Architecture Portfolio

PUCHUN ZHANG

| PORTFOLIO 2012 - 2018

Delft University of Technology Master of Architecture University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Bachelor of Science in Architecture

projects 01

PUBLIC TERRAIN OF YEREVAN | POOL AND PARK COMPLEX Yerevan, Armenia Master Thesis | 2017-2018

02

THE DUO: ORIEL TWIN HOUSE | RESIDENCE AND WORK SPACE Oxford, UK Technical University of Delft| Spring 2017

03

RUSSIAN EMBASSY | GOVERNMENT ENTITY Bucharest, Romania Technical University of Delft| Fall 2016

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URBAN INTERLOCUTION | PUBLIC LIBRARY Chicago, Illinois University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign| Spring 2015

ARCHITECTURE SPACE AND HUMANS IN-FIELD

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Somerville, Massachusetts Harvard University| Summer 2015

Crossing design contexts from theoretical to technological disciplines, the portfolio presents architectural proposals that take inventive and explorative approaches towards today’s design scenarios.

With material, gesture, and desire to communicate, each project inspires the inhabitants to interact and reflect on the alliance and sensibility between natural and man-made environment.

FOSTERVILLE, SOMERVILLE | LIVING COMPLEX

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DRAWING ANALYSIS | SAN GIOVANNI BATTISTA Highway A11, Italy Master Seminar| Fall 2016

01 PUBLIC TERRAIN OF YEREVAN

BRIEF

Focusing on the materialistic quality and character of Yerevan, the analysis decodes and re-contextualizes the city’s geographical and architectural composition by collecting physical materials on the site of Komitas Pantheon, a partially abandoned park.The design proposes a complex of public pools and parks along the city’s river valley. The intervention responds to the geographical and social landscape through spatial gestures, cultivating public activeness in conjunction with natural terrain.

SWIMMING POOL & PARK COMPLEX Master Thesis | Academic Year 2017-2018 Delft University of Technology| Studio Border Conditions Architectural Reasearch + Design | Yerevan, Armenia

The field study begins with a territorial investigation, mapping the valley of Hrazdan River over the geographical region of Yerevan.The mapping delineates the topographical conditions of the river in relation to adjacent towns and villages, while addressing the plateau landscape.

The sectional study reveals the geological composition and soil layers beneath the river valley.

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LANDSCAPE AND CITYSCAPE OF ARMENIA: A TERRITORIAL STUDY

Yerevan Political Axis

Projection: Contours Site: Design Research

River Valley Site: Design Intervention

Arched Canopy

Landmark

“Public Institutions“: Typologies Along Axis

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Ventilation Chimney

Market

Ruin Park

Housing Blocks

YEREVAN URBAN ANALYSIS POLITICAL AXIS AND URBAN INSTITUTIONS

Designed and implemented as part of Yerevan’s urban master plans, the main axis crossing the city is a heritage of early utopian planning schemes.

Isolation various landmarks and intersections along the axis, the analysis reimagines the axis’ relation to the city’s public spaces and institutions.

DESIGN RESEARCH THE LANDSCAPE AND MATERIALITY OF PUBLIC SPACE

Departing from the thick layers of spatial characteristics in Yerevan, the analysis decodes and re-contextualizes the architectural specificities by extracting literal information from physical sites and translate them into representational drawings and models.

ANALYSIS AND DRAWING THE NARRATIVES AND LAYERS OF PUBLIC PROGRAMS

PLACE OF GATHERING CANOPY OF TRAINED TREES

NARRATIVES: LOCAL CONDITIONS

Specific locations within the park act as landmarks within the area and contribute to the park’s overall function as a public program, creating places of gathering which is the key qualification of a public program.

LAYERS: FIELD CONDITIONS

Four separate layers of spatial conditions are identified: Succession of Planes, Imprint of Movement and Trace, Planes as Gestures and Imprints, and Fencing and Demarcation.

THE SITE: KOMITAS PANTHEON YEREVAN

CASE STUDY MAPPING PUBLIC SPACES OF A CITY PARK

From divisions of landscape to positioning of objects, the specific conditions of Komitas Pantheon formulate its own materiality and physicality as a place.

The specific matters that compose each division of the public zone create a holistic materialistic reading of space.

The goal of the research process is to dissect the specific elements and layers of the park. Analyzing various zones and points within the area, the research reveals the internal logic of its material composition.

FIELD CONDITION 1

FIELD CONDITION 2

FIELD CONDITION 3

FIELD CONDITION 4

Succession of Planes

Imprints and Traces

Planes as Gestures

Fences and Demarcations

FROM CONTOURS TO SPACE

SITE PLAN LANDSCAPE OVER VALLEY

By projecting the contours of the city sections on to one plane, the drawings seek to create a virtual field whose characteristics and materiality can be further developed.

HRAZDAN RIVER GORGE, YEREVAN, ARMENIA

The following models are based on the line drawings of contours, materializing the abstract implications of curves, meshes, shades, etc. In common, they produce a materialistic translation of (the act of) contouring into landscape and architectural constructs.

CONCEPT MODELS SPATIAL PROTOTYPE

CONCEPT DRAWING CONTOUR FIELD

COLLABORATION WITH LANDSCAPE

PROPOSAL POOL + LANDSCAPE COMPLEX

Inheriting the form and physicality of Yerevan’s natural and social context, the design proposes a landscape complex in close collaboration with the city’s contour.

With unfolding and emerging gestures, the structure formulates a series of casual public spaces while preserving the monumentality of the city’s terrain and landmarks.

PROGRAM AND CIRCULATION

The structure includes indoor fitting rooms and outdoor pool, connected through stairs and platforms.

AXON, SECTION, AND PLAN

The axon reveals the character of one of the pools within the complex.

Embeded in the natural landscape, the curved volume of the pool is demarcated by vertical elements that subdivdes the water area.

EXTERIOR VIEW MONUMENTS IN RELATION TO NATURE

Situated in the natural terrain, the structure accommodates the inhabitation of nature as well as human. Over time, the texture and materiality of concrete changes with the growth of plants and biosweal pools, resonating the Hrazdan gorge context.

The open pool offers different programs for each season: swimming for the summer and leisure for the winters. As a public venue, the structure facilitates the interaction and participation of citizens through materialistic and original bounds within the context of Yerevan.

INTERIOR VIEW THE INFOLDING SPACE

SECTIONAL VIEW GROUNDING, SPACE, AND LANDSCAPE

The form and lighting of the structure create extending and intervolved volumes to host the public activities.

EXPLODED VIEW UNDERGROUND AREA

CONSTRUCTION DETAIL POURED CONCRETE, WATER BARRIER AND GUTTERS

INTERIOR DETAIL TOP VIEW OF DIVISION ELEMENTS AND STEPS

FABRICATION 3D-PRINT MODEL AND CONSTRUCTION

The model is produced through 3D-Printed gypsum.

The construction method integrates the 3D-Print technique with pouring and filling on site.

02 THE DUO : ORIEL TWIN HOUSE ORIEL COLLEGE, OXFORD THE THREE COURTYARDS

GUEST RESIDENCE AND WORKING SPACE Master 2nd Semester | Spring 2017 Delft University of Technology| Studio Interiors Buildings Cities Architectural Design | Oriel College, Oxford, UK

COURTYARD FACADES SPATIAL SEQUENCE

BRIEF

As one of the guiding theme of the design, the definition and relation between interior and exterior prevails the buildings and courts in Oxford. Entering the colleges from streets, one passes through alternations of indoor and outdoor space. While there may be linear and direct transitions from enclosure to openness, the space within the college complex often contains exterior elements in indoor spaces and organizes various building blocks with unified indoor programs.

Positioning residence and working space for a guest in two wings of the college complex, the proposal explores the dialogue between internal and external, domestic and public, and private and public.

CASE STUDY OLIVETTI SHOWROOM, VENICE

The draws reorganize the composition of interior and exterior elements through tilted perspective projects. The analysis is essential to understanding how elements interact and contrast to compose intricate indoor and outdoor spaces.

WEST WING: THE PUBLIC

EAST WING: THE DOMESTIC

TWO SPACES IN PARALLEL PUBLIC AND DOMESTIC WINGS AND THEIR DIALOGUE

Located in the second courtyard of Oriel College, the proposal divides the public and private uses of the guest’s residence into a living wing on the east and an office wing on the west.

Facing each other across the courtyard, the architectural elements reflect the position and function of respective spaces.

ANTI-PERSPECTIVE ELEVATION SEEING THE EAST INNER FACADE THROUGH THE WEST STREET FACADE EAST WING

Segregated from the street by a triangular garden, the space follows the more rigid division grid.

WEST WING

Next to the louder street, the west wing hosts gatherings, lectures, etc.

WEST WING SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Ground Level - Co-working and Lecture Hall First Level - Cafe and Library Third Level - Music Practice and Performing

WEST WING GROUND LEVEL PLAN OF THE WORKING SPACE

On each level, the space and rooms are organized around the central division wall. Presented with arcade and bricks, it functions as an exterior element for the indoor programs.

The oval staircase and the elevated floor plate and steps contribute to the public and outdoor atmosphere in the space.

EAST WING RUIN MODEL

The physical model takes on a “ruin” appearance to expose the collision between indoor and outdoor elements.

The domestic wing, which hosts social space, bedroom, and study space for the guest, also includes a division wall as external element, responding to its twin.

EAST WING GROUND LEVEL PLAN OF THE LIVING SPACE

INTERIOR VIEWS AND PLAN DETAILS PUBLIC AND DOMESTIC SPACES

Reception space on west wing celebrates the openness and public character of the college through arched columns made of bricks. The steps to the left slightly elevate the floor to create a separate co-working space.

The external materiality introduced by the structural walls brings outdoor elements into the indoor programs, while the arch and niches in the wall emphasize the spatial quality of a public building.

To the right, the bedroom in the east wing connects to an atrium with an oval staircase. With much softer materiality and lighting, the space is delicate and private. The visual connection to the atrium with curved stairs maintains a level of public and open atmosphere to the space.

03 RUSSIAN EMBASSY

CITY SOUNDSCAPE VS. URBAN LANDSCAPE NOTATION OF SOUND IN VARIOUS URBAN SPACE

RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN ROMANIA Master 1st Semester | Fall 2016 Delft University of Technology| Studio Public Building Architectural Design | Bucharest, Romania BRIEF

Investigating the spatial and movement and rhythm, the project conducts a series of mapping in Bucharest by recording and studying the city’s sound-scape.

The embassy extends linearly with oblique planes, facilitating movement of two directions: along the linear axis and penetrating the linear structure. Instead of a closed barrier for confidential programs, the structure performs as a permeable border by controlling the movement of visitors.

HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND APPROPRIATION OF URBAN SPACE

RESIDENCE

CITY MAPPING

RESTAURANT & BAR

The design begins with an analytical process of city mapping.

With recordings of the noise and sound in the city, these collages shows the citizens’ adaptive use of Bucharest’s public space.

Fragments of recordings are arranged with respect of time elapsed, as a means of indexical notation to track the program and events in various urban space.

DIPLOMATIC CENTER & OFFICE

The research also investigates “Appropriation“ of urban space by the residents.

The pop-up bookshops on the plaza steps, the musicians performing in the middle of squares, and graffiti on public buildings all indicates the people’s will of appropriating the urban landscape.

VISA CENTER & RECEPTION

SECTIONAL AXON

THE MOVEMENT

Like a sound wave penetrates the space fluctuating and oscillating, the structure takes on oblique planes that merges into the territory, at the same time facilitating and controlling the movement of visitors.

PROGRESSION FROM SOUNDSCAPE TO LANDSCAPE

THE BORDER CONDITION

The site, which is located at the north of Bucharest, is a highly-fenced area.

The clear physical segregation of properties distinct the area with a defensive nature.

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THE POWER AXES

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The location of the site in relation to a few political power landmarks in the city of Bucharest.

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FIRST MASSING

Instead of superimposing barriers, the design revisits the nature of sound with a twist to the landscape.

The porous structure emerges from the and becomes the border between the public and the confidential. The Embassy appropriates the land of Romania in an expansive and moderate manner.

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MODEL AND SITE INDEX

PLAN AND MOVEMENT DIAGRAM PROGRAM AND CIRCULATION ORGANIZATION

THE “DROMOLOGICAL WALL”

DROMOLOGICAL WALL

These particular walls run through the entire complex and contains the most intensive circulation possibility. Recalling the dromological strategies proposed by Paul Virilio, these portions of the building serve as focal points of movement in order to boost and control the speed and motion of occupants.

GROUNDING IMPRINT RESTAURANT AND RESIDENCE

UPPER LEVEL PLAN

GROUNDING IMPRINT DIPLOMATIC CENTER AND OFFICE

GROUND LEVEL PLAN

GROUNDING IMPRINT VISA CENTER AND VISITOR RECEPTION

UNDERGROUND LEVEL PLAN

INVERTED LANDSCAPE

ENTRANCE 2 PATH 2

PATH 4 PRIVATE ENTRANCE

PATH 2

ENTRANCE 1

PATH 2

PATH 3 PATH 1 & 2

PRIVATE ENTRANCE

PATH 1 PATH 1

PATH 1

SITE MOVEMENT NOTATION

An indexical model showing the sky as solid concrete carved by the building volumes.

The inverse reading of landscape reveals the flunctuating grounding situation of the Russian Embassy on the territory of Romania.

NORTH ELEVATION FULL LENGTH

SOUTH ELEVATION: SEGMENTS PERSPECTIVE: APPROACH

DIPLOMATIC CENTER

The most prominent entrance is a bridge to the diplomatic center.

Crossing the landscape below, it creates a representational approach that exhibits power and authority while links the building to the street.

The structure unites the land, the landscape, and the territory. It creates ambiguous spaces that allow and control the movement of human vision and body. It is an act of de-territorilization that celebrates freedom as well as surveillance.

04 URBAN INTERLOCUTION PUBLIC LIBRARY IN CHICAGO Undergraduate 3rd Year | Spring 2015 University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign| Studio: Architecture and the City Architectural Design | Chicago, Illinois

BRIEF

Urban fabric and density analysis shows a characteristic gradual change of building height, population density, and metropolitan function.

The gradient runs from southeast of the site to northwest, conforming with the radiating influence of downtown Chicago.

The public library performs as an interface where all the exchanges, convections and diffusions take place.

Overlapping two building volumes of distinct character and creating a core space dedicated to conferences, multi-media use and interactive events, the library facilitate the communication of different metropolitan cultures and the interaction of social values.

With such a communicative space, the library facilitates cultural INTERLOCUTION in the city of Chicago.

High Rise above 75 ft

MICHIGAN LAKE UPTOWN AREA

Street Skyline URBAN COLLISION

Visual Access to Site

Downtown Life Style

URBAN COLLISION CONCEPT DIAGRAM

The site location as the bounding point that joins two unique street-scapes and transits passengers from one urban character to another.

CHICAGO RIVER DOWNTOWN AREA

DIAGRAMS: SPATIAL EXCHANGE

Concept: Diffusion

Concept: Interaction

Form: Overlapping Volume

Form: Overlapping Floor Slabs

Material and Character Difference

Movement: Stairs

Visual Connections and Constrains

L.8

L.7

L.6

L.5

L.4

L.3

OVERLAPPED CORE: EXPLODED AXON

Double height reading space overlaps in the middle and forms a series of flexible multi-purpose rooms that promote the interaction of visitors.

At each level, the double height area is dedicated to book collection and reading, whereas the single height space accommodates events and meetings, overlooking the level below.

L.2

L.1 activity

movement

scheme

interaction

scheme

movement

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GROUND LEVEL PLAN

SPATIAL SEQUENCE

Entering the building, the visitors pass a variety of public programs: exhibitions space, library, terrace, and multi-purpose rooms.

The sequential programs address the building’s relation to the streets and the city, while maintaining a complex interior that interlocks public and private programs.

FACADE AND MATERIAL

Facade and material reinforce the differentiation of space as one moves through the building; material choice of metal screening, translucent envelop and vertical wooden sheathing resonates with the history and culture of the neighborhood.

Stained Metal Screeening Translucent Glass Enclosure

Rusty Metal Screening Vertical Wooden Sheathing Glass Storefront

05 FOSTERVILLE, SOMERVILLE LIVING COMPLEX IN MASSACHUSETTS

Highway Proposal

Site Axes

Podium

Towers

Career Discovery Program | Summer 2015 Harvard University| Urban Design Studio Urban Design | Somerville, Massachusetts

BRIEF

In a world where years of natural and social problems struck urban living, Fosterville is necessary.

As local economy and environment falls due to climate catastrophes, Somerville seeks redevelopment for the site of 180 Somerville Avenue in respond to the declining urban vitality around Union Square area. Fosterville complex takes advantage of the combination of industrial technology with urban living infrastructures.

Foster means growth. By incorporating several urban systems and different aspects of urban living, Fosterville is a self-sustaining complex that promotes sustainable living and civic activities.

REGIONAL STATISTICS: DEMAND FOR FOOD

Consumer Expenditures with the Share of Food Expenses in each district of the City of Somerville

53.8% 36.8M Teele Square Railroad

Highway

Industrial Use Residential Use Train Station and Volume

53.1% 36M Davis Square

53.3% 53.4%

31.5M Ball Square

50.3M

Magoun Square

East Somerville

REGIONAL MAP

Analysis shows that the land use of Somerville and adjacent towns follows a typical combination: the proximity of residential zone with industrial zone.

It is observed that the sprawling residential buildings spread as small pieces and mix with industrial blocks where the size of building footprints is much larger.

53.3% 26.8M Union Square

49% 91.3M

SITE PLAN

S2: DETAIL SECTION

VEHICLE MOVEMENT PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT Flexible Growth

Research Laboratory

S2

Sun Angle Planting Racks

Vertical Planting Rack

Algae Power Generator

Proposed Highway Transit Station

Studios

Outdoor Market

Outdoor Farming S1

Super Structure Elevators Podium

Product Processing

Highway Export

Market

Industrial Park

Podium Second Level Industrial Park

MECHANICAL PACKAGE S1: SCHEMATIC SECTION

Podium Ground Level

ENERGY STORAGE

ELECTRICAL ENERGY GENERATOR

ALGAE CHEMICAL ENERGY CONVERTER

STREET VIEW FROM SOMERVILLE AVENUE

TYPE II: GROWTH VERTICAL FARMING

Residential Units: living space connected with vertical farming programs Open Planting Zone: max open area for plants that demand sun and soil Research Laboratory: explore new planting methods and technology

TYPE I: LIVABILITY URBAN LIVING

Algae Energy: energy generation through photosynthesis of algae Residential Units: private, intimate, single floor height space that accommodates living needs Civic Center: public projects, libraries, youth centers and community programs Indoor Courtyard: the “indoor outdoor space�; public indoor green space

Vegetable Garden: vertical or horizontal racks for soil-free planting of vegetables

Supply Shop: stores next to farming programs providing equipment and support

Commercial Center: boutique stores, supermarkets, variety shops that serve the residents

Residential Units Public and Social Service: convention centers, museums and educational programs Indoor Plaza: gathering and leisure space around the courtyard

VIEW OF OUTDOOR FARM, PODIUM AND TOWERS

06 DRAWING ANALYSIS: SAN GIOVANNI BATTISTA CHURCH ON HIGHWAY A11, ITALY Master Seminar | Fall 2016 Delft University of Technology| Public Building and Architecture Seminar Architectural Analysis | Highway A11, Italy

CHURCH AND TERRITORY

Two scales of the “strada“ (Italian highway infrastructure) overlayed with the church positioned at the same point, showing the church as “a destination to destination”.

FOUR-WAY SECTION

A drawing mixing four planes and exposing two sections and plan of the building along with the skyline and grounding situations, in relation to the contexts.