Architecture Portfolio Changsong Li

Portfolio of Making Architecture

Selected Works by Changsong Li

Architecture Experience

Oliver Cope Architect, Architecture Intern

New York, NY | Jun 2022 - Sep 2022

• Make detailed documentation of sections, plans, and elevations of small scale projects, while communicating with all team members in the office. Design interior details.

• Make detailed 3d models and renderings according to the documentations for the client meetings.

• Conduct site surveys for detailed site plans and sections of interior design.

• Conduct office administration works, printing and managing the documents and manage the office library.

HYP - ARCH Consultants, Architecture Intern Shanghai, China | Jun 2021 - Sep 2021

• Make documentation of plans of large scale projects under supervision of a project manager and collaborating with team members.

• Organize files for client meetings, collecting and making 3d renderings, diagrams, and master plans.

Jiangsu Wanchuan Construct Engineering, Design Intern

• Participating in on-site construction management.

• Engaging in project planning and design.

Analytical Experience

Hangzhou Zhenlin network Technology, Data Analysis Intern

• Collect and cleaning relevant raw data from inside database and outside datasets.

Xuzhou, China | Jun 2020 - Sep 2020

Hangzhou, China | Jun 2023 - Sep 2023

• Make primary data analysis using statistical tools and data analysis tools to look for correlations and trends. Generate primary models to explain the data. Produce diagrams and reports.

Club Activities

Architecture For All, Appointed Club Secretary and Designer

• Keep meeting records and maintain important files.

• Participate in the design process in club projects and weekly meetings.

Brown RISD Video Game Design, Designer

• Participate in the design process in club projects and weekly meetings.

RISD Balls, Club Member

• Participate in weekly club activities.

Awards & Publications

UNI.xyz Competition, Social Habitat, Editor’s Choice

Sep 2021 - Jun 2022

Sep 2022 - Jun 2023

Sep 2022 - Jun 2023

Mar 2021 Group housing design challenge.

Art x Climate Gallery, Fifth National Climate Assessment, Selected Artist

Jun 2023

The US Global Change Research Program issued a call for art with the understanding that, together, art and science move people to greater understanding and action.

Skills & Interests

Technical Skills: Proficient in Rhino, Sketchup, Adobe Suite, Vray, Enscape, Python, R, Excel, Vectorworks, AutoCAD, Revit Interests: Basketball, Chartered Fishing, Cue Sports, Painting, Photography

Osmosis: Dissolving the Border Line Course Project, 2023

Instructor: German Pallares Avitia

Overview

El Paso, Texas, in the United States, stands at the forefront of the migrant issue, a consequence of the world’s imbalanced development. Each year, individuals from less developed countries gather at the border between El Paso and Juárez, aspiring to build a better life in the United States. Concurrently pressing is the water issue in El Paso, reflecting an imbalance between human activity and nature. The natural demarcation between the two cities, the Rio Grande River, has been dwindling over the years.

The proposed migrant service center serves not only to the urgent migrant issue but also as a narrative to address the imbalances between human activities and nature. By deconstructing the problems of depletion of natural resources and the influx of immigrants, the center unites these issues under a common theme: the construction of the Border: the delineation between human groups and the separation between humans and nature.

Anatomical Primative

The building’s structure is influenced by the circular salt mark. Subsequent to the initial circular boundary, additional volumes are added to create an irregular shape that accommodates different programs. An undulating roof is crafted to replicate the form of dried soil.

Sketch Models

The ground features a vast water pond, reminding people of El Paso’s diminishing water levels. The building seamlessly integrates into the salinated landscape, serving as a gathering point for immigrants who await the revitalizing waters that promise unity.

Site Analysis

An experiment was devised to replicate the salinization in El Paso. Earth samples were gathered from three locations in the city and brought to the site. These samples were then placed in a device in which brine water from the desalination center was dripped onto them. As the brine dried within the earth, the resulting salt marks became visible on a piece of fabric placed beneath the soil. This method provides insight into the dynamics of salinization across the entire territory of El Paso.

Analysis Result

Following the experiment, a circular salt mark emerged on the black fabric. This pattern indicates the dispersion of brine from the center which forms salt crystals aggregating at the periphery. This pattern serves as a metaphor for the edifice’s contour to symbolizing the immigration issue. Much like the salt crystals separated from the water, migrants find themselves detached

Roof Fabrication

A conical surface is utilized to form a continuous and undulating roof, mirroring the form of an uneven ground. Conical surface is defined by drawing infinite lines from a point to a curve, and it brought a radiating pattern for each roof. Thus the conical surface can be constructed using modularized roof panels.

Roof Details

Due to the placement of steel beams following the roof’s curvature, modular panels can be inserted between these beams. The gutter is concealed within the roof’s edges.

Structure Diagram

Rigid steel frames underpin the entire structure, topped by a curved laminated wood girder and steel beam.

Friction and Hybridization

Course Project, 2022-2023

Instructor: Christopher Bardt

Programmatic Friction

Programmatic friction denotes the challenges, conflicts, or difficulties emerging from the integration or unification of areas with distinct purposes or functions. Essentially, it represents the resistance or tension encountered when harmonizing different uses within a shared space. A wall can be considered a direct outcome of this friction. Architecture, in essence, can be seen as the task of mitigating such frictions through the design and placement of walls. The existence of walls signifies the dialectic relationship between space as a concept and space as delineated by substance.

Friction As Design Strategy

Architecture relies on substances, or materiality, as its guide. Design in architecture shines brightest when observing the anomorphic forms born out of conflicts inherent in materials. Therefore, friction becomes a potent design tool, providing valuable insights. Combining two distinct substances, such as light and darkness, reveals conflicts between forms, principles, and materials necessary for producing these substances. The outcome is a new substance with its inherent order. The focal point lies in the space in between— the conflicted, the anamorphic, and the uniqueness of existence.

Anatomical Primative

This project commences with two distinct programs: firestations and hotels. Firestations inherently have an outward duty, while hotels cater inwardly to people’s personal lives. The hybridization is achieved through a simple diagram of two concentric circles, with the outer circle facing inside and the inner circle facing outside. This configuration establishes a mutually protective relationship between the hotel and the firestation.

Duty Life hybrid hybrid firestation hotel

Sketch Models

Numerous formal iterations were undertaken to fine-tune the concentric relationship. The materiality of the models imposes constraints on the form: the radius of the exterior wall, the shapes and separations between spaces, and the overall size of the space. The result is a nuanced typology containing atypical rooms with interstices between them.

Envelope

The envelopes embody the concept of mutual protection. In the case of the firestation, the envelopes are applied to the inner side while the outer side of the room is exposed to the outside. Firefighters, while residing in the facility, maintain a connection to the outside and a constant vigilance. However, the envelope creates a separation between the living area and the engine rooms, providing a temporary resting space when off duty. For the hotel, the envelopes are applied to the outside to delineate the private area from the external environment. This overlapping condition offers each program additional protection: the firestation receives inward protection from the hotel, and the hotel gains outward protection from the firestation.

Folding

Course Project, 2021

Instructor: Evan Farley

Concept

“Folding” is a temporal, directional operation. When individuals witness an object being “folded,” their mental image returns the object to its original, simple, and straightforward state. This simplicity instills a sense of calm and ease for individuals within a public space. Exploring the language of folding allows to infuse built environments with an unthreatening atmosphere, offering people a clear understanding of its purpose and a welcoming sensation. A folded space become a haven for relaxation, contemplation, and experiencing the world through a protective filter.

Architecture Language Development

The language of folding holds transformative power to convert one type of architectural element into another. The floor slab, for instance, can morph into staircases, ramps, and vertical spaces. As new elements emerge, they still retain echoes of their originally monotonous form. This clarity allows users to grasp the internsion of the space at first glance and navigate it comfortably.

• Reading room

• Open library

• Reading room

• Open library

• Cafeteria

• Auditorium

• Reception

• Archive

Living In Between Boundaries

Course Project, 2022

Instructor: Leeland McPhail

Site Overview

The gentrification of Providence is ushering in more high-end apartments in the West End community, resulting in escalating rents for the local working class. To address housing insecurity, there’s a pressing need for a scheme that creates more affordable housing. However, privatization poses a significant obstacle. Highly fragmented property lines impede the construction of large-scale communal housing projects. The space is underutilized, featuring numerous empty spaces with no designated purpose. Another challenge in the West End is the decline of community gardens, initially designated to provide supplementary income for local communities. However, their utilization is diminishing. Yet, there is an opportunity to tackle these issues strategically by focusing on the concept of boundaries—both the boundaries of properties and the boundaries between life and work.

Anatomical Primative

A greenhouse as an extrusion of the original facade of the house can blur the boundaries between the private and the public. The backyard area including the greenhouse will become part of the community garden program. The greenhouse itself also contains a single living space. Thus the greenhouse will become an inbetween space between private and public. The boundaries on the backyard will be opened for convenient public access. A new system will be created that integrates the private and the public and is highly localized and self-sustaining.

In Between Private and Public

The greenhouse operates as a buffer zone between the private and public spaces. The produce from the greenhouse serves to augment local income, contribute to food security, and enhance community engagement. This integration ensures that the house is no longer isolated from the neighborhood.

Localization

As the activities of community gardening dissolve property lines, the entire neighborhood will transform into a localized ecosystem. This shift will establish a stable source of side income from the gardens and attract more visitors, steadily fostering a friendly environment. This development aligns closely with the current ways of living for West End residents, emphasizing that the land belongs to the people inhabiting it.

Communal Housing

The logic of blurring the boundary between work and life is extended to communal housing on a larger scale. The economy of scale leads to higher efficiency in space utilization. Reduced average surface area per household results in less heating energy consumption for the edifice. Allocating a larger area for gardening also lowers the average management cost.

The design manifests the idea of sharing by placing all the houses along the north side of the edifice. This arrangement ensures they share the same sunlight, views, and access to the vast space.

Comprising two types of units—temporary-stay housing and multi-bedroom housing—the communal housing plan promotes a clear division of private life, work, and in-between areas. The temporary-stay housing features an open first floor accessible to the public and connected to the garden. Meanwhile, the multi-bedroom housing also incorporates living areas on the first floor, contributing to a well-defined devision of spaces.

Integrated Building System

Course Project, 2023

Instructor: Ryan McCaffrey

In an era of exponential data growth, data visualization emerges as a powerful tool, providing insight into complex problems. A visualization depicting population density in Louisiana has been created to enhance our understanding of the impact of eroded coastlines on the population residing near the coast. This visualization also illustrates the intimate connection between human habitats and Earth’s geography.

Paleography in Scripts Study Study and mimic different scripts in certain periods.

Drawing