[OUTDATED] Nathan Y.C Chan Architecture Portfolio 2023

Hi there!

My name is Nathan Chan and I am a second year student at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture. I am seeking a 4-month placement at your studio beginning September 2023.

My work focuses on creating designs that are innovative, experimental, and expressive. I enjoy creating spaces that focus on community engagement, allowing users to experience the intrinsic nature of the site that surrounds them. I believe that architecture should stand as icons of cultural diversity and nurture intimate human interaction.

The following selection of works highlight my graphic abilities and design thinking through various methods of representation. I hope my work will help you get to know me better as a person and designer. I look forward to working with your firm!

Education

University of Waterloo | School of Architecture | 2021 - Present

Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Honours Bachelor of Architectural Studies Candidate (B.A.S Hons), co-op

Experience

Student Intern | Revery Architecture (formerly Bing Thom Architects) | 2023

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Participated in project meetings and developed architectural solutions for the client

Produced conceptual renderings and drawings for various design reports

Assisted in Interior Design: Designed and produced construction drawings for custom furniture

Sales Advisor | Uniqlo | 2022

Coquitlam, BC, Canada

Performed all functions regarding receiving, stock, and housekeeping-related tasks

Engaged with customers enthusiastically to drive sales

Processed cash and credit payments as a cashier using point-of-sale (POS) systems

Crew Member | McDonald’s | 2020-2021

Surrey, BC, Canada

Practiced food safety in kitchen during preparation of meals

Demonstrated proficient time management skills

Learned how to work in a fast-paced environment while providing excellent customer service

Instructor’s Assistant | Under The GUI | 2020

Coquitlam, BC, Canada

Courses taught: Unity Intro, Unity Advanced

Provided 1 on 1 guidance to students with troubleshooting issues

Distinctions

Excellent Academic Standing | University of Waterloo | 2021 - Present

Cumulative average of above 80% for all study terms

President’s Scholarship of Distinction | University of Waterloo | 2021

Awarded for a cumulative entrance average of 95+

IB Art Design Award | Pacific Academy | 2021

Awarded to a student with the highest grade and exceptional work in class

Skills

3D & CAD

Rhino 3D

Revit

PanellingTools

Grasshopper

Cura

Enscape

VRay

Adobe Suite

Illustrator Photoshop

InDesign

After Effects

Premier Pro

Fabrication

Model Making

Hand Drafting

3D Printing

CNC Milling

Laser Cutting

Languages

English

Cantonese

To whom it may concern,

I would like to offer the following letter of recommendation for Nathan Chan. While undertaking a student internship with us from January 03 to April 28, 2023Nathan naturally evolved as a valuable supporting member of our design team. He worked diligently and passionately on a few of Revery’s projects including a landmark mixed-use urban development with 11 towers, commercial pavilions and an urban park. He also developed a highly crafted and innovative physical model of Revery’s Alberni tower showcasing his great skill and ingenuity with 3D printing and fabrication.

During his internship, Nathan quickly became a much loved and appreciated member of our team, beginning with his positive attitude and creative aptitude. Nathan’s commitment, versatility and efficiency greatly contributed to our team’s ability to meet our goals and deliverables.

Nathan showed tremendous skill and attention in developing both design and technical drawings, digital renderings and visualizations, and physical modelmaking. He also helped to develop content and organize the design report of our large mixed-use development.

Its easy to say that Nathan is a gifted and spirited individual. But to realize that he has yet to complete his second academic year at Architecture school – that is something truly hard to believe. He has shown a level of creativity, technical proficiency, curiosity, and passion that is well beyond his years. I strongly believe Nathan will achieve high status in his academic growth, and that he would make a tremendous member to any design-related organization.

If you any further questions regarding Nathan’s work at our office, please feel free to contact me directly.

Sincerely,

Amirali Javidan, Director – Revery Architecture, Inc. Architect AIBC

e: ajavidan@reveryarchitecture.com

t: 604-682-1881 X241

Cabin

Corktown Cultural Centre

Course

1B Design Studio

Supervisor Rick Andrighetti

Media

Rhino 7, Enscape, Photoshop, Illustrator

How can the built environment replenish communities in a post-pandemic world?

Placed in the heart of Riverdale, the Corktown Cultural Centre stands as a space that welcomes cultural diversity and advocates against racial discrimination. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Toronto Police Department recorded a 500% increase in reported hate crimes against Asians in 2021. As the city gradually opens its doors again, the community centre aims to restore disconnected communities in the Corktown region.

The ground level consists of a community kitchen, where cooking classes are held by local chefs of the area. On the second floor, a rooftop garden surrounds an inner courtyard, providing a space for extracurricular classes for various age groups. On the weekends, the community centre transforms into a vibrant gathering space, with market stands along the alleyway. The courtyard on the upper level becomes a performance stage, where communities can host gatherings for special occasions. A lattice membrane roof wraps and completes the building, sheltering the re-connected community underneath.

PLACEMENT

The community center faces towards the Joel Weeks park to improve community engagement

SITE ENGAGEMENT

Vertical lift doors create a seamless transition between park and the community center

MARKET

Market Stands & benches are placed along the alleyway to draw in bypassers from the main road

PERFORMANCE STAGE

Performance area encourages community learning and participation

LATTICE ROOF

The lattice roof structure and its translucent membrane creates a pavillion-like environment that is coherent with the features of the park

Don River

Joel Weeks Park

Thompson St

Davies Ave

Matilda St

Caroll St

Munro St

PTFE Glass Fibre Membrane

Cable Tension System

5” x 15” Timber Glulam Beam

5” x 8” Timber Glulam Beam Steel Node

Steel Rod to Node Connector

Glulam Timber & PTFE Roof

Concrete Filled Steel Column

Vertical Lift Garage Doors

PPC Coated Insulation

Concrete Footing

Cabin in Belcarra

Course

Media

126

What is it like living in-between the natural and built environment?

Sitting on the coast of Belcarra, British Columbia, Cabin in Belcarra celebrates the materiality and intricacies of its site, sitting within the steep rocky fjord of the Indian Arm. The home is sensitive to its surrounding environment, generating two radically different facades, one opening up to the inlet, and the other, exposing itself to the irregular rocky contours and forest behind.

The home highlights the relationship between the user’s circulation and the transition of site conditions—entering the home through a rocky dark cave in the garage and basement, to the calming forest and inlet on the ground floor, and finally the views of the mountains on the bedroom floor. This project aims to engage its users by dissolving the boundaries between the natural and built environment, with entryways that allow for the seamless transition between the exterior and interior.

Environmental Building Design

Supervisor Anna Beznogova

Rhino 7, MDF, Laser Cut Fabrication

Granville Island Footbridge

Course CISC Steel Bridge Competition 2022 Collaborators William Guinane

Supervisor Isabel Ochoa , Terri Meyer Boake

Skills Rhino 7, Enscape, Photoshop, Illustrator

How can we reconnect the modern city back to its roots?

In the heart of Vancouver, BC, Granville Island was first used as a commercial manufacturing site, housing factories and warehouses for nearby piers. However, the population growth in the late 20th century allowed the island to develop into a pedestrian focused market and cultural hub. Despite the change in atmosphere, the island still expresses an overall industrial aesthetic that features corrugated tin siding, cable supports, and bright red HSS piping, paying homage to the area’s history of manufacturing and metal work.

Despite its proximity to Downtown, access to the island is difficult, requiring a long walk along the vehicular focused Granville Bridge or a costly and slow ferry ride across the water. The Granville Island Footbridge reconnects the modern metropolis to its rich past, spanning between George Wainborn Park and the main market, taking aesthetic and structural cues from the existing structures.

GRANVILLE

Yaletown

False Creek

Granville Island

Galvinized Steel Threaded Bolt To Washer & Hex Nut w/ Three Coat Marine-Grade Yellow Finish (Typ. Finish)

AESS-2 Longitudinal Branch Plate, Butt & Fillet Welds Uniform & Smooth (Typ. Red Finish)

AESS-2 Pin Connection (Typ. Yellow Finish)

AESS-4 Concrete Filled High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) Steel HSS

316 Corrosion Resistant Steel Cable

AESS-4 Pin Connection (Typ. Yellow Finish)

Threaded Bolt Through Washer to Threaded HSLA Steel

AESS-4 Double Pin Connection Through Sheet with Contoured and Blended Fillet Welds

316 Corrosion Resistant Steel Cable

Heat Treated Wood Deck

Galvanized Steel T-Angles

316 Corrosion Resistant Steel Cable Cross Bracing

High Strength Low Allow Steel HSS Substructure

Concrete Filled HSS on Concrete Foundation

AESS-4 Stainless Steel W/ Three Coat MarineGrade (Typ. White Finish)

AESS-4 Stainless Steel Pin Connection, Single V-Groove Weld Contoured & Blended

AESS-4 Stainless Steel HSS Bench W/ Wood Seating TIed to Deck W/ Wood Screws

Heat Treated Ash Deck Tied to AESS-2 Galvanized Steel T-Angle W/ Lag Screws

Pin Connections to Horizontal HSS Members Allowed to Rotate on Folding Section, Held Stiff by Cable Cross Bracing on Flat Section

AESS-3 High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) Steel HSS (Typ. Red Finish), Butt Welds Ground Smooth & Filled

AESS-3 T-Clamp W/ Tension Control Colts (Typ. Yellow Finish)

AESS-3 HSLA Steel Concrete Filled HSS (Typ. Red Finish)

Galvanized J-Anchor Bolts (Typ. Yellow Finish) To Reinforced Concrete Foundation)

The In-Between

Course 2A Design Studio

Supervisor

Media

Adrian Blackwell

Rhino 7, Enscape, Photoshop, Illustrator

How can diverse individuals with diversified needs learn to live together?

In the heart of Galt, Cambridge, the “In-Between” is a co-operative housing complex that aims to connect people who come from different backgrounds and have a diverse set of needs. The residence celebrates architectural elements of thresholds, in-between spaces and transition moments, acknowledging that circulation can serve as a means of human interaction and connection. The building serves as a continuation of spaces along Melville St, with arches on the ground floor that welcome by-passers to seamlessly walk through the space.

“The In-Between” takes a similar form of the David Crombie Apartments in Toronto, with apartments facing the busy street, and town homes that wrap around an inner courtyard. Such a configuration opens up various opportunities for long term and short term inhabitants to live in unity. Throughout the levels of the building, inhabitants will experience various “pockets” of interaction that are dictated through the separation of spaces, such as an archway, a bridge, a staircase, and even a movable wall.

Queens Square

Dalton Court Parkettte

UWSA Courtyard

Residence Garden

Galt Society Garden

Sculpture Garden

Grand River

Scenario 2: Single Parent with Baby

Scenario 2 Contd: Single Parent with Grown Up Child

94 m2 + Roof Terrace

The Head of False Creek

Location

Vancouver, British Columbia

Supervisor Arkgo Chen

Skills Rhino 7, Vray, Photoshop, Illustrator

How can the built environment help define reconciliation and leadership?

I spent the first two months at Revery interning for this project team, assisting in both architecture and interior design teams. The team primarily focused on producing a series of studies for a mixeduse urban development in Kitsilano, British Columbia. The team worked closely with Squamish Nation, exploring the site’s historical context, understanding how the built environment can contribute towards reconciliation, solving various economic and environmental problems in the process.

During my time with the architecture team, I was in charge of compiling two extensive report presentations for the client, which involved updating and producing various diagrammatic drawings and renderings. My tasks also included attending meetings with the external model shop production team. In the interior design team, I was involved in the design development process and attended client meetings. By the end of my time with this team, I had successfully designed a lobby feature wall and unit door signage.

What happens in-between the realms of 2D and 3D?

Emerging from Vancouver’s new residential district, Alberni St, 1688 Alberni reflects the graceful complexity of nature’s systems. The facade’s design is much inspired by nature’s structural biology–simple and graceful elements that are woven together, revealing a complex yet functional and dynamic system. A continuous spine ascends from the base to the top of the 40-storey tower, weaving through each other and forming the “exoskeleton” of the residential.

My second project at Revery involved constructing a physical model of the 1688 Alberni along with 3 other interns. The model, however, was not intended to be a scaled down replica of the residential. Instead, we imagined the model to be a physical representation of our design process of 1688 Alberni. Architecture happens between 2D and 3D, and this model exists dynamically between these two dimensional realms, rendering the physical process between idea and final form. Thus the exoskeleton of the model is rather warped and exaggerated, as if it is undergoing continuous refinement, inviting pause and provoking contemplation.

Collaborators Brendon Louie, Myles Hardy-Kavanagh, Leo Wang Media Rhino 7, 3D Print & CNC Fabrication