þETTA Reddast
GeoBEING _ Time-presenting Monolith
A data center embracing the function of a memorial hall.
Design Studio 602 - Group Project (2)
Instructor: Danielle Willems
Teammate: Yiran Zhao
Anable Basin, Long Island City + East River, NYC
GeoBeing is a data center embracing the function of a memorial hall, in which the information of the group of people in their afterlife is stored and presented through the space experiment. Three key elements form the essence of this project: the sun, the water, and the earth. With these elements, this project aims to construct an interaction between the information sources (which is the data center) and the receivers (who need access to the data). This interaction happens based on the experience of the transition of ‘Time’, and it could be demonstrated and presented in three stages: the center as an interface between life and death, the transition in experiencing the natural elements, and the transition between the materials.
Time is documented and memorized in GeoBeing, with GeoBeing and presented by the existence of GeoBeing. The past, the present and the afterlife happen timelessly in this ‘time-presenting’ monolith.
Overall Massing Directed by Principal Sun Angle
The second strategy is the overall massing directed by the sun’s projection. It represents the beginning and the end of a human’s life cycle. Two critical sun angles in the year (sunset on the new year and sunrise on Spring Equinox) are applied to create the on-site grid and refine the massing with the circle cut. Also, the sun angles will assist in defining the shape of the building’s key moments around sunrise and sunset on the equinox or solstice.
DEFINING EXPERIMENTAL MOMENTS
The Earth | Rammed Earth
The structural system of this building is the concrete skeleton with rammed earth as the vital cladding. The copper frame holds the continuous precast rammed earth modules and hangs back to the concrete wall. The rammed earth floats along the concrete monolith with the copper frame and becomes the representation of the time transition. As time goes by, the rusted and the water stains will climb up to the materials’ surface, illustrating the loss of time and becoming the mark of the building’s memory.
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01. CLOSE-UP: ROCK / RAMMED EARTH / METAL
02. CLOSE-UP: ROCK / RAMMED EARTH / CONCRETE
03. CLOSE-UP: CONCRETE / METAL / RAMMED EARTH / WATER
04. CLOSE-UP: ROCK / RAMMED EARTH / METAL (NIGHTTIME)
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MEMORIAL LOBBY + PRESENTATION SPACE
DATA ROCK
CONTROL CENTER
ENTRANCE WATER AREA
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The Earth | the Data Rock
To bring a better experience of the ‘Transition’ from the moment entering the site, the third strategy for GeoBeing is to create a meandering experience along with the site. The overall massing will connect different sides of the bay to have a more intimate relationship with the water.
To bring a better experience of the ‘Transition’ from the moment entering the site, the third strategy for GeoBeing is to create a meandering experience along with the site. The overall massing will connect different sides of the bay to have a more intimate relationship with the water.
01: EXTERIOR MEANDERING - Entering the GeoBEING.
02: EXTERIOR MEANDERING - Walking Along the Bay Side.
03: EXTERIOR MEANDERING - Experiencing the GeoBEING from the Rock Lake walkway
Psychological Waiting Room Renovation
Creating the Niche for UPenn Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Healthcare Seminar 739 - Group Project (3)
Instructor: Mikael Avery
Teammate: Zihua Mo, Hanyan Chen
3624 Market St, Floor 1, Philadelphia, PA
The Niche is a waiting room renovation project of UPenn’s counseling and psychological service center. The project site expanded from the old indoor waiting room to the streetscape along Market St., aiming to conceive a more calming and welcoming atmosphere for patients with ‘Curve’ as the principal design element.
Along the streetscape, the waiting pavilions embrace the function of an open pavilion for meditating, books/plants exchanging, and communicating. By integrating the healthcare environment into a normalized daily experience, the streetscape waiting area could alleviate patients’ anxiety and promote a comfortable environment before starting their counseling or treatment.
The ‘Curve’ is amplified in the indoor waiting area, where the seats are designed to provide various levels of visual privacy. Patients have more choices about their siting environments. Meanwhile, greenness and healing animals(goldfish) alter the serious atmosphere of the old waiting area. Besides the function of waiting, the Niche could be a different world’ bringing patients a moment of calm and peace.
The Niche | Street Views and Old Waiting Room
The project site expanded from the old indoor waiting room to the streetscape along Market St., aiming to conceive a more calming and welcoming atmosphere for patients with ‘Curve’ as the principal design element.
The Niche | Streetscape Waiting Pavilion
Along the streetscape, the waiting pavilions embrace the function of an open pavilion for meditating, books/plants exchanging, and communicating. ment into a normalized daily experience, the streetscape waiting area could alleviate patients’ anxiety and promote a comfortable environment before
The Niche | Indoor Waiting Area
The ‘Curve’ is amplified in the indoor waiting area, where the seats are designed to provide various levels of visual privacy. Patients have more choices their siting environments. Meanwhile, greenness and healing animals(goldfish) alter the serious atmosphere of the old waiting area. Besides the waiting, the Niche could be a different world’ bringing patients a moment of calm and peace.
VERTICAL FOREST - Life in Between
Village in Forest, Forest in Building
Design Studio 601 - Individual Project Instructor: Scott Erdy
46th St. & Market St, Philadelphia, PA
This residential project: Vertical Forest – Life in Between, deals with ecological environments, cultural diversity and food security. This project aims to explore a Semi-communal Lifestyle, in which the social fabrics created by communal spaces tie up and soften the scrupulous daily rhythm of the urban residents. A greenness utopia is made within this forest to explore a new urban communal lifestyle.
Traditionally, one residential unit will contain all the required functional spaces to serve a resident’s daily routine in conventional housing. The communal units for framing, as well as communication and transition, will attach to its periphery. However, what if the functional space can be smashed and reorganized, and the communal units work as the bond to tie them up. The design process tries to apply various single-function units into a residential complex to discover a different mode of cohabitation. A vertical forest is formed by increasing the unit quantity and inserting additional support space such as circulation core and mechanical rooms to take up assigned residents.
A Semi-communal Lifestyle starts in this Vertical Forest, finding a new way to blur the line between private and communal, life and work, solitude and togetherness.
Challege the Traditional Urban Lifestyle
1.0 Sunlight Strategy
A. Reacting to Solar Zenith Point
B. Reflective Strategies
Reflective Mesh
Reflective Surface
A. Occupant Load and Occupancy Types
B. Quantities of Fire Stairs and Remoteness of Stairs
C. Common Path of Travel
D. Max. Egress Travel Distance
PRIVATE MASSING - LIVING UNIT
REFLECTIVE SOLAR SURFACE
REFLECTIVE SOLAR MESH
COMMUNAL SPACE
GREEN/FARMING SPACE
INTERVAL SPACE
Ventilation System - operable glass panel
Ventilation System - air filter mesh
Ventilation System - operable structure system
Ventilation System - water circuit
Water System - water pipe
Electricity System - electricity circuit
Water System - water collection tank
Control Panel
Electricity System - electricity box
Electricity System - electricity box in each unit
Ventilation System - in/out air filter
Water System - water pipe
Electricity System - electricity circuit
PRIVATE MASSING - LIVING UNIT
ENTERPRISE CENTER
FOREST CORRIDOR
LOBBY
The light and the greenness will cascade down from the vertical forest at night.
PUBLC/PRIVATE PARTNER CITY
An illustration of a mix income neighborhood
Design Studio 502 - Individual Project Instructor: Eduardo Rega
52nd St Station, Philadelphia, PA
Public/Private Partner City illustrates a market in a mixed-income neighborhood in West Philly. It tests and achieves a creative and imaginative scenario-making process by modifying the board game: Commonspoly, a reversed upgrade of the monopoly. The player I hold is Philly for REAL, a community-focused and globally engaged organization aiming to achieve an inclusive society benefiting the people’s common good.
This market is designed under a gentrified scenario with severe social segregation. Spaces for the middle class and those designated for lower-income people are equipped with unequal resources. In such a situation, this market design tries to fulfil the requirements of different parties in one community.
This design is composed of two inter-supported parts. The upper part supported by the scaffolding structure is the high-end market with stretching and stream-lining walkways to add aesthetic value. The lower part is the autonomous market in scaffolding structure to improve space efficiency. With a skilful usage of the structural modules, grassroots organizers form an integrated space between the separate gathering locations of low-income people and link the street blocks divided by the mixed-income neighborhood to create spaces for grassroots events and expand their influence. As a result, the scattering spaces of action form an invisible archipelago inside the original city blocks where interior guerrilla urbanism is mobilized to support the community.
City Axon: Zooming into a closer relations
Scaffolding Module System:
One decision about the structure system was to use the prefabricated Scaffolding Module as the primary support. The Ramp Space designed for the superficial community improvement sits on these Scaffolding Modules. Besides metal module, the other construction materials are crates, corrugated metal sheets and some simple furniture donated by grassroots organization members. The assemblage of these Activity Space Project maintains a high level of adaptability and flexibility, extending from the vacant space to the repurposed interior of community housing.
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High-end ramp space(left) v.s. Autonomous open market(middle) v.s. Interior Action Space(left) :
In the high-end store of Ramp Space, no mundanity of structure could be witnessed here. The space is spacious and has decent access to natural light. The lower autonomous open market occupied spontaneously around the Scaffolding Module Space. It forms a strong contrast to the ramp’s relatively Interior Action Space occupies the vacant spaces in the neighborhood. The scaffolding module expands from the space between the residential housing
light. However, only a small gentrified population could afford this high-end space. relatively ‘empty space’. housing to the repurposed housing interior.
The contrast between daily situations and specific situations at night. In the everyday situation, the activity spaces are separated, sitting peacefully in the vacant space like the additional structure the residents built for storage. However, an integrated area is formed with the instant scaffolding modules during specific situations in special conditions. Repurposed housing spaces in the community will be temporarily included in this integrated area, linking the street blocks to create an instant route for resources transportation and carnival celebration, expanding the activity influence of the grassroots organizations.
Mix income neighborhood Daytime v.s. Night-time/Spacial Events (next page):
SUBLIME HINGE _ Proximity, Folding and Forming
An inclusive and flexible spatial design.
Design Studio 701 - Group Project (2)
Instructor: Homa Farjadi
Teammate: Weiwei Gao
Reservoir Dr, Philadelphia, PA
Sublime Hinge is a research project about proximity, folding, and forming. The project derived from the 9 Hinge by Wachsman and the Sublime study about transcendence. Folding a hinge element three-dimensionally can create a modular space with infinite variations. Meanwhile, challenging the quantity and scale of repetitive single-modules have the potential to explore a spatial experience of transcendence.
Therefore, the project design starts from the discrete single-module, folding and forming hinges in characteristic angles (60 and 90) for structural stability. One module could create spatial moments, but merging and repeating will alter the visual understanding of elements from a discrete stage to a continuous one. Merging a single spatial moment in a set of 3 or 4 generates the basic programmatic modules.
These modules create an expansive hinge system extending in site, the Fairmount Park responding to the slope. The layout of the discrete moment and the continuous spatial line is broken by each other. At the same time, specific module aggregations are challenged in scale to create another layer of transcendence experience in the program. Cross-laminated timber is the key structural material for the folding Hinge. The inclusive and flexible spatial design ultimately embraces an experimental transition between integral massing and discrete moments.
Expansive Hinge System | Challenge the Quantity and Scale
Challenging the quantity and scale of repetitive single-modules have the potential to explore a spatial experience of sublime transcendence. The regularity of the two systems: discrete moment and continuous spatial line will break each other and integrate to create transcendence moments.
Proximity, Folding and Forming
The project derived from the 9 Hinge by Wachsman and the Sublime study about transcendence. Folding a hinge element three-dimensionally can create teristic angles (60 and 90) for structural stability. One module could create spatial moments, but merging and repeating will alter the visual understanding
Single Modular Variations
Wachsman Study | 9 Hinge One-axis of Rotation Freedom
Principal Folding Angle: 60
create a modular space with infinite variations. Therefore, the project design starts from the discrete single-module, folding and forming hinges in characunderstanding of elements from a discrete stage to a continuous one. Merging a single spatial moment in a set of 3 or 4 generates the basic programmatic modules.
Multiple Modular Variations
Continuous Cells
Continuous Cells
Light Chamber
Light Chamber
Gathering Niche
Gathering Niche
The sublime principals continue to the larger site, the Fairmount park. The layout of the discrete moment and continuous spatial line is controlled by the reservoir edge and Kelly Drive along the contour. Not only the regularity of these two systems is broken by each other, but specific hinge modules are also challenged in scale to create another layer of transcendence experience in the program.
In Close-out Plan, the top left arrow identifies one of the main entrances. Meanwhile, specific spatial moments such as Gathering Niche or Performance Space will break the parallel linearity to direct the circulation to various directions.
The experience of the program starts from the exterior meandering. The Sublime hinge follows the gentle slope to create an expansive hinge system extending in the hill. Cross-laminated timber will be the key structural material for the folding hinge.
Zooming closer into the interior space will bring another layer of experience.
The inclusive and flexible spatial design ultimately embraces an experimental transition between integral massing and discrete moments.
Professional Practice: RITTENHOUSE HIGH-RISE OFFICE
Selected Revit construction and detail drawings
Visual Construction and Detailing - Individual Project Instructor: Patrick Morgan
1901 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Professional Practice: SONG_Chang Shan Tou FACTORY
Schematic Design: Resort+Exhibition Center + Reading Lounge emphasizing the local traditional
Dongguan, Guangdong, China.
CULTURE EXHIBITION CENTER CIRCULATION RESORTS RESIDENTS CIRCULATION
Professional Practice: URBAN PARK MICRO RENOVATION
Bamboo Installations in the Xianmo Flower Field Landscape Park
Atelier cnS ArchitectsArchDaily Building of the Year 2022 Awards; World Landscape Architecture 2022 Merit Award
Shunde Guangdong, China.
This art installation is a shell structure series. The principal materials include Chinese bamboo, palm tree bark and steel. The iteration of construction details evolved according to the morphological patterns.
The design structure is derived from the excellent tensile and bending properties of bamboo. The softness of the bamboo material naturally forms a three-dimensional enclosed space. This enclosed ‘grey space’ works as the shelter to provide shading from sun and rain and enhance ventilation and heat dissipation in the subtropical climate. Palm tree bark works as a sustainable roofing material for the bamboo structure. This is a local material from an undeveloped town in Hubei. The palm tree bark was transported to Guangdong by starting an ‘anti-poverty project’ in this town. A traditional fixing method, ‘Coir rope stitching’ from this small town, is used to attach the palm tree bark to the bamboo structure.
After completion, this Urban Park Micro Renovation project becomes an exemplary sustainable case with profound social benefits to traditional techniques preservation and commercial benefits to the undeveloped town.
FLOWER PAVILION
HUI PAVILION
BREEZE PAVILION