Architectural Portfolio

ARCHITECTURAL PORTFOLIO

BY MINA LI

Dr Paolo Stracchi

Director Master of Architecture,

School of Architecture, Design & Planning

The University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning

To Whom It May Concern,

14 December 2023

It is with great enthusiasm that I write this recommendation letter for Mina Li. I had the pleasure of teaching and mentoring Mina in our Design Studio (MARC5010, Sem 22022), a part of the Master of Architecture degree at the University of Sydney.

Throughout the semester, Mina consistently demonstrated an impressive blend of talent, unique creativity, and dedication. Her passion and commitment to achieving excellence in her work were evident.

In my studio, Mina undertook a project focused on Design for Construction. Her work specifically involved reimagining the intricate assembly process used in the lateral bolting system of the Sydney Opera House during the 1960s, employing innovative robotic strategies.

Throughout her time in the studio, Mina consistently demonstrated a systematic approach. She excelled in producing high-quality, historically informed technical research.

Additionally, Mina's exemplary work was recently showcased at the Museum of Sydney during a public talk about the construction of the Sydney Opera House. There, she presented her project to the audience, further demonstrating her qualities as an engaging speaker.

In conclusion, Mina is an exceptionally talented and dedicated individual. I am confident in her abilities and potential, and I wholeheartedly recommend her for any future endeavors or opportunities she seeks. Her aptitude, combined with her passion for architecture and design, ensures that she will continue to achieve great successes in her career.

Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Paolo Stracchi

Senior Lecturer in Architectural Technology

Program Director, Master of Architecture

The University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design & Planning

http://sydney.edu.au

Mina Li

0452 470 922

minali1999@hotmail.com

English/Mandarin/Cantonese

SUMMARY

I am a graduate Master of Architecture student at the University of Sydney. As a recent graduate, I am seeking a challenging job that enables me to develop further in the field of architecture as well as in the professional world. With my excellent skills in visualisation and graphics, I am enthusiastic to investigate conceptual work and delve into technical solutions.

EDUCATION

2022-2023

2018-2020

2016-2017

EXPERIENCE

Aug - Nov 2021

Mar - Jun 2021

The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Master of Architecture

The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Bachelor of Design in Architecture

NBSC Mackellar Girls Campus

HSC - State ranking 9th in math ext

Tongyuan Architectural Design Consulting Co., Ltd

Architectural Intern

WENSU Design & Construction Co., Ltd

Architectural Intern

For both internships, I have assisted head architects in residential property extensions, full renovations, and commercial property interior design. Responsibilities include concept design and research, current state assessment, design drawings, 3D modelling and rendering. I also presented to the client on final design proposals and engaged clients throughout projects for updates and feedbacks.

AWARDS & EXHIBITION

2022

2022

2023

SOFTWARE SKILLS:

Modelling applications

• Rhino

• Sketchup

• AutoCAD

• Revit

Project selected for Exhibition @ARUP

Project selected for USYD Super Crit

Project presented at Museum of Sydney

Render application

• V-ray

• Lumion

Visual applications

• Photoshop

• Illustrator

• Indesign

• Premiere

4 X 4

500 Student Housing

a student housing block that redefines modes of sharing

In 4 x 4 Student Housing, each unit is a module of 16 people, consisting of two zones: private and shared. Each student occupies a bedroom for sleeping, changing, and storing personal belongings. Every two bedrooms share a winter garden, and every four share a set of common household amenities, including a bathroom and kitchenette. Every 16 bedrooms share a double-height outdoor space in the middle, serving for larger-scale social events.

As its inhabitants explore their identity in the community between solitary and social, the building respects this openness of choices by constructing a gradience to balance between independence, intimacy, and collective. Its answer to the site and brief is affordable and durable with a minimalist aesthetic.

KEY WORDS: sharing livestyle, levels of intimacy, boundaries, collective and independence

Group Acadamic Project

Mina Li, Greta He, Monica Chen

03/2022 - 06/2022

MARC5000 Induction Studio

42-50 Paramatta Road, Sydney, NSW, AU

The boundaries between every two layers are ambiguous, shifting from open to closed, creating multiple spatial possibilities in different scenarios.

Imagine when two kitchens of four are opened to the central shared space, they can serve 16 people of the whole module with minimal extra devices.

Interior render

Shared living space (16 students)

Typical floor & Ground floor plan

Architectural drawing

TypicalFloor

GroundFloor

Elevation & Section

Architectural drawing

Women-only communal bathing

breaking through a new disciplinary regime of beauty

In the context of internet age, beauty discourse spreads itself through social media to every corner of our lives. Prescriptive beauty norms have become the solid base of not only fashion industry but also the inexorable law of many gender-related creations. The new disciplinary regime of beauty was erected in a more hidden and harmful way, perpetually guiding women’s ‘free choices’.

In this study, I proposed a single-sex bathhouse project for women, exploring the possibilities of liberating appearance pressure for women. This project will discuss the strength of communal bathing and how it provides opportunities for women to reassess, reconnect, and rethink their relationships with their own bodies.

KEY WORDS: prescriptive beauty norms, communal bathing, single-sex space, gazes, self-identities, third person perspective, internalised objectification

Individual Acadamic Project

Mina Li

08 /2023 - 11/2023

MARC6000 Thesis Studio Taylor Square Substation No.6 and Conveniences

Concept research & Site investment

I focus on a site on Oxford Street where pedestrians and visitors from nearby facilities use the plaza, creating an isolated zone around a heritage property in Taylor Square.

This creates discomfort for rare visitors, prompting the author to consider the daily 'gazed upon' situation faced by women

“Up to the end of 1914, according to a council publication, only £1,064 was spent on women’s public lavatories, while more than £15,000 was spent on public lavatories for men.”

The bathhouse project, centered around reuse, reveal, and reconnect, necessitates the excavation of an underground bathhouse.

The new underground platform uses a 'cut language' to map invisible boundaries and create a vapor void, interpreting relationships between gazers and gazed upon.

The staircase leads to a buffer zone floor for female patrons, ensuring privacy and encouraging them to reassess their relationships with their bodies.

This women-only bathhouse programme is proposed to draw attention to issues of prescriptive beauty norms and look for possibilities of liberating appearance pressure for women.

The power of collective exposure is enormous, as it will be a chance reconnect women’s bodies.

exposure in women-only spaces chance to rethink, release, and

The strength of redefining and transforming a space with the past of ignoring women’s needs into a space which is completely designed for women is a strong move to raise awareness of past and vigilance for more gender-related phenomena.

Model photos 1: 50

Living in the City

Rothwell Research Studio: Lacaton & Vassal Architects

The workshop builds on the Rothwell Symposium (2729.04.2021) to explore a range of questions associated with the Rothwell program led by the current co-chairs, French architects Lacaton & Vassal.

This report looks specifically into the twin towers of Waterloo, Matavai and Turanga. The research aims at improving the quality of the existing dwellings, and also radically seeking for possible solutions of densification. On Stage 1 of our research, we identify the characteristics of the current living environment for the tower inhabitants. On Stage 2, we propose two transformation schemes for the existing structures to provide better apartments. On Stage 3, learning from the values of the twin towers, we discussed the possibility of building a new structure on the site to accommodate more residents.

KEY WORDS: densification, social and affordable housing, generosity, living environment renovation, materialities

Group Acadamic Project

Mina Li, Greta He, Grace Guan & Monica Chen 07/2021 - 09/2021 ARCH9040 Rothwell Research Studio

Waterloo Estate, Sydney, NSW, AU

Observing and interviewing tower residents, we identified high average age and low mobility as key factors for potential improvements, focusing on improving indoor environment.

The most dominant window inside an apartment, successfully introduces beautiful view and sunlight into the room.

The balconies during the 2017 #WeLiveHere Project symbolized community memory, as people lit their windows to protest against the city’s plan to demolish two towers.

Improving & Increasing

Variations of facades Northeast Unit

PROPOSAL I: 8 → 4 → 8

PROPOSAL II: 8 → 4 → 10

The blind walls and walls with small windows as an opportunity to add attachments and added an extra bedroom and an extra balcony for each studio. And by doing this, we protruded a new slab out of the original façade and expanded the perimeter of the building. This means we can more windows, and the more windows, the more inhabitable rooms, the more residents can live a better life of quality.

Design details

Balcony transformation

The original balcony, a symbol of residents’ memories, will be preserved during renovation. Units facing north, east, and west convert hard-to-use balconies into bay windows for outdoor enjoyment. North units use balconies as built-in cabinets and storage spaces, enlarging storage space.

Existing Proposed

Open up the tower

The proposal enhances the tower’s natural light and views by transforming the existing balcony into a bay window, creating a comfortable seating area.

A new winter garden, situated next to the living and bedroom areas, provides natural light and diverse views, particularly beneficial for elderly residents who can invite friends for social interaction.

Facade strategy

The building’s residents (especially the elderly residents) will enjoy a large polycarbonate wintergarden, shading, and an inner thermal curtain to reduce heat gain and operational energy, utilizing a cheaper and easier-toinstall material.

The Urban Oasis

a mixed use aquatic park bringing restoration to dense urban

The project site is at 14-26 Wattle Street Pyrmont, an inner suburb that is undergoing considerable change as new multiunit residential projects are constructed in an area characterised by large brick warehouse buildings, terrace housing, apartment projects and the Sydney fish markets. As the population increases and the demographic composition changes, there is increasing diversity and an opportunity to explore new building typologies and mixed uses. The URBAN OASIS is such a project.

The URBAN OASIS – a place for exercise, relaxation and entertainment in a club-like atmosphere operating from 5am till Midnight - bringing the restorative qualities of water to a dense urban area with a mix of swimming, floating, eating, drinking and relaxation.

KEY WORDS: relaxation, healing, physical and mental wellbeing, diversity, mixed-use aquatic park, experience of water, connection with nature

Individual Acadamic Project

Mina Li

03/2020 - 06/2020

BDES3026 Architecture Studio 3A

14-26 Wattle Street Pyrmont, Sydney, NSW, AU

Site investment

Goals

The space is intentionally designed to be a place that interacts well with surrounding and encourages people to visit.

SECTION B

Requirements

- Main pool with minimum dimension of 25m – for swimming & relaxation.

- The main column-free space must be able to accommodate a 30m hypothetical circle.

- The pool space shall take advantage of natural light and ventilation.

Model photos (1 : 200)

A Spherical Puzzle

Connecting the Segments -- The (re)making of SOH

The Sydney Opera House was designed like a intricated spherical puzzle of more than 2000 precast concrete segments, which are connected in both longitudinal and lateral directions. There are various segments, depending on its location and connection methods, revealing the unprecedented structure complexity.

This project focus on the assembly of Sydney Opera House and the possibility of introducing robotic assistance in its bolting process, due to the high risk of working in construction industry. This research and experiment successfully visualize the assembly and bolting process of the SOH, providing training material for similar projects and potentially serving as a prototype for future robots working on sloped or curved facades.

KEY WORDS: robotic arms, construction safety, digital modelling, cost-effective, future rapid construction

Group Acadamic Project

Mina Li, Greta He, Monica Chen

08/2022 - 11/2022

MARC5010 Pure Imagination

Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney, NSW, AU

Research & Prototype

Design experiment

Tool design iterations

LAB experiment video construction model video

Change from threading to placing

The original method of installing threaded rods consisted of threading from side holes and adjusting their positions

Outcomes & reflections Prototype

Robot Work Flow

1.Grip threaded rod

Robot Work Flow

The designed tool is at tached to gripper which connected to the robot arm. The gripper tool is firstly opened and then closed to grip the thread ed rod on designed sup port.

Phase II - Placing plate

1.Grip plate

Grip plate which is placed on supported structure

1.Grip threaded rod

The designed tool is attached to gripper which connected to the robot arm. The gripper tool is firstly opened and then closed to grip the threaded rod on designed support.

2. Place threaded rod in the model.

Move threaded rod and place it into the channel and release it. The movement follows the highlighted curve.

3. Grip and move

Grip rod and move horizontally, continue this process twice until it locates at desired position

Phase II - Placing threaded rod Inbalanced

2. Place threaded rod in the model.

Both the tool and the gripper are specially designed to grip the plate firmly.

Move threaded rod and place it into the channel and release it. The move ment follows the high lighted curve.

3. Grip and move

2. Move plate

Move plate and rotate to desired angle. The movement follows the highlighted curve.

Grip rod and move hori zontally, continue this process twice until it lo cates at desired position

3. Slot the plate into model

For

Trials & Results Design and Problem solving

Redesign plates

The change of segment reverses the original order of placing threaded rods and plates. The plates now have to be installed after the installation of threaded rods. Since the structure of segment changed, the plate’s shape has to change to be inserted into the pocket. The new plate has similar channels that face the segment and two holes for robot to grip.

The reason why these plates’ channels have the opposite direction to the segment is to avoid movement of threaded rod. Some segments on shell are nearly perpendicular to the ground surface. The threaded rods might move if without fixture. In construction process, the plate and rods will be fixed in place by grouting.

As with grippers for threaded rods, gripper for plates requires high precision of location. If the target is not precisely at the midpoint of two moving parts, the gripper will get stuck at the middle.

Push the plate into the pocket. The slot has reasonable tolerance for the plate to go in. Gripper for plate prototype & installation. Successful

Physical model making

Digital modelling