Portfolio Zibo Zhou by Zibo Zhou

01 NECROPOLIS: THE CITY OF THE DEAD ROOSEVELT ISLAND, NEW YORK

墓：纽约垂直陵园 Critic: Dagmar Ritcher Fall 2015 Among many urban settings, especially New York City, the ceremonial practices revolving around death has been suppressed to the minimal, due to issues regarding money, land usage and urban life styles. As a result, the rituals of yearly celebration and commemoration of death, common to rural residents, are almost nonexistent or suppressed in an urban environment. Moreover, New York City cemeteries are facing gridlock. With 60,000 New Yorkers die each year, the urban cemeteries, which harvest horizontal land for graves and cremation niches, are expected to be full within 50 years. In response, a new vertical cemetery— the Necropolis — is proposed integrated with a gondola system, which provides not only sufficient burial spaces for a century under current death rate for New York City dwellers, but also a public urban hub

where people can travel, celebrate and commemorate. Situated in the east river adjacent to the Roosevelt Island, the Necropolis connects Long Island City with Midtown Manhattan. There are two major entrance to the building: one is through the sky gondolas 200 feet above river, the other is a below river walkway tunnel that connects to the Roosevelt Island. The façade, blocks wat er at the bottom, slowly dissolves into multiple facets and chapel spaces as the tower grow in height, and disappear at the top. Except the chapels and the core, the spaces are entirely unconditioned, which blurs interior space with exterior space, allows infiltration of air and precipitation.

01 Necropolis: The City of The Dead

EXISTING CEMETERY LOCATIONS

EAST ELEVATION

PROPOSED GODOLA STATIONS

SOUTH ELEVATION

01 Necropolis: The City of The Dead

NICHES LEVEL

GONDOLA LEVEL

The cemetery and infrastructural programs are treated as “slow” and “fast” architecture respectively. The “slow” architecture represents the dense program of cemeteries where city dwellers commemorate the death of loved ones through ceremonial practices from their individual respected culture. The “fast” architecture represents the major transportation hubs for the skytram to arrive and depart. CORE SECTION 01 Necropolis: The City of The Dead

GONDOLA SECTION

The major argument for the Necropolis proposes the individualist qualities of spaces. Like New York City, the urban culture for city dwellers are not the same, but rather are spectrums of diverse communities. Unlike the modern skyscraper, the Necropolis has multiple fractures and facets where cemeteries, cathedrals, and chapels would 10

CHURCH SECTION

occupy the city like how city dwellers experience New York City. With the skytram submerged with fragmented cemetery topography like of a subway under a city, the Necropolis becomes a vertical city. New York City as an urban typology reflects death through a multiplicity of emotional eradication, chaos, and entropy. With various

chaotic fragmentation demonstrating that every space is designed to be different from one another, the project investigates the cultural convention of what a cemetery is and composes a new typology for the self-reflection of New Yorkers.

02 URBAN CORRIDOR: TOWARD NEW PLASTIC ARCHITECTURE NAVY YARD, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

城市走廊：从油画到模型 Critic: Eunjeong Seong Spring 2016 “What painting wants more than anything else is working space – space to grow with and expand into, pictorial space that is capable of direction and movement, pictorial space that encourages unlimited orientation and extension.” Charles Eliot Norton, Working Space In Mark Jarzombek’s essay “Corridor Spaces” a history of the architectural corridor is presented showing the emergence and evolution of the corridor over several hundred years—since the 17th century. In this historical time line the corridor emerges as a space between and a segregation of rooms and uses. In time the corridor in Jarzombek’s study becomes a space of its own-

-rather then a space between segregate programmatic needs it becomes the enabler of program and becomes political in its own right. In addition, Frank Stella orbited back toward the Renaissance and as far forward as urban graffiti looking at ways in which painting begat a more palpable and occupy-able plasticity—a place for a body that was itself plastic. The palpable way space was described had, it seems, been lost in architectural criticism of the time—in its place a series of techniques often based in image or figure but rarely material or space.

02 Toward New Plastic Architecture

RAPHAEL, THE DEPOSITION (1507)

As a series of extensive model studies done in two months, these foam models are derived from early analysis of Renaissance Painting The Deposition by Raphael. The study attempts to interpret the movement and the figure-void condition in his two dimensional painting through three dimensional models, which are further used to define the urban corridor. 14

During the study, heat gun is used as a source to sculpt the blue foam. Under controlled temperature, time and a defined path, heat displaces material to form various protrusions, indentations and voids (fig. 5). The end product is used as the building block for one of the earliest model scheme of the corridor detail. As a result, the displaced foam created a dramatic spatial composition, with abrupt

variation in wall thickness, undulating surfaces that pushes and pull the interior space, and unexpected thresholds that are formed when two walls with different curvature meeting at the same edge.

02 Toward New Plastic Architecture

The effect of using colored string as structure is powerful. First of all, the dense field of string enables the individual members to be relatively thin, thus creates an indefinite boundary of interior and exterior. Secondly, similar to the positive figure shapes the negative opening, the string shapes the void; thus, it is neither solid nor transparent, it is a field of enmeshed structure. Thirdly, the travel of color is not painted directly to structure, but instead applied independently, which creates an effect of the color overlay and transition. Fourthly, as people moving around within the corridor shaped by structure, they are experiencing the color travel with movement.

In contrast to a rigid formal representation of the foam in one freezing moment, the urban corridor could also manifest as a plastic architecture at an urban scale. The heat emitted by the heat gun becomes a conceptual heat: heat that could potentially come from human body and, as a result, constantly redefined the interior walls based on level of activity and population densities. 02 Toward New Plastic Architecture

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03 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ROWING BOATHOUSE INWOOD HILL PARK, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

哥伦比亚大学皮划艇船屋 Critic: Donald Cromley Spring 2015 Locate at Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan, New York, the boathouse provides a storage and training space for Columbia University rowing team. In addition, to boat storage and weight training, the building is also equipped with an eight person rowing tank, a multi-purpose room, two classrooms, four offices, and two shower rooms with lockers. Interestingly, the site enclosed by the old Columbia boathouse, is also shared and accessed by local communities. Therefore,

instead of forcing local residents to walk around the building, the new design marks the public entry through a bold movement – integrating public pathway with the building in which the former penetrate through the latter. In doing so, it not only creates a convenient access to both the boathouse and the site, but also creates a public space shared by both the Columbia students and the local residence. The staircase links the pathway with the site, which provides seating areas for both relaxation and public-private interactions.

03 Columbia University Rowing Boathouse

movement â&#x20AC;&#x201C; integrating public pathway with the building in which the former penetrate through the latter. In doing so, it not only creates a convenient access to both the boathouse and the site, but also creates a public space shared by both the Columbia students and the local residence. The staircase links the pathway with the site, which provides seating areas for both relaxation and public-private interactions. 26

03 Columbia University Rowing Boathouse

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04 PRATT INSTITUTE GRADUATE DORMITORY INWOOD HILL PARK, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

哥伦比亚大学皮划艇船屋 Critic: Donald Cromley Spring 2015 The Pratt Graduate Dormitory, located besides Pratt campus on Myrtle street, is a housing complex that composed of an eight stories slab building with individual unit, and a two story mat building with family units. With the bottom two floors slant back from the other floors, the slab building and the mat buildings forms an entrance where it opens directly to Pratt, a gesture that invites student into the site. As the main concept of the project, the three-dimensional folding is governing the design at three different scales, namely, the form of the mat building, the shape of the unit and the pattern of the façade. In order to maximize natural ventilation, the slab building is made as thin as possible with single loaded corridor. The

façade, generated from the paper folding and high-density foam milling studies, is designed to provide shading during summer and capture sunlight during winter. The east façade facing street has various openings that correspond to the functions of interior; while the west façade has wavelike openings enable more lights to illuminate the corridor. The mat building, to the west of the site, has triple and quadruple bedroom-units thar all facing the courtyard. It provides privacy for the families, as well as individual entrances to each unit. As a solution to efficient unit planning within the site, the mat building allows less units within the slab building, which enhances the natural ventilation and sunlight penetration.

04 Pratt Institute Graduate Dormitory

30°

45° #.1

#.1

15°

30° #.2

30° #.3

#.3

#.2

Facing South at an Angle

10°

10° Grid

Openings

Module Assembly

Manipulation

Corresponding Plan

Sunscreen Elevation

Shade

Sunscreen Section

GROUND LEVEL

SECOND LEVEL

04 Pratt Institute Graduate Dormitory

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05 CHINATOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY 250 GRAND STREET, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

中国城公共图书馆 Critic: John Szot Spring 2014 As a cultural institution in Chinatown, Manhattan, the library composed of three sectors – the auditorium, the book stacks, and the archive. The auditorium, being the most populated program, is slightly below ground floor that is directly accessible from both entrances. The archive room, being the most private space, is located at the top floor. The in between floors are book stacks, reading rooms and lounges. The form of the building is developed through a series of study models, in which the color blocks indicate different programs. Afterward, selected models are carried on to a larger scale for more detail development. The façade, which wraps around the

whole building, has openings that are governed by the programs inside. The lounge, for instances, has relatively large openings compare to that of book stacks and the archive. An interactive moment is created at the Grand street entrance where the façade folds down to become a bench for people to sit on. A strip window is set above the bench, which not only permits lights into the auditorium, but also allows for interaction between people at exterior and interior. Moreover, on the fourth floor, the skin is folded back to create an exterior space, which allows people to enjoy the weather in a sunny day, as well as having a direct view to the park that is right across the street.

05 Chinatown Public Library

06 WAVEHILL ARTIST ACADEMY WAVEHILL PARK, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

城市公园艺术家中心 Critic: Anne Nixon Fall 2013 The Wave Hill Academy is designed as a cultural center in the WaveHill park, the Bronx. Target to the working artists in the park, the project composed of living and studio spaces, gallery for gathering and exhibition, as well as lecture rooms for teaching purposes. Driven by the tripartite functionality, the form was derived from the initial study model with each program facing a different direction.

that bridges the other two programs – the classrooms on one side that is closer to the road, and the studio on the other, with the dwelling separate from the entire structure to create privacy. Sited on a drastically sloping hill, the building is elevated above the ground to not only reduce damage to the vegetations of the WaveHill park, but also create views that open to the forest to the south and the Hudson river to the west.

The gallery, being the most public of all, situated at the center

06 Wavehill Artist Academy

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07 EXDOXIA: THE HOUSE OF CONSTELLATION 384 CLASSON AVENUE, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

展馆：星座观察屋 Critic: Anthony Caradonna Spring 2013

“In Eudoxia, [...] a carpet is preseved in which you can observe the city’s true form. [...] each place in the capet corresponds to a place in the city and all the things contained in the city are included in the design. The true map of the universe is the city of Eudoxia.” - Italo Calvino, The Invisible Cities The House of Constellation, situated in a narrow space between two townhouses on Classon Avenue, Brooklyn, is a conceptual gallery/observatory that intended

to reflect the elements and themes of the imaginary city – Eudoxia depicted by Calvino. In Eudoxia, “a carpet” interwoven in “harmonious patterns” is thought to be “a true map of the universe”. In a similar way the “mysterious bond” between the carpet and the universe was brought as the main theme of the project and was represented through wall punctuations and light filtrations to achieve a close reflection of the starry sky.

07 The House of Constellation

08 DRAWING 绘图

As the second of the representation series, the course focuses on the representation of one precedent project – House X by Peter Eisenman. Though some of the drawings are analytical isometric presentation of the project, most of which are abstract perspective drawings that tries to explore the spatial, compositional, and conceptual idea behind Eisenman’s rigorous methodology of the making of House X.

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As an introduction to parametric design, the course focuses on drawing techniques that conveys the complex curving geometries into two dimensional drawings. The project started with a phenomenon study, specifically, the form and motion of liquid diffusion within water. Through a series of diagrams, the movement is documented and analyzed in terms of shape, speed, and direction traveled. The data is then used as a generative tool to create a tectonic massing, which resembles the dispersion movement in a three dimensional volume. The massing is represented using contouring, overlaying and shading techniques, as well as graphic renderings.

09 MODEL ć¨Ąĺ&#x17E;&#x2039;

Built with only basswood dowels and sticks, the two models are apparatuses designed to support specific weight. Contrast to massive over-constructed trusses, the target of the project is light, elegant and minimal material. The first model, which is a Z shape three feet cantilever, is designed to hold five pounds at the end. The piano wire at the top takes tension, while the wood truss at the bottom takes compression; the arm gradually become smaller from base to tip in order to maximize efficiency. The second model is a body support apparatus that holds oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chest from a table. Getting ideas from both tree root as the support, and rib cage as the branch surface, the model is designed in a series of hierarchies which the wood gets thinner from the base to surface. In order to fit the chest comfortably, the strips are soak in water and bend afterward to conform to the plaster cast of my chest. 60

The RainShine House by Robert Cain is a LEED platinum residence in Decatur, Georgia. It is known for the sophisticated butterfly roof, which both captures rainfalls for reusable water and also exposed to sunlight for energy generation. The models are made for the purpose of studying the structure and floor framing, as well as the green system used in the building. In both models, gray indicates concrete, beige indicates wood, and black indicates steel. 62

The Lloyd’s building by Richard Rogers is a high-tech office building in London. It is known for exposing all the services to the exterior in order to maximize its interior space. The model is made for the purpose of studying façade assemblies and piping systems. For circulation of fresh air within the building, large stainless steel pipes that carries air into the floor slab, while the exhausted air are sent to the triple glazed window in order to warm up the façade which reduces the energy required for heating.

10 PROFESSIONAL WORK ĺˇĽä˝&#x153;

Deigned to be an experimental space, the Light Pavilion in Chengdu offers a unique experience for visitors, one that is thrilling and unprecedented. The steel rods penetrating through space with glass platforms and stairs suspended from the ceiling, overlooks the central plaza of the Sliced Porosity Block by Steven Holl. Light entangles with geometry, the structural columns are illuminated within which glow brightly in the night time. The light is further intensified by the mirrored surface enclosing the pavilion, creating an infinite extension of the space. The six sketch models and two large models commissioned by Christoph Kumpusch were used for archive and exhibition purposes. 66