WAU Portfolio

The WAU Way Experience

1.4 Team

Ian Watchorn, RA, AIA

WAU is led by Ian Watchorn, a Licensed Architect in both the US & Europe with prior experience working at some of the worlds most internationally renowned offices; including two separate Pritzker Prize winning architects in OMA and Grafton Architects.

Critical to Ian's understanding of architecture is an awareness of the distinct skills required to both design and deliver architectural projects. With this understanding in mind, Ian spent his formative years working on the front end of high profile design projects and competitions, most notably with OMA and Grafton Architects. This design thinking was then further refined leading a number of design commissions in the years that followed. With a desire to see projects through to completion Ian then completed his educational arc at Cooper Robertson, working exclusively on the back end of project delivery and construction with some of New Yorks most noteworthy cultural institutions, including MoMA, The New Museum, and The Albright Knox Museum, gaining extensive experience in project documentation, and execution.

With experience in leading all stages of architectural projects at the highest-level Ian founded WAU - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism in 2020.

Professional Licensure

2020 New York State Licensed Architect

2020 Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland

2020 Royal Institute of British Architects

Professional Affiliation

2020 American Institute of Architects

Professional Experience

2020 WAU - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism

2016 Cooper Robertson

2016 HWKN - Hollwich Kushner

2014 Studio Link-Arc

2013 Grafton Architects

2012 OMA - Office for Metropolitan Architecture

2012 OG Arkitekter

2011 VMX Architects

Education

2012 The Berlage Institute, The Netherlands

Masterclass Program

2012 ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Masterclass Program

2011 Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland

Bachelor of Architecture

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

1.4 Team

Carlo D'Alberti

Carlo D'Alberti is an Italian architect who graduated with honors from the Faculty of Architecture in Palermo, Italy, in 2019.

His thesis focused on the restoration of the monastery of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Palermo. Carlo has participated in the Erasmus+ program while completing an internship at Dorin Stefan Birou de arquitectura in Bucharest, Romania and Cuac Arquitectura in Granada, Spain.

Carlo has worked on notable public projects such as the Waterfront redesign of the Trapezoidal Pier of Palermo. He has also collaborated with leading architecture firms, such as Provenzano Architetti Associati and Studio AM3 Architetti Associati, in Palermo, Italy.

In 2021, Carlo was awarded a scholarship to attend the postgraduate course "Architecture for Heritage" by YACademy in Bologna. With this experience, Carlo collaborated with studio Markus Scherer Architekt in Trentino-Alto Adige (Merano) in 2022.

In February 2023, Carlo made the bold decision to move to New York City to collaborate with WAU, where he brings his exceptional design skills and expertise to the firm.

Professional Licensure

2020 CNAPPC - Licensed Architect, Italy

Professional Experience

2023 WAU - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism

2022 Scherer Markus Architekt

2020 AM3 Architetti Associati

2019 Provenzano Architetti Associati

2019 CUAC Arquitectura

2017 DSBA - Dorin Stefan Birou de Arhitectura

Education

2021 YAC Academy, Italy

Postgraduate Course

2019 University of Palermo, Italy

Master of Architecture

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

1.4 Team

Matthew Davis, RA

Matthew Davis is a Canadian-Filipino designer, artist, and former professor at Columbia University GSAPP and Parsons School of Design. He is also a Registered Architect in New York State, USA.

Matthew has over 10 years of professional experience throughout the US, Holland, Austria, and France. Matthew joined WAU in 2023 operating as both designer and strategic consultant.

Originally from Toronto, Matthew moved to New York after completing his Bachelor of Architectural Studies at the University of Waterloo. He has spent multiple years working with Pritzker prizewinning architect OMA and award-winning architect Only If —. He holds a Master of Architecture from Columbia University GSAPP and was the recipient of the Alpha Rho Chi Bronze Medal.

In October of 2019, he exhibited Project GUNK as part of Toronto’s Nuit Blanche event. In 2020, he founded Open For Business to design, build, and install protective shields during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, he was a resource speaker at the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) 46th National Convention.

Professional Licensure

2022 New York State Licensed Architect

Professional Affiliation

2023 NCARB Certification

2016 LEED AP BD+C

Professional Experience

2023 WAU - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism

2021 Only If Architecture

2020 LEFT Architects

2018 OCX

2017 OMA NY

2014 Only If Architecture

2013 OMA NY

2012 OMA Rotterdam

2012 NL Architects

2011 Coop Himmelb(l)au

2011 Arquitectonica Paris

2010 KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox) NY

Academic Experience

2019 Parsons School of Design, Faculty

2018 Columbia University GSAPP, Faculty

2015 Columbia University GSAPP, TA

Education

2018 Columbia University GSAPP, New York Master of Architecture

2013 University of Waterloo, Canada

Bachelor of Architectural Studies

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

1.4 Team

Bettina Colet

Bettina Colet is a recent architectural graduate of Pratt Institute. Prior to studying in New York, she spent two years studying architecture at the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines.

Bettina has worked at Carlos Arnaiz Architects, a Brooklyn-based design studio, gaining experience designing and conceptualizing a large-scale commercial project located in Metro Manila. She has also participated in design and drawing competitions in both the Philippines and New York winning the Michael Hollander Drawing Excellence Award in 2020.

Bettina is deeply passionate about environmental issues and urbanism, which has influenced her thesis project at Pratt. Her research explores adaptive architecture as a response to climate change, and she is committed to making a positive impact through her work.

Professional Experience

2022 WAU - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism

2021 CAZA - Carlos Arnaiz Architects

Academic Experience

2020 Pratt Institute, Design TA

Education

2023 Pratt Institute, New York Bachelor of Architecture

2018 University of Santo Tomas, Philippines

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

1.4 Team

Francisco is a Spanish Architect (MArch) and Real Estate Consultant and holds a master’s degree in Bioclimatic Architecture and the Environment from UPM (Madrid, 2016). He has eight years of proven experience throughout Spain, Southeast Asia, and South America in architectural design as well as in business development and client management in real estate.

Since 2017, Francisco worked at Tailor & Key, a Madrid-based real estate consultancy firm. He led projects throughout the entire value chain: conception, design, implementation, and operation. Between 2017 and 2020 he closed over a hundred acquisitions, sales, and leasing contracts as a team leader. His approach combines passion and sophistication, backed by a deep understanding of real estate markets and the AEC industry.

Francisco´s design approach combines his experience at Blanca Hernández Arquitectura (Rafael Moneo´s right hand for over 16 years) with his own thesis “The High Wellbeing Method”. This methodology has a unique focus on sensuality, by placing the sensorial and aesthetic experience at the core of the design process.

In May 2023, Francisco moved to New York City to join WAU, where he brings his real estate experience in sales and business development to the firm.

Professional Experience

2023 WAU - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism

2022 Tailor & Key Real Estate Development

2020 ACH Developments

2020 Tailor & Key Real Estate Development

2017 Blanca Hernandez Architecture

2012 Archicentre SDN BHD

Education

2016 Polytechnic Uni. of Madrid, ETSAM, Spain

Master in Bioclimatic Architecture & the Environment

2014 University of Navarra, ETSAUN, Spain

Master of Architecture.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Francisco Verdú

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

1.5 Recent Projects

Clark St. Apartment

Client: Private Year: 2022

Typology: Residential

Building Type: Single Family Apartment

Project Size: 1,300 SF

Project Cost: $250K

Location: Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, NY

Clark Street Apartment occupies a corner unit in the Cadman Towers, a tower and plinth development in Brooklyn Heights based on Robert Moses’ 1940's urban renewal plan for Downtown Brooklyn.

The renovation focuses on improving the natural light within of the apartment by reconfiguring the kitchen and living room into a single space, and by using light and reflective finishes throughout the unit. The renovation included integrated storage units for the living room and foyer, as well as a new kitchen and bathrooms. A continuous seamless white resin finish was selected as a flooring material to enhance the openness of the space, while the foyer storage doors were clad in anodized aluminum to disperse light more effectively throughout the apartment.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Living Space Kitchen

Physical Model

1.5 Recent Projects

W 113th St. Apartment

Client: Private

Year: 2022

Typology: Residential

Building Type: Single Family Apartment

Project Size: 1,730 SF

Project Cost: $350K

Location: Upper West Side, New York, NY

West 113th St Apartment is located in a six-storey Colonial Revival style building in the historic district of the Upper West Side of New York City.

The apartment renovation deals with reorganizing the long and narrow unit by truncating the corridor with a singular gesture that reorients movement from the new entrance into the shared space and allows natural light to penetrate deep into the apartment.

Integrated along the hallway is the storage wall, which acts as a spatial divide and a consolidated storage solution. The storage wall’s dark walnut wood finish creates a strong contrast with the aluminum hallway cut, creating a change of atmosphere transitioning from public to private spaces.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

The Storage Wall Kitchen

Physical Model

1.5 Recent Projects

Sterling Pl. Townhouse

Client: Private Year: 2023

Typology: Residential

Building Type: Single Family Apartment

Project Size: 1,260 SF

Project Cost: $420K

Location: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY

Sterling Place Townhouse involves the gut renovation of the upper most floor of a threestorey renaissance revival row house located in the historical district of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The project involves remodeling the entire apartment, facade maintenance, and upgrades throughout the rest of the building.

The proposed reconfiguration offers improved exposure for primary living spaces by pushing the living and sleeping areas towards the brighter zones at the ends of the apartment and containing the service area in the center. Each primary space is served by a storage wall which wraps the living area to incorporate an integrated kitchen.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Living Space

Kitchen Hall

Master Bedroom

1.5 Recent Projects

Futura Labs

Client: Futura Labs

Year: 2021

Typology: Cultural

Building Type: Artists Studio

Project Size: 6,000 SF

Project Cost: Undisclosed

Location: Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY

The new home of Futura Laboratories is located in the neighborhood of Red Hook, Brooklyn - a former industrial hub now home to an emerging industry of artists and creatives. The studio sits on the edge of the waterfront with panoramic views across the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty.

WAU developed various aspect of the studio including the artists primary place of work, a spray room with the intent of achieving the necessary separation of conditioned space while maintaining transparency.

The completed spray room is defined by the folded planes of the enclosure, which are made of rigid polycarbonate panels. The floor is finished with a speckled rubber material to both protect the floor below and provide a neutral canvas for the artist. Two large sliding doors provide access for oversized art pieces, allowing for spatial flexibility in the artist’s workspace.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Work Space

Spray Room

The Artist & Physical Model

1.5 Recent Projects

Margot Samel Gallery

Client: Margot Samel Gallery

Year: 2021

Typology: Cultural

Building Type: Art Gallery

Project Size: 936 SF

Project Cost: $150K

Location: Tribeca, New York, NY

Located on Church Street in the Tribeca East Historic District, Margot Samel Gallery occupies a site with a rich history reaching back to the 19th century. The renovation required stripping back the existing interior facade to its original state and removing the exterior security gates, which revealed a large arched window providing an updated storefront to the gallery space.

The project’s driving design concept focuses on creating a clear distinction between the existing conditions of the original space and the new improvements to support the gallery. This is achieved by engaging a continuous datum below the line of the existing crown molding whereby everything below the datum is considered “gallery” and everything above the datum is maintained as an “existing” condition. This continuous datum has a practical function given the difficulty of terminating the gallery walls against the shifting walls and ceilings natural to the original space.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Physical Model

Interior

Interior

1.5 Recent Projects

Grimm Gallery

Client: Grimm Gallery

Year: 2021

Typology: Cultural

Building Type: Art Gallery

Project Size: 6,000 SF

Project Cost: $1.2M

Location: Tribeca, New York, NY

Grimm Gallery represents the work of over thirty international artists. The New York flagship is located in the Tribeca East Historic District, known for its ornate block fronts and store and loft building types. The storefront space identified for the gallery consisted of original hardwood floors and a tin paneled ceiling typical to many historic Tribeca buildings. However, the space required significant restoration and renovation due to its deteriorating condition.

WAU took on the task of rehabilitating the space in order to preserve its rich history and architectural features in order to accommodate the new gallery. The overarching concept was one of maintaining the layered histories and stories gleaned from the original floor and ceiling materials and to contrast these elements with the newly inserted white walls of the gallery. This approach was taken in opposition to the typical insertion of a highly polished white-box gallery space, stripping the space of its lasting identity.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Interior Interior

Physical Model

1.5 Recent Projects

ICNCLST HQ

Client: ICNCLST/

Date of Completion: 2021

Typology: Commercial

Building Type: Office

Project Size: 3,200 SF

Project Cost: $160K

Location: Tribeca, New York, NY

Formed in 2015, ICNCLST is a New York City based creative agency and artist management firm that combines innovators across arts and culture with world class brands. WAU was tasked with designing ICNCLST's HQ at 50 White St within the Tribeca historic district. The existing space, featuring generous sixteen-foot high ceilings, was heavily subdivided by the previous tenant. Existing partitions were demolished to create a singular unified space as a starting point for the design.

The project’s principal goal was to explore the spatial translation of ICNCLST’s unique business functions. With this approach WAU concieved a flexible space to accomodate office, gallery, and public functions. The scheme includes a new mezzanine floor that maximizes the use of ceiling height in the space and terraced seating incorporating a stair to connects to the new level. The space below the mezzanine level contains support functions including meeting rooms, toilet, kitchen/pantry, and storage. The entire addition is enveloped in fiberglass grating, a material chosen for its structural properties and ability to be a unique and unifying element in the space.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Physical Model

Terraced Seating

Folding Panels as Doors Meeting Room

1.5 Recent Projects

Guion Road House

Client: Private

Date of Completion: 2023

Typology: Residential

Building Type: Single Family House

Project Size: 6,985 SF

Project Cost: Undisclosed

Location: Rye, Westchester, NY

Located in Rye, a coastal suburb in Westchester County, Guion Road House was built in 1897 in the Dutch Colonial Revival style.

WAU were tasked with the renovation of the historic building to accommodate the needs of a new owner. Areas of scope included a new kitchen/living area and master bedroom suite as well as the addition of an exterior deck and screened porch.

A sense of privacy from neighbors was a primary request from the new owners. With this in mind WAU designed a rear terrace to reorient the focus away from the adjacent property and onto the expansive rear garden. Further emphasizing privacy, the screen porch that directly faced the neighboring house was enclosed and converted into a family room and study. The newly designed terrace and screen porch gave outdoor access from the second floor of the house.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Master Bathroom

Front Facade View

Rear Deck

Screened Porch

1.6

Previous Projects

New Museum Expansion

Office: OMA & Cooper Robertson

Client: New Museum

Year: 2020

Typology: Cultural

Building Type: Museum

Project Size: 61,700 SF

Project Cost: $85M

Location: Bowery, New York, NY

The New Museum Expansion will occupy a seven story, ~60,000 square foot building and include three floors of galleries, doubling the Museum’s exhibition space. The form is designed to compliment and respect the integrity of the adjoining SANAA-designed flagship building, while asserting its own distinct identity. Along with additional space for the Museum’s many community and education programs, the expansion will provide a permanent home and office space for NEW INC, as well as increased public amenities and improved vertical circulation.

The new building will improve vertical circulation with the addition of an atrium stair, which will offer views over the surrounding neighborhood. The stair and new entry align to the terminus of Prince Street, opening up the museum to the city. The building will also provide additional public spaces and services, including an expanded lobby and bookstore, an upper level forum connecting to the existing sky-room, and a new 80-seat restaurant.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Entrance

New Museum Expansion

Auditorium

1.6 Previous Projects

Albright Knox Museum

Office: OMA & Cooper Robertson

Client: Albright Knox Museum

Year: 2020

Typology: Cultural

Building Type: Museum

Project Size: 80,000 SF

Project Cost: $125M

Location: Buffalo, New York, NY

The AK360 project – an ambitious campus development project for the Albright Knox Gallery – will double the number of masterworks the museum can display and will also provide state-of-the-art space for presenting special exhibitions. The project will enhance the visitor experience at the museum, creating more space for education, dining, and social activities, while better integrating the campus to the landscape of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Delaware Park.

Under the plan developed by OMA in partnership with Cooper Robertson as the executive architect, the new building will add 29,000 sf of space for displaying special exhibitions and the museum’s world-renowned art collection. The new building will also incorporate several visitor amenities and is envisioned to have a wraparound promenade that visually and aesthetically connects the interior of the building with the existing campus and landscape.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

North Building Addition

Promenade Enclosed by Glass Veil

1.6 Previous Projects

MoMA

Office: Cooper Robertson

Client: MoMA - Museum of Modern Art New York

Year: 2019

Typology: Office

Building Type: Workspace

Project Size: 6,200 SF

Project Cost: $1.2M

Location: Midtown, NY

As part of an overall $450 million expansion and renovation of MoMA, Cooper Robertson were tasked with the renovation of the 15th floor of the MoMA office tower. The task was to provide a new home for MoMA’s in-house graphic design team which works alongside the curatorial, marketing and PR teams within the museum.

Key features of the design include a central open plan communal workspace, surrounded by perimeter meeting rooms, private office spaces and various breakout spaces for collaboration.

Further scope of work from Cooper Robertson included in the overall expansion involved the reconfiguration and renovation of the below grade museum facilities including staging, art handling, and framing areas as well as employee locker rooms and lounges .

MoMA Expansion Entrance

1.6 Previous Projects

The Edible Academy

Office: Cooper Robertson

Client: New York Botanical Garden

Year: 2016

Typology: Education

Building Type: Learning Center

Project Size: 30,000 SF

Project Cost: $28M

Location: Bronx, New York, NY

To meet a growing interest in urban edible gardening, particularly for New York City’s young learners, Cooper Robertson were commissioned to design an expansion to The New York Botanical Garden’s Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden. The new facility, expands programs for children as well as teachers, families, and adults into a year-round teaching center focusing on the fundamental relationships between, gardening, sustainability, nutrition, and health.

The Edible Academy includes a new 5,300 square foot classroom building and propagation greenhouse as well as expanded garden areas. It is sited to highlight its magnificent setting with views down a steep wooded slope to the Bronx River. A terraced lawn amphitheater and two outdoor pavilions will provide flexible spaces for activities and outdoor events.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Demonstration Classroom

Greenhouse Classroom

Botanical Garden

1.6 Previous Projects

Journal Squared

Office: HWKN Architecture

Client: The KRE Group

Year: 2018

Typology: Residential

Building Type: Multi-Family Housing

Project Size: 2,300,000 SF

Project Cost: $821M

Location: Jersey City, NJ

Journal Squared is a 2.3 million sq.ft. mixed-use development designed to be the linchpin in the redevelopment of Journal Square. The project transforms the traditional back door of the Journal Square PATH station into a new front door with a pedestrian plaza for community events.

By breaking the scale of the tower base into smaller volumes, the project is designed to better relate to the existing urban context. The tower massing steps back as it rises and is clad with a grid of white metal panels and punched windows. The first of three scheduled towers was completed in 2018 at 53-stories with the second, completed in 2021being 72 stories. The third tower is currently under construction.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Entry Elevation

Pool Tower 1 & 2 Complete

1.6 Previous Projects

The Avery Tower

Office: OMA - Office for Metropolitan Architecture

Client: Related Companies

Year: 2019

Typology: Residential

Building Type: Multi-Family Housing

Project Size: 906,470 SF

Project Cost: $303M

Location: San Francisco, CA

Located four blocks from the San Francisco Bay, The Avery is designed to be an important anchor along the eastern end of Folsom Street. Comprised of a 618-foot tower, OMA’s design for The Avery defines a residential development with an urban gesture.

While residential towers are typically closed off from the life of the city around them, The Avery opens the site to the public by introducing a new lane connecting Folsom Street - the neighborhood’s main boulevard - with Clementina - an intimate pedestrian corridor. At the west side of the site, a 56-story residential tower combines condominiums, market rate apartments and affordable housing with various shared amenity spaces. The same urban gesture that creates the lane translates vertically up the lower half of the tower.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Tower Massing

Facade Detail

Lobby

1.6 Previous Projects

Park Grove

Office: OMA - Office for Metropolitan Architecture

Client: Terra Group & Related Companies

Year: 2018

Typology: Residential

Building Type: Multi-Family Housing

Project Size: 1,000,000 SF

Project Cost: XXXX

Location: Coconut Grove, Miami, FL

A distinct community within Miami’s patchwork of neighborhoods, Coconut Grove offers an alternative to metropolitan downtown. A new typology of living has emerged in the Grove – one deeply connected with the local community yet offering the intimacy of a private retreat.

Located at the nexus of the Miami’s urban grid and the bay’s edge, the site has the unique potential to be a seamless connection between the city and coast.

OMA’s design inverts the local trend of highdensity massing and establishes a new approach to vertical living more attuned to Coconut Grove. The site’s porosity was preserved by distributing 1 million square feet of living between three towers across a five acre lot. Residents maintain a connection to Coconut Grove’s lush natural setting as they arrive at the landscaped plinth and ascend to units that enjoy views of Biscayne Bay.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Tower Massing

Living Space

1.6 Previous Projects

673 Fifth Avenue

Office: Studio Link-Arc

Client: King Fook Company

Year: 2017

Typology: Retail

Building Type: Gallery & Teahouse

Project Size: 5,200 SF

Project Cost: Undisclosed

Location: Fifth Avenue, New York, NY

Located on Manhattan’s famed Fifth Avenue, 673 Fifth Avenue is a proposal for a three-story retail platform showcasing a curated selection of highend products from Asia. The retail program called for a mixture of jewelry, and housewares, as well as a teahouse and event space.

The project site exists in a unique location at the intersection of commerce and culture as 5th Avenue meets 53rd Street. Adjacent to both major cultural institutions such as MoMA and High-End 5th Avenue Retail Flagship Store brought us to view the design as a hybrid of retail and Chinese cultural institution that could capitalize on its striking location.

The design of the retail flagship scheme is inspired by the concept of a bamboo forest allowing for a unified architecture that connects all three floors for a flexible retail space.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Interior

Fifth Avenue Facade

Physical Model Concept Diagram

1.6 Previous Projects

NSFL School

Office: Studio Link-Arc

Client: China Resources Land, Ltd.

Year: 2016

Typology: Education

Building Type: School

Project Size: 452,000 SF

Project Cost: Undisclosed

Location: Shenzen, CN

NSFL School is a 452,000 SF elementary and middle school campus, comprising regular and specialized classrooms, library, gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, auditorium, dormitory, along with dining halls, and dedicated playgrounds.

The campus is conceived as a sweeping, horizontal garden that stands in sharp contrast with the ever denser, ever more vertical urban environment it serves. The design intentionally breaks the distinction between building and open space in favor of a low-rise linear hybrid of closed, semi-enclosed, and green, open spaces. To achieve the low-rise condition, the design uses the natural slope of the site to accommodate the large program volumes of the gym, pool, dining halls and auditorium under a series of terraced platforms, which become a new ground for dedicated teaching spaces and playgrounds.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Courtyard

Breakout Space

Building Exterior

1.6 Previous Projects

CRLand Archive Library

Office: Studio Link-Arc

Client: China Resources Land, Ltd.

Year: 2017

Typology: Library

Building Type: Archive

Project Size: 97,000 SF

Project Cost: Undisclosed

Location: Shenzen, CN

Located on the campus of Xiaojingwan University, a private educational institution in Shenzhen, the CRLand Archive Library has a dual program. The building’s primary function is to serve as an archive for the client, holding all of its physical and digital records in a subterranean vault built into the hillside that serves as the project site. Atop the archive, the project functions as a gallery space and lecture hall that serves the adjacent campus, adding a civic and cultural dimension to the project.

The project’s upper two floors that house the building’s public programs are restricted to a boxy massing defined by the footprint of the archive vaults beneath. To increase the connections between the internal program and the site beyond, Link-Arc created two interior public spaces: an understated entry lobby connecting to the main campus, and dramatic exhibition space with views of the city and landscape beyond. The two spaces are connected by a linear “skylight hall” which provides access to the gallery and lecture hall spaces within.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Entry

Central Stair

Reception Office Space

1.6 Previous Projects

Kingston University Town House

Office: Grafton Architects

Client: Kingston University

Year: 2014

Typology: Education

Building Type: University

Project Size: 110,000 SF

Project Cost: $62M

Location: Kingston-upon-Thames, London, UK

Kingston University Town House is an open-ended spatial framework offering both generosity and flexibility in allowing the culture of this building to grow and change.

In order to achieve this, passive strategies are prioritized to ensure comfortable thermal, visual and acoustic environment, where possible. Active/ mechanical servicing is employed only where spatial, architectural and contextual constraints demand.

While the building feels permeable and transparent, environmental control is achieved through the use of ‘colonnade’ and ‘ambulatory’ elements.

Recessed on three sides to form gardens and colonnades, the facades are open and transparent at the lower levels becoming more solid at the upper levels where shading is required.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Exterior Terraces

Central Stair Street Colonnade

Aerial

Ex-Casa 400 Tower

Office: VMX Architects

Client: Bouwinvest Real Estate

Year: 2014

Typology: Residential

Building Type: Multi-Family Housing

Project Size: 322,900 SF

Project Cost: XXXX

Location: Amsterdam, NL

Ex-Casa 400 addresses the potential of left-over spaces in cities for the creation of high-density apartment blocks for affordable housing.

The project, witch combines student dormitories with starter apartments, provides the city of Amsterdam with a new area for compact living. The remaining triangular plot, illustrative of the many residual spaces in the city, offered a great opportunity for densification. As an environment for starters who have outgrown the one room they lived in as a student, 130 two-room apartments have been created in a distinctive tower, coupling a vibrant, dense living environment with the quality of anonymity.

The shape of the plot has dictated the floor plan of the new building, but has also become the basis for the facade pattern.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Tower and Plinth

View from Base

1.6 Previous Projects

1.6 Previous Projects

Oldenzaal Train Station

Office: VMX Architects

Client: ProRail

Year: 2012

Typology: Infrastructure

Building Type: Train Station

Project Size: 18,000 SF

Project Cost: $440K

Location: Oldenzaal, NL

The design for Oldenzaal Station was part of the "Pleasant Waiting" project - a project initiated by the Dutch Ministry of Transport and aimed at making waiting at Dutch train stations more pleasant.

The project consists of two 200 meter long tubular structures that run 6 meters above the waiting areas for the buses, the bicycle storage facilities and even the station itself, thus uniting the separate functions below. Symbols of the functions that lie below (-bus, bicycle, station, tourist information office, etc.) are also formed by the tubular structure. At night the whole structure is illuminated so that travelers arriving and departing after sunset will also have an attractive landmark. Together with the modifications to the building, the new canopy structure will ensure that traveling to and from the station is a more pleasant experience.

Copyright© 2023 by WAU® - Watchorn Architecture & Urbanism. All rights reserved.

Illuminated Tubular Steel

Wayfinding Symbols