Project type: Academic Work
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Time: Spring 2023, 1st
Work type: Individual Projec
This is a large public landmark in the harbour of Amsterdam. It is a huge mirror running parallel to the Amsterdam Station and the outbound platform pier, the reflections of the city façade and the station itself can be seen the moment one steps out of the station. The surface of the water reflects the building, and the glass floor becomes an extension of the water into the interior of the building, mirroring the two sets of spaces above and below the water.
This building is a "museum of museums", its interior houses "specimens" of important museums. Meanwhile, the living condition of the people in Amsterdam, which is closely connected with the museum, is translated into the mirror space. It is both a reflection of the city and an index of Amsterdam's figurative tour.
"Of mountain Lu we cannot make out the true face, For we are lost in the heart of the very place."
The Chinese poet Su Shi once came up with an interesting concept: Because man is in the mountain, it cannot perceive the full extent of the mountain. In this venue, countless people step into the city from the Amsterdam railway station. However, they could only see the other side of the river, but could not perceive the 'true face' of the landmark, Amsterdam Station, and the bustling canal district behind it.
The project attempts to create a new landmark for the city by erecting a 'mirror' on the opposite bank, reflecting the exit of Amsterdam station and the city behind it like a mirage in front of the crowd. The building will echo the existing landmarks and the cityscape, creating a stronger visualisation of the city.
This is also a new form of façade preservationism: for an important landmark that combines historic architecture with modern functionality, erecting a mirror on its opposite side seems to be a better way to revitalise it again
With more than 50 museums and 140 art galleries, Amsterdam is known as the "City of Museums" and is one of the centres of the European Renaissance. The lives of local people are closely linked to museums and art galleries, with art and culture becoming a common and important part of life. The skin of the building reflects the look of Amsterdam, while the interior spaces of the building hopefully reflect this unique living atmosphere.
The museum displays a series of "museum specimens", showing basic information and characteristics of the most famous museums in the region. For the visitor, it is a figurative index to Amsterdam. In addition, the building is intended to create two mirrored spaces: the main museum exhibition space on the upper floor and a more living, integrated event space on the lower floor. These "museum specimens" connect the two spaces, reproducing the scene and atmosphere of people living together with the museum in the space of the building.
The white boxes, symmetrical along the centre axis, are the 'specimens' of the museum and serve as backdrops for the different exhibitions. People can also enter the space under the glass through the boxes.
One can reach the small observation tower through the interior of the column. Through the glass walls one can see the city in the distance or look down on the entire interior space of the museum.
A circular opening in the roof brings a beam of light to the interior space that deflects over time, adding to the monumental atmosphere of the museum space. Directly below it corresponds to a circular pool with some plants.
1. MIRRORED CITIES AND THE STATION
The reflection of the building's glass façade on the Amsterdam station and the city, which is most directly perceived for people.
2. WATER REFLECTION
The reflection of the building on the water surface is mirror-symmetrical with the exposed part and overlaps with the vaguely visible underwater part.
3. OVERLAPPING REALITY AND MIRROR IMAGE
The main structure and spaces of the building are symmetrical up and down along the central glass plane, the reflection of which coincides with the real building.
The underwater space has two symmetrical sets of steps along the central axis, which meet at the lowest point with a circular glass stage.The light pouring in from above intertwines with the waves of the sea.
4. SYMMETRICAL SPACE OF THE BUILDING ITSELF
The building plan, façade and interior spaces themselves contain multi-dimensional symmetry. The symmetrical structure creates a orderly space.
1. Pull up a long mirror on the opposite side of the exit, parallel to the Amsterdam station and the quay. 2. Creating a platform along the shape of the bank and setting up two sets of columns to support the architectural space. 3. Generate a symmetrical underwater space with a steel frame and glass in the centre instead of a floor slab. 4. Placement of eight boxes arranged with information and contents of different museums as museum specimens. 5. Eight small observation towers connected to the columns are installed, can also be used as a lighthouse at night.A new platform is created by setting back along the original shoreline. Daylight travelling through the museum's colonnade casts a changing light and shadow on the platform.
The platform not only serves as a viewing area, but also accommodates a bicycle and car parking area which relieves the site of sporadic car parking. In addition the platform does not interfere with the original main route.
UPPER FLOOR
1. Overlook Tower (Ground Floor)
2. Museum Wspecimen
3. Overlook Tower (Second Floor)
4. Escalator
UPPER FLOOR
1. East entrance/exit
2. West entrance/exit
3. Jetty
4. Museum specimen
5. Bicycle entrance
6. Car Entrance
7. Reception/lockers
BASEMENT FLOOR
1. Reception/lockers
2. Equipment room
3. Equipment room 2
4. Car parking
5. Bicycle parking
6. Bicycle parking 2
BASEMENT FLOOR
（ -3 level ）
1. Equipment room
2. Dining room
3. Souvenir shop
4. Equipment room 2
5. Barrier-free toilet 1
6. Barrier-free toilet 2
The sunlight filtered through the glass walls, casting shadows from the massive columns into the interior. The high space supported by the colonnade extends straight ahead, and people move between the white boxes representing the different museums like the ants at the feet of a giant.
Sunlight enters the space below through the diamond-shaped steel frame and the glass floor, bringing in a fine, shifting light and shadow. As one descends the steps towards the bottom of the sea, one's eyes naturally converge on the piano and the performers on the glass stage in the centre.
AAs darkness fell and the building was bathed in the setting sun, the light show began. The lights in the body of the museum gradually come on, and the lights of the city twinkle like stars in the distance. The building's glass curtain wall adds a psychedelic filter to the cityscape behind it.
Early in the morning after the rain, a new group of travellers set foot on this pier. As they look across the river, the buildings reflect the Amsterdam station from afar, reflecting the people who have come and gone. Architecture becomes a giant mirror to this city.
Project type: Academic Work
Location: Dongji Island, Chian
Time: Winter 2022, 1st
Work type: Individual Projec
It is a white house by the sea in the easternmost part of China, which receives the first rays of sunlight on Chinese soil every morning, offers the painter a living environment away from the hustle and bustle.
The site contains two pure elements: sweeping sea views and changing daylight. The whole house is like a white canvas, the traces of light dancing are captured by the space created. The sun guides people's lives again instead of neon lights and alarm clocks, following the Taoist philosophy of "lead a plain and hardworking life".
141.56° E +40.00
141.57° E
+200.00 +120.00 +40.00
The site has an abundance of light and landscape conditions, with the southern side of the mountain range having better views and light than the northern side.
The western side, close to the road, is easily disturbed and away from the coastline; the easternmost side, too close to the coastline, is susceptible to high tides. Therefore, 1 was chosen as the final location.
1. Pull up a square box on the site as the main body and place a vertical box on the reef next to it as a viewing element.
2. The main body is set back in layers in accordance with the topography and sunlight trajectory. Vertical box tilted 30 degrees towards the main body.
3. Create openings in the vertical direction to allow light to enter each floor.
4. Creating openings horizontally allows incoming light to make more weaves, and creates space for traffic.
5. Complementary details create richer spaces, allowing views and light to weave in and out of buildings and environments.
"Inviting light into the room, the white walls and floor will record her dance steps in this space."
A rich variety of openings are created in a plane that is set back in layers according to the topography and the sun's trajectory. Horizontal openings are linked to the position of longitudinal openings, allowing sunlight to enter the room in different forms.
Sunight dances and flows through space as time changes, creating changing drawings throughout the day
At different times, different functional areas are filled with different forms of sunlight. The structure and silhouette of the building form a gigantic sundial that primitively guides human activity.
22:00
Chen takes his daughter to see the stars
11:00
14:00
18:00
The interior space of the ground floor extends outwards to a glass box. Here people can run or do yoga in the sunlight facing the sea.
The study has a staircase towards the roof terrace where diffused sunlight illuminates the desk. At night people can work under the stars.
The backs of people, water ripples dance with the sunlight here. The light creates changing scenes through different mediums.
7:00
Sunlight travels between the tower's staggered openings. As the concrete is eroded by the sea over time, attached barnacles and other creatures will become part of the building.
16:00
Looking out over the white house from the tower's small balcony
15:00
Chen sitting on the beach looking for inspiration
Mrs Chen does yoga in the morning light.
Children playing on the platform, evening sunset behind them Mrs Chen comes downstairs from the bedroom to greet friends Daughter finishes swimming, walks into the bathtub
"Inviting sunlight into the room, the whole house will be her stage."
Get up at sunrise and work until sunset, this is a kind of traditional Chinese Taoist thinking. People act in accordance with the guidance of nature's rhythms, respect for nature. In today's brightly lit society, this mode of living with nature seems to be a luxury.
In addition, the White House embodies a coexistence model of architecture and environment. When the place has a great landscape or natural elements ， architecture can be a medium: introducing natural elements into spaces that are comfortable for people. Sunlight is a common natural element, it is projected on the wall through different openings and changes shape over time. In this state the passage of time represented by the sunlight is more easily perceived, it also creates a space with changing and warm light for the users.
Project type: School Course Work
Location: Liverpool, United Kingdom
Time: Spring 2023, 1st
Work type: Individual Projec
Solid Wave is a tidal power station on the banks of the River Mersey in Liverpool. Unlike traditional power stations which often use the image of a 'closed black box', Solid Wave aims to create a public space for interaction with the public. It generates clean energy while showing people the way it works.
The site is divided between the shore and the water: there is a height difference of about 7 metres, the sea and the people are divided by a fence, and the view to the opposite shore loses its lustre. The building spans the sea and the road through a set of curved walls that flare out in layers. People can pass between them, descending through the curved walls one by one, from the land towards the sea.
Liverpool
CENTRAL DOCK
Abandoned pier, wooden
PRINCES DOCKS
Abandoned pier, concrete
URBAN ELEVATION: The site is located in Liverpool's key harbour and faces the junction of Birkenhead and Wallasey. Site is also the most forward part of Liverpool's urban façade. The western elevations of the buildings here will form an important part of the Liverpool urban façade.
TIDAL: The site is located with an inlet to the sea, the inlet changes from a wide to a narrow inlet bringing strong currents. Twice daily high and low tides bring a steady flow of water.
REGION AND ENERG SUPPLY: The site is bordered on the west by the sea; on the east and north by a mixed-use area of mainly flats and offices; and on the south by a series of marinas. The power station will primarily power the surrounding flats and offices during the day and provide lighting primarily for the marinas at night.
PUBLIC ACTIVITIES: From Liverpool city centre towards the sea, there is always a lot of public activity happening in public spaces. Site could be an attempt to create more public space to perpetuate this romantic state of life.
TEXTURES: The site is made up of several materials, mainly concrete, asphalt and tiles. The site is sparsely vegetated and receives plenty of sunlight. Along the shoreline on the west side is the derelict piers that will be demolished.
POWER GENERATION: The site is located at the mouth of the sea and is rich in tidal resources. Tidal generators are easy to use because the tides bring a steady flow of water in a northsouth direction parallel to the coast, and the daily difference in water level can reach 3.5 metres.
SITE 1:500
SITE 1:2000
SITE 1:200
Birkenhead
Wallasey
LIVERPOOL MUSEUM and PUBLIC SQUARE
SITE
1. Public stage
2. Public open platform
3. Public open platform
1. Public stage 2. Public open platform 3. Public open platform
1. Monitoring / Inspection area
2. Generator exhibition window
3. Tidal Interactive landscape
4. Semi-open public space
5. Semi-open public space
1.Tidal generator
2. Arc wall to control water
DESIGN STRATEGY
STEP 1
Taking the arc of the wall as a basis, it is offset three times towards the shore and once towards the sea to obtain four cascading arcs.
STEP 2
The sky, the plane of the bank and the water divide the space of the site vertically into three kinds of space: the space above the horizon, from the horizon to the water, and underwater.
STEP 3
The horizontal and vertical layers are interleaved to generate two sets of descending polysurfaces 。 The lower surface descends from the ground towards the sea.
STEP 4
The core space is placed in the centre of a spatial grid generated by two sets of faces. The entrance is opposite the plane connected to the ground and the exit is connected to the sea level.
STEP 5
The two polysurfaces from step 3 are fused with the architectural moment spaces from step 4 to form the basic form of the building.
STEP 6
The left side of the building is a complete connected space which has tiered descending ceilings and floors. It's an integrated public space mainly for visitors.
STEP 7
The right of the building is an ensemble of office spaces. The central entrance space separates the office space from the public service space.
STEP 8
Add openings and accessible ramps between floors. The roofs of each level are accessible and together form a rich set of public spaces facing the sea.
Walk down the stairs, towards the sea; Walk up the stairs, towards the sky.
People descend along the steps in tiers from the shore to the surface of the sea, then they spread out onto public platforms at various heights, looking out over the sea and sky from different angles.
Architecture turns the end of a staircase into a stage; the otherwise bland sky and sea into special shapes; the flowing crowd passing the windows into a beam of shadows thrown into the interior; and all the scenery on the opposite shore into a picture in a frame.
1. TIMBER
The main structure above the building is made of two types of plywood made from moistureresistant European spruce. The aim is to reduce energy consumption and be more environmentally friendly, and to be lighter and less burdensome on the structure below.
2. STEEL
The centre section of the building is connected by a steel structure. The steel structure carries special structures such as access stairs and frames for observation windows.
3. STEEL + CONCRATE
A steel frame with a shuttle section supports the tidal generator along with a concrete foundation. The concrete foundation and the steel base carry all the weight.
DERIVATION of the Shuttle Section Steel Structure
Simulate the direction of the flow of water through the arc wall, overlapping position of the columns. The streamline shape with the least water resistance is used as the crosssectional shape of the column, and the direction of the streamline shape is the direction of water flow at that location. 1
1.Timber frame structure connected with light steel keel White stone veneer on external wall.
2.The CLT panels are attached to the other beams and columns similar to the traditional Chinese DouGong.
3.The tidal device that allow seawater to enter at high tide shaping a view.
4. The observation window for underwater situation.
ELEVATION 2
FACING THE STREET, FOGGY
ELEVATION 1
This is the heart of the building, and as people walk in, the space that extends forward frames the view across the river in a single image. As people go further, down the steps, the environment changes from dark to light and opens up. Eventually, people walk towards the sea and are rewarded with a large, unobstructed view of the other side of the sea.
Originally the people in this venue were completely separated from the sea, and the view across the river looked flat in the gaps in the fence. The opening in this building creates a new way of communicating between people and the sea.
When first picked up this simple model to face the River Mersey, was surprised to see what had been a flat landscape become like a picture scroll. There was the shimmering sea, the tumbling, floating clouds, and the buildings of Birkenhead silently lining the coastline.
This feeling led to the concept of building a set of clean white walls with such a pure and strong opening in the centre of them, bringing a new experience and a hint to those who live here and have become accustomed to the sea: towards the sea!
Project type: Academic Work
Location: Chongqing, China
Time: Summer 2023, 1st
Work type: Individual Projec
This is an old building renovation project for White Elephant Residence in Chongqing. The White Elephant Residence is a product of the combination of China's great housing pressure in the 1990s and the undulating topography of this mountain town. The way it adapts to the terrain and its aerial walkways with excellent views make it an important stop for visitors as well.
However, the current White Elephant House does not meet the needs of today's users. Problems such as high living density, inconvenient access and conflicts between tourists and indigenous people are becoming more and more obvious. This project attempts to allow public space to break the original dense and closed pattern of private space in a gesture of encroachment, so that White Elephant House can avoid becoming the next Kowloon Walled City.
Site 1
Renovation target: two groups of old residential buildings of White Elephant. The gap between the two groups of buildings has excellent views across the complex to the Chaotianmen landmark.
Site 2 - 4
Historical building Yuwang Temple; 90's Complex; Modern Chaotianmen Complex. The sight has travelled through the changing times and is the most charming place in Chongqing.
Pre-existing Geographical Conditions of the Site
1.The original site is a waterfront hill. The slope is 25 % and there is an elevation difference of 38 metres over the 150 metre length of the originating site.
4. L-shaped high-rise retreat residence. The podium at the bottom is connected to the bottom of the target building.
2. The plan for the site is to have podiums along the street and to create a flat surface with roofs, and set up four groups of tall buildings with different functions.
3. Target for renovation: Two groups of high-rise residential buildings. The most representative part of the White Elephant House Complex.
5. White Elephant Hotel and existing residential buildings. High-density housing, same as the surrounding buildings.
6. Elevated traffic roundabout and parking tower.Connection to the highway at a higher level, and tandem buildings.
a. High-rise: Highway
b. Mid-rise: Complex and Roundabout
c. Low-rise: Riverside Drive
d. High rise entrance
e. Mid rise entrance (Roundabout)
f . Low rise entrance
g. Semi-open viewing level
FEATURES: The site is divided into three parts a, b and c by height differences, in which there are three kinds of entrances with height differences, this situation at that time eliminated the need for lifts in this 24-storey building. A prestigious sky view corridor in the centre connects the two parts.
ISSUES: Now the need for residential quality outweighs residential density. Excessive population density, lack of public space and conflict between tourists and residents are the main problems today.
a. Diffusion of public space - horizontal
b. Invasion of public space - vertical
c. Additional lifts
d. Cross-river ropeway
STRATEGIES
1. Using the original aerial landscape walkway as the core to spread out into a "cloud" as a series of public spaces to solve the problems of residents' activities and the visitors' conflicts about space.
2. Vertically, the public space invades the original closed building and transforms the floors adjacent to the "cloud" into activity platforms.
3. Addition of six lifts to facilitate vertical access for visitors and residents, also to respond to the ageing of users.
The main body of "A Cloud Floating in Chongqing". Spreading into a huge public space with the original narrow sky corridor as the core. Small commercial units (e.g. cafes, restaurants, shops, etc.) are provided for the convenience of residents and visitors.
134
1. New aerial landscape walkway
2. Original core and scissor stairs
3. Retrofitted lifts
4. Internal public activity space
5. Commercial space unit
6. Commercial space unit (Combination of 2 units)
The entire addition is supported by an I-beam steel frame structure on the original concrete loadbearing structure. Inside the building, the new steel structure inserts itself into the rough concrete structure and exposes it directly to the public - like looking from the White Elephant House to the Chaotian Gate: buildings from different eras appear in one collage. This sense of conflict and wildness is part of Chongqing's charm.
The roof of "A Cloud Floating in Chongqing" was designed as a huge open playground. The running track, large lawn and five-aside football pitch are a rarity in the city of Chongqing, where the terrain is rugged and the football market is booming.
1. Fitness runway
2. Roof lawn
3. Glass-floored lounge area
4. 5-a-side cage football pitch
The original rooms were grouped in four around a reinforced concrete core, and some had balconies that picked out to the outside. Scissor staircases and matching landscape and ventilation openings characterise this group of buildings.
The new room plan is optimised for balconies, which are available to every household. Whilst the elevations have been optimised by modifications to the plan, with staggered white metal balconies look like some small clouds floating in the sky.
The façade is based on the original concrete load-bearing structure and opens up all the faces in one direction. The combination of large glass windows and shutters gives residents the freedom to choose between embracing the stunning views of mountain town and river or protecting their privacy. Chongqing's warm and humid climate does not make too much of a demand on the insulating ability of the glass, but instead may add a vibrant group of greens to the façade.
