TECHNOLOGY / TECHNIQUE / TECHNÉ 2011-2017
WWW.SYNTHESIS-DNA.COM SYNTHESIS DESIGN + ARCHITECTURE 724 S. SPRING ST. #1101 LOS ANGELES, CA 90014, USA STUDIO@SYNTHESIS-DNA.COM TWITTER/INSTAGRAM: @SYNTHESISDNA
SYNTHESIS DESIGN + ARCHITECTURE Synthesis Design + Architecture is a multi-award winning experimental design firm that understands and values questions as much as answers. We specialize in producing innovative design work that not only challenges convention through technological, material and computational innovation, but also work that purposefully enlivens the public imagination and makes a case for the role of innovative architecture in our contemporary creative culture. Our body of work spans typologies and scales - but focuses at the intersection of technology, performance and craft. This territory is explored through the design of architectural projects that experiment with advanced computational design processes as a means to investigate the synthetic relationships between form, structure and skin. This form of creative practice works to expand the historical arc of architectural discourse through the production of original design research that connects essential relationships between architecture and technology to the present and the future. The central research agenda at the core of this work explores the evolution of design computation from technology to technique to techné - utilizing emergent technologies as more than production tools or generative instruments, but more importantly as added dimensions for design experimentation, design intuition, and design thinking. Through the combination of associative geometries, physics based solvers, environmental analysis tools, and digital fabrication protocols, we seek to develop methods to inform architectural form with performative traits through the iterative manipulation of data-driven geometries. By positioning design & fabrication technologies as ways of thinking our work extends the historical legacy of technology as a catalyst for disciplinary advancement. While our research agenda is very much about the future of architecture and where it is headed, the work itself is still very much about what architecture has always been about—the synergy between technology, form and cultural experience in the built environment. By fusing the essential with the experimental the ambitions of the work are to exceed the norms of contemporary practice – both in terms of the work’s spatial qualities as well as the work’s value as design research. It is through the integration of experimental research interests with design practice opportunities that our contributions to the discipline of architecture are materialized as both intellectual inquiry and cultural artifact.
HOW WE DO, WHAT WE DO. We collaborate. We design through collaboration. Our role is to facilitate the dialogue between architect, client, user, engineer, fabricator, and builder. By provoking an open dialogue and challenging traditional preconceptions, we are able to extend our clients’ ambitions and produce groundbreaking work. We analyze. We explore design as an exploration of both building and material performance as well as an expression of contemporary society and cultural values. We seek to enhance the way people experience the built environment by capitalizing on the potential of time, space, and form to affect and inspire those who inhabit it. We challenge convention. We see constraints as opportunities to question the status quo. We see design as an opportunity to pose questions and establish problems to solve. We view each project as a unique opportunity to integrate diverse and often contending conceptions and constraints into a coherent whole. We leverage technology. We believe that the catalyst for every major advancement within the discipline of Architecture has been a parallel advancement of technology. We focus on the merging of creative, intellectual, and technological design processes with intelligent fabrication and construction techniques to create beautifully crafted designs. We synthesize. We seek to balance both the experimental and the visionary with the practical and the pragmatic to achieve the extraordinary.
TECHNOLOGY IS THE ANSWER, BUT WHAT IS THE QUESTION? SDA is firmly invested in the critical practice of architecture as design research, we investigate the intersection between form, structure and skin as design research through our creative practice and our writing. The work of the office has been widely acknowledged - both within the architectural discipline as a creative practice, as well as within the design computation community as design research, both nationally and internationally. Our design work has received over 30 honors and awards, has been published in more than 40 publications, and has been featured in over 20 exhibitions, and more than 100 press articles. We have been invited to lecture about our work widely, and have given over 60 talks at various universities, institutions, and conferences in 12 different countries. Our practice has generated a body of both built and theoretical work including buildings, facades, interiors, pavilions, public art, furniture, and objects. Although the scales and typologies of the work vary greatly, all of the projects are connected by four overlapping design research agendas: Geometric Logic (rule-based geometry that is defined by relationships rather than dimensions) Performative Patterning (patterns that produce performative effects and provoke visual interaction) Informed Form (form that is informed by structural and material performance) Digital Craft (craft as understood in a post-digital era) While our underlying research interests provide an intellectual coherence to the collective body of work, each project is driven by a singular goal - to question and challenge issues of architecture form through design investigation. Inspired by the title of the late Cedric Price’s seminal 1966 lecture at the Architectural Association in London - “Technology is the answer, but what is the question?” - each project is seen as an opportunity to position design a a process of questioning through the lens of technology and the act of creation.
ALVIN HUANG, AIA Alvin Huang, AIA is the Founder and Design Principal of Synthesis Design + Architecture and an Associate Professor at the USC School of Architecture. He is an awardwinning architect, designer, and educator specializing in the integrated application of material performance, emergent design technologies and digital fabrication in contemporary architectural practice. His work spans all scales ranging from hi-rise towers and mixed-use developments to temporary pavilions and bespoke furnishings. His work has been published and exhibited widely and has gained international recognition with over 30 distinctions at local, national, and international levels including being honored as the Young Architect of the Year by the American Institute of Architects California Council in 2016, being selected of as one of 50 global innovators under the age of 50 by Images Publishing in 2015, being featured as a “Next Progressive” by Architect Magazine in 2014, and being named one of Time Magazine’s 20 Best Inventors of 2013. He has been an invited critic, guest lecturer, and keynote speaker at various institutions in the US, Canada, Mexico, Chile, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, India, Thailand, Japan and China. Alvin received a Master of Architecture and Urbanism from the Architectural Association Design Research Laboratory (2004) in London and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Southern California (1998) in Los Angeles.
EDUCATION 2002-2004 1993-1998
M. Arch, Architectural Association, London UK B. Arch, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS 2016Licensed Architect #C35877, California Architects Board 2012Registered Architect #53260, Arizona Board of Technical Registration 2012Registered Architect #402785, State of Colorado 2012Member #38186919, American Institute of Architects PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2011Principal, Synthesis Design + Architecture Inc., Los Angeles, CA, USA 2008-2011 Director, Amanda Levete Architects, London UK 2006-2008 Project Designer, Future Systems, London UK 2004-2006 Lead Designer, Zaha Hadid Architects, London UK 1998-2002 Designer, AECOM, Los Angeles, CA, USA ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS 2017USC, School of Architecture, Los Angeles, USA, Associate Professor (Tenured) 2011-2017 USC, School of Architecture, Los Angeles, USA, Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) 2013-2014 Architectural Association, London, UK, Director, AA Global Visiting School Los Angeles 2013 University of Calgary - EVDS, Calgary, CA, Dale Taylor Visiting Lecturer 2010 Architectural Association, London, UK, Tutor, AA Global Visiting School Beijing 2006-2007 Chelsea College of Arts - Interior & Spatial Design, London, UK, Diploma Tutor SELECTED AWARDS (INDIVIDUAL & FIRM) 2016 American Institute of Architects California Council, AEP Young Architects Award (Alvin Huang) 2016 American Institute of Architects LA Chapter, Presidential Emerging Practice of the Year (SDA) 2015 50 Under 50, Images Publishing (Alvin Huang/SDA) 2015 Perspective Magazine, 40 Under 40 Award (Alvin Huang) 2015 Engineering Record News, ENR California Top 20 Under 40 (Alvin Huang) 2013 Autodesk Small Business Success Award (SDA) 2013 American Institute of Architects Committee on Design Knowledge Scholar (Alvin Huang) SELECTED AWARDS (RESEARCH & TEACHING) 2016 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Faculty Design Award (Durotaxis Chair) 2015 Architect Magazine, Research & Design Award (Pure Tension Pavilion) 2014 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, New Faculty Teaching Award 2014 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Faculty Design Award (Chelsea Workspace) SELECTED AWARDS (DESIGN) 2016 American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Design Award, Merit (Pure Tension Pavilion) 2016 The Plan Magazine, Plan Awards - Industrial Design (Durotaxis Chair) 2016 The Plan Magazine, Plan Awards - Transportation (Pure Tension Pavilion) 2016 The Plan Magazine, Plan Awards - Hospitality (The Groove) 2015 Perspective Magazine, A&D Trophy Award -Best Commercial/Retail Project (The Groove) 2015 SXSW Eco Place By Design Award for Data + Technology (Pure Tension Pavilion) 2014 American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Design Awards, NextLA Award (Daegu Library) 2014 Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award (Pure Tension Pavilion) 2014 American Institute of Architects National Small Projects Award (Pure Tension Pavilion) 2013 Time Magazine’s Top 25 Inventions of 2013 (Pure Tension Pavilion) 2013 American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Design Awards, NextLA Award (Pure Tension Pavilion) 2013 American Institute of Architects California Design Award, Merit ([C]Space Pavilion) 2009 D&AD Award for Environmental Design ([C]Space Pavilion) SELECTED SERVICE 2017 AIA|LA, Juror, AIA|LA Next LA Design Awards 2017 AIA|LA, Steering committee, Encompass: Inclusive Architecture Symposium 2017 Los Angeles Department of City Planning Urban Design Review, Reviewer 2017-present Norman Public Schools, AP Capstone Research Consultant 2016 La Metro Trans. Authority, Division 20 Maintenence of Way Artist Selection Panel 2015-present USC Blackstone Launchpad Entrepeneurship Incubator, Stewardship Council 2015-present Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture, Board of Directors 2013-2014 Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture, Conference Co-Chair 2010-present Guest critic - Harvard GSD, PennDesign, Syracuse, CCA, SCI-Arc, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Architectural Association, UCL Bartlett, Royal College of Art, Dessau Inst. of Arch, Woodbury CalPoly SLO, CalPoly Pomona, Univ. Iberoamericano, Univ. of Lund, Tsinghua Univ, Tongji Univ.
EVENTS 2012 - 2013
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
10 07 12 12
JOSE
SHELLEY
GOMEZMARQUEZ
EVDS STUDENTS + FACULTY KASIAN GALLERY, Sep 7 - 21
PROFESSOR OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY AND URBAN CULTURE YORK UNIVERSITY shelleyh.apps01.yorku.ca
DESIGNER LITTLE DEVICES INSTRUCTOR MIT D-LAB www.littledevices.org
BRUCE
CRAIG
CREATIVE DIRECTOR BRUCE MAU DESIGN FOUNDER INSTITUTE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES www.brucemaudesign.com
JOHN
SYNTHETIQUES + {MAS} RECENT WORK KASIAN GALLERY, Sep 15 - Oct 19 RECEPTION Oct 5
2012 / 2013 LAUNCH KASIAN GALLERY, Sep 26 - Oct 21 RECEPTION Sep 26
BIG IDEA AVENUE MAGAZINE + EVDS KASIAN GALLERY, Sep 24 - Oct 21 www.avenuemagazine.ca
makeCALGARY CHARRETTE, EXHIBITION, AND FORUM METROPOLITAN CENTRE - 6:30pm www.makecalgary.com
ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY COMPETITION FINALISTS KASIAN GALLERY, Oct 22 - Nov 16 RECEPTION Oct 22 www.architectureforhumanity.org
URBAN LAB
PHD FORUM
EVDS PhD STUDENT PRESENTATIONS LOCATION: TBA - Nov 22 10:00am - 4:00pm
NO OBJECT CURATED BY KEIR STUHLMILLER LOCAL ARTIST EXHIBITION KASIAN GALLERY, Nov 19 - 30 RECEPTION Nov 19
THE SUKKAH EVDS STUDENTS + RABBI OSADCHEY 12 PROPOSALS KASIAN GALLERY, Nov 19 - Dec 10 RECEPTION Nov 19
DECEMBER FRAME SHOW
EVDS ART AUCTION KASIAN GALLERY, Dec 1 - 10 RECEPTION Dec 7
RECENT WORK KASIAN GALLERY, Oct 22 - Nov 16 RECEPTION Oct 22 www.ucalgary.ca/urbanlab
MARCH
EVDS LECTURE SERIES
DESIGN MATTERS
SEPTEMBER
WHILE YOU WERE OUT...
TEHRANI 06 NADER
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
09 06 23 20 HUANG
PROFESSOR MIT SA+P FOUNDER NADAAA www.nadaaa.com
SOMERVILLE TOM LECTURE WISCOMBE IK STUDIO evds.ucalgary.ca for updates
RICHARD
PRINCIPAL THIEMEWORKS AUTHOR OF MIND GAMES AND ISLANDS IN THE CLICKSTREAM www.thiemeworks.com
CULTURE SPACE makeCalgary 2012 KASIAN GALLERY, Jan 7 - Feb 15 RECEPTION Jan 17
FOUNDER TOM WISCOMBE DESIGN PROFESSOR SCI-ARC www.tomwiscombe.com
ALVIN
FOUNDER SYNTHESIS PROFESSOR USC www.synthesis-dna.com
TAYLOR SEMINAR EXHIBIT KASIAN GALLERY, Feb 17 - Mar 22 RECEPTION Feb 22
RECENT WORK KASIAN GALLERY, Mar 25 - Apr 19 RECEPTION Mar 28 www.ikstudio.com
MoDA
RECENT WORK KASIAN GALLERY, Mar 25 - Apr 19 RECEPTION Mar 28 www.moda-architecture.ca
APRIL +
03
LEON
VAN SCHAIK
PROFESSOR OF ARCHITECTURE & INNOVATION CHAIR RMIT www.architecture.rmit.edu.au/people
MBAC SYNTHESIS YEAR END SHOW RECENT WORK KASIAN GALLERY, Jan 7 - Feb 15 RECEPTION Jan 24
DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE RECENT WORK KASIAN GALLERY, Feb 17 - Mar 22 RECEPTION Feb 22
STUDENT WORK FROM 2012/2013 KASIAN GALLERY, May 9 - Aug 1
Gallery Events: Unless otherwise noted, all receptions begin at 6PM in the Kasian Gallery Professional Faculties, 2800 University Way, Calgary AB Design Matters Lecture Series: Unless otherwise noted, all lectures begin at 6PM at the UofC Downtown Campus 906 - 8th Ave SW, Calgary AB
visit evds.ucalgary.ca for more information
TALENT: ARCHITECTURE
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(BELOW) Alvin Huang at his firm’s L.A. studio on the ninth floor of the American Cement Building, designed by DMJM and completed in 1964.
(OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) First two, renderings of a firstplace entry to the Shanghai Wuzhou International Plaza competition.
A design concept for the Xiamen Dream City development. Study model for the Ideas City 2013 Streetfest competition.
The
Our second annual
survey of rising talents nominated by 14 leaders of design
Analyze Bliss l.a. studio synthesis uses number crunching to profoundly subtle effect. PORTRAIT CLAUDIA LUCIA
Alvin Huang, the 37-year-old founder of Los Angeles–based architecture firm Synthesis, finds solace in the number of coffee drinks available on a basic Starbucks menu: 70, give or take, as calculated by architect Farshid Moussavi in her book the function of form. Huang cites the chain’s design as an exemplar of simple mass customization. “We’re moving toward developing processes that will allow maximum variation through minimal effort,” he says. In the two years since founding
PHOTOS: TOP TWO, COURTESY SYNTHESIS. LOWER LEFT, CLAUDIA LUCIA. BOTTOM, COURTESY SYNTHESIS.
9th Annual
Synthesis, finding creative architectural analogs to systems such as a coffee menu has been one of Huang’s guiding principles. Take one of the practice’s recent designs, a London home office for a private financier. It hides the server, shredder, files, and other necessities behind a sculptural wall of vertical plywood ribs that form a desk, storage, and décor. The undulating cladding is punctuated with horizontal bits that form an abstraction of the world map, a nod to the client’s travel bug. Fluid and warm, the project could be adapted to accommodate different spaces and needs, and it is both spatially and materially efficient, thanks to the nesting technique used to cut the flat wood in descending sizes. A fascination with materials, and their limitations and efficiency, is a recurring theme for Synthesis. “We’re trying to move back towards a model of the master builder,” says Huang, but via new technologies. This is evident in one of the firm’s first commissions, the winning entry for the [C]space Pavilion for the 10th
anniversary of the Architectural Association’s Design Research Laboratory (generated in collaboration with architect Alan Dempsey). In it, thin concrete cladding is jointed together in over 850 different ways, forming roof, furniture, and floor. The result is a shell-shaped structure at once solid and loose, organic and high-tech. London is familiar ground for Synthesis’ principal: After working for Zaha Hadid, Future Systems, and then Amanda Levete Architects, Huang struck out on his own in early 2011. Just a few months after founding the firm, Huang moved Synthesis to the U.S. when the University of Southern California offered him a professorship. These days, Huang directs a team of five. He also teaches, among other courses, a seminar called “Digital Craft” that “embodies our research on digital fabrication, handcraft, associative geometry, material performance, and form finding,” he says. Thus far, Huang’s formula is working. In addition to its two London projects, last
year Synthesis completed a shopping mall in Lampang, Thailand, and a spatial installation atop the roof of Shanghai’s Museum of Contemporary Art. For the former, a dynamic steel lattice facade changes as it is seen from cars that zip down a freeway alongside the mall, shifting from opaque to transparent and changing colors all the while. “You read movement in it even when it’s static,” Huang says. The latter, undertaken with fellow USC teachers and a class of Huang’s students, involved a canopy of nets positioned to frame views of surrounding bulidings. Landscape-like forms on the roof changed colors as visitors moved past. The installation directed attention to the skyscrapers surrounding the museum, and to the activity on the roof itself. The firm is at work on another mall in Thailand, a 200-seat performing arts center in China, and three invited installations—two Calgary pavilions and one in Beijing—to be unveiled this year. In all, quite a synthesis of places, projects, and materials.–julia cooke
SELECTED LECTURES 2017 Nike NXT Innovation Kitchen, Beaverton, USA 2017 Harvard Graduate School of Design, Hybrid Formations Seminar, Cambridge, USA 2016 Now, Next, Future Conference, AIA California Council, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA 2016 Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico 2016 California College of the Arts, Digital Craft Lab, San Francisco, USA 2016 Mosaic of Episodes, Indian Institute of Architects, Bangalore, India 2016 Urban Intelligence Symposium, Architectural Association, Shanghai, China 2015 Alaska Design Forum, Future Tense Lecture Series, Anchorage/Juneau/Fairbanks, AK 2015 Monterey Design Conference, Emerging Voices, Asilomar, California 2015 Ottawa Architecture Week / Carleton University, Forum Lecture Series, Ottawa, CA 2015 Syracuse University, School of Architecture, Syracuse, NY 2014 Design Aesthetics in the Digital Age, Sci-Arc, Los Angeles, USA 2014 Urban Formations Symposium, Architectural Association, Shanghai, China 2014 Radical Tectonics Progressive Architecture Symposium VIII, Mexico City, MX 2014 Digital Skins: Tex-Fab 5, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA 2014 Morphosis Architects, Experimental Procedures Lecture Series, Los Angeles, USA 2014 Universidad Iberoamericano, Mexico City, MX 2013 Universita di Bologna, Bologna, Italy 2013 Tsinghua University, Parametric Design Week, Beijing, China 2013 University of Calgary, Design Matters Lecture Series, Canada 2011 University of Lund, Department of Theoretical & Applied Aesthetics, Lund, Sweden 2011 University College of London, The Bartlett, Adaptive Arch. & Computation, London, UK 2010 New Technologies in Digital Architecture, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel 2010 ETH Zurich, Chair of Computer Aided Architectural Design, Switzerland SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2017 Days in the Morrow: New and Renewable Energy, Gwangju Design Biennale, South Korea 2017 architecture, architectural & Architecture, A+D Museum, Los Angeles, CA 2016 Specificities: AAVS Shanghai Ten, Hong Kong University SSC Gallery, Shanghai, China 2016 Out Side: AA Public Works, Architectural Association, London, UK 2015 Architectural Xenotypes, Design Matters Gallery, Los Angeles, USA 2015 Global Renaissance 2.0, ZKM | Centre for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany 2013 DADA2013: Digital Making, Beijing Architectural Biennale, Beijing, China 2013 Appropriate/Mutate/Innovate, Beijing Architectural Biennale, Beijing, China 2013 Informed Form: The Synthesis of Geometry, Performance and Craft, University of Calgary, Canada 2012 MOCA Mock-ups: The Art of Spatial Architecture, MOCA Shanghai, Shanghai, China 2011 FABRICATE, University College London, London UK 2010 Input/Output: Adaptive Materials & Mediated Environments, Temple University, Philadelphia USA 2009 Digital Architecture London, The Building Centre, London UK 2009 Digital Thinking: Parametric Prototypes, Jia Xingwa Museum of Arts, Xian China 2009 Advanced Architecture Settimo Tokyo, CASARTARC, Tokyo, Japan 2008 DRL X: Ten Years of the AADRL, Architectural Association, London UK 2008 (Im)material Processes: New Digital Techniques for Architecture, Beijing Architectural Biennale SELECTED WRITING 2017 “Architectural Artifacts and Object Architecture” Instabilities and Potentialities, Routledge, UK 2016 “Gradient Materiality” ACSA International Conference 2016: Probing (Dis)Global Networks 2016 “Gradient Logics” Mixed Matters: A Multi-material Design Compendium, Jovis, UK 2014 “Nearly Minimal: Intuition, Analysis & Geometry”, ACADIA 2014: Design Agency 2014 “Pure Tension”, CAADRIA 2014: Rethinking Comprehensive Design: Speculative Counterculture 2013 “Alloplastic Architecture” ACADIA 2013: Adaptive Architecture 2011 “Integrating Digital Materiality: Drawing Logic”, Fabricating the Future, Tongji Press, China 2009 “An Experiment in Digital Craft”, 9 Problems in the Form of a Pavilion, AA Press, UK SELECTED PUBLICATIONS 2016 Integrating Innovations in Architecture: Design, Methods and Technology 2015 50 Under 50: Innovators of the 21st Century 2014 Paradigms in Computing 2014 eVolo_06: Digital & Parametric Architecture 2014 Material Innovation: Architecture 2012 Interdisciplinary Design: New Lessons from Architecture and Engineering 2012 Contemporary Digital Architecture 2: Further Explorations 2011 FABRICATE 2010 Contemporary Digital Architecture Design + Techniques 2009 Digital Fabrications: Architectural and Material Techniques 2008 AKT: Design Engineering
CAN PATTERNS BE PERFORMATIVE? THE QUESTION OF PERFOMATIVE PATTERNING As Christopher Alexander noted, Architecture is a pattern language. The fabric of the city, the organization of program, the paving of oors, the panelization of facades - all are examples of part to whole relationships that read as pattern formations. Computation has enabled designers to embrace notions of multiplicity, sheer volume of numbers of components, which were not possible by hand. However, it is not the ability to produce endless variation or sheer quantity that entices us, but rather the ability to augment the performance (visual, structural, material, environmental, programmatic etc) of a single module (or variations of a single module) through variable organization and aggregation strategies and logics. Perhaps the most important (and often forgotten) part of the design equation (in reference to generative architectural projects) is the people who are to occupy, use, and perceive our architectural interventions. We see the most critical geometric relationship in the deďŹ nition of space, form, and geometry as that between the composite whole (geometric and programmatic assembly) and the users themselves. The perceived affect of these assemblies are driven by dynamic view angles, circulation paths, and programmatic tangencies, all of which augment the way in which people occupy them. It is the integration of design computation logic and digital fabrication protocols that serve as the medium for designing, fabricating and communicating the embedded logics of design intent. However, ultimately all of these techniques provide an avenue to explore architecture, not as object or artefact, but as a series of inter-related and logically conceived parts assembled into a coherent whole.
PROJECT: STATUS: PROGRAM: CREDITS:
La Burbuja Lamp Completed 2016 Zero waste 3D printed pendant lamp Alvin Huang (Principal), Ariel Padilla
CAN GEOMETRY BE DEFINED BY RELATIONSHIPS? THE QUESTION OF GEOMETRIC LOGIC Recent advances in design computation (associative or parametric modelling, scripting, algorithmic design, building information modelling, performative analysis etc) and digital fabrication (rapid prototyping, CNC milling, robotic assembly, etc) have enabled a newfound connection between the act of designing and the act of making by favouring a direct and recursive bidirectional file-to-factory communication protocol that utilizes digital media as not only a tool (for creating design drawings) but as a technique (for embedding design logic). By doing so, an opportunity has emerged for digital media to be utilized as more than an enabler of automated production protocols (representation), but rather as a medium for embedding and communicating design process (realization). By embracing geometry that is defined by relationships, rather than dimensions, we are able to embed the specific logics of fabrication and performance, while controlling the quantum (and constructability) of variation. Through the application of self-similar geometric logics, we explore how multiple components can be fabricated or constructed from variable fabrication systems. Just as the logics of fabrication methods are viewed as opportunities for design generation, likewise we consider the logics of assembly as drivers for geometric definition. Whereas design computation and digital fabrication theoretically enable us to produce endless variation, the reality of real-world construction methods limits us to finite numbers of interface conditions. By exploring the self-similar geometric logics and relationships between variable components we simultaneously rationalize the quantity and complexity of the connections between them.
PROJECT: LOCATION: STATUS: PROGRAM: CLIENT: CREDITS:
Articulated Tensions Pavilion Calgary, Canada Commissioned 2014 (Unbuilt) Temporary Pavilion Beakerhead Festival Alvin Huang (Principal), Kais Al-Rawi, Joseph Sarafian, Justin Kim
CAN FORM FOLLOW PERFORMANCE? THE QUESTION OF INFORMED FORM Our work explores the relevance of form as a product of discovery by exploring the reciprocity between form (geometry), force (performance), matter (organization), and craft (fabrication). It extends the design research legacies of analogue form-finding in the works of Frei Otto, Antonio Gaudi, Heinz Isler, and Felix Candela by exploring digital and analogue techniques for discovering form through variable material and geometric organizations and force simulations, while simultaneously considering the design opportunities being afforded by advances in computation and fabrication technologies. Form in architecture has traditionally been understood as a composed response to utility (function) and gesture (expression), whereas performance in architecture has traditionally been understood as the analytical result of engineering criteria applied to the architects imposed preoccupation with planning, skin and symbolic gesture. The performative information is thus a result of the design of form, rather than a driver of form in itself. In this body of design research we will explore the combined relevance of form and performance through their non-linear relationships with geometric logic (form, geometric organization, variation, discretization, optimization, etc), and materiality (material composition, material operation, material organization, fabrication, etc). Through the application and manipulation of both physical and digital form-finding experiments, performative analysis and simulation, and digital fabrication protocols we explore the potential for materiality and non-standardization processes to augment performance through variable organizations. The goal of is to utilize performance as a design catalyst to explore and embrace form, while redefining what constitutes both form and performance in this genre of architecture.
PROJECT: STATUS: PROGRAM: CLIENT: CREDITS:
Articulated Tensions @ Univ. of Calgary Completed 2013 Spatial art installation of scaled form-found prototype for Beakerhead Festival University of Calgary EVDS Alvin Huang (Instructor) with
CAN FABRICATION INFORM DESIGN? THE QUESTION OF DIGITAL CRAFT Since the dawn of civilization the evolution of architectural form, language, and (perhaps most importantly) aspiration has always been deeply connected to advances in technological invention and the subsequent mastery of innovation as craft. Brunelleschi’s hoisting mechanisms made the Duomo in Florence possible. Mass-production enabled John Paxton’s Crystal Pavilion, and eventually triggered the emergence of Modernism and the Bauhaus movement. The contemporary hi-rise was enabled by the combined inventions of the elevator and mechanical ventilation systems. We are now witnessing a digital revolution that enables new ways of designing, describing, and making that are potentially altering the landscape of design and construction forever. Architecture, by definition, is the art or science of designing and building. However, in both training and practice, architects are focused on the means and methods of design. The means and methods of design are distinct from those of physical construction which has traditionally been in the hands of those who are actually physically constructing. Thus, the perceived complexity of constructability is predicated on the efficiency of communication between the designer and the maker. For the last two centuries, traditional architectural drawing packages of projected two dimensional drawings representing three dimensional constructions have been a suitable means of communicating design intent to fabricators, builders, and contractors. However, as the aspirations, performative requirements, and complexity of architectural projects have increased exponentially, the need for more relevant means and methods of design, as well as mediums and protocols for communication between designer and maker have become critical. Rather than merely seeing fabrication as the final step towards the realization of design intent, we see the specific constraints and logics of various fabrication processes as the first opportunity to define design logic. The exchange of information between “file” (design intent) and “factory” (fabrication protocol) is explored continuously, and is constantly informing the design process and ultimately the artefact of design itself. .
PROJECT: LOCATION: STATUS: PROGRAM: CLIENT: CREDITS:
ASICS Flagship Store Facade Design New York, USA Concept Design 2017 CNC bent aluminum feature facade and window display ASICS Corporation Alvin Huang (Principal), Suky Ho, Chris Redmon
PROJECT: STATUS: PROGRAM: CLIENT: CREDITS:
Durotaxis Chair Completed 2014 Multi-position 3D Printed Rocking Chair Stratasys Alvin Huang (Principal), Timothy Harmon, Yuan Yao
HOW DO YOU DESIGN A 3D PRINT... RATHER THAN 3D PRINT A DESIGN? DUROTAXIS CHAIR Description: Dimensions: Materials: Client: Fabricator: Photo credits:
3D printed multi-material rocking chair 50cm x 60cm x 800cm Objet VeroCyan Digital Material & Objet VeroWhite Digital Material Stratasys Stratasys IMSTEPF Films
The Durotaxis Chair is a fully 3D printed multi-material dual position rocking chair designed by Synthesis Design + Architecture and manufactured by Stratasys. The chair is inspired by the biological process of the same name, which refers to the migration of cells guided by gradients in substrate rigidity. The chair is an ovoid rocking chair which has two positions, as an upright rocking chair and as a horizontal rocking lounge. The volume of the chair is deďŹ ned by a densely packed three-dimensional wire mesh that gradiates in size, scale, density, color, and rigidity. The chair capitalizes on the multimaterial printing capabilities of the Stratasys Objet 500 Connex3 to produce gradients of material performance. The varying gradient conditions are expressions of the combined formal, ergonomic, and structural properties of the chair. Commissioned by Stratasys to produce a piece that would not be possible at all without 3D printing, Synthesis took the challenge a step further to produce a piece which more speciďŹ cally would not be possible without the Stratasys Objet 500 Connex3. The complexity and density of the three-dimensional mesh of the Durotaxis Chair would be ridiculously laborious in any other conventional manufacturing process, however the gradient distribution of material properties and performance which would be impossible without the Objet Connex3. As an extension to an on-going body of design research which explores the reciprocal relationships between form and performance - the chair provides an opportunity to explore a design and fabrication process that articulates both visually and materially what the chair is doing structurally and ergonomically. The chair is thicker and more rigid where it needs it, and thinner and softer where it needs it. 2016 2016
The Plan Magazine, Plan Awards - Industrial Design (1st Place) Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, ACSA/AIAS Faculty Design Award
PROJECT: LOCATION: STATUS: PROGRAM: CLIENT: CREDITS:
Chelsea Workspace London, UK Completed 2012 Bespoke home office installation Private Alvin Huang (Principal), David Ole Wolthers, Jurgen Strohmeyer, Joseph Sarafian
CAN DESIGN BLUR THE LINES BETWEEN ARCHITECTURE (ENCLOSURE), FURNITURE (UTILITY), AND ART (DECORATION)? CHELSEA WORKSPACE Location: Client: Program: Area: Status: Design Team: Collaborators:
London, United Kingdom Private Bespoke desk and storage system 7 sqm Completed 2011 Alvin Huang (Principal), David O. Wolthers, Thomas T. Jensen, Jurgen Strohmeyer Cutting Edge UK
This home office for a private personal investment advisor responds to the clients brief of a discrete yet sculptural design solution for a home office by conceptually draping a dynamic surface over an orthogonal arrangement of the required home office elements including a work desk, storage units, printer, paper shredder etc. Set within a tiny 7sqm room in the client’s Chelsea flat, the design intent was to minimize the imposing presence of the boxy storage requirements the client required by disguising them within a sinuous form that emerges from the walls of the room. As the owner desperately wanted to reduce the visual clutter of “stuff” within his work space, storage for books, filing cabinets, printer, shredder, electrical cabling, phone, internet, and lighting controls are all concealed within the volume of the construction. The space is organized around the lone window in the room, in order to provide the client with a pleasant view and ample natural daylighting. The glow of natural light from the window further serves to articulate the geometry of the installation through the play of light and shadow. Constructed with a strict budget of 7000GBP, the fluid geometric form is articulated as a series of alternating CNC milled birch plywood ribs which are pre-fabricated into modular units and spray finished with a clear lacquer. These units are hung on a series of z-clips bolted to the interior wall, and held in place by self-weight. Horizontal spacers, which stabilize the open ends of the plywood ribs, are arranged in a pixelized graphic pattern representing a world map, where the owner (a seasoned world traveller) can map out his travels. The project is the result of an intense collaboration between designer and fabricator. This dialogue was made possible through the exchange of 3D files not only as design deliverables, but as production and fabrication documents. The result merges the digital with the handcrafted to produce a stunning result. 2014
Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, ACSA Faculty Design Award
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Data Moire San Francisco, USA Completed 2016 Data-driven feature wall IBM Watson Analytics Alvin Huang (Principal), Timothy Harmon, Farnoosh Rafaie
CAN DATA BE ARTICULATED AS DESIGN NARRATIVE? DATA MOIRE Location: Client: Status: Program: Area: Design Team: Collaborators:
San Francisco, USA IBM Watson Estimated completion 2016 Data Driven Feature Wall 35 sqm Alvin Huang (Principal), Mo Harmon, Farnoosh Rafaie Arktura LLC, Los Angeles Gensler, San Francisco
Data Moiré is za large-scale feature wall designed and installed for the IBM Watson Experience Center in San Francisco, California (the project is currently being fabricated with an estimated completion date of July 2016). The project merges the territories of “data spatialization” and “data narrative” by using using the cognitive computing capabilities of IBM Watson to inform a data-driven generative design processes. The result is a digitally-fabricated physical installation that illustrates monthly spending cycles by mapping the growing influence of mobile devices on all digital sales from 2013-2015. The data is materialized as a CNC milled, double layered aluminum, back-lit screen wall, producing a moire like effect through abstract visual interference patterns generated by the overlaying of two mappings of the same data set. The resultant project is simultaneously an abstract representation of Big Data that offers a uniquely spatial marketing narrative, as well as a dynamic architectural feature with a visual experience that is amplified through the movement of visitors through the Experience Center. The paper reviews initial research and data mining, digital mapping and visualization studies, and the development of tectonic including spatial logics which have proved effective both representationally and atmospherically.
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Tensioned Relaxations Completed 2013 Temporary canopy and interactive landscape MOCA Shanghai
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Pure Tension Pavilion Completed 2014 Portable solar-powered pavilion Volvo Auto Italia
CAN ARCHITECTURE BE AN ACCESSORY (RATHER THAN A DESTINATION)? PURE TENSION PAVILION Location:
Client: Status: Program: Area: Design Team: Collaborators:
Milan, Bologna, Venice, Rimini (Italy) Moscow (Russia) Palms Springs (USA) Guanghzou (China) Volvo Completed 2014 Portable solar-powered pavilion 35 sqm Alvin Huang (Principal), Filipa Valente, Chia-ching Yang, Behnaz Farahi, Yueming Zhou Buro Happold, Los Angeles ,Fabric Images, Chicago, Ascent Solar, Houston
The Pure Tension pavilion challenges the conventions of the typical automotive trade show pavilion design (a pre-fabricated modular garage) by thinking of the pavilion as an accessory (that could be transported by the car itself and actually provide power to the car itself) rather than a destination (which the car drives to and requires it’s own power). The result is a portable, solar-powered tensile membrane structure commissioned by Volvo Car Italia for the new Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid electric car which not only charges the car but also flat-packs to fit in the trunk of the car and assembles in less than one hour. The Pure Tension Pavilion It is an experimental structure that, similar to a concept car, is a working prototype that speculates on the future of personal mobility and alternative energy sources while also exploring digital design methodologies and innovative structural solutions. The pavilion is an expression of the tensioned equilibrium between its elastic membrane skin and rigid perimeter frame. The perimeter frame of the structure is defined by 24 CNC bent aluminum pipes with swaged slip fit connections, while the skin is materialized as a pair of vinyl encapsulated polyester mesh membranes with a zippered seam and spandex sleeves that wrap the frame. The entire pavilion collapses neatly into two 65”x15” x15” ‘B-cases’ and weighs 150lbs in total and can be assembled and taken down in just under an hour by a team of two to three people. 252 lightweight flexible photovoltaic panels are embedded within an applied graphic pattern of vinyl tiles along the mesh. The PV pattern is the result of intensive solar incidence analysis on the structure that found the average annual solar incidence of the skin for 360 degrees of orientation and mapped PV locations to the areas of greatest average annual solar incidence. Additionally a MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) controller is utilized to sample the output of the cells, and selectively disable those that are not collecting enough energy, thereby ensuring that the pavilion is receiving as much charge as possible. The pavilion can recharge a fully depleted car in about 12 hours in optimum sun conditions. 2016 2016 2015 2015 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2013 2013
American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Design Awards The Plan Magazine, Plan Awards - Transportation Architect Magazine, Research & Design Award SXSW Eco Place By Design Award for Data + Technology Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award Exhibitor Magazine Portable/Modular Awards - Ziegler Award (1st Place) Architizer A+ Award - Architecture + Mobility, Finalist Architizer A+ Award - Pavilions, Special Mention American Institute of Architects National Small Projects Award Time Magazine’s Top 25 Inventions of 2013, Pure Tension Pavilion American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Design Awards, NEXT LA Award
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[C]Space Pavilion London, UK Completed 2008 Temporary ďŹ bre-reinforced concrete pavilion Architectural Association School of Architecture Alvin Huang (SDA) with Alan Dempsey (Nex)
CAN YOU FLAT-PACK A PAVILION? [C]Space Pavilion Location: Client: Status: Program: Area: Design Team: Collaborators:
London, UK Architectural Association Completed 2009 Temporary pavilion 25 sqm Alvin Huang & Alan Dempsey Adams Kara Taylor Rieder CC
[C]Space is the winning entry in the AADRL10 Pavilion competition. It was selected by the jury for the proposals radical use of material, it’s expression of form as a continuous transformation of furniture to floor, walls and roof structure; and it’s constructability within a tight schedule and budget. The design was proposed to be entirely constructed from Fibre-C, a thin fibre reinforced cement panel that is normally used as a cladding solution. The striking presence of the pavilion invites inspection from a distance and upon closer interaction reveals its ambiguity through the merging of sinuous curves, structural performance, and programmatic functions into a single continuous form. As you move around, the surface varies from opaque to transparent, producing a stunning threedimensional moiré. The surface encloses while also providing a route through for passing pedestrians blurring the distinction between inside and outside. The jointing system in the pavilion exploits a simple interlocking cross joint which is tightened by a set of locking neoprene gaskets. Consultation with the Fibre-C technical department, structural engineers AKT, and extensive material testing were required to develop the design. In parallel to the digital modelling, numerous rapid prototypes, scale models and full scale physical mock-ups were built to develop the design of individual elements and test the tolerance and fit of entire assemblies. Since its erection in 2009 the pavilion has been widely published and exhbited as a seminal project within experimental architectural dis¬course, particularly in regards to digital fabrication and parametric modeling techniques. 2013 2009 2008
American Institute of Architects California Design Award for Small Projects D&AD Award for Environmental Design DRL10 Pavilion Competition, 1st Prize
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Field Formations Public Art Installation Los Angeles, USA Concept Design 2014 - Design Development, 2016 Public Art Installation Los Angeles Metro Transportation Authority Alvin Huang (Principal), Filipa Valente, Chia-ching Yang, Timothy Harmon, Farnoosh Rafaie
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Central Plaza Lampang Facade Design Lampang, Thailand Completed 2012 Feature Facade for 80,000 sqm shopping center Central Pattana Limited Alvin Huang (Principal), David Wolthers, Joseph SaraďŹ an, Chia-ching Yang
CAN VISUAL COMPLEXITY BE MASS-CUSTOMIZED? CENTRAL PLAZA LAMPANG FACADE Location: Client: Status: Program: Area: Design Team: Collaborators:
Lampang, Thailand Central Pattana Ltd. Co. Completed 2012 Feature facade for a shopping center 7200 sqm Alvin Huang (Principal), David Wolthers, Thomas Jensen, Jurgen Strohmayer M.A.A.R Co. Ltd. (Local Architect) RVK (Structural Engineer) MITR (MEP Engineer) WithLight (Lighting Consultant) Northcroft (Quantity Surveyor) Façade Associates (Façade Consultant) PASA Landscape Co. Ltd (Landscape Designer)
Central Plaza Lampang is located in Northern Thailand, just outside of the famed city of Chiang Mai. The facade design of this 60,000sqm shopping center attempts to capitalize on the buildings freewayside location by promoting a sense of visual movement and moiré through the installation of a dynamically evolving aluminium composite dia-grid lattice. The dynamic arrangement of this lattice is carefully calibrated to transform from opaque to transparent to expose and reveal deliberate moments based on the perspective of the viewer. The open lattice is backlit to create a 3D effect within the flat façade. Color changing LED up-lights are utilized to create kinetic effects that activate the wall with dynamic patterns. In order to maximize efficiency and optimize costs the entire façade was rationalized into 5 pre-fabricated panel types which can be rotated to produce 10 panel variations. The main feature façade system consists of a non-linear grid of quadrilateral hoops (loops, ribbons) suspended in a discrete framing system offset from a uniform precast enclosure. The precast is lit resulting in a backlighting effect visible through the grid of hoops. The quadrilaterals are formed in aluminium composite panel (ACP) sheet material and each has rounded corners with radiuses defined by the angle formed by the adjacent edges. Trials were conducted with material suppliers to establish minimum achievable radii for the bending process. Each loop consists of 2 to 4 pieces depending on the radius of the edges of the quadrilateral. It proved difficult to fabricate flat sheet ACP into a loop in a single piece due to typical rolling equipment configuration and ‘springback’ of curved corners after rolling. The ACP quadrilaterals are fixed into a linear grid of slim galvanised steel box sections that provide rigidity and transfer loads back to the main perimeter framing offset behind the plane of the quadrilaterals. The steel grid is offset back from the edges of the ACP quadrilaterals such that it is typically concealed. The grid is open and allows for drainage and ventilation between the quadrilaterals. The major frames are attached through the precast building enclosure directly back to reinforce the primary structure. The system, though offset from the building was designed for appropriate local seismic criteria. As the major surface area of the façade is in fact perpendicular to the elevation plane wind loading criteria was developed to ensure that worst case wind load conditions (wind at acute angles) were accommodated in the design.
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Central Plaza Rayong Facade Design Rayong, Thailand Completed 2015 Feature Facade for 120,000 sqm shopping center Central Pattana Limited Alvin Huang (Principal), Chia-ching Yang, Joseph SaraďŹ an, Timothy Harmon, Kais Al-rawi
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Daegu Public Library Daegu, South Korea Competition Entry 2013 8,000 sqm public library and community center City of Daegu Alvin Huang (Principal), Filipa Valente, David Wolthers, Joseph SaraďŹ an, Timothy Harmon
MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM
GENERAL COLLECTION
ROOF TERRACE CHILDRENS ROOM
ROOF TERRACE
CIRCULATION CORE
GENERAL COLLECTION
MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM
PARK
PARK ACCESS
PARKING
PRESERVATION ROOM
PARKING
CAN A BUILDING BE DEFINED BY AN ERGONOMIC LANDSCAPE? DAEGU PUBLIC LIBRARY Location: Client: Status: Program: Area: Design Team: Collaborators:
Daegu-Gosan, South Korea Daegu Metropolitan City Suseong-gu Office Competition entry, 2012 Public Library 3200 sqm Alvin Huang (Principal), David O Wolthers, Filipa Valente, Chia-ching Yang, Behnaz Farahi, Timothy Harmon, Joseph Sarafian Buro Happold (Structural Engineer)
The proposal for the Daegu Gosan Public Library challenges the conventional understanding of the spatial and social experience of a public library as a series of discrete reading rooms with defined thresholds and cluttered stacks, and instead conceives of the library as continuous ergonomic landscape. We propose an intelligent, open, and integrated library experience which supersedes the media storage methods of the past and changes the library space into a hybrid landscape environment through ubiquitous information resources, integrated furnishings and active communal social spaces. The architecture is designed to enable and embody the spirit of open-source exchange and collective knowledge through free-form geometries, open plans and integrated amenities. We have minimized the thresholds between spaces, floors, and functions to consider the library as an active, continuous, and fluid field of social, cultural, and intellectual discourse. The ground field of the site swells, peels, and multiplies vertically as a continuation of the adjacent park and urban fabric. This constant sectional change is articulated as a smooth vertical gradient which merges floors, ramps, stairs, terraces and furnishings into an inhabitable and ergonomic landscape culminating in an open-air roof-scape lounge and terrace overlooking the city of Daegu. The boundaries between floors are blurred, as the continuously walk-able surface which unifies the many spaces of the library facilitates circulatory, physical and visual connections both internally within the network of spaces and externally with the surrounding context. The building is materialized as an in-situ reinforced concrete structure which, like all other aspects, has been designed to be fully integrated with the geometry of the library. The central core of the building provides its primary structural point of reference connecting vertically through the entire structure. The free-form geometry that defines the walk-able surfaces and unifies the building cantilevers out from this central core and is supported by its internal interconnections (ramps), perimeter interconnections (columns) and the lifted ground plane (foundation). The geometric logic of the form has been developed through a computational method known as “dynamic mesh relaxation” which relaxes planar mesh networks to “form-find” a continuously minimal surface. As developed in the 1950’s and 60’s through the seminal work of Frei Otto, minimal surfaces articulate the natural force paths of structural loads thus providing the optimal shape for maximum structural performance with minimal material. 2014
American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Design Awards, NEXT LA Award
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The Groove @ CentralWorld Bangkok, Thailand Completed 2014 12,000 sqm lifestyle, retail, and shopping center Central Pattana Limited Alvin Huang (Principal), Filipa Valente, David Wolthers, Joseph SaraďŹ an, Timothy Harmon
CAN SPATIAL INTIMACY AND URBAN INTENSITY COEXIST? THE GROOVE @ CENTRALWORLD Location: Client: Status: Program: Area: Design Team: Collaborators:
Bangkok, Thailand Central Pattana Ltd. Co. Completed 2014 Retail, entertainment, & lifestyle center 12,000 sqm Alvin Huang (Principal), David O Wolthers, Filipa Valente, Chia-ching Yang, Behnaz Farahi, Timothy Harmon, Joseph Sarafian A49 Architects(Local Architect) Kulsiri Chadrangsu - Ferrand (Structural Engineer) MITR (MEP Engineer) WithLight (Lighting Consultant) Façade Associates (Façade Consultant) TROP (Landscape Designer)
This project is an expansion to the CentralWorld Shopping Center in Bangkok. The challenge was in adding an extension to the massive indoor fully air conditioned mall while providing an outdoor oasis of calm energy. With 4,000 sqm of enclosed retail and 8,000 sqm of restaurants and bars facing an open-air protected courtyard, the project looks to capture the sophistication and vibrancy of “al fresco” dining in European cafe culture and pair it with the energy and intimacy of the Soi’s (alleys) of Bangkok to define a contemporary Soi culture of sophisticated outdoor dining and lively pedestrian streets for CentralWorld. Given the position of the project facing the high traffic condition of Ploenchit Road and the BTS Skytrain and Skywalk, the facade and serves as a the graphic identity of the building. The urban intensity of the continuous flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic along Ploenchit Roadis articulated by the variable intensities of the facade. The facade construction is a back lit aluminum panel system which incorporates lighting, graphics, identity and visual performance. A dynamic LED backlighting system creates a unique facade glow effect during the night making the building stand out in the busy Bangkok street. The Groove creates a pleasant outdoor dining experience eliminating the need for climate controlled environments that would be necessary in standard retail and dining buildings in Bangkok and reducing the energy consumption of the building considerably. An open air trellis allows air to flow through the internal courtyard and provides the effect of dappled light which filters through it to protect from the sun while allowing outdoor experience, ambient lighting and atmospheric effects. The trellis is fitted with a retractable canopy that allows for extra protection from rain and sun. All outdoor dining areas are carefully designed to provide shading and protection from the hot and rainy Bangkok climate. The building feels outdoors while still providing shelter from sun and rain. 2016 2015 2015
The Plan Magazine, Plan Awards - Hospitality Perspective Magazine, A&D Trophy Award -Best Commercial/Retail Project 2AAA Asia Architecture Awards, Commercial Projects (shortlist)
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Zen Saladaeng Bangkok, Thailand Concept Design - Design Development 2015-2016 10,000 sqm mixed use retail, ofďŹ ce, and residential development Zen Group Limited Alvin Huang (Principal), Chia-ching Yang, Timothy Harmon, Farnoosh Rafaie, Justin Kim
CAN THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN INTERIOR & EXTERIOR BE BLURRED? ZEN SALADAENG Location: Client: Status: Program: Area: Design Team: Collaborators:
Bangkok, Thailand ZEN Group Design Development Mixed Use 10000 sqm Alvin Huang (Principal), Filipa Valente, Chia-ching Yang, Timothy Harmon, Joseph Sarafian, Farnoosh Rafaie MAAR (Local Architect) KCS (Structural Engineer) On Ground (Landscape Architect)
Zen Saladaeng is a 10,000 sqm mixed-use development that is designed around the presence of two significant existing trees on a corner site in the dense Bangkok district of Saladaeng. Situated within the lush and leafy Bangkok district of Saladaeng, the project is a 20,000 sqm mixed use development designed as a local neighborhood retail, dining, and entertainment destination that utilizes passive design strategies to enable a unique experience that blurs the line between indoors and outdoors. Architecturally, the building is conceptualized as a field of fluid lines that emerge from the site to form a collection of surfaces that bifurcate, peel and fold to divide the building into a series of intimate indoor/ outdoor spaces, deep overhangs and fluid circulatory conditions. The sequence of stacked open plan spaces are choreographed as a series of folding exposed concrete surfaces that respect and respond to the presence of three magnificent specimens of existing banyan trees which define the site and anchor the building. These trees also serve as the formal inspiration for the unique design of the articulated branching of the pre-cast concrete facade and the leafy pattern of the fritted glazing system. A simple material palette of exposed board formed concrete, locally sourced Teak decking, patinated copper fascia, and architectural bronze railings give the building a character that is simultaneously raw and modern yet warm and inviting.
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Guggenheim Helsinki Museum Helsinki, Finland Competition Entry 2015 Private Art Museum Guggenheim Foundation
Standing Seam Zinc Roofing System Wide Flange Beam
Steel Truss
+16.1m Level 2.5 Photovoltaic Solar Panel
Clear Low-E Ribbon Window System
Insulation
Fibre-reinforced Concrete Rain Screen
North-facing Skylight
Cast-in-place Concrete
+11.1m Level 2
Raised Floor Aluminum Decking Wide Flange Beam
+3.1m
Finnish Timber Permanent Formwork
Facade Screen Pattern
Formal Differentiation
Steel Anchor
Level 1
FACADE BLOW UP DRAWING
FACADE PATTERN DIAGRAM
Horizontal Strips
Formal Differentiation
Finnish Sweater Pattern
CAN GEOMETRY BE INFORMED BY CONTEXT, CULTURE + PERFORMANCE? GUGGENHEIM HELSINKI Location: Client: Status: Program: Area: Design Team: Collaborators:
Helsinki, Finland Guggenheim Trust Competition entry, 2014 Museum of art & design 75,000 sqm Alvin Huang (Principal), Chia-ching Yang, Filipa Valente, Timothy Harmon Arup (Structural & Environmental Engineer)
Designed as an elevated museum hovering over the site, all of the ticketed programs of the museum (galleries, auditorium, event spaces) are placed at the upper levels of the building while the entire ground level is open to the public (retail, dining, etc). Private and public areas are both visually and spatially connected by a dramatic top lit central atrium space which will host a revolving series of public events, performances and exhibitions. Three open-air roof terraces/viewing decks sit at the top of the museum with each overlooking a different aspect of Helsinki (city center, waterfront, park) The central atrium drives the organization of the entire building as vectors are drawn from the 3 primary site conditions (city centre, waterfront, park) to tangents around the atrium perimeter to create an interlocking pinwheel diagram which torques around the atrium in a clock-wise direction. This warping 3D diagram drives the entire design concept, as the building circulation, programmatic organization, and structure all begin with this diagram of three interlocking reciprocal structures. The formal language of the building is also informed by this diagram, as all geometries are defined as hyperbolic ruled surfaces - entirely composed of straight lines warping in space. These striated surfaces are informed by both a structural logic, and a fabrication logic of constructing a reinforced concrete structure with a permanent formwork of Finnish timber. The facade of the building abstracts a typical Finnish design motif - the striated geometric patterns of the traditional Finnish knit sweater. By starting with the same 3-legged interlocking pinwheel pattern of the masterplan and building, the fibre reinforced concrete rainscreen of the building is a highly articulated and visually dynamic pattern of interlocking geometries that create variable bandings of opacity. The screen gives a definitely Finnish quality to the building, yet remains particularly contemporary in its geometric patterns. With variable opacities and transparencies, the screen also responds to building orientation, and occupation to allow more light where needed and less where it is not wanted. An emphasis is placed on sustainability through the integration of indirect natural lighting, passive energy systems, and grey water collection systems in the building design. Rather than conceive of these strategies as accessories added to the design, they are embedded in the design intentions of the buildings geometries - as solar orientation and drainage slopes define the angles and warps of the building skin and the placement and orientation of apertures and PV panels.
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Taichung Museum of Art Taichung, Taiwan Competition Entry 2014 Private Art Museum City of Taichung
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Hakka Cultural Center Yongding, China Under construction. Estimated completion 2019. Performance hall, cultural center, retail, and boutique hotel. Jin Ma Media Group
CAN VERNACULAR + CULTURAL HERITAGE BE EXPRESSED IN CONTEMPORARY FORM? HAKKA PERFORMANCE CENTER + HOTEL Location: Client: Status: Program: Area: Design Team: Collaborators:
Yongding, China Jin Ma Media Group In construction, estimated completion 2019 Performance hall, boutique hotel, retail, & dining 12,000 sqm Alvin Huang (Principal), David O Wolthers, Filipa Valente, Chia-ching Yang, Behnaz Farahi, Timothy Harmon, Joseph Sarafian Beijing Institute of Architecture & Design (BIAD)
Situated on a prime hilltop site overlooking the Yongding River, the design of the building seeks inspiration from the continuously looping traditional homes of the Hakka Minorities. However, it also looks to re-interpret the closed and introverted forms of the Tulou by seeking parallel inspiration from mathematical models of continuous inversion found in the mobius strip, klein bottle, and lorenz attractor. In direct opposition to the conventional approach of the Tulou which sit as platonic and inward facing closed objects dropped onto the landscape, the project seeks to integrate itself with the contours of the surrounding landscape. Its dramatic looping roof form peels away from the terraced hilltop to create a continuous loop which is both plaza, façade, and roof. It simultaneously creates an inward facing enclosure toward its central performance stage, while maintaining an outward facing view over the surrounding hillside and the hundreds of historic Tulou which dot the local area. The apparent free-form geometry of the building is actually defined by a series of rational arcs, all of which are developed through associative geometric models which rely on a decomposing the parameters of a collection of simple polylines. The spiraling circulation path of the performance hall drive a series of parameters which define the plan distribution of seats. This plan distribution in turn defines a sectional condition which is constrained by the sight angles required by each visitor. The roof of the building has been rationalized through associative modeling techniques to define its apparent free-form geometry as a series of rational and easily describable compound arcs. The relationships between the edge conditions are constrained by linear connections which define the roof as a developable surface which can easily be constructed by linear elements with no double curvature. The façade of the building is articulated by a parametric pattern which is a dynamically adaptive ceramic frit pattern which gradiates in scale, intensity and opacity. This pattern is a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Hakka patterns found in the Tulou. The variable gradient conditions created by the façade react to orientation of the building, location of major entrances and other programmatic elements to define a constantly changing façade pattern which engages and encourages visual interaction through a non-uniform moiré effect.
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Fuzhou Cross-strait Cultural Center Fuzhou, China Invited Competition 2015. (3rd Prize) Cultural center, retail, and performance halls
CAN BIOLOGICAL INSPIRATATIONS INFORM FORMAL, PERFORMATIVE, & CULTURAL NARRATIVES? FUZHOU CROSS-STRAIT CULTURAL CENTER Location: Client: Status: Program: Area: Design Team: Collaborators:
Fuzhou, China Jin Ma Media Group 3rd Place competition entry (invited), 2014 Concert Hall, Opera Hall, Exhibition, Cinemas, Multi-Function Halls and Offices 250,000 sqm Alvin Huang (Principal), Chia-ching Yang, Filipa Valente, Joseph Sarafian, Kais Al-rawi Beijing Institute of Architecture + Design (Local Architect)
The project is a “cross-strait” cultural center in Fuzhou, China to commemorate the connection between China and Taiwan. The project is divided into two buildings, with each building conceptually representing a “tree” of Chinese culture, with three levels of articulation. The first is the Roots, these define the ground plane, landscaping and lower levels of the buildings and illustrate that Chinese culture emerges from the earth of China. The coordinated movement of the two root systems (cultural versus commercial) on the site becomes one network, unifying the site into a fluid and articulated park like condition with many moments of contemplation and pockets of space. The second is Branches, the branches grow from the roots to wrap the “cultural fruit/seeds/tree houses” that float above the roots and connect the different components to make them one unified whole. This unifying skin uses the graphic effect of a porous network of branches to define and articulate the skin of the building in two ways - as a perforated white reinforced fiber concrete facade system (which is back-lit in the perforations), and as a white translucent lightweight tensile membrane roof system which at night glows from within and by day, glows internally. Finally are the Fruit/seeds/tree-houses these are the varying programmatic contents (the cultural fruit ie. seeds that are spread) of the project that are each positioned in a radial arrangement pointing out of the tree towards various destinations of cultural significance to Chinese heritage in the world (ie. Beijing, Taiwan, SE Asia, etc). The seeds in the earth grow to become the fruit - ie. the cultural by products of the culture itself - opera, film, music, art, commerce, food. 2015 2014
2AAA Asia Architecture Awards, Cultural Projects (shortlist) Fuzhou Cultural Center International Design Competition (invited), 3rd Prize
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Wuzhou International Plaza Shanghai, China Inivted Competition 2013 (1st Prize) Mixed use retail, ofďŹ ce, hotel, and residential development Wuzhou International Group
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