Rachel Lau Selected Works
2020
Info Contact
(tel) +1 (647) 999-4397
(e-mail) rachelau2410@gmail.com
Introduction
Hello! My name is Rachel Lau. I am a recent graduate of the University of Waterloo School of Architecture. With over two years of professional experience, I am confident I would be a great asset to your practice. I look forward to discussing future opportunities with your team.
Contents Bubble Bath p. 1-4 Tommy Thompson Complex p. 5-8 Weston Road Flows p. 9-12
Seat for a Snakehead (Chair for Sister Ping) p. 17-20 Museum of Sound & Vision p. 21-24 Representation - Misc p. 25-28
“So Much Water!� p. 13-16 i
Curriculum Vitae Experience
Exhibitons
Intern Architect WXY Studio 01/2019-08/2019 12/2019-05/2019 New York City, USA
Roma XLI University of Waterloo 11/2019 Rome, Italy
Intern Architect Fogarty Finger Architecture 05/2018-08/2018 New York City, USA Intern Architect Leroy Street Studio 09/2017-12/2017 New York City, USA Intern Architect Gramme 01/2017-04/2017 Paris, France Intern Architect JCI Studio 06/2014-08/2014 Toronto, Canada
Education Bachelor of Architectural Studies (Honours, Co-op) University of Waterloo 09/2015-08/2020 Cambridge, Canada
ii
Exhbition of Exemplary Student Work University of Waterloo 04/2018 Cambridge, Canada
Awards Christopher Dean Moran Award, University of Waterloo, 2015 - Outstanding interview/portfolio from incoming undergraduate class President’s Scholarship University of Waterloo, 2015 - Incoming academic average of 90% or above
Proficient In... (Digital) Rhino 3D, AutoCAD, Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign, Sketchup, Vectorworks, Vray for Rhino, Maxwell Render, Lumion (Analogue/Physical) Hand-Drafting, Laser-Cutting, CNC Routing, 3D Printing, Hand Modeling
Project 01
Bubble Bath is a subsidized housing complex, located along Bloor Street West in Toronto, Canada. In addition to residences and communal domestic space, Bubble Bath houses a public pool, bath house, and green house. The public program is organized according to Ancient Roman traditions of public bathing. Bubble Bath is an investigation of access, questioning often elitest and classist notions of “who owns what” and “who belongs where.” Bubble Bath’s ultimate goal is to explore opportunities to bring joy to social housing through spatial relationships and access through optimization of mixed-use development.
December 2016
1
Bubble Bath
2
Academic Work
Project 01
Section ...
3
Bubble Bath
4
... Section
Project 02
The Tommy Thompson Complex is a mixeduse development on the Leslie Spit in Toronto, Canada. The project includes a co-living/coworking building for artist residencies and a public sauna with a cafe and swim deck. Featured images show the residence’s shared studio space and one of the public saunas.
August 2020
5
Tommy Thompson Complex
6
Academic Work
Project 02
Residence Roof Plan & Projected Elevations
7
Tommy Thompson Complex
8
(Above) Residence Plan (Below) Section
Project 03
Weston Road Flows is located on the outskirts of Toronto, Canada. The goal of the studio was to develop a high-rise, mixed-use development. Weston Road Flows is modelled in the image of the existing tower-in-the-park typology, while simultaneously addressing issues of isolation and dead space common to the building type. The project sits adjacent to a parkette, local recreation centre, and a planned station for future light rail, connecting residents to Toronto’s city centre. Food retail is located on the ground floor, with access to a green house on the roof. The plan is a singleloaded corridor, optimizing material and form to balance light and privacy.
April 2018
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Weston Road Flows
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Academic Work
Project 03
(Above) Unit Plan (Below) Typical Floor Plan
11
Weston Road Flows
12
(Above) Unit & Rooftop Green House Section
Project 04
Waterloo’s summer studio began with evolving a new masterplan for the Ontario Place. The revised Ontario Palace fragments categories of activity to an intense degree by creating individual programmatic islands, connected by a raised circulatory ring structure. (Masterplan design in collaboration with Olivia Fetterly.) “So Much Water!” focuses on the island that houses the ‘wet’ complex, including a bath house, indoor pool, and an exaggerated outdoor waterscape (which faces & seemingly disappears into Lake Ontario, morphing into a skating rink during winter season). Through engaging water on a variety of scales and states, “SMW!” explores the transformation of water activities across seasons, and the spectrum of ways to interact with wet spaces.
August 2017
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“So Much Water!”
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Academic Work
Project 04
(Above) Masterplan (Below) Island Plan
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“So Much Water!”
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Building Plan
Project 05
蛇头 (Snakehead) - Chinese term for human smugglers, who typically bring customers from the Fujian region of China to the West. Cheng Chui Ping (郑翠萍, aka Sister Ping, is known as the most notorious of snakeheads. An immigrant from the Fujian province to New York City, she ran a human smuggling operation for almost 15 years. She has been painted as a ruthless human trafficker by the FBI (referred to as “evil incarnate”), and though she was cruel and threatening in her fee collection, she was widely respected in her community and known by Chinatown residents as a heroic outlaw. The Seat for a Snakehead is a contemporary evolution of a sovereign seat, designed in honour of the matriach of snakeheads.
August 2020
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Seat for a Snakehead
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Academic Work
Project 05
Axonometric
19
Seat for a Snakehead
20
Select Precedents & Progress Render
Project 06
The Museum of Sound & Vision is a proposal for the re-development of the abandoned Loews Canal Street Theatre. The building has been in disuse, since the early 2000s and is protected as a landmark site. Though it shows signs of decay, the beauty in the ornament of the facade on Canal Street and the interior of the theatre are still relatively maintained. The Museum of Sound & Visions experiments with new methods of exhibiting movies for collective and individual audiences. The main theatre would not be modified; instead, a non-invasive concrete structure would create a blank canvas for developing interactive installations as armature/furniture for audiences to view select accompanying films. “Viewing pods� would occupy back of house spaces for individuals or small groups to watch films in a highly immersive and isolated environment. The interior of the entry building facing Canal Street would be renovated to house ticketing, a shop, and a cafe/concession.
December 2018
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Museum of Sound & Vision
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Academic Work
Project 06
(Above) Section
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Museum of Sound & Vision
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(Below) Elevation
Representation - Misc
Various pieces from collaborations with peers!
August 2016
25
Ode to Roman Empire, 2016 (In Collaboration with Kyra Ahier & Ruth Lee)
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Physical Model
Re-post Jakarta, 2016 (In Collaboration with Mark Clubine)
Plan Elevation
27
Oasis, 2016 (In Collaboration with Kyra Ahier)
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(Above) Section (Below) Plan
Thank you! Call Me!
+1 647 999 4397 rachelau2410@gmail.com