AAD_SU21_062

FRANK

SHENGMIAN

W A N G

GSAPP 2021

01

Architecture as Canvas for BPI

02

Green New City

Pavilion for the Bard Prison Initiative, Hudson Valley, NY

Climate Corps Initiative, Manhattan, NY

03 Harmony Grounds

Reimagine Commemorate Space, Hart Island, NY

04 Walking on a Dream

GSAPP Pavilion Charrette, Columbia University, NY

01

ARCHITECTURE AS CANVAS FOR BPI GSAPP Advanced VI Studio Critic: Steven Holl + Dimitra Tsachrelia Collaboration with Xianghui Kong Spring 2021

Inspired by Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) and the concept of confinement, a space was created where those inside could view and even feel the beauty of the outside. ‘Architecture as Canvas for BPI’ is a project that is deeply influenced by the constantly changing phenomena of nature - one that cannot be captured in singular images. On the interior, the building houses open office spaces along the northwest side for optimum sunlight and ventilation; while exhibition spaces are isolated by circulation to reduce noise output. Through capturing the essence of the surrounding environment on the exterior facade, the architecture serves as canvas and allows the environment to speak for itself.

WILDERNESS CIVILIZATION

Sky

Vegetation-Bright

Vegetation-Dark

Concept Analysis In Thomas Cole’s painting, The Oxbow. Light and colors were used to compose a smooth transaction between two different weather conditions. One that is bright and romantic and another that is dark and heavy. The palette above details the differences in colors for the same objects under different circumstances.

Design Strategy Just like a blank canvas, the structure of the building acts as a frame; the exterior finishing acts as the canvas that is wrapped around the structdure; the canvas captures the essence of the surrounding environment to produce a stunning continuously-changing painting.

Ground Floor Plan

Materialit

In support of the concept, Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) membrane - a semi-tran let in just enough light to achieve the subtle a

Front Entrance At Night

Back Entrance At Day

ty System

nsparent, stretchy membrane - is the dominant material for the facade. This material will and soft ambience this project was aiming for.

1. ETFE Architectural Fabric 2. Solar Energy Roof 3. Oversize Gutter 4. Radiant Floor Slab 5. Water Garden

Section A-A

Program

In terms of space arrangement, this approach incorporate an open office to enhance exhibition space is purposely separated by circulation in order to mitigate the noise from of five colors inspired by the

Front Entrance

Multifunctional Hall

Strategy

e ventilation and encourage social distancing in a post-COVID world. Additionally, the m the gallery into the open office space. The exterior walls of the gallery space consists e seasonal colors of nature.

Looking from the outside in, architecture as contemporary painting.

Looking from the inside out, architecture as an impressionist landscape painting (constantly changing in time and season).

02

GREEN NEW CITY Climate Corps

GSAPP Advanced V Studio Critic: David Benjamin Fall 2020

The Green New City (GNC) focuses on combatting housing insecurity (which disproportionately affects people of color) while creating sustainable climate-friendly jobs. The project builds, inter alia, affordable and accessible living environments primarily for those who have been historically affected by systematic racial housing inequality.

Through prioritizing and investing in low-carbon materials such as teimber, GNC will generate countless sustainable jobs. Additionally, GNC uses a renewable energy recovery process to maintain self-sufficiency. By expanding the boundaries of the city through creating a parallel metropolitan space, GNC aims to diversify areas that have become monolithic – in terms of ethnicity and class.

Sustainable Employment New York State is naturally abundant in timber. By choosing wood, developers keep the cost of construction down while helping grow the economy and job market. 1 lumber factory has the potential to grow 100 jobs. Creating 600 jobs for the region; and 6600 for the State.

Carbon Sequestration Strategy Over the years, GNC aim to increase 40% in demand for lumber, not only it will create more Green New Jobs and economic benefits, with 30% of the construction in NYC being constructed with timber, carbon emission would be reduced up to three million Metric Ton.

1st Year Development The mass timber structure act as carbon sinks that can capture up to 750 Metric Ton of CO₂. Alongside being used as a carbon bank, the structure will serve as an energy collector that is integrated into the existing buildings.

5th Year Development The structure will be able to facilitate affordable housing to combat housing inequality, offices, clinics and retail. In addition, with a ten year span, the GNC has the potential to evolve into a parallel metropolitan space that is partially powered by sustainable energy.

Clinic

Affordable Housing

Micro Office

School

03

HARMONY GROUNDS Among the Living and the Dead

GSAPP Advanced VII Studio Critic: Karla Rothstein Collaboration with Hyosil Yang + Yuedong Lin Summer 2021

Harmony Grounds is a commemorative communal space that seeks to transform Hart Island from a dark and foreboding area to an ever-growing vivacious natural commemorative environment.

Enhancing the urban connectivity of the historical burial site, this project celebrates continuities in life and death. Harmony Grounds seeks to transform traditional spaces of death and grieving into spaces of life and reflection by integrating remains into a soft modular infrastructure system to generate a revitalized landscape. This new terrain provokes intimate interactions among family, friends, strangers and their loved ones.

Accordance

Continuity

Sound

Silence - Harmony

Ending - New Begining

Individual Identity - Whole Community

Isolated Island - Vivacious Community

Urbanity

Design Approach Transforming Hart Island from the following four aspects: Reintroduce urbanity to Hart Island; Redefine the continuity of life and death; Reiterate sound as a form of communication to provoke intimate interactions between the family and their loved ones; Reconnect the community.

Urban Issues Harmony Ground is solving three main issues that New York City is facing: Inaccessibility of Hart Island; New York City is lack of burial spaces; and last the damage of sea level rising.

Burial Solutions

Transportation Assembly

Module

The soft infrastructure is integrated with sustainable mechanisms that aid in the mitigat through a variation of modules and scenarios; solving the issue of a lack of burial spac with vegetation, sound, or light, to bring greater respect for the i

Assembling Strategy

System

tion of flood damage, and has the potential to develop additional programs and spaces ce for New York City residents. Each burial component has the ability to be customized individuality of the deceased within the communal burial ground.

The Bridge Bridge scenarios provide natural habitats for the flourishment of wildlife; aid in future flood management, and provide indoor space for intimate and collective gathering.

The Wat

Waterfront scenarios allow for incr public; expanding the la

terfront

reased accessibility for the general and mass of Hart Island.

The Pathway Commemorative pathway scenarios seamlessly coalesce old and new burial sites in order to ensure that all deceased are engaged and honored.

The Bridge Specific tree species were selected to provide habitats for the birds that make sounds. Through this approach, not only can the bridge provoke intimate interactions among humans, but also create harmony across all life and death.

Habitable Bridge The bridge scenario provides natural habitats for wildlife and also mitigates future sea level rise. This soft infrastructure is integrated with sustainable mechanisms by harvesting rainwater and solar power to support the energy usage of the Hart Island. Within the next 200 years, the bridge will maintain the circulation across the island even in the situation of sea level rise.

The Waterfront The waterfront module utilizes mesh for exterior finishing to allow marram grass roots to be extended to the river bed and prevent erosion while expanding the land mass of Hart island. While introducing the new waterway transportation system to Hart Island, for both the public and private

The Pathway The bamboo rods are extended vertically and bent into an intertwined elegant shape that allows them to hit each other and produce a crisp soundscape. They are also carefully arranged to avoid trenches and caskets underground so that the old and the new can coexist and both have space for commemoration.

Commemorative Pathway Built upon the existing burial site, this structure seamlessly coalesces old and new burial sites in order to ensure that all deceased are engaged and honored.

Existing building on the island are intended to be replaced with bamboo farms.

Over time, these bamboos can be harvested as a sustainable source for construction on Hart Island.

04

WALKING ON A DREAM GSAPP Pavilion Charrette Collaboration with Maxwell Chen + Noor Begum + Cris Liu January 2021

Walking on a dream is an experimental pavilion that utilizes the characteristics of the Mobius Strip to create a continuous, one way circulation that encourages users to constantly be on the move for social distancing purposes.

Design Strategy This three dimensional strip-turned-inflatable is pumped with opaque, colored air/smoke that exhibits a vibrant and dynamic display turning the pavilion into a sculptural piece with enhanced spatial qualities. The inflatable object is highly interactive both physically, socially and visually. Characteristics such as the density of changing colors are affected by the density of activities taking place as a result of areas of higher and lower pressures.