ZIQI CAO PORTFOLIO

CONTENTS: 01-A DANDELION’S REBIRTH 02-THE DATA CAGE 03-REMEMBER[ING] SPACE 04-THE ANCIENT 05-BIRD, HUMAN AND NATURE 06-HIDDEN DEPTH 07-HEDGEHOG MIMICRY

PORTFOLIO - ZIQI CAO

08-OTHER WORKS -ESSAY: THE BLENDS WITH ENVIRONMENT IN GREAT (BAMBOO) WALL

01A DANDELION’S REBIRTH Project time: May. 2022 Site: Shanghai, China

This project explored the concept of in-between, surrounding environment and our relationship with the nature, questioning the boundary between inside and outside.

During project, the concept of 'in-between' was conceptualised as a connecting relationship, intersecting through transformation and folding intangible qualities inside.

It derives not from the experience of a single party, but from the interdependence of two forces in one transition point. Especially in an urban context, how do we define the boundary between nature and the built urban environment and how can city dwellers be immersed in an enriching experience of nature when its presence steadily diminishes in the face of the ever-intensifying concrete inundation?

This project has stimulated my concept design observation within my surrounding spatial living in Shanghai, Using public installation to create a journey in publicness, exploring the potential and limitations of the existing urban environment and establish new engaging experiences. Bringing nature back into human living space

SITE LOCATION

BACKGROUND

The context of my project demonstrates the current situation of urban living environment, on the objective level: the expansion of the city, reduction of natural resources and the increasing number of complex showing a separation between urban and nature environment; and on the subjective level followed as urban development is people spend less time outdoors, over-work, traffic and other reasons which would hinder their access to travel outside the city. Based on the above, I wanted to make a design project that would bring people closer to nature by letting the sense of nature into the city.

TARGET AUDIENCE T h e p ro j e c t a n a l y z e s t h e demographics of the area and the installation's audience.

The primary audience for the installation is the site's interior office workforce, who would spend the majority of their day in site. Additionally, tourists and inhabitants were taken into account. These three groups generally spend a great deal of time engaging in virtual social interactions, spend less time outside, and desire for natural experiences.

The problems are intended to be altered by the installation, which aims to satisfy the audience's longing for nature.

THE BOND HISTORICAL TIMELINE

DANDELION - NATURE'S REPRESENTATIVE As a natural product, the dandelion grows in the spring and its seeds are re-rooted in the soil when the wind blows them off the stalks; by the next spring, more dandelion blossoms will have appeared. The dandelion's growth symbolizes the vitality of plants in nature. At the same time, the qualities in nature, specifically wind, assists in its reproduction. It is an plant which the visible and invisible characteristics of nature intersect in together.

“Be a dandelion in a world of roses Inspire wishes in kisses of stolen breath Complete your phase in celestial dreams Of the Sun moon and stars While setting your roots deep In the warm earth amidst blades of humble grass."

-teaganell

As the financial center of China, The timeline of Shanghai's development reveals the current developing trend in China's first-tier cities.

SITE SURROUNDINGS

SITE ANALYSIS CONNECTIVITY & ACCESSIBILITY Based on the analysis, the site is accessible to the public on account of its proximity to major roads. The well-developed transportation routes in the CBD facilitate accessibility of the site and provide opportunities for people to interact with the installation. Additionally, the choice of the site as an intervention in the naturalness of the city can contribute to resolving the current separation between work and residential areas, also serve as a model for other similar workplaces in the neighborhood.

Currently, the Bund is a residential and commercial area characterized by a high density of buildings and a fast-paced lifestyle. Transformation of the surroundings and a vertical grid structure are the key features that only emphasize building interconnection at the expense of human interaction, which is contrary to the needs of 25,600 residents per square kilometre.

STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS & MATERIAL EXPERIMENT The leaves and branches of a tree are its most vital parts. This section explores the possibility of transforming natural elements into architectural components by extracting their qualities.

In designing the installation, I drew inspiration for its structural form from the leafy and branching portions of the tree, owing to my interest in trees and the external natural environment from previous investigations. This is intended to respond to the natural environment with organic forms that allow the installation to blend with the atmosphere of the site. Through their leaves, trees exhale oxygen, while the shadows they cast, and their sense of enclosure provide humans with a sense of protection. In this experiment, a roof was tentatively constructed by arranging leaves in various ways. The effect of the shadows is compared to an adjacent blank ‘field.’ As the direction of light shifts, the shadows of the site take on an organic form and a ‚natural‘ dynamic quality.

Video link (YouTube): https://youtu.be/FnrBzF2asC8

The quality of wind

The quality of light

The quality of water

1.1.1 The fabric hanging from the top of the installation manage the movement of the wind, enhancing the experience, and the quality of the live environment is revealed as the wind blows the fabric.

1.2.1 Cut the canopy of the installation with holes to allow direct access to natural light.

1.3.1 Relying on the slope of the site, slope the device close to the lake. The bottom of the device is connected to the water surface, providing a way for people to get in close contact with the water.

2.1 Transform the top portion of the installation into a mirrored material that reflects the surrounding environment. This provides the viewer with multiple perspectives of observation.

The surrounding environment is folded into the installation.

3.1.1 Wayfinding and navigation by repeating the arrangement of the installation to a unit.

3.2.1 Lowering the height of the installation, the change in height allows a new view of the site.

4.1.1 Surface variation of the carving on the installation.

Mimic the texture of the surrounding plant.

4.2.1 The translucent panels that surround the installation invite human body to become part of the work.

1.1.2 The fabric is closely arranged on both sides of the device to form a cylinder, inviting the wind to enter and interact with the device.

1.2.1a Light is projected onto the ground, with subtle reflective shadows appearing in the original view.

1.3.1 Designed from the perspective of water evaporation.

The installation is covered with a transparent cover to create an encounter with water through the accumulation of water vapor while protecting the audience from unpredictable bad weather.

2.2 Another mirrored intervention into the structure of the installation. The large area applied across the entire installation provides the viewer with a sense of disorientation.

3.1.2 Pause interval , zoom in on the surroundings with a changing surface.

3.2.2 Changing the angle of the installation. allows for a shift in perspective and focus.

4.1.2 Preventing the effects of weather and wind on the moment.

4.2.2 The translucent panels frame specific moments, as a form of extraction, amplifying the surroundings through masking.

3.1.3 Remove the roof to reduce the environmental impact.

3.2.3 The unit is lowered to change the surface, continues to extend into the original land surface of the site that implies a pathway.

NATURAL CONDITIONS

Based on the analysis, the site is accessible to the public on account of its proximity to major roads. The well-developed transportation routes in the CBD facilitate accessibility of the site and provide opportunities for people to interact with the installation. Additionally, the choice of the site as an intervention in the naturalness of the city can contribute to resolving the current separation between work and residential areas, also serve as a model for other similar workplaces in the neighborhood

1.1.3 Increase the area occupied by the fabric. The translucent fabric covers the installation, leaving an entrance to allow the viewer to enter and inspire an immersive experience.

1.2.2 Another way of cutting the canopy. By controlling the amount of light entering, noticing the difference between light and shadow and the overlap between the two surfaces. Inspired by the cross-shaped glass window on the main wall of the church in Tadao Ando‘s work The Church of Light.

1.3.3 Create a guardrail surrounded the installation, inspired by the form of water splashing, the installation itself has a certain clarity, and the feeling of swaying is amplified by the establishment of the guardrail.

2 . 3 A c o u n t i n e a p p ro c h o f project 2.1.1 in a reflective way.

The mirrors placed in different positions allow the viewer to capture multiple perspectives and change the landscape with the movement of the body.

4.2.3 Exaggerated changes in perspective, framed at the top to capture the sky.

The experiment includes: amplifying the intangible quality of the site, reconfiguring the view point, guiding the movement and frame as extraction.

FLOOR PLAN

MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES FROM THE DANDELIONS FEATURE Taking inspiration from dandelions by analogy. The dynamics of dandelion, a natural product, is expressed in architectural language. It is a medium to coordinate natural ecology and social ecology by giving the building space the characteristics of plants. People can find their own unique thinking and feeling about nature in this bio-inspired installation.

Revolving door

P Parking lot Underground Installation

FROM IDEA TO IMPLEMENTATION

Installations of intervention stored in Soho bund as an example of urban public space in Shanghai. Three installations in the same site as a complete series purposely connects people and the nature to engage encounters, invite the audience come across with the installation in site, discovering the natural atmosphere while experiencing the installation and the invisible wind qualities its responses.

INSTALLATION NO.1 The first installation, an observational stage representing the dandelion, is situated at the site's main entrance. The imposing structure is meant to serve as a landmark for the place, indicating to visitors the journey they are going to take.

THE DETAILS OF INSTALLATION NO.1

BIODEGRADABLE DANDELION MATERIAL TEST Biodegradable dandelion material test key ingredients：flour, water, gelatine, dandelion seeds and rhizoma.

Segmented spiral staircase

Wooden support columns

Wooden stick piecing

Gridding and transparency

Biodegradable material panels

Four parts of the rotating staircase are joined to three platforms to make the full structure. The divided experience permits audience members to remain in their favorite locales.

The structure is supported by three large wooden support columns arranged in a triangle, providing a stable foundation for the installation.

Multiple sticks of the same size are joined by mortise and tenon joinery to form an approximate circle structure.

Assuring the stability and integrity of the platform.

Instead of closed walls, permeable grilles are used to create a connection between the interior and the exterior in the installation.

Multiple material panels are installed between the grids to visualise the quality of the wind through the different angles that the wind blows.

Platform periscope and unique views

The frame and communication

Meditation and fatigue

Appropriate distance

Exploration and discovery

Each platform is outfitted with mutiple periscope of different sizes, which are intended to provide the viewer with a unique perspective of the surrounding environment.

Each periscope points in a different direction and location, encompassing the surroundings while creating opportunities for people to interact and communicate.

The periscope strives to amplify the natural landscape and quality of the surrounding area, helping to visually relieve the fatigue and tension caused by work.

The suitable distance between the periscopes also provides a comfortable personal space for viewers who do not like to be disturbed by others when enjoying their surroundings.

B y l o o k i n g a t t h e o rd i n a r y f ro m a n u n u s u a l perspective, periscopes aim to awaken curiosity and encourage people to explore the overlooked sights around them.

As an observation tower, the circular space of wooden sticks gradually wraps around and up the spiral staircase, creating a comprehensive experience of the surroundings for the audience as they ascend and descend.

New material vocabularies are created through material experimentation and adaptable combination forms to suit various installations. In all material combinations, the transparent texture represents the movement of air as a connecting medium. While retaining the natural conceptual world of the dandelion, which includes its aroma, texture, and unique associations to nature, respect and appreciation for the environment and the surroundings.

RENDERING

INSTALLATION NO.2 The process of dandelion seeds being blown by the wind is shown by a second pavilion installation in the site's center. Visitors can access the installation from all sides according to its openness.

INSTALLATION NO.3

Staggered platform

Semi-colsed gridding

Embedded seats

Flowing experience

Biodegradable material panels

The installation consists of two platforms of different heights, linked in series by several steps of stairs. The platform is made up of wood and tempered glass, distinguished by the material.

As a constant element of the project, the grid unifies the style of the installation and exists as a spatial divider. Further directs the viewer's route of movement.

The exterior of the installation provides resting space, which are connected to the main installation by steel tubes.

Maximum comfort for visitors during their visit.

The metal frame and semi-transparent white fabric hang from the curved metal roof, interacting with the wind, surroundings, people and providing some shade.

Partitions and movable drawers made from biodegradable materials add functionality to the installation and meet the daily needs of the audience in the site.

Gathering people

Wrap-around observation

Guiding and activating

Communication space

The movable drawers

The platform is segmented to satisfy the demands of various demographics, enticing individuals of all ages to enter and interact with the installation.

The curving curvature of the installation allows the visitor to observe and experience the installation in its entirety, and the view from the opposite side of the unit is visible through grid gap.

The presence of the hanging fabric encourages visitors to play, forming their own space by moving around within the installation and to escape temporarily from the stresses of city life.

The material panel is used as a shelf on the lower side of the installation. Creating a relaxed environment for people to communicate and place items.

Provides access to objects from both interior and exterior.

Translucent quality of the material reflects shifting shadows when the drawer is moved, adding visual interest to a simple action.

The third installation consists of several small spaces that offer the observer various resting and attractive options—assisting commuters at the location and other vistors to leave the concrete architecture and pay attention to the changes in the surroundings and nature that are usually overlooked.

The eight-part installation is horizontally arranged in a straight path throughout the site. Each component of the reconstructed fundamental form consists of a geometric triangular shape.

The installation's primary purpose is to provide a space for leisure and rest, attracting people from the enclosed interior of the high-rise building to the exterior. It features an anonymous letterbox space, meditation space, cinema room, study room, three small meeting rooms, and a large shared community space, to achieve relaxation on both spiritual and physical level.

THE DETAILS OF INSTALLATION NO.3

SECTION & RENDERING

The movie room

The meeting room 01

The meditation space

The study room

As an area for relaxation between tasks, the movie room will screen films daily, and the audience will be able to select what they want watch and manage their emotions by viewing films. The window wall at the back of the room may open and close, creating an immersive environment for the audience.

Meeting Room 01 provides a venue for small gatherings of up to three people, where the audience can mingle around a circular coffee table and communicate with each other. The semi-translucent curtains that fully cover the entrance provide a degree of privacy to the space.

The space focuses on the surrounding scenery and internal peace.

The biodegradable material panels on one side of the space have several hollows of different sizes that act as view frames to help the viewer focus on the details of the surrounding landscape, relax on the platform within the space, sitting, or reclining.

The space attempts to move people's workplace from the inside to the outside, with individual desks and chairs as well as storage space under the chairs. People can work and study with the breeze and comfortable temperature of the space, away from computer screen.

The meeting room 02

The meeting room 03

Anonymous mailbox room

Meeting Room 02 is a space for six people to gather. Semi-translucent curtains hang on either side of the entrance and flutter in the wind. It is more open than Meeting room 01 and extends out onto a platform to accommodate a larger group of audience.

Space 03 is equipped with office scale tables and chairs. People can use this space as an outdoor conference room, book a time and use the space for meetings on demand. Compare to normal working space, This space is suitable for informal meetings and talks, and helps to help relax the tensions of work.

The mailboxes are intended to provide a relax environment for individuals. Using traditional sending of letters promotes audience participation, with a central screen displaying the status of the mailboxes. The anonymity also encourages people to freely express their emotions and form relationships with others around them.

Shared community space As the main component of the installation, this space joins multiple small modules to form a long corridor where individuals can congregate, interact, or engage in group activities by arranging furniture in any combination.

Wooden plank platform

Multi-material roof

Modular furniture

Flowing experience

Biodegradable material panels

An articulated wooden platform outside the installation crosses the existing water flow within the site, making it more accessible to visitors.

The roof of the installation is made of semi-transparent biodegradable material and lightweight panels. This creates permeability and reduces the load on the installation.

Each unit in the furniture can be interchanged to form different components in order to better meet the different needs within the space.

Semi-transparent woven curtains are fixed to different areas of the installation frame by means of sliding rails. Capturing the form of the wind while acting as fluid partition.

Multiple fixed size panels of biodegradable material are installed in the installation to replace the traditional glass material.

INSTALLATION BLOCK

02THE DATA CAGE Project time: Aug. 2021 Site: United StatesMicrosoft, IL, USA The Data Cage, is based on the era of rapid evolving information. is based on the theme of the relationship between big data and people in the era of rapid evolving information. Through the experience of space, I can understand the big data of network and its impact on people. Inspired by the story of Shut Up and Dance, the third episode of the third season of Black Mirror, I created a conceptual exhibition space with multiple small rooms revealing the impact of the era of information explosion on people from different aspects, and building the narrative space from the perspective of experience, which aimed to provide the audience a deeper understanding of the information age, provoking reflection on the contemporary age of information explosion.

MOVIE STAGE 1

MOVIE STAGE 2

MOVIE STAGE 3

MOVIE STAGE 4

The hero is hacked into his computer and threatened with his secrets to coerce him into completing missions.

The hero carries out his mission in collaboration with different people, all of whom are threatened by the hackers with their secrets.

The hero is threatened with a duel with others in exchange for ultimate survival, shooting to kill.

The hackers did not keep their promise and made their secret public , causing the family relationships of all the members to break down.

LIFE SCENES RE-ENACTED In the current online environment, people are both the snoopers and the snooped, we profit quickly from the information circulating, but also as a source of data collected information, big data era as a double-edged sword brings benefits but also many hidden dangers.

SITE

200 E Randolph St #200 Chicago, IL 60601 United StatesMicrosoft, IL, USA

LAYOUT GENERATION

The site was chosen next to a firm whose primary focus is digital information. The residents of this region are the most affected by the information age since their daily lives, modes of transportation, etc. are all supported by electronic devices and the internet. I expect that, as a function of this design, the locals will have a deeper grasp of big data and be able to spot the hidden dangers associated with their future use.

Activities affected by the information age from all ages

TARGET AUDIENCE RESEARCH THE QR CODE

My initiative aims to reveal the crises and dangers that lie beneath the peaceful veneer of big data by provide participants to experience various spaces.

As there are multiple small installations in the space, visitors can scan the QR code on the side of each installation to receive an introduction and additional details about it. At the same time, information about the user is continuously collected during the scanning process to build a personal character analysis, and it is interesting to note that the visitor is unaware that he or she is being tracked by the data during the visit.

The majority of people’s daily actions in the information age are influenced by the internet and big data, with adolescents and middle-aged individuals being the most affected.

Hours of electronic device use by all age group

Big data poses a persistent threat to our privacy and information security, although surveys indicate that the majority of individuals are either uninformed of the problem or choose to overlook it in order to benefit from the information provided by big data.

ROOM DESCRIPTION

RENDER IMAGE

ROOM 1

As a conceptual installation, several aspects are chosen to illustrate the influence of the information explosion era on individuals and to develop a narrative space from an experiential standpoint.

Room 1 The current situation under the big data and how people response.

Room 2.2 The way Big Data accesses information - Traces of information remain

Space Platform Unit People move from one space to the next via platforms of varied heights, guide the viewer’s movements. People will experience the space by concentrating on the ground-level installation and ignoring the changes above head.

Room 3 Shifting perspectives of the voyeur and the voyeurized Room 2.1 The way Big Data access to information - sharing and circulation of information

Room 1 immersive image

Room 1 exploded view

The subsequent rooms describe the processes and ways in which Big Data access information in the networked information age. Room 2.1 Representing the sharing and circulation of information.

ROOM 2.1 DOOR HANDLE DETAIL

ROOM 2.1

Room 2.3 The way Big Data analyses information and the process

Room 2.4 The hidden dangers of the information age

The platform unit connected to the floating planes at the top through tubes.

Room 4 The inundation and explosion of information

Room 5 Exposing the dangers of the information age Room 6 The brainwashing of people in the information age and the personal analysis darkroom

Soft material canvas top

From an objective standpoint, Room 1 focuses on how the majority of people currently feel about the era of big data and the current predicament individuals find themselves in. The experience of Room One reveals how the information era has now invaded everyone’s daily lives and how individuals live in an apparently stable environment while avoiding and being unaware of the unknown and unpredictability that lies beneath it.

The current flow of information allows us to easily and quickly access the information we want; each time, the process of accessing information is like opening a door, for example, by using social software, posting, or browsing a website.

ROOM 2.1 INSTALLATIONS

Internet Chat

Browsing websites

Website Bookmarking

ROOM 2.3

ROOM 2.2

Social Software

Web posting

Room 2.3 shows the way and process of collecting information with Big Data after a large amount of information has been acquired. The different sizes and shapes of the blocks represent various forms of data and modularity.

The corridor space tells the story of the traces of information that remain, acting as a transition throughout the space and linking it to the previous room. The room records the traces of personal information left by the frequent movements of people in the previous room. I use the hanging ribbons to show the different messages left by people and fill the room, aware of the tracking of people in the age of big data as they move around.

ROOM 2.1 RENDER PERSPECTIVE Room 2.1 amplifies the notion of doors and passageways by showing the viewer as a recipient of information by moving around the room.

Room 2.2 render perspective

Central hub

Information Room 1

The exit

Information Room 2

Entrance

SECTION

ROOM 2.4

The space mainly explores issues or risks where information is hidden, and the semi-underground design better highlights the hidden meaning.

The narrative plot of the space builds on the different shifting perspectives of people peeking and being peeked at in a flow of introduction-revelation- and reflection.

In understanding the ability of Big Data to collect information, 2.4 Space shows the hidden dangers of the information age.

People often register to use the software’s features without perusing the regulations it offers, which often contain unequal contracts.

Above and below ground space ratio

The room is dominated by a staircase inspired by the infinite loop of steps in the movie Inception and intended to disorient the observer when touring the area through staggering levels.

Room 2.3 exploded viewtisciuntNatem The space consists of four small rooms, with the middle section representing the hub of information, which Big Data collects through our electronic devices and mouse clicks and connects to everywhere through pipes on the floor.

Room 1 Ihilla dolupta tisciuntNatem

Room 1 Ihilla dolupta tisciuntNatem

Room 1 Ihilla dolupta tisciuntNatem

The protruding spheres on the wall visualise and highlight the inequalities in the network regulations to increase attention.

ROOM 3

ROOM 4

Room 3 is a circular space in the center of the design that serves as a transition (the first few rooms are based on how information is acquired / the back is dominated by the risk of information explosion).

The first part is dominated by a linear installation that serves as a basic introduction to this space. The second part expresses the virtual line through light.

Room IV is characterised by an overflow and explosion of information everywhere, like threads connecting and invading all parts of our lives.

The room is divided into two parts, enhancing the visual impact on the viewer through solid contrasts of light and dark

Real line installation 1

The room is primarily made of two sections to create a sense of transition, allowing the observer‘s perspective from the voyeur/perspective user’s to the voyeur and the harmed’s.

The platform in the center is set up such that the viewer can look from one side to the other, implying that the voyeur/profiteer is also being voyeurised as a result of benefitting from the information age.

Room 5 echoes Room 1, where the stable structure of Room 1 makes people unaware of the dangers lurking in the information age, whereas Room 5 places different scenes of people’s lives in suspended glass spheres, revealing that there are no secrets in the information age and that life is full of instability.

By presenting the most ubiquitous scene of daily life in an unexpected manner, the viewer is able to immerse oneself in the setting and feel the negative repercussions of the information age more viscerally and intensely.

Virtual line room

The role of lines is to alter and influence people’s actions in space, expressing the notion that people are lost in information and, at the same time, lose the ability to distinguish between true and false information and to think independently.

ROOM 5

Real line installation 2

THE DARK ROOM

ROOM 6

QR CODE WORKING PROCESS In each room, QR codes are placed on the side of the exhibit. When a person scans the installation with their electronic device, introductory information about it will appear. As the final phase of the tour, the darkroom encourages the tourist to set their mobile phone on the sensor table, where the gadget automatically captures information from the visitor and provides an audience analysis of the visitor’s behavior on projection screens. This information is derived from QR codes scanned by visitors throughout their visit.

The final room, the summary space, describes the reality of the information age’s threats to humans. The room’s walls are a patchwork of miniature blocks sewn together to represent fragmented information, and the area is dominated by an installation of a human figure, demonstrating how figuration alters the way people think and has a profound effect on how we perceive things.

The QR code’s design serves as a hidden theme throughout the project. A comprehensive game experience is produced through the activities of the audience during the process and the reveal of the final result in dark room. The process gives the audience to experience firsthand what it is like to be monitored by big data.

The purpose of the dark room on one side of the room is to create an immersive experience. A means for visitors to directly experience the effects of big data on humans.

Vertical standing block units

Patchwork roof and hanging block units

Block piecing wall

03REMEMBER[ING] SPACE An exploration of the memory of ritual through the renovation of a kiln factory

Project time: Sep. 2022 Site: Shanghai, China

The project is the fusion of 'new' and 'old', exploring and recreating the cultural memory of brick kilns.

- How do we extend the life trajectory of an existing space within a new construction?

- How can the existing interior narrative inform future development?

In this project, I designed and reconstructed a kiln cultural center on the site of a historic brick kiln that reflects modernity and tradition, commemorates, transmits the history of brick firing, and invites people to bring the site back to life.

//RESEARCH

//LOCATION ANALYSIS

- Ritual & ritual space

Burn incense and worship Buddha for New Year’s luck

Firecrackers used to scare away evil spirits

- Human needs-driven [spiritual/emotional] - Collective, interactive behaviour - Meaning beyond actions

Fireworks to celebrate the holiday/new year

/Cultural memory from past to the present

Ritual instruments reflect the history

Burning joss paper prayer a happy and prosperous afterlife for your ancestors

Exploring the emotional connection between people and fire from pyromania

- Ritual spirit under the BURNING history Burning-related rituals in China

Ritual is an repetitive and meaningful behaviours that are systematically used by a group of people with a purpose greater than the action it self. As a form of psychological characteristics, rituals can reflect the spiritual and emotional needs of people.

/Spirtual links evoke emotions

In this site, the kiln factory occupies a large area, which is the only public place around.

But as factories stop production, the trend of village hollowing out is increasingly severe, the once prosperous land has lost its former glory.

Incense Burning Apparatus in Chinese Paintings

A Southern Song Dynasty censer with floral papercuts

A Ming Dynasty patterned censer

A Qing Dynasty white ceramic censer

A Tang Dynasty threefoot censer

/A testimony to the development of chinses history

Brick Gothic style buildings

Birck making 1475 Utrecht

Birck making 1761 France

Birck making 1695 in the Netherlands

During the 12th century bricks were reintroduced to northern Germany from northern Italy. This created the brick gothic period which was a reduced style of Gothic architecture previously very common in northern Europe.

Updraught kiln

//HISTORICAL ANALYSIS Downdraught kiln

Birck making 1902 in Worcestershire

After all bricks have been allowed time to dry they are placed in a kiln for burning which finishes off the brick to achieve the optimum strength and colour.

Kilns

Clamp kiln

- Site situation

5th century Roman brickwork at Ravenna, Italy

Fired bricks are originally discovered by the ancient Romans.

During the first century of their civilisation and used the bricks for public and private buildings all over the empire.

The project is located in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai, where water networks and natural vegetation are abundant.

The site is close to the canal, convenient transportation, the old rely on water transportation; The site is surrounded by a number of villages, which used to be the main source of livelihood and gathering point for the villagers.

Source: http://www.china.org.cn/learning_chinese/news/2009-02/05/content_17230207.htm

- Kiln firing - An achive of burning history

Ancient Romans

//SITE ANALYSIS

Pug to moulders 1871

Handmade

Pugmill for mixing clay - horse powered. Early 19th century

Man powered bulmer and sharp wirecut 500 bricks per hour 1861

Extruder, fed by man and wire cutter Clayton machine 1850

Manns Steam Cart for transporting bricks 1902

Beehive kiln

Industrial Revolution

Bricks can be made from variety of materials the most common being clay but also calcium silicate and concrete.

Hoffmann kiln With clay bricks being the more popular, they are now manufactured using three processes soft mud, dry press and extruded.

Source: http://www.brickdirectory.co.uk/html/brick_history.htmlture-2017-best-of-year-winner-for-trade-show-booth/

The transformation of the old brick kiln over the past 50 years is emblematic of China's economic and productive reforms, and it was once the main source of income for the surrounding residents. It's gone through a lot of changes and it's lost its prosperity. Now it has become the memory of the older generation.

//PROJECT AIM & INTENTION

//DESIGN STRATEGY

//PROPOSED FLOOR PLAN

How do we extend the life trajectory of an existing space within a new construction?

How can the existing inteior narrative inform future development?

//LANDSCAPE AXONOMETRIC 1. outdoor installation based on the structure of the chimney pipe, providing a resting area for people.

-Design:

Build a brick kiln culture centre that echoes modernity and tradition, commemorates, and passes along the history of brick firing, and attracts people back together

-Main concept:

1

A fusion of the old & new The original building

Structure reinforcement Structural steel partitions are implanted on the upper floors to support the roof.

3

Add arch elements

Embedded pipe

It reproduces the old kiln landscape of more than 200 years ago, reflecting the continuation of the past.

The whole site is implanted with pipes and arched devices to change the moving lines.

Renovation of ecological tower

Put in modular furniture

The chimney is transformed into an ecological tower to improve the pollution problem.

All furniture units can be combined and moved with each other, providing more spatial possibilities.

4

2. extra green belt and plants to absorb CO2.

3. Sit bench 4. lowered the height of the wall on the water side and add an waterfront platform

//SECTION

2

//GROUND AND SECOND FLOOR PLANS I investigate transformational possibilities from both historical and contemporary viewpoints. The ground level has been constructed as a museum devoted to the history of brick kilns and kiln techniques, with new arching features preserving the existing brick kiln. The combination of the new brick arches and the old brick kiln transforms the factory from a manufacturing identity into a site for cultural transmission, transporting us back in memory.

//HISTORICAL CONTINUITY THROUGH MOVEMENT&PROJECTION //PIPE INSERTION DETAILS

//RENDERING

Architectural features of 'arch' and 'threshold'' in the kiln.

Different sizes of organic material pipes are placed in both ground & first floor. Inside the pipeline are holographic projections and interactive devices, which are mainly used for the interaction between people and space.

Location: 1L-The exhibition hall entrance Function: Holographic projection simulates the interaction between workers and visitors in the past

Placed in the entrance and aisle parts can increase the sense of experience.

Location：1L-Brick-burning craft exhibition hall Function：Display the brick firing process and related historical figures, so as to increase the understanding of brick kiln.

The second level has been built as an emerging ceramics studio to establish a link between the past and the present through ceramics. Using principles of modular design, all furniture items may be merged, replaced, and rearranged, bringing different types of space to the small rural building and providing additional spatial options, thereby allowing the interior layout to adapt to the changing needs of the future.

main entrance link to the first floor with spiral staircase

//SPACE FUNCTION

//Experience

//RENDERING To solve the problem, the design concept I proposed was to explore the integration of the old and new in the site, bringing people back to the site, reactivating its culture and interactivity.

The purpose of the transformation is to adapt to people and space. We should adapt to the environment with a more open state.

We hope that the surrounding people can participate in it, so as to promote development. The first point is to transform the original internal production mode of the site into an external exhibition, so that the site is changed from closed to open. The second point is to start from the firing process, from the original industrial land to public space. The third point responds to environmental sustainability issues by changing the site's original identity from a carbon emitter to a carbon absorber.

Location：Garden platform Function：A landscaped garden on the roof provides a space for visitors to rest and entertain.

Location：2L-Shared workbench Function：Through the modular furniture layout workshop, the layout and moving lines can be changed according to different needs.

Location：2L-Shared workbench Function：Through the modular furniture layout workshop, the layout and moving lines can be changed according to different needs.

1L Brick Kiln Museum Location：Ecological tower Function：The tower filters out harmful gases from the combustion process and converts them into energy to help plants grow.

2L Ceramic Workshop A rooftop garden

Location：2L-Ceramic workshop Function：Call for more people to know and like the firing process, let the visitors participate in the production.

04- THE ANCIENT Mathematical and physical transformation of natural organisms

Project time: Dec. 2021 Site: Wādī al-Ḥītān Faiyum Governorate, Egypt

The aim of the project is to mathematically transfer the word "ancient" into the language of current spatial form. For us, "ancient" is solitary: the site is located in a desert two hours outside of the modern city, surrounded by fossilized whales and rocks, with no architecture around. The whale's skeleton is also lonely in a symbolic sense, as it comes from a history that does not belong to us and carries it into the present in the shape of bones.

From the inspiration of the whale skeleton, the design creates a museum for the site, seeking to highlight the sense of history of the site via architectural form and function and to provide direction for the land's future development and environmental conservation. The project consider space as a processual experience, Through the temporal transformation of materiality linked audience to the site and the "ancient."

//REGIONALISM

//MATERIAL ANALYSIS

There are many boulders in the site and the preserved skeletons ofthe whales are set against them. The building is a semi-open space.with no enclosed maintenance structures around it. The aim is toexpose the new building material to the sand and to allow it toundergo a transformation over time into a material similar to thewhale's skeleton.

Deserts and Oasis

Cities and Streets

Dwelling The perimeter of the site is dotted with deserts and oases, dilapidated cities and streets, houses made of clay. It is as if all the material is related to the sand and the unique climate of the area. The houses here have narrow windows, oases are scarce and the streets are filled with sand. In history, this was originally a riverbed at the bottom of the sea, and after millions of years of evolution, the waters faded away, leaving the skeletons of whales here for people to admire.

//SURROUNDINGS AND HISTORY Over tens of millions of years of evolution, this barren desert has taken on rich historical connotations and environmental and ecological problems. All this points to an urgent need: how to present the past and indicate the future of the development with an architecture. Environmental protection, architectural form and building function are all important considerations.

The site is located in the middle of the desert, a two-hour drive from the nearest city. Visitors are used to driving or hiking to complete their touring programme.

The buildings and heritage are preserved in the hollows, the overall terrain is flat and there are many weathered stones. The path created by people's feet passes through the north side of the building, and similarly there is an entrance to the south side, articulated by a platform.

//VISUAL FIELD ANALYSIS

The structure's timber frame and concrete foundation will deteriorate with time.

- The degradation of wood has the ability to provide protection against insects and to purify the air, and the progressive degradation process will gradually lower the entire structure to the sand level over time, exactly as the square grass lattice on the Dunhuang ground helps to prevent the flow of sand.

- The concrete foundation of the structure will not totally deteriorate with weathering and time, but the texture and material left behind will remain on the site forever as a monument for people to remember and recall the site's past.

//WHALE SKELETON

//DETAIL ANALYSIS The building is located in a s u n k e n f l a t a re a o f t h e desert, surrounded by sand dunes. People enter the site mainly from the south. The design of the site includes a terrace where people enter the building via an aisle and follow the decorative structure.

At the same time, these exquisite structures respond semantically to the motif of the 'whale'.

The points of force selected here are those of whale movement, focusing on the curvature of the vertebrae and the change in shape of the bone profile during the gradual change here.

The bridge extending from the front of the building joins the sand dunes in the site and the building itself.

//STRUCTURE A strong structural skeleton of the building has been designed in the transverse profile. The asymptote of the skeleton is modelled in the longitudinal profile as a curve parameter during the movement of the whale.

Inside the building the platforms and structural skeleton together form an enveloping structure with many gaps for people to walk through and communicate.

S o m e v e r t i c a l s t r u c t u re s protrude to act as a shield from the sun and also to increase the diffuse effect of the interior. People play and play on the terrace.

The platform's ground floor is elevated to create a cavity in the hot desert conditions.

Providing shade and rest, it serves as a shelter from the desert.

The staggered platforms at the end touch each other and channel visitors from the south onto the first floor platform. This is the starting point of the narrative, where one first sees the huge translucent canopy.

To the north of the building is a pathway for people to exit, which serves as a gathering square for the building. There are many boulders in the site and the preserved skeletons of the whales are set against them.

//UNDERGROUND PLAN & ROOF PLAN

//DESIGN DETAILS

//RENDERING

The outdoor space is derived from a tribute to the desert's parent theme. I have tried to respond to the softness of the gravel and the hardness of the rock with hard borders. These narrow spaces are shaped by the wind and sand, and at any moment the passage of time takes on the atmosphere of whale skeletons.

the change in spatial density from north to south weaves a broken history into a story

In the underground plan and the roof plan, we can clearly observe the interaction between structure and space. The sense of contrast is deliberately enhanced in the design to metaphorically represent the great disconnect between modern technology and history and to provoke visitors to think about it. The dismantled axonometric drawings reflect the alignment of the individual structures and spaces. This is also expressed as a graphic narrative in the Longitudinal Section.

//LONGITUDINAL SECTION

Southern Elevation

//RENDERING

//MODEL Various fragmented spaces with historical origins are combined by a translucent roof. These dense, narrow spaces interact with people's bodies, handing the visitor the variations of a whale's skeleton through a metamorphosis of movement. The progressive collapse of the structure pays homage to history, while its primary objective is to respond to the temporality of the site, standing alongside with the whale fossils and rocks. Creating an atmosphere of "bones" that is both mathematical and emotional.

//BIRDS AND CITIES Due to the impact of climate change, we are seeing systematic homelessness of animals, plants, and humans, Fortunately, people have noticed this problem in some fields. The media advocate for more attention whichhuman beings should pay to reduce carbon emissions; scientists have alsostarted investigations to plant more trees on the earth.

05- BIRD, HUMAN AND NATURE

However, architectural practices have remained the same when the course of human, plant, and animal livelihood are significantly altered under climate change.

Project time: Nov. 2022 Site: New York, US

With the accelerated urbanization in recent centuries, the expansion of buildings and cities has become unstoppable, and numerous manmade objects have been dividing the ecological habitats for the animals. Facing these crucial challenges, there is a voice that suggests eradicating the cities, but we try to come up with a more feasible and sustainable solution, which is to reimagine a new type of architecture to balance, reconcile, and integrate human expansion and animal needs. This will not only be a field station for humans, but also a transit point for animals, especially birds. Potentially, this concept might be also further applied to every new building, which could facilitate the cities to become another kind of forest.

We hope to solve this dilemma and allow architecture to participate in the ecological system.

With the accelerated urbanization in recent centuries, the expansion of buildings and cities has become unstoppable, and numerous man-made objects have been dividing the ecological habitats for the animals. Facing these crucial challenges, there is a voice that suggests eradicating the cities, but we try to come up with a more feasible and sustainable solution, which is to reimagine a new type of architecture to balance, reconcile, and integrate human expansion and animal needs.

//SITE

//STORYBOARD

Our site locates at the Skytop Quarry in Syracuse, which has been abandoned and turning to a habitat for various species; meanwhile, Syracuse is on one of the most significant migration routes in North America. Similar to the other cities, the urbanization is threatening the natural habitats, and a stopover habitat is necessary for the species.

URBANIZATION

NATURE

TRANSITION

LANDBIRD DENSITY - URBAN

LANDBIRD DENSITY - NATURE

BIRD MIGRATION FLYWAY vs HUMAN CIRCULATION

//INTERIOR STRUCTURE

//RENDERING It includes three main components: a bird shelter, labs with controlled temperature, and public circulations with passive heating in winter.

The bird shelter is almost set seamlessly with the labs so that the researchers could easily and directly get the first-hand data and records of the birds, and the birds could get appropriate care with the researchers’ consistent monitoring.

//INTERIOR DETAILS

//RENDERING This will not only be a field station for humans, but also a transit point for animals, especially birds. Potentially, this concept might be also further applied to every new building, which could facilitate the cities to become another kind of forest.

The volume of public visiting space is connected to the bird shelter by the mezzanine floors of the labs so that the visitors could experience the scientific study process without disturbing the researchers. The volume of labs is elevated from the ground to preserve the natural landscape and habitats; multiple types of research areas are organized in it according to different conditions of thermal, sunlight, circulation, and spatial distribution.

06- HIDDEN DEPTH Project time: Nov. 2020 Site: Iceland

//SPACIAL DESIGN

SHELTER

MAZE

DIVERGENCE

DESTINATION

According to the different situations of Iceland's citizens in history, the use of different t es of architectural s aces re ects the events of the celand s histor .

SITE

Giuseppe Terragni's Danteum used the text of he ivine o ed to generate a se uence of spaces that brings viewers through Dante's mythical trip. The imaginary depiction of nferno urgator and eaven is concreti ed with geometry. The project is regarded as exemplary of how a spatial structure can express a sophisticated cultural meaning without an explicit"vocabulary" of architectural symbols.

If architecture is to be viewed as an open system instead of a purely autonomous discipline, its design outcomes would heavily rely on inputs from external references, as well as the "translating mechanism" that brings them into being. Many of such considerations, obtained from the range and depth of human culture, need to be more materialized.

This project is proposed based on the history of Iceland. This monument persists in the Iceland landscape ad\nd history both symbolically and physically. This projectt’s persistence or permanence is a result of its capacity to constitute the Iceland landscape, its history and art, its being and memory.

Each history period is translated into a spatial prototype, and developed into twofold: The lower part is an IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENT in which visitors play the role of the focused movie character. In a story full of immediate perceptions, they experience Iceland's History arranged by the NARRATIVE LINE. The upper part provides a review of the scenes from a PRIVILEGED VIEW. This time they become level-headed observers while the other visitors lingering in the lower art beco e their sub ects. ignificant historical events follow the TIMELINE to form a continuous logical experience.

//SITE PLAN

//SECTION PERSPECTIVE N A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

Site Entrance 54.30 m

53.30 m

EARLY HISTORY

SETTLEMENT AND COMMONWEALTH

Visitors walk into a maze, its circuitous passage reflects the absurdity placed on early Iceland settlers. After a dark, uneasy passage, which symbolizes the harsh environment. visitors enter a huge spheric space. A bridge leads people to its center, where the niches around come into sight. A narrow light beam from the top renders the space as warm and secure.

The labyrinth symbolizes that early settlers have been wandering, searching and wandering for the first hundred years of their lives. ave to live li e a tra . here was a long con ict histor between aristocrats and churches, These early settlers come to a crossroad with two options. The tiring but gentle one: returning to nor alit and ee the title through a staircase. he uic but hard one: abandoned the title will lead a deeply social reform.

52.30 m

//SECTION Building Entrance

51.30 m

Site Plan

UNDER NORWEGIAN AND DANISH KINGS

REPUBLIC OF ICELAND

After a lot of hard time and enormous work,Iceland people got the opportunity to build their own country. However, when the world war begun celand was forced b and to ta e part in the World war and paid a lot. Faced with international situation at that ti e whether to oin the waror uit. hatever their choice is a res ective conse uence awaits in a s all room within the next chamber. Each chamber is a closed space, symbolizing that no matter what choice he makes, the final destination is a tragedy.

After the World War 2, Iceland became an independent republic. assed the cold war eriod celand had a war about the cod resources and ocean with UK,cod wars were a series of 20thcentury confrontations between the United Kingdom (with aid fro est er an and celand about fishing rights in the orth Atlantic. Each of the disputes ended with an Icelandic victory.

Iceland expanded its national waters still further, from four nautical iles to iles and during the second cod war this boundar expanded to 50 miles.

Interior View from the Circulation Hall

07- HEDGEHOG MIMICRY

//SCENARIO IN DAILY LIFE

A wearable protective device created for sensitive areas, designed to visualize the neglected peripersonal space.

Project time: Feb. 2021

Seats for sharing

Public Venues

Escalators

Transport

When I approach strangers, I maintain a certain distance involuntarily, especially in social space. And when this distance is passively shortened, a sense of insecurity and anxiety arises inside me, and it activates my sense of protection of my personal space. Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer linked this awareness to the “hedgehog effect” in nature, which refers to the phenomenon in which hedgehogs stay close to each other to keep warm when it is cold but keep a distance so as not to stab each other.

I went on to list several scenarios where people in public places are accustomed to maintaining a certain distance to ensure they can socialize effectively and be in a state of emotional stability.

//THEORETICAL BACKGROUND RESEARCH

//SOCIAL SOCIAL RESEARCH

//BODY LANGUAGE 50% Male

What is peripersonal space

25% 19%

Intro vert ed

Graziano, Michael SA, and Dylan F. Cooke. “Parieto-frontal interactions, personal space, and defensive behavior.” Neuropsychologia 44, no. 6 (2006): 845-859.

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‘This spatially guided protection of the body surface is one of the most basic sensorimotor problems facing any animal.’ p845-846

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80% 75%

d rte ve tro Ex

52%

Iachini, Tina, Yann Coello, Francesca Frassinetti, and Gennaro Ruggiero. “Body space in social interactions: a comparison of reaching and comfort distance in immersive virtual reality.” PloS one 9, no. 11 (2014): e111511.

Experie nced disco mfo rt d ue to

69%

94%

61%

‘Peripersonal space is the first margin between the surface of our body and the external world.’ p1

To visualise the peripersonal space as a protective space, I tried to design the support structure of the installation in the form of a wraparound wrap. And based on the notion that the size of this space can be contracted or expanded depending on the context, emotion, and personal characteristics, provide the appropriate size for the different body parts. Enables the installation to visualise the idea while injecting new expressions into various positions.

Why do people need distance/personal space from each other ‘peripersonal space …has also been thought of as a protective buffer surrounding the body and prompting defensive actions (Coello et al. 2012; Graziano and Cooke 2006). ‘ p1

Trigger scenes Body part sensitivity 30-35

Cautious

Iachini, Tina, Gennaro Ruggiero, Francesco Ruotolo, Armando Schiano di Cola, and Vincenzo Paolo Senese. “The influence of anxiety and personality factors on comfort and reachability space: a correlational study.” Cognitive processing 16, no. 1 (2015): 255-258.

What are the qualities of the space around the individual 2025

h ac co

‘two traditions of research have explored body space: one about peripersonal space in the neuro-cognitive field, one about personal space in the social psychology field.‘ p1

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Iachini, Tina, Yann Coello, Francesca Frassinetti, and Gennaro Ruggiero. “Body space in social interactions: a comparison of reaching and comfort distance in immersive virtual reality.” PloS one 9, no. 11 (2014): e111511.

2530

Sensitivity to touch/distance for different people ‘women preferred a greater distance toward approachers than did men…One study also showed an interaction with women preferring male approachers at a further distance.’ P15

0-45 45-120 120-360 Above 360

Andersson, Ellen, and Tora Sjökvist. “Closing in on social anxiety: Investigating social anxiety, personality, affectivity, and social distance.” (2019).

50% Female

Factors affecting sensitivity ‘it is an ‘‘emotional’’ area called ‘‘personal space’’ that people feel like ‘‘their private space’’ and cannot be intruded by others without causing discomfort.‘ p1 Iachini, Tina, Gennaro Ruggiero, Francesco Ruotolo, Armando Schiano di Cola, and Vincenzo Paolo Senese. “The influence of anxiety and personality factors on comfort and reachability space: a correlational study.” Cognitive processing 16, no. 1 (2015): 255-258.

Problems that can result from interpersonal proximity ‘The results show that SAD is associated with distorted estimation ofinterpersonal distance.’ p1250 Givon‐Benjio, Nur, Roni Oren‐Yagoda, Idan M. Aderka, and Hadas Okon‐Singer. “Biased distance estimation in social anxiety disorder: A new avenue for understanding avoidance behavior.” Depression and Anxiety 37, no. 12 (2020): 12431252.

The physical distance between people is the space around the bodies of different individuals, a sanctuary with emotions and privacy. This space originates from human instinct and is diversified according to the differences between individuals.

Legend (200ppl in total) Gender Personality Transport Seats for sharing

H N e e a c d k

T W u r m i m s y t

Public Venues Escalators Distance ekpt when talking to str angers

E E S K a l h n r b o e s o u e w l s d e r

A n k l e

I conducted further social research based on individual differences in gender, age, and personality. The study found that most people feel their private sphere is being violated due to their proximity to others in today’s high-density society. In contrast, young people and women are more sensitive to protecting their sphere. The head, neck, wrists, and abdomen areas are more private than others and require more peripersonal space.

//MODEL SET UP

//WEARABLE DEVICES

3D modelling and renderings of the devices, each designed to provide a full range of protection and safety distances to the body parts

HEDGEHOG MIMICRY is an experimental project not designed for a s ecific erson. he installation is built on bod basis and visualise a virtual s ace of distance between eo le. he device has a degree of variabilit and e ibilit that rotects the eri ersonal area without hindering the develo ent of a sense of closeness.

Wire + Clay Development process

08- OTHER WORKS

‘Wind, Rope, Movement’ - Explore our relationship with the surroundings Installation group work plastic sheet with twine

'Walk' - Capture duration and our sense of self Performance Wooden sticks, fire, thermal paper

‘To present / Be present’ - be part of the work Installation + Stage performance White cardboard

''flower a day' Drawing Water colour

'We Protest, Protect, and Resist' - Graphic design with environmental theme Graphic design, products, cloth Acrylic paints 'Re-construction' - Waste reuse to construction material Material experiment Building waste, resin

‘Our’ - connect human to the more-than-human-world Portrait Photography Black and white film

ESSAY: The blends with environment in Great (bamboo) Wall - A manifesto of the ‘Anti-Object’ concept by Kengo Kuma Collaboration between humans and nature has been critical subjects constantly referred in Eastern culture, spatial design, and architecture. esigned b engo u a he reat a boo all fig. is art of the project "Commune By The Great Wall", located in Juyongguan, nearby the reat all of hina. ts significance within the disci line of architecture has been the catalyst for my investigation. This internal-external articulation of space is generally reflected in Kuma's appeal on his conjecture of nti b ect . u a addresses environ ental and intangible ualities as intrinsic to architectural condition to form 'environmental connection systems'.2

architecture critic has also been alarmed by "Le Corbusier's stubborn pursuit" of architectural designs that only make sense at the formal level .

Upon being revealed to the public, this theory stirred up rebellion against and criticism of modern architectural forms, thereby polarising critics. 5 The 'Anti-object' concept may be considered an excessive obliteration of architecture6, but ideally, architecture that blends with its surroundings can act as a 'device'7 that connects mankind to environment. Kuma consistently shows an extraordinary prudence and awareness of local conditions and spatial layering8. The Great (Bamboo) Wall endeavours to complement the structure of the Great Wall along the ridgeline through topography and space arrangement. i ilar to runo aut and ntonin a ond s eco architecture', which pursues a balanced strategy between architecture and the surroundings through use of materials, Kuma utilises site conditions and the properties of bamboo material to realise the openness of architecture in terms of construction and perception in the Great (Bamboo) Wall.

whether the are sitting or standing and that terra fir a is continuousl "operating as its proportional figuration" This indicates that all possible relationships between entity and space depend on the changing form of the ground. Kuma contended that architecture should be 'Anti-object', which becoming unified with the surrounding space to create a holistic relationship . Kuma's other work, Kiro-san Observatory (fig.2), achieves the ultimate union between the building and the surrounding landscape.

It restores Kiro-san's mountain contour and explores the recessed form to conceal architecture in .

This essay will examine significant aspects of the 'Anti-object' strategy embodied in the Great (Bamboo) Wall, including site-specificity , spatial layering , and material properties , and also explore how it blends with nature to provide a serene, interconnected experience for the public.

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The theory of 'Anti- object' comes mainly from Kuma's aversion to the long-standing tendency of architecture to focus exclusively on form and visual appeal advocated by Le Corbusier3. Nonetheless, Kuma is not the only architect to promote 'Anti-object' concept. Reyner Banham, a British

First aspect in the 'Anti-object' concept is anchoring site context, which respecting the dominance of the topography over architecture. Weiner suggests that architects should have an "environmental [and] topographical based consciousness of architecture" . ite conte t is a ri ar factor encountered in architecture as it plays a complementary role in architectural space. One of the foremost architectural historians and critics, Joseph Rykwert, argued that people depended on the solid and stable ground,

1 Kengo Kuma, Anti-object: The dissolution and disintegration of architecture (London: AA Publishing, 2008), 8.

2 Jose Maria Cabeza Lainez and Juan Ramon Jimenez Verdejo, "The Japanese experience of environmental architecture through the works of Bruno Taut and Antonin Raymond," Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering 6, no. 1 (2007): 39, https://doi.org/10.3130/jaabe.6.33.

3 Jared Langevin, "Reyner Banham: In Search of an Imageable, Invisible Architecture," Architectural Theory Review 16, no. 1 (2011): 3, doi: 10.1080/13264826.2011.560389.

4 Ibid, 4.

5 Roger Pulvers, "Architect Kuma Kengo:'a product of place'," ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL-JAPAN FOCUS 11, no. 26 (2013): 2, https://apjjf.org/-Roger-Pulvers/4141/article.pdf.

6 Frank H Weiner, "Architecture as such: refutations and conjectures of quality in the work of Kengo Kuma and WG Clark," arq: Architectural Research Quarterly 11, no. 3-4 (2007): 249, doi: 10.1017/S1359135500000749.

7 Pulvers, "Architect Kuma Kengo:'a product of place'," 3.

8 Matteo Belfiore, "On Japanese Spatial Layering," Le Carre Bleu-Feuille Internationale D'architecture, no.2 (2012): 1, http://www.lecarrebleu.eu/allegati/LCB%202-2012_INGLESE_.pdf.

9 "Great (Bamboo) Wall," KENGO KUMA AND ASSOCIATES, published October 2002, https://kkaa.co.jp/works/architecture/great-bamboo-wall/.

10 Cabeza et al., "The Japanese experience of environmental architecture," 33.

11 Miwon Kwon, "One Place after Another: Notes on Site Specificity," October 80, no.1 (1997): 85, doi:10.2307/778809.

12 Belfiore, "On Japanese Spatial Layering," 1.

13 Jin Baek, "Between Material Sensuousness and Thingness: the Significance of the Structural Glass in Kengo Kuma’s Water/Glass House from the Perspective of Phenomenology," Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering 12, no. 1 (2013): 1, https://doi.org/10.3130/jaabe.12.1.

14 Weiner, "Architecture as such," 245.

15 Baek, "Between Material Sensuousness and Thingness," 4.

16 Xiao-Li Fu, "Research on the Architectural Design Method of Green Materials Related to Teahouse Space: Taking the Bamboo House for example," IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, vol. 186, no. 2 (2018): 2, doi:10.1088/1755-1315/186/2/012057.

17 Kuma, Anti-object, 59-77.

18 Lainez and Verdejo, "The Japanese experience of environmental architecture," 37. elfiore n a anese atial a ering .

20 Ibid, 2.

like a framework that accentuates the surrounding environment. This strateg su orts the essa s ain argu ent which utilises site s ecificit in 'Anti-object' to interlinking architecture and nature. The following discussion further examines the specific aspect of the "Anti-object" strategy: how the harmony between human and nature is consummated through s ace configuration in the reat a boo all.

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i ilarl reat ba boo wall refutes the erce tion that architecture ust be a se arate disconnected whole fro its environ ent. nstead it affir s that the ground is a dominant spatial form, turning the base of architecture into a long, segmented plane placed at ground level, forming a complete continuu to atch the undulating terrain of the site fig. .

This enables it to effectively blend with the local environment, and it seems

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Indeed, spatial hierarchy, put forward in the 'Anti-object' theory is an important concept, especially when linking architecture to its external environment. Different from the excessive use of concrete in Western architectural spaces, Japanese culture has a knack for using partitions and blinds to give architecture a sense of openness and transparency . Matteo elfiore osited that the s atial connections sha e the s atial order within architecture realising a continuu uid s ace . In support, Hanlon Don argued that the types of spatial layering in architecture can be "horizontal, vertical, concentric and radial"20.

effective even when u a wor ed with stone. he tone useu fig. designed in 2000, invokes the idea of grid. In the design, 300mm thin stones were stacked and then about a third of the sections that do not affect the structure were removed . This approach expunges the heaviness of stone and extricates it from the rigid and closed nature of modern architecture and creating 'a multi-layered, semi-transparent space'2

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This approach affirms that space configuration provides a "co-extensive and dynamic [relation] that produces subjects and objects"3 to integrate architecture with its e ternal environ ent. onse uentl the focus of spatial hierarchy is not architectural form but rather to premeditate a dominant feature of a refined strategy for realising the concept of 'Antiobject'.

Furthermore, the property of material is also a powerful means of realising the concept of 'Anti-object'. Kuma is known for emphasising "connections and encounters" with the environment. Inspired by Antonin Raymond 1 Kuma, Small Architecture, 33-60.

2 Kuma, Small Architecture, 33-60.

3 Suzie Attiwill, "Practices of interiorization –an inter-story," in Meanings of Designed Spaces, ed. Tiiu Vaikla-Poldma (New York: Fairchild Books, 2013), 180.

4 Pulvers, "Architect Kuma Kengo:'a product of place'," 3.

5 Lainez and Verdejo, "The Japanese experience of environmental architecture," 40.

6 Ibid, 40.

7 Amanda Yates, "Oceanic Spaces of Flow," in Architecture in the Spaces of Flow, eds Andrew Ballantyne and Christopher Smith, (New York: Routledge, 2012), 63.

8 Pulvers, "Architect Kuma Kengo:'a product of place'," 4.

9 Weiner, "Architecture as such," 248.

10 Fu, "Research on the Architectural Design Method of Green Materials Related to Teahouse Space," 4.

11 Yates, "Oceanic Spaces of Flow," 69.

12 Attiwill, "Practices of interiorization –an inter-story," 179.

13 Pulvers, "Architect Kuma Kengo:'a product of place'," 7.

14 Kuma, Anti-object, 136.

15 Pulvers, "Architect Kuma Kengo:'a product of place'," 4.

16 Baek, "Between Material Sensuousness and Thingness," 4.

17 Langevin, "Reyner Banham," 1.

18 Baek, "Between Material Sensuousness and Thingness," 5.

19 Baek, "Between Material Sensuousness and Thingness," 1.

20 Lainez and Verdejo, "The Japanese experience of environmental architecture," 1.

21 Kwon, "One Place after Another," 1.

22 Langevin, "Reyner Banham," 1.

23 Weiner, "Architecture as such," 250.

24 Ibid.

and Bruno Taut's natural sensibility for the local climate and atmosphere5, By leveraging this 'randomness' of materials from nature, architecture is Kuma intends to establish "environmental architecture"6, which allows no longer a closed entity but changes with the character of the environment environmental aspects such as sunlight, air, water, and shadows to and expands further into the ambient space . permeate architecture.

Brian Massumi suggests that space is characterised by porous rather than closed boundaries7. u a enhances these intangible ualities of aterials through the "porousness"8 of the louvres and partitions in his design. hrough these ualities architecture brea s down or crushes to a granular level known as "particalising" . In Great (Bamboo) Wall, supported by the interaction between bamboo louvres and water, water acts as a receiver of the light which penetrates through gaps in the louvres, with the uniform ba boo artition acting as ualification of light the granular aterial Figure 7. Interaction between water surface and bamboo grid in igure . ight and shadow effects in reat a boo all. hotogra hed b atoshi sa aw reat a boo all. hotogra hed b atoshi sa aw becomes the protagonist of the space through the multiple manipulations of light and shadows fig. . his variabilit and un redictabilit brings architecture and nature closer, triggering a "constant flux" between the This 'Anti-object' focus on the connection between consciousness and exterior and interior spaces, that is, the external environment contracts matter does escape the excessive emphasis on formal aesthetics . inwards while the internal e ands towards the infinite e ternal .

But is this a departure from the essence of architecture to the point of metaphysics? As Jin Beak says, it is the thing itself that is closer to Rather than creating architecture, Kuma is pursuing an experience, and "a the person than all sensations . Does the excessive pursuit of material way of conversing intelligently with the environment" . ro erties and heno enal ualities in de ob ect architecture do inates the whole? Amplifying the consciousness of materials and the importance As Kuma writes: of the senses without abandoning the essence of architecture as a medium of connection between man and nature is perhaps the inner impetus of the "I effectively transformed and relativised the architecture, creating a 'Anti-object' concept of architecture. condition as ambiguous and variable as that of drifting particles; that is, I 'particlised' the architecture."

In conclusion, this study has explored the dominance of the 'Anti-object' concept in Kuma's architectural style, conspicuously displayed in Great

(Bamboo) Wall. This essay has provided a summarisation of the theoretical basis of 'Anti-object', which Kuma demonstrates is the 'opposite' of modernism's emphasis on form and volume, employing architecture as an intermediary to link nature with mankind . Then, the essay has discussed the specific details of the 'Anti-object' concept, illustrating how the Great (Bamboo) Wall blends with nature in the aspects of site context, spatial organisation, and material properties. Finally, it has elaborated Kuma's emphasis on the environment and spatial relationship in Japanese architectural disci line and his reliance on the intangible ualities of aterials. hese s ecific anal tical as ects of the anti ob ect conce t was generated from related works by Kengo Kuma and a number of scholars of the interaction between architecture and nature. These include Bruno Taut and Antonin Raymond's 'eco-architecture' inspired by Japanese architectural proportions and principles20 iwon wno s ite ecificit 22 consciousness and e ner anha s ursuit of invisible ualities .

Insights gained in this research are valuable, but nonetheless recognised limitations. In terms of methodology, the study largely focuses on the feasibility of 'Anti-object' concept in Kuma's work, which has a geographical advantage in terms of access to the surrounding, but it may not be easy to blend buildings in urban areas with the local context. Nevertheless, W.G. Clark, a professor of Architecture at the University of Virginia, stated that architecture seeks to minimise damage to the landscape and replace absents by making amends23.

"Architecture, whether as town or building, is the reconciliation of ourselves with the natural land" .