SELECTED WORKS 2020-24
Bachelor
& Master Architecture
regenerative design, urban planning
Architectural Design Studio 2023
autonomous living units
Architectural Design Studio 2022
hypothetical residential project DA submission
Architectural Professional Practice 2021
MISCELLANEOUS CREATIVE VISUALISATION
graphic compilation of architectural drawings and illustrations
With the climate crisis as our focus, the project explores the shift away from ‘sustainable’ to ‘regenerative’ design: where strategy, advocacy and positive action enable a new role of care and repair for the environment.
Metropolitan Colliery in Helensburgh NSW, one of Australia’s oldest operating mines, located within the Garawarra State Conservation Area on Dharawal Country. The site presents an intersection of colonial and precolonial First Australians’ histories, juxtaposing the industrial and heritage structures of the mine with protected bushland, adjacent to the Royal National Park in a bushfire prone area. The site is of strategic importance as part of Sydney’s drinking water catchment and contains over 180 sites of Aboriginal importance.
The site calls for two actions; the adaptive re-use of the existing architecture (offices, amenities, tunnels, bridges) paired with strategic regenerative action for rehabilitation of the site.
Following the closure of the coal mine, this project works to reverse the ecological damage through minimal intervention of site, use of recycled resources and restoration of existing buildings.
As architecture and the built environment is known to contribute heavily to global carbon emissions, the key focus is to return the mined land back to nature by restoring native plant species to allow native birds to return. To restore and support biodiversity, the site will be regenerated through a diverse series of micro forests that are carefully grouped and placed to create a canopy.
Existing buildings and heritage items will remain and be reformed with the addition of a living facade made out of natural materials as a shelter and hibernating place for insects and birds.
This proposed project works in stages, which eventually seeks to rehabilitate the land and reverse the human impacts on the site as much as possible. In doing so, the site transforms into a more vibrant and attractive place for the community and the region’s native bird species in this warming world.
Soil remediation is conducted on the contaminated soil to create a land that would provide a suitable planting medium and terrain for the new forest. Meanwhile, structures that have been deemed in poor condition are demolished and the salvaged materials are recycled for reuse later in the project.
The local residents and community will be engaged to take part in the planting and management of the trees for the forest. Buildings that are retained will be retrofitted into nurseries to propagate plants and the exterior will be transformed into a living facade for insects and birds.
The existing conveyor belt on the site will be transformed into a skywalk through the site and the manager’s residence at the entrance will open as a cafe and lookout point. During this phase, visitors will only be allowed to spend their time atop the skywalk to minimise disturbance as the forest underneath flourishes.
After the forest reaches maturation, the existing railway running through the site will be adapted into a cycling track and a walking trail will be carved out through the site. As visitors are able to fully experience the site from different levels, this final phase will conclude the architectural intervention of the project.
The expanded filter pond is an engineered system used to filter and remove fine sediments, agricultural runoff and other pollutants from stormwater before entering Camp Gully Creek. The man-made pond produces a small carbon footprint as it is entirely gravity operated and does not require energy-intensive pumps. The stormwater would first enter the sediment basin and is filtered by the first layer of aquatic plants. The water then flows into the inlet pool and is filtered by the macrophyte zone (a densely planted shallow area which removes fine particles and dissolved pollutants). The filtered water is finally channelled to Camp Gully Creek via the outlet pipe.
detail drawing
Cycling trail detail drawing
Bioswale detail drawing
Filter pond detail drawing
Urban projects have increased significantly in size, reintroducing some mid-century ideas on megastructures and habitat. The studio questions: how do we live today? How will we live in the immediate future? And, how might student housing be the ultimate project when exploring different ways to live together?
A minimalistic approach that creates high quality housing and study spaces that improves student living. In four bedroom units, the design aims for the balance between maximising functional spaces while maintaining comfort. The buildings focus on creating clever, space-saving solutions for compact housing with a modular system to allow the building to be adapted overtime.
The design is tailored to meet the needs of today’s students in a warm and human-centric solution that will engage and connect its residents. A space for student activity and social life, it nurtures conditions for an entertaining and enriching lifestyle in an active student housing accomodation. Community is not forced but coaxed; each room is designed for a single person and shares amenities where community makes for a better experience.
The student housing buildings serve as a landmark and a visual beacon of change and renewal for Parramatta Road while remaining gentle to the terrace houses on Arundel Street. The form and layout of the buildings is driven by a need to overcome the significant privacy and visual challenges posed by the neighbouring double storey buildings. By splitting the design into 4 buildings and offsetting from the boundary, it creates a generous central courtyard to maximise natural lighting and integrates passive solar design.
A linear composition of pedestrian paths, streets and platforms on the ground level connects everything within a coherent sequence among the 4 buildings. Down a flight of stairs, the open ground floor becomes a pleasant urban environment with canopies and sidewalks. The half sunken ground creates a split level with the street and differentiates the leisure and community space from the bustling city.
The design focus on creating clever, space-saving solutions for compact housing with a modular system to allow the building to be adapted overtime. All housing units distributed with single room occupancy and feature shared basic amenities for living - bathroom, kitchen, balcony and fixed furniture. Downstairs, the interconnected kitchen, living, dining and outdoor spaces create interactive and engaged spaces which are separated from the private between by an inhabited wall.
Designed as large rectangular volumes, the units are the fundamental building blocks determining the structure of the building. One for the units and one for the lifts and stairwells, a horizontal slab connects the two, forming a double height circulation space. Positioned in this shared space between two units is a balcony, creating space for interactions and fostering good relationships.
The typological composition of the private spaces is proposed with a prefabricated timber system that fits within the concrete shell of the building. This modular system allows the single room to evolve into a myriad of configurations from student housing to apartments and from co-housing to communal housing.
The proposed design accommodates the client’s desires and has minimum impact on adjoining properties. It improves the quality of the internal amenity while maintaining the appropriate and desirable outcome for Tawa Street and the surrounding area.
The Project Brief focus on the hypothetical design of a residential alterations and additions and preparation of the necessary documentation for submission of a Development Application. The site is at 1 Tawa Street, Ashfield, 2131. The clients are a typical family of four, with a two primary school aged children. They own a typical one level free standing bungalow in Ashfield. Their brief includes the following:
• demolish the back section of the house
• develop an open plan kitchen / dining / living area
• a separate lounge/TV room for kids
• create a main bathroom near 2 bedrooms
• develop a Master bedroom / ensuite for the parents on ground floor or in roof space as an attic conversation
• utilize side street for garage / undercover car space
• improve the amount of light inside the existing house (which currently has poor natural light) as well achieve a better connection to the outdoor / rear garden area
• improve the amenity and organisation of the residence as well as an adventurous architectural solution.
2020-23
Compilation of creative visualisations and technical drawings that covey design concepts and ideas from other studio projects
Exploration of architectural spaces with modern digital techniques
Softwares: Lumion/Twinmotion + Sketchup + Photoshop
Samples of construction and detail drawings via AutoCAD
