung port was for exporting natural products, such as woods and sugars, and afterwards for military purposes from 1912 to 1945, accompanied by the development of the railway. Subsequently, the port has been used to export industrially processed products since the 1960s until now.

forest blocked seaview

The small town provides evidence that people struggle with nature and successfully change it. Pioneers altered the mountain terrain to build their houses, drilled the hill to shape the tunnel, reclaimed the shore to bypass the cape, and even established the groin to reform the coastline.

Martyrs’ Shrine the emblem of chinese autocratic regime in a school

path across the mountain

the villa for autocratic ex-president end of the dyke

tunnel

abandoned railway lines

local fish market

cape

blocks arranged in grid system & buildings with tiles

* I tried to find the origin of Kaohsiung; the landscapes here vary. 49

A Man Singing at the Slanting Bay -Zhuo Zhaochang Suddenly, I heard the singing of a woodman, strolling down a mountain slope. Wind came close and the sunset shone on the man's back. Breeze brought the sound of the coast, ringing at the blooming bay. Birds sang harmoniously but stones just answered nothing. I hummed and scoffed at myself "Why not be an idler?" If someone had asked “Where do you live?”, I would say "above the clouds." 50

Cross the mountain toward the sea

8 9

4 6

5 3

2 1

* It is possibly the very path the poet visited; now it is used by residents and students only. 51

9. Blocking the shore When the view is blocked, it will reappear more beautifully.

8. Tip Toeing on Dyke The path on a dyke with one uneven side intentionally makes people walk with care. The awareness of danger evokes our sense of the place.

Cross the mountain toward the sea

7. Correlating When going into the box, people will see another similar box, implying it is a part of the journey. The second box put on the intertidal zone demonstrates the status of the tide.

6. Slitting the Mountain It shows the millennium formation of the coralmade mountain by cutting. The narrow gash without lives provides an absolutely tranquil atmosphere in this journey, like a silent interval in life.

5. Crossing the Valley A valley toward the fishing harbor can only be seen on the map. I think crossing it will be an impressive experience, especially when the rain pours.

4. Marking Contour Lines As an old Chinese saying goes, "A path is made by men's walking." It is not merely a metaphor; some paths are actually not made by paving but men's walking and marking.

3. Bypassing the Blocks For safety, concrete bricks and trees set between the road and mountainside block the fascinating view. Thus, we need to seek views through bypassing them.

2. Chiseling Retaining Walls We are unable to recognize soil and rocks at places covered by asphalt and concrete. Chiseling is the most direct way to understand things behind the cover.

1. Watching on Roofs We are always busy with the must-do trivia. Why do not we sometimes stop and sit on a roof to have a daze?

* Things concealed are waiting to be revealed. 53

[Project Epilogue] Architecture without function Unlike most architectural practices, this landscape architectural project has no definite purposes and functions. That is, this project cannot be manipulated like other projects I have done. Accordingly, I started to think about what architecture can do when it is without function. After observation, I dare to say that the reasons that people feel pleasure in architecture or landscape have little to do with the functions which it contains. The pleasure is concerned with spatial experience and knowledge provision. The former, usually used in most buildings, is demonstrated by offering a pretty view, creating visual connection, exaggerating the scale of things, etc.. Yet, the latter, seldom appearing in architecture, is manifested by revealing something hidden, giving knowledge to people, etc., which extends users’ consciousness and brings them to a different thinking level. In this case, I intended to reveal things and senses, such as the formation of the mountain, tidal range, and sense of danger, which were covered by construction for safe and convenient life today. Along the pathway, I hope people can spot what they did not notice before.

Main Reference: Parc en Sauvy by George Descombes, Passages, Homage to Walter Benjamin by Dani Karavan 54

Cross the mountain toward the sea

Church at a Corner Church Tainan, Taiwan 3,192m2

This project is located in the historic and cultural district which was the education center under Qing rule as well as the political center under Japanese rule in Tainan. The demands of the project include the sacred space, the chapel, and the mundane space for Sunday school, dining, and 2 priests’ dwelling. Furthermore, I need to find a way to deal with the context and the acute angle on the site. As for me, I want to make the chapel approachable to the public for not only providing a peaceful place for people but also persuading them to convert by a sanctified and tranquil atmosphere.

Church at a Corner

scale: 1/3,000

It was the government office building in Tainan under Japanses rule.

The first Confucius Temple in Taiwan, lasting over 350 years, was also the first school in Kingdom of Tungning.

pedestrian zone Butokuden built under Japanese rule

This block is occupied by Tainan Art Museum after 2018. elementary school

* A circle is used to guide people and deal with the imperfect angle of the corner. 58

Church at a Corner

scale:

1/400

1st Floor/ chapel, pray room, office, exhibition lobby, toilet 59

* Space for sanctity and mundanity are naturally separated.

Church at a Corner

scale:

1/400

scale:

1/800

2nd Floor/ chapel, preparation room, lounge, kid's room, classroom

3rd Floor/ classroom, library, toilet

4th Floor/ restaurant, kitchen

5th Floor/ two house units for priests 61

[Project Epilogue] Use of Geometry In order to make the chapel approachable, this sacred room needs to be put on the ground. Therefore in the plan, the separation of sacred and mundane space was made. Apparently, these two kinds of spaces have different characteristics; sacred spaces need spatial impressions and, on the contrary, mundane spaces need practicality. I used the properties of geometric figures, circles and rectangles, as well as the relationship between the two to display the characteristics mentioned above and arranged the spaces. To be more specific, rectangles have right angles and let the spaces be arranged easily and effectively. In contrast, circles are centripetal and orbital and can be used to shape the circulation path and naturally guide people to permeate the chapel. Fortunately enough, the circle is a perfect partner to match with the acute angle of the site. The slight detachment of the visual focus, the stage in the chapel, from the geometric center of the circle not only avoids pillars from sight-blocking but also creates an asymmetric layout which is sometimes used in contemporary European churches, such as Eglise Saint-Nicolas in Switzerland by Walter Maria Förderer. Furthermore, the triangle cross-beam system and the light it shapes, also representing the image of God, become the only stable elements in the chapel. It is the unremitting welcome by God in this changing world.

Church at a Corner

CAREER

For me and most of my classmates, there is a very big gap between school and career. It is not because of the professional skill but the fact that we were trained to keep acuity to things in school but seldom hold discussions of our perspectives in the professional occasion. In most architectural offices in Taiwan, head architects draw and give the hand script to the employees and then the employees transform it into professional drawings. We should defend the idea of the hand script outside even if they cannot really assent to it. The only thing I can do is keep thinking ”what would I do if I had the discretion”, “what is my principle”, etc. in order to keep that acuity. hLc Architect (office with 6 people) trained me on the basic professional procedure of the project and Chien Architect & Associates (office with 20-30 people) taught me the importance and power of negotiation and staying patient. The scope of the projects I did in my career spans from a central kitchen, kindergarten (competition), community center (competition), landscape facility, social housing (competition), tiny exhibition building, to the national museum. The similarity they share is publicity, which also implies the lack of discussion of accuracy in human scale and construction method. Thus, it usually prompts me to think “are these real architecture?”

MAYU Architects

GUU Architect

[Brevity] MAYU Architects, founded in 1999 and having 30-40 employees, is an interdisciplinary practice based in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It is dedicated to avoiding the presumption of fixed style and dogmatism and in favor of a dynamic and organic process.

[Brevity] GUU Architect, with 6-8 employees, is based in Taipei, Taiwan. It focuses on commercial and estate buildings in the early stage and now its works include townhouses, hotels, rural public facilities, and interior design.

The studio’s scope of works spans from large-scale civic projects to small-scale ones. Its works include but are not limited to exhibition centers, auditoriums, schools, libraries, offices, etc. [Head] Ma-Lone Chang & Yu-Lin Chen

[Head] Jue-Zhi Gu

[My Participation] ‘14Sep-‘14Dec (4 months)

[My Participation] ‘16Aug-‘16Dec (5 months)

Tung-Men Holiness Church/ 1,240m2 / CD/ interior elevation / completed

A housing in Yilan for families in Waldorf school* / 6,100m2 / SD/ proposal and modeling / unpracticed

Kaohsiung American School Athletic Complex/ 4,777m2 / CD/ reflected ceiling plan / completed

A reception and hotel in Taitung* / SD/ proposal / unpracticed

A food vendor under the main staircase* in Kaohsiung American School / SD/ proposal and modeling / completed

Zhongshan Metro Mall Interior and Park above Rebuild* / competition/ proposal/ unpracticed

[Website] https://mayuarchitects.com

* translation by myself 66

Work Experience

[Website] https://www.facebook.com/GuuArch/

hLc Architect

Chien Architects & Associates

[Brevity] hLc Architect, founded in 2014, is a young and diversified studio based in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Its work strives to enrich life by embracing social and environmental concerns.

[Brevity] Chien Architects & Associates, founded in 1995, is a mature and contributive studio based in Taipei, Taiwan. It cares about publicness, culture, and sociality.

The studio has 6-8 employees. Its scope of works includes landscape design, architecture design, and interior design.

The studio has 20-30 employees. It focuses on the major sizable public facilities and sometimes works on small or private buildings. Its works include museums, stadiums, public housing, commercial building, interior design, and exhibition.

[Head] Holing Chang

[Head] Hsueh-Yi Chien

[My Participation] ‘18 Mar-‘18Dec (10 months)

[My Participation] ‘19 Feb-‘21Jun (2years & 5months)

Ren-ai Food Lab / 1,500m2 / CD / construction drawing, building permission, supervision plan/ 04 unpracticed

National Human Right Museum Main Exhibition Building*/ 15,000m2 / SD – CD / proposal, meeting, construction drawing, building 08 permission / construction procurement

Kenting Tropical Park/ landscape / competition – DD / proposal / construction

San-duo Kindergarten / 680m2 / competition / proposal

Daxi Wood Art Eco-museum Niche Exhibition building*/ 180m2 / competition – CD / proposal, meeting, construction drawing, 09 building permission / construction

A Community Center in Hsinchu* / 900m2 / competition / proposal [Website] https://www.hlstudio.com.tw/

A Public Housing in Taipei*/ 50,000m2 / competition / proposal / unpracticed

[Website] https://www.facebook.com/ChienArchitects/

National Human Right Museum Main Exhibition Building

museum/ 15,000m2 storage for historical artifacts, exhibition room, office, restaurant, garage The project is located in the corner of the prison premises which was used to detain, try, and imprison political prisoners. The accessibility of the site, surrounded by industrial buildings and a bridge, is rather low. After winning the competition, we were asked by the client to reduce the volume of the building to a “humble” scale. Therefore, we took a half year negotiating with the city government for the exception of local regulations in order to use the coverage of the whole premises. Then, we reappraised different possibilities and configurations of the functions. After numerous internal and external reviews and explanatory conferences, this project is now under construction procurement.

re-proposal 68

Work Experience

proposal in competition; it is too high for the clients.

deployment

final version with 3 storeys

sight analysis

Daxi Wood Art Eco-museum Niche Exhibition Building

exihibition space/ 180m2 semi-outdoor room, exhibition room, underground toilet narrowness

This project is at the end of a historic old street zone which is located in the margin of the plateau. The major industry here was wood exporting and processing. The project is made for the new local cultural industry to simply show their latest works. Because of the narrowness of the site (4m) and the adjacent building’s window toward the plot, we found that a sizeable and visualized exhibition is not adequate here. Therefore, we set the exhibition tone here as close, personal, and auditory.

neighbor's window

exhibitiion devices

In addition, in the past, the public space in the historic zone was only on the ground level. We want to bring this area a brandnew vertical public space. Thus, we maximize the volume and the height of the building under the local scenery norms. In addition, if the building were 3 storeys or above, the staircase should be built closed and independently under fireproof regulations, which blocks the narrow enough view. To circumvent it, the building was designed as a two-storey and twomezzanine one. It is indeed a super legal building. competitional proposal 69

Ren-ai Food Lab

central kitchen/ 1,500m2 kitchen, office, restaurant Ren-ai Food Lab is a central kitchen in a nursing home park. The first floor includes an office, loading dock and kitchen system with a rigorous sanitary circulation; the second floor includes a lounge for the workers, storeage and restaurant with skylight. My major work in this project was to make license and construction drawings, as well as other license document preparation.

section A

2F plan

Ⅰ

規劃設計資料檢討及建議

步道鋪面型式檢討及建議

1-2 1-2-1

現況鋪面詳細材質索引圖

依據本團隊「遊樂區道路系統檢討改善建議書」中對於現況鋪面所進行之調查分類及鋪面定位建

議表 ( 詳 1-2-2)，指認出本次規劃設計案優先進行修復與更換之步道路段，同時評估各步道材料之適

1F plan

Kenting Tropical Park

宜性，以提供日後材料損耗及跟換之採購依據。

section B

landscape facility pathway, benches, etc. The project is located in the mountainside. The major work of the project is to fix the concrete pathways which were broken by tree roots, and propose some landscape facilities near the main entrance and tourist center. As for the pathway, we investigated all paths in the park, made an index for preparing spare materials, and proposed elevated ones. As for the facility, we proposed a children's green maze near the tourist center and some slight pathways and benches near the entrance for the shuttle bus in the future. 70

Work Experience

局部更換之枕木步道 ★★★ WDH_1/WDL_2

WDH_1

WDL_2

BR_1

PC_1

欲拆除之紅磚步道 BR_1 ★★ 欲拆除之落地木棧道 WDL_1 ★★★

WDH_1 WDL_1 WDL_2

WDL_2

BR_1

PC_1

PT_2

PCS_1

欲拆除之磁磚步道 PT_2 ★★★

局部修繕之混凝土方磚步道 PCS_1 ★

磁磚紅磚瀝青混凝土

WDL_1

混凝土

PT_2

磁磚

PCS_1

紅磚瀝青混凝土木材

PC_1 PCS_1

石材原地面(便道、捷徑) N

現況鋪面分類索引圖 SCALE:1/4000

existing pathway investigation PC_1 PCS_1

混凝土

木材石材原地面(便道、捷徑)

San-duo Kindergarten

hybrid/ 680m2 kidergarten, library The project, a hybrid of kindergarten and library, is located in the corner of the existing elementary school. Because the library is shared by the elementary school, kindergarten, and local community, it is articulated as a two-story building and put between the existing school building and the future kindergarten building. The kindergarten is planned with a veranda and a roof terrace.

2F plan

1F plan

A Community Center in Hsinchu

hybrid/ 900m2 exhibition room, long-term care center The site, nearby the touristic on-dyke bikeway, is in the community of aboriginals in Taiwan who came from their hometown and settled at the margin of the city due to the economic factor 30 years ago. The residents would make some artworks such as woodcarvings out of their interest. Because the visitors usually come through the bikeway, we put the bike parking lots and exhibition room for the artworks on the second floor and made a bridge to connect the building and the bikeway. The first floor is designed for the community uses.

2F plan

1F plan 71

Others work

Work Experience

study model 01

final result (after my internship) 01

2 housings & 6 town houses 02

public space on the ground floor 02

The view terrains are embedded in the building 02

small exhibition on the site 09

public conference 09

model 08

public conference 08

10 a gap between building A & B 10

building B 10

building A 10 73

APPENDAGE [What is Architecture?] “What is architecture?” is an activity to ask four questions about perspectives of architecture. I try to answer those questions in my opinion. https://www.whatisarchitecture.cc/ What is architecture? Architecture is composed of spaces, ways of forming spaces, and the perception of humans, with humans’ intention.

space

construction V

What can architecture do?

users’ perception builders’ intention V

outcome

statues

facilities

natural spectacle

meta-verse

architecture

Architecture can not only shelter human bodies but, like what all of the arts do, stimulate (or provoke) humans’ thoughts.

What is your architectural position? It seems to me that architects are some kind of organizer. Moreover, because even the smallest building is a complicated artifact and takes time to be built, architects can not only complete the physical demands for clients but create further values in the process of organizing. For me, I want to create unfamiliarity in this gradually generalized world to stimulate the thoughts or behaviors of people. What is your design method? It has not formed yet. However, when projects come, the time for design is always short, but the outcome will exist at last over five decades. Accordingly, I should be sensitive to issues, think about them comprehensively, and prepare potential archetypes beforehand. On the other hand, if I only let the sites, client’s requests, regulations, and my intuitions run automatically to form the outcome, I will lose my orientation in the trivia. 74

Appendage

[Cities mentioned above in Taiwan]

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung is a harbor city, and her port was once the third-biggest port all around the world in 1999. The city started as a fishing village and developed after the Treaty of Tientsin between Great Britain and the Qing.

Now, she has the most population and is also the densest city in Taiwan.

During WWII, the port was expanded and aimed to be the industry and military center toward east southern Asia under Japanese rule, which led to its modernization. 20 years later, the ports developed as the vessel-making, steel-casting, and export processing zone that stabilized Taiwan's economy during the oil crisis in the 1960s. Now, she is the third-biggest city with the biggest port in Taiwan.

Tainan Tainan, located on the biggest plain in Taiwan, is also the first developed city. In 1627, the Dutch built the castle, Zeelandia, as a rule and trade hub of east southern Asia. After the Dutch’s departure, Tainan was still designated as Taiwan’s capital during the Tungning Kingdom and the Qing regime, until the war between France and the Qing in 1858.

Now, she is the biggest city and capital in Taiwan.

Now, she is the most historic city and has the largest agrarian land in Taiwan.

[Timeline in Taiwan] prehistory

NTS

New Taipei New Taipei is the margin of Taipei and contains more diverse topographies, such as a cityscape, countryside, mountain, beach, than Taipei. A lot of people work in Taipei but live in New Taipei because the house pricing and rents here are cheaper. Apparently, the city absorbs plenty of spillover from Taipei.

Taipei Taipei, located in the center of the basin, has been the capital of Taiwan since 1887. The overall urban plan was arranged under Japanese rule in the 1930s. The city possesses two different characteristics: one consists of highrises, wide roads, and broad blocks, while the other is made of 5-level-height housings, one-way alleys, and divided blocks with small parks. In addition, the city has the most comprehensive railway net in Taiwan.

1624 1626

scale:

1642 1662

1683

1895

1945

now

Dutch Formosa Spanish Formosa Kingdom of Tungning Taiwan under Qing rule Taiwan under Japanese rule Taiwan under Republic of China rule 75

#7 printed in A5 76

Appendage