Yibo Yuan, born in Beijing, China, is currently advancing his graduate studies as an M. Arch 2 student at the Southern California Institute of Architecture.
Prior to joining SCI-Arc, he worked with Architecture designer Nero He at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. During the practice, he is focused on Phygital (physical + digital) Material and complex geometry through digital technology. A year later, he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he gained a deep understanding of the potential and limitations of various fabrication techniques and materials. He received the Thesis Honor Award during his fifth year in Virginia Tech.
Now at SCI-Arc, Yibo is building on his prior experience by focusing on digital materiality and spatial quality in creating meaningful and functional architecture. He hopes to continue pushing the boundaries of digital fabrication and materials used to create innovative and sustainable designs that enhance the spatial experience.
Table of Content
Pink Punk
Semester: Spring ,2022
Instructor: Jackilin Bloom
Course Name: 2GBX _ Design Studio
Colleborator: Ke Chen
The PinkPunk project envisions a transformative future for downtown Los Angeles, anchored by the Aon Center tower, reimagined as a sustainable, innovative icon. At the heart of this vision lies the commitment to using hydrogen as a clean, renewable energy source, uniquely adapted to support the building’s operational needs and drastically reduce its environmental footprint. This project originated from a profound curiosity about the potential of emerging technologies, particularly in their ability to shape, redefine, and enhance urban landscapes in a future that demands resilience and adaptability
Rather than limiting technology to an aesthetic layer, PinkPunk seeks to position it as a driving force—a tool that embodies both form and function to actively influence design processes. The project prompts a key question: if these advanced technologies become feasible, how might they transform our approach to architectural design? The building’s distinctive, almost futuristic form is a result of the collaborative interplay between human creativity and AI technology, blending the precision of digital intelligence with the intuitive, experiential insights of human designers.
Incorporating Midjourney’s image-generation capabilities, PinkPunk pushes the boundaries of traditional architecture, demonstrating how AI can contribute to both the conceptual and visual stages of design. Through these integrations, the project reshapes architectural norms, extending far beyond current paradigms and envisioning a future where buildings are not only functional but responsive, sustainable, and adaptive to changing environmental demands. Ultimately, PinkPunk opens up new possibilities for urban design, presenting a model for resilient, forward-thinking cities that seamlessly combine ecological responsibility with cutting-edge technology.
PINKPUNK _ MIDjounry Image
MIDJOURNEY _ Form Exploration
By integrating Midjourney’s image-generation technology, PinkPunk challenges the limits of conventional architecture, showcasing how AI can influence both the conceptual framework and visual development of design. These advanced tools help the project redefine architectural norms, moving beyond traditional paradigms to envision buildings that are not only functional but also responsive, sustainable, and adaptive to evolving environmental demands. PinkPunk ultimately pioneers new possibilities for urban design, offering a blueprint for resilient, future-oriented cities that harmoniously blend ecological consciousness with innovative technology.
PINKPUNK _ MIDjounry Image
PINKPUNK_ Public
PINKPUNK_ Commercial
Art Playground
The Art Playground was designed with a focus on playfulness. Our objective was to create a space offers an engaging and enjoyable experience for visitors. By prioritizing the creation of a stimulating environment, we have developed a design that is both inviting and exciting. The playground features a range of colorful and whimsical shapes that encourage exploration and play, resulting in a design that exudes playfulness.
Animation _ Art Playground
The hotel is situated on the level above the Art Playground, seamlessly connecting to the creative energy below. Its lobby features an expansive open layout, emphasizing spaciousness and flow. The design concept embraces a layered approach to space, creating a sense of depth and continuity that enhances the guest experience.
Animation Clip _ Flower Corridor _ Hotel Level
Hotel Lobby
Animation Clip _ Sky Garden
Animation Clip _ Fashion Shop
Commercial &
Animation Clip _ Live - Work
Animation Clip _ Live - Work
Animation Clip _ Live - Work
Full Animation Video _ QR Code
Craft Museum - Gallery
Semester: Spring ,2024
Instructor: Coy Howard
Course Name: Vertical Studio
Craft Museum - Gallery is an architectural project that delves into the complex relationship between art and architecture, challenging the idea that these fields are separate or opposites. It raises a provocative question: Can art become the medium of architecture in the future?
When we find a painting or artwork “interesting,” it often embodies certain qualities: uniqueness, movement, complexity, mystery, and potential. When these same qualities are applied to architecture, they can elevate a structure from simple functionality to an engaging experience.
Gallery aims to push the boundaries of architecture by integrating artistic elements, creating aesthetic and narrative moments throughout the space. The project is grounded in the creation of “Third Form” collages, unique compositions that merge details from seemingly unrelated objects. These collages act as a bridge between different narratives, highlighting both connections and contradictions.
The design process begins by transforming these “Third Form” collages into architectural moments. These artistic inspirations are then woven together with dynamic movements, resulting in a space that is both functional and visually compelling. The final outcome is an architectural experience that blurs the line between art and structure, inviting viewers to interact with the space in new and surprising ways.
THIRD FORM COLLAGE
_ Gee’s Bend Quilts & Military Helicopters
THIRD FORM COLLAGE
Covered Wagon & Mercedes SL 300
THIRD FORM COLLAGE
Mexican Pre Columbian pottery & Mark Rothko Paintings
Craft Museum Gallery_ Render
Beyond transforming the “Third Form,” a range of spatial strategies enrich narrative-driven spaces. These include adjacency, contact, positional shifts, interweaving, co-emergence, and diffusion.
Movement is essential in architectural design, as it fosters curiosity and engagement. The difference between drama and episodes lies in how space is revealed. By introducing variety, interrupting continuity, and offering diverse viewpoints, spaces invite people to make choices, gradually unfolding episodes within the environment.
Craft Museum Gallery_ Render
Craft Museum Gallery_ Render
Materials play a crucial role in transforming artistic language to create intrinsic spaces. When two distinct elements come together, they generate tension, sparking a dynamic interaction. These moments of merging between different materials create an intellectual movement, prompting the audience to notice contrasts and become aware of this unfolding motion.
Craft Museum Gallery_ Render
Craft Museum Gallery_ Render
Craft Museum Gallery_ Render
Synthetic Fields
Semester: Spring ,2022
Instructor: Jackilin Bloom
Course Name: 2GBX _ Design Development
Colleborator:
Ke Chen, Prerana Dhadoti, Tristan de Anda, Ian Fennimore, Arnar
Skarphedinsson, Parth Patel, Riya Vankatesh
Syntheitc Fields Presents a near-future, utopian urban vision of downtown Los Angeles predicated on the adoption of large-scale nuclear fusion energy. The project manifests as an urban microgrid centered around a central fusion core. Program is distributed through the grid as disparate totems, carrying their own character and likenesses.
The interstitial space collective towers is imbued with synthetic biomes, formed through the generation of endless energy. These biomes serve as a response to climate change and urban activities as these spaces can be transformed instantly to house a variety of natural and unnatural entities. Elevated paths form a ubiquitous ground plane that connects the towers, weaving between the newurban conglomerate. As an urban assembly, the new microgrid organized around the fusion reactor deploys towers housing one main program. Architecturally, the towers are read as follies; totems of an existing paradigm that begin toform a new reality.
Programs such as the blockchain center, representing a decentralized, online currency, still require extremely dense physical infrastructures to support them. These physical instantiations of future technologies echoes what much of this project aims to achieve; a representation of a future that speculates on both where architecture is and where architecture, as a component of our collective social and economic zeitgeist, may go.
Synthetic Fields _ Chunk Development _ Material
Synthetic Fields _ Chunk Development _ Material
Synthetic Fields _ Chunk Development _ Material
CHUNK ANALYSIS
The detailed analysis zoomed in on a building segment featuring various façade systems. It integrated elements such as glass, aluminum panels, and algae pipes, with a design focus on the functionality of the structure and the assembly of the façade components.
Chunk Assembly Animation _ QR Code
Synthetic Field _ Renders
Qi - tu
Semester: Fall ,2022
Instructor: Racheal McCall, William Virgial
Course Name: 2GAX _ Visual Study
Colleborator: Hanna Lovise
This project, Qi-tu, explores the intersection of life and the digital universe through the medium of lamp design, questioning the essence of existence in a virtual context. While life in the physical world is easily identifiable, the project probes what “life” means in the digital realm.
The process began with 3D scanning techniques, transforming human heads into high-fidelity digital models. These scans served as the foundation for a narrative that reimagines history through a combination of intricate geometry, texture, and digital manipulation. Using a variety of digital tools, the human head models were artistically altered and combined into innovative designs, resulting in lamps that blur the line between the organic and the virtual.
The final step in this workflow brought the digital designs into the physical world through 3D printing. The resulting lampshades, installed onto simple IKEA lamps, represent a fusion of the personal and the technological. The deliberate layering of textures and saturation creates a visual experience that is both captivating and intentionally messy, showcasing the transformative power of digital technology to reinterpret everyday objects in unexpected and thought-provoking ways. This project not only highlights the creative potential of digital workflows but also sparks a conversation about the boundaries of life and design in the digital age.
SCULPTING _ Renders
Following the scanning of our heads and their digitization, we extracted alpha patterns from the resulting data to create mass and void geometries. This process was repeated to generate a digital amorphous object that ultimately served as the new lamp shade for a typical IKEA lamp. The result is a unique and visually striking piece that highlights the potential for digital techniques to transform everyday objects into something truly extraordinary. Overall, the project serves as a testament to the power of technology to push the boundaries of creative expression and design.
3D SCANNING _ Renders
This project is dedicated to exploring techniques that bridge the gap between physical and digital realms. It all began with 3D scans of our bust portraits, which served as the foundation for further development and experimentation. By working at the intersection of these two worlds, the project seeks to spark a new discourse on the ways in which we interact with technology and the built environment. Through this process, the project highlights the potential for new and exciting forms of creative expression and innovation.
Our second project focused on the creation of a short animation that highlighted the diverse range of materials incorporated into the lamp’s design. The animation was crafted to present these materials within the framework of a cohesive narrative, emphasizing their interplay and the conceptual journey behind the lamp’s creation.
LAMP PHOTO _ Physical
Once printed, the lamp transitioned from a digital creation to a tangible physical object. It began to interact with its surroundings, moving beyond the confines of a 27” screen render. The lamp was exhibited across various locations on the SCI-Arc campus, and with each new setting, it developed a unique narrative, shaped by its context. These evolving narratives were then brought back into the digital realm, where the lamp was re-rendered to amplify and reinterpret the stories it had absorbed. This process highlights the fluid exchange between physical and digital realities, enriching the lamp’s character and its ability to engage with its environment.
RENDER _ Digital
Lamp Photo_physical
LAMP PHOTO_ Physical
class - Room
Semester: Fall ,2022
Instructor: Racheal McCall
Course
Name: 2GAX _ Design Studio
Colleborator: Hanna Lovise
This project begins with a curated selection of 10 small objects from everyday life, merging them with digital design techniques to form a cohesive narrative structure. By reinterpreting these objects through digital processes, we aim to discover new ways of generating form and storytelling, pushing the boundaries of traditional design practice. The project focuses on experimenting with digital workflows that enable rapid iteration and testing of formal arrangements. Through this digital exploration, we aim to craft a unique, engaging narrative that highlights the playful, adaptive, and creative aspects of contemporary design.
In a related project, we concentrated on designing a playful, functional environment for an elementary school, recognizing the importance of creating spaces that are both safe and stimulating for young minds. Our goal was to design a space that fosters exploration, creativity, and connection with the natural world. The resulting design is lively and imaginative, featuring vibrant colors and whimsical shapes that encourage children to engage with their surroundings. Outdoor areas, such as playgrounds equipped with swings, slides, and climbing structures, provide spaces for physical activity and social interaction. Indoors, the design emphasizes creativity, with areas dedicated to imaginative play and learning. Natural elements, including greenery, sunlight, and open spaces, are thoughtfully integrated to create a harmonious environment that connects children to the world around them. This holistic approach results in a vibrant, inspiring space where children can learn, play, and grow, immersed in an atmosphere that celebrates curiosity and joy.
Low & High-res Objects
Each object was gathered from our home and carefully selected for this study. These items served as inspiration for the design, acting as starting points for creating playful spaces within the school. We categorized the objects into two groups: low-resolution objects and high-resolution objects.
Wood Particle
Name tag
Hairpin Hook
Door stopper Can Slime “Boot” door stopper
Gravel Bottle
Hybrid Objects
Using digital software, specifically C4D and ZBrush, we modeled these objects in 3D. We then combined the two types of objects to create hybrid models that could be used as the basis for the school’s design. Our aim was to leverage digital workflows to quickly iterate on formal arrangements and explore various design possibilities.
objects _ Digital Render
Hybrid
Library _ Renders
The design process for the library room involved a detailed exploration of sectioning techniques, with a focus on layering. In total, 18 section cuts were utilized to create this space, each with its own distinct materials and colors. To enhance the dynamic nature of the room, a small Ferris wheel was incorporated in the center, adding an element of interest and movement.
Playground _ Renders
The playground classroom utilizes a design language that emphasizes the distinction between low and high resolution objects through the use of color, lighting, and materials on the surface. High-resolution objects are represented by a simple orange color, while low-resolution objects are adorned with a complex blue-green material. The classroom also offers multiple areas for various activities, making it a versatile and multipurpose space.
