2014 2015 portfolio submission

Zhuoran Li’s Portfolio

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Contents Design Work Charrette Synaesthesia----------------------------------------------P 4-7 Project 2.2, Placed, Displaced--------------------------------------P 8-11 Project 2.3, Living on the edge------------------------------------P 12-17 Project 2.4,Prospect and Refuge----------------------------------P 18-27 Project 2.5, Crossover, Group 2------------------------------------P28-33

Non-Design Course Work -------------------------P 34-62 Other Design-related Work

----------------------P 63-67

D

represents the work is

developed from crits.

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Charrette Synaesthesia

2014-2015 Group 3

Sy n a e st h e s i a , t h e s u b j e c t i ve sensation of a sense other than the one beingstimulated. For example, a sound may evoke sensations of color. After looking for the definition in dictionary, the famous p a i nt i n g , G u e r n i ca , by Pa b l o Picasso in 1937 suddenly appeared in my mind.

It is perhaps because the abstract painting makes no sense in terms of mastering the painting skills, reality of the image, and using of lighting and shadow, however, what make it so valuable is that the figures or the using of lines and shapes raise up the segments of memory in our minds.

Indeed, it is our experiences that connect one modality to other modality. For example, number characters remain us the concept of quantity, colors sometimes remain us temperature, orange is warm, and blue is cold.

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We started with explore the possible modalities we can connect. The installation should work with some form of energy, such as soundvibration, wind-speed, or rain-gravitational potential energy.

Then using our design to c a p t u re t h e m o m e n t o r record the change in period o f t i m e , s o t h at we ca n visualize it.

We d e c i d e d to c re ate something which could v i s u a l i ze t h e c h a n g e o f potential energy and thermal energy.

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Project 2.2 Placed, Displaced

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Groud floor

First floor

Second floor

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Project 2.3 Living on the edge Site A, Boat Making The lower Ouseburn Valley, whilst heavily industrialised in the past, serves as of 2013 as a hub for the arts and creative industries, and has a lively pub scene, noted for live music and real ale.

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Second Floor

First Floor

Basement

Ground Floor

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Project 2.4 Prospect and Refuge "Because we need them both and we need them together."

(Hildebrand, 1999, P. 22)

Warkworth Castle

he

ec

sp o r P

1860's

t t to

re u t fu Light House

st

a ep

h

ec

sp Pro

t t to

1890's

Coquet Islend and the Ocean

1920's

1960's 18

1990's

We need home, accommodation, or even just a simple refuge. Because we all will feev l tired, exhausted mentally or physically. But when we get restored, we are likely to wish to explore the wider world, meaning of life.

The Orange Cube by Jakob + Macfarlane, byJakob + Macfarlane Architects.

The volume is punctured in two places, with the smaller hole at ground level providing an entry point into the building.

This hole creates a void, piercing the building horizontally from the river side inwards and upwards through the roof terrace.

The idea of using a huge but gently inclining ramp to encourage the public enjoying the activities around the building in open environment, give a visual guide to the building, and creating a illusion as the cube is floating (referring the ramp out of Centre Pompidou, and the one in Tate Modern).

Nest We Grow, by Kengo Kuma & Associates Pre-made timber frames with joints allow the structure to be assembled quickly with nuts and bolts.

Timber is specially suitable for structures in earthquake zone.

The condensed frames gives people the feeling of being surrounded, and protected.

A typical lecture theatre layout.

The shape of this room is for the considering of visual and acoustic convenience.

The big meeting hall in Scottish Parliament.

The developed timber truss with steel string can not only bear huge load, but also create a sense of beauty, and enrich details.

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Again, really affected by Kuma's idea of "Anti-object".

He uses those very detailed materials or delecate ways of construction, to eliminate the sense of boundary, and bring people the feeling of "being within something".

Water Glass, another design by Kuma.

Water is used to reflect light, bring the image of sky, cloud, landscape into water. The waves of water geive the space spirit, and let it change all the time, with the change of wind and light. Moreover, waves remain the concept related to ocean.

The Cube, by Make Achitects The cladding of gold and bronze-coloured aluminium panels are combined with glass to create an intricate design on the building's exterior.

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Starting the experiment with the component size and frame width.

The changes of size give the regular square irregular movement.

Considering the real construction process, those facade components will be made by manufacturers using premade moulds. In another word, the complex or the more types of mould are made, the higher expenditure will be.

And it is not ealy for workers to install on site as well.

Therefore I simplified the"squares" into 4 types.

5500*5500*120 4500*4500*120 3500*3500*120 2000*2000*120

300 700 400 250

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The claddding will be mounted on a secondary structure, which connects cladding with the primary structure (the main timber columns and beams)

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Ground Floor 24

First Floor

Second Floor

Third Floor

Fourth Floor 25

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Project 2.5 Crossover Group 2 Unnoticed I Unappreciated

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ARC 2009 Techmology Assessment: Access for All and Means of Escape Zhuoran Li 120336740 42

2014/2015 Newcastle University

Access for All Disabled Parking There is a public parking space on the right hand side, which is developed from the original one. In the new parking, two disabled parking bays are designed to be located in the area, where is convenient to get to the building through a ramp (1.5m drop, 30m length, 1;20 ratio). The dimensions are 4800mm*3600mm for the bay, plus 1200mm width sideband painted with gridding, to allow disabled people have enough space to make the turns in and out vehicles. The rest of parking bays are arranged so that cars could have a good circulation. In addition, there is a bus stop just alone the street. Bike parking is also available between our building and the Custom House.

Route to Entrance Inspired by the idea of using a huge but gently inclining ramp to encourage the public enjoying the activities around the building in open environment, give a visual guide to the building, and creating a illusion as the cube is floating (referring the ramp out of Centre Pompidou, and the one in Tate Modern), the ground floor (plinth) is sunk down for 1.5m (half floor), the whole site is developed to have two gentle ramps, one connecting the building to the street (37.5m distance of travel), another one connecting it to the parking (40m distance of travel). As it is comparatively long, the gradient is only 1:20, which allows wheelchair users to access the main entrance. There is blind lane with special feeling on feet on each ramp to guide the blind.

For the other pedestrians, they can also choose to access the main entrance through the landscaping stages (sheltered from afternoon strong sunlight by vegetation), or from back of the building by using the fire escape stairway. For the main entrance, there is an auto door giving 1.7m net opening and manual door giving 1.6m net opening, while for the fire escape stairway, the opening will be 1.8m.

As can be seen from the map, many crosses of roads on site are rounded to make is easier for vehicles, bikes, and wheelchairs. There is a delivery drop/ service point right out of the main entrance for unloading, heavy goods can be carried by the elevator near the entrance. Considering the safety reason for pedestrians to access the site, it is helpful to have a Road Cross Warning icon, and Zebra Stripes across the street.

Access within the building The reception is on the leaf hand side behind the main entrance, where the public can receive general introduction about the building, and requiring special hope for the disabled. General visitors can walk along the circulation, enjoy the exhibition and aquarium, and go up to the fourth floor where they can enjoy the wide open view of the ocean. The elevator (1.6m*1.6m, with 1.4m opening width) provides access for wheelchair users and a shortcut for the staff working there. All the stairs are 1.1m wide to allow up and down stream of people (except the one on ground floor, which is 3.6m wide, providing casual seating for shopping books), with steps of 180mm*270mm. The landings are 1.1m wide as well. Except those for storage rooms and toilets, all doors have a glazing area from 900m to 1500mm to provide visual connections. Easy-to-grab level opening bar, self-closing device on the doors, plus 300mm offset on the opening side allows wheelchair users to go through easily. Nosing with contrast color is made on each step, clearly showing the steps.

Handrails are installed at the height of 900mm on staircase and open edges, covered with glass, to prevent from dropping. There are big icons of floor numbers in front of every stair, with a list of areas of different functions close to it. Artificial lighting is automatically switched on to ensure the visibility around the stairs.

Other facilities There are general toilets and accessible toilets on ground floor and second floor. People with hearing impairment can ask for a hearing loop or further help from the reception.

Means of Escape Minimum escape route corridor and exit door opening width 305.64 occupancy in total, (referring the table 4, in page 37, Building Regulations approved document B), W=N*5mm is used. Therefore, W=305.64*5mm=1528.2mm, I adapt this into 1600mm.

Minimum stair width for each stair Referring to the table 6 in page 48, formula W= (P+15n-15)/ (150+50n) is used. Here W, P, n represent minimum stair width, number of people served, number of stories respectively. Thus, W= (305.64+15*5-15)/ (150+50*5) =0.914m. However, I adapt 1.1m for the case of using disabled refuge.

Minimum width for each final exit Referring to the formula in page 38, W= ((N/2.5) + (60S))/ 80, here W- minimum stair width, N- number of people served by ground floor, S-stair width in meter, although the stair from first floor to ground floor is 3.6m wide, that width heavily for casual seating, so I take half of the value in to account. Thus W= ((81.7/2.5) + (60*1.8))/80=1.76m, I adapt 1.8m.

Floor

Room Name

Ground Floor

Exhibition Space

70

Floor Space Factor(m2/person ) 1.5

Shop

45

2

Reception WC

Area(m2)

Occupancy Level(person) 43.3 22.5

11

1

11

7.4

1.5

4.9 Subtotal: 81.7

First Floor

CafĂŠ

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1

24

Imformal Study Space

36

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36

3.7

7

Kitchen

0.53 Subtotal: 60.53

Second Floor

Lecture Theatre

116

1.5

73.3

Storage

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30

0.23

WC

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7

1.14

Seminar Room*2

36

1.5

24

Shared Study Space

67

5

13.2

Office

16

6

2.67

Storage

6

30

Subtotal: 74.67 Third Floor

0.2 Subtotal: 40.07

Fourth Floor

Private Study Room*8 Flexible Teaching Space

59.2

3

59.2

75

1.5

50 109.2 Total:

305.64

Firstly, the earlier we know the emergency, the less damage it could deal to us. Fire detections are installed in the comparatively high risking area, and the alarms are spread in the building to make sure the public can evacuate at the early stage. As general doors have glazing on them, people can also trigger the alarm manually when they noticed the situation, in case of falling of detection. Fire Alarm Call Point, Fire Extinguisher, First Aid are in the area where can be easily noticed.

Secondly, routes should be provided to let people escape safely and quickly. According to the occupancy of this building, two fire escape are required. One is the main circulation, because the building is in open plan, therefore the stairs in this route are unprotected, however, the corridors accessing to the fire escapes are protected. Another is the protected core built with 300mm thick concrete, where the stairway penetrates through every floor vertically. All the stairs are 1.1m wide (except the one on ground floor, which is 3.6m wide), which not only allows the public to evacuate without too many obstacles, but also make it possible to let fully equipped firefighters going up from the protected core. In addition, considering the lecture theatre could hold large number of people, pushing and squeezing could happen when they are trying to go out through general escapes, therefore one emergency exit will help to spread out the pressure of crowd. It provides a shortcut to the outside through the landscaping stages (1.5m high) around the building, and can only be open by staff members. All corridors are 1.6m wide. Fire Doors with 30 mins’ fire resistance are used when necessary (marked in plans), to slow down fire extending.

Thirdly, controlling the smoke spreading is essential when the situation get serious. For the basement (ground floor here), the windows covering the facade from plinth to the main cube are openable to extract smoke. Air extractors are installed on the celling to prevent the smoke from going up and filling the stairway. Smoke Curtains are used as well to minimize the spreading speed, they will drop down and seal the atrium once the fire alarm triggered.

As marked on the site development sheet, there are 3 Fire Hydrants near the building, rounded roads allows long vehicles to access the building easily. Assembly point is located outside without blocking the path.

ID:120336740 ARC 2009 Prospect and Refuge: Amble Strategy Written Sheet 2015/5/12 43

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ID:120336740 ARC 2009 Prospect and Refuge: Amble Site Development Plan 2015/5/12 1:200 Scale

ID:120336740 ARC 2009 Prospect and Refuge: Amble Fourth Flood Plan

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ID:120336740 ARC 2009 Prospect and Refuge: Amble Third Flood Plan 2015/5/12 1:100 Scale

ID:120336740 ARC 2009 Prospect and Refuge: Amble Second Flood Plan

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ID:120336740 ARC 2009 Prospect and Refuge: Amble First Flood Plan 2015/5/12 1:100 Scale

ID:120336740 ARC 2009 Prospect and Refuge: Amble Groud Flood Plan 2015/5/12 1:100 Scale

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Exploring the Three Key Home Properties in Chinese Traditional Houses Introduction Due to various factors, such as climate, materials availability, and sociocultural effects, Chinese traditional buildings origin and develop to have numerous differences.

The definition of house is given by Oliver (1987) that different forms of house are to satisfy the needs of our human bodies, our societies, and our spirits. And conditions of economy, material accesses, technology, climate, and belief, ideas of identity, ownership, and sense of protection all contribute to the forming process. However, people wvalking on the street do not randomly call one house as their home. Therefore, home should have deeper meanings than house does. “It is an emotionally based and meaningful relationship between dwellers and their dwelling places” claimed by Dovey (1985, p34-45), a framework he established in order to arrange the elements of the relationship is built up with three key properties: home as order, identity and connectedness Because the three key properties of home cover very wide-range of aspects, this essay will only pick few specific examples from Chinese traditional houses, namely, layout, forms, and decoration, associated with my experience, to explore those three characteristics.

2.1 A house garden in Suzhou

2.2 A view of Forbiden City

2. Forms Home as identity contains spatial and temporal meanings. In terms of spatial identity, there are two perspectives, the social and the individual, and they are closely related (Dovey, 1985, p40). In ancient time, Chinese thought very highly of feudal hierarchy. Extremely strict regulations about house forms, sizes etc. were compiled in Yingzao-fashi during Song Dynasty (Michael, 2008, p85). For example, the color of yellow, the roof type of “Wudian”, and the number of nine were strongly indicating that this was a royal building. Only those people entitled with certain status by authorities were qualified to own relevant levels of house, arrogation could be seen as challenge of imperial power and lead to death penalty. Thus, for the society, appearance of home played an important role of “statement” using recognized symbolic language (Appleyard, 1979b; Goffman, 1971). Types of roof, and its tile color, dimensions of house (usually manifested by the number of modular unit, which was called Jian) (Michael, 2008, p84), using of materials and types of ornaments (for example, the pattern of colorful drawing on the beans) etc. were clearly ranked. So that it was not a surprise to see that the buildings in gardens in Suzhou were covered with simple form in grey, instead of majestic “Wudian” roof with yellow glazed tiles.

And their buildings forms were comparatively humble than the royal houses, the former was the home of the local rich people, while the latter, Forbidden City, was for the home of the emperor.

Zhuoran Li 120336740 Lecturer: Dr Peter Kellett ARC2023 The Place of Home Topic 3

Newcastle University

1. Typical layout Having a quick look at the plan of a typical house in Beijing in 15th century, it demonstrates a strict spatial order. The rooms were designed to be in different sizes and locations, according to their functions. Service rooms were located by the street near the main entrance, followed by the dwellings of the family inwards, and they all laid symmetrically alone the north-south axis, which could perhaps refer to symmetry of human body (). There could be several courtyards acting as a common space for hosting family activities, and allow the more important rooms enjoying sufficient sunlight and ventilation (Michael, 2008, p86).

Observing closer, the entrance was positioned out of the main axis, plus facing a screen wall (access highlighted in the picture with blue arrow). This is to prevent activities in the courtyard explored to the public on the street. Many design details could tell us that privacy in Chinese traditional families was regard very highly, for example, the walls lining the residential streets were designed to be higher than the usual (Michael, 2008, p90). In addition, some of the wellto-do families were likely to recruit one or more gatekeepers, to increase the extent of privacy and safety, so that the sense of territory and ownership could be enhanced to generate a more homely environment.

The regular layout could also reflect a kind of sociocultural order, the way people mentally accept or prefer. Two locally originated philosophies, Confucianism and Daoism, has been widespread far before the introduction of Buddhism from India. The respect for authority, the elders in family and ancestors constitute important part of Confucianism, which had obvious effects on the layouts of city and house (Michael, 2008, p82). The clan leader’s or the elder’s room was usually located inwards, that manifested the worship, because that location has more advantages, such as more privacy, better natural lighting. The way of approaching that space could be seemed as a process of showing respect physically, and it was highlighted by several door openings (in pictures), as they played the role of dividing space.

The three orders are likely to be highly correlated, and could even be involved in one phenomenon. Not only connection between inside world and the outside, home could also link us with the past, the future, and the society (Dovey, 1985, p44). The hallway connected the house and street, giving people a sense of transformation, from public to private, from strange to familiar.

The ancestral hall could commonly be found in financial-permitted families, where they hold memorial ceremony to present worship and recall the memory with them. Living room as a place to serve visitors and hold activities, will be discussed later.

1.2 Two door openings, for dividing space

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3. Furnishing, Ornamenting While, the adage home is where the heart is probably seems more applicable for the internal environment, for where the dwellers may have more opportunities to “turn a house into a home” (Rapoport, 1985, p276). Methods, for instance, furnishing, ornamenting, were widely applied among different classes of people. The picture above represents the typical inner environment of living room, as can be seen that the arrangement is still symmetric. On the plaque hanging on a beam, the name of this room is given, Wanchun Hall, literally meaning “endless time of spring”, which reflect the owner’s love of spring. Beneath, a pair of couplet and an ink painting of pine tree are displayed. Pines are known for the long lifetime, and the couplet is in favor of the vitality that the rainwater and spring can bring with. In addition, the vitality is enhanced by the color of red, from the red flowers and the fringes on the lanterns. Consequently, the room tents to act as a mirror of the owner, reflecting his affective world, how his cultivation was, and what he valued could be predicted. By giving a name to a room, furnishing, the sense of selfidentification and belonging can be reached.

Moreover the decorations built up connections with outside natural world. Materials of furniture, contents of paintings guide us to the wide nature, and allow our imagination to jump out of the roof, like Gaston Bachelard said in The Poetics of Space “the house allows one to dream in Peace.” While the hierarchy was so deeply rooted in Chinese culture that even the internal cannot be evitable. Which chair the family members and guests can choose is determined by their status and host-guest relationship. The more inward seats seem more protected, and they are in the centre of our views, therefore symbolizing higher status.

3.1 A typical internal environment of living hall Home as a place we live in for comparatively long time, has temporal meanings (Dovey, 1985, p37-45). The arrangement of the domestic space could reflect the public preferences, habits, and culture, people often create and adjust home space to endow with functions, and make their life easier and more comfortable, partly because we are changing, our preferences, life value and our physical conditions are variable.

Back from summer holiday from China, I brought a calligraphy rubbing of “Lan Ting” preface and displayed it on the shelf above the fireplace in my bedroom. It is one of the most excellent masterpiece of Chinese handwriting, and expressing the author’s life value and idea of how to have a worthy life, by which I was deeply touched. Having it in my bedroom in Newcastle, in my guests’ opinion, it could tell them where I come from, my aesthetic level etc., while for myself, it could bring my soul home when trapped in homesickness, build up a conversation between the author and me, crossing thousands of years.

Meanwhile, the original home environment encourages people to act as the original which oriented ourselves. Fixed place we live in, with certain routine could bring comfort (Saunders, 1990, p263). In the past, the windows were covered by heavy paper, which could be removed in summer for ventilation. However, there came a problem that it would be impossible to hold heat in winter. People then put on more layers of thick clothes, so that there is no big thermal difference between indoor and outdoor. Till nowadays in southern of China, central heating has not been equipped in large proportion of dwellings, people get used to wear more in the cold. That was why two friends and me felt overheated the first time came to the UK. 3.2 The handwritting on my fireplace shelf

Conclusion Through analysis of Chinese traditional housing environment, we can notice that the three properties are highly correlated. The rigorous layout manifests rational needs of daily life, reflects the principles of Confucianism, and home as connectedness linking us with the past, the future, and the society. The house forms were heavily restricted by feudal hierarchy to distinguish identities, however, people could seek the sense of home from internal environment, where less regulations applied. People used means such as furnishing, ornamenting to enrich the contents, build up connections of wide natural world, and reflect their interests and identity.

The temporal priorities contains continuality and dynamic. The old houses and the way people used to live in there will likely be inherited, and we would keep adjusting and improving housing environment in seek of better life.

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Reference List Appleyard, D. (1979) Inside vs. outside: The distortions of distance, Berkeley: Institute of Urban &Regional Development.

Fazio, M., Moffett, M. and Wodehouse, L. (2008) A World History of Architecture. London: Laurence King Publishing.

Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space.

Goffman, E. (1971). The presentation of self in everyday life. Harmondsworth: Penguin Kimberly, D. (1985) Home and Homelessness, edited in Home Environment by Altman, I. and Werner, C.M. New York: Pleuum Press.

Oliver, P. (1987) Dwellings: the Houses across the World, Oxford: Phaidon Press Ltd. Rapoport, A. (1969) House Form and Culture, Englewood Cliffs:Prentice-Hall.

Saunders, Peter R. (1990). A home of one’s own, A Nation of Home Owners, London: Unwin Hyman.

Other Design Related Work Made a shelves using waste materials from charrette week.

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Taking part in Steve Messem's Paperbridge construction process as a volunteer for three days, working in natural environment in Lake District.

Enjoy, and learn a lot. It is really an unforgetable experience.

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Designed two logoes for my friends' company.

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Some kind of shelter using waste materials from our studio and dinner table.

To test and explore the possibilities of structure, materials, and forms.

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