yen-ju timothy tai
selected works
CONTACT
EXPERIENCE
e. yjt.tai@gmail.com
JUN - JUN 2016 - 2018 Cambridge, US
t. +1 646 717 4846 a. 12 Mount Auburn Street Apartment 10 Cambridge, MA 02138
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mediated Matter Group, Media Lab Master of Science ‘18 Harvard University Graduate School of Design Cross-Registration ‘16 - ‘17 Cornell University Architecture, Art, and Planning Bachelor of Architecture ‘15
SKILL
vitae
yen-ju timothy tai
JUN - JUL 2013 Tokyo, Japan JUN - AUG 2012 London, UK DEC - JAN 2011 - 2012 Taipei, Taiwan
2013 2011
Language Mandarin Chinese American English Technical Proficient Rhinoceros3D Grasshopper3D AutoCad VRay for Rhino Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign
SEP - MAR 2015 - 2016 New York, US JAN - AUG 2014 New York, US
EDUCATION
curriculum
SEP - SEP 2016 - 2017 Cambridge, US
2014 - 2015 2014 - 2015 Basic C# Python Processing Fusion 360 SolidWorks Ecotect Adobe Premiere
Other 3D Printing, CNC Milling, Lasercuttrained, Analog and Digital Photography, Metalwork, Woodwork
2018 2018 2018 2016 2015 2015 2014
Research Assistant Mediated Matter Group, MIT Media Lab Water-based Fab. Platform/Aguahoja; Silk V2; Porous Structure Architectural and computational design; digital fabrication Teaching Assistant MAS.500 Hands on Foundations in Media Technology Introduction to 3D, parametric, and generative modeling in Rhino and Grasshopper Junior Architect Peter Marino Architect Chanel Stores in Tokyo, New York, Beverly Hills, and Hawaii Design development drawing sets Architecture Intern LTL Architects (Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis) Cornell University Upson Hall; Gallaudet University Residence Model making; Presentation diagrams; Research drawings Architecture Intern KKAA (Kengo Kuma and Associates) Shibuya Development Facade design, parametric paneling, rationalization, modeling Architecture Intern CRAB (Cook Robothom Architecture Bureau, Sir Peter Cook) Aalto University Competition; ComfoVeg Conceptual design; Model making; Diagrams, and renderings Architecture Intern MINIWIZ Sustainable Energy Development Ltd. Proposal for 100th Anniversary Memorial Park Conceptual design; Model making Competition Submission 5th IAAC Competition: Self Sufficient Habitat _Hon. Mention New Taipei City Museum of Art Organization Participation Association Vol. 6 and Vol. 7 _Student-run publication Thumbnail. _Biannual Pecha Kucha event at Cornell Publication and Exhibition Designing (for) Decay: Parametric Material Distribution for Hierarchical Dissociation of Water-based Biopolymer Composites. _In Proceedings of the IASS Symposium. Designing a Tree. _In Proceedings of the IASS Symposium Parametric Chemistry _In Wit, A. and Daas, M., editors. Towards A Robotic Architecture. AR+D Publishing, ORO Editions. Patscentre Structural Model _In Cruvellier, M., et al. Model Perspectives on Struct. and Arch.Sympath & Surface: Constructing Sullivan’s Final Treatise _At the 103rd ACSA Conf. in Toronto Fianco-A-Fianco _In Association Vol. 6 Zero Boundaries: An Emerging Taiwanese Design Exhibition _At the Taipei Economics and Cultural Center in NYC
SEED DISTRIBUTION POLYHEDRA POROSITY BATH VILLAGE SLAB TOWER MUSEUM PATH STRUCTURE ORNAMENT DIPTYCHS WEST
05-24 25-30 31-34 35-38 39-52 53-64 65-68 69-72 73-74 75-84 85-88 89-90 91-92 93-94
WATER-BASED FABRICATION: AGUAHOJA, THE SEED PAVILION
Summer , 2016 - Spring , 2018 Resarch , Mediated Matter Group Prof. N.Oxman w/ J.Duro-Royo , A.Ling , J.VanZak , C.Bader , N.Hogan , B.Darweesh robotic
toolpath
maps
At the close of the Digital Age, the fields of digital design and fabrication remain constrained by the means and methods shaped by and inherited from the Industrial Revolution. Products and structures are still designed as discrete elements with distinct functions and homogenous properties. By contrast, living systems are grown under functional and performative principles with graded and differentiated properties under biological and environmental constraints. Built upon frameworks such as Fabrication-information Modeling and Parametric Chemistry developed in the Mediated Matter Group, the pavilion is a representative iteration of an ongoing body of work – research, design, and fabrication – that focuses on robotic additive manufacturing of biodegradable, materially heterogeneous, and functionally graded structures. With the ability to control the composition, structure, and properties of physical matter across multiple length scales, the system deposits a parametrically tunable viscous bio-cement composite that includes biopolymers primarily made out of chitosan and cellulose. The novel design approach and technology enable integration between material formation, digital fabrication, and physical behavior. Upper row: effects over time. Lower row: effects from composition (%chitosan, %acetic acid, %corn starch, %calcium carbonate, %glycerin, %cellulose). 05
(08, 04, 08, 04, 05, 79)
(12, 06, 08, 04, 05, 79)
(14, 07, 08, 04, 05, 79)
(14, 07, 04, 02, 04, 65)
(a) initial quantitative material composition and qualitative effects on printed lattices
(b) stress-strain curves of bio-cement material from Instron Test
06
In addition to material science, the work also centers on custom toolpath planning as two-dimensional patterns for the fabrication of the water-based material with pneumatic end-effector attached to a 6-axis robotic arm, pictured above at Autodesk BUILD Space. As a proof of concept, a 5-meter tall pavilion is currently being built, and a full-scale prototype is shown below. The developed computational platform receives attribute maps translated from objective functions – environmental, structural, and others – as inputs, and generate as well as evaluate designs in the form of not only geometric description, but also machine instruction. The workflow begins by dithering and remeshing according to the map, and ends at finding the dual graph of the final quadrangular mesh. As the result, the output to the hardware could be a single polyline of point arrays based on Eulerian path defined in graph theory such that each straight-line segment is only traversed once. Derived from organic matter, driven by performance, augmented by algorithm, printed by robots, and shaped by water, this work points towards a future where the grown and the made unite. 09
11
12
14
D
⊆ ℝ2
S
: D→ℝ
F
= D → ℝ2
V
= {v1 , … , vn}
E
= {e1 , … , em}, ei ∈ V × V
t
= ((vi1 , ej1), … ,(vik , ejk))
V
= dither(S)
(1) S ; map
(2) V ; dither
(3) triangulation
(4) Ea ; alignment
(5) Eq ; quadrangulation
(6) Ed ; dual
Et = triangulate(V) Ea = align(Et , F) Eq = quadrangulate(Ea , F) Ed = dual(Eq) t
= eulerTour(Ed)
16
To facilitate the challenge of pneumatically extruding viscous materials to create large-scale, functionally graded structures, the proposed computational workflow is developed to translate inherited material and fabrication information and constraints to geometric descriptions and machine instructions. An overview of the workflow is provided on the right of the previous page, with pseudocode given in the boxed texts. First, attribute maps given by objective functions–e.g. dissociative, environmental, structural, and others–and a target shape are provided as inputs. The target shape is then variably populated with points according to the provided maps. The density distribution of points is based on material density-to-functional performance relationships and computed by suitable dithering algorithms. The collection of points corresponding to the desired density distribution is then connected with edges, based on Delaunay triangulation. The triangulated mesh is then incrementally turned into a feature, or directionally aligned quadrangular mesh through a modified re-meshing approach described in (Lai et al., 2008). The algorithm first gradually moves the vertices, and then iteratively converges the mesh to a quadrangular one by removing shared edges between pairs of triangular faces, in a heuristic selection approach. The edges are removed by an angle deviation criterion, which is measured by the minimum angle between the edge and the directions of the vector field, evaluated at the midpoint of that edge. The directional alignment to fields such as principal stress or principal curvature patterns could help improve or induce desirable mechanical and structural performance. In addition, because these vector fields will directly inform the alignment of 17
(a) triangulated mesh average angle = 21.3146° (0.4737)
(b) aligned triangulated mesh average angle = 19.8609° (0.4414)
(c) aligned quadrangular mesh average angle = 18.5389° (0.4120)
(d) unaligned quadrangular mesh average angle = 22.2691° (0.4949)
(e) close-up of (b) compared to (a) 6.8205% improvement
close-up of (c) compared to (a) 13.0226% improvement
the existing curve network, there is no need to undergo the cumbersome process of obtaining principal stress lines by post-rationalization of the field, or reparameterization of the underlying geometry, through which problematic singularities or discontinuities often occur. In other words, the directional field will be utilized as a reference towards which the edges of the already obtained graph should shift, instead of directly materializing as a geometric object. no heuristic, hierholzer
average angle = 1.31298
0
1 traversal sequence
0
0.5Ď€ radians
heuristic, fleury
average angle = 0.86641
heuristic, hierholzer
average angle = 0.27464
The advantages of obtaining a quadrangular mesh are twofold. On the one hand, a polygonal mesh consisting of quadrilateral faces could be aligned to the principal directions of the geometry, or a given directional field, better than one that is made out of triangular faces. On the other hand, it enables the generation of a dual graph that will always return vertices of valence four. Therefore, there exists an Euler path, which traverses the graph completely by visiting each edge of the graph only once. A process that enables the creation of a graph that can be traversed through a single tour from any given material distribution maps is advantageous for fabrication platforms that deposit water-based viscous material along complex geometric patterns because it eliminates the need to go through multiple toolpaths to complete a given pattern design. Therefore, the production procedure avoids potentially pausing at undesirable locations within the underlying geometry and reduces jumps to the next toolpath in the midst of printing, where uncontrollable material deposition might occur. Once the dual graph of the well aligned quadrangular mesh is produced, and its traversal thus guaranteed to be Eulerian, two post-processing steps are taken to further improve the quality of 18
the toolpath. During the implementation of Hierholzer’s or Fleury’s algorithm, a heuristic is applied to measure and sort which edge is best to be traversed next. The cost value assigned to each edge that enables the heuristic search could be assigned by either the user, additional external mapping intrinsic to the graph pattern itself, or a weighted combination of multiple factors. A meaningful cost function explored here is the local turning angle between the current edge and each potential next edge. A lower cost will be assigned to edges that continue the straight-line trajectory of the current edge. As such, regional smoothness of the toolpath could be effectively improved, and evaluated by measuring the average of all turning angles in a single traversal instance.
0 traversal sequence
19
1
toolpath (0.9)
Some of the main custom components written in Python and C# within the Grasshopper3D visual scripting interface using RhinoComoon library are illustrated, including methods for mesh edges alignment to a given directional field, mesh dual generation, Euler Path algorithm implementing various heuristic search options, and a G-Code generator directly translating the obtained paths to fabrication instructions.
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structural mapping _ distance
21
environmental mapping _ radiation
environmental mapping _ rain
mapping result _ gradient dithering
meshing _ delaunay triangulation
remeshing _ quad-dominant
remeshing _ 4-8 subdivision
remeshing - dual graph
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MATERIAL DISTRIBUTION: SURFACE TOOLPATH OPTIMIZATION
Spring Resarch Prof.
, 2017 , GSD 6425 Panagiotis Michalatos
shell
density
directionality
The project seeks to develop a prototypical workflow for additive manufacturing of water-based material, from design to fabrication, utilizing robotic 3D printing platform. The methodology is especially meaningful for materials with low viscosity because a toolpath generation tool with maximum turning angle between TCPs (tool center point) as one of the user inputs could prevent uncontrollable material dispensing, and thus allows for higher precision fabrication. i. Topology Optimization and Remshing A gradient map for material (mesh) density distribution is generated from topology optimization techniques. The objective for the optimization could be single or multivariable, including both intrinsic and extrinsic constraints and criteria. Here the input is a hypothetical wind (lateral) load on a dome-like structure, and the objective examined is the stiffness factor. The stiffness gradient map and stress lines resulting from the optimization in25
form the population of points that are used to generate a triangulated mesh. The first set of points fall on the stress lines so to reinforce the directionality of the resultant mesh, and the second set utilizes random dithering method, informed by the color gradient. The mesh is then remeshed over a few iterations. A second step of optimization is applied after the remeshing of the first, resultant of shell optimization. This step looks at the mesh as a graph of frames, and thus returns results for each edge element in the graph. Therefore, in addition to material distribution and density in the overall scale, the system explores the directionality and sizing of each edge. ii. Toolpath Generation and Simulation The major part of the script component in Grasshopper takes place during this step. The custom C# component allows for user to input various parameters including the lower bound of turning angle between each edge element, structural
properties such as axial stress and bending moment resulting from the optimization process, whether elements of compression and tension should be printed separately, the number of hierarchical layers of printing, and whether this hierarchy prioritizes stress or bending. The resulting graph could be input into the simulation section of the computational workflow, where the user could visualize the robotic fabrication process.
shell stiffness optimization _ iteration 06
shell stiffness optimization _ iteration 10
shell stiffness optimization _ iteration 14
shell stiffness optimization _ iteration 30
dithering _ populate stress lines
dithering _ populate gradient map
meshing _ triangulate
meshing _ adaptive remeshing
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frame stiffness optimization _ iteration 02
frame stiffness optimization _ iteration 05
frame stiffness optimization _ iteration 12
toolpath generation _ angle _ path 01
toolpath generation _ angle _ path 03
toolpath generation _ angle _ path 05
toolpath generation _ angle _ path 07
angle lower bound 120°
angle lower bound 30°
frame stiffness optimization _ iteration 01
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toolpath generation _ axial stress _ layer 02
toolpath generation _ axial stress _ layer 03
toolpath generation _ axial stress _ layer 04
toolpath generation _ axial stress _ layer 05
toolpath generation _ bending _ layer 02
toolpath generation _ bending _ layer 03
toolpath generation _ bending _ layer 04
toolpath generation _ bending _ layer 05
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UNIFORM FORM-FINDING
POLYHEDRA: AND ANALYSIS
Fall , 2016 Resarch , GSD 6338 / MIT 4.450 Prof. P.Michalatos / Prof. C.Mueller
form-finding
graphs
optimization
The project explores the use of particlespring system for finding convex uniform polyhedral forms and analyzes the comparative structural performance of their truncated variations. The study presents a parametric design space for the family of Archimedean solids and demonstrates the potential of utilizing this approach to design and optimize domical structures. i. The initial form-finding process is implemented through physical simulation with particle-spring system and repulsion force against the centroid of the polyhedra. Once the systems reach equilibrium, a truncation process is then applied to explore varying topological forms between the duals. Polyhedra are here treated as graphs with given connectivity matrices between nodes, and the simulation is coded in C# and Grasshopper. ii. The structural analysis and optimization process identifies two sets of discrete variables with a single objective. The first variable, x1, is the polyhedron types, here, namely the thirteen Archimedean solid forms. The second variable, x2, is the level of truncation of the primitives, a discrete set of values ranging from 0 percent to 50 percent, with steps of 5 percent. Through Karamba and Goat, the objective is to minimize structural weight, and is defined as J = ÎŁ | Fi * Li | + ÎŁ | Mi2/3 * Li |. 31
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POROSITY GENERATION: IMPLICIT MODELING OF GEOMETRY
Fall , 2017 - Spring , 2018 Research , Computational Design Prof. N.Oxman , Christoph Bader
heterogeneous
voxel
performance
The project is a computational modeling workflow for the generation of heterogeneous material distribution without constructing mesh geometries, enabling high-resolution multi-material 3D printing of complex forms. Building on voxelbased and bitmap printing processes and guided by geometric principles –yet not required to create and process intermediate geometric objects– the approach describes tunable material density distribution through the evaluation of implicit mathematical functions. Continuously differentiated material distribution is templated by volumetric attribute mappings. By avoiding the problematic file processing procedures of conventional methods such as STL file handling, the approach thereby bypasses the steps that typically require the most computational resources and time. The approach thus transforms constraints imposed by the combination of current 3D printing material properties and fabrication systems into an opportunity to bridge the domains of design representation and machine instruction. This spread illustrates a workflow that generates and processes polygonal mesh geometries, and the next illustrates a workflow that implements the implicit method described. The printed piece shown here on the right exhibits variable regional mechanical property responding to the initial performance objective. 35
(a) attribute map
(e) truncation
(b) dithering
(f) smoothing
(c) triangulate
(g) subdivision
(d) tetrahedralize
(h) evaluation
(i) image slices 36
D
⊆ ℝ3
S
: D→ℝ
V
= {v1 , … , vn}
E
= {e1 , … , em}, ei ∈ V × V
F
= {f1 , … , fm}, fi ∈ V × V × V
T
= {t1 , … , tm}, ti ∈ V × V × V × V
V
= dither(S)
E,F,T = tetrahedralize(V) X
= {x1 , … , xn}
xi
= (p ∈ ℝ3, d ∈ ℝ)
0
S ; map
V ; dither
(initial geometric rep.) E,F,T ; tetrahedralize
(optional mesh rep.) isosurface, t = 0.30
(optional mesh rep.) isosurface, t = 0.60
1 density
foreach (x1 ∈ X): t = inside(E,F,T), t ∈ T c = centroid(t), p ∈ ℝ3 fc1,fc2,fc3,fc4= faceCenter(t), fci∈ ℝ3 d = pointLineClosestDistance( c, fc1, fc2, fc3, fc4 ) (implicit rep.) 0 X ; distance field An overview of the computational workflow developed. Upper left: The pseudocode outlining the processes. Upper Right: Corresponding to the pseudocode, the visualization of mapping, dithering according to the map, tetrahedralization with dithered points as vertices, obtaining the distance field as an implicit representation, and the optional extraction of isosurfaces with various thresholds. Lower: Visualization of a single tetrahedron as a geometric representation and an implicit one with distance as the function. 37
1 distance
0
centroid and face centers
X ; distance field
1 distance
isosurface, t = 0.80
V ; dither
E,F,T ; tetrahedralize
8 evenly spaced slices through the field
0
X ; distance field
centroid and face centers
guassian blur, iteration = 0
1 distance
isosurface, t = 0.60
isosurface, t = 0.80
guassian blur, iteration = 25
Upper: Another overview of the workflow, with a cubical volume and a single point as the base for tetrahedralization. The middle row shows 8 evenly spaced slices through the distance field, that could directly be translated to image files for production without generating the surfaces visualized on the right. Lower: Image processing technique may be applied to volumetric fields. Here, Gaussian blur filter applied to the distance field, resulting in the smoothing visualized with the extracted isosurfaces using Monolith.
1 distance
(implicit rep.) 0 X ; distance field
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B.ARCH BATH Kinmen
AND
THESIS: BEYOND
,
Taiwan
Spring , 2015 Design Studio X ; Thesis Prof. W.Goehner, Michael Jefferson
border
heterotopia
tide
The thesis is a public bath sited in the islands of Kinmen, literally meaning Golden Gate, an archipelago that is currently administered by Taiwan but lies within the territorial water of China. The proposal will allow both Chinese and Taiwanese people to come together in such historically communal spaces, and potentially become citizens of the other side of the strait through choreographed sequences. The intervention will provoke such possibilities by investigating and operating on firstly the overlap between geopolitical and biophysical borders, and secondly the rituals of bathing and those of border crossing. The proposal is essentially a creation of a non-place, or a place of neither, a heterotopic situation of potential rejection, mediation, and compensation. It proposes to voluntarily inhabit the border as architecture, instead of leaving it to become an involuntary park of the typical DMZ. It initiates an arrival and departure process that is voluntary and temporary for the individuals, yet virtually inevitable and continual for the two peoples separated by the strait. It is a threshold that offers one the opportunity to literally and metaphorically wash off her identity. Upper Left: Images showing the location of Kinmen Islands and their geographical relationship to the Southeast coast of China. Lower Left: later generative diagram showing the ‘islands’ of baths. 39
Some issues and topics of interest Heterotopia, Border, Island, DMZ, Conflict, Artifact - and their relationship to the architectural discourse, have come up preceding, during, and following the search for a site and a program. These specific subjects have then provoked further combinatory investigations such as the overlap between natural and political borders, the curious cases of the island typology, and the relationship between preservation of historical artifacts and organized touristic activities; and how all of these could potentially inform the design of a project: The fluctuation of the tide - and how it could potentially transform the condition of the site, biophysically, geopolitically, and phenomenologically - is the operational device that appropriately encompasses all of the areas of interest, and is utilized to forward the design. The water is simultaneously the embodiment of the site and the program. Upper Left: Group of images showing four main types of artifacts from the wartime: Fortress, Tunnel, Broadcast, and Barricade. Lower Left: tide level of the odd number months in 2015. The project utilizes the data to eventually construct the sectional properties of the design. By corresponding to the cyclical sequence of tidal fluctuations - which in turn follows the lunar changes - the project seeks to reinforce the idea of Otherness.
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+3.50(h.h.t.’04-’13) +2.60(h.h.t.May15) +1.94(m.h.t.May15) -0.62(existingpath) -1.87(m.l.t.May15) -2.88(l.l.t.May15) -3.41(l.l.t.’04-’13)
1:100 scale 3D printed models with resin casted on top of the cured print to simulate and study how the changing water levels could generate different formations of and various realtionships between the water bodies. 43
Preliminary studies of surface conditions, all constructed by three sectional curves, each exhibiting either guassian, quadratic, or cubicbezier qualities. The construction curves then undergo geometrical transformations such as scaling, reflecting, and/ or translating. The numerous possibilities then become the prototypes of conditional qualities that may eventually be appropriated into the site, as the rising or falling of water (or the flooding or ebbing of the tide) could potentially isolate, limit, block, separate, or unite the pockets of spaces; some spaces may be accessible at different water level and thus different time in the sequence, or ritual of procession. The colors are showing the curvature of the surface while the line hatches indicate where the curvature is lower than a 1:12 ramp, and thus accessible without transforming the raw condition into steps if desired.
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The diagrams here are part of a series of the morphological process of the surface design: Initially a plain field, the surface condition begins to differentiate as certain points in the space gathers increased intensities. The location of the
bath is essentially identified as the original void spaces in the castle remnants, thus inverting what was originally above ground and what is to be constructed in the subterranean. From the left half to the right half, and from top
to bottom: Existing voids as pockets of spaces in the field and the progression through them / Differentiation in depth / height transformation and blending / Raising walled spaces to 3500 to avoid flooding / Jogging loop / Single surface
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Upper Left: Frames of how the tide rises on the site. On average, it takes about 6.2 hours for the tide to completely flood (or ebb), or 12.4 hours for it to get back to the same level. As the result, the 5 frames happen at about 74.4 minutes apart from one another. The top row shows how the site gradually transforms into an isolated island while the bottom row shows the corresponding temporal conditions of the baths. 48
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PARC DE LA DEVESA: ARTIST VILLAGE AND CEMETERY Girona
,
Spain
Fall , 2014 Design Studio IX Prof. B.Capdeffero, R.Bosch; A. Cepeda
cycle
filters
ritual
I. Situated at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, and Guell Rivers, la Devesa has lost its defensive and irrigational purposes over the past century. Regardless of its geographical proximity, this habitat for over 2,600 hybrid plane trees that are up to 60 meters high is further isolated physically from the residential nucleus of Girona after the construction of the national road and train tracks. II. The site’s hybrid character, or its ambiguous naturalness, is the product of both natural circumstance and human intervention: the initial spontaneous vegetation and its later regular arrangement. The semi-abandoned state further manifests this curious situation of the blurring of the sterile dichotomies: artificial/natural, static/dynamic, permanent/ephemeral Upper Left: Initial Conceptual models showing ideas of what “actions” will be applied to the trees. Lower Left: Intermediate model of the existing implied grid on the site and the operative process of cutting down based on proximity rule and of identifying the locations of intervention. Right: Light analysis of various conditions and the resulting effects of the intervention in the site. 53
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III. The proposal seeks to build upon the act of blurring by introducing an unconventional hybrid type -a combination of artist residences and a cemetery- that addresses the specific locality in a cross-scale strategy: On the one hand, the intervention integrates the existing forest-like condition as an embodiment of natural growth with the additional layer of human life cycle; on the other hand, it recognizes the current ambiguity urbanistically and proposes to simultaneously maintain the serenity and activate the territory. IV. The implicit gridded field condition serves as the foundation of the operation: Trees are removed due to proximity rules for healthier growth, vertices of the new grid are identified as sites of intervention and filters, elevated paths weave through the top of the cemeteries and the galleries located on the second level. Visitors follow the ritual of burying, elevating, and viewing. A grand cycle begins to unfold: Removed trees are to be used as the building material for the modules that house deceased humans, while the buried dead bodies are the nutrients for the to be planted trees. 55
Four images in the operative sequence i. Identify: An existing implied grid and the trees to be cut down based on a proximity rule. ii. Locate: The grid is filled up. The locations of the to be removed trees and the originally vacant vertices located as the points of intervention. Artists residences are only located at points not immediately next to a burial location. iii. Connect: An elevated path is designed to connect the burial pods and the artist residences. iv. Orient: The orientations of the burial pods are adjusted so they are always perpendicular to the tangential direction of the path. 56
Right: The project is conceived as a phasial development. The artists residences will be constructed first as single point of intensity, with a new tree planted at the originally vacant spot. The path then connects the residences with their galleries on the upper level. And finally, the burial pods will be constructed using the cut down trees as material. New trees will be planted at the center of each individual burial ground. Eventually, the grid will be filled up, and the urban park will be occupied by both young and old trees, together with dead and alive human. 58
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HOTEL THE
IN
ITHACA: SLAB
Ithaca
,
NewYork
Fall Design Prof.
,
linearity
Werner
Studio Hans
connectivity
2012 V Goehner
icon
Sited in a narrow triangular site at the entry point of the Commons in Downtown Ithaca, the hotel engages the context and the scale via the dialogue between the upper Slab and the lower Podium: contrasting axial alignments, material and formal qualities, and programmatic and structural strategies. The dual logic not only celebrates the existing linearity and potential connectivity through the continuation of the pedestrian scale in the bottom, but also envisions itself as an icon via the establishment of a symbolic break at the top.
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MUSEUM OF THE UNEXPECTED: TOWER OF PLANES Binghamton
,
NewYork
Fall Design Prof. Maria
, Studio Hurtado de
2011 III Mendoza
materiality
transparency
reflectivity
The tower is simultaneously the parking garage and the exhibition space of the Museum of the Unexpected: The Twilight Zone. The spaces are created and manipulated by planes, not dissimilar to how Rod Serling created another reality though the flat screen of the TV show - The Twilight Zone. The changing pattern of materiality and the positions of the planes become a controlling device to determine the circulation and the programming of space. The complex system of transparency, reflectivity, and projection created by varying plane types further creates a differentiated reality.
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INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: N. TAIPEI CITY MUSEUM OF ART NewTaipeiCity
,
Taiwan
Summer Open Prof. C.Kuo
,
2011 Competition w/ S.Huang + L.Chuang
dynamic
surprise
adventure
The project aims to create an unrestrained environment. There is no visual separation between the exterior and interior. Instead, tens and hundreds of trees and bushes -artificial or natural- filled up the field with free-flowing and dynamic forms and spaces; all alternating up and down along a main forest footpath. With all kinds of art works resembling various animals and plants living in the jungle; surprises constantly occur here and there. An adventure as a museum. 73
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ACQUA PAOLA ON VIA AURELIA: MONUMENTAL PATHS Rome Fall Design Prof.
, , Studio Davide
instrumentalized
Italy 2013 VII Marchetti
infrastructure
spine
I. Not unlike most of the ancient aqueducts (or their remains) that are still standing today, in and out of the vast region of Roma Capitale, once center of the western civilization, the portion of Acqua Paola that run parallel to Via Aurelia, one of the Consular roads of the city, has gone obsolete and practically abandoned. II. At different sections along the road, the surrounding landscape rises and falls against the absolute datum line of the aqueduct, where the slight degree of inclination is regarded negligible. III. Once being the element of connection, transporting water from elsewhere to the urban population, the aqueduct now only divides: it is currently incorporated into the wall systems when above ground. Furthermore, with automobiles running across the road, the North and South halves of this linear construct are completely separated. IV. The existing conditions thus rendered a possibility of an instrumentalized monument, with the aqueduct acting as a spine, metaphorically and literally. The prefabricated infrastructure consists of a bike lane raised above the aqueduct through steel channels that correspond to the arches in a rhythmic manner, while the columns in turn erects the swimming pool on the upper level. The curvilinear path of pedestrian walkway then weaves itself across the landscape, flowing freely and connecting the two sides of the spine, creating spaces that define loosely by the loops that allow for informal programs - in contrast to the predetermined linear functions that conformed to the linear geometry of the spine. V. One is simultaneously the jogger, the biker, and the swimmer; measuring, like the ancient waters once did, and enjoying the landscape at various elevation and speed, in and out of the city.
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STRUCTURE ANALYSIS MODEL: THE PATSCENTRE, ONE-SIXTIETH Siteless
/
Princeton,
NewJersey
Spring , 2013 Research , Structural Systems Prof. M.Cruvellier w/ Sean Kim
recreating
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masts
tension
A bifold analysis of the Patscentre by Richard Rogers: Investigating the corresponding programmatic and structural ideas on the one hand, and recreating the construction process on the other. The model focuses on the primary stayed system: the A-frame masts, the suspending tension rods and struts, and the pinned connections of perforated gusset plates and clevises. Major processes include water-jetting the connection details after digital modeling, creating the relief-jigs by rasterizing fiberboard through laser-cutting, connecting members of cross-sectional bays together through soldering, and assembling the rigid frame longitudinally by flipping the cable-stay over.
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AN ANALYSIS AND REPRODUCTION OF SULLIVAN’S ORNAMENT
Fall Researc , Prof. A.Lucia
order
, 2014 Visual Representation w/ Isidoro M. Guindi
affect
informational
Through Louis Sullivan’s final treatise, A System of Architectural Ornament According with a Philosophy of Man’s powers, and here specifically its Final Plate: Finis, the project investigates issues of not only geometry, pattern, and system, but also the structure and order of ambient light with the subsequent affect, material organization and surface quality, as well as surface construction and reproduction techniques. The exploration also aims to re-position the act of experiencing, or seeing, as an informational field-based engagement; thus favoring the statistical over the geometric, or the noisy over the pure, in the structure of data and emergent behavior.
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FIANCO A SERIES
A FIANCO: OF DIPTYCHS
Denmark
Iceland
Fall Photography Prof.
/
, Art Studio Liana
correspondence
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opposition
/
Italy
in
2013 Rome Miuccio
tension
A part of a series of diptychs included in a bounded book titled Fianco - A - Fianco / Side by Side. The group of work explores, within the duals, the correspondence between the geometrical and compositional organizations, the relationship between the scalar and directional components, the opposition between the foreground and background constituents, the contradiction between the natural and artificial environments, and the tension between the figurative and contextual constructs. All taken in Autumn 2013, in various cities in Italy, in Copenhagen, Denmark, and across Western Iceland.
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ON WEST
THE OF
THE
ROAD: SUN
CA / NV / AZ / UT / NM / TX Summer 8000 Self,
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, /
Miles Car,
28
2015 Days Cameras
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summer
mmxviii
yen-ju timothy tai
yjt.tai@gmail.com