Chelsea Ho Jia Xuan Architectural Portfolio 2024 Selected Works
PORTFOLIO
SELECTED WORKS 2022-2024
MASTERS OF ARCHITECTURE
College Of Design & Engineering
National University Of Singapore
CHELSEA HO
JIA XUAN
ARCHITECTURE GRADUATE
+65 9675 4171
chelseahjx@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/chelseahjx/
issuu.com/chelseahjx
ABOUT ME
If the role of the artist is to make revolution irresistible, I believe the architect wields even greater power to make tangible changes in the world.
As a self-motivated architecture graduate with 1.5 years of experience from various internships, I am passionate about shaping the future of design through the lenses of sustainability, wellness and humancentricity. My goal is to create spaces that are not only visually appealing but also enhance the well-being of their occupants.
TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY
Adobe Creative Suites
Rhino Grasshopper
Autocad
Autodesk Formit
Sketchup
Enscape
Lumion
EDUCATION
Master of Architecture
National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore Graduated: July 2024
Bachelor of Arts (Hons): Major in Architecture
National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore Graduated: July 2022
Nanyang Junior College Graduated: Dec 2017
WORK EXPERIENCE
ARCHITECTURAL INTERN
ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism Jun 2023 - Aug 2023 · 3 mos
• Collaborated on urban design guidelines for the Sihanoukville masterplan, focusing on planning road and cycling networks and GFA distribution; developed presentation materials with WY-TO and Type 0.
• Honed design sensitivity by integrating cultural and religious values into a monument boulevard and assisting in planning mixed-use wellness facilities for a hospitality masterplan.
JUNIOR INTERIOR DESIGNER
Fjord Creative · Freelance Dec 2022 - Feb 2023 · 3 mos
• Developed interior design concepts for a pet hotel, balancing business requirements with the needs of pets and their owners.
ARCHITECTURAL INTERN
ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism May 2022 - Dec 2022 · 8 mos
• Assisted in the design and rendering of the Osaka World Expo 2025 Singapore Pavilion façade using parametric design and Grasshopper; explored various façade options.
• Coordinated and produced final presentation renders and video for the SIA-SIP URA Paya Lebar Airbase Concept Masterplan, collaborating with AECOM and Cistri; the winning scheme was published and exhibited at URA’s Long Term Plan Review in 2022.
•Produced plans, diagrams, and renders alongside architects for feasibility studies of mixed-use residential projects to assess financial viability.
• Conceptualized a community project for a Catholic retreat house in Timor-Leste, collaborating with the Jesuits to create spaces for youths and retreat goers.
ARCHITECTURAL INTERN
ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism Jun 2021 - Nov 2021 · 6 mos
• Designed one of three concept models using parametric design for the 2020 P*DA traveling exhibition, showcasing the firm’s commitment to socially meaningful and community-focused projects.
• Conceptualized and visualized condominium amenities, including entrance drop-off canopies and steam rooms, ensuring integration with the overall architectural design.
•Collaborated with Arup acoustic consultants, material suppliers, and contractors to design balcony screens that meet safety standards and reduce wind-induced noise.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXPERIMENTAL PROJECTS
INTERNSHIPS + FREELANCE
CHELSEA HO
The New Bauhaus Campus
Beyond Prosthetics Interface
A Chance Victory for HCMC!
CRAFTFORWARD: A 2050 MAKERS COLLECTIVE
THE CASE
FOR NUTURING
MASTERY IN THE DIGITAL AGE
BY CHELSEA HO JIA XUAN
It’s worth considering that certain skill sets and occupations will continue to be valuable in the future. Take creative work, for instance. The rise of creatives stems from the looming technological revolution of Industry 4.0, where automation threatens to disconnect workers from creativity and erode unique cultural identities. Simultaneously, industrialization has led to homogenized cities, while virtual environments foster passive consumption, hindering social interaction and active participation in life. The thesis explores re-enchanting the lost values of craftsmanship in a maker’s community of 2050 aiming to cultivate resilience and adaptability against the challenges of evolving technologies from industry 4.0 and the Digital Age. Ultimately, it proposes a return to “Homo faber,” where individuals and communities actively shape their fates through their environments, as the result of the use of tools.
In 2050, the landscape of craft is projected as such. Analog craft, distinguished by the artisan’s care, and thus superior quality compared to mass-produced items, will evolve and become augmented with technology as Traditional artisanal work amid advancing technologies and digital crafts. And in this maker’s collective, craft has to be purposeful, sustainable, cooperative, accessible, labour is non-alienated, and community building.
The design proposal envisions a future urban neighborhood for a 2050 maker’s collective, transforming large-scale Retail and Manufacturing spaces into granular, integrated entities within communities. This community-centric ecosystem fosters skill mastery through an adapted apprenticeship learning model in the digital age, with dedicated spaces for innovation, learning, and urban events to engage the community.
PHASING DEVELOPMENT + COMMUNITY BUILDING PROCESS
0. Central loop and clustered site design for walkability Develop road networks and infrastructure to ensure convenient site access.
2. Development of Machiya Community Loop Subsequently, construct the community loop featuring central amenities and craft/makers programs, serving as a focal point for residents residing in the regular housing clusters.
4. Subsequent Phase of development for 2nd half of site Proceed with the development of the second half of the site, following the establishment of the initial housing clusters, community loop, and collaborative core towers.
1. Construction of initial housing clusters Begin by constructing regular housing clusters to establish a resident base. Simultaneously, establish a makers incubator to assist in construction. Interested buyers can bid for high or low-zone preferences, fostering early community engagement.
3. Intensify nodes of community loop with towers Construct collaborative core towers strategically positioned at the corners of the community loops, with construction initiated as a larger pool of makers join the cooperative community.
MASSING DEVELOPMENT ON SITE
1. Central loop and clustered site design for walkability The site is divided into four clusters, each with a 100-metre radius, promoting walkability and access to amenities. A central circulation loop is established on the site, connecting parcels and maximising views to the river. It also creates a ring preserving an open field for recreational activities.
3. Vertical density and continuity of craft street Intensify nodes of the central loop to accomodate for vertical density with the adapted podium-tower typology. Maintain the essence of the craft street vertically throughout the neighborhood, ensuring the continuity and vibrancy from ground level upwards.
5. Showcase of crafted façade elements Facade elements of buildings can be crafted by the community and showcased on the external facades of the adapted high rise residential typologies, thus fostering community pride and engagement in the neighborhood’s identity.
2. Centralised Makers incubator and community sandbox. The makers incubator is positioned at the heart of the development, ensuring equal accessibility from all sides. The production wing is located closer to the main AYE road which streamlines logistics, and connected to the community sandbox wing via a retail bridge.
4. Courtyard Communities around Central Loop The site boundary is encircled with perimeter slab blocks, separated from the low-rise central loop by a series of green open spaces. This configuration creates relaxing pocket parks for residents to enjoy before entering the central community loop.
MAKERS' INCUBATOR & COMMUNITY SANDBOX
Fosters a symbiotic relationship between makers and consumers. A centralised hub for large scale production of refined craft products, both for internal and external communities, with spaces to host expansive craft expos. Community participates as end-users, rigourously testing craft prototypes and offering invaluable feedback in the community sandbox.
MACHIYA COMMUNITY LOOP
Provides an immersive journey of craftmanship, intertwined with a diverse range of vibrant community programs.
Zoning Process
Zoning Diagram
Zoning Process
Zoning Diagram
COLLABORATIVE CORE TOWERS
Offers
FLOWING BLUES NEIGHBOURHOOD
BY CHELSEA HO JIA XUAN, CHEN BIAO, ZHU JIAN YING
In 2050, healthcare undergoes a tech-driven revolution. Autonomous vehicles deliver medical supplies and drones provide swift emergency care. The Internet of Things empowers people to manage their health, while the “cobot revolution” supports healthcare workers. This shift creates a patient-centered, polycentric model, focusing on well-being and equitable access.
However, as we envision healthcare beyond mere medical care, we strive for a holistic, human-centric approach that enriches the overall quality of life. This vision centers around the creation of nurturing environments within our neighborhoods, embodying the principles of “sandbox” and “sanctuary.” “Sandbox” spaces encourage creativity and innovation within communities, while “sanctuary” areas provide tranquil havens for respite in homes and neighborhoods.
Drawing inspiration from historical settlements situated alongside natural water bodies, our site’s proximity to a flowing water body prompts the exploration of harnessing this resource for diverse purposes. Embracing urban mobility technologies, we depart from conventional car-centric planning, seeking inspiration in the harmonious urban growth of cities like Venice. This paradigm shift prioritizes the well-being of all inhabitants and capitalizes on the potential of flowing water features to create unique, intimate community neighborhoods.
So similar to the studio’s projections of 2050, we expect the field of healthcare to undergo a tech-driven revoltion. Autonomous unmanned vehicles becoming the standard for delivering goods including medical supplies and drone ambulance employed to provide rapid emergency medical assistance. The widespread adoption of the Internet of Things will empower people to manage their own health, while the “cobot revolution” will assist healthcare professionals in their wourk.
This informs the outermost ring of our concept framework where we see healthcare moving towards a patient-centered, polycentric model, ensuring equitable access to all. While the future of mobility is multi-modal,combining different forms of transportation that are interconnected on multiple tiers of circulation, to promote efficient and sustainable mobility.
However, as we consider health beyond mere medical care, the studio adopts a holistic, human-centric approach that aims to enhance overall well-being. So this is centered around the creation of nurturing environments within our communities, with the principles of “sandbox” and “sanctuary.” “Sandbox” spaces encourage creativity and innovation within communities, while “sanctuary” areas provide tranquil environments for respite in homes and neighborhoods. At the intersection between “sanctuary” and “sandbox” is the character of flowing water that is unique to our site, which is right next to Jurong Lake.
Our existing site comprises the former location of the science center and a golf range. It is bordered by Jurong Lake along its longer side, with 2 roads running along its shorter edges. Important developments to note in the future will be the new science center and tourism development further north to our site, and also the high speed rail and the civic and cultural building of the Jurong town hall to the south.
CONCEPT FRAMEWORK
URBAN DESIGN STRATEGIES
HERITAGE PRESERVATION
Continuing the educational mission of the science center by adaptively reusing it into a school and preserving a peaceful enclave within the golf range, separated by a water channel from the rest of the development.
RESTORING INTIMACY
Carving waterways to create intimate, restorative neighborhood clusters, that fosters a unique sense of place for residents. These waterways also serve as detention basins to control flow of excess water during heavy rain.
DEFINING PRECINCTS
Creating walkable 5-minute precincts with a central active mobility line, maximising views to the lake. These are shared streets for AVs, cyclists and pedestrians. Residential areas are concentrated in the central and southern precincts.
CARE-IN-COMMUNITIES
In each precinct, integrated primary care centers provide healthcare, recreation, and community services, improving accessibility and reducing pressure on community hospitals.
DEVELOPMENT DATA
MULTI-MODAL MOBILITY
CARE-IN-COMMUNITY
CARE OASIS 2050
FLOWING BLUES
NEIGHBOURHOOD PRECINCT
BY CHELSEA HO JIA XUAN
Nestled approximately 2 km away from Ng Teng Fong Hospital, the envisioned community care hub responds to a crucial need for holistic care in the flowing blues neighbourhood of JLD 2050. Catering to the diverse needs of elders, children, and patients, the facility is designed to offer a comprehensive array of services, including day care, nursing home facilities, childcare, day surgery, and emergency services equipped for up to medium-intensity treatments.
Anticipating the medical landscape of 2050, the hub strategically addresses the prevalent conditions by envisioning the future of care delivery with advancing healthcare technologies. The integration of IoT technologies enables the personalisation of care within individual pod-like wards. This allows for the mixing of patient with similar cases, enhancing the efficiency for healthcare workers. In the event of deteriorating health post-elective operations, future modes of mobility, like the drone ambulance, stand ready to ensure that patients can be transported to the main hospital in under 5mins.
Embracing the concept of a central blue salutogenic space, the hub repurposes a vast blue expanse from the former golf course, around which care facilities are organised. Referencing the principles of “Blue Mind,” the hub seeks to harness the positive impact of water proximity on well-being.
Through the incorporation of biotopes for phytoremediation, the hub not only utilises aquatic plants to purify the lake’s water, soil, and air but also actively contributes to the creation of a health-centric environment or ‘healthscape.’
WARD PODS
Case study: Phillips Experience Critical Care Experience Suite 2021
CURRENT ICU WARD intense and stressful environment surrounded by noisy alarms
HIGH ACUITY (ICU)
Patient oriented to face the corrdior for maximum privacy and staff control (3-4 days stay)
MEDIUM ACUITY (WARD)
Patient facing the display wall balancing leisure and monitoring (1-2 days stay)
LOW ACUITY (WARD)
Patient facing the display wall balancing leisure and monitoring (<24hrs stay)
A CHANCE VICTORY FOR HCMC!
BY CHELSEA HO JIA XUAN, LEE YONG SOON
The new addition is a playful inversion of the existing victory hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, which was formerly used as temporary housing quarters for the CIA in the 70s; An outlier set back from District 3’s highly structured french colonial city plan. Colorful louvres climatically orientated to the sun’s path don the facade of the new addition, in lively contrast to the modernist existing.
The inversion was conceived by embracing chance and entertaining an irrational thought of having the hotel, literally turned on its head, with the intent of flipping the secluded and exclusive into an open and accessible building for all. Along with the aspirations of making a planet positive addition to the city, the proposal is subjected to further consierations of its operational and embodied carbon through an assessment of its life cycle.
In the process, the result of the chance operation created multiple tiers of public spaces. The multi-tiered urban belt serves as a vertical extension of Ho Chi Minh City’s vibrant urban street life amidst the intensely densifying urban landscape.
WEEK 6: CONCEPT+MASSING
WEEK 7: CONCEPT+MASSING
WEEK 7: CONCEPT+MASSING
08: STRUCTURE
WEEK 10: FACADE
EMBODIED CARBON OF EXISTING BUILDING AND ADDITION ACCORDING TO MATERIAL + COMPONENT
PASSIVE COOLING MEASURES
CALCULATED CARBON LIFE CYCLE OF ADAPTIVELY REUSED BUILDING
BEYOND PROSTHETICS
RESTORING THE MIND-BODY FOR ELDERS AND CAREGIVERS
BY CHELSEA HO JIA XUAN
The house as a prosthesis most fundamentally extends the abilities of its inhabitants, supplementing our natural capabilities (shelter, safety, health) since we are only human, vulnerable and deficient in our own ways. However the homogeneity of the HDB flat is static and unadaptable to the changing ineeds of the elderly who chooses to age independently in their homes despite their naturally deteriorating bodies, physically and cognitively.
Existing measures of installing accessibility infrastructures (grab bars, ramps) and the hiring of paid domestic care do alleviate some of the problems of the flat, enabling an extent of mobility and accessibility for the elderly. However, they are only working within the limitations of the static flat and fails to address the inherent issue of its inflexibility.
How can we introduce adaptability into the inflexible spaces of the flat such that external flows of life are brought in, forming new habits and an improved way of life for the elderly and their domestic helpers?
The project serves to critique the inflexibility of the HDB typology to accomodate to the different needs of the elderly living with the assitance of caregivers in Singapore. It speculates on the prosthetic attachment of spaces that actively engages and stimulates them to heal and liberate the elderly from the current challenges faced living in the flat and possibly complement the care work of domestic helpers.
INTERFACE
BY CHELSEA HO JIA XUAN
There exists an unequal and fragmented distribution of green spaces in Balestier due to the numerous developments of private properties in recent decades. Despite containment measures, there has been a surge in interests in parks as a form of respite, putting pressure on existing few green spaces. Interaction with gardens and natural spaces helps with psychological restoration which is especially beneficial in the current crisis. The project seeks to activate the currently underutilized Tai Gin dog park to reduce the concentration of people at a singular green space.
The subject of enquiry of interface was adopted. It was studied through experimenting with analogous systems such as plaster and wind that resulted in a constant flow of spaces. This was a quality that public spaces could potentially adopt in a time where social gathering should be minimized as much as possible.
Plaster has different stages of viscosity in its lifetime and resists displacement from wind as they dry and harden. Movement spaces carved out by wind diminishes as the viscosity of plaster increases. A system of resistance and a system of movement was distilled from the experiments that would drive the creation of stationary and circulatory spaces.
Programmatically, the intervention also serves as an interface between School of East Asia Institute of Management and Tai Gin dog park. The islands on the west wing are programmed to be an extension of the school programs, catering to outdoor classrooms and student centers that hosts animal assisted therapy programs to for students. While during pandemic can be converted to host animal therapy for the community to recover from their loneliness and lost sense of belonging that arises from the extended periods of containment.
RIVERSIDE
OUTDOOR PET-PARK
THE NEW BAUHAUS CAMPUS
ARKITEKURO THE BAUHAUS CAMPUS 2021 ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION ENTRY
BY CHELSEA HO JIA XUAN, KEE CHEOW YAN, SAMUEL TAN
Dessau has long been associated with the rise of the Bauhaus movement and a strong advocate of reshaping the modern society of its time. However, it has since fallen into a state of self-effacement and graceful decline.
The dissolution and closure of the Bauhaus in 1933 saw the end of a mode of learning which embraced art and technology as parts of a whole. This has led to the disassocation between art and science and an ever-widening chasm between both.
A solution is required to tackle this conundrum at its core, the education system. A new typological blueprint based on the previously established ideology of the Bauhaus, combining artistic development and scientific investigation, can operate both at the macro scale linked the New Bauhaus Campus with the infrastructure of Dessau, and a micro-scale to induce a state of thought, reflection and change in perception for the town residents and visitors.
To make the building contingent on the city is to first acknowledge its geological location. With abundant rivers and adjacent to the plot, the project is first a water treatment facility whereby residual byproducts of its machines and processes allow for the conception of art and innovation.
In response to the exclusivity of the former Bauhaus, where only the elite and the skilled were welcome, the intervention seeks to challenge this notion by positing art as a spectacle for all to enjoy. Its secondary role is thus a public waterscape, providing opportunities for outsiders to engage with and observe the artisans and their craft and proposes a programmatic investigation between the overlapping processes of water purification and artistic creation.
INTERNSHIPS
Over the course of my 3 internships at Arc Studio + Urbanism, totalling 1.5 years, I had the privilege of working under the guidance of patient and knowledgeable mentors. Their support allowed me to participate in and contribute to a variety of projects. My experiences ranged from conducting feasibility studies and managing contract administration to developing conceptual master plans for competitions. These opportunities have been invaluable in shaping my skills and understanding of the architectural field.
