wingyun_portfolio (2004 - 2007) by wing yun

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in-betweens an architecture portfolio of yun wai wing

there are 27 selected projects presented in this portfolio under 9 design issues. they are design issues that i think about from time to time. all these selected projects all done during the period of 2004 - 2007 when i was studying in the Department of Architecture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

no matter good or bad, every project is an important step in my architectural training.

in between designers and users is it because the metal chairs are too hard for the elderly? is it because the chairs are too distanced apart and so making the people cannot talk closely? or is it simply because there are not enough chairs? whatever the reason is, i see a perfect match between the intentions behind the designer and the users in this picture. this photo is taken on the ground ďŹ&#x201A;oor of cedar house, so uk estate, shum shui po, hong kong. so uk is one of the oldest public estates that still exist in hong kong nowadays. most of the population there is retired old people. so uk is going to be demolished in 2008 - 2009.

in-betweens an architecture portfolio of yun wai wing

selected

projects in chronological order

001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021 022 023 024 025 026

2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 design: essay: design: case study: design: sculpture: research: design: design: design: design: programme: design: design: research: design: case study: design: case study: design: design: case study: design: programme: design: research:

designs + case studies + researches + essays + programmes + sculpture “powers of 10” exercise foundation studio 2004 1st essay on architecture foundation studio 2004 a Pavilion in Ping Shan foundation studio 2004 a study of a house by Brian Mackay-Lyons foundation studio 2005 a house in Cheung Shu Tang foundation studio 2005 a speeding snail sculpture workshop 2005 HK shopping arcade typology study, <<E+E>> by Zuni Icosahedron summer research, 2005 a design with BLOCK studio project, tectonics studio 2005 a bus terminal in Tai Po school project, tectonics studio 2005 a kindergarten in Paris environmental design, 2005 a place for performing MIME school project, habitation studio 2006 joint-university study tour 2006: seminar + symposium + 10-day trip to Berlin CUHK+HKU, 2005/06 a fashion shop in Shenzhen commissioned by a HK fashion company, 2006 the new clusters: TAMAR Development Project in Central building technology, 2006 wind in Tsim Sha Tsui environmental design, 2006 linking the greens - an environmental urban planning in Tsim Sha Tsui environmental design, 2006 urban context in Macau studio project, urbanization studio 2006 a housing development in Macao school project, urbanization studio 2006 membrane structure by Frei Otto studio project, technics studio 2007 a BBQ shelter in Shaw College, CUHK studio project, technics studio 2007 Lightness Studio by Ed van Hinte technics studio 2007 museum of unlimited growth by Le Corbusier corbusier study, 2007 a museum for the exhibition of “A lot of People!!” - a study of people in 20th Chinese paintings art history, 2007 participatory design campaign: a lunching place on Breamar Hill professional practice, 2007 a chapel in Trinity College school project, technics studio 2007 a urabn study in Sai Ying Pun urbanization studio 2007

design

issues

in presentation order

in between

zero and one

001 002 003 004 005 006

in between

movement and stillness 008 009 011

in between

nature and buildings

010 015 016

in between

users and makers

013

in between

society and architecture 007 012 024

in between

clusters

014

in between

growth and buildings

022 023

in between

urban and individual

017 018 026

in between

structure and space

019 020 021 025

001 1st essay on architecture 002 a pavilion in Ping Shan 003 a house by Brian Mackay-Lyons 004 a house in Cheung Shu Tang 005 a speeding snail 006 â&#x20AC;&#x153;powers of 10â&#x20AC;? exercise

zero and one

1st year (2004 - 2005) in between zero and one the major difference between a designer and a non-designer is that a designer is capable of appreciating the process of thinking, making and deterioating, but not only the end product. what i am beneďŹ ted most from my ďŹ rst year architectural training is to see beyond the taken-for-granteds: there is always a process behind a product. through site visits, discussions, exercises, essay writings and studio designs, gradually i learn how to come to an end through a sound process. i become observant. i become aware of the details and making of things.

photo: a photo of a typical brick house in ping shan taken during the ďŹ rst site visit in my architecture education.

001 “powers of 10” exercise

ﬁrst design exercise in foundation studio

frame of reference this is the first piece of exercise i did in the architecture school. based on charles and ray eames’ short clip of Powers of Tens, the exercise aimed at teaching students to identity issues in design like frame of reference, scaling and re-presentation. the work is a reconstruction of the image of 102 meters above the ground. we created a collage of images re-presenting the “constructed” life of a affluent city”. design tiitit : title ttit powers of 10 program: not application nature: first design exercise in studio location: not application time: september 2004 duration: 2 days no of people: 2 role: concept + production+presentation medium: photocopying/ collage/ paper folding/ chalk tutor: uli blum

credits essay title: what happens before re-presentation program: not application nature: course work location: not application time: september 2004 duration: 2 days no of people: 1 medium: text tutor: prof. essy baniassad

course: introduction to architecture the fall semester of 2004 was the last semester prof. essy baniassad taught his class of “introduction to architecture” to ﬁrst-year students before his retirement from the post of chair professor in the department. we were so lucky to be his last batch of students. what i can remember now are his wonderful lectures and his passions and inspiration towards architecture. the essy on the left is my ﬁrst essay in his class. his words are still with me today.

002 1st essay on architecture textual design under prof. essy baniassad

003 a pavilion in Ping Shan

school project of year one foundation studio, 1st semester

credits cred cre t title le: pprogr o am: natur nature: t e locat ocat ca ion: tim ttime time: ime me: me: ddura durat uurat ura urra ratio ion: ion: ion onn:: on nnoo of peop peo eop opple: lee: le mediu medi mediu di m: di m: tuutor tuto tutor tu uttor toorr: to

design a pavilion in ping shan pavilion deessign project, foundation studio de ping shan, yuen long, n.t. november 2004 4 weeks 1 hand dr dra rawings + physical models ra uli blum

memory and gathering my ďŹ rst design project dealing with a real site in ping shan. the concept was simply to load a place of gathering with the history of ping shan. a series of big and small platforms, which can be used as steps or benches, were put in front of a narrow water pool running along the pavilion. inside the main exhibition space, people experience slits of light entering from the west side of the pavilion. arranging in a long and linear manner, the building is actually a walkway to experience high and low, wet and dry, in-door and out-door, and light and dark.

004 a house by Brian Mackay-Lyons a year-1 case study project

a house on a rock, overlooking the sea the canadian architect brian mackey-lyons is active in building original wooden houses in the region of nova scotia, canada. this big wooden house showing a gesture of stepping over a big rock to struggle for the gorgeous view of the sea. the wooden structure is cleared structured by 5 big wood frames. this 1:50 model studied 3 of the 5 bays of the building. a great effort was also made in re-presenting the landscape: a stunning rocky shore with a big rock shaping the house. this model stands is 1.2m tall and is made of wood, cardboard, and corrugated cardboard.

the rock and the structure 1:50

credits title: program: nature: location: time: duration: no of people: role: medium: tutor:

case study a house by brian mackay-lyons house case study in foundation studio nova scotia, canada february 2005 3 weeks 2 research + study + modeling physical model frank chiu

005 a house in Cheung Shu Tang school project of year one foundation studio, 2nd semester

the splited house: a response to urban ďŹ bre cheung shu tang is a remote village located at the back-hill of CUHK. the design concept is to create a splited house with two different parts aligning with two different urban ďŹ bres on the site. these two parts are eventually developed into two function zones: one for private use, which includes bedrooms and studio; and another one for gathering use, which includes an big elevated volume of gathering space and a covered ground-level garden. the act of spliting the house also allows the elevated gathering space to ďŹ nd a way to look beyond the building masses of the village in order to enjoy the astonishing view of the tolo harbour. title: progg am: pprogr natur aturr ature: locat ocat ation: at time: duration: no of people: medium: tutor:

design n a house in cheung shu tan housee design project, foundation studioo cheung shu tan, tai po, n.t. april 20055 4 weekss 1 hand drawings + physical model frank chiu

006 a speeding snail work of a ﬁve-day sculpture workshop

fast and slow in spring 2005, the department of architecture invited a sculptor from the u.s. to conduct a sculpture workshop. i joined the workshop and created my ﬁrst piece of sculpture. there were a lot of snails moving slowly in the campus during the spring time. i looked at them. they are moving slowly. but the patterns on their shells are full of energy and, almost, speedy. i imagined i was cutting a small portion of a giant snail shell. this portion becomes the form of my ﬁrst sculpture.

credits credits title: title nature: natur e time time: dur ion: durat o on no of peop people: e: tutor utor or::

sculpture sculp t a speed speed snail sculpture sculp ture works workshop op april 2005 2 weeks weeks 1 sculptor sculp tor from from us us

008 a bus terminal in Tai Po 009 a place for performing MIME 011 design with BLOCK

stillness and movement

mutual interpretation in between stillness and movement looking back at my 3 projects done when i was in my second year of study, i found that they were dealing with a common theme: how to see the moving as still and the still as moving. the notions of shifting and ďŹ&#x201A;owing only make sense when there is an existence of stillness. however, does architecture always needs to take the role of being stillness?

photo: a beggar in a busy street in Mong Kok. his stillness creates a sharp contrast to the fast moving crowd walking around him and ignoring him.

008 design with BLOCK 1st exercise, tectonics studio 2005

block, stick, slab block, stick and slab are the basic architectural languages in every design. the tectonics studio focuses on the use of these elements and encourages students to explore their potential in spatial deďŹ nitions by making and observing physical models. i was assigned to design with the element BLOCK.

credi credi cred rred eed diits d ts desig des d esig ssign titl tittit title title: itle tl : desig ddesi des eesssig esig ig ign gn wi witith B wit BLLLO BLO OC CK K program progr am: niili nnil nature: 1st 11s sstt exxe xerci xer xerc eerc erci rci rrc c sse, see, e teec ecton ecto ect ccton cto ton to onicc st on stuud udio ddioo location: nii nnil time: oocct oct ct 200 00055 005 duration: 4 we wee eekkss ee no of people: 1 medium: hand drawings + physical mode ode del el + ca el caad ad softwares: auto cad/ sketchup/ p adobe dobe obee cr crea cre ttiv iive vvee ssu suite uuite ite itttee tutor: nels ne nelso els lsso son ta taam tam m

Space creation: cutting and shifting Space is created by cutting one block into two. By manipulating the separation of the two cut-out blocks, different kinds of spaces is deﬁned by the surfaces of the blocks. Space deﬁnition outlined by solid surfaces

operation - two levels of operations secondary ope ration: shifting in section The secondary shifting operation focus on the manipulation of the section. Three pairs of blocks of different levels were pushed and pulled to create extra covered spaces or open balconies. This secondary operation enriches the spatial experience and strengthens the tectonic concept by introducing a second level of interpretation of the operation.

construction materials sturctural expression, material expression and spatial quality sectional model was built addressing issues of structural expression, material combination and material expression

The shifting surfaces outline different types of space. A preliminary study of the possible space types was done. introduction of scale operating blocks to creates an organized space in the proportion of 1:2:4 operation - two levels of operations primary operation: shifting in plan

series of plans and sections The series of section explores the vertical relationship of individual blocks and reveals the shifting operation in section. The series of plans explores the path experience created by shifting.

The primary shifting operation first applies to the plan. Series of shiftings were done material interpretation in order to create a rich spatial experience when moving through the 1:2:4 space. material expression of tectonic operation and space Keywords: - running in pair - in-between spaces - outlines spaces defined by shifting surfaces operation principals A 12X5X18 block was cut into 24 pieces of building units. By shifting a space of 12X6X24 was created. Keywords: - running in pair - in-between spaces - outlines spaces defined by shifting surfaces spatial study of primary operation - path experience - space type - space definition

Tectonic operation highlights: - primary operation: cutting - secondary operation: push and pull Spatial issues: - inside vs outside construction materials material interpretation sturctural expression and spatial quality material expression of space construction materials two material collages were done to study the issues of possible construction materials and spatial quality. perspective views of computer model were generated for material study of the sturctural expression, material expression and spatial quality same scheme a combination of concrete, steel frames and plywood interier was determined details of layering of the wall which can be seen from the side elevation trial material combinations: middle: lighting and spatial quality achieved by the interplay of glazing wall, steel frames - concrete + glass and wood interier - wood + glass plywood interior wall detached from the concrete structure showing the material contrast - steel + wood + glass and revealing the structural layers as an materialized interpretation of indoor and outdoor space

009 a bus terminal in Tai Po

school project, tectonics studio 2005

imagine buses are moving blocks: in-between the moving and the static blocks

credits design title: a bus terminal in tai po program: trafﬁc terminal nature: design project, tectonic studio location: tai po, n.t. time: nov 2005 duration: 5 weeks no of people: 1 medium: hand drawings + physical model + caad softwares: auto cad/ sketchup/ adobe creative suite tutor: nelson tam

the design brief for this tectonic studio project is to use the tectonic element of “block” to create a bus terminal in tai po. there are two giant foot-bridges connecting the adjacent podiums covering most of the open area of the site. the enormous space under the bridges makes people feel like walking in tunnels instead of walking on the ground. two static giant islands are introduced to the site to host all the functions necessary for a bus termainl. the spaces for the vehicles are like the sea, which ﬂow around the two islands. the design of the terminal can only be completed with the existence of the moving buses. i consider them as moving blocks, which echo with the shifting blocks i place on the islands. the sense of movement is delivered by both the energy of the moving vehicles and the gesture of the stagnant shifting blocks.

site a piece of land surrounded by podium developments large area of the site is covered by a footbridge which connects the upper ﬂoors of all podiums. the bridge is the main circulation device for life above the ground.

function strips hosting key functions of a bus terminal, which include waiting area, bus driver resting rooms, newspaper stalls and infromation center are implanted. the central white line is for bus stops. the purpose of concentrating all buses in the centre is to let the buses be the driving forces of man ﬂow -- they bring people into the site, and they take people out of the site.the two green areas are the main space which is covered mostly by the footbridge. this area will be in minimal manipulation as that a “free-style” human life can be maintained.

people the original site as a hectic trafﬁc hubs for the local community mapping of human beings shows how the existing facilities manipulate the man ﬂow

bus stop arrangement one this arrangement situates at the heavy traffic passage found besides the escalator of the footbridge. the supporting block serves as the barrier between the bus traffic and the human traffic. as the same time, its position helps to create a block-sense space which buses approached the bus stop.

the cap concept as a means to create a sp different from the rest of t block is adopted as the fo element of the bus stops.

bus stop arrangement two this arrangement locates at the position right next to the main cover of the footbridge. the cap-like block visually connects with the cover of the footbridge which provides a large shelter for people’s life. its railings design is specially made for the merging of the space between the bus stop and the area under the cover of the footbridge.

proportion and and size size proportion the proportions proportions and and sizes sized the reached after after aa careful careful stu stu reached ensure the passer-bys ensure the passer-bys ca ca spatial experience created spatial experience created and the shifting shifting supportin supportin and the

sense of place a sense of place is created by the interaction of the two blocks. the cap-like block provides shelter while the supporting block shifts with the bus to create a dynamic space. the supporting block, at the same time, provides functions such as bus driver resting room, vending machines and ticketing machines.

construction and express a study of constructional e ﬁnding a possible support cantilevered cap-like bloc

ﬁrst attempt to facilitate the zoning concept, a number of scattered blocks are arrayed on the plan as a response to the existing order of the bridge columns. in this ﬁrst trial, buses are circulation around the terminal complex.

dispersion to go along with the concentrated bus stop concept the design needs to accommodate the circulation moving across the several functional strips.

1:200 concept model as a development from the ﬁrst and second attempts, two strong lines are introduced along the central bus lanes. the black and white blocks, which are in bigger sizes, accommodate the main bus terminal functions while the small grey blocks assist the casual life functions under the bridge.

second attempt a central passage is introduced for the parking and moving of the buses in the terminal complex. allocation of individual blocks follows the concept of “shifting” with both the moving buses and adjacent blocks. it injects a dynamic motif to the stagnant podium site and facilitate the “free-style” movement adopted by the ground-level passer-bys.

zoning as a concept for planning, a zoning plan composed of ﬁve strips is suggested. the array of blocks, which are the required architectural elements in this exercise, will follow this zoning theme

planning sketchup model showing the hierarchy of spaces

ace and a place which is e podium site, a cap-like mal and functional

of the the two two blocks blocks are are of dy dy process process so so as as to to nn experience experience the the unique unique by the cap-like block by the cap-like block block. block.

on xpression aims at ng method for of the thelong long k.

exterior: iron iron is chosen to be the coating for the cap-like block in order to deliver a massive sense. also, the texture of the material is in strong constrast to the surrounding concrete jungle.

floating blocks: heavy on light to create a sense of floating, light material is chosen for the supporting block while heavy material is chosen for the cap-like block. this selection enhance the floating sense and generate constrast with the surrounding site. wire gaze is adopted as the material to provide translucency for the bus travelers.

translucency trials and tests of lighting two issues needed to be addressed by the process of materialization, one is the issue of inside and outside, and the other is the issue of ﬂoating blocks

structure a 1:50 model showing the steel structure of which bears anchorage to the ground on one side and one corner.

background the ﬂoating blocks of the bus stops become the background of people’s life

under the bridge view captured from sketchup 3D model. they show how the cap-like block, supporting block and small rectangular blocks create sense of ﬂoating and place.

interior: wood wood covers all the inside surfaces (ceiling and ﬂoor) which embraces the travelers. there is a 15m X 3m space for the bus waiting area which is surrounded by wood strips which delivers a strong message of “a place”. the adoption of the wood ﬂoor is also a rebelious action to the surrounding concrete and brick environment.

shifting a study of the shifting gestures found among the supporting block, cap-like block and moving buses

bus stop arrangement one

permeable boundary the strong line created by the shifting blocks is a solid boundary. instead, through the operation of shifting, opennings are created at a certain rhythm.

bus stop arrangement two

on and off situation the arrangement of the blocks is carefully referred to the exit and entrance of a bus. the diagram demonstrates the spatial experience of the situations of getting on and off the bus.

009 a bus terminal in tai po design: nov 2005 in-between stillness and movement

1:200 partial plan of the bus terminal

1:200 elevation of the long bus terminal

buses stop at preset locations

009 a bus terminal in tai po design: nov 2005 in-between stillness and movement

buses work with the stagnant shifting blocks of the bus stops

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011 a place for performing MIME school project, habitation studio 2006

liberation in the spring term of 2006, the habitation studio was led by prof. li shiqiao, who had formerly studied and taught at the AA. he introduced us a “design by research” approach suggesting that an architectural idea can be generated from a deep research focusing at a particularly theme of interest. under the department-assigned design topic of “a place for performace”, he brought us an almost totally-open design brief that he let us to choose the kind of performance we would like to study and to select a site on our own so as to best-ﬁt with our individual programmes. we were liberated, and enjoyed a long journey of searching for and developing a design theme. this only solid requirement for the project is that the place for performance should have a capacity of 100 people.

credits design title: a place for performing mime program: performance space nature: design project, habitation studio location: kowloon park, tsim sha tsui, kowloon time: apr 2006 duration: 12 weeks no of people: 1 softwares: auto cad/ sketchup/ adobe creative suite tutor: prof. li shiqiao

image: preliminary sketch of the imagination about the site

who is in stillness, the performers or the audience? who is in motion, the performers or the audience?

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

choice of performance: imagination and interaction i do not remember when my first time watching mime was. but i can still remember the mysterious space surrounds the mime performer. there seems to be a lot of objects around him. he seems to be climbing up. but at the same time, he also seems to be just standing there for long... and i think of the "still" mime performers standing in the Las Ramblas in Barcelona. they are acting although they are in a fixed position. things become interesting when they are stand still in a flowing crowd. are they from another world? can i take this chance of desigining a place for performance to go deeper into the field of mime? can i design a place for performance highly specific to mime through a in-depth research?

part 1: choice of performance

interpreting a place for performing mime

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

mime: the imaginary objects a study of the plot of a korean mime performer Jo Sung Jun. tree, wind, flowers, fish, water, heron, apple and bird can be find in his solo mime performance. the objects are all his physical suggestions, which communicate well with the audience by provoking endless imagination.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

mime: the imaginary heights

a study of a solo performance by german mime performer harald seime. images are captuer from his video showing his physical travel distance. however, through his movement of steps, he brings to up by climbing a staircase and ďŹ&#x201A;ying out the window.

going up stairs step by step

turning at corner of staircase

climbing up ladder

up to the roof, should i ďŹ&#x201A;y?

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

keep going up

still climbing

hovering in the air

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

mapping harald seime there is a need of two sections to map the location of harald seime during his show.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

mime: stillness and movement

a study of a group performance by the team of harald seime. they are invited to perform in a banquet situation. before their on-stage performance, the team stand among the moving guest. they only move very slowly as if they are from another world with their own pace of life. their stillness becomes meaning when they are in the moving crowd. instead of motion, they perform stillness.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

movement defines the stillness images of still mime in Las Ramblas. their still acts are justified by the flowing crowd.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

audience in stillness viewing

audience in motion viewing

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

learn to understand more about the logic of mime, i went to learn mime from a school opened by a local master. i was practicing "mime walk". every muscle of your body counts. with a strong swing of ankles, "mime walk" can become "mime run" in split second.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

mime is an alternation of stages between stable and instable using the medium of human bodies, be them the bodies of the performers or the audience.

ambiguous, borderline, capricious, changeable, dizzy, dubious, erratic, fickle, fitful, fluctuating, giddy, inconsistent, inconstant, insecure, irrational, lubricious, mercurial, mobile, movable, moving, mutable, not fixed, precarious, rickety, risky, rocky, sensitive, shaky, shifty, slippery, suspect, teetering, temperamental, ticklish, tricky, uncertain, unpredictable, unsettled, unsteady, untrustworthy, vacillating, variable, volatile, wavering, weak, weaving, wiggly, wobbly

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

stable, abiding, anchored, balanced, brick wall, calm, deep-rooted, durable, enduring, equable, established, even, fast, firm, fixed, immutable, invariable, lasting, nailed, perdurable, permanent, poised, reliable, resistant, resolute, safe, secure, set, solid, sound, stabile, stalwart, stationary, staunch, stay put, steadfast, steady, stout, strong, sturdy, substantial, sure, together, tough, unalterable, unchangeable, unfluctuating, uniform, unvarying, unwavering, well-built, well-founded

interpretation

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

mim me - an art of the body in the world off mime, passsage, stage, bench hes, steps and all “architecctural” elem ments are all interch hangeable.. definitionss depend only on two thing gs: th he bod dy of the actor and the interp pretation off the viewers the design n should d be aimeed at explorin ng freely the interchangeable possitionss of actors and viewers. the sp patial definitions can sometime be a wall, a difference in n level, or merely a change in colour on the floor patttern. thro ough creation and observation, i tuned mysellf into thee mode of “ambiguous design”: perceptions and interpretation ns of the users are BIGGER than the will of designer.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

once you enter the world of mime, you enter the world of expected: it looks the same, but it alternates in the most subtle way that stimulates your imagination.

interpretation

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

business district in tsim sha tsui

pool artiďŹ cial lake

the site sulpture garden hill

maze

shopping district in tsim sha tsui

ariel view of kowloon park, tsim sha tsui

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

part 2: choice of site

designing a place for performing mime view of the site

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

transform 01

undulate

transform 02

distort 01

distort 02

distort + divide

dissect

confront

divide

density

how to spatialize the status of interchanging and ambiguity inherented in mime?

internal

gradation

transcend

river 01

images: above: sketch models built to study the possibilites in spatializing mime; opposite: 1:200 site model used for sketch model testing; left: potential scheme for further development

river 02

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

to business district in tsim sha tsui

spatializing if we see mime is a stage of interchange and amibiguous, how can this essence be spatialized into a piece of architecture that facilitate the performance of mime?

to artiďŹ cial lake

to sculpture garden

a series of sketch models was built to study the possibilities of spatializing the concept under the particular urban context in the kowloon park.

choice of site: still and move there are two reasons for choosing this site for the place of performance mime: 1. the site is in-between leisure and work, and, "country" and "urban". it is a park located in the city center of tsim sha tsui and is also a main passage connecting the east and west part of tsim sha tsui.

to park lane shopping street in tsim sha tsui

2. the land of site is potential to be a node that allow a lot of people to pass through daily. it is a good place for the testing of stillness and movement.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

the in-between insertion the ďŹ nal scheme imagines the building as a "identity-free" building that it actually the intermediate state of its immediate site context: its big footprints are the continuation of the rectangular pool; while the small footprints on the other end are continuation of the ďŹ zzy boundary of the maze.

interchange and ambiguous in this light, the building mass is not a selfsustaining building, as it is always a part of its bigger context. its character changes with the human activities. its identity depends on the people who are interacting with it. it is an ambiguous mass.

place ce for performing p g MIME MIM design: apr 2006 011 a ppla in-between iin-be in n tween stil stillness and movement

four portions negative

four portions positive

massing models nine portions negative

nine portions positive

massings on the plan are developed into volume through a series of acrylic models. they are the combined result of the previous studies of urban context and mime.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

what can the massing do? through sketching, imaginations on the massing are visualized for further development.

imagining a mime festival in the venue

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

internal relationship

3-dimensional circulation 01

people movement

connection

3-dimensional circulation 02

3-dimensional circulation 03

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

pool

long section of the site studying banding/ eyesight

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

maze

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

pool

site

maze

series of short sections of the site from pool to maze studying eyesight

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

volume cutting/ human relationship/ eyesight study

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

1:100 site models the development of the volume is studied by both computer models and physical models. this 1:100 site model demonstrated the relationship between the building masa and the hill. they are of similar height and with different undulating rhythms.

011 a pplace for pperformingg MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

inclined circulation since the complex is composed of several ďŹ&#x201A;oating volumes, there is a need to discover a reasonable journey for the visitors to walk through the performace spaces. the inclined planes cut for the views at the begining serve also as the "climbing" route for the visitors to experience 3-dimension volumes of the complex.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

spatial trial 01: all void in the middle

modifying the volume quick perspective drawings of spaces inside the complex are generated by computer. this is also to examine the ideas generated by hand-sketches.

spatial trial 02: alternate strips a

spatial trial 03: alternate strips b

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

box derived from the site boundary

internal volumes box derived from the site siutation

the volumes

platforms derived from sectional studies

the two-way tilted platforms

cutting through the boxes to create individual volumes

interpreting and generating the ďŹ nal complex

support

identifying the solids and voids for programmes

the scheme

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

ambiguity: building / not building/ one building/ bunch of buildings/ solids/ voids

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

interchangeable: space for mime performers/ audience/ visitors/ passer-bys

programme concepts

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

deďŹ ned volume after computer study made into a 1:50 model

view from hill side

view from sculpture garden entrance

front elevation

elevation from hill side

elevation from lake side

entrnace to hall 1/ platform as resting place

mime platform for passer-bys

view into the platform under hall 2

programming the complex 1:50 model

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

mime show platforms for the maze 01

mime show platforms for the maze 02

mime show platforms for the mime 03

view from the pathway by the hill

space underneath the halls

resting place for the public

entrance staircase to hall 1

alleyway situation inside the complex

improvised mime show on the ground

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

roof garden

mime performance hall 1

mime performance hall 2 resting platform 1 ticket ofďŹ ce

resting platform 2/ open performance platform

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

preparation room 1

mime show platform for the maze 1 public video room open performance platform for ground level mime show platform for the maze 2

open performance platform for ground level mime show platform for the maze 3

preparation room 2

open performance platform

signage tower

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

stillness and movement the identity of a building blurs when it is considered together with the site context. ithe stagnant masses are ready to interact witht the moving people through the entire site.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

platform

ticket

platform

ground plan (1:200)

exhibition

platform

signage

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

hall 2

hall 1

preparation

performance platform

video

performance platform

preparation

performance platform

signage

performance hall level plan (1:200)

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

swing doors close during normal circumstances the performance halls are individual chambers. together with the platforms on the ground ďŹ&#x201A;oor their form slightly tilted spaces for the performance of mime. spatial deďŹ nitions are of their minimal level to allow the greatest imagination for the performers and the audience.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

swing doors open for bigger performances the two performance halls can be visually connected when the swing doors are opened. the inclined plane derived orginial from the eyesight study becomes a perfect setting for watching shows. it can hold about a hundred of people.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

instability interior of mime performance hall 2 when the swing doors are closed. ceiling and ďŹ&#x201A;oor are tilted slightly at two directions which cannot be seen but can be felt. stepping into this venue is to enter a status of instability. small mime shows can take place in this distorted space.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

the combined hall interior of the mime performance halls when the swing doors are opened. audience can stay in hall 2 to enjoy the show in hall 1. the two halls are visually connected to form a bigger performance hall

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

a 3-dimensional human ďŹ&#x201A;ow different masses of the complex are stagnant. but it allows people to move through it like the ďŹ&#x201A;ow of water in a river. mime performers can perform both moving mime and stagnant mime in the place. visitors can treat it as a garden to rest and gather or treat it as a performance place to enjoy different shows.

011 a place for performing MIME design: apr 2006 in-between stillness and movement

010 wind in Tsim Sha Tsui + wind tunnel tests 015 linking the greens - an environmental urban planning in TST 016 environmental design: a kindergarten in Paris

nature and buildings

we are in nature in between nature and buildings in year 2006 i was lucky to be in prof. edward ng's class of environment design in architectgure. he simply reminded all of us that all buildings need to deal with the nature. through various projects relating to envrionment design, eventually i found out that taking environmental concerns into the design process makes things go more smooth: the nature gives you guildance, always good and solid guildance, to develop our architecture. nature takes form.

photo: a lovely morning in the campus of the chinese university of hong kong after another night of overnight work. the sky is blue and the air is fresh.

010 environmental design: a kindergarten in Paris course work under prof. edward ng

designing with the force of nature the invention of air conditioning system makes architects to design â&#x20AC;&#x153;freelyâ&#x20AC;? with no regard of the natural environment. basic natural factors like solar angle and prevailing wind direction may not be listed in the mind of architects. this simple exercise focuses on the direct and genuine response to the nature. without a speciďŹ c site assigned, the form, spatial arrangement and orientation of the project are purely designed to respond to the nature, which simply refers to wind, sun, and temperature. credits design desig n title: a kindergarten in paris paris pro progr prog r g am: schoo hooll natur urre: e: design exercise, environmental studies es location: paris time: april 2005 duration: 3 days no of people: 1 medium: computer model software: auto cad/ sketchup/ hup/ hup p adobe creative suite tutor: prof. edward ng

010 environmental design: a kindergarten in Paris design: april 2005 in-between nature and buildings

015 wind in Tsim Sha Tsui + wind tunnel tests a study under prof. edward ng

the path for wind: on site + in the wind tunnel the study is a preparatory study for an environmental urban planning design prject. natural comfort, which refers to the comfort gained with air conditioning system is believed to be possible if our street design can provide adequate shading and promote wind to pass through at about 2m/s. however, under the current street design in Hong Kong, these two components of street comfort can hardly be achieved. this study is done by a group of students measuring wind speed, temperature and humidity on site in Tsim Sha Tsui. the data becomes the basic information for students to re-plan the streets. proposals of revised street plans will be tested in wind tunnels to compare with the real data achieved on site.

credits research title: wind in tsim sha tsui + wind tunnel test nature: environmental research + master planning location: tsim sha tsui, hong kong time: october 2006 duration: 5 weeks no of people: 4 role: concept+measure+model+test+drawings tutor: prof. edward ng

015 wind in TST + wind tunnel test research: october 2006 in-between nature and buildings

is it possible to build our city streets as rivers and let the wind ďŹ&#x201A;ow like running water? instead of blocking wind, can buildings be designed to channel wind for the city?

climatic background and environmental issues in hk General Climate in Hong Kong

Urban fabric and urban wind condition

Hong Kong’s subtropical climate experiences monsoons. It is cool and dry in winter(from January to March) and hot and humid in springs and summers. The change in climate is greatly affected by the change in wind directions. Winds generated from the North cool the climate down in winter, while southern wind carry in warm and humid air during spring and summer. The relative humidity is around 70%-85% throughout the year. In the summer, the temperature is around 28C-32C. It can be higher in open spaces.

The urban fabric in Hong Kong is different from most of the other city in world. Since Hong Kong is a very high-density city with a population of 7,000,000, it has the highest plot ratio in the world.

Temperature The air temperature of Hong Kong is generally is mild cool to hot throughout the year with about 28 - 32C in summer and about 14C - 17C in winter. Daily temperature range is quite small with about 5C - 8C difference in average.

Grid orientation For easy planning purposes, some developments in Hong Kong adopt rectangular gridiron pattern. The grid patterns are orientated based on different issues, such as the landscape and shorelines. However, a lot of main roads in Hong Kong are oriented from the north to south, but the prevailing wind comes mostly from the east The perpendicular relationship between the orientation of main roads and the prevailing wind direction causes poor air ventilation in many districts in Hong Kong.

Wind East wind is the dominant wind for Hong Kong throughout the year. Wind speed in average is about 4.7m/s - 7.8m/s in the hostile territories of Hong Kong. Prevailing wind in open spaces in the city can be as good as about 3 m/s on the ground level. In short, wind is generally enough for mild ventilation if no blockage is found in the city. Solar Radiation In general, Hong Kong receive sufﬁcient solar radiation for the whole year. Solar angle in summer can go higher than 80 degree which suggests very strong solar radiation gain. Micro Climates in Hong Kong While above is the general climate of Hong Kong, areas within the city experience different micro-climates due to various interactions between natural terrains and urban built forms. General wind directions can be altered by the location, orientation and height of buildings. For example, winds passing in between Tsim Sha Tsui Centre and Empire Centre are forced to change direction because of the presence of the Royal Garden Hotel(see map in p.3). Another example is the construction of Langham Place, which was oriented perpendicular to the prevailing wind and much taller than the average building in Mongkok, which resulted with a worse air quality. The existence of thermal wind is also the factor altering the micro climates in Hong Kong. For instance the prevailing wind direction in the Sheugn Wan area is more affected by the thermal wind generated from the hills on the north than the general wind coming from the east.

Podium development and high ground coverage Podium developments are very common in Hong Kong. The huge internal spaces provided by podiums usually serve as shopping malls or car parks. However, due to their gigantic sizes, they usually congest the entire area of the street block. This creates large wind shadows and blocks the ventilation paths on the street level. Such kind of high ground coverage development decreases the air volume on the pedestrian level which badly affect the air quality. Narrow streets with tall buildings Narrow streets and tall buildings is another characters of Hong Kong due to the extreme high density. The ratio of building height to street width is so high that extremely deep urban canyons resulted. It further reduces the opportunity of wind and sunlight entering the street and increases the concentration of pollutants produced by the vehicles on the street. This causes hot island effect and poor air quality. Uniform building height In order to protect the skyline, building heights are controlled by the laws which result in uniform building height in many districts. However, the uniform building height is harmful to natural ventilation. Since buildings with similar height form a gigantic mass, wind can only get past on the top of the building mass but cannot penetrate into the centre of the city. If a series of closely packed buildings with uniform height is built along the waterfront willform a gigantic wall along the shoreline. Sea breeze is then totally blocked and suffocates the entire city.

General environmental design issues for Hong Kong Having the climatic situation and urbric fabrics described above, the condition of Hong Kong suggests speciﬁc environmental design issues to be addressed by arhitects and planners. Two main issues for environmental design in Hong Kong:

1.As the city temperature is generally quite high in summer and only fairly cool in winter, the city welcomes wind for evacuation of heat and pollutants generated in the compact urban fabrics 2.High solar radiation gain and relatively long daylight hours in the summer time demands a lot good sheltered spaces for the enjoyment of street life during the hot summer time

From top to bottom: 1: Most urban grids in Hong Kong are not designed to facilitate wind ﬂow 2: Narrow street bounded by tall buildings and ﬁlled by hawkers 3: Podiums developed with uniform height towers create thick screens suffocating the inner city

urban and environmental conditions of the site

in-between nature and buildings

Location

Trafﬁc, roads and pedestrian movement

The site is in the middle of Tsim Sha Tsui, near the Kowloon Park. It is 450m away form the sea at the east. The site is bounded by two main roads, which are Nathan Road on the west and Chatham Road on the east. On the north side, there is Granville Road. Humphrey’s Avenue and Prat Avenue are the south boundary. The site is in grid organization, different size and types of buildings are located inside and two main roads crossing the site, which are Cameron Road and Carnarvon Road.

Since the row of original building blocks are parallel to the prevailing wind, so the winds speed on the Cameron Road is satisfactory. However, as the buildings are too close together, they form a large building mass, the roads perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction become problematic areas, such as Carnarvon Road. MTR station is located on the west side of the site and most of the bus stops are along the Nathern Road, so the main circulation movement is along the East- West direction.

ville

Design Response The East - West direction of the existing pedestrian movement will be kept as the general direction for the new design. However, the existing perpendicular streets will be replanned at skewed geometries in order to avoid passages that are oriented perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction

Roa

Cha

tha

Nathan Road

mR oad

Gran

nue

Ave Prat ue

ven y’s A

phre

Hum

There is variety of shops in the site, most of them are restaurants, pubs and retailing stores. The variety of shops attracts both the locals and the turists. But the streets are too narrow for circulation that some shops are located on the lower floors of buildings. Design Response The shopping pattern of ground floor + first floor circulation will be kept as one of the characteristics of the shopping experience in Hong Kong. This pattern also opens up a design opportunity to actually lift up the ground level in order to have a splitted streets. Small shops are located on the open plan of the ground level and shopping complexes on the first level. This greatly lowers the ground coverage for better ventilation.

Surroundings and open spaces

Tower heights and wind shadows

The scope of the site including the roads and buildings is about 40000 sq. m. The district includes buildings of different types and ages. From the high density results poor spatial quality and overcrowded streets.There are large hotels and shopping malls on the east waterfront. These building masses block the east prevailing wind coming form the sea. Although there are open spaces on the two sides of the site, which create a nice environment for residents and reduce the density of the district, these two open spaces are separated by the two main roads.

At the north-east corner of the site (the existing area around Hau Fook Street), the entire block is coverd by a large wind shadow created by the towers located around the Granville Circuit. Originally, a cluster of short residential buildings (with only around 5-storeys) is situated there. Since the buildings are much shorter than the towers around Granville Circuit, the living environment of the area is poor due to the lack of natural lighting and ventilation.

Design Response In order to reduce the density of the site, open spaces and greenery are introduced to improve the spatial quality, a green pedestrian path is the main concept in the design. This green path enhances the connection between open spaces and commercial areas. It serves as the main path accessing to the redeveloped area. Besides, it is also the main breezeway capturing the east prevailing wind. With better ventilation, the green path would become a main circulation path and recreational area for citizens.

10+

storey 3-5

storey

storey 3-8

Design Response To, on one hand, maintain a high plot ratio for the expensive site, and, the other hand, rescue the poor air and light condition in the above wind shadow area, taller buildings are introduced to divert wind down to the street level. Perpendicular relationship of streets will also be avoided by creating skewed road patterns instead.

Building types and shops The existing site includes different plot sizes of buildings but no existing podium development is found in the site. Piont-block commercial building is the main building type in the site, about 60% of the site area. The commercial buildings and hotels are located mainly on the east and west, as they are facing to the main roads, where the main circulation is located. Due to the function of the buildings, the plot sizes on the two sides are also bigger. Design Response There are a large number of commercial buildings. A commercial centre is planned in the middle of the green path. It core includes the main shopping malls and the highest commercial buildings relating to the business around the site. It gives a new identity of the redeveloped area.

From left to right: 1: Wind Rose of the Tsim Sha Tsui area showing the east wind as the dominant prevailing wind. 2, 3: Site photos showing the congested urban condition with shops on various levels of the surrounding buildings

015 wind in TST + wind tunnel test research: october 2006

site measurement of wind Problem within the area - Wind is not circulating properly in the area. There are some wake areas caused by the divergence of wind, as well as turbulent areas with a lack of a prevailing wind direction due to a conﬂuence of winds from multiple directions - Therefore this creates poorer air quality in general as air cannot circulate properly. - Granville road and Cameron Road are planned parallel to the prevailing wind direction. However, problems occur along streets that are perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction. And the wind tends to diverge, creating a wake area. - Wind velocities are extremely low, such as 0.5 m/s which is imperceptible to human touch – so the air feels static and stale - Need for a green belt / some green space as a breather from the concrete jungle.

Things that need to be done - Channel wind in one general direction and block winds that are creating turbulence on site - Generally to achieve wind speed levels of more or equal to 1m/s (Vr ≥0.2) - Lack of identity within the site – to the pedestrian tourist / visitor, each road is similar and road signs are required in order to navigate – buildings that create landmarks may be more useful - Connect green spaces – Kowloon Park and open space along Chatham Road - Provide different kinds of spaces for users – bright sunny spaces / shaded areas - Different people have different preferences during different times of the day

MTR station Greenery Commercial Residential

P og ams of the o iginal site

planning, goal and strategy

in-between nature and buildings

Airing the high density – An environmental planning study in Tsim Sha Tsui Having an understanding of the site’s urban structure and micro climatic environment, the design team identiﬁes the design issues addressed by the planning proposal as follow:

Design issues: -most of the daily activities in the area happen within street networks bounded by Nathan Road and Chatham Road. The quality of the pedestrian level should be of the top concern in the

“the effect of building layout (especially in terms of building site coverage) has a greater impact than that of building height on pedestrian wind environment.” (Edward Ng 2006, “Feasibility Study for Establishment of Air Ventilation Assessment System”, P.4)

Design process Wind tunnel testing is the driving force for the overall massing design. The development process is itself a trial-and-error experiment.

-wind is the primary concern for the enhancement of the environmental comfort level in the area as air movement is crucial for the evacuation of heat and pollutants in the inﬁll streets of the site -design for solar radiation is the secondary concern serving as the supplementary devices to enhance the environmental comfort level -the high density character of site need to be kept as land in Tsim Sha Tsui is expensive -the new street layout to be imposed on the site needs to follow the existing fabrics in terms of size and trafﬁc directions so as to allow the continuation of the existent TST’s urban pattern

In short, the major design challenge for this project is to keep the existing high plot ratio (over 7.5) and at the same time improve its wind condition. Design goals:

Design strategy

The three levels of strategies are:

As the main focus of the design is the wind condition on pedestrian level, the development of the layout plan of the site involves two levels of strategic thinking which follow the concept that

1. Minimizing blockage of breezeways (model1.0)

1. On the pedestrian level, wind condition at the exit of the site (the Nathan Raod side) should perform as good as that at the entrance of the site (the Chatham Road side) in terms of wind speed and air quality

2. Channeling wind by the building surfaces throughout the site (model 1.1) 3. Diverting wind downward to street level by the introduction of tall facades (model 1.2)

2. On the pedestrian level, avoid air stagnancy which caused by the wide building edges blocking the prevailing wind 3. As a benchmark reference, wind speed on the pedestrian level of all passages should be over 1m/s when the wind entering the site is about 1.5 m/s

From the top: 1: River as the layout of breezeway 2: Parti of street layout 3: Wnd and greenry

015 wind in TST + wind tunnel test research: october 2006

design development Model 1.0

Ground Coverage

Plot ratio

Design Development

total site area 45078

% 64%

total floor area total plot size 173394 28899

built area 28899

6.00

Model 1.0- street layout design - the river concept

Evaluation

In the analysis of the site, it was realized that the orientations of streets relative to the prevailing wind direction is the key factor affecting the air ventilation in the street. The 2 main streets, Cameron Road and Granville Road, got satisfactory air ventilation because they are generally parallel to the prevailing wind direction while Carnarvon Road and Nathan Road, which are perpendicular to the two main streets are problematic.

Wind tunnel test result shows that the performances along the 2 main wind paths are satisfactory. Wind enters the site with a velocity of 1.9m/s. Averages of wind velocity are about 1.3m/s and 1.6m/s for path 1 and 2 respectively. An average of 1.0m/s results for the sub-branches A and B. Wind leave the site and enter Nathon Road from the 2 west exits in 1.00m/s and 1.5 m/s.

There are two “mouths” in a river, the source and the end of water, so does a wind path. Prevailing wind enters the area from the water front at about 450m east of the site. The wind velocities on ground drop significantly from 2.7m/s on average to 1.5m/s at the east edge of the site. A large lot at the east edge of the site is left empty serving as the source of wind for the site. Two openings facing the voids of the opposite side of Nathan Road are the exits. We re-design the massing of the site based on the changes of the orientations and dimensions of the streets. Two long and wide streets are proposed to catch the prevailing wind, like the main branches of a river. Streets going North-South directions are shortened as the subbranches. Heights of all the buildings are unified so that the resulting wind performance is affected chiefly by the layout and natures of the streets.

Despite the improved performance, model 1.0 is far from practical. The buildings are only shaped by the streets. Most of them are too bulky to harmonize with the neighborhoods. Some sharp angles of the buildings make the interior spaces difﬁcult to use. The layout of street also neglects the circulation of the North-South trafﬁc. From top to bottom: 1. model viewing from the East end of the site (Chatham Raod) 2. model viewing from the West end of the site (Nathan Road) 3. wind tunnel testing of the model 4. section along the wind path

5/F

design development

in-between nature and buildings

Model 1.1

A et re St

re B Ground Coverage

Model 1.1- draft of roads and buildings

testings results after modiﬁcation Plot ratio

To further develop the initial design as an urban renewal project, the idea of a green belt is introduced in this model. Our site is located between two nice green spaces, the Centenary Garden and Kowloon Park. The main wind path going across the site can become a bridge of two green areas. Two large green areas are added at the east and the centre of the green belt. Buildings along that path are set back from the road to create a continuous avenue. Those shops in the site could be relocated in this avenue. Most of them are small shops selling local and Chinese products. This makes the street another must-visit tourist spot in addition to the nearby Park Lane Shopper’s Boulevard in the opposite side of Nathan Road. Building fabrics are broken down into appropriate scale according to the neighborhood to establish a stronger relationship to the rest of the city. For instance, the commercial buildings along Cameron Road already exist for decades. Most of them are small 2 to 10 storey high office buildings. In response to the condition, the buildings in the south edge of the site are broken down into smaller ones with less than 10 storeys. This group of shorter buildings allows southern sunlight to reach the centre of the site. Buildings along the busy Nathan Road are 14/F – 10/F to complete the continuous façade of the hotels and shopping malls nearby. A group of higher towers is put at the centre of the site to provide sufficient plot ratio. This group of tall buildings 40/F provides sources of airflow by channeling wind downward to the street level. Streets are arranged to match the flow of traffic comes from nearby roads and maintain the north south connection across the site. The main wind path is straightened so wind could pass through as smoothly without turning a corner. The sub-branches are orientated to get wind from the main streets.

20/F 10/F

total site area 45078

% 48%

total floor area total plot size 298650 37505

built area 21591

7.96

Evaluation The wind is stronger along the green belt. 2.2m/s is recorded in the centre of the site. It is even stronger than the magnitude in the entrance probably due to the funnel shape created by the buildings at the east end of the green belt. Street A & B in the leeward area of a group of existing buildings perform not as well as expected. Maybe the stepping of building is not effective to channel wind to the streets underneath. There is also a sudden drop of wind velocity at the end closed to Nathan Road. Increased building heights at the end improved the situation a bit.

From top to bottom: 1. model viewing from the East end of the site (Chatham Raod 2. model viewing from the West end of the site (Nathan Road) 3. original heights of Model 1.1 4. raised tower heights for better channeling of wind d h bl k f db h

015 wind in TST + wind tunnel test research: october 2006

design development MODEL 1.2

Model 1.2

A B C D F G J K L M N O P Q S T U W Y Z AA BB CC

e re

re St

Wind Speed (x) 1.83 1.2 0.91 0.59 0.82 1.75 1.14 1.2 1.05 1.11 1.55 0.75 0.82 1.95 2.59 2.09 1.8 1.87 1.55 1.88 1.98 2.23 2.42

Vr = x/5 0.366 0.24 0.182 0.118 0.164 0.35 0.228 0.24 0.21 0.222 0.31 0.15 0.164 0.39 0.518 0.418 0.36 0.374 0.31 0.376 0.396 0.446 0.484

round off 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5

Vr = x/5 0.416 0.402 0.444 0.398 0.244 0.35 0.074 0.106 0.164 0.292 0.376 0.292 0.178 0.37 0.518 0.418 0.086 0.374 0.176 0.292 0.356 0.46 0.41

round off 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.4

MODEL 1.2B

A B C D F G J K L M N O P Q S T U W Y Z AA BB CC

(0.4) - testing results of model 1.2a Model 1.2- Trial of lifting the ground

Wind Speed (x) 2.08 2.01 2.22 1.99 1.22 1.75 0.37 0.53 0.82 1.46 1.88 1.46 0.89 1.85 2.59 2.09 0.43 1.87 0.88 1.46 1.78 2.3 2.05

Seeing the room for improving the performance of some sub-branches, we then tried to raise all the building blocks upward. This aims to improve the wind performance by reducing the ground coverage of the site. All the building blocks were lifted up by 10m above the ground. To support them, two types of smaller blocks are created. One of them are in the size of 15m*5m*5m (L*W*H) and the other with double the height. The shorter types are small shops while the higher ones are the columns, lifts or escalators leading to the building above.

Evaluation We tested the wind performance of Model 1.2a with only the small blocks. The test result shows that the velocities are on average higher then the Model 1.1, including the measuring spots on Nathan Road. However, the measurements of the central green belt area recorded to be lower then Model 1.1 as there are no building located at the two sides of the street to channel wind.

Model 1.2a

The building masses designed in Model 1.1 is then put on top of Model 1.2a for further testing (Model 1.2). Streets A and B got higher velocity yet those of Street C and Nathan Road are even worse than model 1.1. This tells that lifting up of blocks does not guarantee better wind performance on the street level. For some instance the elevation of building masses can enhance wind speed (like the case of like streets A and B), but for some other instances, elevating the blocks can result in lowering the channeling effect on the main path.

40/F

The random arrangement small blocks may somehow reduce the wind velocity due to the generation of unwanted turbulence They should be arranged in a more linear way along the wind direction The density of

10/F

20/F

5/F

From top to bottom: 1. model viewing from the West end of the site (Nathan Road) 2, 3. views of the raised building masses

design development

in-between nature and buildings MODEL 1.3

Model 1.3

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z AA BB CC

Wind Speed (x) 2.24 2.42 2.48 2.72 0.85 1.03 1.57 0.97 2.54 1.09 1.93 1.39 1.16 1.79 2.18 1.93 1.81 2.00 1.81 1.81 0.48 1.21 1.09 2.00 0.97 0.91 1.43 1.72 2.42

Ground Coverage

Plot ratio

Vr = x/5 0.45 0.48 0.50 0.54 0.17 0.21 0.31 0.19 0.51 0.22 0.39 0.28 0.23 0.36 0.44 0.39 0.36 0.40 0.36 0.36 0.10 0.24 0.22 0.40 0.19 0.18 0.29 0.34 0.48

built area 17547.5

round off 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.5

total site area 45078

% 39%

total floor area total plot size 300805 37505

8.02

Model 1.3 - Evaluation and Conclusion of the master plan The arrangement of small blocks is too arbitrary in the model 1.2. In model 1.3, only the blocks in street A and B are raised to get more wind from the main wind path. Buildings heights are arranged in a stepping ratio of 1:2:4 (arrangement of 5-10-20-40 storeys are resulted). The effect of this two strategies is proved successful by the extremely high velocities in the two streets. (2.2m/s and 1.9m/s in street A and B respectively) The blocks in the rest of the site are sitting on the ground and buildings heights closed to Nathan Road are made similar to channel wind better. The original 40 storey tall building is shorten by half to reduce its leeward area (J, K and M).

Above: increase of area volume by tapering the building ends Right: diagram illustrating how tall building directs wind down to the street level

The ends of buildings facing Nathan Road are tapered. The high velocity (Vr=0.3, Vp(average)= 1.7m/s) along the green belt drop quite signiďŹ cantly (Vr=0.1, Vp(average)= 0.8m/s)when its end getting wider to Nathan Road. Regardless the low the velocity at the end of the central green path, tapering the buildings creates a larger air volume by Nathan Road so as to dilute the concentrate of air pollutants and heat gnerated by the heavy trafďŹ c.

40/F

20/F 10/F

From top to bottom: 1 2 3 different model views

015 wind in TST + wind tunnel test research: october 2006

master layout

100M

40/F

20/F

10/F

40/F

prevailing wind 20/F

10/F 5/F

Kowloon Park

site area

existing buildings

Centenary Garden

5/F

master layout

in-between nature and buildings

Existing site condition

Ground Coverage

Plot ratio

built area 29734

total site area 45078

% 66%

total floor area total plot size 308564 39700

7.77

Condition of the master plan

Ground Coverage

Plot ratio

built area 17547.5

total site area 45078

% 39%

total floor area total plot size 300805 37505

8.02

015 wind in TST + wind tunnel test research: october 2006

016 linking the greens - an environmental urban planning in TST a course work under prof. edward ng

the potential greeen path based on the on-site survey and the results of the wind tunnel tests, new urban ďŹ bres are created to create an effective wind path. in terms of architectural design, the wind path is designed as a green belt which links the two existing green areas of the site. plazas, summer walkways and second-level circulations are also designed as elements to, on one hand, facilitate urban functions and, on the other hand, allow better wind ďŹ&#x201A;ow through the streets. credits design title: linking the greens - an environmental urban planning in tst nature: environmental research + master planning location: tsim sha tsui, hong kong time: nov 2006 duration: 1 week no of people: 1 tutor: prof. edward ng

020 linking the greens - an environmental urban planning in TST design: nov 2006 in-between nature and buildings

1 linking the greens - an environmental urban planning in high-density TST With the massing design which is proved to be beneďŹ cial for the wind condition on pedestrian level, a further development of the project has been explored so as to translate the massing into a sound urban design project.

40-storey central building green area in Kowloon Park

Nathan Road

building masses designed for channeling wind MTR station exit

the Nathan Plaza 0

100M

40/F

20/F

10/F

foot bridge 3 connecting the central building to the central Green Belt

5/F

above: the master layout plan and the height proposal suggested in the previous study

The Planning Concept - The Green Linkage

central green area

The concept of the central Green Belt is further developed into a piece of landscaping design connecting the greens in Kowloon Park (the Nathan Road entrance to the site) to that in the Centenary Garden (the Chatham Road entrance to the site).

2nd ďŹ&#x201A;oor circulation of the

central building foot bridge 2 connecting the central building to the central Green Belt foot bridge 1

the Chatham Plaza proposed area for

BUS TERMINAL

20m-wide raised platform

left: conceptual image of the streets in the planning: river and its branches connecting two nodes in east and west right: conceptual diagram illustrating the project as a green linkage between the two modes of transports (MTR and bus) and two pieces of green areas (Kowloon Park and Centenary Garden)

Chatham Road green area in Centenary Garden

the 40-storey central tower

On the Eastern entrance, a 20m-wide platform is designed to continue the green across Chatham Road to Centenary Garden. This platform serves as both a bridge and plaza for the district. Under the platform is a bus terminus centralizing the several existing bus stops located along the Chatham Road. On the Western entrance, the existing MTR station is enlarged to create an underground plaza which connects the Green Belt with the green area in the Kowloon Park.

above: diagram illustrating the central Green Belt and its connection to the major programmes in the site right: ariel view of the site showing how the Green Belt penetrates through the site

the Chatham Plaza

016 linking the greens - an environmental urban planning in TST design: nov 2006 in-between nature and buildings

2 linking the greens - brief study on solar radiation Planning with Solar radiation Provided that the wind condition is generally good over the site, solar radiation gain at different points of the site becomes another critical factor for environmental urban planning. Year-round planning concern By looking at the sun shading diagrams we can ďŹ nd that there are different planning concern throughout the year. At certain period of a year, some spaces bear better quality than the others in terms of the combining efferct of wind and sun while for the other time things go in a different direction.

Nice Spring Walkway and Spring Plaza nice wind (Vr = 0.4) with alternating sun shaded spaces provides a variety of experience of shopping and strolling plaza with mild temperature (20C- 25C) and good sunshine

21 March at 1400

Summer Pedestrian Zone sun shading provided by the surrounding towers good wind condition with Vr = 0.4 as a result of wind being diverted down from the 40-storey tower open space exposing to direct sun. temporary shading devices like sunbrellas are needed. Deciduous trees and canopies is introduces to provide enough shading

21 June at 1400

Nice Autumn Walkway and Autumn Plaza wind and sun situation of autumn is similar to that of spring with nice walkway and plaza plaza with mild temperature (20C- 25C) and good sunshine

thin block with south facing window to enjoy winter/ autumn sun and avoid the hot summer afternoon sun > good for residential or hotel

21 September at 1400

Warm Winter Plaza the tapered building form allows winter to enter the Nathan Plaza

shadow situation on 21 March at 1400

the Chatham Plaze can still receive sunlight during the winter time. the two plaza are good location for hosting winter festivals in TST

21 December at 1400

016 linking the greens - an environmental urban planning in TST design: nov 2006 in-between nature and buildings

3 linking the greens - programme planning Plaza for day-long winter festival

36m

24m

Summer Pedestrian district

Bus terminal Nathan Plaza

ion

sect

a na

o cti se

central complex hosting hotel, shopping mall, and indoor recreational services government buildings (ofﬁces and civic services)

foot bridge connecting to the central building

hotels and service appartments shopping malls residential and service appartments

Bus terminal having part of it located under the platform

MTR station Greenery Commercial

Existing urban fabric

Residential

The Green Belt and the Supporting Network Main circulation on south bank As suggested in the previous studies, the central wind pathway will be designed as a 370m long central Green Belt providing a naturally ventilated path for shoppers and tourists in TST. A chain of shopping malls and retail shops will be located at the south bank of the Green Belt. The purpose of doing so is to concentrate human trafﬁc to one side of the road in order to create a sense of boulevard in the city. Two footbriges are designed to connect the second level of the central 40-storey tower to the boulevard.

the supporting network the Green Belt

The Support Network The layout of the Support Network, same as that of the central Green Belt, is designed to channel wind for the pedestrian level. Generally it bears good wind condition for most of the time. Since most of the pedestrian ﬂow is absorbed by the central Green Belt, supporting programmes like hotels, service appartments and goverment complexes are assigned to the supporting network.

Existing Cameron Road

20-storey buiding with smooth surface to channel wind Raised green platform covered with grass connection the site to Centenary Garden Above: illustration of the Green Belt meeting with the existing urban fabrics Trafﬁc The wind paths designed in the wind tunnel testing are translated into roads and walkways. The size of the road are in general 12m in width. Together with the pedestrian path or open green space next to the roads, opennings of 20m - 35m can be formed in the site.

old urban grid

new urban grid

Wind and North -South connection By creating new passages for the movement of wind, the resulted new urban grid actuallly enhanced the North-South connection of the site by providing more streets connecting the two ends.

016 linking the greens - an environmental urban planning in TST design: nov 2006 in-between nature and buildings

4 linking the greens - the Central Tower Landmark and the wind diverting device To create a central point and to maintain a high plot ratio of the site, a central building of 40 storeys is proposed. This building will be the new landmark for the site which will provide a mixture of functions from shopping mall, hotel to indoor recreational services.

good shaded space for summer pedestrian zone

Having a triangular plan, the building is suggested to be designed with a central atrium which, on one hand, provide a central space for air ventilation and, on the other hand, avoid deep plans of the building. diagram illustrating the central tower at 1400 on 21 June

Besides being the tallest landmark in the area, this 40-storeyed building is also the key component for the mechanism of the entire site’s natural ventilation design.

reﬂective facade to reﬂect sunlight to the street during winter time air garden to provide additional green space and to allow winter sun to reach the street

From what we know from the wind tunnel experiment, all the façades facing the central Green Belt needs to be continuous for enhancing the wind speed on the pedestrian level. First, the Landmark’s surface facing the central Green Belt is designed to be smooth for channeling wind along the central green path. While for the rear façade, a 4-storey void is extracted from the building to create an air garden so as to connect the central atrium with the air volume outside the building.

continuous building facade wall for channeling wind in the Green Belt

porous facade for ventilating the central atrium

second level circulation bring people down to the South bank of the Green Belt

Supporting Route

5 storeys

Atrium

40 storeys

20 storeys

Ce entral Green elt Be

20 storeys

Section AA

Second, As discovered in the wind tunnel experiment, the existence of the tall tower can divert wind down to the pedestrian level so as the rescue the existing leeward area.

40/F second level circulation of the central building

foot bridges connecting to the loop

prevailing wind

central main building with atrium

connection to Centenary Garden

connection of Kowloon Park

20m platform covered with grass and trees

20/F

10/F 5/F Section BB

MTR station entrance

Kowloon Park

site area

existing buildings

t Centenary d Garden

three green spaces along the central green belt

Underground connection

Raised Platform

Suggested buildin

016 linking the greens - an environmental urban planning in TST design: nov 2006 in-between nature and buildings

5 linking the greens - the alternative urbanism “Wind takes form” Throughout this exercise the driving force for planning is solely WIND. The design team do not have any tectonic or formal premises for the design. The generation of building forms and street layout solely developed from an early “concept of wind” inspired by the ﬂow of a river. Through continuous wind tunnel experience, the team polished the design and the forms according to the wind-testing results.

The wind concept is translated into a concept of plan and further to a concept of space. From left to right: 1. concept of wind ﬂow through non-orthogonal channels like the water in river and streams 2. the master plan developed from the wind concept after repetitive testing 3. an illustration showing the divergnece of space in the master plan.

Translation of wind into urban connections The wind passages are translated into urban connections throughout the design process. Obviously, the connections developed from the wind tunnel test is compatible with the needs for urban trafﬁcs. It is a viable alternatives for urbanism - a new form of urbanism which connects not merely places with places. It connects man with nature.

existing buildings in Cameron Road foot bridge 3 connecting the central Green Belt to the second level of the Central Tower foot bridge 2 connection Green Belt to second level of the Central Tower one of the roads in the Support Network of the site which hotels and service appartments are located foot bridge 1 which serves as the extension of the interior, connection between ground level and second level and sun shading device for the pedestrian level during the prime summer time

016 linking the greens - an environmental urban planning in TST design: nov 2006 in-between nature and buildings

6 linking the greens - appendix Sun shading diagrams

View from the Nathan Plaza

21 march at 1000

21 june at 1000

21 september at 1000

21 december at 1000

21 march at 1400

21 june at 1400

21 september at 1400

21 december at 1400

Weakness and possible improvement One weakness of the design is that the central open space does not have enough shaded spaces providing by the surrounding building mass during the prime summer time. Trees and other shading devices need to be introduced in order to provide better sun shading.

21 march at 1800

21 june at 1800

21 september at 1800

21 december at 1600

As the central Green Belt is proved to have good wind condition, in order to make it a really nice place with both good wind and solar radiation condition, switching the central green space to the north bank of the Green Belt may help in gaining shaded area from the Central Tower which is close and tall enough to provide shading even during the high-angle-sun period.

016 linking the greens - an environmental urban planning in TST design: nov 2006 in-between nature and buildings

the green belt in the branching streets

a fashion shop in Shenzhen

013

users and makers

ﬁrst client in between users and makers in the summer of 2006, i encountered my first "client" in my architecture life. group with other three classmates are launched our ﬁrst research and design project outside the academic realm of the school. the world is different when you are facing a bunch of critics who are going to pay you money and to use the space. the relationship shifted from teachers-and-students to clients-and-consultants, and to users and makers. it is a wonderful yet tough experience.

photo: our ﬁrst battleﬁeld of a real project, though never built.

013 a fashion shop in Shenzhen

a concept development commissioned by a hong kong fashion company

the dancing ribbon. the origin. commissioned by a hong kong company, this project iss to design a conceptual “sample store” for the company to demonstraate the interior standard to its future frranchise partners. considering the brand’s vision, two interwinding ribbonns running in two directions are instaalled to create all the functional spacees in the store. spatially the vertical ribbbon cuts the shop into two halves, one for men’s collection and the otheer for women’s. conceptually the brandd’s logo is located right at the center where two ribbons meet, which symbolizees everything is originated from the braand. this concept also resonance with the brand’s name, B’Orior, which carries the meaning of origin.

credits design title: a fashion shop in shenzhen program: retail nature: freelance commission by a HK company location: shenzhen time: summer 2006 duration: 3 months no of people: 4 role: concept + meeting + drawings

RENDERING

A A’

B’ B

VIEW OF THE FOYER FROM THE ENTRANCE

D’ D

VIEW OF THE FOYER FROM THE ENTRANCE VIEW OF THE MALE ZONE FROM THE CENTRAL LOOP

EXTERIOR VIEW

C C’

D D’

B’ A’

VIEW OF THE FEMALE ZONE FROM THE CENTRAL LOOP

CEILING PLAN

RENDERING

PLAN

foyer

VARIATIONS OF ‘ISLANDS’ & THE IMAGE WALL

RENDERING

VARIATIONS OF ‘ISLANDS’

partition wall

DESIGN CONCEPT

shop area

128 sqm act as a sample for the retail boutique to follow new season clothing display a small area for buyers to order those new clothes

AREA : FUNCTION:

interior view

SITE PHOTOS

SHEN ZHEN SHA TAU KOK HAI PAN GARDEN

LOCATION :

SITE

DISPLAY PROFILE STUDIES

1.35m wall

RENDERING

INDIVIDUAL BOUTIQUE PLANS

CLUSTERED BOUTIQUE PLANS

BOUTIQUE PLANS STUDIES

access

RENDERING

DESIGN CONCEPT

27 sqm 80 sqm (~60% for male, ~40% for female) 15 sqm 7 sqm

exterior view

2 sideS opened

SECTONS

FOYER : DISPLAY : MEETING : OFFICE :

FIRST RESPONSE TO THE SITE

1 side opened

RENDERING (VARIATION)

SECTIONS

013 a fashion shop in Shenzhen design: summer 2006 in-between uses and makers

3 sideS opened

female

male

meeting

office

C’

VIEW OF THE CENTRAL LOOP FROM THE FOYER

007 Joint-University Study Tour 2006 012 participatory design campaign 024

HK shopping arcade typology study

society and architecture

going out from school in between society and architecture having a sociology background, i never believe that a good piece of architecture can be generated only in front of the drawing board. the subject has its in-born nature of interacting with the society, culture and politics. throughout the busy studio life in the three year study of architecture, i struggled for chances going out from the school and to reach the society. with the perspective of architecture, i see the society in a different way.

photo: the last night of the Queen's Pier in Central, Hong Kong on 31 july 2007. people are protesting against the demolition of the building. when you are there, you will be able to experience how human lives can transform the slap-roofed space into a moment of history and memory.

007 HK shopping arcade typology study,<<E+E>> by Zuni Icosahedron walking through shopping arcades in hong kong the concept of the project began in 2004 that the magazine <<E+E>> would like to launch a serious of study on the shopping arcades in hong kong. in late 2004 they formulated a study framework by categoring arcades in hong kong into 4 categories: housing estate shopping arcades, giant arcades, specialized shopping arcades and department stores. my contribution in this study was mainly in the study on specialized arcades. my article on this research was published in the 13th issue of <<E+E>>.

credits research title: HK shopping arcade typology study program: not applicable nature: research project for <<E+E>> location: hong kong time: summer 2005 duration: 6 months no of people: 4 role: on-site survey + text + discussion + photos medium: text + photography

007 HK shopping arcade typology study research: summer 2005

012 Joint-University Study Tour 2006 seminar + symposium + 10-day trip to Berlin

pil·grim? We ﬂip through books to look at architecture. We admire graphics, the 2-D re-presentations of forms and spaces. A genuine investigation can only be done when our bodies move through the architecture.

mem·o·ries? City, as a collective entity of individuals, bears its own memory. Be it triumph or failure, happiness or sorrow, traces of memory can always be visualized in built forms.

sustaining a city in summer 2005, a group of 12 architecture students from both HKU and CUHK began to think about organizing a study tour together. they hope the tour can serve two functions. the ﬁrst is to let architecture students to have a systematic and focused travel scheme so that students can learn more from a foreign architecture. the second is to open an opportunity for students from the two schools share knowledge, experience and visions. after a year of preparation, in summer 2006, a series of activities, including lectures and seminars, were launched to explore the programme topic of “sustaining a city through time and culture”. a 10-day trip to Berlin with guided tour by practicing architects and professors from Germany ended the programme with a successful result. being one of the members of the organizing committee, besides discussing and deﬁning the mission of program, i am also responsible for the production of all graphics and text of all publications.

Sustaining a City......

PRE-TOUR Gathering

Symposium Seminar

TOUR POST-TOUR 10-day

guided trip

to Berlin

Design Charrette

Journal

Exhibition

......through Time and Culture

credits programme title: joint-universities study tour 2006 nature: study tour and campaign, CUHK + HKU location: hong kong + berlin time: summer 2005 - summer 2006 duration: one year no of people: 13 from both HKU and CUHK role: concept + contact + graphics + promotion

025 participatory design campaign: a lunching place on Breamar Hill in collaboration with Cheung Chuk Shan College

a participatory design process as a course requirement by prof. bernard lim, ďŹ nal year students are asked to organize participatory workshops in secondary schools. our team of 6 organized 2 design workshops in my mother-school of cheung chuk shan college in north point, hong kong. we provide the participating students with site plans, site models, tracing paper and modeling materials. we set the design topic to be a lunching place in their neighbourhood on the breamar hill. it is an exciting experience. students presented their ideas precisely and honestly. i understand at that moment that there is another role of architects. it is to listen effective and carefully to what the society needs. cred credi dits ts title:: title progrram: program: natur nature: ature: locat ocation: ion:: time me: duration: durat ion no of peop people: le: role: tutor:: tutor

programme progr amme participat parti cipatory ory design design campaign campaign house participa parti cipatoryy design design campaign campaign br bre bream ar hi h ll, northh point point,, hong hon kon kongg feb - apr app 2007 2 mon mo ths 6 conc pt + graphicss + cont conce con act + prese esentati ntation prof. ro bern bernard a lim ard

GROUP

swimming pool

- Impact of the new building to the existing site

- Natural lighting - Energy saving

- Lack of sports facilities on the hill roof garden

- Shopping after lunch and before lessons

- Topography - The shape of the road surrounding the site

- Other facilities can serve surrounding residents

eating area

- Building materials

- Orientation

GROUP

shopping center

- Circulation of the human and the vehicles - Extension of the existing park

- Natural lighting

- Topography

outdoor eating area

- Energy saving

food store eating area

- Most of the residents in the Braemar Hill own a car

park

- Circulation

- Sea view

pond

- Connection to the upper and lower part of the hill - Access - Trees conservation - Extending of the existing park

eating area

tunnel connecting uphill

outdoor playground

- Drainage system

CREATION

GROUP

SITE RESPONSE

- Users other than the students

- The lunch hour time of the 3 school is not much overlapping - Entertainment after lunch and before lessons

images: models by secondary school students aging from 13 - 16. they simply explained what they want in their lunching place through making simply paper models.

the new clusters: TAMAR development in Central

014

clusters

grouping things in between clusters the concept of stacking and layering has long been in my mind. is it nice that different functions can be grouped together while at the same time keeping their own logics and characters? when the project of the building system integration came, i suggested to my groupmate to try grouping our government departments into clusters and see how kind of structure we will achieve at the end.

photo: workers in a chinese furniture factory stacking the empty drawings in tall piles. we can still see the spaces insdie each drawer.

014 the new clusters: TAMAR development in Central a building complex proposal for the HKSAR government

secondary circul

from concept to real function this design not only require a conceptual development. to fulďŹ ll the requirement of the course, the group needs to integrate well the mechanical system, interior and exterior with the structural system. a new structural system is introduced in the project. all the other three systems (mechanical, interior and exterior) are developed to create the best resonance with the structure. it is a rather complex and comprehensive project. it is a 6-students work. i was playing a crucial role in the group from initiating the concept to production models and drawing. it is a previlege for us to have a group of 6, which allowed us to think deeper and produce more to examine our initiate concept.

credits title:

design the new clusters: TAMAR development in central programme: government ofďŹ ce nature: design assignment from building services class location: central, hong kong time: nov 2006 duration: 10 weeks no of people: 6 role: concept + research + all text + all 3D drawings + presentation tutor: shinya okuda + ronan collins

individual volume

ation

instead of placing our government departments separately ďŹ&#x201A;oor by ďŹ&#x201A;oor in a highrise building, is it possible for us to gather them in clusters according to functions and connections in to individual volumes? is it possible to grant each of the volume 3-dimensional freedom in spatial organization according to their own needs?

014 the new clusters: TAMAR development in central design: nov 2006 in-between clusters

Background Information Central Government Complex and Legistrative Council Complex are to be built in the Tamar site which is the prime civic core in Hong Kong. The project is to create landmarks and focal point in the area, and is the integral part of the civic cooridor from the site to north open space and onto the waterfront promennade. There are many tall buildings located at the south side of the site while the north side is facing the Victoria Harbor.

central government complex

site

legislative council office Basic information 3 Main blocks:

- Central Government Complex - Legislative Council (hall and foyer) - Legislative Council Ofﬁce

Block 1: Central Government Complex Floor distribution: 41 storeys in total, LG1-LG3 for basement G/F for foyer and entrance 1/F- 16/f, 18/f- 31/f for Central government ofﬁces 17/F for mechanical service 31/F- 38/F for Chief Executive Floor height:

4m each for ofﬁces and basement 8m for G/f Interﬂoor space for mechanical service: 1m Floor Area : 46.1m x 46.1m

Block 2: Legislative Council Floor distribution: LG level for legislative council hall(16m high) and supporting facilities G/F level for seating of public and reporters 1/F is reading room of government legislation document for public Floor height:

16m for legislative hall from LG/F to 1/F 4m for LG/F 6m for G/F and 1/F Interﬂoor space for mechanical service: 1m Floor Area : 57.2m x57.2m

Block 3: Legislative Council Office Floor distribution: 10 storeys in total G/F for foyer and entrance 1/F - 10/F for legislative council office Interfloor space for mechanical service: 1m Floor height: 4m each Floor Area : 34m x 34m

legislative council

014 the new clusters: TAMAR develop in central design: nov 2006 in-between clusters

overall design strategy Our original design concept is to create cluster of levels/space in the government building to allow efďŹ cient and direct communication between some close related departments. Pushing in and out of the clusters of space gives a dynamic charcter to the building. For allowing this kind of cluster of space in a building, a cross structural frame formed by columns and beams is invented. Clusters of space can be hung onto the desired levels of the building. Therefore in the ďŹ nal design of the Central Government Each box contains one or two small and closely related departments. Department boxes of close relationship (or under the same bureau) are placed on the same level for convenient communication. Internal circulation is also provided in the box and along vertical boxes.

014 the new clusters: TAMAR development in central design: nov 2006 in-between clusters

concept diagrams Each box acts as an individual element,occupying a quarter of area on each ďŹ&#x201A;oor. Connection between boxes can be achieved horizontally through the primary circulation deďŹ ned by the main structural columns, while vertical connection can be achieved using the secondary circulation,which is the internal staircase in each box.

014 the new clusters: TAMAR develop in central design: nov 2006 in-between clusters

physical model testing the idea of hanging is test by building physical models. the main structure, which refers to the cross-shaped steel framework, is modeled and used to hang volumes of paper boxes. the is result is satisfatory as the paper boxes stay rather stably in the hanging system.

014 the new clusters: TAMAR development in central design: nov 2006 in-between clusters

Structure of the CGC and Legco office We introduce three levels of structure in the overall support system. First Level structure There are totally 20 columns which form the main supporting structure of the building in the shape of a cross. The central supporting unit consists of 4 masts arranged in a ‘+’ shape.Each mast is made up of 4 steel columns with the dimension 1200mmx 1200mm. The arrangement of the masts actually divide the floor into 4 zones. There’s no central column in the middle of the ‘+’ structure. However, four columns are located separately on the corners of the building for supporting the transportable boxes( third level structure). Second level structure The columns in the main supporting structure are connected together by huge steel beams ( 800mm x 800mm in section). The beams are interconnected in the centre of the cross ‘+’ structure so that the position of the columns are fixed stably. Third level structure The secondary beams placed ont eh 800X800 beams are the third level structure of the design. They hold the floor slabs found in the cross circulation area within the main structure. Hanging system The building has adapted a hanging system based on the two previous basic structures (a cross structure with giant beams). From the first level structure, 4 quarters of zones are developed, boxes of space are then being fitted into these zones by means of the hanging system. Hangers are installed on the two perpendicular edges of the floor slab of the room. Boxes of dimension 15m x 15m, which are then hung rigidly onto the high beams supported by the giant columns. One of the fascinating part of the hanging system refers to the transportable component units , the ‘boxes’. The boxes can be free standing on its own with no columns needed for structural issues; as a result a column-free spacious office space( 15m x 15m ) can be created. Structurally flexibility The rigid and strong cross structure enable upward expansion of space by changing the air garden into box like room. This adds flexibility to the function and space of the building.

First Level structure

Second level structure

Third level structure

014 the new clusters: TAMAR develop in central design: nov 2006 in-between clusters

passenger lift core service lift core 1.2m X 1.2m column as the component of the central structural "cross"

4-storey high air garden 500mm sunshading device for the northern facade

1.2 m sunshading device on the south and west facade transparent low-E curtain wall facade with module of 1m X 4m 3m wide mechanical slap serves as secondary corridor for the prefabricated box coloured 15m X 15m prefabricated box as the major ofďŹ ce space and exterior decoration

hanger installed

014 the new clusters: TAMAR development in central design: nov 2006 in-between clusters

photo on this page: colour of the individual interior box contributes directly to the building's facade. photo on the right and opposite page: effect of the sunshading device on the exterior secondary corridor

Exterior (Envelope) Form The envelope is highly transparent. The form is rectangular and behind the envelop of the building, the envelop of the box is exposed. The facades on the four direction are of the same dimension of 46.1m(width) x 162.3m(height). Components The envelope is made up of four main parts: namely the glazed curtain wall, box surface behind the curtain walls, sun-shading devices and the service towers including lifts and staircase. 1. Glazed curtain wall: The glazed curtain walls with louvers functions for keeping the interior out of wind and rain, and shaded from the sun to reduce heat gain and thus air-conditioning gains. The external projection with louvers are angled so as not to obstruct the view downwards from inside the building. The projections also double as it acts as access walkway for window cleaning and routine walkways. The corridor right next to the curtain walls provides a rather open and relaxing space for te users. With the shadows of human activities casting on the glass envelope, the fascade becomes more dynamic and is actually constantly “moving”. 2. Box surface: A facade with layering effect is created with the office boxes separated from the glass envelope with a 3m wide corridor. The box surface can still be seen behind the glazed curtain walls from the outside. 3. Sun-shading device and air garden Three air gardens are created in the Central Government Complex. Each of them are of 4-storey high and located on 11-14/F, 22-25/F and 30-33/F respectively facing to different direction. The dynamic feature of the building is the strengthened as the boxes seem to be pushed in and out within the building. 4. service tower and secondary staircase The toilets and the fire-escape staircase are located at the four ends of the big cross structure . The fire-escape stircase form a clear transparent service tower recognizable from the outside. Other than the main circulation in the common space created by the big crossstructure, secondary internal circulation is made availble vertically between two boxes and /or between levels within the same box by a secondary staircase on the side the boxes.

014 the new clusters: TAMAR develop in central design: nov 2006 in-between clusters

014 the new clusters: TAMAR development in central design: nov 2006 in-between clusters

Interior With the arrangement of masts in a ‘+’ shape, four quarters of zones are developed and two corridors are defined. Horizontally The structural arrangement enables the floor to have 4 quarters of zonings for different departments. The quarter can have different combination, such as one independent box or joined with the other boxes and the in between space can become conferrence room or reception, such kind of sharing spaces. Vertically Each hanging box are connected together by internal staircases. It serves as an internal circulation. Flexibility Because of the 4 quarter zooning, different combination can be formed. On 4th floor, the two department join to have a conference room. On 30/F, there is an air garden facing sea and join with a restaurant. Structural and Mechanical Integration The sixteen columns with cross structural arrangement (10mx 46m) create a central core area, which is used for locating the mechanical services. The six passenger lifts, four service lifts, the toilet, the airhandling unit and the two fireescape staircases are all positioned in the cross area. The column s and beams are used as aligning elements for the positing of the meachanical elements. However, since all lifts have to pass through all the floors, their position are set back from the beam and columns so that they the beam will not hinder the lifts from moving upwards.

3/F

014 the new clusters: TAMAR develop in central design: nov 2006 in-between clusters

10m

fire escape staircase

service lift

beam

column

ahu

10m

ahu toilet

passenger lift

service lift

fire escape staircase

4/F

30/F

structure and service

OFFICE GARDEN SERVICE SPACE

toilet

46m

022 a museum for the exhibition of “A Lot of People!!” 023 museum of unlimited growth by Le Corbusier

growth and buildings

interesting expansion in between growth and buildings professor thomas chung's course opened in spring 2007 was about the inďŹ&#x201A;ucence of le corbusier on japanese architecture. i was assigned to do case studies on an unbuilt project by le corbusier and several projects by the japanese master mayekawa. professor chung granted us the greatest freedom to choose our study theme and presentation format. i began my interesting journey of my exploration of growth and buildings. in another course taught by professor frank vigneron of the ďŹ ne art department, i took the idea of growth from le corbusier and designed a museum which could also "grow". it is a theme-speciďŹ c museum for chinese paintings in the 20th century.

images: spiral shell diagram by corbu and the 1:200 model of the museum of unlimited growth

022 museum of unlimited growth by Le Corbusier a reconstruction of the never-built project

a building that “grows”

credits case study title: museum of unlimited growth by le corbusier nature: case study location: never built time: march 2007 duration: 4 week no of people: 2 role: textual research + text + all diagrams/ drawings + models tutor: prof. thomas chung

Museum of Unlmited Growth (1939) was designed by Le Corbusier as the second project of his series of square spiral projects. the ﬁrst project of the series is the Mundaneum (1931), which designed to host all knowledges of the world. the idea behind this project series was to formulate a solution to construct an extendable building with modularized components. however, both the project of Mundaneum and Museum of Unlimited Growth were not realized. working with very limited information sources, the study group reconstructed the unbuilt project. we reconstructed the roof system, the circulation system and the internal partition system. the components of a module of the whole was also re-formulated. it is actually both a case study and a design project. it was a group project done by 3 students. computer model, 1:200 and 1:100 physical models were built for this case study.

can a building grow? and how? and why?

022 museum of unlimited growth by le corbusier case study: mar 2007 in-between growth and buildings

image: Computer model showing the relationship attachment of the modularized units.

022 museum of unlimited growth by le corbusier case study: mar 2007 in-between growth and buildings

0.0 Background

0.1 Interest in “growth”

0.2 Formal Concept - Machine and/ vs Nature

0.3 Idea of Operation

The concept of “growth”, “progress” or “extension” was the chief notion of the “modern” era. As the pioneer of “modern” architecture, Le Corbusier had long been considering incorporation the idea of “growth” into architecture. Once he wrote: “the problem of extension of builidings is a task of our time, for which, until now, no solution has been found.” The first chance for him to accomplish a design of a piece of “architecture of growth” came in 1928, when Paul Otlet launched a study of the Mundaneum. Paul Otlet was the philosopher and, at the same time, the office of the International Bibliographical Institue. The project of the Mundaneum was actually the ambition of the Institute which aimed at collecting all pieces of knowledge available worldwide and gathering them at the World Museum, the central museum for the project. Paul Otlet’s commission triggered Le Corbusier’s development of a piece of extendable architecture. Though the World Museum of the Mundaneum project remains unbuilt, parallel to several other Le Corbusier’s innovative concept, the idea behind the extendable architecture was given revisions in various occasions throughout the architect’s life. The four unbuilt projects with the same concept behind: World Museum, Mundaneum (La Cite Mondiale), 1929 Museum of Contemporary Art in Paris, 1931 Museum of Unlimited Growth, 1939 International Center of Art, Erlenbach, 1963 After 10 years of the concept of growth first emerged, the Museum of Unlimited Growth served as another unbuilt study of how to materialize the idea. Compare to the first project of the World Museum, the project of Unlimited Growth presented a more comprehensive study on structure and spatial arrangement. The idea of prefabrication was also implanted to ensure the feasibility of the proposal.

steel framework

The concept of the formal presentation came in various sources, but all of them brought the architect inspirations of tackle the key challenge of the project: how to pursuit the balance between machine and nature and achieve a “buildable growth” for a piece of architecture. On Growth and Form From the book On Growth and Form by D’Arcy Thompson, Le Corbusier learnt about the description of growth and transformation in nature in mathematical terms. To a certain extent these mathematical descriptions may provide hints to the builder how the seemingly irregular pattern of growth could be translated to something more traceable, re-presentable and ultimately “modularizable”. Spiral in Nature The choice of spiral to re-present and materialize the idea of growth had many layers of metaphorical and functional meanings to the architect. Firstly and metamorphically, the form of spiral, which resemble the growth pattern of trees, shells and other creatures in the Nature, was regarded as a symbol of growth by the architect. A quote from the Oeuvre complete: “… the spiral has been seen to stand for the architect’s interest in the symbolism of nature and patterns of growth and archetypal form…” (Oeuvre complete) Spiral in Machine The form of the spiral itself embedded the potential of locating a permanent center and extending the mass unlimitedly. The fact that the architect located the entrance of the museum at the center of the spiral, on one hand, created a fixed starting point of the journey and, on the other hand, implied a possible unlimited growth of the space without altering the starting point. The choice of the spiral form allowed the architect’s further development of the project into a pure modularized system. Square The labyrinth of the space was created based on the form of a square, which was the form meaning purity and perfect to the architect.

Growth by donation - the nucleus and the addtions The idea of operation behind the series of the extendable museums was basically the same. The museums will only starts with a small nucleus, where the double height central hall is located. Donation of paintings will go with the donation of a structural modular unit which will be attached to the nucleus. Under this system the museum will gradually grow and be extended unlimited. Prefabrication The concept of “growth by donation” was made possible when the architect was capable of designing the entire structure as a prefabricted and modularized system.

1.0 Structure Prefabricable, complete standardized and modularized are key concerns for the structural deisgn of the museum.

1.1 Structural Module Each modular element is of a dimension of 21ft. 6 wide and 13ft. 9 high (6.5m X 4.2m). A standardized packgage of each module includes structural elements: - one column - two sets of beams - one flooring element - one ceiling element - one illumination element for the day (horizontal ceiling striped openings) - one illumination element for the night (ceilling panel with lighting fixtures)

1.2 Structural layers From our study we estimated that there are five structural layers: structural lattice, floor panels, ceilling grid, night-illumination panels and roof panels.

Golden Section According to the Oeuvre complete, the totality of the building is laid out according to the Golden Section, which permits an unlimited number of harmonious combinations. This principal works with the implantation of squares which formed the underlying grid system that structured the entire building.

ﬂoor panels

ceiling support

ceiling panels

roof

An estimated overall view of the Museum showing the composition of modules that continues the unlimited growth.

022 museum of unlimited growth by le corbusier case study: mar 2007 in-between growth and buildings

illumination element for o the day ceiling ele element illumina lumin tion element ment for the night night

ďŹ&#x201A;ooring element ement beams eams column

1:100 model view showing the lighting effect of the interior space. The day-illuminating device works to allow sunlight to enter the exhibition space

An estimated axonometric diagram of a structural module.

022 museum of unlimited growth by le corbusier case study: mar 2007 in-between growth and buildings

2.0 Space The journey of the museum is designated to begin by first passing through a grid of pilotis and arriving at the main hall in the center at ground level. Then by walking up the ramps to elevate one’s self to the House of masterpieces -- the square spiral. The circulation within the spiral is a discontinue flow where walls are flexibly arranged to lead visitors to different masterpieces in the museum. Means of orienting one’s self are articulated by the rooms at half-height which form a “swatiska”. Everytime a visitor, in the course of his wanderings, finds himself under a lowered ceiling he will see, on one side, an exit to the garden, and on the opposite side, the way to the central hall. 2

2.1 Spatial partitions The sturcture enables free plan and free facade of the museum. Panels are made to be movable or disposable to provide a wealth of combination that are necessary for the proper organization of a museum. Occasional interruptions along the walls can: allow communications between the different rooms, open out on to new perspectives, allow a great number of different room arrangements to acommodate different exhibits. 1

2.2 Light The lighting of the museum is considered for both day and night situations. Day-illumintaions of the museum is provided by the design of stripes openings to give indirect sunlight on the walls encompassing the square spiral. While night illumination is provided by lighting fixtures on the ceilling panels.

photos from left to right: 1. 1:200 model view looking the transition from the central hall on the ground level to the main exhibition space on the second level. 2. 1:100 model view showing part of the roof design of the museum 3. 1:200 model view looking at the exit path of the museum

022 museum of unlimited growth by le corbusier case study: mar 2007 in-between growth and buildings

2.0 Space 2.3 Plan and section

Top left: 1:500 ground floor plan showing the entrance situation. Visitors first experience a space of pilotis and then enter the central hall. A ramp is designed to bring up visitors to the main exhibition hall. Top right: 1:500 floor plan of the main exhibition space. Partitions are drawn according to Le Corbusierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s study model. The arrangement of the partitions follow an independent system from the grid structure of the columns. This allow variable spatial arrangements for different occasions. The existence of the two rows of half-height rooms are designed to provide sense of orientation to the visitors wandering around this labyrinth. Bottom right: 1:500 section illustrating the ceiling structure, the height of the main space and the space under the pilotis.

022 museum of unlimited growth by le corbusier case study: mar 2007 in-between growth and buildings

3.0 Resonance of Le Corbusier’s architecture ideals

3.0 Resonance of Le Corbusier’s architecture ideals 3.2 Square

After the experiences of his series of villas in the 1920s and the ground-breaking assemble of his previous inspirations in Villa Savoye in 1931, when Le Corbusier came back to his design of a museum of unlimited extension, he consciously applied his achievements to the project of Museum of Unlimited Growth in 1939.

3.1 “Five Points of New Architecture” Le Corcusier demonstrated his Five Points of New Architecture, which were formulated in 1926, in this museum project.

Le Corbusier’s love of square is celebrated in the project of Villa Savoye. The symbol of symmetry, perfection and harmony is once again applied to the project series of museum of unlimited extension.

3.3 Promenade The architect’s close consideration of designing with different view points and the experience of promenade is also reflected in this Museum project. The unique experience of being inside a labyrinth in the museum is facilitated by the subtle introduction of the half-height rooms which orientates visitors.

Pilotis The museum void is elevated from the ground to expose the entrance of the center hall. The pilotis freed up the ground plan of the building and created a gesture to absorb visitors from all 4 sides of the building. Free plan The structural frame allows non-load-bearing walls to act purely as space organizer. Unlike the manifestations in Le Corbusier’s earlier works, such as villas, the programes are more complicated that have walls assigned with different meanings. Museum, in this case, has greatly manifested the ideal of free plan with the pure purpose of achieving a path for visitors to enjoy moving or staying around the exhibits. Free facade Free facade in Le Corbuiser’s works can be seen as full height glass panels or stripes windows. “Free” is a term that describe the freedom of designing the face of a building at design stage. However, in this Museum, “free” is literally the act that take off the outer walls at the time when further extension of the museum is wanted. These facade panels are believed to have properties of climatic borders, and with certain type of fixtures that can be put back onto the outest square of columns of the structural module once the extension of the Museum is completed.

top left: Free plan is achieved by mounting wall partitions onto the structural columns to give proper spatial organization for museum exhibits. top right: Panels, which are made as climatic borders, are designed to be attached onto the outest wall as the facade panels. bottom: The entrance of the central hall lies at the center of the pilotis.

022 museum of unlimited growth by le corbusier case study: mar 2007 in-between growth and buildings

4.0 Interpretation 4.1 The ORGANIC growth The Free Plan: extension of modular structure/ unlimited spatial partition The columns, beams, floorings, ceiling support, ceiling panels and roof sunlighting devices are all modularized. However, this highly modularized system does not create a monotonous spatial experience as there is an independent partition system, where is free standing, superimposed to these structures. This design allowed the Museum of Unlimited Growth provides a lot of spatial variations within the very definited structure. The growth of the interior space becomes an organic process.

structure

space

Above: Diagram showing how the structure and the interior space grow in two directions. The structure grows as an addition of modules, which is fixed in orientation and dimension; while the interior space grows with the variations created by the freestanding partitions, creating different spatial experience.

022 museum of unlimited growth by le corbusier case study: mar 2007 in-between growth and buildings

4.0 Interpretation 4.2 The Module vs the Free The Free Plan: extension of modular structure/ unlimited spatial partition

columns

beams

flooring

partitions

ceiling support

ceiling panels

modular

free

modular

Above: Series of diagram showing every level of structural elements.

roof

modular

ground pattern

modular

023 a museum for the exhibition of “A Lot of People!!” a study of people in the 20th century chinese paintings

from to

curating an exhibition designing the theme-speciﬁc museum in the course of “chinese paintings in the 20th century” taught by professor frank vigneron of the ﬁne art department, students are asked to curate a virtual exhibition with a theme formulated by the students themselves and to design the spatial layout of the exhibition either in an existing museum or in an museum space designed by the student. i was interested in looking at the changes in the depiction of “people” in the 20th century chinese painting. the museum is, therefore, designed to be composed of simple modules which are arranged in correspondence to the curve of the population change of china in the 20th century. visitors of the museum can physically experience the rise and fall of the chinese population in the 20th century by walking through the landscaped museum. the name of my virtual exhibition is “a lot of people”. when time goes, new modules can be added to the museum following the population curve to make the museum “grows” with time.

a lot of people!!

exhibition of chinese arts in the 20th century

credits design title: a museum for the exhibition "a lot of people" programme: art museum that grows nature: design assignment from a ﬁne art course location: non-site-speciﬁc time: may 2007 duration: 4 days no of people: 1 tutor: prof. frank vigneron

1,295 million

population curve of china in the 20th century

467 million

583 million

1900

1950

1,600 million

1990 2000

2050

future extension section of the museum showing modules and vertical circulation

tour direction future extension

elevation of the museum

023 a museum for the exhibition “a lot of people” design: may 2007 in-between growth and buildings

A LOT OF PEOPLE!! Drawing the masses

Masses and society

China is the country with the highest population in the world, most of people living in china are working class with average income. Under the urban context, they form cities with vast population. Under the rural context, they provide endless working force for the Chinese-style low-tech farming. People in china come in mass. Masses is everywhere in the country.

I believe depictions of masses of people are highly related to the social situations. The relations are of two folds. Firstly, the form of masses itself is already a product of a society. Is it a mass of working class, higher class, or even royal class? What are the mass of people trying to do? How do they look? Merely the depiction of all the above mention is the record of a particular social situation.

However, in the art world of china, masses of people, though they always presents in all part of the country, are not frequently depicted. Before the downfall of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese paintings are dominated by the literati thoughts which the act of painting is mostly done for expression the internal passion of the painters. Mountains, bamboos, and flowers are the usual themes to carry the poetic thoughts of the literati. Depiction of lives of the general masses is definition not advocated. After the downfall of the Qing Dynasty, China starts its urbanization and modernization process with the “help” from colonizers from all over the world. Cities started to grow in size and urbanscapes started to develop. Western thoughts are imported. Intentions of doing art changed. City, city dwellers and city scene began to appear in Chinese artworks in early 20th century. Starting from artists like Feng Zikai and Jiang Zhaohe, lives of the general public were recorded through different media, from Chinese ink to Western oil painting to photography.

Secondly, the way the artist depicts the masses can somehow reflects the ideology embedded in the artist’s mind. The framing of the picture, the use of colour, the focus of the issues, and many other factors enable us to trace and reconstruct the thoughts hided by the artist, and further, the society.

Theme Thus, this aim of the exhibition is to lead visitors to think what was happening in the 20th China through the presentation of a series of depictions of the Chinese masses.

individual portraits are easily to be used as expression of a particular artistic style. Mass of people is the focus. People are everywhere in this exhibition.

The Exhibition Space and Exhibition Theme If the task assigned is to curate an art exhibition, the first thing comes to my mind is how the venue will be designed. Reading Gu Zhenqing’s article “Stuffing as a Form” (p.5, To Each His Own, 2006) discloses the fact that the concept, or the identity, of art museums is fading out. The main reason is that in the contemporary art world, almost all spaces, no matter public or private, can be interpreted as an exhibition space through the curator’s intervention. Intriguingly, as a response to this proliferation of “new” exhibition spaces, in order to re-establish its functional identity, art museums start to open its door as wide as possible to promote itself to the generation public. According to Gu, such an reaction ironically speeds up the diffusion of museum’s identity. (p.6, To Each His Own, 2006)

Selection of works The exhibition will collect the figurative depiction of Chinese in the 20th century. Most of the artworks selected are depictions of a group of Chinese people. Portraits of single individuals are to be avoided in this exhibition as much as possible, since, on one hand, the focus of this exhibition is to illustrate how Chinese artists depict the masses of China, and, on the other hand,

In light of this, this exercise is aimed at designing an exhibition space, or a museum in a bigger sense, as specific to its theme as possible so as to grant it with a solid and undeniable identity. On the other hand, this exhibition space is also designed as publicly-welcomed space which tends to destroy the boundary between art and life of the public.

023 a museum for the exhibition “a lot of people” design: may 2007 in-between growth and buildings

Brief history on Chinese population growth in the 20th century

The Exhibition building

1900: 1913: 1945: 1946 – 1949: 1953: 1960: 1959 – 1962:

The design of the place hosting this exhibition of “A LOT OF PEOPLE” is aimed to let the visitors to experience in the changes of, firstly, Chinese population, and secondly, depiction of the population in the 20th century.

1991: 2000: 2010: 2050:

population size: 467 million civil war between KMT and Yuan Shikai, 11 million die World War II caused 20 million Chinese died Civil War between CCP and KMT caused 1.2 million people died population size: 583 million population size: 600 million famine due to by Great Leap Forward, 30 million died, population decreased by 4.5% population size: 1,143 million population size: 1, 295 million projected population size: 1,400 million projected population size: 1,600 million

1,295 million population curve of china in the 20th century

467 million

583 million

1900

1950

section of the museum showing modules and vertical circulation

tour direction

elevation of the museum

1990 2000

1,600 million

2050

Basically the design is a passage taking the form of the population curve of China. The rise in population will result in an up-stair movement of the visitors. The fall in population will result in a down-stair movement of the visitors. For instance, after the Great Leap Forward movement, the great famine killed 30 million people all over China. Such a downfall in population is translated into a downward staircase in the hall of 1960s. The wider the depiction approaches developed in a particular will result in a widen exhibition space. For example the Hall of 1940s is much wider than many other halls due to the active development in visions and skills in drawing the masses in the 40s. The components of the building are modularized. They are all cubes of sized 8m X 8m X 8m. Extension of the exhibition building is possible when additional cubes are added to the building. Say if the population growth of China follows the projected trend which is to reach 1,600 millions in 2050, then the exhibition building can extend itself to that particular height by aggregating addition cubes.

023 a museum for the exhibition â&#x20AC;&#x153;a lot of peopleâ&#x20AC;? design: may 2007 in-between growth and buildings

1950 hall

19th century

1960 hall

1970 hall 1980 hall 1990 hall 2000 hall

1990s

perspective of the entire building, the form can be expanded according to time and increase in exhibits

basic module b ba h cen ent ent ntu ury ry h ry

1900 hall 1910 hall 1920 hall 1930 hall

1940 hall

023 a museum for the exhibition “a lot of people” design: may 2007 in-between growth and buildings

19th Century Hall

1900s Hall, 1910s Hall, 1920s Hall

1930s Hall

exploitation of peasants were the key social problems. Jiang Feng’s Disputing with the Landlord was among the first of its kind to genuinely depict the social conflict between different social classes. Unlike the leisure class depicted in the 19th century paintings, being halfdocumentary and half-self-expression, Disputing with the Landlord had suggested another kind aesthetic value through the depiction of the “real” reality. Hu Yichuan’s To the Front! explored another direction of the possibility of woodprints, which, as suggested above, is to spread political thoughts vastly to the public. To the Front! approved and appreciated the courage to fight against the enemies, most-likely are the landlords.

The leisure dwellers There is actually no “mass” of people being depicted in literati paintings in the 19th century. Places for gathering are mostly internal environment like private gardens, private rooms and backyards. The subject matter of these painters are all to depict the lives of the educated enjoying their leisure through participant “classy” activities like playing chess and music instruments. There is a great distance between the people depicted and the ordinary public, who are mostly living in tight conditions.

1900s – 1920s Import of Western thoughts: realistic depiction of Nature

1930 – 40 Mass as expressions and descriptions

The inﬂux of Western thoughts pushed artist to re-think the position of tradition Chinese literati art. At the moment when the master Qi Baishi kept producing his unique sweet Chinese painting in his casual style, the group of artists like Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng and Chen Shuren were translating what they learnt from the Western Impressionism into a new style of the Chinese ink painting. These artists aimed at re-energizing Chinese painting by emphasizing the basis of sketching: the inspiration of painting should come from careful sketches of the Nature but not from imitating former masters’ works. Skills of rendering texture and light have been emphasized to create visual depths that are not supposed to be seen in tradition Chinese literati painting.

Western artistic current was strongly influencing Chinese artists in the 1930s. Artists like Liu Haisu and Lin Fengmian took the chance to study in Europe in the 1920s and began their teaching career in China in the 1930s. They brought back the latest artistic current to China. For instance, one can easier read the influence of late Impressionism in Liu Haisu’s works and the influence of Germen Expressionism in Lin Fengmian’s work. 1930s was the period of time Chinese artists took the chance to experiment various Western artistic currents through portraits, landscape paintings, and even abstract paintings. It is a period of self-exploration.

Artists in these three decades contributed to the promotion of sketching and observation of the Nature, which increased the “realness” of Chinese paintings. Although at that moment the artists had not directly study the subject matter of city or social issues, their attitude of depicting the real objects serve as the preparation of the realism artworks emerged in the 1930s. Ren Yi (Ren Bonian; 1840-1895), Album of Figures, Flowers, and Birds, 1881-1882, Eight leaves from an album of twelve leaves, ink and color on paper; each leaf 31.5 x 36 cm, Palace Museum, Beijing.

There are no particular exhibits of depicting the mass in the 1900s-, 1910s- and 1920s-Halls. These three halls remain as the passage for the exhibition.

However, the real care about social issues was suggested by the import of Expressionist’s woodprints. Being able to be reproduced unlimitedly and bearing strong visual contrast, woodprint is the most efﬁcient medium to spread political thoughts. When the Chinese artists of 1930s adopted the ideology and technique of woodprint under the context of China, they suggested a new path of expression to the next generation. It opened the door for the rich depiction of masses in the 1940s. Woodprints - the beginning of the real depiction of the masses Under the government of KMT, corruption and

The rebellious thoughts suppressed in Chinese artists’ minds may be best represented by Li Hua’s Roar, China!. A man being tied to a load of wood with his eyes covered by a piece of cloth is roaring to the top of his lung and struggling so hardly against the tightened ropes. The lines of the woodprint are so expressionistic that viewers can almost feel the tension and the pain the man experiencing. It is definitely a strong rebellious action against the contemporary KMT China. Mastering the skills of accurately depicting human figures brings Jiang Zhaohe a different type of title from that of Li Hua. In late 1930s Jiang drew Rickshaw Boy (1937) and Like Ah Q (1938). Rickshaw Boy is a realistic depiction of the working class, which were not suppose to be captured by artist in the old tradition. Like Ah Q presented as a semi-realistic drawing that there is no clue provided to the viewer if the character is a real figure the painter saw on the street. It delivered a big question mark to the viewers and to the reality ruled under the KMT government.

Jiang Feng (1910-1983), Disputing with the Landlord (1931), woodcut.

023 a museum for the exhibition “a lot of people” design: may 2007 in-between growth and buildings

Mass as anti-mass illusions

1940s Hall

1950s Hall

The 1940s Hall is extended to be 40-meter long to host Jian Zhaohe’s 27m long master piece Refugees.

Mass as promotion

Two wars happened on the land of China during the 1940s. The ﬁrst one is of course the invasion of Japanese, which triggered a vast number of refugees ﬂeeing around China to look for a safe place to settle. Jiang Zhaohe’s masterpiece of Refugees is created in this period of time.

After the CCP seized the sovereignty of China in 1949, the polity party controlled straightly the country’s artistic activities following Mao’s Talks at Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art in 1942. What he believed was the art should be used to serve politics, but not be used as personal expressions. The aim of art is to facilitate the “red” revolution. All art institutes are controlled and ﬁnancially supported by the government after 1949. The only way to participant in art is to attached one’s self to the government art institute. Selfinitiating art became almost impossible in under the CCP’s regime. Individual identities of artists vanished.

The second war in the 1940s was the Civil War between the CCP and the KMT. Depictions of masses were almost all about ﬁghting, ﬂeeing and refugees. The depiction of masses by Feng Zikai brought sweetness to the bitter moments of the decades. City scene was the artist’s central concern. His observations on the general mass’ lives widened the sources of inspiration of the artists in the next generation.

Named “revolutionary realism”, the artistic style under the CCP is mis-use of the realism approach imported from the Western in the earlier decades. Masses of people became the main theme of CCP art, as Mao believed that ruling power came only from the support of the masses. To get the masses support to educate the masses by all means – for instance to intensively and overwhelmingly produce images of the happy masses of people enjoying the governance of CCP. The depiction of masses turned into a device of promotion of the ideology and constructed reality of the CCP. From the ﬁrst day the CCP ruled China, there had been a non-stop series of political movements. To promote the political messages, clear, ﬁgurative and narrative drawings are the key to transmit message to the generally low-educated masses of China.

Jiang Zhaohe (1904-1986), Refugees, handscroll, (details)

1960s Hall

When visitors follow the landscape of the exhibition building to walk down from the 1950s Hall to the 1960s Hall, they are actually experiencing the shrink of Chinese population due to a serious famine caused by the ne polit politica olititical ica movement of Great Leap Forward. 30 millions of Ch C inese neese died out of hunger. However, the revolutionaryy realis realism ealis alism painting pai pa p nt nt does not represent the reality of hu r.r Instead hung hun hunge Instead tead,, w tead what the visitors see in front of them iss a poste post osterr pub publish lish ished in 1964 depicting President Mao sharing shari ing the the joy oy of o harvest with peasants. In view ew of this h the posters published by PRC are ddevicess to construct an unreal reality, which is not accepted by the general masses. Another function of posters is to create social agenda, which, again, is not developed by the masses of people but is imposed by the government. The poster “Scenes of anti-American feelings along the Huangpu river in Shanghai” is published in 1961, while most of the country is in serious food crsis. However, the agenda suggested a political issue which illustrated thousands of people demonstration in the streets. Simply, the issue carried out by the poster is not of the top concern of the general public. They just want food. The imposition of political issue by the government is merely to distract the people to discuss the poor ruling by the PRC.

1960

023 a museum for the exhibition “a lot of people” design: may 2007 in-between growth and buildings

Scenes of anti-American feelings along the Huangpu river in Shanghai, 1961.

Uncle Lei Feng tells us stories from the revolution, 1965.

Hou Yimin (b. 1930), Liu Shaoqi and tne Anyan Coal Miners, 1961 (1979 version; original destroyed ca. 1968), oil on canvas; 162 x 333 cm, Museum of the Chinese Revolution, Beijing. Our heart beats with Chairman Mao’s, 1964.

023 a museum for the exhibition “a lot of people” design: may 2007 in-between growth and buildings

1970s Hall

1980s Hall

1980s are posting or answering the most fundamental questions of life, beliefs and culture. Art is almost dominated by metaphysical thoughts. The care of mass seems to return to artists’ minds when Fang Lijun starts his “bold-men series” which depicts the gestures of ordinary people in China in the late 1980s. Thus, there will only be two works of human depiction exhibits in the 1980s Hall.

Mass as big fans The 1970s Hall occupies 3 modules as there is a vast number of political posters produced for the Cultural Revolution. The framing of all political posters shares one thing in common: the composition of all poseters are wellstudied with a clear focal point to attact audiences. Comparing to the depictions of masses done in the 1990s, which bear casual or even accidental framing of views, the posters of PRC presented themselves almost like artiﬁcial settings that decreases its sense of reality. and of course, all the people depicted in the paintings are all big fans of president mao as all of them are strong propagandas.

Let’s follow Chairman Man and we will be victorious, 1971.

Mass disappeared: Art as self actualization It is very hard to ﬁnd a depiction of mass of people in the book of A History of Chinese Modern Art: 1979 – 1989 (Lu Peng, 1991). The intention of bringing the image of the mass public into artworks seems to be forgotten after the intense production of posters of the masses in the 1970s. Most of the artworks produced in the 1980s are in the form of single object, stylized portraits, or other concept graphical experiments using different mediums. The re-opening of universities in China brought in art thoughts from the West. Artistic experiments of all kinds happened in the West in the entire 20th century is re-performed in the particular 10 years in 1980s. The majority of critical artworks came from the Stars group comprising characters like Ai Weiwei, Wang Keping and Ma Desheng. They were experiencing the most dramatic liberation of minds. They take art as personal development and self-actualization. They use art to question their culture, identity and even their language. Every single artist has almost formulated their own system of logic through their production of work. The images of masses are still on the queue to enter the artists’ minds. There are too many clashes of thoughts bombarded together after the re-opening of China in the early 1980s. Works of Ai Weiwei, for example Shoes and Qing funitures, are all posting questions to challenge our self-preconceptions. Works of Xu Bing highlighted the absurdity of our total belief in languages. Almost every single artist in the

to the interesting city masses of people. Consumerism, imported gender concepts, social inequalities and many other concepts are emerging in the new China with strong economic potentials. The lives and suffering of the lower class, or the general masses of people, are still , as what happened in the 1940s, the central concern of the artists. However, unlike their former generations, artists in the 1990s are not going to depict those sufferings directly as what Jiang Zhaohe did in “Refugees”, or to express the rebellious mind as expressive as Li Hua did in “Roar, China!”. Rather, the 1990s artists put all those issues in an ambivalent way which they never directly tell the audience what pain means or what sufferings refer to. Distortions of facial expressions, exaggerations of body parts, overlapping of constructed-scenes and real scenes are all means adopted by the 1990s artists to interpret the social situation. Visitors have walked almost to the highest point of the building, which menas that they are reaching the highest population of China. They are also going to the widest part of the building, which means they are entering the most diversiﬁed atmospheres of thoughts and presentation.

Fang Lijun, <Sketch No. 2> 1989 54 X 78cm

Future expansion of the exhibition building is designed to be possible by the addition of modules. The more diversiﬁed the thoughts are, the wider the building will be, and the larger area the building will cover.

1990s Hall

Mass as interpretations In the 1990s, the care of masses returns to the artists’ minds. Having the almost metaphysical thought training in 1980s, the enriched minds re-zoomed their focus

Fang Lijun (1963-), Group Two No. 5, 1992, oil on canvas, 200 x 200 cm.

023 a museum for the exhibition â&#x20AC;&#x153;a lot of peopleâ&#x20AC;? design: may 2007 in-between growth and buildings

017 a housing development in Macau 018 a urban study in Sai Ying Pun 026 urban context in Macau

urban and individuals

the collective individuals in between urban and individuals does the study of "urbanization" only mean to do endless mappings on the 2-dimensional plans? to me, the most fantastic issues of urban is the interaction between the urban context and the individuals. they are interlocked and mutually sustaining. none of them can stand alone. there is a chance for me to look at both the urban contexts and the individual contexts in the following projects.

photo: it is not a picture frame framing a picture of a building facade. instead, it is a mirror hanged in a restaurant in mong kok, kowloon, where is one of the busiest district in hong kong. under the ulra-high building density, this mirror brings the view of the opposite building into the interior of the restaurant, it becomes a moving picture. it becomes a mediator between the urban context and the individual living.

017 urban context in Macau studio project, urbanization studio 2006

credits cred title:: title nature: natur e: location: locat ion: time: duration: durat ion: no of peop people: le: tutor:: tutor

case study u urb cont urban ontext ext in in Macau Macau stud o project, studi project, urbanizat urbanization ion studio s udio Macau oct 2006 2006 4 weeks weeks 122 / 4 / 1 prof. hendrik prof hend ik tieben tieben

a growing old man macau has a long history as an “out-going” port city of china. after the permission of the inﬂow of foreign gambling giants, this old chinese-portugese city is experiencing her fasting economic bloom. the central part of the city of macau is going to change dramatically with the erection of hundreds of new casino/ hotel developments, which every single one of them is determined to be iconic to capture media attention. instead of looking into the city center, the studio looks off-center and would like to capture the present/ fading “original” macau urban proﬁle of its northwestern part.

images: bottom: an deterioating brick wall in the urban heart of the north macau peninsula. top: a collective study of a north macau district by 12 people

017 urban context in Macau case study: sep 2006 in-between urban and individual

works by a sub-group of 4 this page: plan of individual typology opposite page: section and facade study

017 urban context in Macau case study: sep 2006 in-between urban and individual

development sequence following the path of the reclaimation development, i selected 4 areas with the area of 100m X 100m from the inner zone to the outer zone of the site as the frames of study. this study is used as a tool for me to understand the ďŹ bre of the area.

individual study by Wing Yun individaul a develop study of typology evolution of urban context

017 urban context in Macau case study: sep 2006 in-between urban and individual

018 a housing development in Macau school project, urbanization studio 2006

credits title: nature: location: time: duration: no of people: tutor:

design a housing development in Macau school project, urbanization studio Macau nov 2006 6 weeks 1 prof. hendrik tieben

imag image magg : m v iew view ew w fro ffrom rom om m the hhee c oorner orr ne ner er stre s tre ett loo oking ok oki okin at t hee ffl oatin oatt g m mas ma s coover cover overin iing n an op oopen spa sppace ce fo f r thhe he com comm community om uunity omm ity ty. su sunlight liggh pene ligh enetrat trrates trate trates too th the gro gr uund nd throug throug hroug hrou oug ugh the he void v ids iinn the hhee buildi ui ng. uild ng. ng g

beyond gambling - macau as a place for living the school project of the urbanization studio is the extension of the studio project and is a design project of a housing development located in the north-western part of the macau peninsula. having a thorough study on this highly densely populated region in macau, the project aimed to explore a solution to deal with the ultra-high density of this aging coastal area of the city. starting from a transformation of the “macau-style” typology of “light-welled” highrises in the area, the project ended at this moment at a building complex ﬁlling up almost the entire volume of the site. But still, it allows maximum street activities to maintain a high sense of community by leaving the ground level almost totally open.

housing typology

footprint

determine / facilitate determine / facilitate

apartments for private

urban space

gardens for public

can housing typology be beneďŹ cial to urban space? can urban space be beneďŹ cial to housing typology?

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

early models for studying one single mass (1:200)

ďŹ nal model (1:200)

early models for studying stripping the site (1:200) early trials of individual massings (1:500) individual apartment units (1:200)

apartment divisions (1:200)

early models for studying one single mass (1:500)

acrylic models for testing solid and voild (1:500)

early models for studying stripping the site (1:500)

process

a new typology

to due with the complexity of this large scale housing project, a lot of design mediums are used. physical modeling the main tool to design the massing for the site. together with computer 3-D modeling, a lot of tests are done in the early stage of the design. other media used include sketches and measured drawings.

there is also a strong will of developing a new typology of housing for the site. the exisitng and prevailing typology is highrise with deep light-wells. during the design process, effort has been put in studying the possibility of improving the living condition in the dense site by introducing a new typology of housing.

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

an extreme inďŹ ll site the selected site for the urbanization studio school project is an inďŹ ll site in the area called Patane in the north-western part of the Macao peninsula. it is a relative poor district with a lot of slum-like residential blocks and old industrial buildings. going a little north from this area is the reclaimation area which will be developed into a new district in the near future. this area of this inďŹ ll site is about 3,000 sq meters.

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

north-south to the north of the site is the new development on a piece of big reclaimation land. buildings are big but hardly contain any life as vibrant as what contained in the old district. to the south of the site is the old district with very “exposed” lives: buildings are small and many activities are happened on streets rather than inside podiums. a big pak is located 50 meters away from the site.

east-west the widest main road of Patane is the major traffic access to the site. most of the public transport runs along this road. to the south of this main road there are several narrow paths connecting the east and the west of the site. walking and motor-cycling becomes the major traffic means when we get more close to the big park. the built fibres are so small that vehicles can hardly get through.

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

ďŹ bre? a quick diagrammatic study of the extensions of the existing urban ďŹ bres cutting through the site. looking for new relationships for putting the massing into the site.

p in Macau design: nov 2006 018 a housingg development in-between urban and individual

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018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

Crowding g: A mottiv vat a io on st stat ate at e arou ou use s d throug ug gh the in nte era ract ctio ion io on of spa ati t al al,, so s ci c al and d pe pers erssonall fac a to torrss

one mass ďŹ lling up the entire site

Dens nssitty: y The e amo oun nt of of spa ace ce available for each individual in a de d e efin ned ed area

the imaginary mass - the extreme condition as no solution was concluded in the previous trials, a reserve thinking is introduced. to push the highly densed inďŹ ll site condition to the extreme, i imaged the entire building complex as one single built form that ďŹ ll up every space in the site. it becomes the most extreme condition of density. the question now becomes: what i should take away from this giant mass to create GOOD urban and living condition?

TTaken ak n as a whole... ... that high g den gh ensity, by itself, is not en alwa al l ays unhealthy hy or or even e unp npleasant.H np nt. t ow o owev er, when when high den hi en nssity ity ty is is associated d with su suc u h ffactor o s as o or ove ov vve erstim mulat ation, at on los osss of personal co ontro ont rol, and n vio olat ati at ttiion of person nal sp space, th tthe he h e experience off crow o crowd wd w din iing n ng g is i llikely ikely to result

but we need an open space for the community

how about lifting up the entire mass with only the service cores touching the ground?

can every apartment have 3 sides of windows, including a south-facing one?

Text xt quote uote ed ffrom FARMAX, MVRDV can the 3-sided windows turn into courtyards with vegetations and views?

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

filling fill ing ng g up pw wiith ith h res esspec ect of filling filling ng upp th the si sitte. thee sscalee of o the h build buu ing ngg follow ollows ll s its neighbour' neigh b s. floor bour bour' floorr level also aligns l gn with ith thh itits t neighbour neigh e bour ei ouu to bl blend ble the hee builddingg iinto nto itss surroun surroun rrou roun ooun un u dings dings.. di

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

initial sketches of placing one big mass into the site

layering of ďŹ&#x201A;oors/ protruding volumes/ craved out spaces/ courtyards

perforated volume/ light wells/ unlifted ground plane/ undulating facades

light wells/ bamboo/ verticality/ close and open

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

merging the type into the urban context the basic principal of arranging the ďŹ&#x201A;ats is to maximize the south facing windows so as to provide enough sunlight to the interiors even though the ďŹ&#x201A;ats are closely packed together.

housing typology

determine / facilitate determine / facilitate

urban space

the voids out of the types: lightwells = gardens the aggregation of the ďŹ&#x201A;ats also affected the ground plane situation. the resultant voids, which are the light wells for the appartments become the light-up gardens on the ground plane. the entire building is uplifted to connect these individual light wells.

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

lightwell study principals of working with lightwells: 1. let sun comes in to the lowest part of the building 2. maximum daylight entry into every apartment 3. maximum ventilation for every apartment 4. better views

trial aggregation in response to sun, wind and view

existing lightwell condition in macau

Plan

Elevation

images captured for a sun light testing of different aggregation methods in the afternoon on winter solistice.

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

each lightwell comes with a opening to the nearby open space. this provides better view and ventilation.

light can penetrate to the lowest ďŹ&#x201A;oor at noon of the winter solstice. the three-sided light space allowed maximixed absorption of sunlight.

sunpath of macau

noon of winter solistice

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

aggregation the basic components of the type and the way of aggregation are determined after the previous studies.

light lighted-up courtyard with bamboo planter

ďŹ tting the site the ground ďŹ&#x201A;oor of the building is almost freed up with only the service cores touching the ground. the south-west part of the building protruded out to form a cover plaza for the community.

ďŹ tting into the site top view of the 1:200 site model showing the relationship between the building mass and its surrounding. different lightwell conditions can be seen in the site.

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

basic type and aggregation ba co y balcony

coourtyard courtyard stacking sttacking units

balcony facing courtyard

three-sided south-facing light space to maximize the intake of sunlight

main living area with windows on two sides (east- and north-facing)

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

N 1:300

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

vertical core

lightwell

ventilation screens

balcony

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

ventilation screens entrance area of the apartment

balcony

aggregation of apartments the 1:200 model is built by aggregating the individual apartments. photos are taken before wrapping the building with its outter skin.

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

ground plane situations

the idea of introducing lightwells in the building serves two functions: one is to allow each ďŹ&#x201A;at to enjoy maximun view, wind and sun in the extreme inďŹ ll site. the other is to create a enjoyable urban space with light and green to serve the district. it is a protected plaza from the busy main road.

lighting situation at noon on summer solstice light comes mostly from top

lighting situation at an august noon on the east side of the building shaded path is created

lighting situation at an august noon light comes mostly from top

lighting situation in an december afternoon light comes from the west side

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

open ground ďŹ&#x201A;oor with only the vertical cores touching the ground, the ground ďŹ&#x201A;oor of the building almost leave entirely open the organization of the courtyards/ lightwells follows the rhythm of the adjacent buildins and creates a big piece of gathering space for the neighboring community.

N 1:1000

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

front view showing relationship with the adjacent building

4 views from different angles

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

north

south

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

east

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

west

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

side view showing the balconies with one side facing the inner courtyard and one side facing open space

light well condition showing the penetration of light

018 a housing development in Macau design: nov 2006 in-between urban and individual

roof of the building serves as another gathering space

exhibition this project has been exhibited in the 2007 annual exhibition of American Institute of Architects Hong Kong in Central

026 a urban study in Sai Ying Pun pilot study for urbanization studio

urban and individual: site context vs housing typology in this pilot study of site context and housing typology in Sai Ying Pun, an old district in Hong Kong with more than 100 years of history, the research team of 2 collected both on-site and off-site information to re-construct the street block on photo collage and drawings so as to form the basis for the studioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s further investigation. photographs and hand sketches are taken on site while some of the interior building plans are collected from the government. in about 4 months, the research team produced a detailed plan with both interior and exterior information of the deterioating street block. this project is to be exhibited in Shenzhen - Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale 2008.

credits design title: a urban study in Sai Ying Pun nature: research, urbanization studio location: Sai Ying Pun time: feb - jun 2007 d ion: durat 4 months nnoo of pe ppeop e le: 2 tutor uutor tor: tor prof. hendrik tieben / urbanization studio

ground plan of the site showing both interior and exterior details 1:300

019 a BBQ shelter in Shaw College, CUHK 020 ligtness studio, hong kong 021 a chapel in Trinity College, CUHK 025 membrane structure by Frei Otto

structure and space

organizing spaces in between structure and space some of the classmates do not like structure. they believe that structure should be in a different domain other than architecture. therefore, in their mind what architecture students should do is to focus on "design" but not structure. however, can a good design without a good structural logic, be it the simplist one? however, can structure, in return, to inform design and space? through different projects i learnt some basic principals of structure. i started to believe that to design a structure is actually to design space, and vice versa. simply because in reality you can never look at neither of them as a complete entity.

photo: a fruit seller in yau ma tei, kowloon, builds himself a outwart protruding structure which gives him a bigger ground cover and consequently a bigger "shop".

019 membrane structure by Frei Otto 6 m 6.8

case study, studio project, technics studio

17m 17 344m

7m 18.

entrance arch for Federal Garden Exhibition (1957) ďŹ rst erected in 1957, the entrance arch for Federal Garden Exhibition was a light-weight structure designed by Frei Otto. the main compression member of the structure is a pre-casted circular steel arch spanning 34m as the warp span of the structure. the weft span of the structure is 24m and the vertice of the arch is 6.8m. the case study is the ďŹ rst exercise of the technics studio 2007.

credi ed ts udy dyy title: membrane membr ane struct s ructure ture by progr rogramme: amme: mme: entranc entr ntran an h nature: natur c case study exercise of technic chnics ics sstudioo location: o germa ermannyy time: feb 2007 007 duration: 4 wee e kss no of people: 1 softwares: digital pproject/auto cad/ adobe ccreative suite tutor: prof. wall a ace chang

Frei Fre F rei eeii Ott Otto O Ot ttto (19 (192 (1925 1925 - ) 1925 Fiirst First Fi sstt erec erec er eccte ted e in in 195 119957 Coolo Colon l nge gge,, Geerm erman rma man an y Entra Entr Entra ntr tra ttr raance cee arch rcch ch foor tthhe ex eexh xxhhib ibit iibiti biti bbiitiionn ttaaken ken en pllace lac ac aace ce ce inn aan open open ope en park pparkk Retr Retra R Ret Re eetra tra tr cted cteedd aand n re-ere nd ree-er e-ere -eere rected cte cte tted ed eve ed ever ev eevery vvery ery ry year yea yyeea

6.8m 66.8 8

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study goal the aim of this study is to understand the logic behind a lightweight structure. the methodology of this study is simple and direct: to re-construct this entrance arch through building physical and computer models. the most challenging tasks for this study are to deﬁne the geometery of the curve and each supporting points and to produce a piece of fabric with a size suitable for the structure. the 3-D software Digital Project helps a lot in this case study.

34m Vertice of the arch: 6.8m Warp span: 34m Weft span: 24m

7m 18.

images: opposite page, background image: 1:100 physical model built by stiching an inelastic fabric to inelastic strings. the strings help to transfer the tension of evenly on the fabric. opposite page, from left to right: 3-D computer models using Digital Projects. the left one is used to study the geometery definition while the right one is a solid model used to produce the unfolded shaped of the fabric. this information is crucial for the production of physical models. this page, clockwise from top left : 1. image of the entrance arch during the exhibition period 2. 1:100 model. first model attempt by a elastic fabric. 3. 1:100 model. second model attempt. the model is made of an inelastic fabric which can take tension. forces are transmitted to the fabric through the strings stiched to the fabric. each string is connected to a nolts that can adjust the tension of the string so that this model can be used to observe the relationship between form and tension. 4. 1:50 model. a lot of the strings are needed to determine the geometery of the curve surface. 5-6. close-up views showing the structure and the space of the 1:100 model. 6. image capture from Digital Project showing how the geometery of the entance arch is defined. this page, background image: interior space of the 1:100 model with human figures to study the scale of the arch.

17m

020 a BBQ shelter in Shaw College, CUHK design exercise, studio project, technics studio 2007

membrane 350mm from ground deg 15

membrane 350mm from ground deg 30

membrane 350mm from ground deg 45

membrane 1500mm from ground deg 15

membrane 1500mm from ground deg 30

membrane 1500mm from ground deg 45 pre-curved steel arch

glass-woven fabric

50mm thick steel rod

membrane 2000mm from ground deg 15

membrane 2000mm from ground deg 30

membrane 2000mm from ground deg 45

membrane 2500mm from ground deg 30

membrane 2500mm from ground deg 45

membrane 2500mm from ground deg 60

practice through design the aim of the studio project is to give us a chance chance anc nc to familiar ourselves with the digital 3-D design tools Digital ols of Dig D ig Project and to get use to think in the “technics” approach, proach, pro proa ch, ch h which refers to how structure and material inform space. pace. ace a simple shelter in the Shaw College to students as6550 ege ge iss as aassigned s s50a deisgn exercise in the studio project applicaeecct to ttrain us both the applica ect tion of the software and the “technics approach”.

4200

parametric design the use of the software Digital Project allows parametric testing to happen. diagrams on the opposite page are generated by Digital Project through a series of parametric testing. with the help of this formation method, it is easy to test the suitability of the form in the reality.

geometry deďŹ nition the basic geometry of the framework is determined by the ease of use by the people. also, for easy execution, circular and parabolic curves are preferred.

020 a BBQ shelter in Shaw College, CUHK design: feb 2007 in-between structure and space

parametric design + sun shading concern the outcomes of the parametric design are tested to see if their sun shading abilities are effective under the strong sun in hong kong. parameters are changed according to the solar shading needs.

020 a BBQ shelter in Shaw College, CUHK design: feb 2007 in-between structure and space

parametric testing of the performance of different forms under the sun on 21st June at 1300

4200

considerations: people + smoke + wind + sun the form of the fibre structure is determined by the combined considerations of people, smoke, wind and sun. to allow the easiest manflow for the shelter, there is only two anchor points touching the ground so that people can move through the sheltered space almost freely. to deal with the up-rising smoke of the fire for barbeque, a "hole" is designed right on top of the fire. openings on the two sides also allow wind to come in. the size and form of the fibre, on the other hand, is designed through a series of parametric testing to find out the best form to deal with the hot summer sun.

credits design g title: a BBQ shelter in shaw college, cuhk programme: shelter nature: design exercise of technics studio location: shaw college, cuhk, hong kong time: feb 2007 duration: 1 weeks no of people: 1 softwares: digital project/auto cad/ adobe creative suite/sketchup tutor: prof. wallace chang

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credits design title: lightness studio hong kong programme: imaginary tower nature: experiment of light structure time: mar 2007 duration: 1 weeks no of people: 4 adviser: mr. ed van hinte / prof. wallace chang / prof. ivan markov / mr. shinya okuda

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021 lightness studio design: mar 2007 in-between structure and space

bamboo framework

cover with clothes

stitching with cross ribs

remove framework to self-stand

an lightness experience/ experiment the aim of the lightness workshop was to ask students to experiment light-weight structures. in the hong kong workshop mr. ed van hinte from holland asked us to use clothes to build towers of different heights. our group of four was assigned to build a tower of 2.5 meter tall (which is the tallest challenge).

ribs made by stitching

021 lightness studio design: mar 2007 in-between structure and space

images: top row: production process bottom row, from left to right: 1. critiques from mr. ed van hinte and mr. shinya okuda 2. critiques from prof. ivan markov 3. critiques from prof. wallace chang and mr. ed van hinte 4. group photo of team members 5. mr. ed van hinte presents the award of "Lightness Award <Ingenuity>"

025 a chapell in Trinity College, CUHK school project, technics hnics studio 2007

a chapel that spans 20 meters the school project of the technics studio is to design a chapel in the Trinity College that needs to span 20 meters to preserve an existing river. to acheive minimum intervention to the natural terrain, by adopting a tensile structure, the entire chapel only bears three anchorage points to the ground. the bigger anchorage point, which is a 2-meter tall concrete base, is designed as the entrance of the church.

credits title: programme: nature: location: time: duration: no of people: softwares: tutor:

design a chapel in Trinity College chapel school project, technics studio Trinity College, cuhk, hong kong apr 2007 5 weeks 1 digital project/auto cad/ adobe creative suite/sketchup prof. wallace chang

highland

lowland 1

lowland 2

can structure be a response to site context? can structure be a spatializer that deďŹ nes, creates and organizes space?

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

process the theme for the Technics Studio 2007 is “material and construction” which focuses on the study of how material and construction systems inform space. due to this main focus, physical modeling is the main exploration tools in the design stage of the project. besides traditional means of sketching and drawings, 3-D software Digital Project and Rapid Prototyping play important roles in the entire design process.

rapid prototyping in collaboration with the Industrial Center of Poly U, students in the studio have chances to produce Rapid Prototyping models by using 3-D software Digital Projcet. with the help of the programme, the deﬁnition of the geometry can be deﬁned more accurately.

models for the project: top row, from left to right: 01. early model studying how to build a church that spans across a river 02. 1:50 model showing the construction of the platform and ceiling and the space generated bearly by the structure 03. 1:100 model studying the interior spatial quality 04. 1:100 model studying possible ways to make the skin and platform for the arch-formed space 05. early model built to explore tension structure second row, from left to right: 06. early model sutdying the spanning of arches 07. early model studying the spanning of arches. begining to explore the formation of the platform 08. early scheme that spans across the river and bears a circulation that go through the structure 09. model to study the method of spanning a saddle form 10. 1:10 model studying method of installing sunshading devices on the roof third row, from left to right: 11. model of a saddle form 12. model to study the method of spanning a saddle form and the method to layout the platform following that of the structure 13. 1:10 model studying method of installing sunshading devices on the roof fourth row, from left to right: 14. "molds" for the circular arches for the 1:50 model 15. ﬁrst rapid prototyping model (1:150) 16. second rapid prototyping model (1:150) demonstrating the 3 supporting points are of 3 different levels 17. ﬁnal rapid prototyping model (1:150) 18. paper model studying the production of skin

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

site

Trinity College building: ofďŹ ces and student hostel

site

stream running west to east

existing chapel in Chung Chi College 1:1000

chapel for 100 people that spans 20 meters the design brief is to design a small chapel on a quiet site that spans 20 meters so as to preserve the existing stream running west-east across the site. the capacity of the chapel is about 100 and there should be a connection with the Trinity College building.

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

void in the greens by careful observation at the site i discovered that there is natural “void” in the thick greens in the site. in order to create the less intervention to the site, the design concept is developed as a streamlined element protruding from this “void” with a welcoming gesture touch the ground so as to bring the visitors from the trafﬁc into the greens.

the hovering volume the immediate site response to the void in the greens was to create a volume which is elevated from the ground to ﬁll up the void so as to keep all the natural elementss remain un-damaged. an inclined entrance platform will lead the people to the elevated volume.

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

one leaf be the sky, another be the ground. we will be elevated from the tip of one arch-shaped leaf. the leaf structure will organize the interior space.

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space models from top to bottom 1. early model sutdying the spanning of arches 2. early model studying the spanning of arches. begining to explore the formation of the platform 3. early scheme that spans across the river and bears a circulation that go through the structure 4. model studying the method of spanning a saddle form 5. model to study the method of spanning a saddle form and the method to layout the platform following that of the structure

formation: site + force developing from the ďŹ rst site response the formation of the building is began with placing several wires to a 1:100 site model. considering both the issues of forces and site condition, the project gets developed to its ďŹ nal appearance.

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

spanning a saddle form top row, from left to right: a typical saddle form needs to transfer the tension force to the ground through a ﬁxed rigid rim. if its rim is lifted from the ground, there is no compression member withstand the inward compression force created by the inward pulling cables. bottom row, from left to right: to make the entire system span, a platform with a certain thickness is created to take the compression forces. a third “leg” is added to the system in order to stabilize the system.

moment

the toppling force the big center arch created a huge toppling moment to the entire system. this moment is balanced by introducing a giant concrete footing (which is latter developed into a set of staircase for the entrance) on the “third leg” of the system.

anchorage

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

structure and space the structure itself already deﬁned the uses of the space. the “third leg” of the structure can be developed into a welcoming entrance leading to the ﬁrst arch of the structure, which is so low that people can experience it by almost touching it when they past through. a hamble manner is suggested to the people who are entering the chapel.

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

structural site response the initial structural proposal was an outcome of an immediate site response. the collage shows how the arch structure works with the existing natural terrain and trafďŹ c situation. the main space of the chapel almost disappeared in the greens with only the entrance area visible from the existing footbridge.

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

circles

for easy manipulation, all the arches are derived from pure circles. the circular arches form the basis for the 3-dimensional parametric trials in the computer software Digital Project.

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space basic form

deďŹ ning the platform

testing proportions

deďŹ ning the geometries 3-D software Digital Project is used to test and deďŹ ne all the major geometries of the components. parameters are set to test the proportions of the arches. the horizontal platform of the chapel is also achieved with the calculation of the programme.

p in Trinityy College g design: g apr p 2007 025 a chapel in-between structure and space

rp model, 1:150

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

rapid prototyping model three rapid prototyping models were produced at different stages of the design process to test the physical form of the design. the photos show the ďŹ nal rapid prototyping model.

3 pivots of different height accurate deďŹ nitions of each components is made possible with the use of Digital Project. since the building is located on a hilly landscape, the three pivots are located at different levels. the accuracy of the model makes the physical simulation of the 3 pivots possible.

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

spatial planning the software Digital Project helps in deďŹ ning all the geometries of the design. spatial planning, including the entrance sequence and the sitting arrangement, is carried out based on the resolved geometries.

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

image: walking into the main space

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

structure ribs of the platform as spatial dividing elements abutment of the arches located on the high point of the site

abutment of the arches located on the lowest point of the site which also serves as the entrance images from top to bottom: 1. searching for orientation of the altar 2.ďŹ rst attempt: altar on the south side, visitors looking towards the main road 3. ďŹ rst attempt: altar on the south side, visitors looking towards the main road 4.second attempt: altar on the north side, taking advantage of the rising roof towards the north. visitors looking into the tranquil deep end of the river

existing footbridge

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

orientation taking the advantage of the rising roof towards the north side, the altar of the chapel is located on the north side. through the tension cable and the translucent glazing, visitors can look deep into the tranquil end of the river.

respecting the trees

plan

the location of the three "legs" of the chapel has been carefully designed to create minimum damage to the existing natural environment. on the plan, we can see that the "legs" are located in positions that no chopping down of trees is needed to land the arches. 1:150

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

images from top to bottom: 1. main space lifted up 2. interior trial 3. interior trial 4. early sketch of section 5. ďŹ nal section with a steeper roof collage: early study of interior space

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

hovering main space the section drawing shows the relationship between the main space of the chapel and its surrounding: the existing hostel, the river, the trees and the nearby footbridge. the arches politely take the detour to avoid damaging the existing tree. in return, the big tree provides a perfect natural shading device for the chapel which shades the strong south sun of summer. elevated by the ďŹ&#x201A;ying arches, the entire main space of the chapel hovers over the river and situates in the void of the greens.

arch motions

the sectional drawings shows clearly how the arches go in various directions to serve different spatial, on top of structural, functions. the lower arches go in the direction that become the entrance space and platformh while the upper arches go in the direction of the roof system.

section

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

view from the inside of the chapel into the deep end of the river

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

1:50 physical model

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

interior the altar is located at the position which deliver a sense of convergence of the platform structure. benches are arranged in a diverging manner from the altar.

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

entrance garden with existing trees since the location of the abutments of the arches are carefully decided that no existing trees will be chopped for the project, the entrance staircase, together with the trees on the site, creates a public garden for the chapel.

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

spanning across a river the arches ďŹ&#x201A;y over the little river from the low land of the entrance area to the high land of the existing hostel backyard. people sitting inside the church can look into deep end of the river.

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

the humble entrance since the tallest arch (11m in height) is tilted towards the west side, the height of the interior space is not dominant in the view from the entrance. to enter to the chapel, visitos need to go under the lowest arch (about 3m above the platform) to get into the interior space. this creates a humble entrance experience which the visitors need to climb up to platform and go under the lowest arch before experiencing the height of the high ceiling.

photos showing the entrance sequence from the low point of the chapel

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

working capture from auto cad

025 a chapel in Trinity College design: apr 2007 in-between structure and space

in-betweens: an architectural portfolio of yun wai wing created by

YUN Wai-Wing BSSc (Sociology), The Chinese University of Hong Kong BSSc (Architectural Studies) (Honours, First Class), The Chinese University of Hong Kong