Xu Xiaozhen Portfolio Selected Works 2015-2020
Letter of motivation
I am a countryside girl who grew up in a century-old traditional house. The countryside, which has small alleys, low houses, wood structure and courtyard, gave me the ability to perceive nature and the initial impression of home. Also, I am a student who has been studying in a dense city, which teaches me modern science and make me accustomed to fast speed and skyscrapers. I have always been the crystallization of these two identities. I was excited when I first learned about architecture, which allows me to reimagine ideal home. It motivated me travelled over 50 cities all around the world and visited a great amount of famous architecture as well as buildings without architects during my bachelor study. They are charming because each of them can bring me impressive experience. But after knowing the real architectural situation of my country, I feel confused. A large number of unique villages and traditional buildings have been torn down and turned into monotonous cities. Our land has completely lost its own characteristics. I determined to Intern at a local pioneering office for my answer, where I participated in two projects that were being designed and being built respectively, which deepened my understanding of the whole construction process. I met many peers who have always been trying their best for promoting the possibilities of design and space, which inspired me. Now, I have a clear goal for architecture: use architecture to express my own unique ideas. “A good space is worth a thousand words”, and it’s especially true when people are attracted by a space but don't consciously that it’s a story they see. In my country, the concept of architecture and education system come from Western countries. Unfortunately, most of us only have a one-sided understanding about the system, which caused ignorantly imitation without innovation of Western modernism or our own local characteristics. Therefore, I hope to have direct contacts with the advanced system to see what I can absorb in it and whether I can make something better. Throughout the ages, the soil of Switzerland has nurtured many outstanding architecture, which will allow me to unconsciously improve my aesthetics and taste in daily life. Accademia di Architettura of Mendrisio has an outstandingly open geographic position combining both Swiss craftsmanship and Italian romantic artistic talent, and cultural openness which is also more conducive for us to exchange architecture with different people. It’s a good place to immerse myself in architecture studies. The vision of AAM matches my academic interests and career aspirations - to become a humanist and a generalist architect. It boasts an innovative, interdisciplinary, humanistic and generalist teaching method, and is committed to engage the world through architecture and bring value to the world, which is also the way I hope to exist in this world. I have always been interested in designing diverse houses with different technology and materials for all kinds of people to innovate their lifestyles, so its different styles of Atelier allow me to directly contact the most authoritative architects of different genres such as Valerio Olgiati, Manuel Aires Mateus, Grafton and etc. Its open and rigorous academic atmosphere, emphasizing both independence and cooperation of learning, give enough freedom to everyone, which will prompt us to clear our goals and mobilize our imagination. Kazuo Shinohara said “A house is a work of art”. A good building should be able to provide people with different visions to the world and have certain inspiration, which is called art. With the international platform, I will broaden my mind to the diverse world, change my perspective to read my own civilization, and understand where I am standing. Finally I will figure out what is going on in this world and what can I do for it. Ordinary people like me also want to make themselves extraordinary through hard work, ordinary architecture should be design to be unique by someone. I want to be the craftsman with eyes that can discover beauty, who protect the core of architecture. I am always honest to myself with consistent authentic, excellent memory, learning ability and empathy, which will help my designs fancy and impressive. Moreover, I have a great passion and determination to become an architect who focus on promote the possibility of lifestyle through design and bring more interesting architectural experience to others.
Curriculum Vitae Date of birth: 16.12.1996 Tel: +86 13632406145 Email: 807865218@qq.com Address: Xinping Road,Sanshui District, Guangdong Province, China
Education Guangzhou University Bachelor in Architecture GPA:86.2/100(Top 10%)
09.2015-06.2020
Work Experience TAO Assistant architect Initial design
04-02,2021
O-Office Architects Intern 09-11,2019 Preliminary architectural design; Made several scrutiny models, built 3D models, drew construction drawings and make report drawings; Construction site inspection Guangzhou Panyu Institude of Architecture Design Intern Preliminary architectural design; Built 3D models; Reported and met with clients
08,2019
Muchen Café Barista and waiter Made coffee and other beverages; Maintained order in the café
12.2018-06.2020
Student Service Station in Guangzhou University Student service provider Provided consultation and help for students in daily life and managed student activity room
10.2015-06.2018
Academic Experience Design Workshop with Yasui Architects, Japan Designed a hotel and commercial rest station for tourists in a beautiful village in Shaoguan with 8 partners
12.2018
Urban Design, Summer Program in the University of British Columbia, Vancouver 07-08.2018 Had Lectures about Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities and urban changes in Vancouver; Visited the whole city of Vancouver with Professor; Conducted different urban design and summary with partners from all over the world Workshop in Southwest Jiaotong University, Si Chuan 06.2017 Had Lectures about Chengdu; Visited some ancient place in Chengdu and wrote a research report about the history, city and architectural changes of Huanglongxi Ancient Town
Other Experience Volunteer activity Regular visit our local nursing house Volunteer in Wuyuan Anba International Youth Hostel Volunteer of Guangdong Historical Relics Conservation Train volunteer Others
09.2015-09.2018 02.2017 04.2016 01.2016
Studied German at Heidelberg University, German 07.2017 Organized to carry out academic exchange activities with other 4 schools in South China, such as competitions, lectures, etc . 09.2015-09.2018 Participant of interesting human experiments conducted by Polaris-youth Development 09-12 2016
Honor Outstanding Knowledge Award National Inspirational Scholarship Outstanding Student Outstanding Student Leader Third Prize of Microspace Renovation Outstanding Charitable Organization Member Best debater First Prize of Construction Paper Art Competition
09.2019 11.2015-2019 10.2016-2017 09.2016 05.2016 04.2016 11.2015 12.2015
Language Native Speaker: Fluent: Basic:
Mandarin, Cantonese,Jiangxi Dialect English German
Skill AutoCAD, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Indesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Lightroom, Sketch Up, Rhinoceros, Grasshopper, V-ray, Enscape, Revit, Microsoft Windows, Model making, photography, Play and sing
Interest
Traveled in different ways, such as hiking, bicycles, etc. Once cycled around Qinghai Lake and Hainan Island; Travelled alone in more than 50 cities domestic and abroad Music: Started to learn guitar in high school and piano in college Photography, Reading, Painting, Movies,Fitness and outdoor sports
Contents Individual Works Apartment surrounded by plants
1
Holiday house on a slope
6
Museum with two courtyards
12
A house for two people
18
Other Works
Internship works Others
23 25
Apartment surrounded by plants Zhujiang New Town, Guangzhou, China Bachelor 5 - Second Semester - 03/2020-05/2020 Instructor: Xia Dawei dawei.xia@gzhu.edu.cn
Each apartment consists of two layers of approximately circular planes. During the day, people are living in the open living room, dining room, and kitchen, and the completely open space facing to the city makes people experience the feeling of floating in the sky. The opening on the upper side allows people to peep into the space on the lower side, inspiring people's desire to explore. The freely distributed columns on the upper side become part of the family. At night, people walked to the lower bedroom, surrounded by colorful plants, as if sleeping in a mysterious garden. In the structure, the vertical and horizontal force support systems are distinguished. The freely distributed steel columns and elevator shafts offset the vertical gravity; the steel cables around the diagonal are used to offset the horizontal side thrust. The use of different storey heights, free columns, and steel cables make the "light" and "heavy" of the building a strong contrast, and also allow residents to restore the ability to perceive nature in the city. 1
B
A
Upper Floor
Lower Floor
Section A
Section B
West Facade
Holiday house on a slope Street Gomes Freire, Porto, Portugal Bachelor 3 - Second Semester - 07/2018-09/2018 Instructor: Pan Hui hui.pan@qq.com
This project is located in Porto, a famous mountain city traversed by a river. The site directly faces the Douro River with panoramic views. Only a long and narrow cube box can be seen from the outside, as the terrain climbs layer by layer. The first floor is like a long corridor, with a window opened at the end of the corridor, where you can enjoy the beautiful Douro River. On one side of the promenade, repeated windows were opened to introduce light; on the other side was a white wall with three doors arranged in an orderly manner, which originated from the hidden entrance behind the white wall , And two stairs leading to the basement bedroom. Going through the mysterious staircase, the direction of the space is unexpectedly perpendicular to the living room. The two bedrooms end in a garden, where you can enjoy enough tranquility.
6
Upper Floor
Lower Floor
Section A
Section B
Museum with two courtyards Liwan Historical Street, Guang Zhou, China Bachelor 3 - Second Semester - 03/2018 - 05/2018 Instructor: Filipe Afonso, Fang Shujun filipe.afonso@gzhu.edu.cn
This project is located in a crowded city, by the river in a historic district. The museum itself is like a bridge, connecting people on both sides of the strait and introducing them into the museum. Two openings facing in different directions, one facing the city street and the other facing the river, to welcome people on both sides. People on both sides of the river can freely walk through the museum. The main entrance of the museum is located on the first floor, at the end of the city street, like a pocket, attracting people from the city to visit. Then, visitors will go through the stairs to the underground exhibition hall. The exhibition hall has two floors and people visit the courtyard in the middle. Each exhibition hall is separated by a rest space with a view of the garden. After visiting the museum, people can reach the courtyard located in the middle of the building, and at the same time, people on the river side can also enter the museum through the big stairs. In order to have a closer scale when people enter the building, the height of the building is relatively low at the opening of the courtyard, and then gradually increases, so the height of the two buildings is in an opposite relationship.
12
Site
Origin
Perish
Rebirth
the Pearl River Litchi Bay began in the Han Dynasty. It was named after the riverside was full of litchi trees. It is a mecca for Guangzhou people.
In the 20th century, the population increased and the environment was polluted. Litchi Bay was replaced by roads.
In 2010, the Pearl River water was reintroduced into the rivers, restoring the prosperity of Lichi Bay in the past.
City Roof Garden: At the very beginning of the
plan, I hoped to provide residents with a riverside green space in a crowded city, so I imagined a roof garden full of trees for residents to enjoy. The function of the museum is placed under the roof like a stone. Residents can also shuttle among the museum to the river at will.
Separated Roof Garden: Then I hope to
Du
o
Ba o
Ro
ad
break up the garden so that the beauty of the garden can be felt inside the museum. The trees on the ground floor and the roof reflect each other, and people who visit the museum and those who watch the garden can also interact with each other.
Duo Bao Playground
the
ar
Pe
er
Riv
Yong Qing Playground
City Garden Facing different directions:
En Ning Road
Hall
Exhibition
Overhead
Traffic
Multi-funtional Room
Communication Room
Rest Space
Collection Library
Cafe
Office
Secdornary Funtion
Finally, according to the street mechanism of the city, I adjusted the plan to form two gardens facing different directions, so that people can not only enjoy the beautiful garden inside the museum, but also make the museum a medium connecting the two banks of the river.
n tio nc lti-fu ce Mu tran En
Cafe Entrance
ll
Ha
17 18 Inner Garden Entrance
Logistic Entrance
12
blic Pu ance Entr
16 5 Cafe e Entranc
11
Public Entrance
5
8
5 19
5 10
6 9
blic Pu ance Entr
3
20
8 um se ce Mu tran En
21 ice Off ance Entr
8
8
9
2 4
7
1
0 1
5
10
20 m
Ground Floor
Courtyard facing to the opposite side of the river
5 10
Courtyard facing to the city
8
8 14
15
8 1. Parking 2. Yong Qing Playground 3. Lobby 4. Hall 5. Toliet 6. Central Control Room 7. Luggage Storage Room 8. Exhibition 9. Rest Area 10.Collection Room 11.Collection Registration Room
13 5
Underground Floor
12. Duo Bao Playground 13. Gift Shop 14. Copy Room 15. Courtyard 16. Cafe 17. Kitchen 18. Mult-function Room 19.Communication Room 20. Office 21.Air-conditioned Room
Northeast
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
6
1
1
1. River 2. Office 3. Meeting Room 4. Central Control Room 5. Hall
Section
6. Connection Channel 7. Rest Area 8. Inner Courtyard 9. Exhibition
t Facade
A house for two people Fengyuan Community, Guangzhou, China Bachelor 4 - Second Semester - 03/2019-06/2019 Instructor: Pan Hui hui.pan@qq.com
This project is located in a historical district of Guangzhou, with long strip raditional house on both sides of the site. This is a house that can accommodate two people, which entrances are located on two different streets. From the outside, the building is a simple cube box. On one facade, you can see the living room space of one people and the entrance of another one. 18-millimeter veneered walls divide up the space inside the building. These walls acts as the main structure of the building but also create diverse spatial division. After entering the house, you can only experience the linear space that is constantly rotating, which is the result of entanglement of the two spaces. The two people can feel each other's existance, but they cannot directly interfere with each other. As a whole, they can get a curious sense of distance - near but far. The living room and dining room open windows facing the street, and the bedroom is lit by facing the inner courtyard. The internal walls are also part of the roof. From the living room to the bedroom, through irregular divisions, the space changes from straight to curved, from bright to quiet, just like exploring a mysterious cave. 18
South Facade
Section A
Section B
Section C
0
1
2
5m
Section D
Internship Works
23
Hongling High School
Internship Works 09-11/2019
Preliminary architectural design; Made several scrutiny models, built 3D models, drew plan and construction drawings, make diagrams
Internship Works
Tea house renovaion
Internship Works 09-11/2019
Consruction design; Made several scrutiny models, drew construction drawings and make report drawings; Construction site inspection
Others
25
Bamboo structure: 11/2016- 02/2017
Group Work: Desinging and Construction
Others
Survey and Mapping Practice: 07/2018
Group Work: Measuring and drawing