Michelle Li Portfolio 2023

Page 1

MICHELLE LI Selected Works 2023


Michelle Li | 2023

> Indigenous landscape design of West Highland Creek at L’Amoreaux Park and the Alexandra Site, a 14th century HuronWendat village

Hello, My name is Michelle, I am a MArch graduate of the University of Toronto with a BArch from the University of Waterloo. My design approach merges architecture and landscape design with ecoactivism, with a focus on land-based knowledge, material cultures, and urban ecology. My research processes range from material exploration, walking and mapping, and ethnographic studies that serve as the foundation of my design work. The following collection of projects reflects my curiosity and joy for design. Thank you and enjoy!

PRACTICE

PROCESSES

Architecture

Material and Craft

Landscape and Ecology

Mapping

Urbanism

Fieldwork

Research

Language and Literacy

Design Activism 2

Contents


DESIGN + RESEARCH

01

04

Gardening in a Wasteland

Echoes

Material cultures for post-wild landscapes

Landscape park for the Six Nations of the Grand River

02 The Way Home

05

Mobile support network as shelter support infrastructure

Uitwaaien: A Walk in the Wind

03

06

SOIL Institute

Seed Sharing Stories

Climatorium for soil remediation, research, and education

The Planetary Garden

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

OTHER

07

09

Centre for dialogue and collaboration

PMA Landscape Architects

Peripatetic

Toronto, Canada

Conversations on Waterloo Architecture Students’ Work and Travel Experiences

08 Marchi Architectes Paris, France

Contents

3


Michelle Li | 2023

01 Gardening in a Wasteland Can viewing ecological disturbance through a lens of materiality create future narratives for post-wild landscapes? Urban wastelands are assemblages of habitats, colonized by human activity through material and species movements. Attempts to eradicate or remediate the damaging effects of the Great Lakes’ non-native species are ineffective and counterproductive. Instead, harvesting introduced species can mitigate impacts of their permanent position in local ecosystems. Recasting ecological threats of diasporic communities as abundant resources invites new modes of biodiversity and co-production. Given these multispecies and material entanglements, what is the role of the designer in the post-wild world? Sited on the accidental wilderness of the Leslie Street Spit, a reimagined garden centre for ecoactivism encourages learning from the land through craft. Merging the organic and inorganic, discarded materials—construction rubble and spontaneous vegetation—form new material cultures that challenge biases associated with the native versus migrant dichotomy, confronting the fragility and mutability of our urban watersheds. 4

Gardening in a Wasteland

project type research and fieldwork, landscape and architecture design site Leslie Street Spit, Don River Valley, Great Lakes Ecosystem thesis advisor Laura Miller SUPERNATURAL Studio *Shortlisted for Canadian Architect Student Awards of Excellence


> Material Histories of the Leslie Street Spit Harbour Breakwater (1959-1967)

Confined Contaminated Fill

Western Peninsulas (1973-1975)

Ongoing Fill and Landform

Endikement + Marina (after 1979)

> Journey of the Brick Fragment Soil

Clay

Brick

Rubble

Land

Site

Evergreen Brickworks

Tommy Thompson Park

Network

Glacial Movements 450,000,000 - 12,000 BP

Human settlement 7,000 BP

Don Valley Brickworks 1889 - 2010 - present

The Fire of 1904 spearheaded the brick industry in Toronto

Leslie Street Spit 1959 - 2013 - present

Design + Research

5


> Terminology of Invasive Biology

> Sites and Methods of

> Fieldwork Research: Gardening and Crafting

Habitat Restoration Day at Sepulveda Basin with Friends of the LA River and California Native Plant Society (Summer 2022)

6

Gardening in a Wasteland

Papermaking seed paper


f Migrant Species Introduction in the Great Lakes

Exploratory Artefacts: plaster leaves as 1:1 scale maps

Design + Research

7


Michelle Li | 2023 LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS Fire pit and education space Crevice gardens Compost and soil nursery Cold frames Garden test plots Raised beds vegetable planting Mound planting Dye gardens Collection area + Outdoor Workspace Bosque planting Phytoremediation pools Floating treatment wetlands

> Garden Centre for Ecoactivism

Existing Site: Spontaneous Vegetation

Phytoremediation and gabion walls system

Platforms on gabion foundation

Utilities: Rainwater tanks and kilns

Temporary Roofing with woven shades

Pitched Ro Teachin

> Designing for Ruin: Architecture built from rubble and organic material are designed to biodegrade over time, transforming into u 8

Gardening in a Wasteland


oof Frame and ng Gardens

Phragmites for roof thatching and collection station

urban habitats for flora and fauna

Ruins as landscape and animal habitat

Weeding and Harvesting

Gleaning

Transplanting Seedings

Cooking

Replanting native species

Dye-making with plants

Crushing leaves for dye-making

Dyeing textiles

Stripping leaves from stems

Opening seed pods

Beating fibers into pulp

Weaving

Sheet formation with mould and deckle

Tile making with recycled rubble

Couching (papermaking)

Pottery throwing with recycled clay

> Crafting Processes Design + Research

9


Michelle Li | 2023

> Site Programming NATIVE PLANT NURSERY Greenhouse Seed Bank Classroom

10

Gardening in a Wasteland

BOTANICAL WORKSHOPS Wild dye/printmaking studio Papermaking studio Weaving and textiles studio Ceramics studio and kilns Building workshops Garden shed and storage

KITCHEN AND MARKET Test kitchen Community Pantry Washrooms

ARCHIVE Gallery Research labs Material Archive


Crevice Gardens

Rubble Planting Mounds

Gabion Vertical Garden

Raised Planting Beds and Cold Frames

Soil Nursery

Walipini (underground) greenhouse

> Timeline of a Gabion Wall as a Vertical Garden

Design + Research

11


Michelle Li | 2023 12

Gardening in a Wasteland


Design + Research

13


Michelle Li | 2023

Prohibiting camping in parks and public streets

No living in vehicles

No Loitering or Trepassing

No erecting tents or temporary structures

No open fires

Encampment Evictions

Bag Limit at Hotels and Shelters

No Soliciting

Restricting nighttime access to parks

> Policies in the Toronto Municipal Code and Safe Streets Act

Is it illegal to be homeless?

02 The Way Home

14

Why are we designing permanent infrastructure or “brick and mortar” solutions for people who are mobile? Responding to the lack of services and affordable housing for the urban unhoused population, this project proposes a mobile support network to provide a greater range and adaptive services to the people who are most vulnerable in our cities. This strategy is implemented in phases; first deploying vehicles (food trucks, mobile clinics) and street interventions, (e.g. heated bus shelters, food gardens) to provide essential services and reclaim public spaces. These interventions lay the foundation to establish permanent service hubs, such as drop-in centres. At the third phase, transitional and supportive housing can be built.

project type urbanism, supportive and transitional housing

This network draws on the potential of vacant lots to enhance community life and bridge gaps between unhoused and existing residents. This vision hopes to alleviate the stigmatization and criminalization of unhoused people and provide the conditions for empowering those who are perceived as invisible by giving them a place with a permanent address.

instructor Drew Adams

The Way Home

site Thorncliffe Park, Toronto collaborators Yongmin (Laura) Ye, Edward Widjaja

*Award of Excellence for the RAIC National Urban Design Awards 2022


> Courtyard of 82 Thorncliffe Park Drive

Lack of services and challenges on accessing services

> Shelter Support Infrastructure and corresponding service deserts in Toronto

ESSENTIAL SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE OPEN IN 2021 Drop-in Centres Indigenous Shelters/Housing 24-Hour Respite Sites Emergency Cooling Shelter Warming Centre Out of the Cold Centres Soup Kitchens Food Banks/Meal Programs Clothing Banks Salvation Army Thrift Store

Design + Research

SOCIAL SUPPORT SERVICES Rent Bank Centres Legal Justice Support Housing Help Employment/Social Services Harm Reduction Sites Mental Health Clinics 5-min walking radius Clusters of 4+ different support infrastructure

15


Michelle Li | 2023

> Mobile Support Route Map : 10 minute radius Main Loop Route Secondary Loop Ravine Route Shelter Support Infrastructure Focus Sites

2

RETAIL East York Town Centre

PARKLAND RESIDENTIAL Don Valley Ravine `Flemington Park Towers

> Support Vehicle Retrofits and Mobile Infrastructure

Pick-up Trucks (with Trailer)

Pop-up Clinic

16

Food Truck

Wheel-Trans Van Cargo Van School Bus (Food Market) (Pop-up Barber) (Workstations)

Pop-up Kitchen Cooling Pavillion

The Way Home

Warming Huts

RV Bus (Sleeping Bus)

Modular Shelter Units

Transit Bus (Showers & Laundry)

Inflatable Respite Centre


> Transitional and Supportive Housing at 82 Thorncliffe Park Drive HOUSING PROGRAMS + SERVICES

Transitional Housing

Supportive Housing

Phase 1: Establish Mobile Support Network

Drop-in Centre/ Emergency Beds

Phase 2: Build Drop-in Centre + Mobile Support Hub

Support Vehicles Parking Public Realm Offices and Clinic Rooms

Phase 3: Build Transitional and Supportive Housing

> Spatial Typologies of Mobile Support Stations

Streets and Sidewalks

Public Parks

Temporary Respite Sites

Ravines

Parking Lots

Community Hubs

Shelters

Under bridges

Design + Research

17


Michelle Li | 2023

> Ground Floor Plan

> Visitor’s Narrative 18

The Way Home


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

entry vestibule waiting room reception office clinic front line office counselling room administration storage conference room computer lab classroom transitional housing entry visitor’s lounge staff office soup kitchen and lounge staff kitchen donation centre sorting area mobile support garage bike storage /workshop ramp to basement parking waste and recycling room loading zone Public Realm Staff only Supportive Housing Units Transitional Housing Units Communal Space Circulation & Outdoors Service Spaces & Cores

> Typical Floor Plan - Second Level

0

5

Design + Research

10

20m

19


Michelle Li | 2023

Type A Studio

Type B Connected Studios

Type D 2 bedroom

> Unit Layouts Supportive Housing Units Transitional Housing Units Outdoor Spaces

Type 1 4 bedroom

20

Type C 1bedroom

The Way Home

Type 2 2-level, 4 bedroom

Type 3 2-level, 4 bedroom

Type 4 2-level, 4 bedroom

Type 5 (4th level only) 2-level, 3 bedroom


Courtyard-facing Corridors Public Ammenity Spaces Circulation Cores

> Sightlines and Visibility Axonometric Design + Research

21


Michelle Li | 2023

> Atrium of the SOIL Institute

03 SOIL Institute The Climatorium is a didactic model that demonstrates how to regenerate brownfield sites and design for a post-carbon future. Speculating on the future of urban soils, the SOIL Institute focuses on soil remediation to support community food sovereignty and promotes clay as a sustainable building material. To address the site’s history of soil contamination and energy-intensive buildings, the project seeks to remediate the land and improve human relationships through soil education and the creation of a decentralized and clean energy network. The design prioritizes ecological processes, such as phytoremediation, solar energy, and natural flood cycles as a holistic way of designing architecture and landscapes. The building comprises of three interlocking volumes: Research, Training/Education, and Community surrounding a central greenhouse with distinct ecologies and conditions for heating, ventilation, and energy use. The building serves as a carbon sink, constructed using mass timber as well as terracotta cladding created in public workshops to engaging in onsite material production. 22

SOIL Institute

project type architectural design, soil remediation, flood adaptation site South Street Seaport, New York City collaborators Sophie Fan instructor Carol Philips


subsoil

parent rock

bedrock

organic matter topsoil eluviation layer subsoil

soil remediation & education

urban agriculture

material innovation

Research Fieldwork and Experimentation

parent rock

Training and Education

Community Participatory Programs

bedrock

Training and Education

Research

Remediation

Food Production

Commun Participatory P

Compost

Soil Remediation and Education

Soil Remediation and Education

Ecotone: Programs as Ecologies

L

organic matter topsoil eluviation layer

subsoil

parent rock

bedrock

Research Fieldwork and Experimentation

Training and Education

Community Participatory Programs

Research Fieldwork and Experimentation Solar

Training and Education

Research

Soil Remediation and Education

Remediation

Food Production

Wind

PV Panels

Community Participatory Programs

Compost

Commericial and In Combined Heat and P

Ecotone: Programs as Ecologies

Ecotone: Programs as Ecologies

Local Energy Generation: Microgrid and CHP

organic matter topsoil eluviation layer

Utility Grid

subsoil

Microgrid Controller

parent rock

bedrock

Microgrid

Research Fieldwork and Experimentation

Training and Education

Community Participatory Programs

Research Fieldwork and Experimentation Solar

Training and Education

Research

Remediation

Food Production

Compost

Wind

PV Panels

Tidal

Geothermal

Generator

Energy Storage

Renewable Energy

Urban Agriculture urban

Material Innovation material

agriculture

innovation

organic matter topsoil eluviation layer

Community Participatory Programs

Commericial and Industrial Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

Education soilSoil remediation > Material and Program Cycles & education

Tidal

Renewable Energy

Residential Local Energy Generation

Local energy generation: Microgrid & Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

subsoil parent rock bedrock

Design + Research

23


Michelle Li | 2023

Level 3: Hydroponic Farm

Level 2: Vertical Gardening

Level 1: Soil Labs

> 1:20 model of facade 24

SOIL Institute

> Greenhouse Renders


Design + Research

25


Michelle Li | 2023

> Terracotta material lifecycle “Terracotta” from Italian meaning ‘baked e

> Wall Section Exterior to Interior Wall Assembly LOF Terracotta colour solar cell 250mm wood fibre insulation air water vapour barrier 3-ply CLT panel Floor Assembly 50mm reclaimed cedar flooring 300mm raised floor assembly with felt acoustic topping 100mm wood fibre insulation 5-ply CLT panel 300mm x 600mm glulam beam

26

SOIL Institute


earth’, from Latin terra cocta

> Building systems for carbon neutral design Design + Research

27


Michelle Li | 2023

FOOD AND WATER fishing and irrigation

COMMUNICATION follows the flow downstream

TRANSPORTATION passages for boats and ships

> Societal Circles of the Haudenosaunee Diagram adapted from “The Clay We are Made Of” (2017) by Susan Hill

04 Echoes The Grand River runs through the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations, comprising of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora peoples. As a dynamic and temporal force, the river sculpts the landscape, revealing physical and cultural echoes. Drawing on the productive landscape, the park’s design encourages learning through storytelling, play, and practice. By participating in the cultivation of the land, we nurture our collective relationship to water. Major programs of this masterplan include: 1. Wild (river) rice planting and harvesting, known as manoomin in the Ojibwe language 2. A wetland playscape and with berms for flood adaptation 3. Medicinal and Three Sisters Gardens for corn, beans, and squash 4. Boathouse and Education Centre These practices work in synchrony with natural flood cycles and Indigenous knowledge systems. The park is a gathering place for present and future generations that emerges from our shared stewardship of the land and water. 28

Echoes

project type cultural and ecological heritage, architecture and landscape design site Chiefswood Park, Ohswekan, Canada supervisor Jane Hutton software Rhino, Adobe CS,hand drawing, gylcerin modelling


3.0m

2.5m

2.0m

1.5m

1.0m

0.5m

Design + Research

0

29


Michelle Li | 2023

> Wild Rice Growing and Harvest Cycle

seeding

germination

emergence

OCTOBER

MARCH

APRIL

threshing rice stalks (knocking grains into canoe)

tillering

drying and winnowing

> Park Programming Section > Site section + activities and amenities diagram

30

Echoes

flowering JULY

hulling

winnowing

riping

harvest

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

storage in woven birch bark baskets


> Glycerin modelling of water flow over berms and terraces 3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

water flow up

water depth (m)

water flow down

0

Design + Research

20m

31


Michelle Li | 2023

> Boathouse and Education Centre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

32

Echoes

Deck for boat launch Sheltered picnic area Canoe storage Changerooms and equipment Rice storage and kitchen Arcade Education centre Buoyancy elements for flood adaptation Covered pavillion for drying and winnowing


Design + Research

33


Michelle Li | 2023

05 Uitwaaien: A Walk in the Wind “There is an [Inuit] custom that offers an angry person release by walking the emotion out of their system in a straight line across the landscape. The point at which the anger is conquered is marked with a stick, bearing witness to the strength or length of the rage.” - Lucy Lippard, Overlay: Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory Uitwaaien (Dutch) is translated to “a walk in the wind” often to clear one’s head. Where a conflict or conversation evokes a face-to-face confrontation, a walk allows for a side-by-side collaborative stance. Situated on Indigenous territory and in the Discovery District, this site brings people from different walks of life to a centre for healing, learning, and storytelling. Architecture facilitates wayfinding—both physically in space and metaphorically in a conversation—through the pacing, rhythm, and thresholds of its spaces. Inspired by Jane’s walks, community-led walking conversations inspired by urban activist Jane Jacobs, this project poses the question: How can the walking facilitate interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict resolution? 34

Uitwaaien: A Walk in the Wind

project type architectural design, net-zero design site Discovery District, Toronto, Canada supervisor Andrew Levitt software Rhino, Adobe CS, Vray, hand-drawing


> Architectural Spaces for Walking

MULTI-WAY CORRIDOR simple circulation

CLEARING meeting room

INTERSECTION breakout space

INDIVIDUAL WALK introspective reflection

WALK IN PAIRS dialogue and conversation

GROUP WALK teaching, storytelling, and activism

WIDENING OF PATH place of repose for a view

NARROWING OF PATH threshold

Spatial language of walking and conflict resolution

Design + Research

35


Michelle Li | 2023

> Ground floor plan 1 front porch 2 threshold (pivot point) 3 elders room 4 meeting room 5 cafe/kitchen

6 7 8 9 10

reception staff office dining area reading space feature stairs

> Entry threshold (pivot in 4 directions) FORWARD reception and cafe RIGHT window to elders room BEHIND entryway and front porch LEFT ramp down to meeting room

36

Uitwaaien: A Walk in the Wind

11 12 13 14 15

shared studio area with exhibition space resident researcher live + work covered bike storage/semi-private entrance rain garden north patio


R3

planter shimmed to level on rubber blocks spaced to drain

R3

aluminum angle R4

R4

mechanically operated exterior wood shutters

R1

hidden gutter detail designed for overflow 140mm x 400mm glulam beam

W1

triple-glazed aluminum frame-wood window with low-e coating

> Wall Section Detail (exterior to interior) Wind organ pipes 1.5” Vertical rainscreen cedar cladding 19mm Strapping/air gap for drainage 6” Rockwool Comfortboard rigid insulation (R24) Blueskin self-adhesive membrane 1/2” Plywood sheathing 2x6“ wood studs at 400mm O.C. / cellulose filled cavity (R26) 6 mm Polyethelene vapour barrier 1/2” Plywood sheathing 20mm White cedar wall finish

F1

19 mm gap for drainage 200 mm 19 mm gap for drainage 200 mm

Foundation

Foundation

Design + Research

37


Michelle Li | 2023

> Second floor plan 1 2 3 4

meeting room staff room faciltator’s office joint meeting room

5 looped walkway 6 covered terrace 7 storage 8 operable facade with wind organ

> Longitudinal Section through meeting rooms, cafe, and dining area 38

Uitwaaien: A Walk in the Wind


> Street elevation

> Rear elevation

“Walkers are 'practitioners of the city,' for the city is made to be walked. A city is a language, a repository of possibilities, and walking is the act of speaking that language, of selecting from those possibilities. Architecture limits where one can walk, but the walker invents other ways to go.” - Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking

> Cross Section through sauna, artist residence, and meeting rooms Design + Research

39


Michelle Li | 2023

who controls seed?

seed saving and sharing

exchanging seed stories and knowledge

seed to table

06 Seed Sharing Stories Four corporations—Bayer, Corteva, ChemChina and Limagrain—own over 50% of the world’s seed supply, dominating the global food supply. In response, the seed sharing community supports cultivation activism towards seed sovereignty and making sustainable gardening practices an intergal part of urban life. Seed Sharing Stories is an interactive platform to share initiatives, recipes, knowledge, and experiences about seeds and growing food. Connecting gardeners to gardeners, the aim is to map the networks and narratives behind seed sharing. Ranging from fieldwork, mapping, drawing, and ethnographic study by popular media, the research was driven by three questions: 1. Where do you get your seed? 2. Who controls seed? 3. How does seed sharing encourage the exchange of new and traditional knowledge, recipes, and cultures? Follow the seed from its origin, the garden, kitchen, and back to seed. Experience Seed Sharing Stories here: https://tinyurl.com/cte4snsa 40

Seed Sharing Stories

project type fieldwork, ethnographic research, gardening, web design location backyard garden, city of toronto, global seed sharing community supervisor Jane Hutton software Rhino, Arcgis, Illustrator, Adobe XD


> Subsidaries of Bayer and Monsanto revealing global influence of agrochemical companies on the distribution of seeds

> Drawing plant change over time

Design + Research

41


Michelle Li | 2023

> Seed-to-table stop motion animation

> Kitchen garden design 42

Seed Sharing Stories


> Planting calender

> The garden becomes a meeting place for shared seeds (May and August 2020) Design + Research

43


> Logements 60 Boulevard Desgranges Sceaux

07 Marchi Architects Paris - Summer 2019 Marchi Architectes is an architecture firm whose design work focuses on single-family residential, interior design, cultural buildings, and adaptive reuse projects. As an architectural intern, I worked extensively on the design and construction phases of a farmhouse renovation outside of Grandola, Portugal, including the production of renderings, physical and 3D modelling, and the schematic design of the guest house. I assisted in a variety of residential and cultural projects including a residential complex competition in Sceaux and the adaptive reuse of the former Central Post Office in Versailles, where I produced diagrams, renderings, and 3D models.

44

Marchi Architectes


> Farmhouse renovation

> Guest house Professional Practice

45


Michelle Li | 2023

> Toronto Botanical Gardens Expansion Project

08 PMA Landscape Architects Toronto - Summer 2022 At PMA, I worked with senior landscape architects on the various public projects, from urban parks, residential and institutional green spaces, playgrounds, and garden design. I played a key role in the schematic design phase of the Toronto Botanical Gardens Expansion Project where I conducted precedent research on botanical gardens and created design studies of the renovation of the drive shed, adaptative reuse of the barn, entry walk garden, entry building, bus shelter, and various landscape elements. I produced massing studies, 3D models, orthographic drawings, and renders that informed the evolution of the design. > Entry Walk Garden Design

46

PMA Landscape Architects


> Drive Shed Renovation Massing Studies

Professional Practice

47


Michelle Li | 2023

09 Peripatetic Peripatētikós (Greek) or peripatetic, translates as “given to walk about.” Cycling between four- and eight-month study and work terms, Waterloo Architecture’s program embodies the idea of learning through moving from one location to another. Peripatetic is an independent project that shares conversations, photographs, sketches, writings, and reflections of student experiences both within and outside the workplace. The range of experiences—from exploring a city on foot, to adapting to a different office culture, to creative initiatives—deepens our relationships with what we study in school to push the boundaries of architecture and design.

With contributions across four continents, Part One: From Place to Place shares travel stories and observations of different geographical and cultural landscapes. Part Two: Between Here and There focuses on the creative interests that students bring with them while travelling. Part Three: The Road Less Traveled, takes a step beyond conventional architecture practices to explore alternative workplaces and entrepreneurial co-ops. Peripatetic provides a resource on the pathways in the co-op program through first-hand accounts—interviews, articles, and drawings—of how students navigate different working and living cultures. Peripatetic was made with Leela Keshav. View the publication here: https://issuu.com/ peripatetic/docs/peripatetic_fall_2020

48

Peripatetic


Publication

49



Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.