design 2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 4
portfolio Lu cheng
This design portfolio contains architectural school projects done in School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington from 2011 to 2014, as well as completed interior projects that were built in my previous employment in Singapore between 2009 and 2011. They have covered a range of academic and working experience by encountering projects in different scales, design expectations and goals.
by Lu Cheng kennedycheng@hotmail.com NZ: +64-21-838-481
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ABOUT ME Organised, passionate and multi-cultural
Being an international student who has studied abroad since 2002, I have completed my secondary and tertiary education in Australia, Singapore and New Zealand respectively. I joined an interior practice in Singapore and completed a range of interior projects including residential apartments, commercial offices and retail stores between 2009 and 2011. I then decided to pursue my further academic study in Master of Architecture (Professional) at Victoria University of Wellington, which is expecting to be finished at the end of 2014. I now intend to look for working opportunities in New Zealand as an architectural graduate.
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Personal Profile Born in 1985, Guangzhou China Nationality: Chinese Languages: Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, English EDUCATION • Victoria University of Wellington, 2012 - 2014 • Raffles Design Institute Singapore, 2006 - 2009 • University of Melbourne, 2004 - 2006. • St. Michael’s Grammar School Melbourne, 2002 - 2004. Certificates • Master of Architecture (Professional), Victoria University of Wellington (2015 expected). • Graduate Diploma in Design Environments (Architecture), Victoria University of Wellington (2012). • Bachelor of Design (Interior Design), Raffles Design Institute Singapore (2009). EMPLOYMENT HISTORY • Senior Interior Designer & Consultant, Earnest Interiors & Renovation Pte Ltd, Singapore, 2009 - 2011. • Interior Designer (Exhibition), Origin Design, Guangzhou, 2008. • Interior Designer (Intern.), Zen+Co Consultant, Guangzhou, 2008.
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school projects selected architectural projects in wellington 2011 - 2014
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The following architectural proposals were submitted as school projects, under the study of Master of Architecture (professional) at Victoria University of Wellington from 2011 to 2014. Project category contains the final design phase of the 5th year design thesis, as well as two other early works from 3rd and 4th year. Two of them were exploring medium or higher density housing environments, and one was looking at the relationship between built form and nature through the design of a holiday bach.
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Minimum ++ Improving quality of life in medium or higher density student housing in wellington
This was the final design phase of the 5th year design thesis. Te Aro Village, a high density student “gated community” was proposed at the back of School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington. The design investigated how quality of life in compact built environment can be improved with hyper efficiency, shared space, and blurred boundary. Unlike the conventional gated community projects where the boundaries are clearly defined and fenced, the concept of Te Aro Village is to introduce a sense of “sharedness” into the isolated environment. The balance between private and public spaces was being tested in order to provide a higher living quality for the residents, and also quality public spaces that would make a positive impact on the surrounded environments.
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Birdeye perspective from the corner of Wigan Street, overlooking the roof terraces in different levels as well as the visually shared landscape around the site.
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All five apartment towers are located on the recessed ground level with transitional setback space from the site boundary. The recessed setback space kept the public pedestrians away from the buildings but they can still visually enjoy the landscape within. Public access is created at both sides, leading to the exhibition space on the corner of Wigan Street and the public park at the back of Light House Cinema. Restricted entrances to the apartments were placed on two sides of the public shared spaces. A secondary private circulation that linked between all five towers was introduced on the first floor. Running horizontally across the entire site, this external connected platform created a degree of sharedness among all residents, as well as increasing the visual richness by having the interactions with the park on the ground floor.
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A TRANSITIONAL RECESSED BELT (HIGH LIGHTED) SETBACK FROM THE SITE BOUNDARY CREATES A VISUAL SHARED ENVIRONMENT FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC, YET MAINTAINS THE SENCE OF PRIVATE TERRITORY.
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WIGAN ENTRANCE LIGHTHOUSE CINEMA ABEL SMITH ENTRANCE MAIL BOX
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ADMIN. & RECEPTION SECURITY OFFICE POOL ROOM PUBLIC TOILETS
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CAFE & RESTAURANT GYM STUDY & STUDIO
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A SECONDARY PRIVATE CIRCULATION (HIGH LIGHTED) ON THE FIRST FLOOR CONNECTING ALL FIVE APARTMENT TOWERS TOGETHER AND INCREASES VISUAL RICHNESS.
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PRIVATE CIRCULATION PARK LIGHTHOUSE CINEMA GROUND FLOOR ROOF
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INTERNAL SPLIT LEVEL CIRCULATION CARRIES ALL THE WAY TO THE ROOF SPIRALLY, DEFINES TRANSITIONAL SHARED SPACE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL APARTMENTS.
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CANTILEVERED FUNCTION ROOM LIGHTHOUSE CINEMA ROOF TERRACE
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Entrance from Wigan Street corner through the exhibition space Entrance from Abel Smith Street through the public park behind Light House Cinema
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LEVEL 1 SHARED SPACE TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT LEVEL 1A SHARED SPACE DOUBLE STUDIO A LEVEL 1B SHARED SPACE DOUBLE STUDIO B UTILITY ROOM EMERGENCY STAIRCASE
In terms of the apartments’ internal layout, the idea from the previous shared house proposal (in the earlier design phases of the thesis) of having split level circulation carried all the way to the inhabitable roof tops spirally, and defined transitional shared space for each individual unit was retained. Unlike local examples entering from a small corridor with a kitchen, a full height glass sliding door was placed directly facing the unit entrance, which turning the entrance space
into a balcony or a loggia. Such outdoor connected experience of entering created a distinct openness in this compact living situation. The bedroom area was designed to be kept away from the main circulation in order to maintain necessary privacy and receive more sun light. A full height timber bi-fold door in the kitchen could be opened up and lead to the transitional share space out in the main circulation area.
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Proximity + architecture medium density housing community
This was 4th year project which was dealing with a medium density housing community cross program with a public supermarket. Having Left Bank, Cuba street mall as an experimental site, this proposed medium density housing community aimed to address the research question: “how can architectural elements encourage vertical movements?� The design iterations have explored the relationships between public and private vertical movements through visual intimations and crossed-over circulations.
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Parametric design investigations Street perspective from Cuba entrance
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Taking advantage of the urban proximity of Left Bank, entrances were placed both at front and rear to maintain the shortcut from Cuba Street to Victoria Street. All proposed apartments were facing the central public space. Vertical circulation was visually enhanced by the five twisted towers, and physically encouraged by utilising the overlapping circulation path through the ramp.
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Second floor circulation platform and rooftop cafe perspective Birdeye perspective illustrated the relationships between the ramp circulation and two rooftop garden on the sides Overlapping first floor circulation platform and ramp structure creates a distinct spatial quality
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Apartment type I (two bedroom) floor plans
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Apartment type I axonometric drawing showing the ground and mezzanine level Longitudinal section indicating how the relationships between the ground floor super-market and the apartments above
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market entrance ground floor market space rooftop open market area rooftop cafe ground floor market space second level checkout point
2 Revell street Design for future disassembly
This project was done in the 3rd year of the architecture study. The provocation for this project is the rampant destruction that occurred in aftermath of the Christchurch Earthquakes as mass demolition of huge swathes of the city. Our clients James and Jill were awaiting their factory to be demolished while looking at opportunity for having a new holiday home in the West Coast. The idea was to recycle the existing factory materials and reuse them to assemble a holiday bach. More importantly, the house had to be easily disassembled in order to deal with the future flood hazard site condition.
External street perspective Design process: space and configuration analysis
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Visual coherence is maintained through the timber cladding feature wall between the internal and external. It also creates a cosy atmosphere to make the space become more inhabitable. The full height fixed window on the right maximises the amount of natural light that can be received in this corner. The green roof is visually reachable by walking down the staircase to the kitchen and dining area. Taking advantage of the fantastic river view, a clean approach in dining area with neutral colour tone is proposed to bring focus to the lookout. Large window openings are there to maximise the view of surrounding landscape. In doing so, it fulfils the initial concept of “welcoming the nature’. The universal columns recycled from the factory are revealed to keep a sense of industrial identity. Timber ceiling finishing is proposed in the open kitchen. Space between dining and kitchen is differentiated by the change of ceiling materials. The east facing corner window allows good amount of morning sun to shine in the space. The external waterfall feature can be seen from the window beside the breakfast counter which creates a visual connection to the external environment.
View of cosy corner and dining area from walking down the staircase View from cosy corner to dining area View from dining area to kitchen 26
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South elevation West elevation
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Completed projects selected interior projects completed in Singapore 2009 - 2011
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The following interior projects were completed in Singapore from 2006 to 2011. The categories vary from residential to commercial office and retail store. Being a part of both design and construction department, I was fully involved in design concept and development stage as well as construction detailing and management.
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cash converters The Majestic, chinatown, singapore
Cash Converters, Chinatown store is located on the ground floor of the Majestic building. Unlike other conventional stores, Cash Converters requires both product display and selling area, as well as product buying area to function as a trading store. The display and selling area were proposed to occupy the majority of the space, with two tilted full height display cabinets forming the entrance. The space was divided into different areas according to the product range and categories. Space requirement of the buying area is relatively small, so it was placed at the back with comfortable waiting area. In terms of finishing, a range of veneer was selected to create a variety of revealed timber combination. As Chinatown is one of the heritage districts in Singapore, the local identity was quite well translated by the red and yellow cubes contrasting with the dark timber scheme.
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Main entrance facing reception counter with two tilted display cabinet aside
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The two tilted display cabinets are forming the entrance and direct the route to reception. The range of products display in these two cabinets represents the characters of Cash Converters. Due to the unpredictable trade in product sizes, all shelves and display panels were designed to be flexible. They can be rearranged according to product sizes in different configurations.
Reception and tilted display cabinets Musical product display area
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A contemporary Chinese style antique shelf was designed for a variety of antiques to be displayed. In order to maximise the product display area, many display cabinets were designed in blend into the existing site condition. A low display platform was designed to extend from the stairs in different heights to fit a range of products. Above that is a suspended display platform hanging from the ceiling to give more display options.
Antique display corner General product dispaly with suspended panel
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Champion technologies The galen, science park road, singapore
Champion technologies is a global set up company and this was their headquarters of Southeast Asia. Locating in the Galen on Science Park Road, it is a relatively small and cosy office. The entrance was influenced by the company’s colour scheme with black and red. A timber strip feature wall was proposed to break the conventional serious working environment and add a dash of cosiness.
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Main entrance feature wall and waiting area
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The meeting room was the most crucial space according to the client’s brief. A custom-made multifunctional cabinet was proposed to provide options for different visual presentations. Wall-hang TV is on the backdrop, which can be hidden by closing the two sliding glass whiteboard panels. An additional roller screen can be dropped down for larger visual communications.
Meeting room with multi functional cabinet Sliding glass whiteboard panels can be used conveniently
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Pantry was another important area in the brief, as the company wants the employees to relax in a comfort space of the working environment. The design intention was to create a neat space that brings the occupants back home. The designs of the director’s rooms were rather simple and functional, as they want to spend most the budget to benefit the employees. The room partitions were partially replaced by full height glass whiteboards which can be used from both sides.
Fully equipped pantry, a place for employees to take a break and feel like at home One of the director’s rooms, with partially glass whiteboard partition that can be used from both sides
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4 bedroom hdb apartment bedok north road, bedok, singapore
This 4 bedroom HDB apartment is located at Bedok, one of the HDB district in the east of Singapore. The couple owner was relocated from Hong Kong together with the husband’s mother and two kids. They liked to have a neat and efficient environment to start their new journey in Singapore. The design was rather minimalistic with contrasting black and white. A continues TV shelving panel carried all the way to both sides and formed the entrance to bedrooms. A side feature wall was created by protruded white painted plaster boards with black glass strips fill in between the gaps.
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Living area with continues TV shelving panel and side feature wall
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Dining area with full height storage cabinet Spacious kitchen with multi functional area
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A common problem of HDB apartment is the lack of efficient kitchen space. This design tried to open up the kitchen space and created a sense of extension into the dining and living area. However, a fully open kitchen may not be the best ideal for Asian cooking style so a sliding glass door was used to keep the kitchen enclose when it is in used while maintaining the visual transparency. A portion of the kitchen cabinet extended out into the dining and living area as a breakfast counter to emphasis on the sense of openness.
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This portfolio document has been last updated on December 2014
by Lu Cheng kennedycheng@hotmail.com NZ: +64-21-838-481