CONTENTS SELECTED ACADEMIC WORKS
The (New) Green Line
Natural Sprawl
The Hartley Garden
Landscape Palimpsest
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL WORKS
Exhibition Hall for Qingdao International Horticultural Exposition Landscape conceptual design of key areas for City of Wulumuqi
Selected Renderings in XCG Design corp
The (new) green line Location: Midtown Atlanta, Atlanta,Georgia, U.S.A. Site area: 5.7 ha Designer: Yajing Zhao, Liz Vogel, Si Chen, Laitian Zhong Design period: Jan. 2016 The site locates at the southern part of the Midtown in Atlanta. As the place between the Georgia Tech., traffic hub, and commercial center, the design creates a green bridge system for pedestrians and bikers, offering comfortable space and convenient transportation to the residents.
Site description The site locates at Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. The midtown is one of important nodes with the function of transportation, education, business and commercial center. The area contains many young, well-educated, high income and mostly single people. The site includes several landmarks, Georgia Institute of Technology, Technology Square, Olympic Tower, the Varsity, MATA station, bank of america and several heritage buildings. To develope the place’s economic potential and give the residents better lives, the concept of arranging the landmarks, updating living experience and being attractive to surrounding is helpful. The green way was built for users and visitors here for entertainment. As the improvement of existent BeltLine project, the green way connects the boundry of city, attracting people here. The better environment, richer cultural and commercial sense would accelerate the developement of both the site and sourrounding area, add the valuse of the site.
Atlanta Biltmore Hotel and Biltmore Apartments
Technology Square
Crum and forster
Olympic Tower
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta Midtown Railway
Atlanta Midtown Core area Railway
Midtown
Core area Green Infrastructure
SITE
Atlanta Beltline area Railway
Fox theater
Beltline planning area MATA Station The Varsity
Georgian Terrace Hotel
10th Street
Beltli ne
5th Street Peachtree
Midtown
Bank of America
Ponce de Leon Avenue
North Avenue
Brownfield Park Beltline New Green Infrastructure
Green Infrastructure
Population Change 2000 to 2010 Number 40,000 or more 20,000 to 39,999 10,000 to 19,999
Street Interstate MARTA Line MARTA Stop
Transportation
Bike Traffic _ Bike Improvement Project Future Protected Bike Lane
Bicycle Projects and Travel
Midtown Node This live work space features residential, commerical, communications and meeting center, outdoor dining and access to abundant green space.
0 to 9,999 – 1 to 9,999 – Less than – 9,999 Comparable data not available
Fulton County
Population expected to exceed eight million in the Atlanta metropolitan area by 2040
Pine-Hardwood Forest
Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata) Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) Sweetgum (Liquidambar) Hickories (Carya sp.) Oaks (Quercus sp.) Carolina Silverbell (Halesia carolina) Atlanta has just 27% of the 40% recommended tree cover for a healthy city, according to a study done by American Forests.
Home Park Node A potential stopping point along the Green Line before connecting to the future Waterworks Park and Northside Station.
Central Park Node Expanded recreation and access to dining, theater and live music along the Ponce de Leon Corridor.
250 ft
N
Atlanta’s Historic Row Houses: Baltimore Block
Rufus M. Rose House
Commercial Residential
Transportation Office
Office and retail Retails Mix-use (transportation, apartments and offices) Mix-use (apartments, retails and offices)
Commercial
Inward Space
Green planting upper level Green planting lower level
N
Main corridor
Pedestrains
Green planting Connection
Building
250 ft
Natural Sprawl Location: Danville, Vermillion County, Illinois, U.S.A. Site area: 46.24 Acres Designer: Yajing, Zhao, Lin Zhu, Elizabeth Vogel Client: City of Danville Design period: Sept. 2015 - Dec. 2015 The project regenerate the downtown environment of Danville city by promoting the circulation, reinforcing the local culture and increasing the interaction with nature. Collaborated with the students from architecture and urban planning, my team worked on the riverside park, an important node for residents’ activities. The riverside park and the joint green system are potential spaces for nature exploration and relaxing. “We really have missed a grand opportunity by not featuring one of our natural assets,” said Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer. “I want a marquee feature in our community, focused on the river that runs right through the center of our city and was the reason for this city’s early development.” (by ILLINOIS NEWS BUREAU)
Site Location
Illinois State Vermillion County
Northern riffleshell
E.G. Bluebreast darter
SE 38%
SE 18%
Fishes
Mussels
SE 6%
E.G. Silvery salamander
Amphibian s Vermillion County Danville City
E.G. SE 40%
E.G. Lined snake
E.G. American bittern
Reptiles
SE 20%
SE 24%
E.G. Gray bat
Birds
Mammals
1910: 90% of Vermilion County acreage used for farming
IL: 61% Prairies
1837: Self-scouring, steel-bladed plow invented
IL: 32% Woodland IL: 4% Wetlands Vermilion County
1800-1850
signed into law 85% 97,047
86,182
77%
Air quality index (1999 52% - 2009 37%) 81,625 79,728
19,800
3.2% Woodland .61% Prairie
1850-1900
1900 -1950
1950 -2000
Woodland Wo d Area Ear arly ar r 1800's
DANVILLE CITY
2000 -2015
The site locates at the southwest of Danville City, near the downtown area. Vermillion river, which is one of the most important rivers in the county, runs through the site. As a place with rich natural resources and important location, the site will become a riverfront park, giving shelter to diverse species and educating people of natural here. The educator would be nature itself with help of artificially designed strutures.
Site of Riverside Park Woodland Area Early 1800’s
(Remaining cover in the area consisted of Great Prairie and wetlands)
Woodland Area Today
Strategy 1: establishing corridors
River woodlands River Flooding area Migration routine Highway Connection for corridor Habitat for certain species
Bald Eagle (Jun.-Dec.)
Bigeye Chub Black Sandshell
River Redhorse Bluebreast Darter
Woodland area early 1800’s
Wavy-rayed Lampmussel Eastern Sand Darter
The species nearby river 82%
Bald Eagle (Jan.-May) Packard's cave amphipod
Smooth green snake
Woodland area today: decreasing
Smooth green snake Black tern
Cave obligate isopod
Blanding's turtle
Little blue heron
Hen harrier
American bitternÂ
Gray fox
Short-eared owl
American badger
Bald Eagle (Jun.-Dec.)
Strategy to improve the ecosystem
Franklin's ground squirrel
Smooth green snake
Trail and nodes High way
River
Kickapoo Rail Trail
Landing
Bike system
Node (entertainment & education)
Abandoned railway
Railway
Abandoned railway trail
Water way
Kickapoo landing
Water way
Kickapoo rail trail
Recreational trail :
Kickapoo rail trail
Water way
Bike trail
Abandoned railway trail
Strategy 2: Planning recreation trail
Existing traffic main artery
Recreational spaces
Railroad tracks
Parks
Highway
Other recreational facilities Streets
Neighborhoods
Bicycle path system Bike path
Neighborhoods area
Streets
Streets
Existing water area Low-Density Residential Medium-Density Residential High-Density Residential Downtown Mixed Use Neighborhood Commercial Highway Commercial Regional Commercial Professional Office Industrial Public/Institutional Recreation/Open Space Agricultural
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Existing water area Water area Streets
Potential spaces
G
Vacant structure
!
Brown field Streets
Grant St.
Gilbert St.
Vermilion St.
Fairchild St.
Danville High school
Woodbury St. Clay St.
Kathryn Randolph Theater
Williams St.
St James United Methodist Church
Seminary St. Madison St. Harrison St. North St.
Danville Public Library Vermilion County War Museum Fischer Threatre Danville Mass Transit County Market
Vermilion County Clerk
Danville Stadium Downtown area Landmark building Riverfront park
Fairchild St. Woodbury St.
Clay St.
Williams St.
Seminary St. Madison St. Harrison St. North St.
Downtown area Existing parking lot Riverfront park
Fairchild St. Woodbury St.
Clay St.
Williams St.
Seminary St. Madison St. Harrison St. North St.
Downtown area Sidewalks Riverfront park Bikeway
Concept Plan
Natural elements: wind
Opening wind wall: The wind door opens when the wind strong enough
Stronger wind
Fabric wind wall: The fabric moves along the wind
Stronger wind
Section 1-1
Bell wind wall: The bells ring when the wind comes
Stronger wind
a. The site investigation
b.Communicated with local residents
c. Collaboration with students majored in Architecture and Planning
f. Final presentation
e. Model study
d. Preliminary presentation
The Hartley Garden Location: UIUC Arboretum, IL. U.S.A. Site area: 102,108 sqm Designer: Liz Vogel, Linna Yi, Yajing Zhao Design period: Sept. 2015 - Dec. 2015 The garden is a landmark in UIUC. With the residential area around, a garden is a popular place for activities. The design focuses on the sustainability, involving more perennial plants in the plant materials and including more natural beauty and wildness of the layout, encouraging people to have more interaction with nature.
Site Description
Student Dormitory
President's House
Residence Zone
The site locates at the Arboretum of University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. The Hartley Garden was the starting point of the arboretum area in the history. As an important part of campus arboretum, the garden contained diverse beautiful flowers, attracting people for wedding and organization such as American Selections Trail Garden, Hosta Community and Herb Community. The north of the garden is President House of University and on the right is the family house. The Vet. Med. College locates at the west of garden and Japan House, the main part of Arboretum locates at the south.
Ball field Residence Zone
Most of of the plants are annuals for the aesthetic function. During fall and winter, the garden has little attractive things. Also the maintenance costs much. It would be good to reduce the usage of the annuals while keep the beauty of garden.
Vet. Med. College Arboretum
Sprouting Arbor
SPRING
Functions of the Garden
Have a walk
Little bare
Arbor with leaves
SUMMER
Falling leaves
Gather together
Wedding
Education
Land mark
Bloom Little bare
Photography AUTUMN
Withering
WINTER
Little bare
Plant Palette Full Sun
Common Name
Scientific Name
Bloom Time
Height
Nepeta Bottle Gentian Little Bluestem Black Eyed-Susan Yellow Wood-sorrel
Nepeta racemosa 'Walkers Low' Gentiana andrewsii Schizachyrium scoparium Rudbeckia hirta Oxalis stricta
Apr.-Sept. Oct. Aug.-Feb. Jul. Jul.-Oct.
2-3' 1-3' 2-4' 2-3' 0.5-1'
Lupine Leeks Barbarea Blue False Indigo Prairie dropseed
Lupinus perennis Allium babingtonii Winter cress Baptisia australis Sporobolus heterolepis
Late Spring Jun.-Aug. Apr.-Jun. May-Jun. Aug.-Oct.
1-2' 3-5' 2' 3-4' 2-3'
Full Sun
Common Name
Scientific Name
Bloom Time
Height
Pale Purple Coneflower Purslane Switchgrass Mountain Mint Spring Beauty
Echinacea pallida Common Purslane Panicum virgatum 'Northwind' Pycnanthemum muticum Claytonia virginica
Jun.-Jul. na. Aug. Jul.-Sept. mid-late spring
2-3' 0.5-1' 3-4' 1-3' 3-4'
Oregano Willow leaf Amosonia Little Bluestem Anise hyssop Wild Crocus
Origanum vulgare Amsonia illustris Schizachyrium scoparium Agastache foeniculum Crocus chrysanthus
Jul.-Oct. May Aug.-Feb. Jun.-Sept. Early Spring
1-2' 2-3' 2-4' 2-4' 3-4'
Part Shade
Savanna
Common Name
Scientific Name
Bloom Time
Height
Common Name
Scientific Name
Bloom Time
Height
Dwarf Apple Dwarf Chives Autumn moor grass Wild Strawberry Species Tulip
Malus Allium schoenoprasum Sesleria autumnalis Fragaria vesca Tulipa kaufmanniana
Apr. Apr. Sept.-Oct. Apr.-Jun. Early spring
12-15' 1-1.5' 0.75-1' 0-1' 6-10'
Anise hyssop Purple milkweed White wild Indigo Indian Grass White oak
Agastache foeniculum Asclepias purpurascens Baptisia alba Sorghastrum nutans Quercus alba
Jun.-Sept. May-Jul. Apr.-May Sept.-May May
2-4' 3-5' 2-4' 3-5' 50-80'
Plan generating
The entrance
on cti
Se 1
Section 2
Section 3 Section 4
Section 4
Plan
Bird view Section 3
Section 1
Section 2
CAD drawing of garden
10 M N
Seasonal effect of garden
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Landscape Palimpsest Location: Midway Plaisance, Chicago,Illinois, U.S.A. Site area: 32.90 ha Designer: Yajing Zhao, Linna Yi Design period: Jan. 2015 - May 2015 The site locates at the midway, University of Chicago, Illinois. The linear site is about 2,646,500 square foot. The site has been used for Columbia Exhibition in 1893 and for the University of Chicago till now. Although events, activities, exhibitions have been the symbol of the site, these symbols cannot be found nowadays on the site anymore. They have been taken place by the latter new culture. The design views the site as a palimpsest with many layers of history. , The historic events are reflected through visual and tactile experience in an organized travel routine. Through looking and touching these landscape constructions, visitors can experience the history and culture of the site. Small constructions recovered the soul and identity of the site
Site introduction
Theater Fountain of Time
Sculptural works by Lorado Taft
Midway Studio
Ferris Wheel
Ice rink Railway Masaryk monument A part
of cam
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Develo
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Road sy st Artist Lo ems develo ped. rado Ta ft.
Colum
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rtainm
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bia Exo
Laying
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The site locates at the midway, University of Chicago, Illinois. The linear site is about 2,646,500 square foot. The site has been used for Columbia Exhibition in 1893 and for the University of Chicago till now. Although events, activities, exhibitions have been the symbol of the site, these symbols cannot be found nowadays on the site anymore. They have been taken place by the latter new culture.
buildin
gs.
The design views the site as a palimpsest with many layers of history. As we can see in the chart, the bottom one is the site in 1893. During the Expo. the theater, Farris wheel, and railway have been established. The third layer is the site in 1972 when the Midway studio has been built. The second layer is in 1984, with new sculptures and monuments.The first layer is in nowadays with the ice rink and winter garden. Laying the events together, I know where are the popular places. Representing the events in a designed landscape can let users know better about the site’s culture. During exploring the site, visitors can have the same experience of certain historic time.
Palimpsest of events
Technology and new invention, Ferris Wheel, glass dress.
Nowadays, ice rink
Culture and international conference, activities, march
University, students, recreation, ice slope
Plan generated from the palimpsest Five spots were chosen to be the place for “experiencing the history�, including Fountain of time, Ferris wheel, ice rink, railroad and Masaryk Monument. The Fountain of time is a sculpture built in 1920 and the main idea is that visitors can act as father of time, watching each figure passing by. So the design offers a slowly moving conveyor for visitors to use, moving slowly.
Experience
Up and down Gaze
Slowly moving
Open and free
Conscious
The Ferris wheel in 1893 Columbia Expo offers visitors chance to see the scenery from a different height. On the site, the stairs were created, offering visitors chances to have the changing visual horizon. The ice rink offers experience recently. The students usually play with ice during winter. The railroad was built in Columbia Exhibition as a way of transportation. The design offers some similar feeling of the railroad on the pavement so visitors can feel on their feet. The Masaryk Memorial is the hero status which was completed in 1949. The status was made to memorize the hero. The design put some benches to let visitors sit and view the status and the introduction text.
Plan
E-F
F-G E-F
D-E
B-C
C-D
D-E
C-D A-B
A-B
F-G
B-C
N FT 125
Section
250
500
Experience generated from event Ferris
One of the interpreted places is the Ferris Wheel. To offer the experience of the Ferris Wheel, the design abstracts the moving of the wheel. As the wheel moves, the horizon will change. Through the experience, users can recall the Ferris Wheel. The QR code will help the users to know more about the wheel.
Changing horizon The changing height of wheel is related to the different positions. The design uses stairs to create the similar experience as the Ferris Wheel, the changin horizion.
Exhibition hall for Qingdao international horticultural exposition Location: Qingdao, China Site area: 600 sqm Design Manager: Kun,Yuan Design period: Jan. 2014 - Apr. 2014 As the middle part of Horticultural Exposition Hall, first floor, the site is used for exposing the traditional flower arrangement works. I took part in the design process and was mainly responsible for the renderings, design description and the presentation preparation.
Traditional area
First Floor Plan
32.8 FT 10M
Functional zoning map
Activity area Landscape horticulture Traditional horticulture Modern horticulture Taiwan area
Having an area of 600 sqm, the first floor of the 2014 Qingdao Horticultural Exhibition Hall includes the international area and the Chinese traditional area. The international area was designed as the petals and the traditional show shelf was designed in the curvilinear shape, supporting the circulation. The design of show shelf refers to Neo-Chinese Style. The entrance is abstracted from the archway and the walls are generated from the city wall. The traditional area consists of 5 zones, landscape horticultural zone, classical horticultural zone, modern horicultural zone, taiwan zone and electric interaction zone.
Circulation map
Activity area Taiwan area Landscape horticulture Traditional horticulture Modern horticulture Transportation streamline
Perspective Renderings
A B
C
Elevations
Elevation A- Exhibition Wall
Elevation B- Exhibition Wall
Elevation C - Entrance
Landscape conceptual design of key areas for City of Wulumuqi Location: Xinjiang, China Site area: 1780 acres (city area); 180 acres (central area) Design Manager: Tonggang Niu Client: City government of Wulumuqi Design period: Jun. 2013 - Aug. 2013 The city of Wulumuqi locates at Xinjiang province of China. The city is famous for its winter and the beautiful sceneries. To offer a better living environment to the citizens, the conceptual design applies 6 values, including friendliness, ecology, open, identity, climate and quality. The city was built with one axis (connecting the government office and the key commercial areas), two corridors, three belts, four nodes and the urban green net. I joined this project as an intern in the Department of Landscape Architecture, China Academy of Urban Planning and Design. I took part in the street side park design, renderings, and Auto CAD drawing.
Site Description
Friendly Quality
Ecology
Climate
Open Identity
Residential Education and Research Tourism service Sports
Axis Corridor Belt Node Net
Vertical Connection Horizontal Connection1 Horizontal Connection2 Horizontal Connection3 Inner Circulation
Main Street Secondary Street Branch External traffic Traffic nodes
1300FT 400M
China Major design area
Vegetation design
Pavement design
Landscape nodes
Main circulation Xinjiang City of Wu
Street side park
N Plan Location
Perspective of the park path
Perspective of the park path
Perspective of the road
Intention picture 128ft 32ft 64ft
The renderings of selected landscpae nodes
City Central Park
Streetside park 1
3 3 1 Sport Park 2
Commercial pedestrian street
4
4
2
Selected Renderings in XCG Design corp Design Manager: Wang Gu Design period: Aug. 2016 - Sept. 2016 I was mainly responsible for the rendering works in the company.