portfolio by Xin Fu

Portfolio

Xin Fu

xin.fu@vt.edu 540/239-5133 821 Orchard Street Apt. 6 Blacksburg, VA 24060 United States

Contents

i. ii. iii. iv. v.

New Urban Village

Contemporary Chinese City, a Diverse Cityscape

Low-rise, high-density

Housing Development in Z端rich, Switzerland

Island Sounds

Jazz and Pop Music School in Venice, Italy

the New Bauakademie

Architecture Academy in Berlin, Germany

Archive

New Urban Village

Contemporary Chinese City, a Diverse Cityscape

Fall 2012 Virginia Tech_Thesis in Progress Independent Work

Opposing the homogeneous residential high-rise development in contemporary Chinese cities, this thesis is a celebration towards architectural diversity. Aiming at revitalizing the urban center, bring commerce activities and residents communications back into the living community, the new urban village offers an alternative for contemporary Chinese urbanism. It is a search for beauty and meaning in the commonplace.

Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan in the far southwest of China, a province the size of Iraq with 45 million inhabitants. Due to the pleasant climate, Kunming bears the nickname Spring City. In ten years time the number of inhabitants in the city proper increased from one million to roughly three million. Seven million people now live in the entire Kunming conurbation, and there is no end in sight to this turbulent growth. New skyscrapers are continually added to the skyline all over the city. During its growth spurt, Kunming demolished most of its historical construction apart from a few isolated buildings scattered around town. Wide motor ways slashed through the narrow nineteenth-century neighborhoods. The selected site, adjacent to one of the most important highways which flows through the city, also underwent such growth-demolition trend in the past 10 years, and currently is surrounded by newly developed residential high-rises with an average height of 33 stories, roughly 100 meters each.

SITE WATER HIGH-WAY CITY RINGROAD MAJOR ROAD RAIL RAIL STATION

site plan-process sketch

FAMILY UNITS RENTAL UNITS

site plan-figure ground

The site development is an argument against such homogeneity that aimed at gaining maximum real estate profit while discarding architectural design quality. By limiting the size and height of each unit, this low-rise site development offers a chance for surrounding high-rises to enjoy their scenic view while functioning as a back drop for the rest of the city, therefore achieve diverse cityscape. The master plan also aims at creating connections between existing construct and the site plots. It is viewed as a chance to revitalize the urban center by providing active ground floor commercial usages while offering shared spaces to site visitors as well as its residents.

Rental Units

The first proposed unit type is mixed-use housing units dedicated for rental purposes. Commercial and residential access is separated to create a different street experience upon entering the building. Outside walkways connect each unit, providing a sense of community to residents through shared space. Additionally, this creates communication between elevated living space and ground level commercial area.

A A

B ground floor

A A

B second floor

upper floor

ground floor

basement

section A-A section B-B

Family Units

The second housing type is mixed use units dedicated for family living. The ground floor consists of commercial spaces aimed at creating maximum passage-through between either side of the building. Two bedroom or three bedroom apartments are placed in the upper stories creating variation in roof height and street-scape. Roof gardens are also incorporated within the family units and they function as dedicated shared community space for the residents.

ground floor

3 bedroom unit first floor

2 bedroom unit

ground floor

3 bedroom unit second floor

section A-A section B-B

Low-rise, high-density

Housing Development in Z端rich, Switzerland Spring 2012 Accademia di Architettura_Atelier Sergison Collaboration with John Wagner

A study of the European city Z端rich considers strategies for its growth through low-rise densification. This project was an exploration in how different cities can absorb a growing population, meet contemporary housing requirements, improve working conditions and contain growth within existing boundaries rather than spread ever outwards. Instead of advocating a universal solution, this proposal addresses the complex history and urban legacy of Z端rich in order to find a solution that matches its unique context.

massing studies

The overwhelming character of Z端rich is that of a very carefully planned city developed according to an overriding sense of reasonableness. It displays few urban surprises, or examples of developments that might have occurred almost spontaneously in an unchallenged manner. As a result, the proposal aims at creating a different cityscape for the town through the combination of a courtyard and a tower responsive to each other and the site conditions while creating an intimate domestic quiet sheltered from the busy city space of Z端rich.

site plan massing model

facade massing study

The courtyard was derived from the existing structure of neighboring city blocks. The tower was a direct response to the geometry of the plot and the potential relationship that its volume could contribute to cityscape. The tower shelters the courtyard building and gives prominence to the leading edge of the urban space.

ground floor plan section

Different apartment typologies are a result of having two varied building typologies as well as the desire to offer a mixed development of dwellings. One continuous space connecting both the outside and inside of the courtyard was proposed to gain more flexibility to the program of the rooms while maintaining efficient use of space. Due to its height and prominence, the rooms of the tower units are present within the city. In order to best afford vistas of the river, park space and city skyline, corners of the apartments were left clear to create loggias connected to the living spaces.

tower unit plan courtyard unit plan

Island Sounds

Jazz and Pop Music School in Venice, Italy Fall 2012 Accademia di Architettura_Atelier Burkhalter and Sumi Independent Work

This project involves the creation of a new island or a floating construction in the Venice Lagoon, a new sound laboratory and music school for Jazz and Pop. The project has two folds. One is the contrast between small, introverted individual rehearsal rooms and big, open public performance spaces. The other is the study of the structural, emotional, spatial and functional relations between music and architecture while connecting the floating island to the bigger Venice city construct.

process sketches

MULINO STUCCHI

La Giudecca

An educational and performance facility, the jazz and pop music school aims at creating a convenient learning environment for its students and a new performing art venue for the general public of Venice.

site plan process sketches

Situated on water and facing the new public park of Giudecca, the building creates a new stage on the horizon. This maintains a visual connection with the rest of the city while keeping its isolating position as an island itself.

The performance venue becomes the focal point of the building with all programs oriented around it and servicing the performance. It also creates a central exterior amphitheater facing the rest of the city. Access points to the island are limited to the opposing side facing the lagoon, therefore offering a trajectory upon entering the building towards the performance space. All educational programs such as offices and rehearsal rooms are placed facing the side of the lagoon as well, since these programs often require quiet and concentrated atmosphere. As a result, the openness of the lagoon becomes the backdrop for a dedicated music school learning experience, yet the central performing venues establish connections with land further away.

WORKSHOP

DEPOSIT

ADMINISTRATION

COMPUTER ROOM

CLASSROOMS LIBRARY

RECORDING STUDIO

BATH.

CLUBROOM

GROUP REHERSAL ROOM INDIVIDUAL REHERSAL ROOM

plan section-unrolled

front-performance venues back-educational programs

Xin Fu studio burkhalter sumi - autumn 2011 I Prof. Marianne Burkhalter - Gaetano Ceschia - Silvio Ammann UniversitĂ della Svizzera Italiana I Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio

the New Bauakademie

Architectural Academy in Berlin, Germany Spring 2011 Berlin Studio Collaboration with Robert Calvey

â&#x20AC;&#x153;To an architect, a school of architecture would be the most honored commissionâ&#x20AC;? Louis Kahn

Berlin studio was a year long research laboratory with one semester abroad in Berlin. The studio promotes a collaborative design process which incorporates multiple points of view from a variety of academic discourses. This studio project aimed at exploring the past, present and potential future of the architectural education by developing the program and tectonic structure for a new Architectural Academy on the site of the former Bauakademie designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in Berlin, which was widely considered to be the first modern architecture school in Europe. The design started with the development and transformation of a contentensemble program, while maintaining the architectural educational program from Schinkelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original Bauakademie design. The site and its new tectonic structure are developed in context while considering the historic evolution, urban location and associated social, political, economic and architectural tendencies.

Following the original courtyard massing design of Schinkelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bauakademie, the new academy seeks to directly connect the school and students with the design community of Berlin, achieved by extending the already existing Art & Book markets onto the plaza and underneath the academy while increasing workshop space to encourage creativity and professionalism.

massing studies

atelier

library

All programs are moved off ground level, allowing public into the large central courtyard. The ground floor lobby can be opened on all sides and is filled with a large staircase that serves as a focal point for the courtyard and directs visitors up to the public first floor which consists of a cafeteria and gallery. The school is on the upper four floors with double height studios in the middle and supporting programs on each side, providing a constant visual connection between the student projects and the classes, workshops and faculty offices. Arches are used to create different spatial rhythms throughout the building while still unifying the building. On the ground floor, a dense arcade serves as space for market stalls and student installations, while on upper floors the arches are used to create spatial differentiation, defining program and circulation with one, two, and three span spaces. Facade glass panels are placed at varying depths within the outer wall to create different shadows across the face of the building and create diverse building reflections.

site plan site section

Computer Lab

Studio

Metal Shop

Computer Lab

Storage

D D

Mech D

Storage

Dry Workshop

Storage

Auditorium

Woodshop Wet Workshop

Mech

D D

Print Lab

Fabric Workshop

Studio

Storage

Auditorium

FOURTH FLOOR

FIFTH FLOOR

fifth floor 0

sixth floor 0

Studio

Storage

Faculty Office

Seminar

Faculty Faculty Office Office

Faculty Office Office Faculty Office

Storage

Pin-Up

Storage

Class

Seminar