Portfolio
Qianru Lai Virginia tech 2017-2020
Education From September 2011 to June 2016 Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, China Major: Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture, 5 years General GPA: 3.40/4.00 From August 2017 to October 2020 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA Major: Master of Architecture, 3 years General GPA: 3.69/4.00
Working experience Architecture Intern From January 2016 to June 2016, 6 months CCTN Design CO, Hangzhou Project: Design of a Commercial Center in Shanghai Architecture Intern From January 2017 to May 2017, 5 months Studio Qi, Hangzhou Project: Hotel in Linzhi, Xizhang Graduate Teaching Assistant in CAUS From August 2018 to May 2020, 1 year and 9 months Assistant for professor
Activity College photography events, Shanghai, April 2013 School hiking, October 2012 College top ten singers contest, April 2012
Design Skills Autocad, Revit, Adobe creatives, Rhino, Sketchup, Office tools.
Contents i Modern Monumentality of Serenity and Dynamism Urban complex
ii Living in Downtown Brewing hall
iii Lost in Horizon Restaraunt on a mountain iv Curving space a Library at university
PROJECT 1
Peak of Mount
Shin-Fuji Station Picture above shows the distance between site and Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji can be seen from countless points in the surrounding regions, and assumes a different character from each perspective. The monumental character of the Mont Fuji is the main point of my thesis. The building is deisgned to open to this famous landscape. In this way, architecture can relate to monumentality of nature. The project is located in Fuji, Japan. Fuji city is in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It has a population density of 1,000 people per square km. It enjoys good views of Mount Fuji and is bordered to the south by Suruga Bay. This project can be seen as an integral complex which can become a new front door of the city, embracing the spirit of travel. On the railway level, passengers experience different views of Mount Fuji as they walk on the platform. All the spaces bring light and view from the outside to the inside.
Form As a train station, the architecture must respond to many scales: the urban, the railway, the surrounding buildings, smaller rooms, and most importantly, the human scale. Refering to Louis Kahn’s philosophical construct of “buildings emerge from the immesurable origin of form and evolve through the measurable process of design, only to metamorphose upon completion back to the realm of the immerasurable.” This project came from the idea of “ Serenity and Dynamism”, Dynamism and through form making and function setting up, it became a public space which can satisfy the need local residents’ inner demands.
North perspectice view
Picture above shows south side of the site facing Suruga Bay
Dynamic
Serene
Life
The monument is formal in spirit and formalistic in design. Monumentality can be derived from geometric form. I extracted the characters of ‘Serenity and Dynamism’ into geometric forms.
Serene
Dynamic
Structure and space
Atrium
Light and shadow
Tension works in space
Spatial approach
The architectural monument is a portion of space. A building is a spatial structure, both a creation and an interpretation of space. The proportions are accentuated by the linear arrangement of the piers and colonnades that support the vaulting. Similar to Gothic architecture, which unifies structure and space, the boundaries of interior space and exterior space in the train station were carefully developed.
RECTANGULAR CUBOID
DIVIDE INTO FOUR TUBES
SHIFT UP&DOWN
APERTURE INSERTION
CONTINUITY THROUGH SPACE
Composition At very beginning, it is a regular rectangle and divided into four tubes evenly. By forcing up and down, slopes are created on top and bottom. Those slopes give space freedom for fluidity. Further, the center comes out. The arrangement of floors, slope, space is made around this center cuboid. This volume makes a connection between inside and outside. Architecture needs breathing space. There are spaces between bottom of upper levels and top of station levels, between south and east, north and west, and between inside and outside.
Front perspective
The building can be seen as a bridge reaching out over the ground level. Depending on the function, the scale is much bigger than its neighborings. The materiality and form of the building suggest a cloud floating in nature while also living harmoniously with its surroundings. The station is the front door to Fuji city and an urban living room for observation of the mountain and the bay.
Site axon 1/128’’ = 1’-0’’
North perspective
Front perspective
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MAIN ENTRANCE HALL TICKET SELLING CHEKING CAFE SHOPPING AREAR SECONDARY ENTRY RESTURANT KITCHEN STORAGE
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ENTRANCE OF OFFICIAL AREA MEETING ROOM REGULATORY ROOM OFFICE ENTRANCE OF SERVANT AREA RESTROOM ENTRANCE OF MUSEUM SPACE FOR TEMPORARY EXHIBITION LOBBY TO GALLERY LEVELS
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Ground level
West perspective
Hidden in the sky The building is clad in aluminum, which reflects light and color of the sky.In this way, the architecture can live in harmony with nature and the surrounding neighborhood.
East perspective
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SCULPTURE GARDEN GALLERY2 GALLERY3 MECHANICAL ROOM OFFICE SEATING AREA STUDIO MULTIFUNCTIONAL SPACE
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Third level
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CHECKING STORAGE EXHIBITION ROOM GALLERY1 GARDEN READING ROOM DOOR TO OUTSIDE ROOF GARDEN CAFE
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Fouth level
The section1-1 shows the building floating over the city. The form of the station levels is serene, whereas the form on the gallery levels is dynamic.
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Section 1-1
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Section 2-2
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Section 3-3
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Section in transverse 2-2
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North elevation
Transparency
“The transparent quality of the superimpositions often suggest tranparency of context as well, revealing unnoticed structural qualities in the object�, Moholy said. Transparency can be an inherent quality of subtance or an inherent quality of organization. Frame Scenery The picture on the right shows a highly developed insistence on a frontal viewpoint of the whole scene, a suppression of depth, contracting of forgeround, middleground, and background into a distinctly compressed pictorial matrix.
Figure and space
Human scale
The narrow space is much higher than ordinary human scale but equal with the width of a person. Thinking about putting myself into the space, a narrow space feeling is created by two narrow walls.
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PROJECT 2
Project of review The project involves the design of a Craft Brewing Education Center (CBEC) in downtown Roanoke, VA. Your clients, the Craft Brewing Resource Alliance, are a non-profit educational group dedicated to the training of master brewers, and the art and science of beer. brewing culture in the region. It can be very simple, functional design with easily maintained materials will mitigate costs with a building things – showcasing the process that performs well in terms of and the product.
Section 1-1
Site analyze It is located at downtown of Roanoke, a historic zone. Pedestrians always walk through Campbell avenue to reach this site. The site is 70 feet wide and 200 feet long. From the map it can be defineds extremly long, narrow. There is an altitude difference between south and north. Half of the site is located in a flood zone. Zone D, an area of undetermined flood hazard. The area with a possible, but undetermined flood risk, as no analysis of flood hazards has been conducted. Arrangement 1 The site determained the building will be a long narrow rectangular floor plan corresponds to the interior domain. 2 The orientation defines an axis of symmetry around which all elementsof the structure are organized. Domainthe inner core. How to create a multiple spaces interior and sculpture outside? How to deal with a long, narrow condition?
Interior of Brewing hall
The core of the arch is made of steel. I want to expose the steel arch and column to the interior space, which defines a factory space - transparency and giant.
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1 Main Etrance 2 Reception Room 3 Taproom 4 Brewing Hall 5 Egress 6 Central Garden 7 Event Room 8 Refrigerated Room 9 Dry Storage 10 Canning and Bottling 11 Loading Dock
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Fisrt Level Plan
Section 1-1
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Classroom Lab Beer Garden Service Room Lab Breakroom Suit Lounge for Workers
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Second Level Plan
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Dinning Room Living Room Bedroom Balcony Lounge for Residents
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Fifth Level Plan
INTERIOR GYPSUM BOARD RED BRICK
CONCRETE STRUCTURE
CONCRETE COLUMN
STEEL COLUMN and ARCH
GLASS BRICK on the FRONT FACADE
MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS
PROJECT 3
A restaraunt situated on a golf course 2000 sq ft dining, 1500 sq ft everything else ~100 seats Back of house: Office(s) Staff restroom Dishwasher Walk-in fridge/freezer Kitchen Line Food prep area Storage for food, other supplies Alcohol storage Ice machine Trash Break room Cleaning storage (janitor closet) Delivery bay for large vehicles
Ground level
Section in longtudinal
Restaraunt and bar are situated on lower level, below the ground. Space is surrounded by natural earth. Comparing to the upper level which is clear and trasparent, the lower level is dark and solid. Interior space is illumated by electural light. Natural light come down from the long, narrow garden into the interior space.
PROJECT 4
Library The project situated in Virginia tech, surrounded by three buildings nearby. Wall is the main theme in this building. Fluidity is created by walls extend from the ground level to the roof top. I chose umbrella structure to support the whole building. Light can be reflected by the curve into lower levels, which can create a harmony in space.
Ground level
Section I-I
First level
Section II-II