PEI-CHI TSAI Portfolio ver. March 2023

PERSONALITIES

ABOUT ME

was born in 1998, from a family of spatial design and art industry in Taiwan. I am a passionate creator and have won several global design awards, such as Red Dot and iF Design Award. Due to my outstanding organizational and presentation skills, usually take on the role of leader and speaker in team projects.

am currently studying for a master's degree in the Department of Architecture, National Cheng Kung University. I do research about urban climate and ventilation at the Buildings and Climate Laboratory (BCLab).

EDUCATION

Talent for Smart City Governance Competition (Tainan City Government) - Silver

ASIA Young Designer Award Taiwan Area - Gold

AIoT(Ai and IoT) Creative Application Competition - Gold

C-IDEA Design Award- New Star Award

Inspireli Award - Finalist

UNI.xyz New York Affordable Housing Challenge - Shortlisted

Bee Breeders Skyhive Skyscraper Challange - Shortlisted

Red Dot Design Award - Design Concept Winner

iF Design Talent Award - Winner

International Design Excellence Awards - final round (judging)

A' Design Award - Iron

Architecture MasterPrize - Best of Best

International Design Awards (IDA) - Gold / Silver

Volume Zero Competitions: House of Santa - Silver

Biomimicry Global Design Challenge - Award of Merit

Golden Pin Concept Design Award - Preliminary Selected

New Taipei Architect Association Student Competition - Honorable Mention

HOLA Decor House Award - Honorable Mention

Biomimicry Global Design Challenge - Award of Merit

CSCEC Straits Cup Tectonic Structure Challenge - Merit / Model Excellence

Taiwan Institute of Steel Construction Bridge Challenge - Silver

C-IDEA

Environmental

Ministry

PORT FOLIO

Awarded projects are listed in this page. Due to the limitation of pages, had chosen a selection of designs and projects that represent myself in this portfolio. The projects that are not covered here are fully displayed in my personal website. To take a closer look at these projects, please scan the QR code to my online gallery.

From the next page are those worthiest projects that show my expertise and features of creativity.

I am currently an active member of the Buildings and Climate Laboratory (BCLab).

In 2021, I participated in the heat island research program of the Taichung City Government, which aimed for heat mitigation strategies. To reduce the heat accumulated in the city, was responsible for identifying the wind corridors, which govern the urban heat flow, by utilizing data from High-Density Street-Level Air Temperature Observation Network (HiSAN).

URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT

‘Urban Heat Island Intensity(UHI)’ is based on the temperature difference between the highest and lowest temperature reigions in a city over the same period. The temperature difference between the urban and suburban areas of London has dramatically increased from 2.1°C to 8.6°C since the 1820s, which indicates the rapid deterioration of urban heat island intensity.

The UHI in many cities in Taiwan, my hometown, is now generally over 2.5°C in summer, which is higher than our end-of-century temperature predictions and imaginations.

At 2 pm on 29 August 2021, for example, the highest temperature in Taichung was 34.6°C in Dali District, while the lowest temperature in the plain was 30.8°C in Dajia District, with a UHI of about 3.8°C. In general, long-term meteorological data shows that the maximum average temperature in Taichung at 2 pm in July was also 33.8°C in Dali, compared to 30.3°C in Taichung Metropolitan Park in the suburbs of Shalu, demonstrating a difference of 3.5°C in UHI.

At low levels of development, there are sufficient permeable areas, good ventilation, low surface heat storage, and no artificial heat. The heat island effect is not significant and therefore does not need to be addressed.

Temp. (°C)

Heat Island Intensity

Temperature difference between high and low temperature zones

In the modern era of intensive development, smaller permeable areas, denser buildings, more heat retention in man-made materials and more artificial heat emissions have all led to the worsening of the heat island effect.

Water Greens Temp.(°C)

The heat island effect can be mitigated by fixing the causes mentioned above, such as increasing greens and water areas, planning wind corridors, using low heat retention materials, and promoting carbon reduction. was responsible for identifying the wind corridors, which govern the urban heat flow, by utilizing data from High-Density Street-Level Air Temperature Observation Network (HiSAN).

In order to implement these strategies, we planned a judgement process to select key demonstration areas:

WIND CORRIDORS

We have distinguished wind corridors into two types: natural and urban wind corridors.

A natural wind corridor is a specific wind flow from low to high temperatures, driven by temperature gradient and pressure gradient, and shaped by topography. It is also subject to primary circulation (global wind systems), secondary circulation (air masses, fronts...), and local circulation (sea-land breezes...).

When the natural wind corridor enters the city and flows through areas of low wind resistance, the wind paths are called "urban wind corridors" if they are connected continuously. Areas of the city with greater wind resistance (e.g. buildings, artificial embankments, etc.) will block the natural wind corridor and flow into areas with less wind resistance (such as green spaces, water areas, squares, driveways, etc.) and will be adjusted according to the natural wind corridor or prevailing winds in the area.

A full-scale urban wind corridors are divided into Primary and Secondary Wind Corridors according to their ventilation capacities. If the scale of the study is zoomed into a local area, the corridor is defined as a Local WindCorridor, and sometimes called a Type III Corridor.

NATURAL WIND CORRIDOR

Based on wind speed and direction data from the the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR)

URBAN WIND CORRIDOR

Based on natural wind corridors and urban textures (roughness, greens, hydrology...)

*The height depends on the Urban Canopy Layer (UCL), which is generally the average height of urban buildings.

Urban Primary Wind Corridor (Type I)

ROUGHNESS LENGTH

1. The site

2. Convert to RL

If we assume that the wind comes from the same direction in a city, the wind from different starting points on the same cross-section would flow through different densities of obstructions. Based on the total path length it goes and the remaining wind speed, a smoother route is more likely to be considered as an urban wind corridor.

The roughness length (RL) measures the degree of undulation above ground level within an area, and the ability of slowing down the wind flowing through. We use this parameter to determine urban wind corridors. To compare the differences between areas, we subdivide the urban area into grids of 500 square metre, and calculated the RL of each grid individually.

The formula used to determine the roughness length of the wind corridor for this project is:

0.25 ×

Buildings Coefficients

Σ Each Unit (Area of Buildings × Height of Buildings)

Unit size (500m² for this project)

3. Wind passes through lower areas

If the wind is likened to runners, roughness is like the hurdles. A lower RL value allows the wind to pass easily.

Study Domain

Zoom in

Full-Scale local Local Wind Corridor (Type III)

Urban Secondary Wind Corridor (Type II)

The natural wind corridor in summer throughout Taichung has the following characteristics:

1. Daan River Valley Wind Corridor: A Y-shaped wind corridor from the Daan River and the Dajia River upstreams, meet and merge at middlestreams, blowing between the land to the sea.

2. Coastal / Terrace / Basin Wind Corridors: All belong to the north-south wind corridor blowing from south to north at night.

3. Wu River Valley Wind Corridor: A wind corridor blowing from sea to the land in the daytime.

NATURAL

WIND CORRIDOR

IN TAICHUNG CITY

Daan River Valley Wind Corridor

Coastal / Terrace / Basin Wind Corridors Nighttime Wind Corridor

Daytime Wind Corridor

We have therefore defined the urban wind corridor configuration:

1. The prevailing summer winds in the area are defined based on long-term wind speed and direction information.

2. Map the building area and height parameters in the geographic information system (GIS). The blank spaces are roads or open spaces, such as plaza, parks...

3. Calculate the RL value. The greater the roughness, the darker the visualisation, the less likely the wind would pass through.

4. Finally, assume that the wind prefer to pass through the path of less resistance. By least cost path (LCP) theory, the potential wind corridor paths can be plotted from south to north.

Wu River Valley Wind Corridor

IDENTIFYING THE FULL-SCALE URBAN WIND CORRIDOR

This is an example of the identification process of urban wind corridors in Taichung City.

1. Wind in summer at night (mainly from the South) is used as the reference wind direction for the urban wind corridor in this case.

2. The cooling effect of urban wind corridor mainly affects the dense areas. We have therefore defined the study domain as 20 x 20 square kilometres of Taichung City center, a dense built environment.

3. Assume the low RL length (<1 m) facilitated the wind passage, and that the urban wind corridors deflect in advance when encountering large areas of high roughness (>2 m, in this case) built-up areas.

4. The angle of the wind deflection should not exceed 30° (according to a Japanese research of wind corridors).

To define the Primary and Secondary Wind Corridor, we calculate the number of high-RL-value grids that each route passes through. If a wind corridor flows alone the rougher route, then it become weaker.

According to the ratio of high RL(>1m) grids*, it is classified as follows:

Type II Wind Corridor: 35%~50%

Type Wind Corridor:<35%

The explicited formula is given by:

P : Ratio.

*P (%)= N / T

N : The number of high RL grids the wind passes through.

T : The number of grids in the North South direction* of the study domain (40 in this case).

*The direction is case dependant.

STUDY DOMIAN ( 40 GRIDS )

STUDY DOMAIN ( 40 GRIDS )

Range of Operation

Type III Wind Corridors are used to reduce the scale of study to a smaller block for the more specific implementation of the heat mitigation strategy. At this scale, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were allowed to used to simulate the impact and variability of different cooling strategies on the environment, using the microclimate measurements as input parameters, which enable us to confirm the effectiveness of the cooling strategy.

Our first step, identifying the local urban wind corridors, is the same as doing the full-scale ones. The reference grid size was based on the studying domain. We found that refining the side lengths of the grid in the domain of interest (e.g. 20 m² , see the upper left figure) and generalising the outer area (100 x 100 m², see the upper left figure) led to very efficient judgement information.

In the result of the CFD simulations, we eliminated the areas where the wind speed was too low, then identified the unobstructed paths with a width greater than 10m as wind corridors. The CFD simulations were then manipulated with the aim of verifying the above steps. It can of course be used as an accreditation method for wind corridors, but we have confirmed that it is more costly in all aspects.

Identification Methods Properties

Reference Height (Cutting Plane)

Input Information

A range, according to RL value

Site plan with height information (shapefile), Wind direction Accuracy

Depending on grid size, relatively general

Definition of wind corridors by roughness of wind passage

More flexible

1. The width of the wind corridor is limited by the grid size.

2. Identification may be influenced by the grid size, the input position and others.

3. Judgement may be affected due to the boundaries.

Easier to operate (QGIS, Excel)

1. 60 metres on either side of the route of wind corridor is designated as a "Wind Corridor Regulated Zone".

2. The junction of wind corridors is proposed as an "Enhanced Regulated Zone" if there are two or more wind corridors passing through.

3. The regulated zone will be subject to ventilation adjustment strategies, such as buildings setback, widening gap of buildings and review of site ventilation rate (SVR), which will be investigated and verified by CFD simulations.

The range of regulated zone is based on overseas researches and Taichung's climate features. The road width with 60 metres on either side can form an 150 metres width wind corridor, which lead to a better ventilation effect. The effect of different widths on ventilation can be further evaluated by CFD simulations.

A fixed values

Site models in 3D, Wind direction, Oiginal wind speed

Depending on the input parameters, allow finer details

Definition of wind corridors according to wind speed and direction differences

More accurate but time consuming

1. High cost for large scale analysis (high computer performance required to create large scale 3D model).

2. The result is affected by the boundary. The closer to the model boundary, the lower the reference value.

Complex tools (Grasshopper, rhino, flowdesigner, photoshop)

THE LOCAL URBAN WIND CORRIDORS

Comparison of 2 Methods for Identifying Wind Corridors (Roughness Length Grids LCP and CFD Simulations)

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS AFTER THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE URBAN WIND CORRIDOR

15

Crowd Related Data Processing

Exploratory Data Analysis

Data Classification

1. 旅遊淡季/旺季

Information that can symbolize or represent the number of people.

影響因子：會影響民眾出行意願的事件 Impact Features: Events that affect people's desire to travel.

反應因子：受到人潮影響所致的浮動變數 Response Features: Variables that are influenced by crowds.

Parking Data around Each Target

5,10,15 Minutes Isochrones of Each Target

Scheduled Special Event Climate Weather Weather Other Feature 安平老街

The ticketing data we obtained only overlaps with the telecom data in the Chikan Tower, so we conducted a correlation analysis between the two columns of data and finally showed a correlation of +0.8, which indicates a high positive correlation between the telecom data and the sold tickets. This verified the reliability of the telecommunication data.

Application

Seaside Attractions

Isochrones of 5, 10, 15 minutes

Isochrones of 5, 10, 15 minutes

赤崁園區 孔廟文化園區 國華海安商圈 港濱軸帶

1. BIM on Cloud

2. Sensor Position

3. Data Cascade

4. Visualization

5. Scenario

6. Prediction

7. Auto-Device

Feathers Biology

Biomimicry Interactive Installation 2021

Cooperative works

Specially thanks to Chien-Kai Kuo, TzuHsin Hsieh, Chu-Hua Huang. This was a team collaborative work with them. I had been involved in all parts of this project.

This design is designed to simulate the self-protection mechanism of an animal when faced with an unknown object.

In order to simulate the self-protective behaviour of animals, we have taken reference from the feathers of birds. It uses a long and intricate structure to protect the skin from moisture.

The mechanical behaviour used in this design is based on the crankshaft in a reciprocating piston engine, which converts the kinetic energy from the linear reciprocating motion of the piston into rotational kinetic energy. The crankshaft is an important component of motorbikes.

The design was modelled parametrically using Rhino Grasshopper, and the actual model was modelled in parallel by fine-tuning the parameters of the 3D model to simulate the results of the decisions made for each component. In this 3D model, we simulate the oscillation of the blades and the path of the connecting ropes when the engine is rotated to various angles by using the engine rotation angle puller.

In order to simulate the self-protective behaviour of animals, the design uses the Arduino's ultrasonic sensing module to detect the approaching state of unknown objects.

Specially thanks to Chao-Chun Kung, Wei-Che Lin and Chi-Lyun Chern. This was a team collaborative work with them. I was in charged of design developement, diagrams drawing, and layout editing.

s.a.P.s.

Semi-Artificial Photosynthesis System

2018-2020

Cooperative works

Specially thanks to Chao-Chun Kung, Chun-De Lee and Chang-Ting Lin. This was a team collaborative work with them.

I was in charged of the research, design concept, freehand sketching, design developement, diagrams drawing, and layout editing.

Site

Twenty years ago the area was the center of the city. It's fading cause of the shift in the main business block. This moment it plays the role of a multicultural region and a bridge between the railway and the main commercial center. But until now there is no good balance between urban exhibition, transportation, public space and life quality . Air pollution is synonymous with the city. Because of the establishment of Thermal power station and people's traffic habits, air pollution has become the main environmental problem in this city. Through this design to achieve a balance and connection between multiculturalism, the environment and human, and the past and the future.

Design Developement

This design was done with my classmate Chao-Chun, and the local students I met during the exchange in Germany. Every Sunday, the Taiwan-German online meeting discusses design projects and international competitions, which is my weekly routine.

Cooperative works

Specially thanks to Chao-Chun Kung and Pei-Chun Lee. This was a team collaborative work with them. I was in charged of the research, design concept, design developement, text writing, layout editing and movie editing.

Design Outline

‘Urban Oasis’ also means ‘green boat in the city’ in Chinese. The bridge is designed to emulate a contemporary Noah's Ark, with trees and flowers planted to extend the greenery from the park side. Constructed with simple steel truss system, brick barrier and a wooden pathway, a rainwater filtration system (pipes integrated into the trusses) runs along the bridge to irrigate the plants. Since the bridge cuts across two-way intersection, it is designed to be structurally safe without affecting the visibility of the road. On one side of the road is a popular commercial and shopping district, and on the other side is a school and park. Urban Oasis Bridge provides peaceful pedestrian accessibility in a busy and stressful commercial district.

Design Concept

Urban Oasis Bridge is a proposed pedestrian bridge located near Daan Park, Taipei City. Shaped like a crescent moon, the midsection of the bridge curves to make contact with the building (to

provide accessibility) and the roof of the bridge serves as a connecting garden space that also insulates the building’s occupants from urban noise. Urban Oasis Bridge is an extended urban garden that contributes to the sustainable development the city in mitigating urban heat island effect.

Partial Section

Movie (Youtube)

Site and Issue

The form of the city will be changed in the next 50 years. More and more nursing homes will appear in cities. On the other hand, urban city always need more trees to keep the environment vitality. The roads block people's connection to nature. Sustainable development is an issue that all cities should participate in. Facing environmental changes and the urban heat island effect, we extend the urban garden by bridges to solve this problem. The shape of Urban Oasis forms like a new moon, which makes the middle of the bridge very close to another building with a garden on the second floor. It became a very strong connection between the garden and park. Aside from this, it can also insulate the school from the noise, which keep the school comfort and quiet.

Taiwan has abundant rainfall, but it is still listed as one of the world's water-stressed countries. It is hoped that water resources can be effectively used through rainwater recycling.

Downtown Commercial Residental Rural

First of all, the rainwater will be collected into the circulation system along with the inclined paving, and the plants on the bridge will be irrigated.

The steel structure of the bridge is combined with rainwater recovery pipes. In this way, rainwater can be collected along the pipeline to the underground water tank.

After filtering, the water collected in the water tank can be filtered for citizens to enjoy.

Urban Heat Island Effect

Structure

The Bridge was construct with steel truss support, brick armrest and wooden path. With the simple steel truss system, it can be both stable and full of aesthetic. The walking path and brick armrest makes the bridge become a beautiful Chinese traditional garden which is called "Yuanlin".

In order to be structurally safe and not affect the visibility of the road, we reduce the depth of the truss above the driveway and deepen the depth of the structure in the park and commercial areas.

Research of Biological Material

Cooperative works

Specially thanks to Chao-Chun Kung, Chi-Lyun Chern and Yin-Zhu Chen. This was a team collaborative work with them. I was in charged of the research,

experiment, mushroom and mycelium growing, thesis writing, data integration, process recording, design developement, diagrams drawing, and layout editing.

An investigation project by: Wei Studio, 2020

生物建材專題研究 - 「菌絲體磚」

Mycelium+

research | prototype | documentary

Supervisor Researchers

: Chin-Wei, Lee

: Pei-Chi,Tsai Ying-Zhu,Chen Jyh-Luen,Chern Chao-Chun,Kung

Pleurotus eryngii

Pleurotus djamor