Portfolio

VICTOR YU-JUEI TZEN

Victor Yu-Juei Tzen

Registered Architect, New York Cornell University, M.Arch 2008 Georgia Institute of Technology, B.S. Arch 2004

Google R+D Lab for the Built Environment, Architecture Lead 2022

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Architect/Manager 2014-2022

Gensler, Junior Architect/Designer 2013-2014

Syracuse University, Assistant Professor 2009-2013

Atelier Bow-Wow, Intern/Junior Architect 2008

SHoP Architects, Intern Architect 2007

Kohn Pedersen Fox, Intern Architect 2006

Alpha Design Associates, Junior Architect 2003-2005

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

Architect/Manager | 2014-22

Atelier Bow-Wow

Intern Architect/Junior Architect | 2008

Gensler

Junior Architect/Designer | 2013-14

Professional Work

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

San Francisco, CA | Designer/Architect

I am currently a Designer/Architect at Bohin Cywinski Jackson. My work in the office ranges from educational/institutional spaces such as the UC Davis Art Museum to several Flagship Apple Stores around the world.

I am experienced in all phases from Concept through Construction Administration, assisting project managers with both design and management. Projects typically range from 10,000 sqft to 30,000 sqft in size and have included both ground up and renovation/ tenant improvements.

PROJECTS

UC

World

Broadway

Pleasant

UC Davis Museum of Art

Davis, California 2014-2016

A collaborative design between BCJ and SO-IL, the museum was conceived as an extension of the vast and patchwork landscape of California’s Central Valley. The 50,000 sqft canopy sweeps over three program volumes and a series of outdoor spaces creating a constantly changing texture of shadow and light under the bright california sun.

The university intends to use the space not only as a gallery but also an education space incorporating a mixture of programs to create a dynamic and rich learning environment.

Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Museum of Art | Davis, CA

Team: Karl Backus, Florian Idenburg, Ryan Keerns, Danny Duong, Ashley Morgan, Travis Shockley, Maria Danielides, Rachel Estes, Victor Tzen

WTC Flagship Apple Store

New York, NY 2015-2016

Apple approached BCJ to desisgn a flagship store in the World Trade Center Transit Hub by Santiago Calatrava. The 20,000 sqft space was to take up a quarter of the Oculus and straddle two levels.

The design needed to negotiate the strong geometries of the Calatrava design while maintaining the clean Apple aesthetic. Incoportaing a double curved illuminated ceiling, the store brings in the geometries of the Oculus ribs to create a space that is clearly Apple while recognizing the place in which it is found.

World Trade Center Flagship Apple Store | New York, NY

Team: Karl Backus, Tina Lindinger, Victor Tzen

Broadway Plaza Apple Store

Walnut Creek, CA 2016-2018

Apple asked BCJ to design a new flagship store in Walnut Creek California. The store is located in the heart of the downtown shopping and business district. In addition to the ground up building, Apple acquired the rights to develop the land adjacent to the site and repurposed it for use as a public plaza.

The design is inspired by the nature of the larger site as a major pedestrian thoroughfare and the store acting as a glass vitrine. Major effort was placed on minimizing the profile of the roof and maximizing glazing at the east and west ends of the building.

Broadway Plaza Flagship Apple Store | Walnut Creek, CA

Team: Karl Backus, Tina Lindinger, Eric Watson, Victor Tzen

Apple avenue and product tables

Genius Grove

CZI Headquarters

Redwood

City, CA 2018-2019

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative asked BCJ to design a new headquarters in Redwood City California. Although the project is a T.I., the shell building was a new build and the team had significant input on various aspects of its design.

A strategy to organize the large 4 story building into neighborhoods was derived from both the way CZI works and the desire for more engagement and collaboration. Specialized areas are located throughout the building, such as the library, coffee lab and communicating stairs as unique moments to bring people together.

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Headquarters | Redwood City, CA

Team: Gregory Mattola, Doug Speckard, Shawn Woods, Kevin Lang, Eduardo Acevedo, Victor Tzen

Coffee Lab Communicating Stairs

Open Office Roof Deck

Tasman East Apartments

San Jose, CA 2019-Present

Related California approached BCJ to be the design architects for a new mixed-use apartment complex in downtown San Jose. The 800,000 sqft development was done in collaboration with Steinberg Hart who is acting as the Architect of Record.

My role was to develop the exterior facade systems and detail all associated components. A system that hybridized a window wall system with a concrete panel rain screen system was selected to unify the complex program mix in order to create a cohesive look. The project is currently in the Construction Document phase.

Site Diagram

Tasman East Apartments | San Jose, CA

Team: David Miller, Kevin Gerrity, Gabriela Osias, Kate Austin, Kelsey Galvin, Victor Tzen

Pleasant Hill Public Library

Pleasant Hill, CA 2019-Present

The city of Pleasant Hill selected BCJ to design a new public library adjacent to the current building. The opposing desires for a space that simultaneously builds community and allows for specialized programs for smaller groups lead to a open scheme with specialized “program cubes” that docks into the main hall.

My role was the design and detailing of the exterior facade and roof systems. We utilized a striated pattern on both the roof and walls by using metal standing seam, concrete panels and cedar siding to delineate the changes in program throughout the building. The project is currently under bid.

Pleasant Hill Public Library | Pleasant Hill, CA

Site Diagram

Team: Karl Backus, Michael Kross, David Andreini, Alex Gregor, Branden Collins, Ashley Hinton, Kelsey Galvin, Victor Tzen

APPLIED RESEARCH UNIT

Unit Head 2018-Present

The Applied Research Unit is a group within Bohlin Cywinski Jackson tasked to take on unconventional problems both project based and through individual interests. We collaborate with external partners to tap into a wide array of expertise to arrive at solutions that are out-of-the-box. As a founding member and Unit Head I am responsible for defining problems, shaping solutions, being the main point of contact with external partners and leading a group of talented and innovative individuals within the office to achieve these goals. We are currently exploring two initiatives looking at the future of the workplace and rapid deployable structures.

BCJ Applied Research Unit | San Francisco, CA

ORIGAMI UNIT FOLD SLIDER SEQUENCE

Origami scripting studies

Team: Steven Chaitow, Kay Bromley, Archer Firouzi, Toshi Ihara, Kelsey Galvin, Parama Sujeta & Victor Tzen

Atelier Bow-Wow

Tokyo, Japan | Intern/Junior Architect

I worked in the office of Atelier Bow-Wow throughout the summer of 2008. I worked on several projects within the office from schematic design to construction. My primary role within the office during my tenure was as both a designer and editor of text published by the office in english. Given the small size of the office, I was given considerable responsibility to work with project managers in developing and executing designs. The collaboration between a small team allowed us to work more nimbly

I was able to contribute directly on small scale projects such as ‘Rockscape’ for the Liverpool Biennale and more comprehensive commissions such as the Pony House.

Although I show five projects here, I participated in a range of other projects. The projects I worked on primarily beyond the five shown were several housing projects and the Ordos 100 proposal (unbuilt).

PROJECTS

Pony House (Kanagawa Japan)

Rockscape (Liverpool England)

Tread Machiya (Tokyo Japan)

Furnivehicle (Venice Italy)

Ordos House (Ordos Mongolia)

Rockscape

Liverpool Biennale, Liverpool England 2008

Team: Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, Simone Morville & Victor Tzen

Rockscape is concieved as an outdoor concert/event venue for the 2008 Liverpool Biennale. As a temporary installation for the biennale, the concept was to not only frame the performers using this space but, by turning the venue 180 degrees to face the street, let the street life be part of the performance. The framing of the street and the deployment of the visual buffers in the rear produces an intimate setting collapsing stage and city. The audience, being raised above the dividing wall becomes visible to the passersby and themselves are put on display. My role for this exhibition was as designer under the supervision of Simone Morville.

Rockscape, Liverpool Biennale | Liverpool, England. 2008

The Tread Machiya House was a design interested in providing maximum privacy while also maximizing openess in a small and restricted parcel of land. The tread house utilized a continuous and oversized stair to activate the programs for the house. This technique divided the house into two sections which were offset by half a floor in height. This gradual stepping of the floors provided the privacy they required while creating a continuous volume in the house. My role in this project was as a designer and model builder under the supervision of the project architect.

Tread Machiya

Meguro-Ku, Tokyo Japan 2008

Tread Machiya House | Meguro-Ku, Tokyo, Japan 2008

Team: Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, Masatoshi Hirai, Mai Harris & Victor Tzen

Furnivehicle

Venice, Italy 2008

Furnivehicle was a design made for the Venice Biennale of 2008. The design deploys three vehicles on which the various components of a house are deployed. Acting as an domestic exquisite corpse, the unfolded house provides unanticipated juxapositions with the context in which it is set. Like the exquisite corpse, the design relies on its adjacencies and vastly differing scenarios arise depending on the permutation of carts used.

The design utilizes parts from a conventional cart, typically seen around Venice moving goods, and reconceptualizes its cargo.

Furnivehicle, Venice, Italy 2008

Team: Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, Takahito Kurabayashi, Andrew Witt, Mai Harris & Victor Tzen

Pony House

Sagamihara, Kanagawa Japan 2008

Team: Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, Masatoshi Hirai, Mai Harris, Ryo Tsutsui & Victor Tzen

The Pony House was designed for a family who wished to share their vacation home with their pet pony. The concept of living, centered around the role of the pony in the domestic realm, dictated many decisions in the home. The house is positioned on a corner of the site to maximize land usage and also to frame the grazing area on which the pony roams. This relationship is reinforced through the maximization of frontage while its position relative to the street provided privacy. The space within the home for the pony was placed at the rear of the house immediately underneath the bedroom allowing a vertical relationship to manifest. The house, therefore, became a connector and framing device between the family and the pony throughout the day. Both expansive and intimate relationships are produced through the dialectical relationship between inside and out. My role within the team was as designer and model builder. The model was exhibited at the 12th annual Venice Biennale.

Pony House | Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan 2008

Gensler San Francisco, CA | Designer/Architect

As a Designer/Architect at Gensler from 2013-2014, I worked on three projects ranging from RFQ Proposals to Schematic Design Documents. Each project is led by a design principal who guides the overall direction of each project and supported by a design team. My role as a designer included developing the design parti for each project, research on zoning/code, coordination with the Project Architect to develop materials and detail specifications, modeling, preparing presentation packages and assisting with drawing sets.

The projects I worked on were diverse though large in scale. The project in Mumbai was a luxury condominium designed to accommodate a single tenant per floor. The project in Berkeley was an RFQ for an academic building intended to be shared by two distinct user groups. The project in San Francisco was a spec office designed for alternate tenancy requirements of the emerging tech sector. Although, I produced most of the images here, some were made in collaboration with others members of the team.

PROJECTS

Mumbai Tower (Mumbai, India)

Science/Academic Building (Berkeley, CA)

Spec for Tech (San Francisco, CA)

Atrium/Courtyard

Activated Interior Atrium/Courtyard

Daylight Accessibility

Views through Atrium/Courtyard

Activated Circulation Zone

Mumbai Tower

Mumbai, India 2013

Team: Steve Weindel, Sean Galavin, Ellie Wang, Philip Keifer, Lauren Hibner & Victor Tzen

The Mumbai Tower is conceived as a luxury condominium unit for a Indian developer. The design is presented with two opposing aims: minimize the footprint while maximizing the floor plate. The result is a tall slender residential tower with a single unit per floor. The desire from the client to leave the unit type stacking flexible meant a modular and flexible approach to the facade was developed borrowing from the tradition of the Indian Jali screen. The surface, composed of panelized units can be densified or loosened in response to privacy and view requirements.

Mumbai Tower | Mumbai, India. 2013

Typical Floor

ZONE 3: REFUGE FLOOR/TYPICAL FLOOR

Program/Facade Study

Jali Screen Diagram

Jali Screen Precedent Studies

Spec for Tech

San Francisco, CA 2013-2014

Team: Hao Ko, Ben Tranel, Melissa Weese, Ross Guntert, Jeremy Wengner & Victor Tzen

Spec for Tech is an office building in San Francisco aimed to accommodate the changing office needs of the tech industry. Large continuous floor plates, tall floor-to-floor heights, interfloor connectivity and side-loaded cores are used in together to provide open and adaptable spaces for tech tenants to occupy. The diagram of the building is that of a volume which has been split open and separated to reveal an active core zone. The nested volumes allows for the deployment of two facade types as a response to both day lighting requirements and privacy concerns.

Spec for Tech | San Francisco, CA. 2013-2014

Typical Floor Plan

Typical Floor Circulation Diagram

The building can be understood as either two distinct volumes or a single continuous space connected through an active circulation zone around the core. Bridges located at the 4th, 7th and 10th floors allow for tenants to never need to travel more than 1 floor to move laterally into the other volume. Punch-out slabs located at the outer facade allows for additional inter-floor connectivity and helps break down the massing of the building. At the ground level multiple “plaza” conditions delineates an entry sequence from street/park into the tenant spaces.

Courtyard Rendering