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Concept Design Originating from the Essence of Columns Wake Resonance and Collective Identity
4 Three Libraries
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Cliff Village Renewal
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Go As You Are
1 In-between Hongkong
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CONTENTS
Renovation Folding Landscapes in Interstitial Space of High-density Cities
Skyscraper A Commemorative Building Based on the Five Elements
Rural Planning A New System for Extending Production and Living
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Wantong Zhang Portfolio
Selected Works from 2019 to 2023
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1 St Jerome, by Dürer. The foundation of the building, surrounded by stones, has a bench for studying, and the trees next to it also cast shade. 2 Morandi, in this painting, he depicts the shadow and space between the two buildings. He no longer painted the object itself, but the space around it: stop thinking about the object itself and start thinking about the environment around the object. 3 Aldo Rossi “Within the architecture there is the city, and within the city there is the architecture” 4 Eileen Gray drew inspiration from Galileo. The macroscopic universe is referenced in the surrounding furniture. 5 Sketching plans and sections is the uncalculated meditation of artists and architects, a divination ritual both empirical and abstract. Through drawing, we are able to carefully analyze the site, intuitively feel the transformation of functional layout into space, and find meaning in the details of complex construction and materials. 6 Six Persimmons Mu Xi, a Zen monk and painter at the end of the Song Dynasty "Words, things, and places: Isn't the mission of artists and designers to foresee the future, capture the present, and make ordinary things unforgettable through each of their creations?” 7 Alvaro Siza. He blends the natural world around us with all our actions, such as the noise of washing hands and the leisurely movement in and out of the sauna. 8 Ophelia by Sargent's Graceful confrontation and poetic expressiont in the face of death. 9 "It blends into the earth without piercing the sky." "I imagined myself cutting the blade into the ground and turning the cut up. A kind of original violence and pain was there. was cured." by Yin lin
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Status quo
IN-BETWEEN HONGKONG
Hong Kong, located in the south of China and east of the mouth of the Pearl River, is across the sea from Macau to the west, adjacent to Shenzhen to the north and the Wanshan Islands in Zhuhai to the south, with a total land area of 1,106 km2 and a sea area of 1,648 km2. With a total population of 7,474,200 by the end of 2020, it is one of the most densely populated regions in the world .
Competition project \ Individual work UIA-HYP 2022: Folding Landscape Time: Fall 2022 Instructor: Shaopeng Zhang Site: Hongkong, China A
B
Kowloon City
C
Kwun Tong
Hilly Territory
High-Density
Agriculture
Hong Kong exhibits a typical coastal hilly topography characterized by numerous hills and limited flatlands.
Hong Kong is among the world's most densely popula ted a reas, with 6,690 people per square kilometer according to the 2015 statistics.
The development of agriculture is constrained everywhere, with a shortage of arable land, gradually turning it into a declining industry.
Limited urban space
High urban density
Reliance on imports
Squeezing agricultural land
"Cage room"
High cost of living
D
Shatin
Sham Shui Po
Quarry Bay, Eastern District, Hong Kong
Monster Building
Scheme Nature Neighbor Connection
Shipping Costs
City's Image
Heat Island Effect
Employment
Conceptial rendering Urban
City
Agriculture
Residents
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Folding Landscapes in Interstitial Space of High-density Cities. The conventional relationship of urban and rural space is being overturned, as population growth in cities outpaces the productivity and availability of agricultural land. Rapid urban development has also stressed socio-economic stratification, creating issues of “food equity” as low-income communities experience a disproportionate lack of access to fresh foods and an adequate diet. Climate change as well as natural and manmade catastrophes further threaten the resiliency of our cities and food systems. As a whole, the “ecology” of living is becoming increasingly vulnerable, with concerns for social welfare running parallel with demands for more responsible environmental stewardship. Confronted with the challenges of a small urban area and extremely high population density, low-income groups in Hong Kong find themselves confined to "cage homes," enduring a life within cramped spaces. Simultaneously, rapid urban development has exacerbated socio-economic disparities, leading to issues of "food equity" as low-income communities disproportionately lack access to resources. Witnessing this plight, I used a lightweight steel framework to create agricultural spaces between crowded residential buildings. My goal was to alleviate the pressure on food through urban cultivation and production, providing residents with additional living and recreational spaces to ultimately improve their living environment and quality of life.
Living Condition
Food Shortage
Self-sufficient
Daily needs of a huge population
Problems
Benefits Site
Intensive and Meticulous Farming
Farmland Lacking
Reasonableness
Necessity
Hongkong
Interstitial Space
Intention
Feasibility
Bringing agriculture to urban centers.
Social Conditions Economic
Government
Sufficient Funds
Support for Renovation
Solution In a city of such high density - both spatially and in terms of population - the only remaining site options available to solve the display problem are available.
Population High density Needs Low income
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Typology matrix Forms of corner buildings
Forms of connection
The space that connects to the corner is also a gap space, or residual space because it is also squeezed out by the surrounding buildings.
In order to efficiently utilize space and save land, Hong Kong has some special means of transportation connections.
Structure
Space
Forms of Additional Houses on the Roof
Produce unit
Light-loving planting
Aquaponics
Individual unit
Extend
Frame
Floor
Volume & Connection
Equipment
Planting
Due to the compactness and narrowness of the interior space, residents have spontaneously started to use the interstitial space on the roof for recreational activities.
Target building -The monster building
Before Renovation The interior space of the building is limited and cramped, leaving little room for everyday activities. After squeezing in the necessary living space, there is almost no room for additional movement or interaction among neighbors.Compact windows may pose challenges related to privacy concerns.
Forms of buildings The contradiction between the huge population base and scarce land resources has prompted Hong Kong's residential buildings to accommodate residents to the maximum extent possible on limited sites.
Expanding the floor slab into a balcony not only supports additional construction but also offers residents extra outdoor space, addressing the challenge of limited indoor living space. Openings on both sides of the balcony allow for natural light, enhancing the overall living experience.
After Renovation
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Plan Inner Cooperation & Connection
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5 7 7 3
1 1 Corridor 2 Open platform 3 Plant cultivation 4 Living unit 5 Planting and processing 6 Energy storage 7 Skywalk
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Middle floor plan 1:500 The newly added platform has brought spacious activity areas and greenery to the residential building.
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1 Corridor 2 Plant cultivation 3 Water storage 4 Water treatment 5 Skywalk 6 Activity platform
Top floor plan 1:500 Residents can cultivate ornamental plants inside the sunroom as part of their daily life, bringing vitality to the space.
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External walkway
Extended balcony
Steel Frame Structure
Module's floor slab extended
Planting trellis Bracing Drainage ditch
Curtain Folded frames Embedded connector rod
Indoor
Detail section 1：50 Physical model 1:75
Cut open from the middle and unfold.
Materials: Rusty metal Sheets Poplar wood Cotton thread
Model Detail
Axonometric diagram of frame structure
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GO AS YOU ARE Competition project \ Individual work Evolo 2023 Time: Summer 2022 Instructor: Shaopeng Zhang Site: Chengdu, Sichuan province, China
Site: Jiaozi Park,Tianfu New District ,Chengdu
A contemplative interface designed for the living to pay homage to those who have departed. Beneath the pressures of relentless urban development, every facet of life not dedicated to production has been relentlessly compressed. In today's era that reveres speed and efficiency, the once profound rituals allowing people to vent their emotions and farewell the departed have unavoidably been streamlined. What remains is a void, devoid of the solace once found, replaced by mere performances and hollow gestures. Life and death, an inescapable duality for all, are no longer approached with an eye of curiosity and reverence. The desensitization towards "life" only begets more misconceptions and apathy towards "death." This project draws its inspiration from the philosophies of life, death, and nature found in both Eastern and Western traditions. Weaving through the traditional Chinese five elements as a guiding thread, it transforms five revered funeral ceremonies into ethereal manifestations of philosophical contemplation. Its goal is to reintroduce the once pivotal funeral rites back into the heart of the cityscape.
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Traditional Chinese nodel of universe
Architectural translation methodology
Funeral Being
Ancient Chinese cosmology
Sky
Ground
Ceremony Philosophy
Emotion Motion
Implication
Space image Atmosphere
Basic graphics
the Five elements
Space element
Archetype
Installations Functions
Core element
Integral space
Architecture group
Connection Circulation
System
Assemble Events
Element category
Funeral ceremony
the Five elements
Implication
Cremation
Fire
Destruction
Burial
Earth
Fusion
Celestial burial
Metal
Convergence
Water cremation
Water
Infiltration
Tree funeral
Wood
Growth
Abstract model
Positive shape
Ritual space
Negative shape
Accessory space
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Event
Space
Movement 9
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Section & Elevation Response to the interior space
Section
Rituals The funeral space corresponding to each element consists of the main ritual space and ancillary service spaces, covering mourning, storage, commemoration. Ⅰ
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Fire
Water
"Only by cremating the body can the soul not be attached to the body and help to be liberated."
Space Formation
"Water is the source of life and should return to its source after death."
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Ⅲ
Ⅴ
Earth
Metal
Wood
The Chinese have regarded the land as the basis of life since ancient times "There is life if there is land, and death if there is no land."
"Death is just the separation of the immortal soul from the old body and different transformations in different dimensions."
"The deceased's companionship and remembrance of the living. Come from nature, go back to nature." 10
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Being
A Space Odyssey It always rains during Qingming Festival. On this day, people pay homage to those who have passed away and recall the past. Walking in this building is like walking on the blurred boundary between life and death. Life, death, reincarnation, everything is dissolved in a subtle atmosphere.
Phase 1 Immerse
Ground
Phase 2 Meditate
Sky Phase 3 Epiphany
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CLIFF VILLAGE RENEWAL
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Academic project \ Group work （Research, Design, Model & Drawing ) Architectural Design III: Concept design Time: Fall 2021 Instructor: Yong Su Collaborator: Shuyi Zhu Site: Cliff Village, liangshan, Sichuan province
Elevation Difference _800M
Atulier Village\ the Cliff Village
Elevation Difference _500M
Cliff Side
st me Ho
s eei
300m
ng
En tr y
t Sigh
Grid form
ay
Sto re s
oc Pr
re s Sto
Basic infomation
Legends
e Storag & bly A s s em
i ng ess
Contours Scale Path Main Road
Open Block Close Block Boundary
n Planti
Minor water Main water
Cliff
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Atulier Village is located in Zhimo Township, Zhaojue County, a mountain col with an altitude of 1400-1600 meters. The altitude difference between the primary school at the bottom of the mountain and the village on the top of the mountain is nearly 1,000 meters. The village is about one kilometer long from east to west and several hundred meters wide. It is higher in the east, with a difference of about 200 meters. There are 72 households in the village, with about 500 people, most of whom work in agriculture and live relatively scattered.
Connection
Mountain Side
Sight
Offering a rebirth to the profoundly remote mountain villages and ensuring a self-sustaining system, providing visitors with a window into a unique culture and the beauty of rural life.
Location Site
Status quo: Underdeveloped Village Traffic
Housing
Life
The only way con nect ion is a sky ladder.
Houses are in poor condition.
Hardly sustain basic needs.
Daliang Mountain in western China, a symbol of poverty and ancient ethnic communities, includes the isolated Cliff village, accessible only by a rope ladder due to steep cliffs. Despite challenges, the resilient community thrives with a unique language and script, forming an independent civilization. In 2016, real estate developers initiated a homestay project in the village. In 2016, real estate developers took on a homestay project in the cliff village. Seizing this opportunity, the project aims to introduce a new system, providing the cliff village with a chance at rebirth. Starting with the redivision of land, the system combines farming, production, and homestays. Respecting the foundations of the existing old residences, it aims to more efficiently utilize this unique land, amplifying its value and revealing the richness that people have forgotten how to appreciate.The implementation of the system incorporates the characteristics of traditional Yi ethnic minority dwellings. Using locally sourced materials, predominantly wood and stone, the project constructs the various aspects of the village - the production chain of cultivation, storage, and processing, as well as the exploration of learning, touring, residing, and consuming - into a closely connected network, allowing it to operate efficiently.
liangshan, Sichuan province The southwestern mountainous region of inland China.
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Prototype
Block 1
Block 2
Block 3
Block 4
Traditional dwellings
Dwellings & Homestay
Processing
Vertical farming
Warehouse
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Homestay
Barn
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2
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2
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3 1.Steel thin bolts (for fixing sub-head beams and wood grating) [2]
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2.50mm*100mm triangular wooden cantilever bracing 3.20mm thick floor-to-ceiling tempered glass
[3]
4.50mm top grille plank 5.50mm*100mm wooden secondary beam (mainly bending load-bearing object)
[4]
[5]
6.30mm*30mm purlins under the wooden beams 7.30mm*30mm embedded interspersed wood components
[6]
(fixed side beams and load-bearing columns)
[7]
8.100mm*300mm wooden side beams (clamped on either side of the column)
[8]
9.50mm thick plywood (wooden floor)
1 Original dwellings 2 Visit platform 3 Homestay 4 Visit corridor[11]
10.100mm*100mm wooden main beam (mainly bending load-bearing object) 11.wooden handrail (1.2 meters high) 12.30mm*30mm purlin diagonal braces (carrying rear sloping panels) 13.150mm*150mm wooden decorative column 14.100mm*100mm wooden grill bottom plate
1 Greenhouse 2 Storage 3 Lounge 4 Drying place 5 Courtyard 6 Corridor
15.100mm sloping roof wood panel 16.side triangular window frame
Top floor plan 1:200
Second floor plan 1:200 [9] [10]
[14] [15]
[12] [16]
Indigenous Residence Indigenous Residence
Homestay ( sloping roof )
Corridor Connection
[13]
Atrium ( gathering space )
Yi Nationality Homestay（live with aboriginal people）
Beams & Columns & Internal details (Central corridor of the homestay)
Preserve the residences of indigenous residents and provide opportunities for people to communicate with each other.
1:45
Corridors are interspersed between the original building and the new homestay to enhance horizontal and vertical traffic.
The combination of homestays and local residences provides visitors with a window to appreciate the most rustic and natural aspects of this hidden world.
In order to stay dry and spacious, a grain barn, in addition tdrying grains, can also serve as a place for people to gather and rest. 14
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Ⅰ
Ⅱ
1:45 Ⅰ Beams details Ⅱ Columns details 1:30 Ⅲ Internal details 1:30
Beams & Columns & Internal details(Central corridor of the homestay) 1:50 1.Steel thin bolts (for fixing sub-head beams and wood grating) 2.50mm*100mm triangular wooden cantilever bracing 3.20mm thick floor-to-ceiling tempered glass 4.50mm top grille plank 5.50mm*100mm wooden secondary beam (mainly bending load-bearing object) 6.30mm*30mm purlins under the wooden beams 7.30mm*30mm embedded interspersed wood components (fixed side beams and load-bearing columns) 8.100mm*300mm wooden side beams (clamped on either side of the column)
9. 50mm thick plywood (wooden floor) 10.100mm*100mm wooden main beam (mainly bending load-bearing object) 11.wooden handrail (1.2 meters high) 12.30mm*30mm purlin diagonal braces (carrying rear sloping panels) 13.150mm*150mm wooden decorative column 14.100mm*100mm wooden grill bottom plate 15.100mm sloping roof wood panel 16.side triangular window frame
1. 40mm*40mm wooden rafter strips set diagonally on top of the ceiling grille 2. 40mm*40mm steel mortise and tenon inserts (connecting wooden grilles to wooden diagonal braces) 3. 50mm*50mm wooden compression bars (supporting wooden grilles) 4. 150*100*10mm I-beam side beams (main bending resistant beams) 5. 60*100mm double wooden roof beams (fixed to the top of wooden load-bearing posts by steel bolts) 6. 35*35mm steel connecting rods (fixing the lower double girder plate and welded to the end of the I-beam) 7. 150*150mm load-bearing columns (supporting internal timber side beams ) 8. 150*100*10mm I-beam load-bearing columns (main compressive load-bearing component) 9. 40*40mm steel connecting bars (connecting I-beam posts to wooden posts) 10. 100*100mm wooden load-bearing columns (fixed to I-beam columns to resist compression) 11. 40mm wooden floor panels 12. 30mm*50mm wooden floor grilles (criss-cross) 13. 30mm diameter thin steel columns (dense laying, 50mm spacing) 14. 8mm cross-hatched bolts 15. 15mm cross-hatched bolts 16. 20mm wooden glued panels
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Multiple Significances of Columns
THREE LIBRARIES Academic project \ Individual work Conceptual Design Studio Time: Fall 2022 Instructor: Zhang Shaopeng, Cao Yu Site: The Old City Jerusalem, Jerusalem
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Natural essence
Temporality
Divinity
Columns naturally resemble objects in nature, serving as trunks supporting branches, cradling dew-laden leaves, or forming the sandy slopes of a hill.
Architecture approaches its most natural state when it becomes a ruin. Stripped of furnishings and shelter, the structure loses its spatial function and integrates with nature.
Columns, flexible and varied in scale, adopt diverse atmospheres when combined. On a divine scale, they naturally integrate into the divine essence.
The Old City Jerusalem Pillar library
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the Old City
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B
A 7 5 d
C
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c West view： Hurva Synagogue
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5_a
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7_a
3 Religious Shrine 1 Mount of Olives 2 Dome of the Rock 3 Temple Mount 4 Western Wall 5 Hurva Synagogue 6 Church of the Holy Sepulchre 7 Tower of David
5_b
5_c
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Christian churches Mosques Synagogues
The main focus of this design is definitely "people," not politics. Jerusalem's ancient city has been conquered, demolished, and rebuilt repeatedly; each layer of soil beneath the ground can unveil a chapter of history. The struggle has never ceased. Those who reside in the ancient city, those who revere it—everyone carries diverse, sometimes conflicting identities and labels, sparking unsolvable questions. The term "nature" is considered something that must constantly give birth, ensuring that life can always be reborn. Therefore, natural phenomena can instill a sense of respect in anyone approaching it; this is our perception when faced with something greater than ourselves. Nature nurtures a sacred feeling, and sacred feelings give rise to religion. Trace it back, faith originates from nature, just like everything else in the world. When one's gaze turns to nature, breaking free from the shackles of identity, they discover that all individuals are integral parts of the great nature, not just citizens of a particular country or followers of someone; the land is first and foremost a part of the Earth, not just the territory of a specific nation. I choose to start from the natural, temporal, and sacred aspects of the pillar, extending them into three architectures. This design does not seek to provide an answer that the Earth wants, but rather offers an interface that guides people to introspect and spontaneously contemplate the shared destiny and belonging of humanity.
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Woods_Pillars Stonehenge Woodhenge Basilica Acropolis of Athens a_Parthenon b_Propylaea c_Erechtheum Temple of Apollo Epicuriusthe Temple of Karnak a_Hypostyle Hall b_Temple of Ramesses The Hall of Hewn Stones The Ezekiel's Temple The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba Tabernacle The Great Mosque of Samarra
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Spatial Language
Case study
Religious Space Prototype
Refactor
Deconstruction_Elements
Plane Composition_Pillar
Secularization : Three Libraries
Volume
Insert
Form
Piano Room
Promenade
Private Library
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Aerial view
Entrance & elevation composition 18
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View point
View point View point
Top Floor Plan C
Top Floor Plan B
Ground Floor Plan A
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Sections Inner space & Interaction with Natural Light
Hand-draw Light Effections
Section C 1:400
Independent Compartment
Section B 1:400
Promenade
Piano Room
Section A 1:400
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