Graduate 2018-now_School of Design (MSD-AAD Program)_University of Pennsylvania Bachelor 2013-2018_School of Architecture and Design_Southwest Jiaotong Univerity email: difei@upenn.edu phone number: 267-574-1314
PORTFOLIO DIFEI SHAN
DIFEI SHAN
CELL 267-574-1314 • E-MAIL difei@upenn.edu
EDUCATION SOUTHWEST JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY Bachelor of Architecture
09. 2013 - 06.2018
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA MSD-AAD Program(Master of Science in Design-Advanced Architecture Design)
08.2018-now
CONTENTS
INTERNSHIP SHANGHAI HIGHTHINK ARCHITECTS OFFICE
01 – 02.2016
A_A&D ENERGY RATIONALIZATION ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
01 – 02.2014
Architect Intern | Floor plans, sketchup modeling, producing renderings Improving and adjusting the interior design of a staff bathroom
Architect Intern | Translate, explain, typeset works Communicating with the owners, explaining ideas to workers on the site
02 Minority and Majority Public library
SCHOLARSHIP
2015-2016 ACADEMIC YEAR SCHOLARSHIP (1st Semester)
05.2016
2014-2015 ACADEMIC YEAR SCHOLARSHIP (2nd Semester)
10.2015
2nd Class Scholarship by School of Architecture, Southwest Jiaotong University
3rd Class Scholarship by School of Architecture, Southwest Jiaotong University
2013-2014 ACADEMIC YEAR SCHOLARSHIP (1st&2nd Semester)
2nd Class Scholarship by School of Architecture, Southwest Jiaotong University
COMPETITION
“ZHONGSHENG CUP” Design Competition (Graduation Project)
Poetic dwelling|The First Prize|Team Member| Design, drawing, making models
UIA-HYP CUP 2016 INT. STUDENT COMPETITION
Library GO | Team Member | Proposing the concept, making drawings
2016 UA INTERNATIONAL CONCEPT DESIGN COMPETITION
UA’s Maker Space | Team Member | Proposing the concept, concept drawing
10.2013&2014
01-05.2018
07 - 08.2016 12.2015 - 01.2016
WEIHAI CUP 2015 NATIONAL COLLEGE STUDENT COMPETITION
05 - 08.2015
INSTITUTE FOR ROMAN STUDIES ‘PIAZZA DELLA MORETTA’
07 - 08.2014
Bi’an - Guyuan Qing | Bronze Prize | Team Member | Model making, plan drawing
Start From the Past | Excellent Design Work | Team Member | Translation works
SOFTWARE
AUTO CAD, SKETCHUP, RHINO, Adobe Creative suit, MAYA (Proficient) Revit, Grasshopper, ZBrush (Moderate)
01 The Reversed Pyramid Memorial
03 The big Dipper Observatory houses 04 Encounter Landscape design 05 Informal City Mapping 06 Poetic Dwelling Appartment design 07 Nesting Airport lobby
01 The Reversed Pyramid
CIRCULATION
Date:04/2017 - 07/2017 Program: Memorial Individual work Tutor: Fang Xiaoyang “The tip of the iceberg”— Only the part of something that can be easily observed, but not the rest of it, which is hidden. This design is to express one of my observations about life. As we grow up, we meet new people, have new experience. At first glance, we may have some speculation about the person or the experience, regarding on other people’s comment or some fragmented observations and reports. And when we start to really meet this people, or feel the experience , an initial image is established. The vague image starts to be clearer. In the meantime, more guesswork appear as time goes by while new definitions are given to the people or the experience. And often, when we finally able to understand the essence of a person or the kernel of experience, we have to bid farewell to it. And this is the time we grow up and move on.
SITE ANALYSIS
SITE
"TO ERR IS HUMAN"
NANJING SITE
"WARS IN HUMAN HISTORY"
NANJING
The memorial is sited in the Contemporary International Practical Exhibition of Architecture in the lush green landscape of the Pearl Spring near Nanjing, China.
According to incomplete statistics, recorded in 5560 years of human history, there have been 14531 times of war, an average of 2.6 times a year.
"WALLS OF MIRRORS" FORM GENERATION
The Nank ing Mas s ac re was an episode of mass murder and mass rape committed by Japanese troops against the residents of Nanjing (Nanking), then the capital of the Republic of China, during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
SITE
"STATE MEMORIAL DAY" THE SITE LOCATES IN THE WOODS.
DIG A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS.
THE WALL OF MIRRORS.
"With copper as mirror,you can dress properly,with history as mirror,you can know rise and decline well,with other people as mirror,you can see gain and lost clearly." —Tai Zong A REVERSED PYRAMID IS ADDED ONTO THE SITE.
SHALLOW POOL
STREAMLINE
China held a memorial for Nanjing Massacre victims in the eastern city of Nanjing on Dec. 13.
In this design, the outside wall is covered with mirrors to let people remind the history, to seize the precious day of peace.
02 Minority and Majority
Form Generation
Date: 09/2017 - 11/2017 Site: Shanghai, China Program: Public Library Individual work Tutor: Fang Xiaoyang How can the society meet the needs of the majority as well as the minority? This has always been a difficult problem for every governor or government in the history.
THE GRIDS
Often, a society meets the needs of the majority and neglect the needs of the minority. The minorities, as their needs are different from the others, are often scolded or neglected by others. Yet, in my perspective, every person's need should be respected. So in this design, I want to discuss about this problem through library- a very common public space that most people have been to and need in life.
Concept origin Library is a crutial element for the whole society, and it plays an important part during my growth. However, of all the libraries that I've been to, no matter in commity libraries, district libraries, or school libraries, there are always people creating noise and affecting others. At first, I blamed this on the quality of people. However, as I grow up and think as an architect, I try to see this problem from another perspective. Where does the "NOISE" come from?
Most of the public libraries that I've been to create enough public spaces for the people. However, public spaces alone cannot meet the needs of all people. For individuals, to study alone in a quiet place is their only need. Yet, for other people, such as couples, lovers, friends, parent and child, or student groups, their needs are more than just a quiet study space.
Current situation in a library
WASHROOM ELEVATOR
People's needs in a library Individuals A quiet place & Study atmosphere THE SHEAR WALLS
Couples or lovers
ELEVATOR
A quiet place & Study atmosphere & Whisper or chatting
EXTERNAL STAIRWAY
Friends A quiet place & Study atmosphere & Chatting
Parent and child
VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION
A quiet place & Study atmosphere & Communication
Student group A public study place & Study individually & Group work
THE WALL SPACES AND THE VOIDS ELEVATOR
ENTRANCE HALL
DOUBLE-HEIGHT SPACE
SUN SHADE
03 The Big Dipper Date: 07/2017 - 09/2017 Site: Roccascalegna, Italy Program: Observatory & Sightseeing houses Team work Collaborator: Chen Yanci Tutor: Liu Shiyao In both eastern and western culture, whenever you are lost at night, observing the big dipper will give you a direction. This idea is applied to this site, creating a guiding space for both astrophiles, visiters and the villagers. Embraced by the fascinating stars, listen to site using a tender voice, telling the story of the mysterious sky.Walking on the path, find the implied meaning of this site, like what human being has done for thousands of years, inquiring the existence of themselves and the world. This is not only a space to be away from routine life, we hope you can find your direction here, if not, at least, this is a place to meditate and to rethink about oneself and life.
OBSERVATORY HOUSE DESIGN
OBSERVATORY APARTMENT 40 sq.m.
OBSERVATORY HOUSE 80 sq.m.
OBSERVATORY VILLA 100 sq.m.
1 FLOOR PLAN
1 FLOOR PLAN
1 FLOOR PLAN
3 FLOOR PLAN
2 FLOOR PLAN
2 FLOOR PLAN
2 FLOOR PLAN
4 FLOOR PLAN
SITE INTRODUCTION Roccascalegna is a comune and town in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of southern Italy. The small town is perfectly preserved, lying on the spur of the mountain.The medieval castle of Roccascalegna was built by the Lombards, with a Norman tower as military function in Middle Ages. In the inner porch the chapel of the Holy Rosary was erected, linked to the medieval church of San Pietro. The nature encompasses gnarled olive trees and juniper bushes with dry and scented woods for a long time. High crags surround the fortress up, which is a rocky stream that marks to the west the lowest point of the valley.
04 Encounter Date:11/2017 - 12/2017 Site: Century park, Shanghai Program: bridges Individual work Tutor: Fang Xiaoyang “Don’t lose on the starting line” was often said by parents or teachers when we were young. To some extent, “Runway” has been given the meaning of life. People’s li is composed of several relationships. Through this design, I hope to tell the story of different relationships between people. Some people have been with us all our lives. Some people, who have been with us for some time, have become strangers because of certain reasons. Some people has gone before as, and what we can see is the receding figure. Some people, we know him, yet he doesn't understand us. Some people are dead, but their souls are still there. Some people are lonely all their lives. Some people went through the toughest times with us, but then we parted. Some people accompany us through the best days of our lives. Some people run very fast, but are still willing to wait for you. ......
05 Informal City Date:05/2016 Site: Chengdu, China Program: Mapping Group work Tutor: Jason Ho When we talk about the term “informal”, we will focus on those unofficial, unplanned or illegal products derived from the so-called formal framework of economy, politics and society. Similarly, the informal practice of public space we see everyday is often associated with the random phenomenon of urban development in the backward developing countries. Few people will discuss how the existence of this phenomenon provides a different design for our contemporary designers. This understanding of “irregular” ignores and even denies the richness and complexity behind the urban informal phenomenon. In fact, informal practice is not an phenomenon of confusion or freedom. Sometimes, chaos is not a problem. For ordiary people, this is an oppotunity to take up space. There is an invisible law and logic in the confusion. As designers, we must find the hidden rules and logic behind the chaos phenomenon: is it the reason of existence? What can we learn from it? These laws and logic can not only become a good design tool for designers, but also provide strategies for today’s cities or art as a supplementary way for topdown government policies.
06 Poetic Dwelling Date: 02/2018-05/2018 Program: Shared apartment Group work Instructor: Kan Wang
“I’m an architect who is very busy and have little time to social. I’d love to stay alone and dislike sharing spaces with the others. I like to read books in most of the time and sometimes go swimming and doing exercises.”
billiards room
swimming pool
What kind of living environment is suitable for young people in this age? How can we create better spaces for them? For the current traditional communities in China, there is little communication between young people and the city, so that there is a lack of sense of belonging, and a lot of space with low usage rate. In this project, we proposed the notion of “subculture circle”. The new residential area is divided by four kinds, which are public space, semi-public space, semi-private space and private space. More public shared spaces increase space utilization and lower rents. Different sub-culture circles will attract different people to live, so that they can know more friends and increase their communication with people. More public designs has increased the links between different young people, and between young people and cities.
Background introduction: Before the design began, we studied some of the problems in today’s society. After combining our own situation and reading a series of documents, the issue of renting houses for young people was chosen as our study direction. In the early stages, we investigated the current problem of renting houses for young people and the rental prices for Chengdu, China. According to the research, the main problem facing by young people renting houses is that basic needs are not met, such as lack of storage space or independent bathroom, insufficient office space, and lack of security. Unfamiliar cities triggers a lack of sense of belonging and existence of young people. Furthermore, rapid urban life makes people’s emotions fade, making people and cities less dependent, and lowering the quality of life because of expensive rents, resulting in a large psychological gap. In addition, through research, we found that long-term shared apartment is a good direction. After the previous background study, we conducted a survey of two shared apartments in Chengdu. Through research, we found that the current high-quality shared apartment has a personal use area of about 30m2. However, the shared space is large, which results in a higher price. Through site research, we found that if one wants to integrate such a building into the site, the situation of different sizes of the site need to be considered.
“I’m starting up a business, and have rent a studio near my living space. I often go on a business trip. Except for work, I enjoy drinking on the rooftop with friends who also start a business.”
studio
studio
studio
studio
“A. Long-term resident. Private type housing without shared space, containing kitchen console, washing machines, balcony and all kinds of funtions.”
outdoor garden shared kitchen
studio
studio
“I’m a bar singer and usually work until late night, so I’d prefer to work somewhere near my work place. I cannot afford expensive rent, so a shard-apartment is very suitable for me. Yet my music instruments take a big storage space.”
shared balcony
“D. Long-term resident. Ordinary type shared housing”
shared storage
“I’m an engineer who like everything hi-tech. I also like robots. My hobby is a little of the minority. Living here, I met a lot of friends sharing the same interest. We can share spaces to save rents.”
green house
reading room
science lab shared kitchen
shared storage
“B. long-term resident. Shared housing, big-storage type with large storage cabinet.”
climbing wall
shared kitchen
“I like travelling. It’s very convenient to shop, eat or have fun around here. After getiting back, I love to lie on tatami to watch TV. Living here enables me to meet more friends who enjoy travelling.”
shared storage
basketball “E. Long-term resident. Ordinary type shared housing”
short rental apartment
“I love sports. Climbing, basketball are my interests. I am a fitness coach, so changing clothes is one of my needs. Rooms with balcony help me better drying clothes. I also make fitness meal for myself.”
pub
green house
snack hall video hall
outdoor garden ticket lobby
“C. short-term resident. Shared housing, short-term rental apartment with tatami.” short rental apartment
public hall short rental apartment
second hand good market
shop
underground parking space
shop
“F. Long-term resident. Private type housing without shared space, containing kitchen console, washing machines, balcony and all kinds of funtions.”
stand
shop stand
Shared types
Shared types A. an 1.5Mbed+a wardrobe+a dressing table+ a little storage target customer: ordinary renter
(suitable for social people, shared kitchen, balconies, washing machines and dinning spaces )
C.n 1.5Mbed+a wardrobe+a dressing table/ desk+tatami+ a little storage target: short renter
Behaviors
B.an 1.5Mbed+a wardrobe+a dressing table+ a little storage target customer: ordinary renter
D.an 1.5Mbed+a wardrobe+a dressing table+ big storage spaces target customer: long renter
c.an 1.5Mbed+an 1.2M bed+a small wardrobe+a dressing table+ a big storage+ a dinning table a small storage target customer: friends or couple
b.an 1.5Mbed+a small wardrobe+a dinning table+ two small storages+a washing machine+a balcony target customer: people who need more dressing spaces
Pivate types (suitable for introverts or long renters, with cooking, washing and all funtions )
b.an 1.5Mbed+a small wardrobe+a dinning table+ two small storages+a washing machine+a balcony target customer: people who need more storage spaces
Pivate types
Behaviors
07 Nesting Date: 09/2018-12/2018 Program: Airport lobby Studio Group work Instructor: Ali Rahim, Ezio Blasetti
NESTING TYPOLOGY
How should a new form of airport look like in this age in which the transportation of cargos and goods has become more influential than before? What’s the new relationship between travellers and logistics?In this design, we tried to ponder on these questions.
NESTING TYPOLOGY Our conception is “nesting”. It was subdivided into four typologies: “adjacency”, “connection”, “inserting”, and “interlocking”. With these typologies & Surface art & Logistic Surface but aSurface combined together, we tried to create a new type of airport, where logistics are no longer something Logistic hidden behind Logistic the &walls, “mobile” that may trigger new thoughts and fresh understanding of the relationship between people and logistics. NESTING TYPOLOGY
In the design, two kinds of spaces, the interior pipe-like network and the exterior boxes and surfaces are to explore Surface & Surface Logisticdeveloped & Logistic Logistic & Surface the interrelationTYPOLOGY ships between different spaces. As for the logistics, we tried to use vertical and diagonal conveyor belts to connect the storagesNESTING which contain the packages (smaller size) and luggage and baggage (larger size). Adjacent
Logistic & Logistic
Logistic & Logistic Adjacent NESTING TYPOLOGY
Adjacent Logistic & Logistic
Logistic & Surface
Surface & Surface
Inserted Adjacent Adjacent
Inserted
ROOF Inserted
Inserted
Connected
Inserted Connected
Interlocked
Connected PACKAGE CONVEYOR SYSTEM
Connected
STORAGE 02
Connected Interlocked
STORAGE 03
Interlocked
STORAGE 01
Interlocked
LUGGAGE CONVEYOR SYSTEM
Interlocked
STORAGE 02
Inserted
PASSENGER
STORAGE 02 STORAGE 02 STORAGE 02
Interlocked
Adjacent
Connected
STORAGE 01
STORAGE 01
ELEVATION | 1:250
STORAGE 01 EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC In our project, the dialogue between the logistics system and people is what we want to study. Two kinds of spaces, the interior pipe-like network and the exterior boxes and surfaces are developed to explore the interrelationships between different spaces. As for the logistics, we tried to use vertical and diagonal conveyor belts to connect the storages which contain the packages (smaller size), luggage and baggage (larger size). Meanwhile, our “nesting” typology is further established. It was subdivided into four typologies: “adjacency”, “connection”, “inserting”, and “interlocking”. With these typologies combined together, we tried to create a new type of airport, where logistics are no longer something hidden behind the walls, but a “mobile” art that may trigger new thoughts and fresh understanding of the relationship between people and logistics.
Design Team Yiran Fu Yuhe Zhao Difei Shan
Proffessor Ali Rahim Brian DeLuna Ezio Blasetti Nate Hume
Teaching Assistant Angela Huang Caleb White Angeliki Tifa Carrie Frattali
Student Assistant Wenjia Guo Hasan Uretmen
STORAGE 01
MSD Advanced Architectural Design PennDesign, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Architecture Fall Two Thousand and Eighteen
Logistic & Surface
Logistic & Surface
Surface & Surface
Surface & Surface