ChiaWei Liao Master of Architecture University of Pennsylvania 2011
Neste ed Urban n Formations In the following era, cities are aggressively expanding with its size and population. Urban Swirl is seeking new design concept in the relationship between skyscraper and its surrounding urban context. In metropolitans like Tokyo and New York city, the shortage of the land become a major reason for vertical space development. Skyscrapers grow up and become isolated islands in the cities, and disconnected with the horizontal plane. Urban Swirl examine the opportunity to connect the vertical with the horizontal space by building connections in between towers, as well as building connection between the towers and the site plane. In such way, it allows the building complex to be more connected with the rest of the city. In this project, we offer a design of a ‘cluster’ of buildings which compose of three major towers and the connections between them. On a site size of 360,000 square feet, it serves multiple programs including cultural, recreational, business and residential. The complex itself is in fact a ‘mini city’. The connections between the buildings and the site serve as a buffer between the towers and the cities. It provides a smooth transition from vertical space in the tower to the horizontal space on the site. It creates a new multilayered experience of city life. In such a vast building complex, monolithic experience should be avoided. In particular part of the building complex, different formal language is applied to accommodate program needs. Urban Swirl seek to provide various experience through space through different architectural form, and yet different forms are synchronize in a larger scale to complete the ‘whole’. The part to whole relationship is a major emphasize in this project.
Connection Detail
Business Culture Shopping
Swirling Progra ms Instead of traditional program organization, different programs are categorized and nest to each other through out the whole site, we propose a new concept of “Program Intensity”. The “Program Intensity” that we define in this project do not refer to the density of scale of the program but the intensity of the program activities. The new concept creates swirling programs and tie up the program with the overall site organization. Starting from the edge of the site, the program intensity gets stronger as the program swirls into the buildings. The program intensity change in accordance to the rotation speed as it speeds up or slows down.
Metro Station
500 Feet / 45 Floors
425 Feet / 37 Floors
300 Feet / 30 Floors
A Fa mily of Buildings Three buildings belong to the same ‘family’. They share the same concept of spatial organization as well as façade composition. These three buildings rotate in different speed, more vigorous in the shortest one and the least vigorous in the tallest one. The vertical space in each floor also corresponds to the rotation. The vertical space becomes more tighten up and hence more private when rotation gets more drastic. In general, the base is the least rotated part in each building. The base is more ‘loosen’, and the space is open up to accommodate public programs. When it gets up to the upper floors, rotation becomes more vigorous, and space is tightening. Partitions are formed along with rotation. Spaces become more private and rooms for offices and residential are created. Therefore the building with more drastic rotation, the shortest one, would have more individual spaces, and it serves as a hotel building. The building with the least rotation would serve as an office building. The façade of these three buildings are composed of two different strategies – component based and surface based. They have different component to surface ratio on their façade. This design would not only allow them to distinguish themselves from each other, but also hold a strong relationship in their appearance at the same time.
Grand Entrance
At the top, the smallest diameter of the building becomes an observatory to view out the city.
More vigorous rotation, partitions are built along with the space. Individual rooms are created.
Space starts to tighten up, public space shrinks, level of floors become more distinguished
The bottom of the building is more ‘loosen’ and space is opened up to accommodate public programs.
Connection
This is a section showing the connection between the tower side and metro station. A spine-like passage brings the passengers from the station into the site. The design concept intents to heal the gap created by the roads carefully with escalator, half sahded roof and shopping program. Patrons to the theather can access the entrance by the passage way easily.
Geometry Transformation This project explore the transformation of geometry in three dimensional way. Starting from a two dimension diamond grid line, the lines bifurcate and define area. Area mutate and accumulate into volume. A component is found through the exploration. The component is put in to a experiment of skin system. In the experiment, the component is tested to create structure, texture, purification and shading.
front
back
The front of the component is capable to create texture variation and porosity to the skin. The diamond mesh quality remain on the back of the component and serve as a skeleton system. For the individual component, the geometry transform smoothly from skeleton to skin. Components are connect with each other through the left end side and right end side and form a skin with a continuos transformation along x-direction.The vertical spine is designed to create variation and enhance visual continuity along y-direction.
A urban lighting wall installation is proposed to show the idea of transformation between skeleton to skin, texture undulation, porosity variation. With a lighting source coming from the back, the geometry of the wall interfere the distribution of shadow.
FRONT
BACK
R332'-10 1/2"
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landscape design
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Urban Green House This project proposes a urban green house to a wasted floodplain of Schuylkill River. Surrounded by the energetic neighborhood, Manayunk, the proposal to the 54000square-feet site is surrounded by an energetic rising neighborhood where the most residents are new generation around their thirtys. This project explored the form emerging from fluid geometry. Conceptual model was built with matte film and plaster. Space was generated as a evolution of the form.
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physical model
Air Purification Tower Canal Street, New Tork Air Purification Tower is a proposal on a vacant site located at the intersection of Canal Street and Six Avenue in New York City. We are proposing an purification solution “breathing skin� by hybridizing the mechanical system with a microbiological system that purifies the polluted air as it travels into the interior space through the building layers. This allows for surplus clean air to recirculate into the city, and provides vertical green space for the public while informing them of the purification process.
Sit e Ana ly sis The site is located at a trafic-active area and a buffer zone be- The site is close to Hudson River in a area of average 6 story heigh building around. tween dynamic neighborhoods in New York City. Two bus Depending on angle and heigh on the site, different view can be seen lines and three metro stations are close bu within 15 minutes walk.
Non-public Space Public Space
Purifi cated Air
Exhau sion
View to Hu
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Hollaaan nd Tunn nnel Entrance e
rior Space
to Inte Purificated Air Infill
op o pen n plaza p
Holland Tunnel e ex exit
SOHO SOHO 5min
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Trafic Circle
CHINA TOWN
Breathing Skin and rotating progra ms We are proposing an purification solution “breathing skin” by hybridizing the mechanical system with a microbiological system that purifies the polluted air as it travels into the interior space through the building layers. The design allows the air to travel on a vertical helix path. While the air travels up, it will be purified to sustain the habitable program in the tower and eventually being released into the atmosphere on the top level. Green buffer zones are organized along the air path, which also guide people to travel up the tower.
fresh air exhaustion pore
interior space
air purification machanism
grand street
Canal Street
polluted air intake pores
6th
Ave nu
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for intensive filtration method
Varick S tre t
air inta ntake slitt
a intakkke air e slit
156’
air dehumid./evap. station
Breathing Skin
120’
Air Monitoring Station 2000SF
Air Monitoring Station2000SF
Exhibition7500SF E xhibition 750
7500SF Air Filtering Station/ Water Collection Center 3000SF Air Filtering Station/Water Collection Center3000SF
air filtering station
84’
Library Library2500SF 2500SF
for biology filtration method
Exhibition Space for filtration method
Air Dehumidifier/ Evaporaote 3000SF Air D Ai Dehumidifier/Evapor difier/Evaporao fier/Evapor p rao rao ote3000SF ote3000 o te300 te3000 00 00 00
air monitoring station
72’
personal office
Classroom 750SF
Classroom m750SF F
60’
research center
classroom
Personal Facility 3000SF Perss P sonal Facility3000SF 000
Research Center 2000SF Research Center2000SF r2000SF
labotrary
classroom
classroom
48’
library
exhibition area tank
Tank/ Water Purification 2000SF Tank/Wa k/Water Water ater Purification2000SF Purificat Purific ication2000SF
Laboratory Laborrratory2500SF 2500SF auditorium
24’ Audito orium2500SF Auditorium 2500SF
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water collect tank
garden
biological water collecting tank
g ard rde en garden
garden
mechaan al sspace mechanical auditorium
e green space
waiting lounge
library
classroom
labotarory
m ecchanicaal sp pace e mechanical space
research center
exhibition space
exhibition space
green gr ree een space ssp paacce
water collecting tank
Philadelphia Art Museum
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Diagonal City Logan Square
Diagonal City is a project for civil health located in a gray zone of residence commerce, and art in Philadelphia. With a field condition built up by program boxes which pop up from the ground and two round shape surfaces which sandwich the center interior space, the intension of Diagonal City is activates the neighborhood by attracting people back and engage the site with activities. This 35000 square feet site is located close to Philadelphia Art Museum in a neighborhood which used to be an industry area but now is being occupied by many loft condo and new residential buildings. Although the site is surrounded by well-developed neighborhoods, but it is still empty with a abandoned trench goes through and split the site into north side and south side. The trench was portion of the old Pennsylvania Subway, which was once the major railway commute Philadelphia, New York and cities in west Pennsylvania and also the witness of glorious time of Philadelphia in early twentieth century. The railway has been abdomen for seventy years, vegetation has fully inhabited the trench. What remains from the old golden time are only the stated stone foundation, rustic tracks and solitude. The mission of this project is to create an interactive place where people can be attracted to the site to enjoy the facilities but also preserve the memory of local history. The solution to satisfy both the purposes is to reuse the existing space in the trench to accommodate interactive programs which could bring people back to the site. Therefore, the abandon space can be recycled, memory can be created and carried.
intervene
into the organization as repel force to form courts of different capacity Empty spaces in response to the private-public inclination of adjacent programmes. These courts build up a vibrant field condition, which simultaneously create a network of circulation path, and provide possibility communication for people with different interests.
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PROGRAMS Interior programs are enclosed with an block-like space and organized by their size and inter-relation. The program blocks are inserted into the trench to create vertical circulation between ground level and trench level.
UPPER CIRCULATION LAYER A round surface is placed to connect the two side, which is separated by the existing trench. The round surface also form a horizontal circulation between building blocks and create public space for interactive activities which welcome not only the patron but also the residents from neighborhood to participate.
LOWER CIRCULATION LAYER Another round surface is placed under the upper circulation layer to enclosed interior circulation and provide accessibility to programs.
EXISTING TRENCH
gravitate
Programmes toward each other in accordance with their interrelations and be reorganize with concern of physical restriction and style of arrangement which create dynamic rhythm to the organization.
Active programs are located in the trench space. People are brought by the vertical circulation created by program blocks into the space and engage with the activities. Therefore, the scar-like leftover space are pave by filling it with people and activities and become a new spatial experience.
A’
COMPUTER LAB
SOAKING TUB
Extension
STORAGE
INDIVISUAL ACUPUNCTURE ROOM
Accessibility
INTERIOR SWIMMING POOL
SEMINAR ROOM
LOCKER ROOM
CHILDREN DAY CARE CENTER
Capacity
COMPUTER LAB
COOKING CLASSROOM
Interactive Space
DANCE STUDIO GYM SEMINAR ROOM
JUICE BAR WATER FEATURE
ORGANIC MARKET
ENTRANCE/RECEPTION
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INTERIOR BASKETBALL COURT
FR AN KL ING W TO NB D LV
CALLOWHILL STREET
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INDIVISUAL ACUPUNCTURE ROOM INTERIOR SWIMMING POOL
SEMINAR ROOM
LOCKER ROOM
CHILDREN DAY CARE CENTER
COMPUTER LAB
COOKING CLASSROOM
DANCE STUDIO GYM SEMINAR ROOM
JUICE BAR
WATER FEATURE
ORGANIC MARKET
ENTRANCE/RECEPTION
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SEMINAR
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LOCKER ROOM
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GALLERY II
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INTERIOR BASKETBALL COURT
entrance
COMPUTER LAB
SOAKING TUB
STORAGE
INDIVISUAL ACUPUNCTURE ROOM INTERIOR SWIMMING POOL
SEMINAR ROOM
LOCKER ROOM
CHILDREN DAY CARE CENTER
COMPUTER LAB
COOKING CLASSROOM
DANCE STUDIO GYM SEMINAR ROOM
ORGANIC MARKET
WATER FEATURE
JUICE BAR ENTRANCE/RECEPTION
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SLEEP CAPSULE
GALLERY II
GALLERY I
RENTAL/FLEX SPACE
INTERIOR BASKETBALL COURT
COMPUTER LAB
SOAKING TUB
STORAGE
INDIVISUAL ACUPUNCTURE ROOM INTERIOR SWIMMING POOL
SEMINAR ROOM
LOCKER ROOM
CHILDREN DAY CARE CENTER
COMPUTER LAB
COOKING CLASSROOM
DANCE STUDIO GYM SEMINAR ROOM
WATER FEATURE JUICE BAR
ORGANIC MARKET
YOGA ROOM
SEMINAR
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LOCKER ROOM
ENTRANCE/RECEPTION
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SLEEP CAPSULE/ SLEEP CENTER
SEMINAR
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OFFICE OFFICE
SLEEP CAPSULE
GALLERY II
GALLERY I
RENTAL/FLEX SPACE
INTERIOR BASKETBALL COURT
Edu-playground 2011 Cleveland Design Competition Design team: Chia Wei Liao, Ben Lee
The traditional school building is one where classrooms are separated rooms where a single activity goes on in them at one time. This means that students from different classes or different years do not have opportunities to interact with one another within the classroom. Consequently most activities happens in the hallways, the cafeteria or the school playground. Our proposal for the new Cleveland International School is a rethink of how the learning environment can be designed to engage and stimulate students throughout their education through their surroundings.
The Landscape is a stimulus for Learning The new Cleveland International School becomes a green anchor on CSU’s masterplan, connecting to its fields, buildings and corridors to encourage exchanges and usage between the 2 institutions and the wider city.
SITE
Traditional classrooms are fixed in size, program, and limited in connection to the outside.
Open School+Landscape Roof =Edu-playground
Flexible Learning Centers Learning Centers are fully customizable, allowing for a variety of configurations based on the number of students and the activity, as well as control on the openness of the space.
The school is designed as a large contiguous space without walls, to mirror the school’s philosophy of an open learning environment. This allows students to wander freely and engage the environment as part of their learning experience, as well as promoting interaction between different groups of students. The open circulation also allows movement between the school and the landscape roof above, through stairs and slides into the courtyards and the front yard.
SUPERIOR AVE
21ST ST
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Entry K-5 Learning Center 6-8 Learning Center 9-12 Learning Center Visual Arts Music Rooms & Auditorium Family & Consumer Science Technology Education Media Center Special Education Student Dining Area Building Services & Food Prep Student Lockers Administrative Spaces Greenhouse Interior Courtyards/Playground Front Yard WC & Custodial
We want to bring the playground into the school. By dissolving the walls between spaces and from interior to exterior, we allow students from different classes and years to come together and work together, which reflects the collaborative philsophy of the school. The openness of the school allows the students to explore and engage their surounding environment, which increases their learning potential, awareness and concentration, as well as encouraging physical activity. In addition, this openness allows the school to expand and adapt to program changes quickly in response to different needs. The flexibility and openness also contributes to the wider urban community. Sitting on the edge of Cleveland State University’s campus, the dissolved school allows students from the school to easily access CSU’s facilities and share resources. The flexibility of program and space within also encourages CSU or the city to use the school’s facilities easily. Finally, the entire roof of the school is a large urban park, allowing members of the community to enjoy the school as a playground for all.
Whitney Museum Downtown Conceptual Extension Project with Axis Mundi Design director: John Beckmann / Design team: Andy Van, Dennis Pereira / Rendering: Chia Wei Liao
The existing museum is a 1960s concrete building by Marcel Breuer and Axis Mundi claim the extension’s exposed concrete frame would be a continuation of Breuer’s brutalist aesthetic. The extension would have an irregular floor plan configured around sight lines that look towards landmarks such as the Empire State Building. The design concept inherits this idea but extends it further. It becomes offspring of the original design concept, just like it will serve as the extention of the Whiteny Museum.
A desire for column-free galleries led the architects to create a perimeter superstructure to contain the staircases, escalators, elevators, and mechancal rooms. this structural lattice allows the galleries to float freely, suspended like bridges, unimpeded by a typical grid structure. the lattice allows light to flood the building in unexpected and dramatic ways, heightening the visitor’s perception of the artwork and the city.
Long Se ction Through Entrance
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Day Time View
Section Model
In nter rior
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Section Model
Interior
“Interiorities� An architecture provides experience to its audiences. Various aesthetic qualities of a space such as its geometry of parts, material qualities, and lighting solutions, contribute to experiential effect. Series of articulated experiential effect can be curated in order to produce emergent atmospheres in the space, and the atmosphere evoke unique experience of the space. The project has been driven by developing of techniques which can contribute to the aesthetic qualities of the space. Each geometry of part used in space has been designed to produce specific effect, and material and lighting solution have been utilized in order to reinforce the effect. Five unique spatial experience have been developed, and the experiences are transforming to each other through morphological continuation of geometries, and material and lighting transformation. Rate of transformation has been carefully orchestrated based on intended experiential transformation.
Elevation
Section
“Gelatinous” A space of “gelatinous”. The entrance of the club is form by the fusion of all of the technique developed in this project. The space is composed by translucent material and plastic material with a form which looks like the status between solid and liquid - “melting”. Colorful material and bright light are used in this space to create a welcome and dynamic senerio to the patron.
“WET” A space of “wet”. Special lighting effect creates a atmosphere of wet for a bar space. Pink frames crowing on the space evenlope extends to form furnitures like bar, shelves and small pockets contain seating and table. The quality of the space is like the interior of an living organ - a space wrapped by watery flesh and veins. The lighting feature emerges from the seam and lit the space with bright white light to cool the space.
“Bony” A space of “bony”. Hard and skeletal frame with hard surface infill create a space for dancing hall. Flat hard dancing floor locates in the center with seating area around. The cushion of the seating area looks like bundels of musle attached to the skeleton. which crushs together in the center where DJ booth emerges. Colorful lighting excites the atmosphere and offer a space for loud music and drastic body movement. Warm light leaks from cracked floor and heats the space.
“Greasy” A space of “greasy”. Wavy lines accumulate together and form a surface. The liquid lines flow down and form the space. The wrinkle of the envelope looks like the wave emerging from hot greasy surface. The fluid-like wall creates pocket for small group of people. The wrinkles open and hold by swollen red cushions. This is a space of dark and hot atmosphere and used for a smoking lounge. This is a space for people to relax and have intimate conversation.
“Light” A space of “light”. In a cave-like inderground space, a white translucent and thin surface drips down along with light from the crack of heavy material on the ceiling. On the ground, water flows into the pool. This is a space designed to express lightness. The atmoshpere is tranquil, qiet and culm. Patrons come into here to get close to the water and escape from the noisy promgams in the club.