Sebastian
Choe
“hatsune serra�, rendering, 2017
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DATA PA RKS : O S LO
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S E RV E RS CA P E 18 P H OTO G RA P H Y 28 P E DE S TRIA N P E RCE P TIO N S 3 2 3D S KE TCH E S 3 6 A LB UM A RTWO RK 3 8 JP C A RCH ITE CTS 40 N Y C PA RK S 42 TE S S E LATE D UN IT 44 P H OTO G RA P H Y 48 FILMMA K IN G 50 S E E D BA N K PAV ILIO N 52 P H OTO G RA P H Y 58 VO ID N E TWO RK 60 P H OTO G RA P H Y 68 FRE S H K ILLS CE N TE R 70 P H OTO G RA P H Y 80
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DATAPA RK S : O S L O Fall 2016 with J. Al Shdaifat, G. Karagoz, I. Michaelides Design III: Resources for an Urban World Critic: Karen Fairbanks
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Dataparks: Oslo
Public Data Center Infrastructure
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Dataparks: Oslo
exterior render of public media library
Public Data Center Infrastructure
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DATAPARKS: OSLO
The project: force data center developers who wish to build in Oslo’s city center to include J. AL SHDAIFAT / G. KARAGOZ / S. CHOE / I. MICHAELIDES spaces for the public within their facilities, which are themselves to be housed in soon-to-be obsolete parking and automobile infrastructures.
Oslo is planning to be car-free in its city center by 2019, resulting in the vacancy of many parking garages, lots, and underground highway tunnels. In recent years, Norway has become a popular site for data centers because of their hydropowered electricity grid, inviting an influx of capital development. Data center developers benefit from Norway’s renewable energy, as their public image is often hindered by the monumental volumes of electricity their operation demands, typically powered by coal plants. The public is missing from this exchange. Dataparks: Oslo is an infrastructural and architectural proposal that reintroduces the public into this economic exchange, presenting a set of criteria to data center developers that must be fulfilled in order to build in Oslo. The proposal imagines itself as an initiative supported and enforced by Oslo’s Department of City Planning, who our team met with while conducting research in Oslo.
above ground data server cooling mechanisms
For every 10,000 square feet of server space built, the developers will be expected to provide 3,000 square feet of public space. The excess heat emitted from the data servers, typically very energy-costly to cool, will be redirected to benefit the various public programs. These cooling mechanisms, each specific to the sites that previously served as infrastructure for automobile use, drove the design of the following architectural proposals.
ground level data server cooling mechanism
Dataparks: Oslo presents three examples of what this infrastructure might look like in execution, with a different approach for each of the three types of automobile infrastructure that wiill be made obsolete in 2019. A parking garage becomes a public media center, a set of parking lots becomes a marketplace and recreational area, underground highway tunnels become swimming pools and an aquarium, these programs all heated by data servers strategically housed in each respective space.
underground data server cooling mechanism
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Dataparks: Oslo
section of public media library, above ground. excess server heat redirected to public program
section of community marketplace and recreational landscape, ground level. passive earth cooling system
section of swimming zones, underground. ocean water cools servers, the resulting warm water used in pools
Public Data Center Infrastructure
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public media library, previously parking garage. ramp system revealing server-heated reading area
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Dataparks: Oslo
public media library, previously parking garage. public seating and open air lookout to street
Public Data Center Infrastructure
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community marketplace, previously parking lots. walkable landscape above market, view of skatepark
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Dataparks: Oslo
community marketplace, previously parking lots. marketplace entrance with view of play area and marina
Public Data Center Infrastructure
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swimming zone, previously highway tunnel. winding walkways above swimming path
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Dataparks: Oslo
swimming zone, previously highway tunnel. pools of different depths, skylights bringing in light from city surface
Public Data Center Infrastructure
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information booklet for data center developers, outlining mandatory requirements of public program
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Dataparks: Oslo
00 people commute a day
aces in the cit center
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early research on types of automobile infrastructure soon to be obsolete in oslo’s city center
Public Data Center Infrastructure
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S ERVERS CA P E Fall 2016 with I. Michaelides Design III: Resources for an Urban World Critic: Karen Fairbanks
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Serverscape
Public Data Center Pavilion
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Serverscape
exterior render of central pavilion
Public Data Center Pavilion
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The project: a small-scale data center, central pavilion, and network of wi-fi connected hubs in Oslo that grants a physical presence to the invisible infrastructure of wi-fi connectivity and data usage. Inspired by the desire to grant a dramatic physical presence to what is typically an ephemeral infrastructure, Serverscape confronts wi-fi users with the data center, a typically resource-intensive architecture that is an essential but oft-ignored driver of our daily internet activity. Our site, the Kontraskjaeret park area in Oslo, has recently began hosting more regular public events, offering an opportunity to strategically intervene with a wi-fi infrastructure that it currently lacks. Our design process began with the statistic that an iPhone consumes the equivalent amount of electricity as a refrigerator, this expensive energy cost resulting from the need to cool excess heat from data servers. In Serverscape, this excess heat, rather than being cooled, is instead redirected upward to heat the central pavilion, which sits directly above the servers. The central pavilion provides a space for large-group social gatherings and education about the role of the data center that acts as both the pavilion’s structural and symbolic foundation.
upper plan of central pavilion
Additionally, a network of wi-fi connected hubs is dispersed throughout the park. As more users connect to these hubs’ wi-fi, more heat is redirected from the data center to the hub, inflating a fabric shelter and triggering increased light intensity, providing a public service in the colder months and encouraging increased social interaction in the park area of Kontraskjaeret. lower plan of central pavilion
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Serverscape
x-ray plan render of central pavilion
Public Data Center Pavilion
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serverscape kontraskjĂŚret, oslo, norway pavilion section perspective
rendering of outdoor undercovered area of central pavilion, with a view of the interior
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Serverscape
section rendering of central pavilion
rendering of central pavilion’s interior, with a view of the data center below
Public Data Center Pavilion
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diagram of wi-fi hub heating mechanism
rendering of hub with multiple connected users
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Serverscape
rendering of hub with single connected user
site pl deployment of hu kontraskjĂŚret, oslo, norw
site plan of central pavilion and heated wi-fi hubs
examples of different types of hubs, varying degrees of shelter
Public Data Center Pavilion
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“центр робототехники”, photo, 2016
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Photography
“воробьёвы го́ ры”, photo, 2016
Photography
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PED E ST R I A N P ERC EP TI O NS Spring 2015 with J. Walters, A. Henry Datascapes: Mapping the Informal City Critic: Leah Meisterlin
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Pedestrian Perceptions
still from film introducing the site of investigation
still from film visualizing a variety of datasets
still from film of “zoom-in� analysis of specific intersection
Data Visualization of Street Safety
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The project: a 3-minute animated video and project board investigating pedestrian safety on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, New York using a combination of existing datasets and our own methods of data collection.
L
3rd
e Av
Fatalities 1 Traffic Volume (# of vehicles)
DAILY AVERAGE 2013
350 - 22,000 22,001 - 85,000
4th
e Av
St
The project synthesizes experiential photos and sound from the corridor, an animated flyover of a 3D
% of pedestrians who jaywalked
ific
The project aims to answer the following questions: do pedestrians behave in a safer way when safety infrastructure (bollards, crossing guards and time counters), the size of the intersection, and number of other crossers encourage them to perceive themselves as safe? How does this behavior, intersection by intersection, compare with the pedestrian injuries that have occurred in the past?
pedestrian volume
c Pa
Utilizing the resources offered at Columbia University’s Digital Social Science Center and public datasets like NYC Vision Zero and Department of Transportation, an argumentative stance and audience was developed.
Pedestrian Behavior 6-9 PM DEC 20, 2015 7-8 PM DEC 11, 2015
Flatbush Ave
The Flatbush corridor irregularly cuts through its flanking blocks in a diagonal, generating unique “no man’s land” spaces and unorthodox crosswalks that vary greatly from the neat grid of Manhattan. This phenomena appears most clearly in the segment from the Flatbush/ Atlantic intersection at Barclays Center leading southeast to Prospect Place. Our personal experiences at the site produced noticeable confusion in addition to curiosity at the unfamiliar orientation of the avenue. This suggested the need for an inquiry into the “informal” phenomena of pedestrian perceptions of safety, unaddressed by current datasets.
Pedestrian Perceptions of Safety on Flatbush Avenue
85,001 - 180,000 Collision Injury Zones
JULY 2012 - NOVEMBER 2015
lowest collision density
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Barclays Center
greatest collision density 5th
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0.03
0.06
e Av
0.12 Miles
De
a
N Sources: NYPD Motor Vehicle Collision Data 2015, NYC Vision Zero, NYC DOT Traffic Volume Counts 2013, GroupConducted Field Research
Allison Henry, Jordan Walters, Sebastian Choe
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Pedestrian Perceptions
Be
rg e
6th
e Av
n
S
Who is responsible?
47%
fatalities caused by pedestrian choice angles of awareness
250째
Lafa
yette Ave
225째
310째
14 jaywalkers 109 total crossers in area
concrete island protected by bollards 20 second traffic guards walking present at signal: all Barclays shortest in crosswalks corridor
average walking speed: 1.35 m/s
53%
fatalities caused by driver choice
Our Corridor
exceptional convergence of 14 distinct angles
2 jaywalkers near Barclays 323 total crossers
Brooklyn
Do pedestrians behave in a safer way when safety infrastructure, the size of the intersection, and number of other crossers encourage them to perceive themselves as safe?
27 jaywalkers 116 total crossers
At la
an
Collision Injuries: Our Corridor vs. All of Brooklyn Injuries per Intersection
e
nt
ic
Av e
average walking speed: 1.95 m/s
310째 pedestrian safety area with bollards
St
Our Corridor
18 jaywalkers 90 total crossers
Downtown Brooklyn Density of Collision Injuries
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project board
Data Visualization of Street Safety
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3D Sketches
3D Sketches
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“broken spear”, album cover, 2016
“drop shadow”, album cover, 2015
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Album Artwork
“copalis”, album cover, 2015
“gold medal”, album cover, 2017
Album Artwork
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J P C A RC H I TEC TS Summer 2016 Architectural Intern Supervisors: Mike Jones, Dean Harris
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JPC Architects
Responsibilities of the internship at JPC Architects spanned a variety of tasks including the organization of construction documents, 3D modeling, building surveys, and space-planning sessions with project teams. I also translated hand drawings and redlines into AutoCAD and traveled to sites for meetings and tours with clients. Throughout the span of the internship I directed and produced the firm’s new welcoming video for their website’s homepage, coordinating pre-production meetings while shooting and editing footage to effectively communicate the firm’s identity to website visitors. PROPEL INSURANCE THE MARK - SEATTLE
space plan of open office design for client
35TH FLOOR Sq.Ft
3D model of existing property and future retail space
direction and production of new welcoming video for website
Selected Internship Work
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NYC PA RK S Fall 2015 Freshkills Park Alliance Design Intern Supervisor: Mariel Villere
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NYC Parks & Recreation
Responsibilities of the internship at the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation spanned a variety of tasks ranging from the design of maps, promotional graphics, web layouts, and production of video content supporting the roll-out of developments at Freshkills Park, a landfill-to-park project on Staten Island over double the size of Central Park. Other responsibilities included the researching of grants and precedents of other similar park projects with the objective of the continued successful roll-out of Freshkills Park. Significantly during my time at NYC Parks & Recreation, the New Springville Greenway trail was opened, and the New Earth Resiliency Training Module was launched (a series of tours and workshops encouraging a reconnection to nature).
mock-up of freshkills park website redesign
public poster communicating progress of development at freshkills
Selected Internship Work
trail map of new springville greenway in freshkills park
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T E SSEL ATED U NI T Fall 2014 Architectural Representation: Abstraction Critic: Madeline Schwartzman
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Tesselated Unit
Modular Design Exercise
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The project: a singular unit tesselated and aggregated through a governing set of rules to be deployed across multiple scales, as a wearable fashion, furniture, a building facade. Tesselated Unit begins with a 1.5� x 4.5� strip of chipboard, folded and multiplied into a semi-flexible chain that has at its core the concept of an aperture in a prism. The chain asks itself to become a prosthetic exoskeleton revealing patches of flesh, an inhabitable mega-geode playground, a skin-like building facade selectively letting light into different floors.
single unit, unfolded
tesselated system deployed at scale of the room
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Tesselated Unit
diagram of rule system for tesselated units: unit a in red, unit b in blue, connector piece in orange
tesselated system deployed at scale of the body
Modular Design Exercise
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Angel Hill is an experimental short film. The film obsessively and surgically reproduces the unique aesthetic qualities of the hit TV-series One Tree Hill. A tribute to the camera work of Billy Dickson, who defined the aesthetics of early 2000s television and served as an invaluable resource in the production of Angel Hill.
“angel hill”, film stills, 2017
Madder Movie is an anthropological film essay. The film investigates the phenomenon of “moe”, or falling in love with Japanese virtual characters. Completed with the help of Marilyn Ivy, anthropologist at Columbia University, Madder Movie features a blend of motion graphics, “video painting”, and 3D renderings.
“madder movie”, film stills, 2017
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Filmmaking
The Life That Chose She is an ethnographic documentary. Completed with Soleil Grant under the guidance of Frances NegronMuntaner, director of Columbia University’s Centre for Race and Ethnicity, the film interviews several young women about their relationship to hip-hop, featuring abstracted narrative vignettes and a curated soundtrack.
“tltcs”, film stills, 2014
Prince of Love is a feature-length experimental documentary. The film intimately follows two lovers over the span of fourteen months, blurring the line between surveillance and performance. Soundtracked by manipulated pop music, the film acknowledges and fractures the romantic space between the real life couple and 8mm tape camcorder.
“prince of love”, film stills, 2015
Filmmaking
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SE E D BANK PAV I L I O N Spring 2015 with J. Al Shdaifat, A. Reeb Architectural Representation: Perception Critic: Kadambari Baxi
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Seed Bank Pavilion
Staircase Redesign Addressing Global Issue
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The project: a pavilion connecting the United Nations complex to the rest of New York City that responds to the effects of climate change on plant species diversity. The site provides a unique opportunity to investigate the meeting of political territories and jurisdictions at the city and international scale. Specifically, Seed Bank Pavilion acts as circulation from East 43rd Street to 1st Avenue, replacing an existing staircase with a ramped pavilion. Central to the pavilion is a system of mobile rods, each rod filled with seeds of a particular plant species. The rods move up and down corresponding to the depletion of these individual plant species at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The visitor can thus navigate this system of rods, either above or below the pavilion, learning about the seeds contained within and the phenomena of seed banks as a result of climate-change triggered species depletion.
pavilion elevation
pavilion section
pavilion plan
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Seed Bank Pavilion
exploded axonometric of pavilion
Staircase Redesign Addressing Global Issue
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rod system’s capability to respond to plant species depletion
model photos
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Seed Bank Pavilion
Seed Bank Pavilion: Circulating Knowledge 3D Renderings
wledge
sections illustrating rod system’s capacity to respond to plant species depletion
elevation rendering illustrating public space both above and below pavilion
perspective rendering of approach to pavilion, view towards UN headquarters
Staircase Redesign Addressing Global Issue
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VOI D NETWO RK Spring 2017 Architectural Design II Critic: Brad Samuels
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Void Network
Spatial Investigation of Keywords
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Void Network
close-up of model detail
Spatial Investigation of Keywords
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The project: a physical and digital model investigating spatial relationships derived from four selected keywords: structure, screen, search, listen. Developed through a process of material experimentation and iterative model making, Void Network presents three primary types of spatial relationships: winding pathways and contours, partial enclosures and overhangs, and deep cavernous voids. Central to the project is the idea of circulating through an alien landscape and being surprised by new spaces, routes, and views along the way. Void Network imagines itself not as a building, but as an archaeological core sample, a small piece of a world where this network is infinitely repeated and modulated.
typology 1: winding pathways and contours
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Void Network
longitudinal section of model
typology 2: partial enclosures and overhangs
plan section of model
typology 3: deep cavernous voids
Spatial Investigation of Keywords
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study models investigating individual keywords
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Void Network
model photo illustrating all three typologies
Spatial Investigation of Keywords
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F R E SH K I L L S C ENTER Fall 2015 Architectural Design I Critic: Leah Meisterlin
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Freshkills Center
Park Visitors Center and Laboratory
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Freshkills Center
section perspective rendering of visitors center
Park Visitors Center and Laboratory
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overall concept diagram
The project: a visitors center at Freshkills Park in Staten Island that includes space for public education about the landfill-topark project, wet lab space for biologists conducting research on the park’s plant and wildlife, and studio space for artists in residency. Freshkills Center began with an investigation of infrastructures of water filtration in Staten Island, analyzing the flow of rainwater and wastewater both at the scale of the borough and the scale of leachate filtration and treatment at Freshkills. Spatial relationships observed in this research were taken into consideration in the design development of the visitors center and the interaction between park visitors and resident biologists. The visitors center is organized around the collision of axes, where users of the various programs are filtered through the building, with consistently perpendicular views into the spaces of other programs, and selected vista views of the waterfront that the center is sited upon.
plans showing circulation and intersecting wet lab/public space views
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Freshkills Center
design development of programmatic relationships
visitor center’s relationship to surrounding site and topography
Park Visitors Center and Laboratory
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SHARED
WET LAB STUDIO
/8” - 1’
FKP GALLERY SHARED
WET LAB
rendering of wet lab space looking at exhibition space
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Freshkills Center
STUDIO
STUDIO
STORAGE
BATHROOM
ENTRANCE
CLASSROOM
COMMUNITY SPACE
longitudinal section of visitors center
rendering of exhibition space looking into inner courtyard
rendering of building entrance and waterfront lookout area
Park Visitors Center and Laboratory
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Freshkills Center
research on staten island water networks and wastewater filtration systems
photos of visitors center model and site model
Park Visitors Center and Laboratory
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