Work Samples 2022 by Wei Chu Chen

BIRR Castle Orchard Retreat Program and Master Plan

The 66 key Spa Hotel and 19 Co�age units offer medita�ve gardens of different characters and opportuni�es for rejuvena�on and relaxa�on. It consists of two gardens, a formal courtyard and a natural park which complement the exis�ng adjacent gardens of the Demesne. The Birr Castle Orchard Retreat will be a des�na�on resort within the grounds of the Castle Demesne. As a “living heritage”, Birr Castle offers visitors unparalleled opportuni�es for cultural preserva�on in the form of learning and educa�on in history and science. Driving towards the hotel entrance, turning right to the recep�on. . The visitors will pass part of the old garden wall, and the original plant of the peony 'Anne Rosse' , named a�er Lord Rosse's mother.Then turning right, they will face the recep�on of the hotel. The glass lobby allows for immediate transi�on from one space to the next. Solarium projects and the infinity garden view blend from the inside out into the design. The visitors will pass part of the old garden wall, beside the original plant of the peony 'Anne Rosse', named a�er Lord Rosse's mother. A�er stepping out of the glass lobby, the wisteria-covered dining area is situated next to the Upper Orchard pond.

The Lower Orchard provides natural privacy and charm for the 20 sculptural villas facing their private island oasis. Each villa will enjoy a view across the water into the island woodlands. The Villas are designed as sculptural lanterns which become crystals in the landscape. Each villa will be mul�level space with high ceilings, and each room will have a balcony or terrace overlooking the landscape which is completely private and naturally shielded from its neighbors. There will be 20 keys in four villa types, including 1 and 2 story units, on either side of a wooded island surrounded by water. The villas face an undula�ng landscape, and terraces allow each guest to step out into the peaceful tranquility of nature.

TACONIC RETREAT CENTER Renova�on & DOB Applica�on

VALLEY SPRING FAMILY APARTMENTS Daycare & Rental Apartments

SANFORD AVE CONDOMINIUM Market Rate Mixed-Used Condominium

650 WASHINGTON AVE RESIDENCE Community and Residen�al Apartments

GREATER GLORY RESIDENCES Aﬀordable Independent Residence for Seniors (AIRS)

40 WATER ST RESIDENCES Mixed-Used Residen�al Preliminary Proposal

CO-INHABIT ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMMUNITY Incuba�on of Senior & Co-working Commnity

Our idea of seniority is about a 2nd life, something familiar but also something new. It is an idea that as one gets older, the comprehensive design would increase the companionship with neighbors, communi�es, younger genera�on and the young children. The senior-ship ideology is a story book full of experiences that should be re-inspired and not forgo�en, it should be a place where people share experiences, stories, and ideas. It should have a comfort and an ownership for the senior of their place in the world.

Terrace

Senior Exchange Pla�orm

VOID

ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORUTNITY

The void allows the sunlight and ventilation to penetrate. It is also a visual focus of all residents. Through the void it also builds visual connection which aggressively increas ing the possibility of engaging with the others.

On the roof terraces, we create an eco-farming opportunity for the elderly. Here’s also where the co-working program starts working together and forms new entrepreneurial partnerships

Building Mass

Village

A Nighbor ROOF GARDEN BALCONIES We provide roof gardens and balconies for the seniors to

STEPPING TERRACE Not wasting any space, the roof is for the co-working environment to thrive. Here we welcome young generation to co-use the space and share their ideas with the seniors. Ultimately the environment accommodates open space activities, experimentation and eco farming.

Entrance

Multipurpose Hall UP

Existing Church

Conselling Room

Information Room

Shop DISSOLVING THE FAÇADE – the approach of village

Visitor’s Room DN

The idea of connection to the surrounding is a crucial issue. We simply don’t want to put a giant glass tower that creates pressure via a massive insertion. We want to create a gentle approach for the building, so it blends in with the neighborhood. By watching very closely what the city skyline would look like, we attempt to create more like a friendly neighborhood / village approach, rather than a tower.

Day Care Center UP

tra

Physical Therapy Room

nce

tra

First, instead of having a massive façade, the design

EXISTING CHURCH

We consider the church is part of the campus. It is also a gathering and dispersing point in the community. By connecting the new campus and this religious building, 50+ campus aims at becoming a new community center.

50+ CAMPUS

FAR: BCR: SEINIOR LIV. SENIOR CARE / 50+ CAMPUS

Volume

Floa�ng

Sun Track

Visual Direc�on

Program

OPEN PLAZA The design opens this plaza for the communi ty. By providing this open space, it naturally attracts the pedestrians and gives greenery to the surroundings.

reduces massive scale in urban setting. We then decided to use a wire-meshed façade across the building, which lit up at night, creates a soft gentle touch for the neighbor, it also assists the maintenance of the interior façade. At the same time, the gap between the façade and inner living space creates tiny terraces for the elderly and youth to plant or experiment with.

The ques�on we ask ourselves is how to combine all of the above into a single building, and create a co-inhabitable environment while a�ending to the possible daily care that the senior needs. Our idea is simple that we create a place of living for the elderly star�ng from their 50s. By proposing the design, we a�empt to create a place for them to share. The main space created is like an extension of living room which is situated on the giant pla�orm, where exchanges and interac�on with other age groups and genera�ons can be happened.

We inten�onally force this to occur by sandwiching this giant pla�orm with co-working exchange programs above and below, so in a way forcing the cross overs to occur, to partake in society’s events. We then use the opportunity of crea�ng terraces and outdoor pla�orms to shape a stepping roof line which allows natural ven�la�on and sunshine to enter.

Elevations

GREEN BUILDING By opening up the building from the center, the design allows natural ventilation and sunlight to penetrate the core of the building. HUMAN SCALE The opening and terraces allow the massiveness of building to be reduced to a familiar scale. The architecture looks like the houses on the hill in the suburbs of Seoul. This strategy reduces the fear of the unknown, the elder generations and surrounding neighbors.

SENIOR EXCHANGE PLATEFORM forms a park within the building and city, this is also a community center for the seniors who physical spaces situate here are shops, possibly own by the seniors and community spaces. By giving classes and becoming entrepreneurs again, they can distribute their knowledge or commodities that they are passionate about to the world around them.

These garden terraces create interac�on and ul�mately form a co-working community connec�ng all age groups. We create a neighborhood, like a village, for the senior to have a 2nd chance at life by allowing them to be entrepreneurs in a co-working environment sharing their life �me of knowledge. We created a Co-inhabit, Entrepreneurship, Opportunity village.

SUBLIMATION

The world is fraught with challenges, tempta�ons, and complexi�es that frustrate and depress people, so varia�on of buildings are purposely designed to sa�sfy diﬀerent physical and mental requirements of mankind. Accordingly, museum, galleries, and music halls enrich people’s mind; also, churches and temples are built for spiritual sustenance. Undoubtedly, this museum located beside the temple also plays an impera�ve rule to this city.

Site

Educa�onal Ins�tu�on

Herb Lane

Historic / Religion Building

Park

Buddhism Store

Club / Bar

Night Market

1000 �

500 �

The different storey heights from two side seperated floors create the center void space becoming a focus which a�racted people from different storey heights paying their a�en�on to our design point, Herb Lane. Most interes�ngly, the func�on of two side floors respec�vely offer disparate ac�vi�es, on the one hand is museum in control for who want to visits the mystery of herb, on the other hand is herb tea shop in public for who want to try the therapy of herb. Store Public Area

Circula�on

Museum Control Area

+36’

+24’

+27’

+18’

+12’

+9’

+0’

museum

museum shop

Decline

Rota�on

Stracture

Floors

Stairs

A-a Section

shop shop

shop

museum

B-b Section

C-c Section

Gallery

linear Space

Main Space

The linear space such as entrance, gallery and stairs are inten�onally designed between the two narrow walls to strongly create an impelling spa�al tension.

Main spaces are dis�nguished as two diametrically opposed ac�vi�es, one is musuem which is quite, dynamical and under contorl, the other is Herb tea shop which is noisy, se�led and in public. Therefore, using the center void space separate two main diﬀerent spaces.

Stair

Museum Entrance

C. Souvenir Store

A dn

Herb Lane up

Void Space The core of museum intersected with the Herb Lane and Herb Museum from the ground level to roo�op is empty which surrounded by the sky bridge of circula�on that makes people can smell, listen and see ac�vi�es in the Herb Lane.

up dn

1st Floor

2nd Floor

3rd Floor B. Core Void

Museum

Herb Lane

Rooftop

A. Museum

Equilibrium Plaza

Community Interface Double Skin

Hollow Floor

So�wares : Auto CAD, 3ds Max, Sketch Up, Corona Renderer, Photoshop, Illustrator,

Site Ac�vi�es

Modern urban, an alterna�ve machine opera�ng instead of rejec�ng the complex diversely ac�vi�es, strongly represents the industrialized appearance that generated from acquirement of human. Natural environment human desired is abondaned away urban. Plaza merges the natural environment, human crea�on, and closely coexis�ng with human beings.

Stell Structure

Communica�on

Transporta�on

Commercial Commercial Interface Show Windows

Site Context

Adver�sement Wall

Recrea�on Interface Grass Slope

Wooden Boardwalk

Three types of approach between mountain and buildings The proposal create three interfaces. The recrea�on interface on the ground for natrual regermina�on which made of landscape and interact with commerical interface. The commerical interface accomodates with the environmental geography and mainly oﬀers commercial ac�vi�es. On the air is the community interface which created by the big space for oﬃces or exhibi�ons.

Sec�ons in different rela�onships between ar�ficial space and natural space create the opportuni�es to rethink the new interface between city and environment. The new modes of structure and nature are intersec�on, connec�on, and sepera�on which are respec�vely represent the different requirements. Modern City

Historical City

Site

Urban sec�on rela�onship

Mountain Environment

Commnuity Area

In this site, plan to unify three type of diametrically diﬀerent aspects in the intersec�on of modern city, historical city and nature environment. Natural environment extend into city for human easily approaching. Obsolete city pa�ern extend to the interesting commercial area witch allows people to visit intui�vely. Tremendous madern building spaces will be elevated upward from land which be keeped in the natural way.

Bus Sta�on Exhibi�on Bridge Community Center

Commercial Area Storefront Retail Specialty Stroe Convenient Stroe

Restaurant Area Restaurant

NATURE

TRANSPROT FACILITY

COMMERCIAL FACILITY

Waiting Area Mountain Entrance

Exhibition Bridge Boarding Area

Convenient Store

In the industrial revolu�on era, to a�end the eﬃciency, convenience and management, the urban infrastrcture for transpota�on, regional planing and were built unsuitably for human scale. Mediaeval city started to transfer to industrial urban, secondnary city.

Advertisement Wall

COMMUNITY FACILITY

Museum Entry Specialty Stores

Exhibition

Footbridge

While human awareness to need their security and protec�on for their group life, inven�on of constru�on and establishment of na�onality separa�ng the rela�on between nature and human were be created. Agriculture villages and defen�ve castles in the mediaeval period were appeared called ﬁrst city.

Fitness

URBAN

Multipurpose Space

Community Centre Entry

Retail

Street Storefront

With nature objects, trees row, soil slopes, and lakes, design space elements. Delimita�on of Space, deﬁni�on of Path, demarca�on of Ac�vity. The deﬁni�on of space perceived intui�vely and naturally by devide scales, appearances and languages react directly the recquirements of usage. Nature Regermination

Activity Concentration

Commercial Activity

Urban Extension

ROCKAWAY RENAISSANCE - EDGEMERE CLT RFEI Waterfront Community Preliminary Proposal

EXISTING COMMUNITY

PROPOSED COMMUNITY CENTER

PROPOSED RESILIENT EDGEMERE LANDSCAPING DESIGN

9TH AVE RESIDENCES

LAS RAICES - PARK AVE

CORNELLA ST RESIDENTS

MATRIX CITY PLAN

Natural and Ar�ﬁcal Urban Infrastructure

Urban Design | Full 2019 | New York, USA | Pra� MSAUD | Academic Project | Individual work Supervisor : Oliver Schaper E-Mail: oschaper@pra�.edu Supervisor : Emilija Landsbergis E-Mail: elandsbe@pra�.edu So�wares : Auto CAD, Rhino, Keyshot, Photoshop, Illustrator, QGIS

Building Mass

Void Space

The strategies of megastructure, especially the impacts of density city, are a respond with the natural organic pa�ern. Instead of tradi�onal square grid, nearly rounded grid creates a more ﬂexible way. The prosperity of ci�es depends on the smooth movement of people and sustainability of environment. Addi�onally, it is ge�ng more diﬃcult with the increasing sprawling developments where large por�ons of density are not u�lized. This innova�ve urban infrastructure to make large developments above natural environment. It create a mega structure as an organism that accomodate with contexts.

Mapping

Distribu�on of Communica�on

Diversity of Community

Strategy

Internal Rallying Hubs

External Access Nodes

Flooding Area

Diagram

Ground Circula�ons

Sky Circula�ons

Exploded Master Plan

In the future of urban growing, density about the exis�ng urban texture will increase different layers for human being and interact with diverse urban contexts, at different height from sea level, ground level, and sky level. The expansion of conven�onal urban development and horizontal exploita�on of the land, has the limited land and created severe damage to the environment. Addi�onally, in the bigger and higher dense ci�es, over-popula�on issues cause the urban environment to deteriorate. A general solu�on of this urban issue, is the ver�cal city which not only offers more space for popula�on growth, but also helps maintain a natural environment outside a city, crea�ng a more sustainable environment for genera�ons. Proposals of structure method

Water Front Terminal

Central Urban Corridor

Entrance Plaza

Horizontal Blocks as Leaves

Ground Circula�on as Roots

Ver�cal Blocks as Trunks

New Block Typology Stems from the original block condi�on in Brooklyn, several types of dis�nc�ve program and a�ribute will be recreated. Private space, such as residen�al and small retail, will situate on the horizontal block, which mainly elevated on the second level. Furthermore, the top of horizontal block will be terrace and connected to sky street that provide the interac�ve common space for private and public. On the other side, the ver�cal blocks are mainly served for the public func�onal program as example as commercial, business, or oﬃce. Therefore, two dis�nguished types represent their func�on which obviously manipula�ng the shows a diﬀerent future urban fabric.

Original Block

Mul�ple and Twist Transforma�on

Horizontal Transforma�on

Ver�cal Transforma�on