Yiwei_ Portfolio 2023

CONTENTS

01 A VISION FOR MARSH & CENTER

FISHING VILLAGE REVIVING AND SALT MARSH COMMUNITY Volunteer work. Summer 2020

02 CITY OF VILLAGES

A RADICAL RE-ENVISIONING OF URBAN LIFE

Upenn 602 studio Spring 2022

03 REBIRTH OF THE STEEL HEART

FORMER INDUSTRIAL WATERFRONT TO ECOLOGICAL LEISURE DESTINATION

Upenn. 601 studio. Fall 2021

04 SOUNDS MUSEUM IN THE PIPE

TOURISM SYSTEM BASED ON RAINWATER IRRIGATION XUAT. 4th year studio. Fall 2019

05 CORRELSCAPE

THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS ABOUT PERSPECTIVE IN PICTURESQUE LANDSCAPE Upenn 701 studio Fall 2022

OTHER WORK

01 PHYSICAL MODEL (DIMENSION: 20 ft * 13 ft)

REVOLUTION OF COLLECTIVE HOUSE IN URBAN VILLAGE Workshop Summer 2018

02 CONSTRUCTION OF WOODEN TEA HOUSE

Competitive Construction Workshop, Summer 2019

03 HANDDRAWING

Tea Room, XUAT. 1th year studio. Spring 2017

Student Domitory, The Best 16 Works, 2018 SEU-Chinese Contest of Rookies

01 MARSH & CENTER

FISHING VILLAGE REVIVING AND SALT MARSH COMMUNITY

Fall 2020, volenteer work

Individual Work Site: Galveston, Texas

In the past 100 years, the salt marshes near Galveston Bay have degraded and other ecological problems caused by rising sea levels have made local fishermen homeless. At the same time, the regional economic center relocated to Houston, which has led to the decline of Galveston’s local aquatic product industry. The city’s economy can only be improved by developing heavy industries. The industrial zone occupies the coastline and separates the urban activities from the coastline. The voice of the fishermen gradually faded away, and eventually they could only live on Pelican Island, which is separated from the city by the sea.

In order to integrate local fishermen into contemporary urban life and increase the city’s vitality, this project stand on the perspective of fishermen and restores traditional fishing villages on the coastline, which are valuable local cultural resources. On the basis of the restoration of salt marshes and the sustainable storage of seawater, local community of fishermen and urban activities will be introduced- creating a vision of fishing village culture+ urban center+ salt marsh community.

SALT MARSH DEGRADATION FISHERMEN LOSE THEIR HABITAT

Global climate change has led to the rise of sea level year by year. Modern human activities lead to great changes in land use. Coastal ecosystems are facing unprecedented challenges. In this case, the salt marsh, as an important habitat for fishermen, is seriously degraded, and this degradation has no tendency to slow down.Existing studies show that half of the existing salt marshes will disappear in 350 years. Fishermen living on the sea are at risk

SEA-LEVEL RISE

100 Years Submerged Line

75 Years Submerged Line

50 Years Submerged Line

25 Years Submerged Line

THE LOCAL AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY DECLINES FISHERMEN LOSE FINANCIAL RESOURCES

As the largest city in Texas decades ago, Galveston was once the economic center. As the economic center moved to Houston, the largest city in Texas nowadays, Galveston's economic situation deteriorated. The aquatic industry has been severely impacted. Fishermen's sources

VISITORS

INDUSTRIAL ZONE SEPARATES URBAN LIFE FROM THE COAST

CITIZENS

The traditional life style of fishermen living by the sea has not changed fundamentally in decades. This makes them gradually out of line with modern social life. And the establishment of industrial areas within a century makes this gap particularly serious in space.

FISHERMEN ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE CITY

PORT OF HOUSTON

PORT OF GALVESTON

FISHERMEN

INDUSTRY

RESTORE SALT MARSH TO REVITALIZE FISHING VILLAGES

As fishermen's habitat and ecological base, the restoration and protection of salt marsh is the first priority. Only when the base of salt marsh is well treated, can the fishing village regain its vitality. There are many interesting

can the fishing village regain its vitality. There are many interesting elements in fishermen's daily life, economic activities and ecological activities. After sorting out the representative elements, in each aspect, selected three representative elements for spatial collage.

HYBRID GRIDS OF ECOLOCY, URBAN AND DAILY LIFE

According to the analysis of the status quo of the three levels namedecological level, urban level and people's daily life level, the design can be simply divided into four steps. The first step is to treat the ecological base, that is, the salt marsh.

The second step is to deal with the city level. The grid system of corresponding scale and function is put into the whole site. The third step is the transition from urban level to human activity level, which is the research and design of the relationship between architectural texture and orientation. The last step is to link people's activities on both sides of the Strait through the ring road.

RECOVER SALT MARSH ECOLOGY

TRADITIONAL ACTIVITY INTRODUCTION

Restore the historical salt marsh coastline and install new salt marsh units.

HISTORICAL ARCHITECTURE

ABSTRACTION

NATURE

SALT MARSH EXTRACTION

A two-story pedestrian system is assumed on the original urban road network to connect the city and the coast.

Extend the building from the city to the coastline, and place vitality points according to the surrounding environment.

REDIFINE URBAN GRID EXTREND BUILDINGS TO COAST CONNECT TWO SIDES

A bridge made of mixed pedestrians and vehicles is used to connect the central areas of the two banks. At the same time, canals are set up on both banks to make the city and the coast more closely

After systematic analysis and design, ecological protection and urban renewal can get a good balance. The ecological production of fishermen has been protected, and the fishery industry has been revived due to the opening up of the two sides. At the same time, the industrial site has also been effectively protected and updated, and has become an important site beside the fishing village on the north bank.

ACTIVITY SYSTEM

Through the new walking system, people's activities are more oriented to the city, and people pay more attention to the traditional life of fishing villages at the same time.

ARCHITECTURE SYSTEM

The transformation is in parallel with the new construction. While continuing the old urban texture, it provides a more ecological design.

ECOLOGY SYSTEM

The artificial redesign of salt marshes, as well as the placement of large areas of green space and ecological fish ponds, will make the coastal ecosystem moderately

THE NORTH - Industrial relics transformed into museum and office

On the basis of the industrial heritage of the north bank, the function of office center and museum is put in, and the whole area is connected through the walking system, so as to drive its flow of people.

THE SOUTH - Coastal community and leisure activities

The modern community is combined with the green of the coastline, and the function of leisure center is put in. So that people can fully enjoy the beauty of natural resources and stimulate people's awareness of environmental protection.

FISH FARMING

PUBLICE LEISURE

COASTAL COMMUNITY

FLOATING MARKET

INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM

TYPOLOGYDIVERSE LIVING ROUNTINE

OFFICE

ECOLOGICAL FIELD

Fishermen living on the north bank go to the south bank by boat to sell the fish in the central market after harvest. The activities of the leisure center and the central market attract people from the city to visit the fishing village. The bridge and the developed cruise ships provide convenient transportation. The work center and Museum on the north bank are also the vitality factors to

CRUISE FERRY

The ecological fish ponds extending to the sea surface.

Industrial heritage renovation project.

ARCHITECTURE UNITS THAT OVERLAP ECOLOGY AND CONTEMPORARY LIFE

WALL

WOOD FRAMEWORK INSULATION

CONCRETE

WATERPROOF LAYER

RAILING

INSULATION

STRUCTURE

DIAGONAL BRACE

SALT MARSH RESTORE

In southern New England, Spartina marshes which have historically been subjected to extensive diking and ditching have experienced rapid and widespread Phragmites invasion.

HOUSING I

1 VIEW ON THE COAST

2 VIEW ON ECOLOGICAL FIELD

MARKET I MARKET II MARKET III HOUSING II

WAREHOUSE

02 CITY OF VILLAGES

A RADICAL RE-ENVISIONING OF URBAN LIFE

Spring 2022, Upenn studio project

Group work

Collaborate: Shuyi Hao, Olivia Loughrey

Site: Southwest Philadelphia

Instructor: Nicholas Pevzner

“The livable village” is a project which aims to create a worth living and enjoyable lifestyle and pursue a radical re-envisioning of urban life. The intended result is to increasing proximity, diversity, and density to fix the service deserts, manage stormwater, fill in the large vacant lots and finally build 15 minutes walkable villages.

While planning for a future where life gets less livable, more digital, and isolate, we argue for looking back on the historical public life on street to arouse human instincts- to step outside and experience the tactility of the plant world, the physical sensation of sunshine or a cool breeze, the warmth of a human connection in real life.

LOOKING BACK ON THE HISTORICAL PUBLIC LIFE ON STREETS

While planning for a future where life gets less livable, more digital, and isolate, we argue for looking back on the historical public life on street to arouse human instincts- to step outside and experience the tactility of the plant world,

the physical sensation of sunshine or a cool breeze, the warmth of a human connection in real life. The intended result is to increasing proximity, diversity, and density to fix the service deserts, manage stormwater, fill in the large vacant lots and finally build 15 minutes walkable villages.

CONNECT SERVICE DESERTS_ PEDESTRIAN PRIORITY ROADS

In SW Philadelphia, there are service gaps which drastically decline people’s quality of life. To take advantage of the delivery system and transfer it into a more vivid social connection, we create a network of pedestrian priority roads and apply the mobile units which provide basic services, such as food, retail, clinic, and education. When the units plug in communities, the vacant lots become food markets, local mall, and community library. The places are multifunctionalin the weekday, a place would be a food bar, and on the weekend, there could be a concert.

15 MINUTES WALKABLE VILLAGES

- DENSITY

- PROXIMITY

- DIVERSITY

A network of pedestrian priority roads and apply the mobile units which provide basic services, such as food, retail, clinic, and education. When the units plug in communities, the vacant lots become food markets, local mall, and community library.

SERVICE SYSTEM + GREEN INFRUSTRUCTURE

Parkways are a vital social connection point for increasingly isolated individuals who find themselves glued to a screen, living their lives through VR and video conferencing. The Parkways are an intentionally [re]configured societal network—comprising architecture, plants, and the human and non-human beings that inhabit them. Parkways are an integral part of a larger movement that looks to old technology and social structures to transform a modern city into a system of urban villages through densification, diversification, and proximity to civic and social services.

STORMWATER INTERCEPTION_ PARKWAYS

The interceptor is integrated with the parkways and stormwater management facilities, such as wetland, detention basin, rain garden, and planter. It also provides public activities, for example, a central rainwater basin in a village can be used as theater in sunny days. This strategy aims to integrate ecological function and public realm together.

The Parkways are an intentionally [re] configured societal network—comprising architecture, plants, and the human and non-human beings that inhabit them. Parkways are an integral part of a larger movement that looks to old technology and social structures to transform a modern city into a system of urban villages through densification, diversification, and proximity to civic and social services.

SITE DESIGN PROPOSAL

PEDESTRIAN PRIORITY ROAD AND PLAZAS + FLOOD PARKS AND CONNECTIVE LINEAR ARMATURE

BASIN PARK AT ISLAND AVENUE

FLOODED THEATRE AND VILLAGE CENTER

URBAN FOREST AND VILLAGE TEMPLE

AMPHITHEATER

FLOOD PARK TRAIN AND BRIDGE

COMMERCIAL DISTRICT

03 REBIRTH OF THE STEEL HEART

FORMER INDUSTRIAL WATERFRONT TO ECOLOGICAL LEISURE DESTINATION

2021 Fall, Upenn studio project

Individual work

Site: Coatesville, Pennsylvania

Instructor: Zachery Hammaker

Historically, Coatesville was famous for the steel industry, and it was a company town, which drove the African American population there. There was a symbiotic relationship where that the steel industry gave back to the community- constructing the worker’s housing, and providing public service, and cultural life. But the steel company discriminate against African American people by giving them the most dangerous and heavy work and poor salaries.Therefore, Coatesville has the highest gathering of African American population and a high concentration of affordable housing.

Today, the link has been broken. The historical heart of Coatesville is declined, which leads living here even worse. I want to reverse the company town logic, relate the heritage to African American community, respond to their desires, and reimagine the heart of Coatesville.

REVERSE “THE STEEL FIRST” LOGIC TO “PEOPLE FIRST”

FLOODING MANAGEMENT

COMMUNITY-ORIENTED PROGRAM

VARIOUS ACCESSIBILITY

PLANTING RICHNESS

Combine the abandoned steel buildings and the passive community park, convert them into a new core to support the community.

1. National iron&steel heritage museum

2. Event lawn, Amphitheatre

3. Entrance plaza

4. Mental healing

5. Interactive exhibition

6. Market plaza

7. Steel loop

8. Playground

9. Food bank

10. Affordable housing

11. private kitchen garden

12.Mix forest

13. Meadow

14. Waterside trail

15. railroad trail

16. Fishing dock

17. Affordable housing

18. Water play

19. walkpath

20.Picnic grove

21. Basketball court

22. Tennis court

23.Soccer courts

24. Grandstand 25. Platform

26.Water play

SOUNDS MUSEUM IN THE PIPE

TOURISM SYSTEM BASED ON RAINWATER IRRIGATION

Fall 2019, XAUAT studio project

Individual Work

Site: Keshiketeng, China

Instructor: Qingsong Han, Wentao Wang

Keshiketeng is a place in severe water scarcity and sandstorm. In the macro context of rapid urbanization, economic efficiency requires the development of industry and the increase of agricultural output, so local people over-extract groundwater to meet economic indicators.The citizens living in town have no idea about the water depletion and use flood irrigation. The windbreak rangers value drops of water, while their desire to save water is neglected.

The project is focus on water pipe, which is the object that most closely related to local windbreak rangers’ lives, to improve the their living condition. So I try to reconstitute water pipes, collecting rainwater and, at the same time, rangers can have their daily activities. In addition, these combined into a civic park that attract people living in towns to go out of their complacent urbanism and into the rangers life that they never paid attention to before. During the tour in this park, they will gradually gain the same experience as the rangers because of the highly overlapped activity system and water system During tour in the windbreak, citizens will get a fresh concept that” The rangers’ contribution to saving water is great ”, and eventually they can pay attention to the rangers’ voice.

The pools along the road not only have the ecological function of collecting rainwater and shortterm storage, but also provide several rest and viewing pavilions for tourists and forest rangers.

The large-scale pipeline structure extending to the top of the mountain is not only the pipeline for transporting rainwater, but also the rail for people to take the cable car up the mountain.

The semicircular reservoir at the top of the mountain is covered by a tile structure. As water distributors,the tiles also shade the reservoir and reduce evaporation. At the same time, they also build a public square

POOL + PAVILIION

FOLLY I FOLLY II FOLLY III PIPELINE + RAIL RESERVOIR + SQUARE

PEOPLE AND WATER GATHER ON THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

People and water go together, and finally meet at the top. The sound of water flowing along the pipe,the roar of water pumps, the slight sound of water flowing in the reservoir,the impact of water pouring down the tile shaped water distributor, and the rustle of leaves in the quiet and vast windbreak forest constitute a natural symphony of awe.

1 POOL PAVILLIION

2 BRIDGE

3 PATH IN THE FOREST

4 ENTRANCE BARREL

5 PATH IN THE BARREL

6 TAIL SQUARE

7 STAGE

8 AUDITORIUM

9 THE TAIL

10 RAILWAY BARRELS

11 RAILWAY STATION

12 BIG STEPS QUARE

TWO-TIERED JOURNEY

The ramp between the fish scale pits on the ground and the overhead pipeline constitute a stereoscopic traffic system: close to the windbreak forest and close to the water system. People can go up the mountain trhough forest or get close the water, and the both rangers and tourists can know each other through the journey. When wind blows, the tile will shake slightly.

TECTONICS OF THE TILE TO CREATE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MAN AND WATER

The characteristics of tile structure and the space formed after combination creat an intimate relationship between man and water.The shade under the tile structure provides a quiet space for people to rest. The sound of water hitting the tiles becomes the natural accompaniment of musical instruments. And the water flowing from the tiles brings the pleasure of water loving.

EXPLORE THE CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS

After chrome plating, the metal plates are pressed into tile shapes of different sizes. The two layers of tiles are connected by I-steel in the middle to form a tile shaped pipe with good stiffness and acoustic performance. Four pieces of tile with decreasing size are connected by vertical members to form a firstclass pipeline system.Through the horizontal connection of C-type steel pipe, a stable huge pipe structure is initially formed.

is initially formed. Finally, one end of the structure is hinged with the ground, and the other end is connected with the steel wire string. It is tilted and hoisted. It will slightly shake under the action of air flow, creating a subtle visual feeling.

FLAGSTONE PERMEABLE GRAVEL

PIPE NETWORK

WATERPROOF

1:3 CEMENT MORTAR CEMENT CRUSHED STONE SOIL COMPACTION

PROCESS OF MAKING PHYSICAL MODEL

Two pieces of c-shaped steel are fixed on the vertical steel pipe, and the tiles are fixed in the horizontal

Use basket bolts to fix the upper and lower tiles together. The elastic force makes the tile more

The steel pipe penetrates the structure of the tile through the pipe sleeve, connecting the upper and

Inside a tile, steel pipes penetrate vertically to connect 4 layers.

The material for making the model is black paperboard pasted with gauze, and sprayed with black paint in the end. We expect that the construction materials are not completely smooth, with a strong industrial flavor, cold metal plate, but should have a unique color and texture, so that people feel the human touch.

ONE DAY'S FESTIVEL TO ENHANCE CITIZEN'S AWARENESS OF WATER

Mar.20

Vernal Equinox

The temperature rises in spring, and the festival is held when the spring is waterproof. On this day, the ground is covered with a thin water surface, and people hold a rain concert inside the pipe wall.

Jun.21

Summer Solstice

In summer, the sun is venomous, and the height of the tiles can block the strong sunlight at noon and bring people cool. When prople gather under the tile, they

Oct.23

Hoar-frost Falls

Autumn leaves are withered and yellow, bringing natural scenery into the pipe wall, allowing people to feel the water again outside of nature.

Dec.21

Winter Solstice.

In the severe cold in winter, the black tiles can absorb heat and melt the snow, allowing people to gather under the tiles naturally, shortening the distance between people

SPRING SUMMER

FALL WINTER

THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS CRITIQUING PICTURESQUE LANDSCAPE _ GREENHOUSE REDESIGN

Fall 2022, Upenn studio project

Individual Work

Site: Lisbon, Portugal

Instructor: James Andrew Billingsley

In this project I propose technically experimental and theoretically rigorous answers to the questions: what are the landscape aesthetics appropriate for a post-picturesque world? What are the aesthetic consequences of authentically alien technologies?

I did a deep research into correlation and perspective, and created a new design methodology, using cutting-edge design tools such as Disco Diffusion and Unity.

Correlation shows the fundamental axiom underlying picturesque landscape design, which involves the manipulation of physical objects to create a desired sensual image that leads to an mentally aesthetic appreciation. However, this process of translation from physical objects to mental images results in a disconnect between the design and the real resonance. In experiment I, with diffusion model. I sammary the axioms of perspective. In experiment II, I further deconstruct perspective through three model in Unity. I extract 3 design principle from the previous experiments and apply them in the redesign of greenhouse in Lisbon.

EXPERIMENT I_PERCEPTION AXIOMS

CORRELATION serve as the clue for the experiment series. The first step is to understand how people perceive the physical world. With diffusion works, I sought to arouse the awareness of correlation and challenge it by creating hybrid experiences in-between realistic and nonrealistic.Through this experiment, I identified the elements that contribute to the creation of mental pictures from the physical world, with perspective, which involves the assumptions of scale, position, and distance, being the most significant factor.

HYBRID EXPERIENCE INBETWEEN REALISTIC AND NON-REALISTIC

AI image generator

EXPERIMENT III CORRELSCAPE EXPERIMENT II PERSPECTIVE DISTORTION

The game allows me to imagine a world where perspective doesn’t function as expected. This is a meditative tool which breaks the correlation between the presupposition and the physical world.

By creating a new virtual environment in Unity, with rules that reverse the normal perception, I studied and recorded the movement and emotion of players to identify new design principles that oppose the traditional sensual picturesque design.

REVERSED PERSPECTIVETHE FURTHER, THE BIGGER

SCAN TO WATCH THE GAME DEMO

DECONSTRUCTING THE MATH BETWEEN DISTANCE AND SCALE

Breaking the composition and forcing people to pay attention to specific objects

People stopped trusting their senses, so they need to walk around to test things out.

There’s not a unitary position and perspective anymore. The player will confront with the primary focus and the competition for it.

Scale + Landscape

To bring these design principles to life in a physical design proposal, I overlapped additional elements of perception and perspective to create various experiments.

These experiments aim to create a design that is cohesive with Estufa Fria and incorporates a range of sensory experiences that induce mental distortion.

Scale + Distance + Optics

Scale + Distance + Gravity

Scale + Movement

OTHER PROJECTS

01 PHYSICAL MODEL (DIMENSION: 20 ft * 13 ft)

REVOLUTION OF COLLECTIVE HOUSE IN URBAN VILLAGE

Summer 2018, workshop

Group work

Collaborate: Wanjing Zhao

HIL Architect, Site: Shenzhen

Instructor: Bo Cheng, Bo Li

In the process of rapid urbanization in Shenzhen, a large number of urban village have appeared. Because of the low rent, it has become the residence of migrant workers and graduates who have just left universities. However, in order to earn more rent, the local villagers desperately built higher buildings, which made the living environment here extremely poor and dense, regardless of the wishes of residents. The villagers occupy all the public and cultural spaces in the village, and they exclude the workers from enter, which makes them even more lack of belonging and close themselves.

In order to improve the situation of migrant workers, I observed their lives and needs from their perspectives, and derived the strategy: 9 buildings form a cluster, reduce the height of the central building to create a venue for public activites, threedimensional corridors and transparent facade to increase the sense of connection. The villagers will be attracted to enter and participate in the highest density areas, because of these public activities, and ultimately achieve mutual tolerance between villagers and workers.

Housing Interior Model

Model Photographing

OTHER PROJECTS

01 CONSTRUCTION OF WOODEN TEA HOUSE

Summer 2019 Group work

Site: Suqian

Instructor: Di Wu, Jing Chen

Because of the pursuit of the real effect of architecture, I participated in the construction competition during the summer vacation. On the site, we experienced the entire construction process step by step. From the beginning of laying out, we poured concrete personally and communicated with the workers about how to hoist steel beams and install steel diagonal braces. At the same time, we also assemble wooden beams and wooden grille facades by ourselves.

We also encountered a typhoon during this period. In order not to delay the construction period, we checked the sewer pipes under the umbrella. When pouring concrete, we often get up at 5 in the morning, and then work until midnight. Under such intense training, my willpower has become stronger.

This project is a tea room by the waterfront. We provide local villagers with a place for leisure and entertainment. At the same time, combined with the pear orchard characteristics of the village, this place is turned into a sales place open to tourists.

DRAINAGE PARTICAL BOARD EAVE HUTTER WOOD BEAM

STRUCTURE BOX

STEEL BEAM

BOOKSHELF PARTICAL BOARD STEEL KEEL

ROOF SUNSHINE BOARD WOOD BEAM

FLOOR

WOOD FLOOR INSULATION

CAST IN-SITU CONCRETE LEVELING COURSE

SOIL COMPACTION

FOUNDATION

STEEL BEAM

CONCRETE PILE LEVELING COURSE

CONNECTION BETWEEN THE FACADE AND THE FLOOR

PLATFORM WOOD FLOOR WOOD BEAM

DIAGONAL BRACE CONCRETE FOUNDATION