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P O R T F O L I O J E N
T A N
JEN YOUNG TAN graduate architect / shadow chaser / general on instagram / professional pasta eater
C O N T E N T S
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Design Projects During A Pause Purity + Precision: Metallic Vessels of Refor m The Per fect Delusion Topologies of Desire
Other Works Solitudine Transit Ashes to Ashes
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D E S I G N P R O J E C T S
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Above: Moment drawing of the first encounter with the building Opposite: (top to bottom) Elevated boardwalk, free play area
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During A Pause
Location: Warbuton Redwood Forest, Victoria, Australia Upon being diagnosed, the first priority of a cancer patient that is also a parent is the well-being of their child. Yet so little attention and resources are in place to ensure that these children receive much-needed emotional and social support. This is where architecture and its ability to foster social relations comes into play. The project thus questions how we can design a space to create a psychosocial environment for children to come to terms with their grief through using architecture to create opportunities for creative play and encourage social relations. The spaces designed are open to interpretation and self-expression. The bereavement centre is designed for children to deal with personal loss and grief within an appropriate social and emotional environment.
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Opposite: (top to bottom) Ground floor plan, section Above: Axonometric
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THE POD IS ELEVATED TO SIT AMONGST THE TREE CANOPIES. THE TRANSLUCENT GLASS ALLOWS THE SHADOW OF THE FOLIAGE TO PASS THROUGH, CREATING AN EPHEMERAL ATMOSPHERE.
TEARS SHED ARE COLLECTED ON A DEVICE AND TRICKLE DOWN PIPES INTO A POOL BELOW.
THE POD IS CLAD WITH FROSTED GLASS TO ALLOW FOR PRIVACY WHILST ALLOWING OTHER USERS TO CHECK IF THE SPACE IS OCCUPIED WITHOUT INTRUDING.
A SQUARE SKYLIGHT ALLOWS NATURAL LIGHT TO PENETRATE THE SUNKEN SPACE.
THE ENCLOSED CONCRETE SPACE CREATES A SERENE YET COMFORTING ENVIRONMENT FOR SERIOUS CONVERSATIONS.
CHILD’S SEAT IS ELEVATED TO ENSURE DIRECT EYE CONTACT BETWEEN ADULT AND CHILD.
ROOM IS EMBEDDED INTO THE EARTH TO CREATE MORE PRIVACY.
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Opposite: (top to bottom) A room for crying, counselling pod Above: Art therapy area
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Above: Ground floor plan Opposite: (top to bottom) Concept drawing, section
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Purity + Precision : Metallic Vessesls of Reform
Location: San Francisco (hypothetical site) Yo, b*tch! This project investigates the role of architecture in representing a role of specific functions: coffee roasting, brewing and tasting. Loosely based on the television series Breaking Bad, the community comprises of crystal meth cooks who are looking to reform and redeem themselves. The pursuit for a pure and precise end product (in the television show) is transferred to the act of coffee making - the obsession over creating that singular, perfect cup-a-joe. The architecture parallels the idea behind brewing coffee; that a logical and rational process is able to produce a phenomenological experience centred around smell and taste. Architecture is generated through a narrative. Through this pursuit to stay clean, the community become empowered with the gratification of producing the ‘cleanest’ and purest substance. Each step of the process is ephemeral and intangible, with the exception of the used coffee grounds. What is normally a waste product is used here to fill the central space. Even when the community is long gone, they will continue to remain, a palimpsest over time.
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Above: (Clockwise from top left) Physical model, detailed section, a door for coffee Opposite: Moment drawing of the roasting space
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6:00pm, Midsummer’s Day: Jesse programs the machine to roast the last batch of Ethopian beans for the day. The room is warm and slightly humid from the steam. Rays of sunlight bounce off the stainless steel wall. The room seems almost ethereal. The smell of sweet maple syrup and bitter, grassy pipe tobacco fill the air. The roaster emits a tiny chorus of faint popping sounds, nearly drowned out by the shuffling of feet and crunching of coffee grounds just outside. All is well. Welcome to A Cathedral for Roasting.
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The Perfect Delusion
“Post-structuralism has helped a lot to build a narrative around history that challenges certainties.” - Elvira Dyangani Ose (Curator, Fondazione Prada), in conversation with Scott Woods The Perfect Delusion challenges the idea of a linear narrative in history. Using the above quote as a starting point, it manifests the idea that meaning is subjected to the viewer’s perception and knowledge rather than the author’s. The installation attempts to create an experience that challenges and questions one’s perception of reality. Two themes embodied within the installation are conflict between mind and eye; and plurality, as elements precede one another. Transparent and reflective elements create a layered intensity, distorting context and individual perspective. There becomes an overload of information. The concept is based on French post-structuralist Jean Baudrillard. In his 1981 philosophical treatise ‘Simulacra and Simulation.’, he wrote that society was becoming increasingly obsessed with meaning. This final phase of the project uses two galleries (Phase A) and museums (Phase B) as a sort of threshold or device from which the objects within the installation can be viewed through.
Above: Installation details Opposite: Overall installation
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Studies of how the quality of light affects perception and experience in (left) Teshima Museum and (right) Museum of Roman Ruins
Topologies of Desire
Location: Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia This project plays on enhancing the feeling of relief and satisfaction when a destination is finally reached after a long journey. Inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, where Dante writes about his journey from hell, through purgatory, to heaven. The outcome is a luxury hotel and spa that is minimal, austere and overwhelming. The idea of hierarchy is heavily incorporated and defined through the transition and treatment of each space. Multiple contrasts - rough to smooth, big to small, dark to light, and closed to open, along with materiality are used to accentuate this experience. This journey is not only architectural, but aspires to reflect one’s mental and emotional purification as they undergo this experience. The hotel visitor is denied any views of the surrounding landscape until the end of the journey, enhancing its beauty.
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Opposite: (left to right) Hotel room plan, exploded axonometric Above: (top to bottom) Perspective of bathroom, section
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Above: Moment drawing of hotel lobby Opposite: (top to bottom) Moment drawing of spa stairwell, moment drawing of hotel room
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O T H E R W O R K S
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Solitudine
In collaboration with the Architectural Association Visiting School This project studies the subjects of architecture and light through the medium of analogue photography. Each photo comprises of linear elements that draw attention to the subject framed and its interaction with light. This stemmed from my interest in trying to capture ethereal and ephemeral moments in spaces that occur only at a specific time. Light is present in each moment, but the atmosphere produced is still, empty and lonely. Each image is intimate and excludes the wider context, leaving the viewer curious about what exists beyond the frame. There is no clear indication of where and when these photos might have been taken, encouraging one to project his or her own perspective onto these pictures. The last image is similar in its technical process, formal composition and presence of light -- however, the resultant effect completely contrasts the others, evoking a sense of hope and freedom. Taken with a Nikon F3 on Kodak ColourPlus 200
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Transit
In collaboration with the Architectural Association Visiting School This project uses film as a medium to address the role of architecture in addressing political communities. It questions how the European Union’s visual identity is currently represented through architecture. ‘Transit’ showcases spaces within the European Parliment that are traditionally deemed as less important; the interspaces - corridors, bridges and staircases - that allow the building to successfully function as a political body. The film hopes to extract poetic atmosphere and beauty that otherwise would not have been noticed, evoking emotion from these seemingly “emotionless” and functional spaces. This is done through using architecture elements as unique framing points, creating new perspectives of a familiar building. Another theme within the film focuses on purpose through action i.e. making otherwise insignificant architecture become more meaningful. As Tschumi states, “Architecture is defined by the actions it witnesses as much as by the enclosure of its walls.” The motion of even a single person traipsing through the frame reflects how human activity can completely transform the mood of a space. Watch ‘Transit’ at: https://vimeo.com/206483924 Read full journal at: https://issuu.com/youngjt/docs/aavs_journal
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Ashes to Ashes
Conducted by Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa, this Easter workshop focused on the intepretation of the emotional and experiential essence of The Last Supper through architecture. Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky and the cinematic language of his film Nostalghia (1983) was a primary inspiration for the phenomenological approach to this exercise. Midway through the Last Supper, Jesus suddenly reveals that someone will betray him. A supposed calm and peaceful meal turns into complete and utter chaos. Chairs that were originally neatly arrayed topple and overturn as panic dominates the scene. Darkness and a sense of foreboding creep into the site, behind the backs of the Apostles, initially oblivious to the incoming devastation. It is overwhelming, spreading, eating into the original pureness and simplicity of the space. The charred and cracked remains reflect death and destruction beyond repair, echoing Judas’ extreme act of treachery. Within the day, Jesus was captured and crucified. However, he miraculously resurrects from the dead three days later. Like a phoenix being reborn again from its ashes, the model tries to showcase this through the gradient between the pure, light plywood and the charred, dark timber. Amidst the ashes and ruins, a ghostly figure emerges. Is it Judas, watching everything crumble after his betrayal, Jesus, revived after his supposed death, or simply a passerby observing the scene?
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