Contents
Shelterer and Protector of precious goods Genius of Nature
Year 2 Semester 1
Green Building Design Project
The Gambier Department Store Travels in Parallel Reality Year 2 Semester 2
Urban Systems
Architecture Hunter
Changi Beach Cabin Project
House of the friendly person seeking the sun The Villagers and their dwelling of magic Year 1 Semester 2
Genius In Nature (2020)
Shelterer and Protector of precious goods
Travels in Parallel Reality (2020) The gambier department store
Villagers and their dwelling of magic (2019)
House of the friendly person seeking the sun
Green Building Design Project (2020)
Architecture Hunter (2020)
Shelterer and Protector of precious goods The Genius of Nature Year 2 Semester 1 Studio Project Project Instructors: Jasmine Tan Lim Wei Ling Lee Weoi Min John Guk
The project aim is to study a ‘Genius’ in nature, a guru, to investigate and guide in designing from nature; biomimicry. I studied the environment and conducted site analysis near Changi Village. From the guru and the environment studies, I came up and developed a for a shelter developed from studying form and structure of the dragon blood tree.
The monsoon season brings these areas cloud, drizzle and sea mists - and the dragon trees’ leaves intercept this airborne moisture, channeling it towards root systems shaded by a dense, umbrella-shaped canopy. The tree’s shape allows it to transport the water from the leaves down the branches and trunk to the roots. The Dragon Blood Tree has a unique and strange appearance, with an “upturned, densely packed crown having the shape of an uprightly held umbrella”. This evergreen species is named after its dark red resin, which is known as “dragon’s blood”. Dragon’s Blood is a striking red resin or sap obtainable from a few different plant species that has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine as an anti-fungal, anti-microbial, anti-bacterial treatment for everything from open wounds and bites to GI issues. Like other monocotyledons, such as palms, the dragon’s blood tree grows form the tip of the stem, with the long, stiff leaves borne in dense rosettes at the end.
The Shelterer and Protector of Precious Goods / Genius of Nature Page 1
Model 1: Stem cross section (Microscopic model resemblance)
Dichotomous Branching The branches form as a result of an equal division of a terminal bud.
I used cut straws at 2 cm long and fixed them together using plasticine. Bigger straws were also used to represent the clusters of dragon blood sap producing cells. Cut ice cream sticks at the same length are stuck at the edges of the model to represent the outer wall of the branch/stem or the bark.
Formation & Dissection - Roots and Trunk The Dragon Blood Sap is a unique resource produced by the dragon’s blood tree. The sap is deep red in colour and can be obtained from the main stem or the branches. It is produced in parts of the main trunk as well as branches of the tree. Certain Cells in the trunk mainly produces the sap. In the picture on the right, a part of the small branches cross section is shown. It shows the outer layer, and the inner core of the branches populated by groups of sap-producing cells. Formation & Dissection Leaves The Leaves grow from the stem, and covers most of the area underneath the tree. This prevents the root from drying up too quickly. It also maximises moisture absorbtion from the air for use.The Spiky leaves also makes up for most of the tree cover around the branches. These leaves grow at the edges of the the branches, so that all leaves can gather moisture from the air most eifficiently. This forms a neat looking circular extent of tree cover which gives the tree it’s unique look.
Exterior stem wall
Model 2: Dragon Blood Tree shape model For the Bigger Model, i used straws and short sticks to represent the branches, while using bundled straws to represent the thicker main stem. Plasticine was used to fix together the branches and were also used to stick it to the main stem.
Schedule of accomodation Cross-section and diagram: Space Planning Shelter structure
Gathering area (resources gathered in a singale trunk/ area)
Storage Spaces
Storage Sorting
Entrance area Resources and goods travel up and is stored
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The keeper and protector of precious goods serves as to function as a shelter for storing goods and to protect the villagers. The shelterer and protector of precious goods is adapted from the dragon blood tree (guru). The stores red blood sap that it produces in its trunk. The roots of the dragon blood tree serves as a walking entrance into the shelter as the roots absorbs water and nutrients from the ground. As the roots intake resources, it can also act as an entrance for villagers entering it. It also functions as a storing area whereby goods such as food and essentials are stored in the interior of the shelter. As the the dragon blood tree (guru) lives in hot and arid environments, it has grown to block out heat and sunrays from evaporating moisture from the ground. hot environments can cause warehouses and buildings to catch on fire, destroying the goods. The shelter acts as a protector sheltering heat and harmful weather, protecting the goods.
South Facing Section
at Changi Village
Legend: 1. Entrance and gathering spaces 2. Staircases around Storage areas 3S torage Areas
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Garden area
This is where the villagers would grow crops and plants to feed themselves. The plants absorb solar radiation and reduces heat gain of the area.
Living areas
-This is where the villagers will live and stay in
Storage areas
- This is where the villagers store goods such as food and water and supplies
Travels In Parallel Reality The Gambier Department Store Travels in Parallel Reality is a journey that aims to explore a place and discover the ‘psychogeography of the area. A persona in the past is taken on to experience the past through the persona and how they interact with the space around them. The Gambier department store is formed from programmes which originates from the activities of the persona.
Project Instructors: Jasmine Tan Lim Wei Ling Lee Weoi Min Low Chiou Jiing
History of Orchard Road When the British settlement of Singapore was founded in 1819, about 20 gambier plantations had already been started in the area by Chinese. The peak of Singapore's gambier trade was in the 1830s through 1850s, driven by demand from the British dyeing and leather tanning industries. However, as gambier depletes the soil of nutrients quite fast, other areas were cleared to make way for gambier plantations.
The society wanted to grow nutmeg trees as they produce two spices highly prized in Europe at that time: nutmeg and mace. Both spices are used for seasoning and preserving food. Orchard Road used to be a valley between Emerald Hill, Mount Sophia, and Mount Elizabeth.
Bullock carts were one of the earliest and most popular modes of transport in 19th- and early-20th-century Singapore. They served a variety of purposes such as travelling and transportation of goods. From 1867 onwards, such carts were slowly phased out with rising levels of traffic and the advent of mechanised transport.
A mysterious disease broke out in 1857 and wiped out the orchards within five years. Later in 1897, Henry Nicholas Ridley, Director of the Botanic Gardens, would determine that a beetle was the cause of the disease.
The Gambier Department Store / Travels in Parallel Reality Page 1
Gambier Process
Maps of Orchard 1846 road from the past to the present
Gambier is an astringent plant, which means that its potency will diminish quickly and has to be processed immediately on harvesting. Gambier is traditionally prepared by steaming the leaves which are tied into a bundle. Boiling water is then poured through the bundle in small amounts. Subsequently, the diluted juice is squeezed out, after which the leaves are dried and moulded into cakes. However, the Chinese adopted a different way of making gambier. The twigs are boiled for a prolonged period of time, then the end product was made as dry as possible. This resulted in a different kind of gambier compared to what was produced through the traditional method. There were different ways of moulding the final product: in a block, cube or cake form. Its form also gave some indication of the quality of gambier that was sold.
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1975
A bangsal (Malay word for shed) is where the gambier is processed. It usually contains a huge kuali (Cooking pot) where leaves are cooked. Bangsals are usually located near a stream where water is available. There usually are many bangsals located within the same gambier farm.
2020
Activities of the persona Timeline The persona is a gambier farm worker who lives during the time where gambier farming is popular. The activities of the persona is what he experiences during that time.
Wake up
Use bullock carts to travel to the plantation areas
Eat (chewing betel nut and smoke tobacco)
Cutting of Gambier shoots and leaves
Prepare baskets and go to gambier pl
Head back to plantation houses to put gambier leaves and rest and eat
Gathering Gambier leaves and storing in
Cut trees for firewood
Gambier drying area
Gambier dyeing areas
The Gambier Department Store / Travels in Parallel Reality Page 3
Boiling of the leaves and stirring
Workers leave the solution to evaporate
Rest (chewing betel nut and smoke
Workers mold the residues into cubes and shapes to sell
Gambier workers carry the gambier cubes to deliver to the port for export.
Head back home
Programme Timeline
Department Store opens
Store workers use escalators and shopping carts to deliver gambier leaves around to process
They ‘shop’ for leaves of the
The workers then bring it to press and extract gambier
Workers smoke opium while break time
Meal Time/ Break: Workers boil food to
The store workers mold gambier into cubes and shapes for further processing into other goods.
Gambier solution is used as a dye to dye fabrics
Workers distribute the gambier to
Fabrics are let out to dry
Pharmacists grind gambier cubes e powder used as dicine
Medicine making
The Gambier Department Store / Travels in Parallel Reality Page 4
Physical Model
Rendered 2D Section A-A
The Gambier Department Store / Travels in Parallel Reality Page 5
Accessibility 3
Gambier workers can access the department store by using the 3 entrances into different parts of the department store. Entering via entrance 1, they will pass through the gambier dyeing and drying area before going to the ramp. 2
Entering via entrance 2, they will enter via a circular staircase in the gambier medicine pharmacy. Entering through entrance 3, the workers would walk around the walkway then towards the long circular ramp leading up to the gambier extraction factory. The gambier extraction factory has a bridge leading back to the medicine making pharmacy where they can easily bring back extracted gambier to grind and make into medicine, then leading to another bridge to the eating and resting area.
Rendered Images
The Gambier Department Store / Travels in Parallel Reality Page 7
Schedule of Accomodation Eatery Workers as well as people and shoppers can eat and relax here in the canteen
Gambier Medicine Pharmacy In the Gambier medicine pharmacy, the workers ground up the residue and process it into powder as medicine.
Gambier Extraction Factory Workers would harvest gambier extract by extracting compressed gambier leaves with water. The water is used to dye the clothes. The residue left by extracting the gambier would be used to make medicine.
Gambier Drying and Dyeing Areas The workers could dye fabrics brown by letting it soak in the extract solution. They would also leave it to dry on the horizontal poles where people could see the process walking around it.
Gambier Plantations Workers would pick leaves from gambier plants to process it into products. People could walk through the plantations.
Urban Systems For this assignment, we are to research on the urban site which is the same site surrounding the studio project, Orchard Road.
Green & Blue
Due to the developments in orchard road and its surrounding area, there are less green areas. However, there are still some reserve site such as the one next to orchard turn (below picture)
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Transportation
500 m
MRT North- South Line Bus stops
Mrt Station- Orchard
Scotts Road Orchard Road Orchard Turn The MRT station Orchard is close the surrounding site and connects the MRT network to the busy commercial area. However, there are only few bus stops serving the area, and these bus stops are on busy roads such as Orchard road and Scotts road as well as Orchard Turn.
Urban Systems/ Site Analysis Page 1
Figure Ground Legend
Site Area
Buildings Roads, Lanes and Major Roads
The area in Orchard Road is mostly occupied by large buildings and hosuing estates, private houses and community areas.
Commercial Areas
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500 m
Land Use
Legend Residential Reserve Site Open Space Commercial Hotel Commercial & Residential Sports & Recreation Residential with commercial at 1st storey Civic & Community Instituition
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Health & Medical Care
500 m
Plot ratio
Location: Scotts Road
Overhead Bridge
Bus Stop
Bus Lane
3-lane Road
4-lane Road
Location: Mount Elizabeth
4m
1m
4m
Green Building Design Project Year 2 Semester 1 Other Project Members: How Qi Yang Project Supervisior: Szeto Anthony The objective of this project is to take a ‘zero net energy’ building approach with design goals such as minimising resource consumption like ventialtion, water supply, healing etc. as well as mitigating energy usage of the buidling by utilising on-site renewable energy resources. The model is of a learning reource center integrated into an existing campus context.
Green Building Design Project Page 1
To visualise and present our project, we made a 3D model of the learning resource center with green and sustainable strategies and technologies implemented such as drains to recycle rain water as usable water and wind turbines and solar panels to generate electricity to meet the energy needs of the learning resource center.
Green Building Design Project Page 2
Architecture Hunter
Villagers and Their Dwelling of magic activity as people proceeds to work in their shophouses and travel to deliver items. One eatery which houses the villager is a shopkeeper in his mostly empty small coffee shop besides another eatery as well as an where he sells food. He mostly seeks out ways to reach out to people walking nearby, behaviour also shows patterns guided by times and the sun. This makes the magic sentence ‘House of the friendly person seeking the sun’. He prefers staying within the shadows of the shophouse whilst seeking out people to eat at his place standing and sitting at several points in his coffeeshop. The shadows casted by the shophouse shows controls his behaviour as he goes to eat and do other activities at certain times when the shadow is in a certain position. These patterns help shape forms which is experimented with. The model is shaped by these forms.
‘Villager dwelling area’
Pavement where the shopkeeper tries to attract people
The Shopkeeper’s behaviour: Conversations with neighbouring shopkeepers/worker during his free time, as most of the time he does not have any customers to serve
Delievery in the morning: Delievers carry gas cans into the shop Sometimes the shopkeeper himself carries goods like cooking oils and food ingredients into the shop.
House Of the Friendly Person Seeking the Sun/ Villagers and Their dwelling of magic Page 1
The Shopkeeper’s behaviour; movement: The shopkeeper would walk around the space between the several
During sunny days, he would stand closer to the counter, away from the tables because of the sun. During rainy days, he sits besides the counter. He ‘opens’ up towards people outside in a bid to attract them to his shop.
I also observed how sunlight affects his behaviour during different times of the day when it is in the morning.
House Of the Friendly Person Seeking the Sun/ Villagers and Their dwelling of magic Page 2
Model made to show the action of the shopkeeper opening up towards people buy using flexible materials as the opening. the section at the back can be pulled so it closes again.
During the morning, the sun first shines onto the whole space. As the sun rises to noon, (directly above) The shadow of the shop expands onto the rest of the space. The shop owner prefers to walk and interact around shaded spaces. This opens up spaces as he expands his spaces of interaction to people on walkways and alleys.
This action of opening up also attracts customers to his shop were he’captures’ them to his shop/eatery to eat.
House Of the Friendly Person Seeking the Sun/ Villagers and Their dwelling of magic Page 3
Physical Model: Following the last model, this model can also move outwards to ‘capture customers’.
3D model: Shows scale of human to shop.
House Of the Friendly Person Seeking the Sun/ Villagers and Their dwelling of magic Page 4
Changi Beach Cabin Project Year 1 Semester 2 Project Supervision: Robert Teh
For this project, the project is to design a small 3.6 x 3.6m cabin in a site along changi beach. In the small space given, there has to be enough space for sleeping, toilets as well as free space to move comfortably within the cabin. 3 concept models were made and 1 was further improved on to make the final 1:10 model with wood.
Changi Beach Cabin Project Page 1
Changi Beach Cabin Project Page 2