I’m a Melbourne based architecture graduate that’s recently completed his Bachelors at RMIT University. I carry an enthusiastic mindset to challenge and better myself along with the ability to adapt to a wide range of different situations.
The following portfolio is a selection of work throughout my time in the Bachelor Program in RMIT, which encompasses past studio projects, along with some visual communication & technology Revit projects that demonstrate my creative ability as well as my eager mindset to learn.
RADICAL ESTATE
Title: Above Ground
My residential, apartment block design is situated on top of a commercial block located in Footscray along Nicholson & Droop street.
For my 4 storey apartment project in which I was designing for student housing, the apartment units are a mix between 1 and 2 bedroom dwellings.
The type of apartment unit changes depending on the existing commercial context its sitting on top off, as the site context is made up of a combination of different buildings
Additionally, the floorplates of the apartment block has also been undulated according to the heights of the existing commercial buildings below.
Each apartment unit will have their own bathroom, bedroom, living/study space and balcony - while kitchen utilities are all shared within communal spaces that are located towards the south on each floor.
This shared space will also accommodate for studying and dining in groups, along with recreational utilities such as pool tables, foosball soccer tables, widescreens for watching movies and more, and is also where the lift and fire stair cores will be located at.
Renders were done in a ‘Thomas Demand’ style, using studio lighting and flat colours to highlight the design qualities of the architectural project.
List of precedents/previous work
1) Utilitus Part 1 - The Bathroom
2) Mon Oncle - Lamp Prop
Jacques Tati
3) Mon Oncle - String Chair Jacques Tati
4) Utilitus Part 2 - The Kitchen Axel Lee
5) Unite D’habitation Le Corbusier
6) Oldest Laundromat In The Uk - 1949
7) Gifu Kitagata
Kazuyo
Sejima
8) La Tourette Monastery
Le Corbusier
9) He Died With A Falfel In His Hand - Banana Lounge
Richard Lowenstein
10) Grand Parc Bordeaux Apartments Lacaton & Vassal
Axel Lee
Photo By Joshua Blackburn
1st floor apartment block plan
Apartment Block Section
Apartment block circulation diagram
Communal kitchen render
Interior perspective 1
Public Pathway - Bridges over the river
Ctrl-Zoo
CTRL-ZOO
Although zoos in recent years have tried to replicate natural environments that suited animal habitats, it will always be a man-made copy due to the processes of design and construction led by humans.
This project embraces the man-made through the iterative processes of: the voronoi, hexagon grid & shortest walk in Grasshopper to create a ‘natural’ zoo terrarin throughout a reimagined Australian Bush area located in Melbourne Zoo.
This studio taught me how to think in regards to designing to the site context, which gives my ideas meaning, and how I can utilize the technical skills I’ve learnt over the years to do so
Title: The Artificial Natural Bush
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1) Cabin Campsite Interior Perspective
2) Kangaroo Enclosure
3) Entrance to Cabin Campsite
4) Emu Enclosure
) Koala Visual Shelter
) Great Aviary Centre Perspective
List of Renders
I aggregated a variety of iterative systems: Voronoi, Shortest Walk & Hexagon Grid, to generate the overall masterplan of my project.
The hexagon grid system serves the purpose of generating a landscape that spans across the Australian Bush site in Melbourne Zoo, influencing the way in which both humans & animals occupy the area.
The voronoi serves as the form maker for the Wild Campsite program on site, to which its formal qualities synergises with the hexagon grid.
Finally, the shortest walk system serves to generate river pathways that span from the existing ponds in the Melbourne Zoo, while also connecting the Cabin Campsite program to both the Koala Visual Shelter & Wild Campsite.
Melbourne Zoo Existing Pathways & WIP Diagram
Process diagram (right) highlighting how each system is aggregated across the site, while also highlighting the original Melbourne Zoo pathways to which the iterative systems used in its generation.
The iterative systems used existing information from Melbourne Zoo to inform its generation in the project.
I believe that by embracing these manmade systems rather than supressing them,and allowing them to clash and compete with one another as they are run across the site, can we then open up the opportunity to create a compelling variety of landscape conditions which provide an array of new environmental experiences.
Wild Campsite
The voronoi, which has a similar but more chaotic and jagged formal silhouette to the hexagon, has been used to define the topographical boundaries of the “wild” campsite which emphasises the organic zoo camping experience it program provides while establishing a sense of privacy from the public eye for the campers through its elevated landscape conditions.
However, the undulated nature of this condition has been drawn back for functional purposes around areas of activity such as the elevated viewing areas and central platform for the tents
Legend For Wild Campsite
VIEWING AREA TOWARDS KANGAROO ENCLOSURE
VIEWING AREA TOWARDS TASMANIAN DEVIL ENCLOSURE STAIRS LEADING TOWARDS VIEWING AREAS TENTS ELEVATED PLATFORM OFF GROUND FOR SETTING UP TENTS
ENTRANCE INTO WILD CAMPSITE COMMUNAL DINING AREA AROUND CAMPFIRE TOILETS
CONTROLLED LANDSCAPE CONDITION AROUND AREAS OF HUMAN ACTIVITY TREES
FOLIAGE
CAMPSITE SHORTEST WALK CONDITION
GROUND CONDITION
Cabin Campsite
A secondary hexagon grid has also been used for other smaller-scaled purposes such as the creation of the cottages for housing comfort in the “cabin” campsite.
This program is primarily for families who would like to enjoy a fun camping experience, but would still want the convinience of an indoor home.
The following is a series of tasks that were completed at the start of the semester that assisted in the development of my final project.
1) Cafe Design (Week 5)
2) Luna Park Redesign (w/Robbie Yan)
3) Federation Square Redesign (w/Yijie Wang)
1| North Entry Render
Re-Appropriation: Fit For Purpose
RE-APPRO PRIATION
Title: Merging Surveillance
A mixed-use high street project based around the ideas of process-based design.
My project, “Merging Surveillance” revolves around concept of designing a mixed-use living environment around the ideas of visual surveillance, the merging of programs & spaces without a hierarchy, along with the idea of having the design outcome both challenge & relate back to the site context.
This studio taught me the concept of processbased design, what it means and the values of it, along with how to masterplan and design such a large scale project while still being able to intertwine a numerous amount of narratives together.
I’ve defined different levels of surveillance throughout my project, with more public surveillance being present in ‘high-street’ & ‘cross-programmatic’ conditions, with more private/intimate surveillance appearing within ‘residential’ & ‘hidden commercial’ conditions.
The demographic that I will be designing towards are young working adults (aged early 20’s to early 30’s), young families, along with tertiary education students. I believe this demographic is suitable for my project located in Arden Precinct as in the near future the site will be a new, developing urban activity hub.
By focusing on these key narratives, I started designing my project in hopes to seek the answer to the Architectural Question: “How can you control the outcomes of an unpredictable process to establish a successful living environment design that revolves around the idea of visual surveillance?”
2| Open Garden Space Perspective & Axo Diagram
LAURENS
1) Perspective Render of Grocery Store & Open Space Program
2)Sketch of Museum Space with Swimming Pool
3)Sketch of Grocery Store with Open Space
4) Plan of Museum/ Grocery Store Program
5) Visual Diagram of Museum/Grocery Store Program
MUSEUM
4| Four Quadrant Intersection Perspective & Plan Diagram
5| Weston Milling Intersection Perspective and Visual Diagram
Step 1) Establishing constraints & guidelines on the site for the design outcome
Step 2) Researching site info to integrate into the process for Generation of Frost Forms
Most rainfall & Lowest Temp
Least rainfall & Highest Temp
Step 3) Allocating form types based on depth & plate frost crystal forms tocolour zones listed on the grid
Step 4) Population and merging of frost forms on site
Step 5) More in depth research into the characteristics of frost behaviour & creation of 3D grid
Step 6) Integrating site info into the ‘melting’ aspect of frost behaviors
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Hottest
Establish Openings To Allow Natural Light Through
‘Melted’ To Become Open Spaces Above Ground
Step 7) Conducting the ‘melting’ characteristics onto site
Coming Down From Areas That Have Been
‘Droplets’
‘Melted’
‘Pools’ Forming At Areas Of ‘Melt’
Step 8) Collecting information for ripple wave formation that will then be projected onto the entire design outcome
Step 9) Creating the ripple wave formation that will then be superimposed onto the facade of the community living building
Radial Waves Morph As They Collide Into Each Other
Step 10) Projecting the ripple wave formation at a masterplan scale onto the outcome to create a condition that spans across the entirety of the site
Formation influences masterplan and becomes a condition spanning across the site
HEREDI TARY
Title: Experimental Growths (w/ Jordan Dudfield)
The creation of a sculpture park situated in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Melbourne, where various complex, intricate models and grottos are scattered throughout the site. This studio began my teachings into iterative design, and it allowed me freely experiment and push the limits of form through computer based design. It also developed my understanding of rendering in terms of materiality, lighting, and UV mapping through various programs such as Keyshot, Octane, and Zbrush.
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1//
2//
4//
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Clampster
Comfort
// Spiral Chasm
Beehive
// Cocoon
Site plan showcasing the placement of the different objects and grottos of both Jordan’s and my own sculpture park. Although paired together, the two of us were not required to integrate our projects with another, however were still needed to place our works next to each other on location.
1) Grotto Section
2) Grotto Plan
3) Compilation of Objects created throughout the semester
5)
We came about creating these sculptures by looking at preceding images with complex topologies to then try to incorporate their formal characteristics when creating our objects.
At the start of the semester we experimented by creating a large array of objects, categorising them after, to then choose a select few to display in our final project.
4) ‘Honeycomb’ Textural Plate
‘Silky’ Textural Plate
1) Clampster on Site 2) Clampster Object
3) Clampster CloseUp Vignette 4) Comfort on Site 5) Comfort Object 6) Close-up Vignette
8) Spiral Chasm Object
7) Spiral Chasm on Site
9) Spiral Chasm Close-Up Vignette
10) Coccon on Site
11) Cocoon Close-up VIgnette
12) Cocoon Object
13) Beehive on Site 14) Beehive Object
Double Facade Staircase System - Interior View 1
Double Facade Staircase System - Interior View
WAAM!!
Title: Double Facade Staircase System (w/ Johnny Nguyen & Jessica Riazaty)
This project explores the idea of using the 3D printing technology of Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) to fabricate and join together agent bodies in the creation of a structurally sound, double facade staircase system. This studio furthered the development of my iterative design, modelling and rendering skills, and also taught me the intricacies of joints in terms of ergonomics in assembling the joinery on site, how they come together to form a proper structural connection, in addition to how to represent these joints in detail drawings.
Final project is a chunk of a building with a double facade staircase system that would be constructed using steel agent bodies that have been joined together and manufactured through the WAAM 3D printing technology.
1) Reference Surface
2) ‘Step’ Agents
3) Mullion Agent
4) Facade Agents
5) ‘Tweening’ Process of Step Agent
6) Smaller Aggregation of Chunk
7) Various iterations of Agent Bodies done throughout the Semester by group members
The “agent swarm” that forms this chunk building was made through designing a variety of agent bodies that suit specific purposes, that were then aggregated and joined together across a reference surface using a Grasshopper script to make the double facade staircase system.
The “tweening process” of our swarm involves taking two agent bodies of similar SubD topology, and have one agent gradually morph into the geometry of the second agent across the aggregated swarm. Degree of morphing was controlled by attractor curves that were placed across the reference surface.
1) End-to-Side Connection
2) Close up End-toSide Joint
3) Section End-toSide Joint
4) Exploded End-toSide Joint
5) End-to-End Connection
6) Close up End-toEnd Joint
7) Section End-toEnd Joint
8) Exploded End-toEnd Connection
9) Mullion Connection
Designed joint details that depict the structural details & assembly of the 3D printed WAAM agent bodies when constructing the swarm aggregation on site.
Waam Mullion
Glazing 6mm
3d Printed Trim
Rubber Gasket
Silicone Sealant
Waam Mullion Capping
Machine Bolt
TECHNICAL WORK
Various projects done throughout the technology subject series of my degree. The first project was mainly focused on a roof redesign for the Royal Children’s Hospital Gymnasium, while the second project was a ten-storey engineering education building design. These subjects taught me the workflow in revit in relation to the basics of modelling and annotating in revit in terms of grid lines, walls and floors, tags for fenestration, etc. It also introduced me to the technicalities required in architectural design in relation to building and drawings standards. An additional skill I learnt was how to import geometry from Rhino to Revit.
Tech 3 Royal Children’s Hospital Gymnasium Roof Redesign Site Plan
(w/Jordan Chen & Isaac Green)
Our roof design consists of two curved roof surfaces, with the roof surface on the north side overlapping the south surface by a distance of 3 meters, which will serve as the main shelter against solar, wind and rainfall conditions. The roof surface is waterproofed on the exterior with flat-lock zinc panels, and has appropriate levels of insulation provided by R3.5 earthwool. The interior finish of the roof is made up of CLT panels.
The roof structure is primarily held up by glulam structural beams that provide canter-levering support, and have trusses in between them to space them out and assist in holding them in place. These beams are fixed onto concrete pillars that are present on the North and South arena space walls with large steel angle bracket thats been bolted into the concrete wall, preventing the beam from rotating inwards.
Elevation & Section Drawings
Stair Detail
Stair Nosing
Gutter Detail
Gutter Detail 2
Raintank Detail
Our 10 storey engineering educational building situated on the corner of Queensburry & Bouverie Street is populated with classrooms, labrooms, teacher lounges on the top floor.
The ground floor lobby space has an exhibition area, along with a cafe. The basement level of the building allows for bike storage, which people can enter through from the door facing Lansdowne Place. The basement floor also has bathrooms and showers along with changing rooms.
The north facing window wall facade is made up of double glazed glass, along with ribbed terracotta panels that can be slided across to serve as cover for the interior spaces
Exploded Facade Diagram (North Side)
C.V
Basic Info
Name - Axel Lee
Date of Birth - 16/10/2002
Place of Birth - Selangor, Malaysia
Education
Westbourne Grammar School VCE 2016-2019
RMIT University
BArch Program 2020 - 2023
Architecture Experience
Shortlisted for RMIT Master of Architecture Award for Design Excellence - 2023
BArch Studio Hereditary 2020
BArch Studio WAAM! 2021
BArch Studio Ctrl-Zoo 2022
BArch Studio Radical Estate 2022
MArch Studio
Re-Appropriation: Fit For Purpose 2023
General Experience
Future Problem Solving Program Australia National Finalist 2016
NAB Work Experience Internship Project Support - Enterprise Capability and Delivery 2019
Westbourne Grammar School Badminton Club Vocal Leader 2018-2019
Fit Merchandising Bunnings Assembly Team Assembly Worker 2022
Ballantyne Foods Process Worker 2023
Vibrant Purpose Software Tester 2022-Present
Software Skills Photoshop InDesign
After Effects
Z-Brush
MeshLab Illustrator
Rhino
Interests
Grasshopper
Revit
Lumion
Octane
V-Ray KeyShot
PowerPoint
Asian culture, team games/sports, basketball, fitness, badminton, strategy games, reading, design
