Phi nguyen portfolio

PHI NGUYEN

M.ARCH I' 2016 HARVARD UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN

Front Cover: Worm-eye view, "Noof: A Study of Type" Project Aki Amoriya, Mark Eichler, Phi Nguyen

Š 2016 by PHI NGUYEN Harvard University_Graduate School of Design (GSD), MArch I Candidate 2016 Email: pnguyen@gsd.harvard.edu Tel: 617-682-6215 2

TABLE OF CONTENT

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HOW A CITY REMEMBERS a living museum

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MIXED-USED URBAN BLOCK program and typology

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RE(F)USED SUPERMARKET dilemma of urban food consumption

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WOODEN HOUSE rediscovering nature

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THE MELT-DOWN CHILL-OUT finalist_design miami competition

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SPANNING SURFACE PAVILION geometry and architecture

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ROTATING BUILDING movement in architecture

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MIT CHAPEL_EERO SAARINEN a new narrative

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THE NOOF a study of type

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EPFL under one roof

49.. GĂ“C-boutique design and build 47.

FINE ARTS drawings-painting-mixed media Phi Nguyen 3

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HOW A CITY REMEMBERS a living museum GSD-MARCH I, Thesis Fall' 15 Advisor: Grace La

In answering the question of how to city remembers itself, this thesis seeks to reinterpret tradition (the Vietnamese shop-house); for the act of interpretation enables one to establish the connection between the familiar present and the unfamiliar past. The proposal, through reimagining the relevance of a disappearing typology inherent to the local culture (the shop-house typology), also argues, in Aldo Rossi's terms, for the propelling quality of a permanence deemed pathological within the city.1

1. Aldo Rossi, The Architecture of the City (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1984), 57-62.

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SHOP-HOUSE ANALYSIS Most of Saigon's architecture has been heavily influenced by the politcal regimes in power, The shop-house, however, is extremely robust and oblivious of all of the changes in political power and style. It has been in Saigon since the beginning of the city’s history, calibrated to the needs of the people, the climate of the city and constantly adapting to new social and economic conditions.

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Shop-house in the City

Longitudinal Section

Shop-house Evolution over Time Phi Nguyen 7

PROGRAM Saigon is a city that thrives on the water. It used to be a comprised of villages specializing in different crafts. New development has distanced the locals from the water. Thus, the thesis proposes to bring back and revive the diminishing crafts community in the city as well as connecting people back to their natural environment.

CORRIDOR AND COURTYARD The two primary elements of the shop-house typology, the corridor and the courtyard, while providing natural ventilation and lighting, also allow for unexpected meeting points and proximity between open, semi-public and private areas.

The project proposes to combine the otherwise separated corridor within each shop-house, allowing for connection within the different parts of the building, creating fluid liminal spaces while uniting the different sections of the complex under one roof. The court yards connect different parts of the complex, creating interior corridor, reimagining the urban experience as users navigate through the shop-house urban block.

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Crafts of Saigon circa 1815 Craft Village Corridor Courtyard

1. Gallery Space 2. Jewelry 3. Blacksmith 4. Bronze Casting 5. Ceramics 6. Fishnet Weaving 7. Boat Making 8. Basket Weaving 9. Grass Weaving 10. Food Court 11. Ferry Station 12. Observation Dock 13. Event Space 14. Parking

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Ground Plan

Roof Form Studies

Roof Structure Studies

Tranverse Section Phi Nguyen 9

Site Plan

First Floor Plan +6Ft 10

Second Floor Plan +22Ft

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MIXED-USE URBAN BLOCK

program and typology GSD-MARCH I, Core Studio 4, Spring 13 Critic: Spela Videcnick Teammate: urban project: Allison Burrel, Evan Cerilli, Tim Zeitler

architectural project: Evan Cerilli This project is the product of the second part of a semester-long urban design focused studio. The first part of the semester was to set up strategies for the neighborhood of Gowanus, New York City. The second part was to design a mixed-use block within this neighborhood.

This block consists of three seemingly unrelated programs: museum, residential, and commercial through the use of the court yard type, the atrium and the double-helix circulation. Social interaction and sustainable living were the main goals of the design..

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URBAN BLOCK STUDIES The language of the cut was utilized while designing the block to make full use of natural lighting: its form alllows for maximum lighting for residents while giving shade for pedestrians.

Site Section 14

Residential Museum

Courtyards- Atriums

Row House Studies

COURTYARD_ATRIUM CONCEPT The concept of the courtyard, taken and scaled up from rowhouse typology, is applied to both the large scale (the block) and the small scale (building interior_atrium). The courtyard separates and yet, connects the different programs, where multiple users share the same space visually but not physically.

Site Plan Phi Nguyen 15

Museum Circulation

Residential Circulation

CIRCULATION Circulation for all the three programs wrap around the court yard, attempting to make the courtyard a socially active space.

In the residential part, each court yard is also an atrium; hence, provides every apartment with access to a common court yard and natural lighting.

In the musuem, the double helix (typology of a parking lot) is used, allowing for the separation and integration of the two spearate programs: public and private (administration).

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Sections

Commercial Circulation

Parking -5 ft

Residential + Commercial +20 ft

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Residential + Museum +40 ft Phi Nguyen 17

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RE(F)USED SUPERMARKET

dilemma of urban food consumption GSD-MARCH I, Option Studio "Alimentary Design", Fall 2013 Critic: Shohei Shigematsu, Chrsity Cheng

This project attempts to rethink food retail model surrounding urban food consumerism and the distant relationship between production, consumption, and waste.The resulted design is a new supermarket typology, crossing between the traditional big-box store and the small industrial plants- the processing centers, which consequently change the store layout.

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CONCEPT_REVERSE OF SUPPLY CHAIN SEQUENCE Looking at the tension within the food system, between proscribed and embodied knowledge, this project aims at scaling up counter-cultural practices (making use of food that otherwise would be considered waste), changing the ways food is conventionally judged- expiration date and cosmetic standards in particular. The idea is to recapture foods which otherwise would be discarded due to expiration date and cosmetic standards (thus reduced food waste) through transforming them into products that could be consumed, introducing new programs within the supermarket type.

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First Floor +5 ft

Second Floor + 30 ft

Sections Phi Nguyen 21

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WOODEN HOUSE

rediscovering nature GSD, Retreat in Nature Competition, January 2013 Teammate: Yuhui Xu

The aim of this retreat house is to create close connection between the occupants and nature. Given the extreme weather of the site (Hokkaido, Japan), the house makes use of natural resources to use the least energy possible. Wind, water, and light are taken into account when orienting, designing, and programming the structure.

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ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES The house is oriented so that it opens out to take in the most warm air and light, while blocking the cold winter wind. The pool collects rainfall for later use while a system of pipes bring black water down to the garden. The concept oF nature path is used to organize different programs within the house, following the increase in heat, from the semi-courtyard to the tea house.

Wood is used as the primary structure, per the local tradition of wood construction. The plan are measured using the tatami mat size.

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First Floor Plan + 2 m

Second Floor Plan + 5 m

Elevaions

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THE MELT-DOWN CHILL-OUT

Finalist_design Miami competition, Spring 2015 Advisor: George Legendre Teammates: Aki Amoriya, Mark Eichler

Oh, Miami, so hot! Melted.

We conceived our proposal for the Miami Art Basel pavilion as a single surface that is melted under the sun of Miami. The final form is the result of the manipulation of a mathematical function that allows for the creation of surfaces with diverse local conditions, fluctuating between concavity and convexity, yet clipped in a constrained area. Thus, the pavilion not only expresses itself as part of a field that extends infinitely but also offers various spatial conditions. By careful calibration of the periodic behavior of the surface, the pavilion is strategically designed to serve as a symbolic gateway for the main tents: the ceiling falls lower in certain location to create apparent tunnels that channel visitors toward the exhibition space.

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Plan

Front Elevation

Form Studies 28

Structure

Elevations

FORM AND STRUCTURE To achieve comparable results in terms of form and feel with a modest budget, we propose the use of fabric cut precisely after the surface' sections (at close intervals) and hung from the frame above. The fabric sheets are edged by ropes in a stitched pocket which emphasize the surface curvature. This technique of layering fabric creates an implied impression of surface continuity while generating an ephemeral and elegant hang-out space.

Construction Details Phi Nguyen 29

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SPANNING SURFACE PAVILION geometry and architecture GSD, Digital Media 2, Fall 2013 Instructor: Andrew Witt Teammate: Carolina Yamate

A key aspect of this assignment is designing an effect that plays out at both local and global scales by creating a related set of large-scale, medium-scale, and small-scale geometries, which achieve in intricate, unified, designed effect.

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1. Knot

2. Project knot on a plane

3. Find perpendicular lines to the plane where the knot projection intersects itself

4. Trim perpendicular lines with knots

5. Define voids and surfaces

6. For each highlighted region, find the segments that map onto to its boundary

7. Create surface for each region

8.Join surfaces, creating one single continuous surface Surface Construction Method 32

FORM FINDING The script explores the possibility of creating intricate pattern through the large-scale and parametrically varied structure of basic symmetries and vector operations. It is also a first opportunity to control form through a scripted process.

What we were interested in was to use Python in Rhino to create a collection of curves that has the effects of mass, perception of depth and landscape quality.

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ROTATING BUILDING

movement in architecture GSD-MARCH I, Core Studio 1, Fall 2011 Critic: Mariana Ibanez

This lock project is a study of movement in architecture. The site is based on one of the western gates of the three locks located between Boston's North End and Charlestown.

The program is a public building whose movement is callibrated to simultaneously engage with the open/ shut operation of the gaze and produce discrete organization of spaces and time sequences.

The structure of the building is based on the study of a reciprocation mechanism, which translate rotary motion into linear motion. This movement allows for the building to act as a bridge while creating different spatial organizations.

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Mechanism

Plans at Different Levels

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Sections at Various Rotational Stages

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MIT CHAPEL- EERO SAARINEN a new narrative GSD-MARCH I, Digital Media 1, Fall 2012 Instructor: Chris Hoxie

A key aspect of the assignment is to explore the generative capacities of digital media in designing and communicating ideas in the virtual realm. Working across a range of disciplines, including: photography, film, lighting design, synthetic imaging and animation, the project seeks to examine the construction and representation of environments through the integration of form, light, material, color, atmosphere and photography.

Eero Saarinen's MIT Chapel was chosen as subject of investigation for its special lighting quality and materials, which provide interesting yet challenging opportunities for representation.

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THE NOOF

a study of type GSD Option Studio "Bock Blob Slab Mat Slat," Spring 2015 Critic: George Legendre Teammates: Aki Amoriya, Mark Eichler

As part of the studio, which seeked to refine our understanding of type through precedent study, formal analysis, and creative diagrming, this project codified the spatial, circulatory, and structural characteristics associated with the "noof" type, a term coined by George Legendre.

It is a type that encompasses buildings of drastically different scales planned around continuous program and circulation loops which inflect the envelope or section of the building in direct ways -and hence alter its appear-ance.

Noofs are planned around circulation and look it. Further Sub-categories of the Noof typology are defined by the combined characteristics of a) circulation patterns and b) formal gesture. The taxonomy further bifurcates depending on whether a "shortcut circuit" (=vertical core) is included in the primary circulation pattern of the building.

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THE NOOF MECHANISM Manipulating the implicit function of a geometric knot, the new building/ configurations brings about a noof project in its purist sense, informed by previous typology analysis.

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Circulation Diagram Phi Nguyen 43

Site Plan

Section

Elevation 44

Plans Phi Nguyen 45

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EPFL

under one roof Kengo Kuman and Associate, Tokyo, Japan, Spring 2015 Role: Intern Worked in a team led by Partner Javier Villar Ruiz I was put in a team of six architects and four nterns, producing final drawings, physical models, renderings and landscape schematic design for EPFL project “Under One Roof.�

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GÓC-boutique (boutique corner)

design and build Commissioned, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Summer 2014

This project posed several challenges, including budget and space limit and the requirement for a clear brand vision. The owner of this start-up business wanted to have a friendly and yet stylist fashion shop with limited budget. Everything related to the shop, from the logo, business card, furniture, to decoration were designed to match with the name of the shop (meaning corner/ angle).

The logo represents a corner and simultaneously symbolizes a grand pianocreating a classic feeling_aiming to visualize the “vintage” atmosphere for what the shop is intended.

The shop’s limited space demands designs that save the most room; hence, the one-leg manequin and 3-layer clothes rack.

To minimize cost, pallette wood was used as the main mateirials for its warm color and earthy look.

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Field 55

Archaelogical Explorations of Sardis, Sardis, Manisa, Turkey, Summer 2013 Role: Architect

Being an Architect on site, I was in charge of measuring (with the help of one other co-worker), and drawing field 55 the ruins ((the plans, architectural finds) of a Roman church.

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FINE ART

drawing_painting_mixed media

Art is the ideal tool for me to express myself, convey my interests and concerns.

The recurring themes in my works spans on a wide scale, from the little things often overlooked in our daily life but which define who we are and what our surrounding is, to the shifted and multiple- perspective views that we could only experience through the world of art via means of collage and mixed media, which allow for the representation of the fourth dimension, time. I am intrigued by the change of place and its spatial quality over time, the experience of the human beings in a three dimensional space, the architectural space, especially in the new complex urban context.

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Thank you