2015/2016
PROFILE
Hello there! My name is Chin Ee and I am currently pursuing a diploma in Environment Design at Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore. I have knowledge and skills in Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning. Currently still taking the baby steps to pursuing my passion, I aim to further and focus on Architecture as my future profession.
Education
Design Philosophy
ZhongHua Primary School 2003 - 2008 Hwa Chong International School 2009 - 2010 ZhongHua Secondary School 2010 - 2013 Temasek Polytechnic 2014 - Present
Academic Achievements PSLE - 2008 N’levels - 2012 O’levels - 2013
Other Achievements Design Studies Club Subcommittee Quartermaster 2014 - 2015 Design Studies Club Maincommittee Quartermaster 2015 - 2016 Design Orientation Camp 15/16 Subcommittee, Group Leader Design Orientation Camp 16/17 Maincommittee, Facilitator Taekwondo Black Belt 1st Dan 2012 - Present Taekwondo Poomsae Coaching Certificate Level 1 2014 - Present National Youth Achievement Award Bronze 2011 - Present
SKILLSETS
Simplicity is what i always strive for in any project, but at the same time, being practical and aesthetically pleasing to one’s eyes are elements that always appear in my head when designing architecture. I see buildings from a perspective of an artist where every building to me is like a giant sculpture. The world is like an art gallery that never ends, because new things are always added to the collection and the city is like a piece of canvas painted with the concrete jungle. Artists like us are always touching up the dull concrete jungle with flowers to brighten it, but not all things beautiful are flawless. Roses have thorns and Rafflesias are stinky, this relates to impractical architectures asymmetrically juxtaposed at random spots in the city. Having an emotional approach towards architecture is key because the architecture shows who you are and how you design things and i feel that my designs are what speaks my mind, basically conveying messages through design. Simplicity is not just simple shapes like triangles and rectangles, simple design starts from something very complicating, and as we retouch the ensembles we simplify them on the way to achieve something different. While brainstorming for ideas, i do not see simple designs as only triangles, circles and squares, distortion and deconstructionism are examples of what i apply to my designs and how i change the shapes of an object. Having a habit of thinking ahead is a good guide to better future designs, i always create new ideas that are useful for the future, so when the future comes, i combine them with my newer ideas to create something SIMPLY amazing.
CONTENT PAGE Villa Ingelmo
Dimensions At Youth Park
Meditacion Sentidos
Coastal Greens At Kallang
Personal Works
LOCATION MAP
PLAY
The theme of this project is Play. What is play? To me, Play is when one has fun and how an individual makes the world a better place. Play is infinite, it can range from games, fights, sports and even studying, even a stick can be a form of play. The word ‘Play’ brings an individual to thousands of possibilities on how it can be interpreted, but to me, it mostly revolves around satisfying one’s desire to do something that brings jubilance and pleasure.
The site that I am working on is Youth Park which is a pocket park located in the heart of the largest shopping district in Singapore, Orchard Road. It has brought to attention that the park is very underrated due to it’s lack of facilities and things that attract visitors to the park. Currently, the park is mostly utilized by commuters as a shortcut to travel to other places. Therefore, it requires change as the park has a lot of redevelopment opportunities.
My vision for this site is to embrace and encourage an activity most people enjoy which is Dance. I vision my site to be a prime location for these mini dance communities island-wide and provide ample facilities for them to utilize. As for the general public, i want to bring activities such as dance arcades for visitors to learn dancing, as well as cafes and eateries for the faint-hearted.
SITE ANALYSIS Based on the findings from a S.W.O.T. analysis i did on-site, the strengths are, a bus stop, a huge Youth Park logo except that it overpowers the activities there itself, a famous eatery on-site and an iconic London red bus that is converted into an office. The threats are the malls around the park and the opportunities are those empty spaces around the park. After analyzing the sun path and heat distribution of the site, only a quarter of the park is shaded and the shade is located at a space no one settles at. Therefore the park lacks shade and this will not draw more people to the park but end up scaring visitors away as most of the locals escape the excruciating weather for air conditioned malls, therefore the lack of shade makes the park a weakness too. The crowd flow of the park is mostly angled towards the famous eatery and the bus stop, the rest of the space, including the london red bus converted office, is redundant space. Therefore this park requires redevelopment but into something different from the rest of the malls in Orchard Road.
Concept Sketches
These sketches show my concept whereby i decided to redesign and improve on the current facilities such as the eatery, red bus office and the existing stage. I wanted to build a ample space for dancers to utilize for trainings as well as competitions. The activites of the new redevelopment includes a bigger stage, new eatery, except that the concept of alfresco dining is preserved, dance arcades, dance studios, public dance spaces, accessible reflective pools and a cafe for visitors who do not dance. The form of the building is derived from dance moves and though the movements of humans are mostly organic, i decided to switch it up by making the form geometric. By doing so, this creates more interesting forms to compensate the transformation from an organic form to geometry.
Proposed Design
First Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan
Roof Plan
The first floor plan consists of a new bus stop, which isnsheltered by the cafe located on the second floor of the building. The stage is twice the size of it’s previous stage so that gigs or concerts could be organized there. The eatery has been renovated but as mentioned before, i preserved the alfresco dining concept as a memory of how it started. Reflective pools are installed and accessible to the public , dancers might use it for performances. The second floor consists of dance studios as well as public dance spaces, and a cafe. The ceiling for the front reception is two storeys high so to maximize the space, geometric holes have been cut through to let the sunlight in whilst making use of natural light play.
3D Renderings
Elevation
Section
Physical Models
MEDITACION SENTIDOS
SITE ANALYSIS
Eco Design The aim for this project is to come up with a design that provides ecological design features as our site is somewhat an older site due to the outdated technology on the island. This island, Pulau Ubin, is located at the east side of Singapore where the only mode of transport there is by a ferry, and the only vehicles on shore are vans that provide taxi services, motorcycles and bicycles. This is a famous tourist attraction as it is known for being the live museum portraying the olden day kampong lifestyle that still exists on that island.
The site that i’m redesigning is the Pekan Quarry which is a granite quarry that is cordoned off and banned from swimming in, due to the depth of the waters as deep as 40 metres. I vision this site to have a nice boardwalk and trail surrounding the quarry as currently there is only one viewpoint available for the visitors which does not bring out the full beauty of the quarry. Therefore i want to build and design guesthouses targetted at those who need a break from the fast-paced life of the city, providing facilities for meditation and relaxation.
Based on the site analysis conducted at the site, I noticed that there are no trails or roads surrounding the quarry which is a negative point because the view of the quarry, from the current and only viewpoint, looks magnificent and it would be very beneficial if there were trails made around the quarry so that more visitors will want to come back to see what is within the banks of the quarry.
The current circulation of the quarry is only the roads around the quarry. Another negative point found from the quarry is that the quarry is completely blocked by tall and thick bushes and can only be seen from the only viewpoint of the quarry. Though these tall bushes are to prevent people from entering or falling into the quarry, it really restricted visitors’ benefit of viewing the entire quarry and there is a lot of wildlife going on inside the quarry.
Therefore, i can conclude from the site analysis that the quarry needs more viewpoints and a trail for visitors to discover the wildlife and breathtaking views of the quarry from different perspectives.
VISION SKETCH OF FUTURE PEKAN QUARRY
Process Sketches of Viewpoints Above are the process sketches of the proposed viewpoints to be placed around the quarry. My concept revolves around the plumbob adapted from a game “The Sims� whereby the health of a person is represented by the color of a diamond spinning above it’s head. But, i applied deconstructivism to the diamonds and transformed them into raw crystal-like forms. These forms are practical because they not only have a distinct design but provides ample shelter for visitors.
Apart from being just a shelter for sight-seeing, these viewpoints also cater to visitors who are looking to meditate at a serene spot. This trail also works as a meditating trail where these visitors can take the trail and everytime they stop at a viewpoint, there is a spot inside meant for meditation. So to get the full experience from the serenity of the quarry, the visitors can meditate at all the view points which would take up the entire day or two.
Proposed Activities
Proposed Circulation
Above are the proposed activities and circulation maps of Pekan Quarry where six more viewpoints are placed around the quarry including floating viewpoint on the quarry itself and a bridge at the intersection of the untouchable wildlife core which is located at the inner side of the quarry. Four guesthouses will be constructed along the quarry.
By doing so, this will increase the activities and useability of the quarry, because more visitors will visit this quarry and some can choose to have a staycation at the guesthouses along the quarry. I believe that this is a prime location for a quiet getaway due to the serene vibe that the quarry gives when visitors visit the quarry.
Proposed Viewpoint Designs
Elevation
Proposed Site Plan
Perspective Render
Section
CONCEPT SKETCH OF GUESTHOUSE
Above are my process sketches of the guesthouses. I came up with a few conceptual guesthouses but come to realise that they mostly require a lot of electricity and power if they were that big. Therefore i simplified and made my guesthouses only with one bedroom as my vision was to embrace the serenity of the quarry and having too many people stay at the guesthouses will affect the wildlife due to noise and defeats the purpose of relaxing. But, the new concept of the guesthouse consists of a lot of ecological design factors like bat caves, for bat watching and feeding photovoltaic glass, recycled wood and corten steel used as materials for the house.
Floor Plan and Roof Plan of Proposed Guest House
Elevation of Proposed Guest House
Section of Proposed Guest House
Exploded Drawing Of Proposed Guest House
Physical Models
COASTAL GREENS AT KALLANG
Live, Work, Play The aim and theme for this project is to combine live, work and play. How is that possible? Aren’t they conflicting ideas? Well, i feel that there are many approaches to combining live, work and play, which gives the site, 20 Stadium Lane, right next to National Stadium Singapore, an opportunity to create a space where these three clashing ideas come together to kickstart the idea of creating a healthier lifestyle for locals, therefore promoting a healthier lifestyle in Singapore.
The current site used to be a coast guard post before Singapore River was sealed by Marina Barrage, and site has been empty ever since. The condition of the site is deteriorating every day and is in need of redevelopment. The issue with the site is that it breaks the connectivity of the park connector connecting Kallang Riverside Park and Tanjong Rhu, due to it’s narrow path that could barely provide sufficient side-by-side space between a cyclist and pedestrian. Not only that, the site lacks residence and leisure hospitality.
My vision for the site is to build a site that provides a fair share of public and private spaces. My aim is to tackle the problem with connectivity and make the site easily accessible for visitors and future residents. I want to have both permanent and temporary residences which will link with each other through a green bridge, as well as a park that goes downwards to maximize space and give visitors a different experience from the usual park connectors. I also vision my design to synchronize with Singapore’s idea of a “Garden City”.
Vision Sketch Of Kallang Site
Concept My Proposed Bubble Diagram shows the activities i want to put on my site and i want to make full use of the space on the site. Therefore i want to create a sunken park, and layered garden/mall inspired Namba Parks in Osaka, Japan. Not only that, i want to create a better path for the park connector to tackle the current hazard of having a narrow path. The circulation diagram shows the improved connectivity of the site from other places, this will help increase the accessibility of the park, therefore attracting more visitors. The proposed connectivity includes a link bridge and an underpass from the serviced apartments to the hotel, to tackle the current condition of an unsafe road crossing without a zebra crossing or traffic light. Other than that, the improved park connector route will provide more space between cyclists and pedestrians. Proposed vegetation is to show the amount of greenery i want to incorporate into my site and adding more greenery and landscaping into the site feeds my vision well; to promote living in a garden city. Therefore, the park will be different from the other park connectors as visitors are able to enter the sunken public park overlooking the private residence instead of making it totally private.
Proposed Bubble Diagram
Proposed Circulation Diagram
Proposed Vegetation
Concept Sketch of Serviced Apartments
Concept Sketch of Layered Park/Mall
Serviced Apartments Blocks
Block A: 2 bedrooms with balcony.
Block A: Mostly consist of the smaller apartments that range from 1 to 2 bedrooms.
Sample: 3 bedrooms with private pool.
Block B: Mostly consist of the larger apartments that range from 3 to 5 bedrooms, some units with private balcony swimming pool.
Sample : 1 bedroom presidential suite with private pool and balcony.
Block C: Mostly consist of the presidential suites with the largest units.
Section
These floor plans are the key plans as the basement 2 plan consists of the sunken park as well as the private space which is the spa, gym and indoor swimming pool. There are mini reflective pool drainage systems whereby it collects rain water and turns the empty well into a reflective pool. During dry weather, the reflective pool is dry and can be used as benches and play spaces. This drainage system is to prevent the sunken park from flooding in any cases of heavy rain. The fourth floor consists of private apartments but the key part of the fourth floor is the link bridge to the other side where the hotel is located, this is designed so that visitors staying at the hotel are able to access the layered park at the main site.
Physical Models
PERSONAL WORKS
2014
2014
2014
2014
2015
2015
2012
2013
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Tang Chin Ee (+65) 92326932 tangchinee96@gmail.com @ChinEeBites www.chinee-tang.squarespace.com