Portfolio Spring 2014

Jia Zhou Zhu Education

Master of Architecture, Sep, 2013 Southern California Institutue of Architecture Honors Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies University of Toronto Apr, 2010

Competition & Exhibition & 2GB Studio Projects, Visual Study Project, Visual Study Project, Studio Project, Visual Study Project,

Show Tower Design Competition WORKSHOP, INC Stage One Finalist

Work History

Architectural Phases:

Patel Architecture 1st Oct, 2013 Junior Architect Silver Beach Hotel Complex Design

Urban Design Schematic Design Design Development Interior Design Devlopment Parametric Facade System Devlopement Construction Document 3D Modeling Visualization

Digital Design Platforms:

SCI_Arc Annual Spring Show 2GA 2GA 3GA 3GB 3GB

Specialization

2012 2012 2013 2013 2013

2009

AutoCad Digital Project (CATIA) Maya Revit Rhino Grasshopper Rhino Scripting (VB) Python Scripting ZBrush

Visulization, Animation and Graphic Platforms: Adobe AfterEffects Adobe InDesign Adobe Illustrator Adobe Photoshop Maya (Animation) Maxwell Mental Ray Vray

Fabrication

3D Printing: 3D File Preparation / Processing Models from Various Types of 3D Printers CNC Milling: 2D and 3D file preparation / 3-Axis Machine Operation Staubli Robot: Path File Preparation / Real-time Operation

Present

Responsibility: Schematic Design Status: Competition Location: Qingdao, Shandong Province, China

Wanda Dream City Responsibility: Schematic Design, 3d Modeling Status: internal Competition Winner Location: Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China

Villa Lake Front Responsibility: Detail 3D Modeling / Design Development Status: Design Development (Plans, Sections, Elevations & Details) Location: Qingcheng International Health Resort, Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province, China

Villa Falling Water Responsibility: Schematic Design and Modeling / Detail 3D Modeling Design Development (Plans, Sections, Elevations & Details) Status: Design Development Location: Qingcheng International Health Resort, Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province, China

Five Residences at Luxe Lake Responsibility: Interior Modeling Interior Design Development Status: Interior Design Development Location: Parcel B-3, Luxe Lake Chengdu, China

Idea Office Apr, 2012 Intern Designer Room For London (London Olympics)

Sep, 2012

Responsibility: Rendering / Animation Status: Competition Location: London, UK

Stentorian (SCI_Arc Gallery Installation) Responsibility: Grasshopper Scripting Status: Project Revision Location: SCI_Arc Gallery

La Opinion Headquarters Responsibility: Schematic Design, Detail Design Status: Project Revision and Redesign Location: Los Angeles, CA

East China Architectural Design Apr, 2010 Sep, 2010 & Research Institute Intern Designer / Drafting Person, Schematic Group, and Architectural Design Department 3 Hotel Responsibility: Design Development Status: Finished Location: Shanghai, China

Office Tower Responsibility: Design Developement / Roof Garden Landscape Design Status: Finished Location: Shanghai, China 82861 Vincent Drive, Indio, CA 92203 Cell Phone: 213-440-0755 Email: zjz0819@gmail.com

Contents

Post Monolithic Architecture SCI_Arc Thesis 2013

Villa Falling Water

Single Family House in Dujiangyan, China

Villa Lake

Single Family House in Dujiangyan, China

Performing Arts Center

SCI_Arc Design Development Project

La Opinion Headquarters Office Tower in Downtown, LA

LA Live Theaters

Objects within Objects & the Weirdness of Matters

A-1 Interior Design Development Luxe Lake B-3, Chengdu, China

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POST-MONOLITHIC ARCHITECTURE This thesis proposes a new tension between part to whole. As a result, a new kind of monolithic architecture emerges, that consists of integrated but highly autonomous sub-solids and an archipelago of interior spaces.

It makes a hypothesis that monolithic architecture exists only when each part of the monolithic architecture is a different outcome of the same set of operations, and thus each part has an inherent relationship to any other while still being physically different from any other. Such kind of monolithic architecture has its every part being an autonomous monolith in itself, and thus each part becomes as important as the rest and the whole. Therefore, it challenges the conventional understanding of part-to-whole relationship wherein the part is normally seen in direct compositional, proportional or tectonic relationship to the whole.

It criticizes traditional Monolithic Architecture in its reductive way of dealing with architecture by means of the envelope. In fact, in the essay Rodolfo Machado and Rodolphe el-Khoury wrote in occasion of the exhibition Monolithic Architecture, the problem of monolithic architecture is reduced to merely the development of a skin, in which non-monolithic objects are enclosed. This thesis takes a different approach to this problem, by introducing post-monolithic architecture, a fitting set of autonomous parts unified both physically and conceptually by an operational relationship.

The design starts with a single solid, a pure monolith, being divided using a script. At this step, the original solid consists of multiple parts, which are physically and operationally related to and dependent on each other. The next step is crucial, using the same script but with different conditions and different input parameters, each part is again divided. Some sub-parts of each original part are extracted leaving open spaces. This step makes each original part contain sub-parts and also open pseudo-figural spaces. These operations combined create a new type of monolith, one whose parts are not subordinate but also formally and conceptually independent from the whole, that is autonomous and monolithic.

This hypothesis argues that the traditional method of reducing monolithicity in architecture to merely a skin problem cannot produce a comprehensive monolithic architecture. On the contrary, monolithic architecture can only be produced when we understand part-to-whole relationship to be omnipresent, wherein each part is not only subservient to the whole but it is a whole itself, therefore acting as an autonomous monolith. In other words, the post-monolithic architecture is a monolith mass consisting of an aggregate of autonomous monolithic volumes.

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THESIS SCI_ARC 2013 7

a fi fit t tti tt tting ting ing set set of

unifi un unified ifie ifi ed both both bo th h phys ph physically y ic ys ical ally y and nd d c conceptually once on cept pt tua uall ll ly

These e op ope operations eratio era er ons s c combined ombi om bine ne ed crea create ea ate a n new ew t ew type ype yp e of of monolith, on o one e wh whos whose ose os e pa parts art rts s ar are re

but b ut t also als lso o formal formally a ly an and nd c nd conceptually o ce on cept ptu pt ually y i de in independent depend nden ent t f fr from rom t the he e w whole, hole,

that is

and d

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Scal Scale_1:150 Sc Scal a e_ e_1: 1 15 1 0 11 1

Villa Falling Water Office: Current Status: Location: Responsibility:

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Patel Architecture Design Development Qingcheng International Health Resort, Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province, China Schematic Design and Modeling, Detail 3D Modeling, Design Development including, Plans, Sections, Elevations & Details.

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Villa Falling Water Tabulation Basement Living Area: 1st Floor Living Area: 2nd Floor Living Area: Garage (Basement): Mechanical (Basement): Total Living Area (w/o basement) Total Living Area: Total Gross Area: Terrace (Basement): Terrace (1st Floor): Terrace (2nd Floor): Pool Area (Basement): Pool Area (1st Floor): Total Outdoor Area:

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660.99 586.26 419.09 98.04 38.60

m2 m2 m2 m2 m2

1016.35 m2 1677.34 m2 1813.98 m2 465.33 400.47 684.87 493.85 92.45 2731.2

m2 m2 m2 m2 m2 m2

Basement Plan

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1st Floor Plan

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2nd Floor Plan

A su supe per cl pe clea e n an nd ac ccu ura ate mod odel el is th the e ke key y to the success of the execution of an any ny pr proj ojec oj ec ct. In n th this is s par arti ticu ti cula cu lar la r ca case se, se , in i ord rder to achieve such accuracy and efficien ci ency en cy, cy , diff di iff ffer eren er ren ent t pa part part ts of the bui uild ldin ld ing in g ar re modelled using different platfor or o rms ms, i.e. i. e. ., Ma M ya ya and d Rhi ino no. . Th Then en eve very ry thi hing n wil ng ill l again be re-modelled, if nec eces ssa sary sary y, in Rhi hino no, , for r th the e pu purp rp pos ose e of out utpu pu utt t in i g highly accurate and well ll l org ganiz an a niz ize ed line ed draw dr a in aw ings gs g s for r draftin i g pu purp r ose in in Aut utoC ut oCad oC a . ad

East Elevation

West Elevation

Villa Lake Office: Current Status: Location: Responsibility:

Patel Architecture Design Development Qingcheng International Health Resort, Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province, China Detail 3D Modeling, Design Development including, Plans, Sections, Elevations & Details.

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Villa Lake Tabulation Basement Living Area: 1st Floor Living Area: 2nd Floor Living Area: Garage (Basement): Mechanical (Basement): Mechanical (1st Floor): Total Living Area (w/o basement) Total Living Area: Total Gross Area: Terrace (Basement): Terrace (1st Floor): Terrace (2nd Floor): Pool Area: Total Outdoor Area:

385.60 613.80 194.60 66.10 40.92 7.77

m2 m2 m2 m2 m2 m2

808.4 m2 1194 m2 1308.8 m2 169.6 222.13 166.7 35.66 597.09

m2 m2 m2 m2 m2

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Interesting Interest s ing forms usually usua ally y requ require uir i e eq equally qually in i interesttere r st ting g and creative crea ative struc structuru tural s system. ys yste stem. m. S Such uch uc h st struct structual tual l system i is s de desi designed signed d n not ot o only nly nl t simply to y pr pro provide ovid ide suppo support ort ort but also al lso to speak the s same ame de design esi sign language an and d to t e ennhance the ov o overall eral er all l de desi design sign gn n quality. In ot other the her r wo word words, rds, s, st structure tructure is d designed esig gne ned d an a and d carefully modelled as s it i is s n t subordinate no not subo ord din inate but a pa part art of t of the he artch artchitectural hit tect tura ral ra l de desi n a sign and nd d a articulation. rticulation. rt A highly high hi gh hly d detailed etailed strucet tura tu tural ral ra l model no not ot only helps to u understand nder nd erstand th er the he building syst sy system stem em b but ut also pr provides rov o ides a strong stro st rong ng base e to fur further urther r deve de develop velo lop p th the he pr p project oject t to to DD stag st stage. age. e I In n th t this is case, m major a or aj beam be beams ams s and and s se secondary econdary beam beams am ms are carefully are care ca refu full ll ly po posi posioned s oned both i both in n pl plan an a and nd n d in 3 3D D to o make s make sure ure ur e ea each ch b building uild l in ng comp co component mpon onen ent t sp spea speak e k t the he sa same ame m lang la language ngua uage ge a and nd e each ach ac h de detail eta ail i i is s corr co correctly rrec ectl t y articulated. arti ar ticu cula lat te ted. te

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2nd floor plan cut

2nd floor strcutral plan

1st floor plan cut

1st floor strcutral33plan

Performing Arts Center Project Type: Current Status: Location: Responsibility:

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SCI_Arc Design Development Project Design Development Miami, FL Detail 3D Chunk Modeling, DD Plans, Sections, Elevations, Details & ADA.

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La Opinion Headquarters Project Type: Current Status: Location: Responsibility:

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Competition Schematic Design Downtown LA, CA Programming, Schematic Design, Detail 3D Modeling, Rendering, Plans and Sections

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UNIFIEDEXTERIORANDINTERIOR La Opinion Headquarters, Downtown, Los Angeles

S Broadway

c W Olympi Blvd

St E 11th

The program asked for a newspaper company’s headquarters that not only would provide plenty of space for the printing facilities and offices, but also would transform the public understanding and anticipation of traditional newspaper in the context of the fast modern information transfer through the Internet. It was achieved by offering additional programs such as public conference rooms and the hyper-unified skin system that brought the vibrant urban-scape of downtown LA into the interior of the building complex.

The perforated skin was carefully designed as a hyper-unified system, which literally connects both interior and exterior environments horizontally, vertically and inside-out.

n S Mai

St

La Opinion Headquarters

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Section 1

Section 2

Section 3 58

LA Live Theaters Project Type: Current Status: Location:

SCI_Arc Studio Project Selected for Exhibition Downtown LA, CA

OBJECTSWITHINOBJECTS ANDWEIRDNESSOFMATTERS The project focuses on the figure-in-asack problem, through the increased directness and weirdness of matter coupled with special emphasis on advanced part-to-whole theories.

This approach, keying of of object oriented ontology (ooo), assumes that all objects have an irreducible character and that all objects “exist equally but differently� (Bogost on Harman). It allows to treat interior figures, enveloping sacks, and grounds as interrelated but irreducible objects without ever being sets of or parts of other objects. The relationship between objects will be that of things in communication with one another but discreet and imbued with independent character. Objects will push into one another, become intimate, wrap around, kiss, press into crevices, and melt over one another, yet they will retain their distinction and avoid luke-warm fusion.

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Material and Massing Experiments with Vacuum Machine

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OBJECTSWITHINOBJECTS ANDWEIRDNESSOFMATTER L.A. Live Theaters, Downtown, Los Angeles

The same will be true of surface features, a.k.a. tattoos, meta-seams, multi-layer and multi-material features. Surface features, like tattoos, will be treated as figures with independent character only loosely tied to underlying form. As we know from “normal human experience” (Harman) tattoos are not subsets of the body-- they exceed the body and are things-inthemselves. This is in direct opposition to the idea of surface features being driven by ‘deep’ tectonic systems such as frames or panelization which are none other than attempts to subvert objects by believing in parts.

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[Tattoo on Flattened Skin]

The tattoo is designed at first as a 2D-tattoo on the unfolded skin of the original outer shell. The mesh lines of the skin do not suggest any subdivision pattern or structural grid as what most contemporary digital design approaches would do, but rather only provide a visual clue for the best aesthetic outcome. As a result, the tattoo sometimes follows the underlying geometry, but sometimes it has nothing to do with the underlying geometry, and it even detaches from it to become a part of the building enclosure as if the tattoo itself is an independent object, which again, keying off of object oriented ontology, reinforces the idea that all objects have an irreducible character and that all objects “exist equally but differently”.

[Tattoo in 3D] 65 65

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DESIGNTOFABRICATION Skin Prototype Construction at 1:5

The complexity of the project not only requires new means of representation other than traditional plans and sections, but also evokes new types of building materials.

Different from conventional subdivision or panelling type of building surface construction, a new composite skin is instroduced, and made possible through new software platforms, such as ZBrush, and new construction tools, i.e. robot.

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[Spring 2013 Applied Studies Seminar, Instructor: Tom Wiscombe]

SQUISHEDANDEMBEDDEDSKIN Composite Material Prototype

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SQUISHEDANDEMBEDDEDSKIN Composite Material Prototype

The complex process of making this prototype involves designing original base surface and sub-tools (smaller geometries), which then are milled by CNC machine, and become original molds for vacuum forming.

The other very import part of the process is using a 2.5-D software, i.e. ZBrush to create surface patterns, tattoos, which are then scripted and transformed to toolpaths that robot reads. Then the robots are involved to manipulate the initial molds and the polymer sheets that have been made by vacuum forming.

During the vacuum forming process, different sub-tools are vacuum formed at different times, and some are cut by robots later, or entirely missing to create air space inside the layers of polymer sheets.

The fabrication of the prototype requires a fabrication cycle of pre-design, fabrication, and feeding the information from the physical model back to computer for re-designing.

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House A-1 Office: Current Status: Location: Responsibility:

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Patel Architecture Interior Design Development Chengdu, China Detail 3D Modeling, Interior Design Development including, Plans, Sections, Elevations & Details.

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Theater Ceiling Plan

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Master Bath Floor Plan Elevation A FLOOR PLAN SCALE 1:25

Master Bath Ceiling Plan

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CEILING PLAN SCALE 1:25

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