2019 Academic Work

Space &

Time Selected Works/ 2016 - 2019 Minhui Zhou

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East Of Time Rotational Watch Tower Chasing Sunlight daily GSAPP Core I Studio Instructor: Alfred Koetter Solo Project 2016 Fall

The site locates on a neglected triangle public green- space besides (east of) Union Square. Many people stop to activate around the statues on the square, but the site is a by-product of urban planning shaped by surrounding roads. What if we activate the area with more popularity and insight?

Making a view-port which changes from time to time observing the statues on the square would be a great solution. With the structure of the view-port (hinges and a pivot), it can rotate, fold and unfold from sunrise to sunset. People can observer different parts of multiple statues getting lightened from the east of union square with the change of time, the transformation blurs the difference between walls, roofs, floors, platforms and staircases also provides enormous possibilities of multiple uses.

The site locates on a neglected triangle public green- space besides (east of) Union Square. Many people stop to activate around the statues on the square, but the site is a by-product of urban planning shaped by surrounding roads. What if we activate the area with more popularity and insight?

Making a view-port which changes from time to time observing the statues on the square would be a great solution. With the structure of the view-port (hinges and a pivot), it can rotate, fold and unfold from sunrise to sunset. People can observer different parts of multiple statues getting lightened from the east of union square with the change of time, the transformation blurs the difference between walls, roofs, floors, platforms and staircases also provides enormous possibilities of multiple uses.

The Spiral Art Booth Linear Experience with Light daily/monthly GSAPP Advanced II Studio Instructor: Tatiana von Preussen & Catherine Pease Solo Project 2018 Fall

Costal flooding and sea level rise has become a serious issue for all around the globe, and as for Manhattan as well, which was verified by hurricane Sandy in 2012. However, flooding resilence projects could mean more than mere dams or dikes.

By extending the existed urban fabric of Manhattan, I created a continuous sea wall with a lifted canopy runs along the perimeter of Manhattan with diverse programs under including museums, art craft studios, factories, housing, even FTA (free tax trade zones) to boost economy. When the flood comes, the sea wall can protect people and the programs under and the canopy can provide people with more green space and activities boosting economy.

Architectural forms start with geometries.

In this primary exercise, I started with analyzing and learning from the classics, a series of projects done by the architect Le Corbusier from 1929 ~ 1959 in the form of spiral including Mundaneum, Villa Savoye, Musée à croissance illimitée to museum of western art in Tokyo in 1959. I first learned that the geometry of spiral can be created from any primary shapes and it's an continuous geometry that can grow forever without boundaries between interior and outside.

In this art booth design specific to a video artist, Rachel Rose, I analyzed the requirement of light on video art production, either in production and display and then distributed the required light through design along the central circulation, which is a spiral staircase, also related to Rachel's topic of unlimited space and growth, to achieve the effect I want.

Unfolded S

Section

Model

First Floor Plan

Basement Plan

First Floor

Basement

Playground Library The library as a playground, permanent than snow daily/seasonal GSAPP Core II Studio Instructor: Benjamin Cadena Solo Project 2017 Spring

"If the child rediscovers the city, the city will rediscover the children - ourselves."

The city is a playground, so is the library, permanent than snow.

For the proto building, I created some ribbon forms blurring in/out (studio topic), also dissolves the rigid corner and weird touch probably offering a softer one, which may also offer interesting effects on sound. Then I applied and altered the forms to the design after the analysis of the site (soundmap and soundscapes and necessity of the service for visually impaired and children).

Considering with site and program, I come up with the form of the library first by the "crush" of sound combined with a yard which I named all as a "sound core" and arrange my programs with different requirements around it with the ribbon form to organize them inside. I also made some of it playful with the shape for kids to focusing on their physical senses. The next step I'm gonna do is to dissolve the rigid outside box or maybe develop the weird useless space when the curve meets the rigid corner into something fun with systematic slides.

Reading Space Type 1

Reading Space Type 2

Reading Space Type 3

Reading Space Type 4

Reading Space Type 5

Reading Space Type 6

Section

For the proto building, I created some ribbon forms blurring in/out (studio topic), also dissolves the rigid corner and weird touch probably offering a softer one, which may also offer interesting effects on sound.

Then I applied and altered the forms to the design after the analysis of the site (soundmap and soundscapes and necessity of the service for visually impaired and children). Considering with site and program, I come up with the form of the library first by the "crush" of sound combined with a yard which I named all as a "sound core" and arrange my programs with different requirements around it with the ribbon form blurred the inside/outside to organize them inside.

I also made some of it playful with the shape for kids to focusing on their physical senses. The next step I'm gonna do is to dissolve the rigid outside box or maybe develop the weird useless space when the curve meets the rigid corner into something fun with systematic slides.

As shown in the plans and sections, there is a chemistry between the curves and straight lines.

Section A-A

Ground Floor

4th Floor

In - Between City is House and House is City, by the Wall seasonal/annual GSAPP Core III Studio Instructor: Emmett Zeifman Partner: Jiachen Xu 2017 Fall

The studio's challenge is to re-imagine housing, an ancient and new topic. The history of human settlement has been thousands of years, but in such a long time, and it's always a system of sliding bar moving between public and private. Does it exist a simple move that could bring us an appropriate balance of these two? Here is the start point of our design, and we try to achieve this through the use of the conventional architectural element -- wall.

What could occupying a wall provide to us? The high efficiency combined with dynamic life of various programs? Vast open space that could bring the community together? Clear layers and system of living? Most exciting, the potential of the settlement itself as a city and at the same time, the complex like an essential house? What does the coming In-Between mean to us?

The studio's challenge is to re-imagine housing, an ancient and new topic. The history of human settlement has been thousands of years, but in such a long time, and it's always a system of sliding bar moving between public and private. Does it exist a simple move that could bring us an appropriate balance of these two?

Aggregation Model

The units are combined from modular blocks of rooms from two sizes so there could be multiple types of dwellings based on the users' needs and itself can grow as a system when the user's family grows. And we designed a half-private sharing space between one and one's neighbour so there could be multiple aggregation options than just stacking. The aggregation would be like an interlocking burr puzzle.

Modules of Rooms

Units & Facade Strategy

Activity & Circulation

Balcony & Corridor

Unit Aggregation

Aggregation of Units

Typical Floor Plan1:64

The studio's challenge is to re-imagine housing, an ancient yet new topic. The history of human settlement has been thousands of years, but in such a long time, and it's always a system of sliding bar moving between public and private.

Does it exist a simple move that could bring us an appropriate balance of these two?

Through using of elements of wall, we were able to create a hierarchy of linear interior experience in contrast to a broad sharing experience in the community, which was organized as a series of courtyards similar to rooms in a house corresponding to the surrounding context. The widen of users' horizon completes the experience.

Typical Floor Plan

View from Entrance Plaza

West Ele

evation vation 1:32

Public Share Space

Neighbour Share Space

Section

n A-A 1:32

One-bedroom Interior

Corridior

First Floor of Loft One-bedroom Unit

Layers of Elevation

Aggregation

Flow To Descend Is to Ascend seasonal/annual GSAPP Adv V Studio Instructor: Mario Gooden Solo Project 2019 Spring

The force of nature has shaped human society more than we imagined.

The slave trade wouldn't exist if there was no currents nor trade winds on the Atlantic Ocean. It is not just goods and people are transported by the currents, so are hurricanes.

Our site, Cape Verde, once a busy hub on the across-Atlantic-slave trade route, is also where catastrophic hurricanes, such as Irma arrive in North America were born.

In fact, a hurricane is in fact a system of water and air as antipodes in section, using the water surface as the mirror plan. It started its trajectory with the currents, which has shaped our culture and world today since long time ago.

According to a scientific study that there are already signs of currents slowing down because of climate change.

What does it mean to us and the society in the future?To study the phenomenon in the ocean also needs knowledge about what’s happening in the sky. As the sea is a mirror of the sky. To descend is to ascend.

To achieve the equilibrium of this structure, a balance room based on the principle and prototype of airship and submarine is designed. Based on its relevant relationship to water, this room will be constructed from elastic membrane structure that either takes in water or hydrogen get from electrolysis of the salty-sea water so it can flow up or sink down to deeper ocean.

The expanse or shrink of this membrane structure also changes the condition of this core of the structure consistently, just as animal's lungs, the visitor can see the building "breathing" as they entered the experience. For structural reasons, this piece is sited at the center of the building to balance the entire structure, where people entered and decide to go up or down to explore this journey.

Where All Balance Magic Happens

Up in the Air

Deep in the Sea

To study the phenomenon in the ocean also needs knowledge about what’s happening in the sky.

Thus, we need a dual structure in this facility to provide space for both marine research and research to the sky, just as space for artists and scientists.

In fact, a hurricane is in fact a system of water and air as antipodes in section, using the water surface as the mirror plan. According to a scientific study that there are already signs of currents slowing down because of climate change.

What does it mean to us and the society in the future?To study the phenomenon in the ocean also needs knowledge about what’s happening in the sky. As the sea is a mirror of the sky. To descend is to ascend, with a mirror surface.

Flood Hacking Amphibious Community Production Mechanism decades/seasonal GSAPP Advanced IV Studio Instructor: Caitlin G. K. Taylor Solo Project 2018 Spring

Water used to have a very close relationship to human’s development including agriculture in history. However, with the development of technology, we’ve been moved further away from water. It seems like the tendency would only be increased by the future challenge of climate change and sea level rise.

By hacking flooding, a serious issue might be worse under the background and proposing to decode its possible future influence on agriculture as a system, my project integrating ecology, engineering and architecture tries to correspond to future climate change in a positive way and minimal interventions to turn it into people’s potential fortune while bringing people closer to each other.

Hudson Valley, located on northern New York state, although not as famous as Florida or other states during the hurricane season, still has been troubled by the flooding during that period a lot every year, causing numerous lost on people's lives and property annually.

Flooding is overbank flow over channel’s capacity covered floodplains during high discharge period. River avulsion can change the entire or part of the channels which further relocated the floodplains, it’s not something you want to happen. To avoid entire avulsion, always keep the riverbed deep. Local partial avulsion (the sub stream of the channels back to original) is good for flood resilience.

Flooding Isuue of the Valley

So to serve both the goal of long-term agriculture development and instant effects of flooding, my concept here is to build a future-growing study center focusing on rice and other aquatic plants providing community space, farmers’ market and promoting new life style related to water here on the creek between the two engineering islands guiding the creek. And outdoor community space of community gardens and related hydro landscape would acted as flooding mechanism. And rice paddies meeting both long term and instant goals would be placed on the edge to link the project.

Besides having more rainfalls and flooding, some crops we take for granted today may not be available anymore, such as apples, an important agriculture product from this region while some other crops such as rice might be able to grow here in the future. We may even be able to plant almonds here in next century.

So based on the facts of getting hotter with more water, I have 3 suggestions on agriculture development and possible crop switch, grow crops asking for more water and heat resisted, i.e. rice, developing techniques such as floating bed plantation, introducing culture of growing and cuisine of aquatic plants.

Agricultural and Ecological Values of the Valley

Research: Live with Water All around the World Here I also studied from built projects that how could we prevent flooding with minimal intervention. So it turns out that by inserting islands into the river and design and keep the depth of the river, flood can be hacked and river can be kept clean. So here is just my proposed sites to take the action on the creek based on certain criteria.

Study Center Plan

Study Center Section

Master Plan

For the flooding mechanism, it’s made up of four main parts that would be filled with water gradually when flood comes. They are rice paddy on the riverside, natural channel systems connecting 300 mini ponds that residents can apply for as community gardens and playgrounds might be filled with filtered water as water theme parks.

Stage 4 - 30" (relevant to bank) Riverbank

> Overflow

Rice Paddy

> Cover & Absord

Channels Filled with Grass

> Channels Filled

Mini Containers

> Mini Ponds

Playgrounds/ Public Facilities

> Watertheme Parks

Rice Paddy

Mini Ponds as Storage & Social

Stage 0

Masterplan Changes

Normal Rice Paddy

Playgrounds

Flood

The system that made up of rice paddy,canals, ponds and multi-functional pools will act differently on rainy days (with floods) compare to performance on sunny days. Based on the level of the floods and precipitation, the rice paddy will absorb the flood first and then they will be lead to the ponds twhere residents usually use as storage hrough the canals. The multi - purpose pools such as playgrounds will be amphibiotic during this time as well to store the filted clean water.

Scene

Sunny Day Scene

Study Cente

The study institution floats on the water so its relationship to water changes all the time. It has labs and research rooms studying the acquatic plants and new bio-material developed on them on the 1st floor, while serves the community with a community farmers' market and a community center on the 2nd floor, together with a resturant promoting acquatic cusine, a library and a lecture room.

Study Center 2nd Floor

the Art Tower of Babel A Parable under Global Climate Change bicentennial/post-human GSAPP Advanced V Studio Instructor: Tatiana von Preussen & Catherine Pease Solo Project 2018 Fall

The project started from the discussion of “gentrification”, which can be seen as a cliché these days. One thing to be sure is that the inner logic of how capital works never really changed no matter how technology develops. Different from a normal project that ends up with architects trying to solve a problem, through a game indicating the social structure in the project, the Art Tower of Babel, as an interactive narrative, encourages people to take part in the development of this project and shows diverse possibilities of the tower based on different groups’ choices although the chance of ending with these possibilities might not be the same.

Thus, the Art Tower of Babel is not just a building, but also as a project keeps growing, an interactive novel, a game, a parable, an installation and a display of a series of possibilities.

It is a project born out of a specific site yet being site-less, the story began with the specific context yet becomes a global parable of gentrification as it is a common problem worldwide.

Everyone knows there is climate change. But how will it affects the post-capital society still remains unknown to us. Will it enlarge the gap already exist between classes? Or will we all unite togather?

Through a game indicating the social structure, the Art Tower of Babel, as an interactive narrative, encourages people to take part in the development of this project and shows diverse possibilities of the tower and a character lives in it based on different groups’ choices.

Your choice and voice counts.

The story is told through a character’s diary of the development of the project under all kinds of power, the choices the audience made in the game will not only affect the project but also the character’s own destiny.

E

STIK

01

02

03

04

05

06

Artists' Victory

Capitalists' Victory

ES

IM 9T

!!!

Workers' Victory

Game Play

Main Character's Diary

The story is told through a character’s diary of the development of the project under all kinds of power, the choices the audience made in the game will not only affect the project but also the character’s own destiny.

Context Plan of Site in South Bronx

Context Section of South Bronx

Context Elevation of South Bronx

Site as the Safe Island in High Tide 2100

Site as a Recycle Junkyard

Lazarro and his friends decided to build up the community with modules so the artist can expand the studio conveniently later and it easily forms a neogotation between members.

The Musician's Possible Unit:

The sound module box would be used as studio baed on the musician's needs.

The Photographer's Possible Unit:

The shadow of the beams would create ideal environment for the photographer's work.

The Sculptor's Possible Unit:

Modules will be assembled in a sculpture way, the multi-floor working unit will provide the artist with enough space to create and display works

The Painter's Possible Unit:

The garden in the center provides natural inspirations for the artist, light, shadow and seasonal change will show in the studio next to it.

Screenshot of Lazarro's Chat On Socia

cial Media After the Project's Completion

Phase 1 Right after the completion of this project, most realized as Lazarro and his friend imagined, the artists' housing are very close to their own studios and galleries. The community workshop located on the base welcomed all the artists and they will work there with materials collected and recycled. There are also public staircases left in the project to introduce the artists' works to the public.

Phase 2 However, things started to change with the rise of water level. The flood came and the artists had to move up to abandon their old studios and works being submerged.

The media report on the project made it aware to the public and many artworks raised people’s intrest in investing in them as they valued up because of their short existence. In this phase, small retailers and internatioanl chain-galleries came to this project as well.

Phase 3 The project has became more public with the raise of water level. Many facilities and institutions such as cinemas, theaters, libriaries and even a shopping mall have been intergrated into the project. Some artists started mass production and earn great fame and fortune in this stage while the majority started to suffer from the same strees they tried to avoid before and living spce compressed.

At the same time, new technology transformed the submerged abandoned units into data storgae containers, the short travel distance improved the speed data transmits and also the sea water can cool down the system efficiently in a sustainable way.

Capital Winners' Ending

Ending 1

Worker Win

Endin

nners' Ending

ing 2

Artist Winners' Ending

Ending 3

Capitalists, welcome to your f

Ending 1 -- The Fragranc

As a background for this ending, the water level kept rising, and the in an obvious speed. The project has been aroused the attention from infrasture and they decided to turn it into a luxury apartment. The ra water long ago but not surprisingly, the crazy rich can transfe

The rich will be the only living in the physical space with all kinds of the technology of projection while others living in the simulated virtua replaced by machines and artificial intelligence, and together with th “matrix cube� and keeping on creating virtual experience selling to th

first ending!

nce of Bills

e area of lands available on the planet has shrank m luxury real-estate developers for its well-equipped ailroad next to the site has been submerged under er their living materials through helicoptors.

f physical objects as a privilege with the mature of al space through their entire life. Workers would be he artists, they will be put into the simulated virtual the rich as a commercial product in endless cycles.

Worker brothers and sisters, congrats o

Ending 2 -- People’s Vict

This ending would be achieved if the workers can have enough suc equal rights with help of an artificial intelligence, in a cost of shari an open source.

All the survivors will have the same right to the same housing, sunli behaviors will be under watch all the time to make sure no one ut center keep reflecting the surrounding environment and play the The data center on the top, as well as being “the People’s Galle censorship 24 hours a day

ongrats on yout victory!

e’s Victory

ough successful strikes. Everyone will have definite t of sharing all its data and privacy with others as rce.

ng, sunlight, fresh air and green space while their o one utilize the secret to profit. The mirrors in the play the videos recording people’s life at nights. e’s Gallery” displays all the people’s works after urs a day.

Creative people, cheers with whatever you have!

Ending 3 -- Art of the Ruin If there is still at least one artist survived after certain rounds of the game (determined by the number of the players), the game will enter “the Artist Ending”. Under this ending, a catastrophe of a unprecedented tsunami no one expected hit the tower and the water rushed through the windows of the rich to their homes and only the artists in these virtual “matrix cubes” survived. The tower became a ruin after the tsunami while the water level dropped down sharply.

Those artists escaping from the cracked cubes started a new life with doubts as they all lost their memories before.

Making in 2D/3D/4D GSAPP Visual/ Tech Series NA GSAPP Visual/ Tech Series Instructor: V.A. Solo/ Group 2016 - 2019

What is drawing for architecture today? What is model making for architecture today? Are there possible new alternatives to narrate architecture? Can the space be presented in non-traditional way?

What's the relationship between the physical being/ state of the place we're physically in to the abstract concept of "space"?

Our world today is influenced by invisible digital forces, or the ephemeral power dynamics of class, culture, race, gender, and power. How do we record and communicate those spaces and those forces? What range of tools and (un)conventions would we need to represent time/space/matter in flux?

That's the job of GSAPP's courses in visual and tech series to explore these questions. And here are some selections of my journey.

Model Making: GSAPP Tech - Tensile Surface/ Instructor: Robert Marino/ Group Project: Wenjing Zhang, Ivy Wang, Minhui Zhou/ 2018 Fall

Model Making: GSAPP Visual - ADR I/ Instructor: Josh Uhl / Solo Project/ 2016 Fall

Model Making: GSAPP Visual - ADR I/ Instructor: Josh Uhl / Solo Project/ 2016 Fall

Diagram :Precedent Analysis/ Instructor: Benjamin Cadena/ Solo Project/ 2017 Spring

Drawing : GSAPP Visual - ADR I/ Instructor: Josh Uhl/ Solo Project/ 2016 Fall

Instruct Rendering : GSAPP Visual - Techniques of the Ultrareal/ Instruc

tor: Phillip Crupi, Joseph Brennan/ Solo Project/ 2018 Spring