taek ho han
architectural design portfolio
bk - nyc - manhattan community center for NYC site_Dumbo, Brooklyn, current Con-Ed electrical plant SURIHVVRUB-HŇŹUH\ ,QDED spring 2014
Existing condition at site with its industrial context of Brooklyn with machines and electrical transformers pre-existing on site
The site being located facing the waterline in Dumbo, Brooklyn near the Navy Yard has an opportunity to be introduced to a vantage point to the entire NYC- somewhat covert in the Brooklyn side with the sprawling low-rises with the mixture of the new high rises decorating the skyline of Brooklyn, but an overt view over Manhattan facing the river. This pre-existing context naturally introduces the site with split approach in its elevation: Top and Bottom. Top, the place elevated from everything underneath: the place where the 360 degree seamless view over NYC can be achieved. Bottom, the place with obscure views to the Brooklyn side but open vantage point over the Hudson river to Manhattan: the place where the opacity comes into play and only provides framed lights and views through the staircase tubes in the interior that make the building constructively sound and naturally ventilate.
Proposal that becomes a platform for Brooklyn to be introduced to the dynamic view over NYC
View over Manhattanpre-existing machines and electrical transformers on site
This dichotomy between the top and the bottom is also rectified visually with the use of two completely different geometries, a circle for the top and a square for the bottom. While the bottom square is introduced to the two different side, the Brooklyn side and the Manhattan side, due to the height and exposure to the river facing
Manhattan; the top, circle, achieves sublimity to be away from this polarized condition between the Brooklyn side and the Manhattan side. As a community center for Brooklyn, this building acts as a mediator between the two sides in the bottom, also as a protagonist that activates the connection between the both sides at the top.
Existing condition at site with its industrial context of Brooklyn with machines and electrical transformers pre-existing on site
View over Manhattan_ pre-existing machines and electrical transformers on site
Bottom solid of the proposal introduces visitors with framed/limited view, while the porous top cylinder does the opposite, and introduces the public to the entire NYC
Section facing Brooklyn
Unconditioned lobby that has limited framed views to either side of Brooklyn or Manhattan
Interior of the bottom solid defiend by coned, carved views of the sky and spotlights through staircase tubes
Clear dichotomy between the bottom and the top Porous cylinder located around the height of the tallest neighboring building
level 3 _elevated platform for gallery
level 1 _public lecture space
level 2 _blackbox theater
level 7 BHQFORVHG WKHDWHU lecture space
level 3 _elevated platform for gallery
level 4 BRŇŹLFHV PHHWLQJ rooms
level 5 _gallery
level 6 _enclosed gallery
level 7 BHQFORVHG WKHDWHU lecture space
level 0_lobby
Section facing Manhattan
Thick exteriors walls in the bottom become both effective thermal mass and insulator. Conditioned rooms and spaces are adjacent to these walls in order to be thermally benefitted.
North facing facade, on the other hand has glass opening where the natural ambiant sunlight can enter into the interior and atrium spaces without the harsh heat gain rate from the direct sunlight.
Dismantling of American Suburban Dreams/[homes] and our Paranoia site_american suburb (Cupertino, CA) professor_Michael Bell fall 2013
As fast, easy, and economic to build our American Suburban Dream, it came with the chronic disease of paranoia in our security from inefficiently using the space with the remaining land surrounding the footprint of the house, becoming the buffer from other neighboring houses, and using trees as both horizontal and vertical boundaries. Not only the paranoia in our security, the genious of the timber framing construction had to go through layers of further wrappings with plastics, including silicon caulks, gaskets, drywalls, and Tyvek sheets, due to our obsession of weather-proofing. As much as we want to be part of the nature with trees and greens in the surroundings of our homes, we are, yet, part of it. We are only the observer of the surrounding nature and contain ourselves in the plastics. This project unwraps our homes to its skeleton (construction members) where its genious lies. Naked from the house’s plastic wrappings, its architectural language of separation in rooms and the common place comes visible. Each room of our home conglomerates to create the common space as negative space; the front and back yards uncontained in the wrapping of a house enable the rooms to set loose and expand.
Entering the New House
Dismantling of a current american timber framing house
Sub-divided into each room and its contingent structures
American suburban dream, achieved by fast, easy, economic construction of timber framing homes, mainly composed of multiple kinds of 2x4 members as studs, joists, and roofing members
Dismantled parts spread out in the lot are exposed to the gravitational force, thus, are counter-balanced by cable structures.
The edges of the new house interact with the neighboring estates on its periphery. Rather than shutting out its neighbors, new curved walls keep them
mutually penetratable. The paranoia in our security, thus, may reduce and the new typology for our suburban housing block may occur.
Rotation of the dismantled parts due to the gravitationl force to its remaining structure members contingent to the parts
Plan of the New House
Expanded common space in the center, spread out rooms, smooth transition to the neighboring house yet clear definition of boundary
Rooftop Juxtaposition
Use of glass roof reinforces the view out to the dismantled parts from the original timber framing house in constructing the new house
Houses pull and push. A community of our suburban dream may become realized.
Less deserted land, More interaction may occur, and, aimless front,backyard be gone. As organic as our suburb can be, This new block may organically grow as well.
One house’s input in expansion will react with other existing houses, and those affected will influence others on-site, a chain reaction.
Application of the methodology of dismantlement and expansion to the the entire suburban block
Conceptual Model_ the armateur
Institution for Art and Film site_Morningside Park NY, New York professor_Yehre Suh fall 2010
the neutral zone
View looking down from Columbia side to Harlem
Hint of building footprint located in Harlem visible from Columbia side.
View looking up from Harlem side to Columbia
Morningside Heights is home to institutions in NYC, especially for Columbia University. This neighborhood is located on top of the cliff, running along the west boundary of Morningside Park. For the height difference from the base of the cliff where Harlem and Morningside Park are located, Morningside Heights is provided with a fantastic view over Manhattan Island while Harlem, at the bottom of the cliff, gets a mere view of the edge of the cliff and contours of the top of the buildings on the periphery of the cliff. This disparity in viewpoints can be considered as the consequence of the pre-existing political/societal/ economic disparity embedded within these two neighborhoods divided by the “cliff” and the Morningside Park. Through a mapping strategy of the economic status and sectional elevations of Morningside Heights and Harlem, the societal hierarchy becomes even more clear. As a proposal approaching to this polarity architecturally, a certain part of the cliff, in which sits the project, has been pulled out to create an easy mound reaching to Harlem. With this mound as the base, the germinating crystalline forms generate “neutral views” from the both neighborhoods. This architectural gesture of the project attempts to fulfill a middle ground that diminishes political hierarchy embedded in the the two neighboehoods and acts as the neutral zone that connects Harlem to Columbia and vice versa.
Hint of building footprint located in Columbia visible from Harlem side.
View looking down from Columbia side to Harlem
Looking up into the armateur
Regulated views that will only show the streets and footprints of the buildings
An armateur that controls the views from Harlem to Columbia and from Columbia to Harlem. Having this armateur, the architecture becomes the neutral zone that regulates views from both ends of the neighborhoods by providing the same views, which are the views of streets and the footprints of the buildings. This armateur dissolves into crystalline forms to accomodate programs on the neutral ground.
Hint of building footprint located in Harlem visible from Columbia side.
Looking down to streets in Harlem from the inside of the armateur
columbia harlem 30 ft above Harlem ground
60 ft above Harlem ground
90 ft above Harlem ground
120 ft above Harlem ground
Bureaucracy of the viewpoints Higher the elevation, Better the view
In and out the armateur, the views are constant. Once you enter, you encouunter with the labyrinth juxtaposition of crystalline volumes that are designed to regulate the hierarchy of the views caused by the great level difference; and, you are only seeing the sky above you and pedestrian’s feet fleeting on the street. Whoever you are, whichever neighbor you are coming from, you get the same view. THE NEUTRAL ZONE.
Better the view, Better the neighbor 180 ft above Harlem ground
210 ft above Harlem ground
Difference in views = Difference in political/social status Bi-polarity embedded in the site between Columbia to Harlem.
looking from Harlem side
looking from Columbia side
skylight study 1
skylight study 2
Pre-existing disparity between Columbia and Harlem
2nd flr Cluster of crystalline volumes rising on the neutral zone, which is the middle ground in the site located in Morningside Park
art institutional related programs
3rd flr film institutional related programs
The cluster turning into programmatically functional volumes Skylights created by the juxtaposition of volumes
Cross Section facing West
Longitudinal Section facing North
Super-powering of NYC metro platforms site_NYC metro subway stations professor_Andres Jaque summer 2013
e
d
c
Existing condition with the newsstand in the center
b
Under the pavements of NYC, there lies a web of rails that connect citizens of New York from one point to another. The subway’s waiting platform becomes a place for preparation for the rider’s destination. The existing newsstand does the job by providing with necessities. Instead being a small point in the station, it’s role can be super-powered to the extent of the entire platform. In that way, this excessively elongated platform of ours with deserted space can be re-enacted to actively serve the citizens of New York to prepare for their trip. Direct connections from the street to the train through the thresholds between the existing columns at the platform are created with the capsule-like volumes.
a
Excavation of walls aligned with the thresholds between existing columns for the expansion of the role of the newsstand as a provider of necessities
bb
cc
dd
ee
e
d
c
b
a
axon of a
“a� zone, the center of the platform becomes a public capsule for the rest of the capsules.
The excavation creates space for upper and lower capsules connected by ramps. Each capsule is occupied by programs needed for the subway travelers, such as vending machines, nail salons, barber shops, lockers, massage chairs, study rooms, meditation rooms, and etc.
Upper capsules for more public programs: vending machines, nail salons, and barber shops. Lower capsules for more private programs: meditation rooms, study rooms, and etc.
section of b
axon of b
section of c
axon of c
axon of e
axon of d
axon of c
axon of b
axon of a
tree house
'HQVLºFDWLRQ RI VXEXUEDQ KRXVLQJ
An opportunity to have a densified housing project has been taken from manipulating a photocopy of a Mies Van der Rohe’s suburban housing project. The pixelated reading of the plan was an instrument to the facade design and the formal and programmatic orgazization of the newly-designed densified house. The project is proposed to be a tower house of three stories, which can also be referred as a “tree house” due to its characteristic of camouflaging into the surrounding nature. As birds build their nests on trees without damaging nature, this project focuses on how an architecture can be a seamless intervention into nature and how we, humans, can live along with the surrounding nature.
Pixelated reading of a phocopied Mies’ plan Pixels growing on the paper as if nature is spreading out onto the plan and disguising the plan of Mies’, especially disguising living and bedroom space drawn on the plan
'HQVLºFDWLRQ RI 0LHV± 3ODQ
exterior nature
interior t
nature u
bedroom living space
Mies’ house plan divides into exterior and interior space_ nature vs living & bedroom space
Section_facing North
living space
Hiding behind the elevation of Mies’ house for spacial security and privacy
Nature folding in living space & bedroom to envelope the inHiding behind the terior space raises elevation of Mies’ spacial security house for spacial se- and privacy. curity and privacy
Plan_ 1st Flr Public Livingroom
nature n e Interior space hidden behind the nature.
Plan_ 2nd Flr Private living/kitchen
The living space and the bedroom ultimately achieve their privacy by camouflaging behind the pixelated reading of Mies’ plan.
Plan_ 3rd Flr Master Bedroom, Bathroom
‘woolicon’ Material investigation Composite material with wool and 2-part silicon thesis advisors_ Aleksandr Mergold Yehre Suh spring 2012 Originally designed to be an alternative material for glass from flat curtain wall facades, for its poor insulation rate and poor natural ventilation rate, this composite material made of wool and silicon achieves great insulation rate, high natural ventilation rate, and natural water repellency from wool and silicon. Cast in a waffle-maker-shaped mold, wool and 2-part silicon become pressed and woven to become a composite material, ‘woolicon’. Wool becomes sipped into the 2-part silicon while it is in fluid state before the cure. This study is still in progress for its future viable application to architecture, interior design, and fashion industries.
Testing of the materiality of wool and 2-part silicone. The silicone acts as an adhering medium during it’s cure time for the wool.
Pouring and casting silicone with wool in a structured manner. Here showing the vertical silicone rods cured with wool fiver in criss cross way. A multiple of these layers together will gain higher strength.
trial version Waffle-maker-shaped mold provides depths to the final cast material to have a more dramatic lighting effect filtered through wool fibers and translucent silicon layers.
facing outside facing inside water/wind barrier
horizontal silicone structure
top
vertical silicone structure
Molds test experiments Pressing Pouring of 2-part silicone with wool and pressing with weight when curing.
Molds to pour horizontally
Pouring Pouring of a casting medium onto wool in a bounded case. Wool and the medium cure together to be a composite material.
Molds to pour vertically
Pouring of 2-part silicone Pouring of 2-part silicone onto wool in a bounded case. Wool and the medium cure together to be a composite material. The new material gains its flexibility and water repellency.
Molds to pour argyle-shaped water barrier
bottom
This image illustrates a close up of vertical silicon rods with horizontally laid out wool roving strips put under the vertical silicon rods. These two layers are cast in the waffle-maker-shaped mold for r the wool to be pressed into the 2-part 2 silicon during silicon’s cure time.
Wool roving strips put in criss-cross way in layers to achieve right thickness for the material’s final application. This image illustrates the first layer with wool strips in vertical alignments held together by horizontal silicon rods. There will be put another layer of wool roving strips on top of the vertically laid out wool strips, and another vertical silicon rods on top of wool.
These argyle shaped silicon layer put onto the wool layer enhances the water repellency of the final composite material.
Ecstacy of a Marble Cloud a concert hall site_a park near Aurelian Wall between Santa Croce and San Giovanni Rome, Italy professor_Aleksandr Mergold fall 2010 Ecstacy of Saint Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Saint Peter’s, pope, angels, churches, and clouds, either artificial or natural; all these words stand for this Catholic mecca of the world, Rome. If anyone has to find a heavenly depiction of holiness of Catholic churches, Rome is the one and only place to find a variety and the best of this poetic depiction. The site is located in the park between San Giovanni in Laterano (Saint John the Lateran) and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome, Italy. This park exists in the special context with these two religious places. Especially, San Giovanni accommodated former popes for the times before Saint Peter’s has been built, These two holy places, cathedrals, are nodes that conceptually mark the ends on the longitudinal axis of the site. The project has been proposed to transform the park into a public space, a theater complex, and to ultimately become part of the poetic depiction of this heavenly, holy place of Rome.
As if a cloud has got stuck as it passes the broken part of Aurelian Wall, this marble concert hall howls its presence. From inside the wall, the marble concert hall acts as an insertion that creates a public space in a much larger context, both in the cloud and under the cloud. However, from outside the wall, only way one can perceive the festivity inside the wall is a sole ray of light radiating through cracks between the underbed of the concert hall and the broken parts of the wall.
In order for the site to behave as an instrument to tell a story of the heavenly, holy scene of Rome, it needed an object that is specifically Roman. Cloud, A MARBLE CLOUD(!), here as an object, is placed between the two nodes, at which the part of the Aurelian Wall has been destroyed. And, it begins to tell a story.
inside the wall
outside the wall
Longitudinal Section facing the cathedral, San Giovanni in Laterano (Saint John the Lateran)
Cross Section facing the Aurelian Wall
Melted Mess
2015 Milan Expo: Fantasgomoric Landscapes
(a)
(b)
a) Rendering of an original peanut b) Plastic deformation This is a pavilion designed for Milan Expo 2015. The theme of the expo is “fantasgomoric landscapes”. Each country gets a stretched rectangle as it’s site. Peanut was the inspiration of this pavilion and the landscape project. The methodology used was an intervention into the original object, peanut,
that becomes plastically deformed from the reading of its vertical grooves. And, the reading of those vertical grooves turned into the reading of drinking straws which are the most common objects that most powerfully represent the word “verticality” with their red stripes and their formal shape of hollow plastic tubes.
Light penetration study
The translucency of the material of the pavilion makes it susceptible to the change of climates and lights, thus, makes the visitors experience different effects of the lights onto the facade of the pavilion and also into the interior of the pavilion at different times of a day.
Elevation
Section
the caterpillar furniture design
structures model naitonal assembly for Wales 1998-2005 richard rogers partnership; arup Cardiff, Wales
Barcelona Pavilion
Animatronic Study of a Stork
a converse transformation
a sketch_ a cathedral in Pienza, Italy a sketch_ a cathedral by Bramante, Milan, Italy
Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome, Italy
a cathedral in Ouro Preto, Brazil
a cathedral in Venice, Italy
a cathedral in Rio de Janeiro
Look 1
Look 2
Looking at each part of our body and dissecting them inspired this collection. Clothes as facade and shell to our body, the collections offers a new skin for our body to be contained. Not necessarily following the given curves of the body, the re-assemblage of the dissected parts have been translated into a new language in which new silhouettes can emerge for the body to speak.
Look 3
This look can be worn around the waist like a skirt or around the chest as a dress. Seen from Look 1, the shelllike treatment to the garment accentuates body parts, such as the pelvis area, hips, and thighs and create a new silhouette.
Look 4
Look 6
These looks, different from Looks 1-3, do not have the shell-like treatment to the garment; however, the tailoring makes these looks possible to accentuate body parts in creating a new silhouette, such as the neck area, the wrists, the hip, and the deltoids area. And, the use of velcro makes these looks to be adjusted to different sized bodies.
Look 5
Look 6
Look 7