Peng YE
BOUNDARY
SOFT
SOFT BOUNDARY Soft boundary is defined as a boundary with phenomenal transparency that functions as a connection between two separate sides. Imagine a mirror. As like placing a mirror on the boundaries and direct the viewers’ focus to what is going on around the mirror rather than the mirror itself, soft boundaries raise awareness of perceiving what is around the boundaries. The perception of activities from the opposite side is not restricted by the boundaries, and the activities do not neglect the existence of a boundary. That is to say, the activities and boundaries are all penetrable and they do not compromise each other. The projects shown in this portfolio are developed based on this concept. Confrontation is not enough in the face of the forces driving our life and society apart. It is important to engage.
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CONTENTS 01
CONNECTICUT CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION CENTER MICRO-URBANISM
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02
LIFE, AFTERLIFE DWELLING IN 100 YEARS
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03
Ad Hoc Living Jim Vlock Building Project 2019
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04
ABANDONED BOUNDARY AS A HETEROTOPIA URBAN DESIGN ON AN ABANDONED RAIL TRACK
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05
COURTYARD AS AN IDENTITY BOUNDARY ELIMINATOR COMMUNITY CENTER DESIGN
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06
LANDFILL AS A FADING BOUNDARY BROWNFIELD TRANSFORMATION
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3
4
Connecticut Center for Immigrant Services Individual Academic Work Crtic: Annie Barrett Yale University 2019 Fall
America is a nation of immigrants. According to the American Immigration Council, Connecticut has a sizable immigrant community, composing approximately fourteen percent of the state’s population. Hailing predominantly from India, Poland, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico, those coming to the state, many who are women and children, are a diverse group. This studio is intended both as an introduction into the design of civic spaces as well as a larger look into who (and what) forms our local communities, and how architects may work to serve their neighbors. As part of the integrated design studio sequence, this studio, the third core studio in the Master of Architecture I, concentrates on a medium-scale public building, focusing on the integration of composition, site, program, mass, and form in relation to structure and methods of construction. Addressing these issues through the lens of program in the development of a single project during the course of the whole semester, interior spaces are studied in detail, and large-scale models and drawings, as well as perspectival views, are developed to explore design issues. Program, site, and subject are inextricably linked in this studio program.
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1. Separation
2. Subtraction
3. Spatial Continuity
4. Bridge Connection
5. Double Envelopes
A Site That Connects The site is nearby Stamford Train Station and some public buildings with programs that can be related to immigrate services. And there is an abandoned warehouse right next to the site, which can be reactivated in the future if the center needs more space as a workshop or school for the kids of immgrates.
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Study Model: Differentiating Public and Private Space To metaphor the idea of removal, several iterations of study models have been made based on the operation of subtraction. These models might differ a lot from one another. But the idea behind them is all about differentiating public and private space with subtraction.
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Ground Floor Plan: Open Ground Floor The subtraction creates an open ground floor where people can gather but also it is where pedestrians’ view can be guided towards these public buildings and make them aware of what is on the other side of the immigration center. 8
5th Floor Plan: Shortcuts Above the ground floor, some bridges are added to mix programs. Users of the center can either wander around on the ground floor or use the bridges act as a connection when a shortcut among the buildings is necessary. 9
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Skin Study The skin maintains the street wall, preventing the communal life on the ground floor from completely being exposed to the street.
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A Welcoming Aperture While giving a sense of belonging and safety to the users, the skin displays a welcoming gesture by revealing the atmosphere to the street through certain opennings;
Spatial Continuity The partial domes complete one another by suggesting a sense of spatial continuity, leading users of the center wander on the fround floor.
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The Entrance The entrance is open to the public to bring in street life.
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Adaptive Surfaces The curved surfaces are designed differently in the interior space based on program. 15
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Life, Afterlife Individual Academic Work Crtic: Peter de Bretteville Yale University 2019 Spring
It is critical to consider directly and holistically the systems in which we reside, to find edges, determine relevance and question seemingly inherent outcomes. In this project we address directly the elusive topic of dwelling, confronting factors of material, site, program, time and change as entriesto design thinking. Dwelling as a concept is multi-varied and interpretable. At a minimum, dwelling involves occupation but can grow to encompass shelter, security, domesticity, family (given or chosen), community, society and environment, all requiring consideration of the transient nature of life.
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Spiral Path to the Sky The project questions the exclusive gesture of the cemetery towards the city. By dopting a new type of dwelling space for a community of 30 individuals, the project offers an opportunity to oepn up the cemetery courtyard as an inclusive space for everyone in the city while maintaining the privary of occupants.
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Private Apartments
Multipurpose Communal Space
Memorial Park
Programs breakdown: Living with the Dead The bottom part functions as an extension of the cemetery where people bury their loved ones' ashes with memorial trees. While living above the memorial park, the community has a communal space that works as the media between the public park and private dwelling units.
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The Memorial Park The memorial park consists of a series of interconnected platforms with visual barriers. It is where people can mourn the loss of their loved ones with privacy.
The Apartment Unit The layout of apartment units ensures that each unit has access to natural light and view to the city. By elimating individual kitchens and replacing it with a communal kitchen on every floor, occupants get a bigger living space. 22
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Plan: Coexistence The multiprogrammed space embedded in the building creates an inclusive environment for different activities including dwelling, communal meeting and public gathering. 24
Energy Flow Diagram An ecosystem is emmbed into the building complex. The memorial park not only is space for the dead but also provides essential supplies for the living.
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Ad Hoc Living Jim Vlock Building Project 2019 Teamwork with Alicia Jones, Heather Schneider, Justin Kong, Stella Xu, Tyler Krebs Crtics: Adam Hopfner, Kyle Bradley Yale University 2019 Spring
The goal of this project is to create privileged views and access to sunlight without sacrificing the occupant’s privacy and autonomy from the other two units. In order to achieve this goal, each unit is formed in an L-shape around a private courtyard. The back courtyard then becomes an extension of the kitchen and bedroom, while a more public front porch can be seen as an extension of the living room. The front porch responds to the context of Plymouth Street and is a central part in our team’s strategy to address the surrounding buildings. The design also provides a fresh take on the existing three-story, gable-roofed apartment buildings that populate New Haven. These traditional buildings typically contain three different units, however they do not provide equal benefits. Our design reinterprets the ground to roof relationship and provides each unit with their own front porch, access to the landscape, and gabled roof, thus maintaining our “separate, but equal” design principle.
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Site Plan An ecosystem is emmbed into the building complex. The memorial park not only is space for the dead but also provides essential supplies for the living.
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Plan
Section
Energy Flow Diagram An ecosystem is emmbed into the building complex. The memorial park not only is space for the dead but also provides essential supplies for the living.
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Energy Flow Diagram An ecosystem is emmbed into the building complex. The memorial park not only is space for the dead but also provides essential supplies for the living.
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Construction Details
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ABANDONED BOUNDARY AS A HETEROTOPIA Teamwork with LIU Qi Concept 50%, Analysis 50%, Drawing 50%, Presentation 50% Hangzhou, P.R.China 2017
The Wall was a masterpiece. In Exodus, or the Voluntary Prisoners of Architecture, the wall created by Koolhaas becomes a soft boundary where people on both sides are curious about the ideal life on the other side so much that they all want to explore it. By envisioning such a closed heterotopia, Koolhaas shows us what boundary can bring about when it becomes a city. In Hangzhou, this attempt is made again as a habitat for agriculture. From a historical perspective, land use planning has built walls in the past by segregation and devaluation, which creates social inequality and urban sprawl, and now this theory tries to right its wrong through mixed-use strategies. However, most mix use strategies focus on the mix of general urban land use categories and very few on the mix with agriculture. In Chinese cities, millions of famers leave their rural homes and work in the city, but few of them actually do agriculture related jobs, and even fewer end up to be accepted as citizens. This become a social issue that’s caused by the segregation of urban and agriculture activities. This project tries to challenge the notion that urban and agriculture land are incompetent. It aims at reusing the abandoned rail and build an ecosystem for farmers migrating into the city to better support themselves. The system covers the process of growing, harvesting, processing and catering, where in each section, a farmer can always find his most matched position. It demonstrates that farmers have the right to be incorporated into the city’s everyday process not through selling cheap labor, but the expertise they are good at.
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The scale of Hangzhou City was small
Later, after the founding of New China,
During the Cultural Revolution
Nowadays, the expressways and
when Hangzhou Railway Station was
Xiaoshan Station was completed
from 1966 to 1976, China's urban
subways have replaced the original
completed. The railway served as a
and became an enclave across the
development was almost stagnant.
railway in connecting the two stations.
connection between Hangzhou and
Qiantang River.
After the catastrophe, Hangzhou's two
The new high-speed rail line further
regions began to develop toward each
pushed the old railroad tracks to be
other.
abandoned.
other cities.
Historical Timeline The track, originally used for transportation, was abandoned with the development of the city. 36
Rail Track as a Boundary in the City The remains of the railroad track not only shatters the urban fabric but also limit the surrounding activities, as the peaks in cellphone signaling tend to hit a minimum near the track. 37
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FARM
The site is surrounded by supporting strip houses and covered with farmland. Farmhouses divide farmland into modules, with public buildings in the center of each farming module.
PASTURE
The ranch rings and public rings serve as the main character of the space and are equipped with farmhouses. The rest of the open green space can be used as a grazing site or park.
PROCESSING PLANTS
A public building that provides accommodation and recreational services to workers is located in the center of the area. The plants built for large enterprises are arranged around the public building, with plants built for the smaller ones in four corners.
SHARED KITCHENS
Processed plants are arranged along the tracks to facilitate the receipt of agricultural products. Shared kitchens are arranged in the periphery, surrounding the public space together with the plants.
Architectural Prototypes The railroad tracks are preserved and land along the route is integrated into urban farms, covering all aspects of planting, breeding, processing and marketing. Therefore, an industry chain is attached to the old tracks.
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Agricultural Society Restoration The land along the original train tracks is transformed into urban farm. Various activities such as production, food market and agricultural education can be found here. While obtaining assured agricultural products, citizens also have access to farmland landscapes often excluded from urban land use planning.
Farmhouse Typology Farmers are the protagonists in this program and the agricultural experience is one of the important activities here. The construction of different farmhouses not only meets the needs of all kinds of farming but also diversifies the street landscape. 40
N
0
30
60m
Modular Farmland Residential buildings are built to divide farmland which can serve as not only planting land for fruit and vegetable but also the city's green parks. Products can be sold locally or transported by train to other parts of the city. 41
N
0
37.5
75m
Rings in the Green The idea of a vertical ranch ring comes from Foucault's theory of prison. Circular space of vertical patures are set against residential areas within open green space. 42
FOOD
TYPE 1
FERTILIZER
BIOGAS TYPE 2
ENTERTAINMENT
WOOL
TYPE 3
Ranch Typology Rhe ranch rings have different variations to accommodate different types of animal breeding and space needs.
ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS
A Field Trip to the Ranch In order to create a more comfortable space both for human beings and animals, the center of the circle is programmed as open green space. 43
Collective Life The plants are lined with the housing building and the workers work in an orderly manner. Nearby schools occasionally organize trips to learn about the process of processing agricultural products.
Plants Type 2 Plants Type 1
For SME
For Large Enterprises
Rail Tracks
Collective Living Building
Architectural Prototype The buildings here are programmed into three categories- a collective living building and two types of processing plants. The living building provides accommodation and entertainment space for workers, while two types of processing plants are built for different types of industries and different strength of the enterprise. Mature enterprises can contract an entire processing plant, while small and micro enterprises can rent a separate cell. 44
Public Space
Roads
N
0
25
50m
45
Office Workers
Transfer Station
Residents Takeaway Orders
Delivery Workers
Get Paid from Completing the Orders
Kitchens
Takeaway
Residents
Self-Service Social Ecosystem The railway creates a system of supply and demand. The Shared Kitchen program is not to eliminate the difference between these two sides, but to explore the possibility of symbiosis between them. By using the agricultural products transported from the first three sections, the office workers and the village inhabitants here can have mutually beneficial relations. Office workers can order takeaway food and the village inhabitants can take it as a job to cook and deliver the takeaway. Also, citizens are allowed to pay for the food transported by rail and use the kitchens to cook meals for themselves.
Public Space as a Vitality Generator The design of public spaces helps to ease the current situation of the shortage of leisure spaces in urban-rural areas. Anyone in the city can find their favorite activities here, just like farmers have the right to be incorporated into the city. 46
Park
Outdoor Movies
Sports Field
Carnival
Weekend Market
Art Gallery
Festival Celebration
Recreation& Retail
Public Space Kitchens and processing plants define public space with various programs.
N
0
25
50m
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The Old Track Regains Its Vitality 48
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Abandoned, or a Labor Force in the Industry Chain 50 Things not compatible with the city are either expelled or turned into part of the system. This works for the railroad tracks as much as it works for urban farmers.
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COURTYARD AS AN IDENTITY BOUNDARY ELIMINATOR Individual Work Nanjing, P.R.China 2016
Identity is the mechanism by which people identify themselves and defend themselves. With the reform of China's production system, more and more regrets can be heard about unfamiliar neighborhoods. The ultimate reason is that social identities are no longer the reason for choosing a domicile. People living in a community often come from different work units and they do not feel the necessary to communicate with each other. From this perspective, identity becomes a boundary that limits the interaction between people. However, since it is a boundary, it can also serve as a breakthrough between different groups. This program is to design a community center in an old neighborhood, trying to break the identity boundaries between people with the help of the transformation of the spatial form. The core concern of the program falls on the unique spatial elements in the neighborhood - the courtyard, which is inextricably linked with identification because a variety of subconscious cognitions of courtyard space is expected to develop in the crowds through their daily life. To provide a feeling of comfort, the program should be able to provide their subconsciously recognized courtyard space. When enough courtyard needs are overlaid on the site, creating a multi-courtyard building becomes a priority. Thus, a multi-courtyard public space was introduced into the building, preserving the only remaining neighborhood in this fragmented society.
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*46
*28
*33
*51
*24
Differentiated Courtyards The Old East Gate block is a traditional residential area in Nanjing where many styles of buildings with different crowds are gathered together.
Walking Routes of Random Individuals A research on the walking routes of randomly selected individuals in the neighborhoo shows that courtyard space is a frequently used type of space that the residents pass through in their daily life. 54
TYPE 1
TYPE 2
TYPE 3
TYPE 4
TYPE 5
YOUNG
MULTI-
ELDERLY LIVING
LOW-INCOME
GENERATIONAL
ALONE
GROUP
OFFFICE
COURTYARD UNIT
FAMILY
WORKERS
STAFF
ARCHITECTURAL FORMS
COURTYARD FORMS
PLAN TYPICAL TYPES OF RESIDENTS
DAILY COURTYARD SEQUENCES
Courtyard-Oriented Identities A variety of subconscious cognitions of courtyard space is expected to develop in the crowds through their daily life.To provide a feeling of comfort, the program of a community center should be able to provide their subconsciously recognized courtyard space. When enough courtyard needs are overlaid on the site, creating a multi-courtyard building becomes a priority. 55
Space Break The monotony of courtyards in the traditional buildings lies in the single direction of walls, This program use vertical walls combined with horizontal ones to form courtyards in a single building program.
Courtyard Generation With different space layouts, the courtyards accommodate various interconnected activities that promote the ininteraction between different identities while maintaining the psychological security of the individuals. 56
Walls, Spaces and Identities The psychological identities shape the architectural form of the courtyards and in turn they are influenced by it. Spaces and indentities are intertwined here.
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E
E
D
D
C
C
B
B
A
A
N 0 2 4 58
8
16m
E-E
D-D
C-C
B-B
A-A
Courtyard Sections 59
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LANDFILL AS A FADING BOUNDARY Academic Work with ZHANG Gan Concept 50%, Analysis 50%, Drawing 50%, Presentation 50% Zhenjiang, P.R.China 2017
The outskirts of the city have always existed as ancillary land for the city. Something that contaiminates the urban environment is often arranged in these places. Paradoxically, the outskirts of cities often retain a lot of natural appearances. Throwing out obsolete things in the city stops people from experiencing outstanding natural beauty. As time passes, people began to equate the suburbs with dirty lands. Zhenjiang is an example. Since its completion in 1990, the Chengdong Landfill has taken up a large area of the city on the edge of Yangtze River, hindering the city's interaction with nature. Luckily, the landfill was shut down in 2016, bringing hope to the land. Since landfill waste takes a long time to degrade, this program tries to introduce time-latitude into traditional urban design methods. With the deepening of the degree of land decontamination, the landfill serves as a venue to accommodate different activities of different groups at different times. As Landscape Urbanism firmly believes, the landscape system is bound to be constantly updated in the time dimension of the ever-changing freedom.
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REDEMPTION OF LANDFILL
Zhenjiang is a city on the edge of the Yangtze River with beautiful natural scenery. However, the interaction between this city and the Yangtze has been cut off by the industrialization and the urbanization. The pursuit for profit compelled a large number of factories to occupy the edge of the city. The
1951
1978
2016 2018* Boundary Thickness Changing in Process
situation was worsened by the Eastern Landfill in the 1990s, where the original views of the riverside were completely blocked and replaced by rubbish. The possibilities for human activities disappeared, and a boundary was created. Fortunately, the government realized
1988
1995
2000
2020*
2030*
2050*
Ever-Changing Ecosystem The ecosystem continued to deteriorate with industrialization. This project aims to gradually rehabilitate the damaged ecosystem in the coming decades. 62
the Yangtze River's outstanding resources for ecosystem. And the landfill has ceased operation in 2016, opening up new opportunities to explore new possibilities for the interface between city and nature.
Ecological Land
Industrial Residential Land Land
Landfill as a Boundary As time passes, the landfill becomes a boundary in the dimension of time and spaceas as bobody remember that this used to be a beautiful place near Yangzte River.
Residential Industrial Buildings Buildings
Landfill Area
Water
Wetland Beach
Green space
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Pollution Capacity
Planting Soil
New Soil
Compacted Subgrade
Hardness
Degradation
Level
Capacity
Existing Soil
Pollution Capacity
Planting Soil
Rubbish
Compacted Subgrade
Hardness
Degradation
Level
Capacity
Existing Soil
Pollution Capacity
Planting Soil
Rubbish
Compacted Subgrade
Construction Waste
Existing Soil
Garbage Disposal Strategies Strategy 1. Rubbish that heavily polltutes the environment and is hard to degrade is transferred. And the original contaminated soil is replaced with fresh soil. Strategy 2. Garbage of medium pollution capacity is buried in the site and a series of technical processes are carried out to ensure that there will not be further contamination during degradation of the waste. Strategy 3. Construction waste that has little or no pollution to the environment can be piled up and covered with a layer of soil to create a hillside for human activity. 64
Hardness
Degradation
Level
Capacity
Facilities and Buildings Construction Period: 18 Years
Transport network Construction Period: 2 Years
Modified terrain Construction Period: 5 Year
Natural terrain Construction Period: Existing
Entire Project Construction Period: 25 Years
Site Construction Period: Existing
Urban Transformation: An Adaptive and Progressive System Just as the degradation of pollutants takes time, the construction of the city also requires a certain period of time. Phased system construction gives the possibility of flexible development. 65
Staging Views Different periods of construction have different landscapes, inviting different types of activities.
Native Plants with High Purification Capacity
YEAR 1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Native Plants with High Landscape Value
9
10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Wetland Gradual Diversification In the early period of the construction, native plants with high purification capacity are planted in the site. As the soil is slowly purified, new landscape plant varieties will be planted in overlapping ecotonal bands on existing soil to build the woodland rim. 66
Imported Plants with High Landscape Value
Revisiting An Old Memory As time goes by, the once barren land will eventually turn into a beautiful place in the citizens' daily life. 67
N 0 50
200
400m
New Interface on the Bank The refurbishment of the landfill activated the vitality of the riverside. The once abarren boundary becomes a gravitational field that draw possibilities that this land has once lost.
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2017
2020
2030
Staging Site Plans With the reduction of pollution in the coming decades, increasing activities are introduced into the site and eventually make it a complete vitality area.
2040
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Hillside
Waterfront Facilities
Hillside + River
Walkways
Historic Buildings
Hillside + River + Beach
Beach
City Complex
Hillside+ River + Beach+Walkways
Viewing Platform
Industrial Park
Landform Typology For different topography with different combinations of natural elements, the most suitable construction is arranged. The complex venues are transformed into land that accommodates diverse activities.
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Clay Buildings
Flood Protection Ⅲ Flood Protection Ⅱ Flood Protection Ⅰ
Sewage Treatment
Constructed Wetland
Leachate Drainage System
Planting Soil Anti-seepage Layer Original Contaminated Soil Refuse Anti-seepage Membrane Anti-seepage Clay Rammed Soil
Leachate Drainage System
Landfill Gas Collection System
Ecological Infrastructures The park not only functions as waterfront open space but also provides essential ecological infrastructures to the city and its surrounding environment.
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