QIN YI XU PORTFOLIO SELECTED
WORKS
2017 - 2021
Applying For M.Arch Architectural Design UCL, The Bartlett School of Architecture
PROLOGUE My architecture is about designing for societal objectives. Designing for societal objectives advocates for people's actual needs rather than made-up fantasies. As a result, architects should build for social objectives to solve the living situations of underprivileged individuals. This includes creating a performance, a work of art, or a product that addresses, resolves and reflects on those challenges. I believe designers must pay attention to and comprehend societal objectives and operations and people's perceptions of humanity in the right social environment to design for societal objectives. Only with such understandings can we build for social living, economic life, and societal viewpoints to better the world we live in. The core content of exploration in my portfolio is designing for societal. The projects analyze the culture of the site and the context from three time dimensions: past, present and future. From the perspective of society-users, it is designed for their needs and survival.
CONTENTS [ Rhapsody in Blue ] A Manifesto for Future Group Work Fictitious, Somewhere in the Universe Instructor: Li Dan Email: 704062358@qq.com Hand Model
Mountain Villa Design 2017
[ Berlin 1989+ ] Historical Research and Design Project Individual Work Berlin, Germany Instructor: Yun Jiaxin Email: 3573224653@qq.com [ Della Perduta Patria ] Renovation of San Giovanni Val di Lago, San Lorenzo Nuovo, Italy Individual Work Instructor: Yun Jiaxin Email: 3573224653@qq.com [ Back to Living Community ] Social Research and Residential Design Guangzhou, China Individual Work Instructor: Xia Zhengwei Email: zwxia@suda.edu.cn
01 Rhapsody in Blue A Manifesto for Future
Site: Fictitious, Somewhere in the Universe Team work & Created for Standout Archi - Young Vision Architect Competition 2021 Contribution: Concept (50%), Design and Modeling (100%),Representation (100%) Instructor: Li Dan
Email: 704062358@qq.com
"But without fallibility there is no art. And without art there is no truth." Alastair Reynolds Author of <Zima Blue>
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, 1897 , Paul Gauguin
Humans never stop thinking about life, which reminds me of the Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin.Toward the end of his life, he spent ten years in French Polynesia. The paintings from this time depict people or landscapes from that region.He explores the essence of human life in modern society. When technology develops to a certain level, what will people think about themselves?
Separation It is the separation of space, time, whole and part separation. When the territory of human life expands to an infinite range, humans begin to isolate from space. Too long a life allows human beings to travel upstream in the long river of time. The memory that uses time as a variable begins to saturate, chaos, and time begins to separate.
Equality Any living body has free will and is unique, whether it is a machine that performs simple tasks or a human that controls a machine. Self is equality, and all lives have the right to pursue truth and selforiginating value.
Home
Is the home a living room for humans? Is it the result of wisdom and social civilization? "Home" is a physical shelter. In the highly developed society and the torrent of science and technology, it is the origin of human beings, an emotional and spiritual high ground without any modification. In architecture, human beings strip away the shackles of science and technology and obtain happiness from the simplest life and work. It is also the answer and personal choice for human beings to explore the truth.
Reference: "Love, Death & Robots" Zima Blue (TV Episode 2019) Poster
ZIMA
Human–-Robot
ZIMA
BLUE
The Story of
SEPARATION isolation
2019 separated from the
Too long a life allows human beings to travel upstream in the long river of time. The memory that uses time as a variable begins to saturate, chaos, and time begins to separate.
to facilitate the re-merging of humans and time and space.
machines
HOME With the development of science and technology, will the imbalance caused by the continuous change of the relationship between robots and humans create meaningful space or chaos? Do people need to intervene in the psychological changes caused by the development of science and technology?
social distance
wisdom and social civilization a living room
an emotional and spiritual high ground without any modification to explore the Any building can become a home for people, and architects should help users find themselves.
Truth
When the territory of human life expands to an infinite range
Spiritual
for humans
Is the home the
of human beings
MEMORY SATURATION
BLUE
To extract some simple pleasure from execution of a task well done.My search for truth is finished at last. I'm going home.
Zima
Human & Robot
Zima was originally manufactured by human as a pool robot, after continuous transformation, it has a brain and wisdom.
SEEK all lives have the right to pursue
unique EXPORATION
Any living body has free will and is
whether it is a machine that performs simple tasks or a human that controls a machine
Zima reformed himself. He explored the cosmos to find the true meaning of art—— the blue tiles in the pool in the first memory.
Zima continues to create works of art related to the blue square, and to achieve the ultimate in art. He became truly famous.
The last performance of Zima is un-making himself into the original swimming pool robot and clean the tiles for the simplest happiness.
Zima's exploration of self inspired robots and humans to think about the origin.
LID
10 0%
Mass Generation
LI D
SO
LI D
BLUE
80 %
SO
70 %
The Manifesto of
SO
ZIMA
Perspective
LI D
LI D SO
LI D LI D SO
75 %
SO
LI D
75 % LI D
LI D SO
LI D
65 %
individual
85 %
expande
LID
SO
SO
60 %
SO
LI D
85 %
Simplicity Since his birth, he has gradually expanded its understanding of the world. Every individual gets pleasure from completing simple tasks.
T h e f a re w e l l b e t w e e n t h e robots and the owners , the disintegration of the ro b o t s a re a l l i n t h e m a i n building composed of small modular memorial palaces. The remaining parts of the unmaked robots are used for the construction of human residential areas. The public space in the main building is divided into four parts: the lobby, sorting, compression and transportation.
SO
55 %
Plan
SO
Elements
50 %
Icons
60 %
explore
VO ID D
VO I
20 %
VO I
30 % VO I
D
confused
VO I
D
50 %
VO I
45 %
He began to feel confused that gain fame and benefits beyond his own desires, and fell into thinking about the meaning of his own existence.
D
Perplexed
D
H e e x p l o re d t h e t r u t h in this tortuous world, experienced hardships, and gained a deep understanding of the world and his own thinking.
SO
Exploration
15 %
Legend
D
Memorial Palace for Individual VO I
D
25 %
The truth is to return to the original self, leave the necessary objects to complete simple tasks and return to the spiritual paradise.
D
25 %
VO I
D
40 %
VO I
Home
Sorting Robot Parts
VO I
35 %
VO I
D
15 %
Compressing Robot Parts Collecting and Transmiting
40 %
VO I
D
return
Module
Memorial Lobby for Zima Blue
Master Plan
Memorial Palace The memorial palace is designed for every individual robot. Zima's exploration of life is built into a space to remind humans who have lost themselves and to help the robot return to its original function. Re-engraving zima's exploration of truth onto each individual. The waste parts recovered by the robot are used in the construction of human houses.
1. Module Stack Memorial Palaces
2. Cut & Streamline Place spiral streamline and connect modules in series
3. Dislocation & Public Space Vacant high public spaces to accommodate functions
4. Geometry Standardize public spaces with geometric shapes
…What do you mean you have to go, Kevin?
But we have been together for 40 years!
Yes, indeed. But I start to think about Zima recently. We all gain fame and glory when growing up, but do we still remember what we are deep inside, William?
This is what I must do, William.
I know, I do know.
You came to me when I was just a little boy, we became two better individuals together though these years. You were just a memo robot but now you are all equipped with just like a right human!
You have made up you mind for Rhapsody in Blue?
I am, this is all the destinies belong to.
Okay, then we will be doing this together. Let’s go Kevin.
Oh, what a place! As Kevin and William going though the tunnel and looking for their individual room, they also witness the farewells of the others.
Is this a pool? What is this for?
This is the pool where Zima Blue decomposed himself. He found the real self now——a pool cleaner, happy and satisfied.
There’s nothing particularly sad about this, every robot and their human understand the significance of these tiny little cubes.
This is the final shipping step.
This is the second step of the factory streamline compression.
The transported parts can be used in the construction of settlements.
Machine compresses robot parts of different sizes into cubes.
Look, that's the introduction to the recycling plant.
I'm ready to start the journey.
This cube consists of four small rooms, which represent zima's mental journey. L o o k , t hi s i s o u r room, let's go inside ! The stele represents each individual robot, doing its own thing
Waiting for me to come back to you in my original form. It's time to say goodbye, thank you for being with me all these years, but we all need to find ourselves back.
Disintegrate to its simplest form.
02 Berlin 1989+
Mending the Cracks in History
Historical Research and Design Project Site : Berlin Mitte, Germany Individual & Academic Work Instructor: Yun Jia Xin Email: 3573224653@qq.com
"Only the person who has experienced light and darkness, war and peace, rise and fall, only that person has truly experienced life."
Stefan Zweig, Die Welt von Gestern
From the trauma of the past to the present world This is an era that requires alert. The imprint of war still remains in the world today.After two world wars, Germany experienced division and bridging. The memory of history is buried under the ground of modern construction.Berlin, as the center of the division between East and West Germany, bears the responsibility of alerting people. The project started from the old railways and stations that have experienced wars, awakening traumatized individuals' memory of history. The project re-planned the Berlin Wall section of the Berlin Mitte district from an urban scale. The newly built history museum reproduces the divided Berlin, in order to set up a better bridge of cooperations for the present world.
BERLIN
The site is located in the Mitte district of Berlin, and the Szczecin Railway passing through was damaged by two world wars. During the Cold War, the Berlin Wall divided the site into two halves, which affected the operation of the railway and two important stations.
Ideological Changes in Germany Resources and power
LEGEND
Communism Communism Communism
Capitalism others...
Berlin
Capitalism
Capitalism
Communism
Capitalism
1914
1939
1947
World War I
World War II
Uneven distribution of resources among powers.
The opposition between the two political and military blocs.
....
1991
Cold War
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
Berlin Wall Germany were completely divided.
Merger of East and West Germany after the Cold War.
FUTURE Merger of East and West Germany after the Cold War.
The Influence of Ideology During the Cold War Street Appearance East Berlin Berlin airlift
Capitalism
West Germany accepts economic and technological donations from the United States.
West Berlin
Market economy Military parade
The streets are spacious and sparsely populated. Most of the architectural forms are Stalinist.
The Marshall Plan
Free and open citizens
Some East German citizens tried to defect with a hot air balloon.
Square and sculpture
Freedom of dress
Graffiti
Common prosperity Bolshevik
American street
Military heavy industry
Street Appearance West Berlin Economy
East Germany's economy is relatively backward and heavy industry is emphasized.
East Berlin
Communism
LEGEND East Berlin West Berlin Lead to Reverse
The Differences in Architectural Characteristics Baroque & Gothic
Classicism & Modernism
Plan & Elevation
Perform geometric translation based on the distribution of East German and West German style buildings on the site.
Stalinist
Power Division
Character
Custom
Factor
Kandinsky's ldealisation
Religion
1947 Cold War
Architectural characteristics of Berlin during the split period. ( plan & elevation )
War
Economy
History
Ideology
Culture
Partisan
Climate
Humanistic Tradition
Politics
Berlin–Szczecin Railway
Berlin Wall
Elevation Impression
Gesundbrunnen Station
Bridge
East-Berlin
West-Berlin
Classicism & Modernism
Stalinist
Facade Hierarchy type1 type2 type3
type1
b a b b b
type4
a
2a b 2a
type2
b b b/2
b/2
5b/2
5b/2
type3
d c c
c/2
c/2 c 7c/2
c 3c c
5c
2c 2c d 2c 2c
c
Nordbahnhof
2c 2c
type4
7c/2 c
b
West-Berlin
East-Berlin
Figure Ground Relationshp Hamburger Bahnhof East German Building District West German Building District East-West-German Architecture Conflict District Greening
The plane is free, the building can be added freely over time, and the enclosure is strong.
The plan is regular, and the buildings are mostly intensive residences arranged in a straight strip shape.
0.5km
Berlin-Mitte
Railway Station Berlin Wall
Reginal Planning
SiteA Analysis Berlin–Szczecin Railway
Berlin Wall
Gesundbrunnen Station
SITE
Bridge
Nordbahnhof
Hamburger Bahnhof LEGEND Green Space Residence Supporting Facilities Major Business Centre Utilities
0.5km
Urban Programme Planning
SHOPPING MALL
RAILWAY STATION
MUSEUM
SQUARE TOWER
THEATRE
AMUSEMENT PARK
SHOPPING CENTRE The site of the underground air-raid shelter in the site connects the escape tunnel from East Germany to West Germany, as well as underground trams and military material storage warehouses.
BATHS
CHURCH
PARK
HOTEL Existing building 100m
Site red line
From Reality to Abstract Interpretation
Elemental Analysis Invert
Supremacism Deja Vu
Concept Model
Perspective On the basis of the original building: Gesundbrunnen Station, new exhibition and entertainment functions are built. The underground bunker building is retained, flipped to the ground in the same shape, connected with the subway, and constitutes the function of exhibition and traffic core.
Streamline Analysis
Section A-A' The spiral passage inside the main building abstractly restores the escape route from East Germany to West Germany. The two inner and outer tourist flow lines converge into the cylindrical core traffic core, and play the role of expressing cultural integration and commemorating history.
03 Della Perduta Patria Renovation of San Giovanni
Site: Val di Lago, San Lorenzo Nuovo, Italy Individual & Created for International Architecture Competition - Reuse the Lake Chapel Instructor: Yun Jia Xin
Email: 3573224653@qq.com
"Wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion."
<Holy Bible>
Alla ricerca della perduta Patria What people should and shouldn't do is difficult to prove. Rely solely on reason, then the result is that people have neither sufficient reasons to do anything, nor not to do anything that can be accomplished. The world itself is driven by love and hate, but those cannot transcend the boundary between birth and death. The meaning of religion is to integrate the overflowing love and hate into an established framework so that the memory of civilization and history can be possible. This project renovated a lake chapel on the holy road Via Francigena from London to Rome in Italy. The chapel was built in the 16th century and was once the center of a city. The renovation turns this old chapel into a religious center on the holy road, reviving the former grand occasion here.
Holy Road
Via Francigena
Extract and abstract the religious architectures on The Via Francigena, and applied them to the design of the site.
Site History
The church was once located in the small town——San Lorenzo Nuovo. In the 18th century, the small town moved north to its current location, and the church was abandoned.
The Via Francigena is an ancient road and pilgrimage route running from the cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and Switzerland, to Rome and then to Apulia, Italy, where there were ports of embarkation for the Holy Land.
The Lake Chapel
San Giovanni in Val di Lago
Formation San Giovanni in Val di Lago is a Renaissance-style, Roman Catholic f o r m e r c h u rc h . T h e r u i n s a re notable for the octagonal shape of the church, erected between 1563 and 1590 to designs by Pietro Tartarino.
Location
Figure Ground
Road Network
Religious center and city center
religious center
city center
Acquapendente
religious center
city center
San Lorenzo Nuovo
city center
Bolsena
religious center
accommodation bazaar
node
Site
Methodology
Church
Figure Ground
+ Sanctuary
Function
Formation
Typology
Nave
Courtyard
Road Network
Religious center and city center
Bazaar
+
Accommodation
OUTPUT
Lookout
Infrastructure Concert
Infrastructure
Amphitheatre
Master Plan
A-A' Section
Streamline Function Analysis
Vertical Section Perspective
Perspectives Amphitheatre Corridor
1
50mm Cenia Limestone
2
300mm Reinforced concrete slab
3
Support steel nails
4
Glass pillar
5
Drainage ditch
6
Footing foundation
The sunken square is located on the north side of the site. When there are religious concerts or fairs, they are used as gathering venues for public events.
North entrance
The entrance on the north side is mainly for visitors, l e a d i n g t o t h e b a z a a r, church and religious activity area respectively.
4
Oasis on the Holy road
2
3
1
5
6
The reconstructed church provides accommodation and activities for pilgrims, and it is also a spiritual habitat for pilgrims.
04 Back to Living Community Social Research and Residential Design Site : Guangzhou Haizhu, China Individual & Academic Work Instructor: Xia Zhengwei Email: zwxia@suda.edu.cn
" 人因宅而立，宅因人得存，人宅相扶。感通开地 "
"People stand because of the house, and the house survives because of the people, and the house supports each other. The feeling is open." The House of HuangDi
Cities in Evolution When the urbanization frontiers sprawled to the villages that used to be located on the outskirts of the city, government compulsorily purchased some farmlands formerly cultivated by the villages and turned them into urban land, while reserved the residential lands due to the high social and economic costs to relocate the villagers. To compensate the villagers for their lost dwellings, the government had to arrange jobs and larger apartments in the city for these unskilled villagers, which is usually difficult to achieve during the early period of China's reforms. Therefore, cities such as Guangzhou have the urban characteristics of urban villages due to their rapid development. The project addresses the existing problems of Guangzhou’s urban villages: housing shortages and high housing prices. It designs a residential area that combines commercial functions for young migrant workers. Meet the needs of these people for renting.
Site Analysis
Background Analysis
The site is located in Longtan Village, Haizhu District, Guangzhou , China. Due to the rapid development of cities, cities have surrounded the countryside, forming 'Urban Villages'. Longtan Village is a typical one.The site is next to the Longtan Overpass, and the green space planning is affected by the two parks in the south.
Urban villages in Guangzhou have problems such as dense population, shortage of housing, poor living conditions.
Group Mass Generation "Z" Combination
"L" Combination
Group
Shape Generation
01 The building axis is perpendicular to the river.
Master Plan
02 Wind direction, traffic, surrounding houses affect the layout of the building.
03 Sunlight affects building height.
04 Urban Greenway Planning affects the trend of building form.
Riverfront Runway
South Side Entrance
Floor Plan
Unit Group Diagram The standard floor of the residence is composed of three types of units to meet the needs of different groups of people. Every two floors share a common space.
Section A-A
Insulation Support steel nails Hanging pole
Vegetation Soil substrate
Main keel
Roof barrier Waterproof mambrane Thermic insulation Bearing structure
Square panel
Construction Process
TRANSPORTATION
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
1 month
1 month
1 week
FACTORY PREFAB
3
Foundation Construction
Structural Construction
Assemble and Build
Put into use
2
1