Columbia
academic | fall 2024
Instructor: Gregory K. Melitonov
If a leaf falls in a forest and no one was around to hear it, did it make a sound?
The Tidal Organ is a project that provokes the subject to listen. Listen to the voices of thte voiceless. Set on Hudson River Park's Pier 45, the project aims to tap into the sonic elements of the pier to highlight the existance of non-human, and voiceless but very much critical agents of the site.
One of the most striking things upon my first impression of Pier 45 was its auditory experience.
With sounds of crashing waves, rustling of trees and grass, and the cawing of birds, the scenery was an amazing sonic cacophany into the environment of the Hudson. To that effect, I began to take field recording samples and document different elements around and across the whole site.
As part of the Hudson-river park project, , Pier 45 is one of its most popular areas. Culturally significant as one of the "christopher st piers", it was an area of great significance to the LGBT community in New York as a public gathering space. Today, it is a place that is heavily populated for picnics, workouts and for people to take walks. As an area with extremely high foot-traffic, I saw it as an opportunity to bring forth a design ithat is both ephemeral and sensorally stimulating, driven by my fixation on its sonic atmosphere.
- Leafy delicate rustling leaves as through
Iron-casted cover #2
Iron-casted floor cover - Textural detail with metallic sheen, imperfect surface bumps and rusting
and fluttering sound
Fields - structural wooden columns from old piers, now transformed and adapted by marine organisms such as crustaceans and fish in the Huson as a new and vibrant estuary habitat.
SagebushCoastal bush species with denser and harder leaves, emulating a more stiff shaking and ruffle sound
Pile fields - leftover structural columns for old piers are adapted by the life within hudson river as new habtitat space
Wind-pipes chamferred to funnel and amplify the wails and howls of the wind through the pipes.
Imagery of the pile fields led me to think about pipes - Instruments that amplify sound, and allows nature to "play" its music
Human-pipes are closed on one end so it can serve different programmatic needs such as seating or as tables.
Bird-house pipes have an opening for birds. People below may also begin to hear their chirping as it echoes down the pipe
Ocean-pipes are pipes that reach into the river, amplifying sounds of the water, the crashing waves, and the riverbed to listeners above
Pipes and piles - serve multitude of functions including providing structural support for canopy, as well as habitats for river-life
Conceptual model of canopy structure and sound-pipes design - exploring relationship between existing pier and design of an added intervention. Additionally the concept model also explores strategies on how to populate area with additional wooden-piles to create new habitats for the Hudson river wildlife .
One of the main principles behind my design for this intervention was to not disturb and interrupt the existing circulation condition of the site. As my intervention peers off onto the river, and is in line with the foot-path, the circulation onto-and through flows seamlessly.
Human-centric pipes are closed off, allowing for them to be seating, but also hollow to become "playable: percussion.
Wind-pipes have chamferred tops, angled to funnel more wind through the pipe to capture its sound.
Ocean-pipes puncture the ocean-surface to extract sounds of waves and underwater activity up through the pipe
Test-model using PVC and scrap wood - testing how sound travels and gets amplified through the pipe
Bird-centric pipes have a circular cave-like opening towards the topproviding a protective and warm shelter the brids against the harsh wind
Canopy structure is reinforced by a steel truss-frame, but remains hollow for less load, and allow for light planting
Wooden piles help to provide added habitats for displaced marine and estuary life such as oysters, crustaceans and fish
academic | fall 2024
Instructor: Gregory K. Melitonov Collaborator: Jes Zhang
Decentralizing Fountains was an experiment, our goal was to fully and systematically dismantle the function and aesthetic of the 'water fountain'. Through a mixture of on-site research and archival research, this project culminates in a design that attempts to answer questions like: What is a fountain? What can a fountain be? and Who is the fountain for?
Our investigation of the City Hall Park fountain as a site of interest began with questions like what a fountain even is and where this water comes from?
Our research led us to think about water injustices, who even gets access to this water? Why is something so water intensive used only for aesthetic purposes? How can we deconstruct the perception and function of public infrastructure?
Decentralizing the Fountain : Our experiment seeks to interrogate and deconstruct what a fountain even is, and what a fountain does - speculating on the possibilities of re-tooling water infrastructure to serve a facilitate and interspecies ecology in the city. Here, water is used for play, for drinking, for bathing, for planting, for habitats, for temperature regulation. Everything existing cyclically.
academic | fall 2022
Instructor: Carol Moukheiber
I designed a house for a florsit, who operates a flower shop on the ground level and grows their own products and plants in a greenhouse above.
This project aims to tackle the phenomena of the “missing middle” by exploring new and alternative ways of implementing mixed-use buildings into neighbourhoods.
Resulting form
massing tests...
In order to maximize sunlight exposure for the greenhouse portion of the house, I explored the concept of using the sunpath at the site to create angular faces on the building’s so that sunlight could be funnelled in throughout the day
Due to the need for maximal sunlight exposure on the southern side of the house, the concentration of programming meant that there will be no space for planting beds
Similarly, this iteration was also congesting the southern side of the house and taking up planting areas - programs also took up too much space
Improvement on congestion of south side but still minimal planting spaces
Final southern room in areas
less
Final version frees up southern area with ample for planting spaces areas with more sun exposure
Programming also takes less space in order to fit inside shell
Circulation is concentrated on northern side in order to not disrupt the greenhouse planting spaces
With the building functioning as a greenhouse and a flower shop simultaneously, products are to be grown and sold directly to the customer - alleviating the carbon footprint of transporting goods.
The greenhouse also functions to provide other ecosystem services to the inhabitants such as temperature regulation and cooling, and increased household carbon sequestriation.
The house serves to add another layer of mixed-use programming in the Kensington Market neighbourhood.
With the decline of mixed-use neighbourhoods in Toronto, this house can set a precedent for how future mixed-use residential buildings can function and look like as developments move away from victorian-styled houses in favor for more contemporary interventions.
academic | winter 2023
Instructor: Jon Cummings
Corridor student house is an exploration of aggregation and strategies for site-specific form making.
Taking James Stirling’s Andrew Melville Hall as a precedent study, this student residence concept for UofT uses modular architecture as a way of responding to the unique sloping conditions of the site.
The site is situated between Philospher’s Walk and Devonshire Place - two key streets in the context of the UofT Campus.
The sloped concept of the Corridor Student House is designed to connect these two points and improve campus circulation and acessibility.
The Landscaped Ampitheatre bridges pedestrians from the ground floor up to the second floor through a series of rising steps. This space acts as both a circulation feature and an outdoor social gathering space.
The Corridor Student House is populated by multiple roof gardens, designed to serve as additional green spaces for students. These spaces are areas for relaxation and gathering, and is more convenient for students living on the higher levels of the residence.
The oriented axis of the dormitory rooms layed out a grid as an organizing principle for the design and orientation of the site and landscape elements. This tilted axis was the basis for organizing spaces in both the interior facilities as well as the outdoor landscaping.
Modular Unit Design & Configuration
Units in the residence are singlebed, and uses built-in closets as the connecting mechanisms to other modules.
The rotated orientation of the units is also intentional to incorporate corner windows, allowing for larger views and more sunlight exposure.
The Philospher’s Walk Entrance has both an indoor and outdoor component. The indoor component is a secondary lobby for students, and features a diverse mix of spaces including a cafe, gathering spaces, and study areas.
The outdoor component is a another landscaped ampitheatre space, and acts as a continuation of the Philospher’s Walk up to the main courtyard of the site.
Ida&Billy Architects (Hong Kong) | summer 2022
As an intern in a small sized architectural firm based out of Hong Kong, I got to learn the ins and outs of how a firm operates on a much more intimate and intensive scale.
Throughout my tenure with this team, I was mainly focused on visualization, where I helped to produce photomontages for a riverbank revitalization project in Hong Kong.
At the forefront of my research, is studying sound. With my previous interests in music, and music production = I began to incorporate sound design into my architectural works, with many projects dedicated to investigating the intersections between spaces and sounds.
Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis Rework Sound Design + Video
Based on the concepts from Georg Simmel’s Metropolis and Mental Life, discussing ideas of hysteria caused by the hyperstimulation of urban environments, this project is a reworking of Walther Ruttmann’s 1927 film: Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis.
Click to listen
Familiar Sounds Photography + Sound Installation
A visual and auditory installation that explores the relationship between spaces and other senses.
This project aims to bring audiences into the headspace of immigrants from Hong Kong who have found new homes in Toronto. Alongside the lushes soundscapes, the project is acompanied by a series postcards with written anecdotes that aim to capture snapshots of the daily life in Toronto’s Chinatown.
Click to listen
2024NEW YORK CITY, USA
2020 - 2024
TORONTO, CANADA
Education
Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation, Master of Architecture
University of Toronto, Bachelor of Arts, Architectural Studies
• Dean’s List Scholar 2021-2022
Experience
June – August 2024
TORONTO, CANADA
June – August 2023 REMOTE
Henry Chiu Architect – Architectural Assistant
• Visual representation & 3D modeling specialist role
• Rendering and drawings for various residential projects in the Greater Toronto Area
• Concept design and visualization for a residential guest house-garden suite project in Markham, Ontario
Future-Future - Architecture Communications & Business Development Intern
• Business development specialist
• Produced strategy presentations: researching regional competitors, potential/upcoming project opportunities, and assembling lists of potential collaborators for clients
• Consolidated contacts for press, business development and collaboration opportunities for architectural practices and developers
• Assembled submission packages for clients to enter international competitions and awards
June – July 2022
HONG KONG SAR
July – August 2021
TORONTO, CANADA
Ida&Billy Architects Ltd. – Architectural Intern
• Specialized in architectural visualization: producing photomontages
• Maintained strong engagement with clients by efficiently communicating design changes in timely manner
• Developed skills in architectural market research
• Assisted head architects with making powerpoint presentations
DesignLIFES CREATE Program – Communications Assistant
• Managed company website
• In charge of video content, interviewing students to document and showcase their experiences and research outcomes with the program
• Coordinated and moderated zoom events such as the Research Showcase
Awards
October 2022
October 2022
Contact
hello.chanjay@gmail.com
+1 (646) 498 7039 (US)
Peter W. And Linda D. Hamilton Award In Social Housing
• Awarded
Ontario Association of Architects’ Scholarship
• Nominee
