Architecture Portfolio Yixing (Cindy) Liu

NEGOTIATED SYMBIOSIS YIXING (CINDY) LIU SELECTED WORKS, 2019 - 2023 +1 (315) 949-0829 | yliu391@syr.edu

NEGOTIATED SYMBIOSIS OF THE NATURAL & BUILT

NEGOTIATED SYMBIOSIS OF THE PUBLIC & PRIVATE

NEGOTIATED SYMBIOSIS OF THE RITUAL & SPIRITUAL

NEGOTIATED SYMBIOSIS OF THE CENTRAL & PERIPHERAL

NEGOTIATED SYMBIOSIS OF THE AUTHENTIC & ILLUSIVE

NEGOTIATED SYMBIOSIS OF THE HISTORICAL & CONTEMPORARY

NEGOTIATED SYMBIOSIS OF THE ORGANIC & GEOMETRIC

BIO-TECH MACHINE

The Mechanical and Natural Renovation of Baynard House

TWO EGOS

The Double Identity of Fire Station No.7

RECURSIVE PARADIGM

A Memorial for Ritual and Spiritual Grieving

WASTE[A]POSITION

Waste Management as a Community Unifier

SEMBLANCE WRAP

An Experimental Pavilion in Crochet

100 OLD SLIP

Renovation Project - Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects

CERAMICS

Experiments with Idiosyncratic Clay Forms

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BIO-TECH MACHINE

The Mechanical and Natural Renovation of Baynard House Fall 2022 London, United Kingdom ARC408 London Study Abroad Studio Mentor: Amber Bartosh, Vanessa Lastrucci Collaborators: Greta Ulatowski, Qi Liu

The Bio-Tech Machine critically reflects on the interdependent relationship between humans, machines, and nature. It exists in the context of contemporary urban issues, such as industrial pollution and the energy crisis. A conversion of London’s Baynard House, a former office block, into an environmental research lab, this project crafts a dystopian narrative which illustrates how human collaboration with nature via machinery might ultimately fail.

Over a span of 250 years, the architecture undergoes three phases. In Phase I, the project functions as a tidal power plant and a plant-purification research lab dedicated to urban sustainability. In Phase II, scientists evacuate the building due to the increasing toxin levels in plants and aging mechanics, leaving behind a domain solely for machines and nature. In Phase III, a post-human stage, machines plant growth, while plants provide bio-resources for machines to generate energy. The building becomes a point of symbiosis between inorganic and organic matter. Without conclusively determining the fate of Baynard House, the project serves as an evolving hypothesis, systematically contemplating the mutual impact of humans, machines, and nature.

COMMUNITY | ECOLOGY | COGNITION

Environmental Challenges London is enduring a significant energy and pollution crisis. Scientists and city planners are experimenting with new solutions to the problem of creating a sustainable urban environment. We ask ourselves: What is the future of Baynard House within this context?

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A - Green Facade Module

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B - Mycelium Module

C - Lab Module

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Phase I Human + Machine + Nature In 2025, scientists arrived in the Baynard House with the intentions of creating a symbiotic machine that combined its technological roots with biology and nature. The building started off semi-autonomous, independent from humans, but reliant on the Thames.

Phase II Machine + Nature - Human In 2125, the building no longer functioned as a purification ma- chine and a green energy generator. Green plants and mycelium quickly took over the building and integrated themselves into the structure.

Phase III Nature + Machine In 2275, the machine and plant in the building form a symbiosis condition.

They create a closed energy circle, in which methane gas produced from the decade plants consistently supply the bio gas station to generate electricity.

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Narrative Three comic book pages illustrate the gradual transformation of Baynard House from the perspectives of the scientists in 2025, the dark tourism tour guide in 2125, and a fox in 2275.

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TWO EGOS

The Double Identity of Fire Station No.7 Spring 2023 Location: Columbus, Indiana, US ARC409 Integrative Design Studio Mentor: Gregory Corso Collaborator: Olivia Porrill Awards: Integrative Design Studio Competition, Honorable Mention Publication: Featured by Syracuse Architecture WeChat Official Account Two egos: Fire Station No.7 explores the identity of the fire station as both a private institution and as an establishment for serving the public. This project investigates the historical development of fire station typologies in order to establish design principles that meet the needs of contemporary fire departments.

To maintain the intricate balance between the fire station’s two egos, a polycarbonate screen is introduced, cocooning the creature of the program within. The form of the fire station is contained by this screen, emphasizing the private aspects of fire stations. Meanwhile, the project creates a visual connection between the firefighters and the surrounding community through moments of revelation and translucency, inviting community members to observe the inner workings of a fire station. This is further achieved through the creation of public space that carves itself into the form of the building. Fire Station No. 7 not only becomes an emblem for the community it protects but also provides a space for the community to occupy, lifting the veil which covers a public institution.

COMMUNITY | ECOLOGY | COGNITION

Ground Floor

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Second

d Floor

Third Floor

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A Exchange glazing = transparency

B Reveal glazing + polycarbonate = translucency

lounge circulation D Separate polycarbonate = translucency

E Display wood + polycarbonate = opacity

roof training

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dormitory gym office apparatus bay

egress drill wall

C Conceal wood + polycarbonate = opacity

bathroom mechanics apparatus program F Highlight wood = opacity

entry study dining

Taxonomy The facade creates an opportunity for interaction with the public and displays the identity of the fire station. The openings in the building envelope and the level of visibility between the interior and exterior spaces is determined by the program. Moments of transparency, translucency, and opacity are created by playing with the wood and polycarbonate envelope.

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Structural System Fire Station No.7 uses a steel structure to adapt to a variety of spatial requirements. A set of three vierendeel trusses in the educational space above the apparatus bay enables 50-ft spans and a cantilever supported by smaller horizontal members. The semicircular curve of the extruded space attaches to this cantilevered orthogonal structure. The core of the fire station, including the building egress and mechanical rooms, is located on its eastern side.

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Sectiona A continuous floor surface connects

West Elevation The facade forms the interface between the community and the fire station

al Model s the living and educational spaces

South Elevation The apparatus bay faces a major street

RECURSIVE PARADIGM A Memorial for Ritual and Spiritual Grieving Spring 2021 Location: Antananarivo, Madagascar ARC208 Landscape Studio Mentor: Ryan Thomas Collaborator: Shengxuan Yu Publication: Featured by Syracuse Architecture Instagram Account

Famadihana, a ritual held every seven years to rebury the bones of the deceased, is a significant event in Madagascar’s culture. The Malagasy people highly value spiritual connections with their ancestors. Inspired by these activities, the project creates a sacred space that embodies the psychological process of establishing a ritual and spiritual connection with their ancestors.

The memorial’s form draws an analogy between the psychological process and the concept of a paradigm shift. People’s understanding of their relationship with their ancestors is constantly evolving. In this project, each spatial node indicates a shift in the perception paradigm.

Another concept, recursion, is introduced to describe the “editing down” process of discovering personal connections with distant ancestors. Guided by natural light and rainwater, visitors experience the memorial through a linear circulation through stepped spaces. As their journey continues, visitors feel a gradual compression of space, culminating in an expansion at the final platform. The project serves as a metaphor and a vessel for people’s emotions, memories, and beliefs.

COMMUNITY | ECOLOGY | COGNITION

Landscape + Vector The slope of the site exhibits strong directionality, pointing towards a residential area. As it blends into the natural landscape, the cemetery becomes a vector.

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Paradigm Shift The process of establishing connections with ancestors undergoes several paradigm shifts.

Recursion The “edit-down” recursive process of gradually discovering personal connections with one’s ancestors.

Paradigm Shift + Recursion An analogy is created using the concepts of a paradigm shift and a recursion to explain spiritual changes during the Famadihana ritual for memorizing lost loved ones.

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Compos 25

site Plan 26

Explore “We will become our ancestors”

Read “We learn from our ancestors”

Medi “We contemplate

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itate e our ancestors”

Pray “We worship our ancestors”

Gather “We celebrate our ancestors”

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Expansion

Archive

Purification

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Prayer

Ceremony

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WASTE[A]POSITION

Waste Management as a Community Unifier Fall 2021 Location: Rochester, NY ARC307 Urban Autophagy Studio Mentor: Lori Brown Collaborator: Jediel Ponnudurai

The waste management system in New York State experiences operational difficulties attributed to inappropriate sorting. Despite longstanding advocacy for recycling, there remain impediments which prevent the public from putting it into practice. To address this issue, Waste[a]position overthrows the convention of siting waste management facilities in the urban periphery. The project proposes a recycling center at the center of a residential neighborhood, highlighting the process of waste management and increasing public awareness of proper recycling methods.

Waste[a]position incorporates a community center and public park (on the green roof) into the recycling facility. Through this juxtaposition, the project integrates recycling routines and the public’s social life. Local residents are encouraged to bring in their household waste, sort it by hand instead of relying on single-stream recycling, and immerse themselves in the accumulated human impact on the environment through waste disposal. The project challenges the typical concealment of humans’ negative environmental impact and alleviates practical difficulties for post-processing facilities.

COMMUNITY | ECOLOGY | COGNITION

9/1/2021 - 10/1/2021

Waste Journal By analyzing the waste I produced over the course of a month, I observed my own improper treatment of recyclables and began to understand the weaknesses in the existing initial process of waste sorting systems.

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Community

Exiting Facilities

Center and Periphery

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Formal Evolution

Waste Circulation Local residents contribute recyclables to the center by driving along the extended Avenue-D. Following initial on-site processing, specialized trucks collect the compressed recyclables via riverside roads and transport them to specialized waste processing facilities.

Public Circulation The project is open to the public and welcomes a variety of groups, from young to old, laypeople to professionals, and visitors to educators. It aims to engage with the community, raising public awareness of recyclable management.

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Recreation Artificial Landscape

Education Exhibition Space

Transportation Primary Vehicle Entry 37

Roof Plan

Sorting Waste Recycling Center

Ventilation Oculus Skylight

Ground Floor Plan

Gathering Amphitheater Drop Down 38

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Amphitheater The green roof drops and meets the ground to form an amphitheater, a public space for the community. It is a gesture which welcomes the public to climb on and explore the center.

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Columns A spiral staircase is embedded within a structural column and provides vertical circulation.

Visitors can access the green roof and reach the observation platform at the top.

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SEMBLANCE WRAP An Experimental Pavilion in Crochet Spring 2022 ARC500 Material Semblances Mentor: Cecilia Lundback Collaborator: Yaxin Xu COMMUNITY | ECOLOGY | COGNITION

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100 OLD SLIP

Renovation Project - Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects 2023 NYC Summer Internship Program Location: Manhattan, New York Responsibility: Staircase Design, Modeling, Rendering, Diagrams Publication: Renderings featured by the office Website COMMUNITY | ECOLOGY | COGNITION

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CERAMICS

Experiments with Idiosyncratic Clay Forms Selected Work, 2023 Minor in Ceramics Process: Hand Building, Wheel Throwing, Slip Casting Mentors: Margie Hughto, Sharif Bey, Errol Willet, Markus Denil COMMUNITY | ECOLOGY | COGNITION

Modified Nature 43

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Nature

Modified Geometry 45

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Geometry