Yuqiu.Yao-Portfolio for UCL

ERASING IT A E R C C T H URE

YUQIU.YAO

Applying for University College London MArch Architectural Design

Erasing architecture

SITUATION:

In the 30 years after the reform and opening up, China has followed the urban planning and architectural design strategies since the Western modernist architectural movement and has transformed our cities with large-scale high-speed construction. In the context of mass-produced buildings, architects, for various reasons, have focused their attention on the shape of buildings, focusing on the rise of landmarks to accentuate our urban image. The excessive lack of connection with the environment causes the traditional local context to be subconsciously separated, and a thousand cities have a commonality.

DISCUSSION:

Architecture, a kind of civilization that is a visual symbol of human beings, has existed since ancient times with the attitude of conquering the environment. After solving the economy and people's basic needs, should we reconsider what buildings should look like in addition to standing tall and eye-catching? What should the form of the building be in the environment?

MANIFESTO:

In an extraordinary natural environment, architecture does not have to overemphasize its existence and should be in harmony with nature. Sometimes, architecture does not appear as an independent body but as a "media" to connect nature and humanity. In the design, the separation of the building as a huge body from the environment is eliminated, and architecture associated with nature is created. Emphasizes the weakening of architectural modeling so that the building can be dissolved in the environment to the greatest extent.

PORTFOLIO:

In this portfolio, three main projects are developed to discuss how to erase architecture. At the initial stage of discussion, architecture "In the wall" exists as a gesture of overcoming nature, and the relationship between architecture and the environment is in opposition. During the mid-term development, the building "Between the forests" mimics nature, blurring the original boundaries of the building. In the final detailing project, the building "Under the tree" is nature itself, genuinely submerged in the environment.

Contents

How to erase architecture?

01 In the wall

Monumental

Architecture over nature Individual P3-p6

02 Between the forest

Regeneration

Architecture imitates nature Individual P7-p10

03 Under the Tree

Renaturalization

Architecture is nature Individual p11-p14

Yuqiu.Yao

Bachelor of architectural design Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University 2018-2022 Rodvd@outlook.com +86 18666086530 Guangzhou China

SITE ANALYSIS

IN THE WALL

Indivisual work

Tutor: Roberto Podda

Location: Sardinia, Italy

Major city

Migration Relic Density

Situation

Due to maritime tourism, population and resource flow to coastal cities, while the inland areas have historical sites and lack the flow of people.

Therefore, in this project, a tourist loop will be formed to balance internal and external vitality through the development of inland historical sites and scenic spots.

Italy Sardinia Barumini

NURAGIC DEVELOPMENT

Protonurgagic 1700-1500 BC

Tholos Nurgagic 1600-1500 BC

Classic Nurgagic 1400-900 BC

Shape

From rough natural curves to artificially polished straight lines.

Space

Spatially, from narrow corridors to larger interior rooms.

Conclusion

In the Nuragic stone civilization, architecture and nature are in opposition. Stone architecture reflects the conquest of nature through artificial modification and re-creation.

Hierarchy

The ruins extend upwards along the terrain, and the diameter of the building corresponds to the identity of the tribe.

DESIGN CONCEPT

Aiming to re-energize the hinterland's economy, the new Nuragic Cultural Research Museum is designed through the Typological analysis of the local ancient buildings, combined with Artificial aesthetics

Gaudí said, "Straight lines belong to human beings, and curves belong to God." However, the Nuragic stone civilization's development is a continuous pursuit of turning natural curves into artificial straight lines

Just as the 2001: A space Odyssey , a pure and proportional cuboid is created to express the civilization's conquest of nature.

Every appearance of the black obelisk represents the evolution of civilization

Chasing the perfect 1:4:9 Chasing the absolute straight line

TYPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

The main PROTOTYPE STRATEGY is for the pure cuboid to extend straight down along the terrain, in contrast to the old relics that grow upwards combined with natural curves. Showing that the nuragic civilization is coming from nature but over nature

Load on original structrue

Thickness for Rigidity

A similar Longitudinal wall load-bearing structure system is adopted, and the I-beam and other structures are used to reduce the thickness and increase the strength.

Nuragic's religious buildings create an atmosphere faith by highlighting the changes in light and shadow It could be adapted to the internal design by staggering the slabs.

Wall as space in modern design: In Louis Kahn's buildings, the thickness of the walls is highly prominent. Among them, vertical walls are often used as functional spaces, and horizontal walls are used as equipment rooms.

Time Before After

Tools Architecture Urban fabric

Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) 2001: A Space Odyssey

“Cow” of light in Nuragic Zuras

Due to the particularity of stone architecture, its construction is more like creating as much usable space as possible in a vast wall. The wall as space is the primary design strategy.

In the design, the 2m thick wall not only plays the role of supporting structure but also acts as a service space to provide corresponding functions.

Nuragic Research and exhibition Center

The wall's thickness and the mass of matter have become space, giving humans and objects a real possibility of existence (Cacciatore and Kahn, 2016).

countyard

countyard

0.5m-StoneFacade

1.5m-StoneConcreteWall 1m-ContreteRoofwithinsolation 0.75m-ConcreteFloor 0.5m-ConcreteSlopedfloor 2m-ConcreteFundation

Offical area

Public Canteen

Leisure area

Aerial View

The Dilemma of the Suzhou Old Town

BETWEEN THE FOREST

Indivisual work

Tutor: Richard Hay Location: Suzhou, China

Project "BETWEEN THE FORESTS," located in Suzhou, aims to face the problems faced in urban regeneration by learning the artistic conception of Suzhou's traditional gardens. Through the architectural translation of the feeling of being "in the forest," the building acts as a "medium" to connect nature and humanities to recall people's long-lost vitality and creativity in urban space.

Garden as micro landscape

Old Town

Site

Suzhou - City of Garden

DESIGN CONCEPT

Suzhou, known as the city of gardens , was an outstanding representative of ancient city planning. However, facing problems such as traffic congestion and housing shortage in modernization is inevitable.

Suzhou gardens well reflect the harmonious relationship between architecture and gardens. Its artistic conception is primarily shaped by miniaturizing the scenery, mountains, lakes, bridges, and forests in another form, such as organic composition. The way of designing a garden is as same as the way of drawing a landscape printing

DESIGN VISION

For the original historical buildings, mushroom columns are used to elevate the wooden structures and replace them with translucent exterior walls to weaken the original robust enclosure.

For the surrounding open space, the organic combination of mushroom columns is used to create a sensory experience of " between the forests ", providing a relaxing public space in this crowded and busy old city.

DESIGN GENERATION

Historical building

Hierarchical, independent Three abandoned buildings

Break the boundaries Remove and reactivate

Cultural Lack of natural light indoors

Occupied by motor vehicles

Semi-transparent facade Underground Parking Lot

Destructive transformation Lack of public social activity Nearby vacant land Commercial

Garden culture exhibition Local handicraft market

Original architectual office Coffee and snack court

10.Meeting room

11.Boss office

12.Office area

13.Circulation hall

14.Rest room

15.Residential area

16.Buddhism hall

17.Reception 18.Circulation hall

19.Craft workshop 20.Leisure balcony

21.Roof garden I

22.Residential area 23.Rood garden II 24.Circulation hall 21 23

Elevations

UNDER THE TREES

Indivisual work

Location: Vallbona, Barcelona

When the environment is surrounded by artifical infrastructure, how can we break the situation?

Project "UNDER THE TREES" is located in Vallbona (Barcelona), a small town isolated by artificial infrastructure. The main structure of architecture is alive trees, which organically constitute a real forest, allowing people to experience natural changes and awakening human sensory instincts. The re-naturalization of the area is achieved through such a tree-based strategy; architecture is erased into the environment, thus breaking the blockade of solid blocks.

Tutor: Teo Hidalgo Nacher

CONCEPT

Trees are used to replace the original building structure to eliminate the separation between users and the environment caused by the massive shape of the building. By weakening the architectural shape and reconnecting with nature , architecture can be dissolved in the background to the maximum extent.

TREE SUPPORTING STRUCTURE

Design logic

Trees are alive and dynamic . They are the foundations of treehouses but cannot be thought of as still, static columns. They must be allowed their move. Preventing this natural motion harms the tree's health and is catastrophic for a treehouse's structural integrity. Thus, the two dynamic forces that govern treehouse platform construction are tree growth and tree movement

1.Adapt to tree growth

Tree growth over time Minimal impact on Sapwood

HOW TO ERASE ARCHITECTURE?

1.Formless

Crown (Growing)

Sapwood (Living)

Trunk (Mature) For connection

Tab remains stationary

2.Offset tree movement

Architecture does not overemphasize its shape but integrates into the environment. What we see is not architecture but forests themselves. In other words, to build a building is to create a forest.

2.Tree supporting structure

As the soul of architecture, the structure is replaced by trees instead of traditional reinforced concrete.

3.Growing Façades

Rather than being separated from the environment by a heavy solid wall, use a translucent green facade and participate in its growth

Heartwood (Dead)

Trees grow in two different directions: upward and outward. Upward tree growth only happens at the tops and tips of the trees. This means the trunk will stay at a constant height from the ground even as the trees grow taller. The Increasing Sapwood is the only growth factor we consider in design.

Root (Growing) Tree movement Beam

Dynamic upfic arrestor

ADAPTION AND COMBINATION

Structure unit Function Terrain

Canopy for Pedestrian Bridge

Agricultural Products Sales Center

Vallbona Kindergarten

Linear deck Linear combination Binary Ternary

Quaternary

Semicircular slope Regular combination

Flat ground

Organic combination

VallbonaKindergarten

CanopyforPedestrianBridge

Under the trees

Vallnona Kindengarden

+5.0m

+4.5m +0.0m

Design concept: First, the kindergarten is based on the "tree house" design, which not only allows children to be in close contact with real nature but also eliminates the cold feeling of reinforced concrete. And the best way to let children feel nature is to go directly into wilderness. When the leaves turn yellow and red in autumn and fall from the branches, children feel the natural changes, breathe and grow together with the building.

1 2 3 5 6

4 14

Legend

1.Storage 2.Meeting room 3.Office

4.Canteen 5.Courtyard 6.Technical

7.Library 8.Classroom 9.Toliet

Canopy for Pedestrian Bridge

Design concept

The bridge is the primary connection between Vallbona and the outside town, but people are not provided shelter from wind and rain. Building a canopy with trees as a structure can soften the original rigid connection between the building and the residents and promote more diverse exchanges between the residents and the outside world.

Partial

04 Cremulator

Team work

Tutor: Waylen.He

Personal responsibility: Project leader, Collage, Model making, Render, Design generation

Group member: Yuqiu.Yao; Dingcheng.chen; Yuyin.Fen;

Looking back at the history of human trade development, it is also the history of symbiosis with bacteria and viruses. The virus is not scary. What matters is how we can avoid panic and give rational feedback.

The project's background was during the worst period of the new crown epidemic when the funeral system could not meet the demand of the surging death toll. The project aims to ease people's emotions while dealing with the contradiction between supply and demand by designing a mobile corpse incinerator.

Due to the Covid-19, the resources of cemeteries, which are already undersupplied, are even more strained.

Among the history of symbiosis with epidemics, we envisioned a future in which the new crown epidemic has not been controlled. On the contrary, humanity faces more significant challenges from the virus. Because only by considering the worst future can you have the courage to face the current situation. As of early 2021, the global spread of Covid19 has been mitigated by the efforts and cooperation of governments, but there is no doubt that the epidemic is not over yet. Humankind faces new challenges in the post-epidemic era, addressing the problems left over while controlling the epidemic and recovering the economy.

Among issues, one of the essential situations is the efficiency of body handling and burial. The surge in deaths has posed an enormous challenge to the current healthcare system, with countless bodies sitting idle for long periods, unable to be effectively disposed of. At the same time, people are also shrouded in the haze of infectious disease, home working, and living in a small epidemic. At the same time, it brings about the anxiety and fear of different family members.

Brief

Traditional chinese cemetery

Design generation

The circle represents the cycle of life

Function and System

1.Abstract from traditional cemetery typology.

2.Rotate the circles symbolizes the cycle of life. 3.Reconnect and add functional device

Harmful gas treatment system

The smoke toxic and harmful gases and odors generated during the incineration of the corpse are discharged nto the atmosphere and directly affect the environmental quality.

Bone ashe input

Ashes after grinding will be diffused through 4 tubes to the outermost ring ribbon from centre, the whole ribbon will turn to dark slowly.

Floating system

A propeller is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral, that, when rotated, performs an action which is similar to Archime des' screw. It transforms rotational power into linear thrust by acting upon a working fluid, such as water or air.

Based on the known information such as the size of the blade and the speed, we can calculate how many watts of power are needed to make the entire cremator levitate.

Diameter (m) * Pitch (m) * Propeller width (m) * Rotational speed square (rp/s) * 1 atmo spheric pressure (1 standard atmosphere) * experience coefficient (0.00025) = tension

Cremulator

Bone ashe Output

The ashes fill the outer ribbon and then enter the three inner ribbons from the other four pipes, and then return to the centre Giant Bone altar

After being brought back from the ribbon, the ashes will be put nto a large urn to complete the whole process

Grinding Machine

After corpses incinerated, leftover bones need to be ground into powder

Entrance of Corpse

The bottom of system is connected with a tube, the tube is used for power transmission and corpses delivery.

Brownian motion

Brownian motion, or pedesis is the random motion of particles suspended in a medium (a liquid or a gas). Because the higher the temperature, the more intense

spread from the cremator will move randomly when entering the 'ring ribbon', and gradually fill the entire ribbon.

The transparency of the ribon can tell the amount of ashes, and the more ashes there are, the darker the ribbon, so as to achieve a vigilant effect.

Ashes after grinding will be diffused through 4 tubes to the outermost ring ribbon Harmful Gas from burning corpses.

Transparency Based on Death case

Other work

05 Blooming facade

Team work

This is the teamwork project in the sustainable and tectonic studio. Based on bionics, study the transformation of plants to adapt to sunlight and combine the parameters of sunlight to design an opening and closing façade system that can change according to the weather

Tutor: Nicola Pagnano

Personal responsibility: Project leader, Design concept, Grasshopper, Movement logic, Digtial model making, Physical model making, Photography Group member: Yuqiu.Yao; Lanshan.Ye; Wenqing.Hu; Yuchen.Wang; Yuxin. Teng ; Liujiahe.Luo

Case study of movement logic

Location: Atlanta, Georgia,America

Architects: 360 Architecture, HOK

Area: 185,806m²

Year: 2014 to 2017

Category: Design implemented intensity expand based on pres the opening they expansion cells to changes. their orientation in inter light. to full avoid photosyn movement shading inspired by vacu plants repre diagrams.

Inspiration From nature Adaptive facade based on weather parameter

Movement process

Laterally, the photosensitive element drives the motor to rotate the main gear according to the weather change, thereby driving the comb-shaped part to move outward. Vertically, the Y-shaped lever goes the board up due to compression. The large-area change of the shading range is realized with a small-volume structure through multi-directional changes.

Cloudy

Design generation

06 Tree structure Bride

Team work

Tutor: Chitraj Bissoonauth

Personal responsibility:3d-priting, Render, Photography

Group member: Yuqiu Yao, Zhaoyi Yan, Aubeeluck Kushav Dharvish, Xinying Wu, Fan Bai, Yuze Gao, Yifei Jia, Yang.Zhang, Jinke Yang

1.Basic concept: Tree as connection

Our campus is divided in half by a canal, and the project aims to reconnect the north and south campuses through an efficient bridge design. In terms of design, firstly, the tree canopy differentiation system is learned, and then it is translated into grasshopper logic to generate bridges in the form of trees. Finally, ameba is used for mechanical optimization to obtain the basic shape.

2.Tree trunk as support structure

3.Branches grow along the bridge deck

4.Mechanical optimization of biomimetic structures

Visual

Suzhou Carvanserai

Team work

Tutor: David Vardy

Personal responsibility: Production, Assembly, Allocation, Photography...

Group member: Yuqiu Yao, Zhenhuan Wang, Yunshen Zhang and so on.

Project Description:

Suzhou Carvanseriai, set in a traditional Suzhou garden, is a collaborative project by School's Design and Research center and Suzhou Culture Association. It aims to activate the vitality of the old city through modern design combined with classical garden culture.

Although the scale of the exhibition is far less than that of Suzhou Design Week, the adjustment it faces is the most stringent. Due to limited construction conditions, lack of workforce, wrong original size, and other reasons, we cannot fully present it according to the digital model on the computer. Therefore, we changed our construction process, combined paintings of different sizes in proportion, and adjusted the corresponding positions according to the characteristics of the pictures. Finally, we got a project with freedom and happiness.