Jessica Wong - Academic Portfolio

Jessica Wong Academic Design Works

JESSICA WONG (330) 696-0516 jpwong15@yahoo.com wongjess@upenn.edu 1155 Lisa Ann Drive Akron, Ohio 44313

EDUCATION

AWARDS & INVOLVEMENTS

University of Pennsylvania | Graduation Spring 2024

E. Lewis Dales Traveling Fellowship Spring 2023

Master of Architecture Candidate

University of Cincinnati | 2017-2021 B.S. Architecture, Minor Sociology

LEED Green Associate

Walter R. Leach II Fellowship Spring 2023

Certified Fall 2020

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE MAD Architects - Architectural Intern May-Aug 2023 | Los Angeles, CA • Worked closely with associate principles on international cultural and master planning projects during concept design phases. Responsibilities included 3D modeling, 2D drawings, diagrams, programming, and design presentations for weekly client meetings.

Digsau - Architectural Intern May-Aug 2022 | Philadelphia, PA • Concentrated on mixed-use, campus and multi-family housing, and amenity spaces. Completed tasks for daily design reviews and client deadlines.

Designed outdoor play space and dog park, created design presentations, and completed program analysis.

The Atkin Fellowship Spring 2023

NOMA Member Fall 2023-Present

Student Wellness Working Group Fall 2023-Present

Penn Looks Charity Fashion Show 2022-Present

Schenk Woodman Competition Honorable Mention Spring 2022

Vocon - Architectural Intern May-Aug 2021, Aug-Dec 2019, Jan-May 2019 | Cleveland, OH & New York, NY • Collaborated with architects, interior designers on corporate interior projects.

Completed construction documents, renderings, fit planning, and attended weekly construction site meetings.

Cran Awards Student Competition Finalist 2021

RESEARCH & TEACHING EXPERIENCE

SKILLS

Teaching Assistant

Modeling and Drawing Revit Rhino AutoCAD

August 2023 - Present | University of Pennsylvania • Graduate teaching assistant for ARCH 601 Housing Studio with Brian Phillips • Undergraduate teaching assistant for ARCH 3020 Studio with Elizabeth Lovett

Research Assistant January 2023 - Present | University of Pennsylvania • Exhibition layouts, installation, event maintenance, and community workshop attendance for “Housing Justice Futures: Philadelphia Forum on Design, Race, and Climate Change”.

• Production of engagement materials for community workshop in Chinatown as a part of Save Chinatown Coalition initiatives

Rendering & Image Making V-Ray Enscape Lumion Keyshot Midjourney

Design Fellow - Penn Praxis January 2023 - May 2023 | University of Pennsylvania • Design fellow for Design to Thrive, an after school design/build program at West Philadelphia High School. Familiarized students with the design process, using basic construction tools, and collaborating to assemble an outdoor gathering space for students and the neighborhood.

Post Production Illustrator Photoshop InDesign

CONTENTS

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FRAMELAB, ART & RESEARCH CENTER ARCH 602 | SPRING 2023 | CRITIC: BEN KRONE | UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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ALPHABET SOUP, SAO PAULO SESC ARCH 701 | FALL 2023 | CRITIC: NATE HUME | UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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TÊTE-À-TÊTE, NEW FREEDOM DISTRICT ARCH 7323 | SPRING 2023 | LECTURER: MIKAEL AVERY | UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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DU SOLEIL, CALLOWHILL MARKET ARCH 502 | SPRING 2022 | CRITIC: KEVIN CANNON | UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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BREAKING SILOS, MUSEUM EXTENSION ARCH 501 | FALL 2021 | CRITIC: EDUARDO REGA | UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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IN MY BACK YARD, LOW RISE - HIGH DENSITY HOUSING ARCH 601 | FALL 2022 | CRITIC: BRIAN PHILLIPS | UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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Jessica Wong

ARCH 602 | SPRING 2023 | CRITIC: BEN KRONE IN COLLABORATION WITH ANNA BRUCE

Situated in a hillside along the Hudson River in upstate New York, this project aims to hybridize the themes of artist Anicka Yi and the research of monarch butterfly expert Stephen Reppert to bring attention to the fragile systems of nature that are often affected by human intervention. FrameLab was derived from early analog model studies that extracted the geometries of monarch butterfly roosting patterns and the encapsulation of natural phenomena explored by the artist. The interior and exterior systems are comprised of intersecting planes and frames that are the positive and negative infills of the same geometry.

The programmatic organization of the project is laid across the long bar-like form, with the artist spaces located near the entry and laboratory and butterfly enclosure located near the cantilevered portion.

Glazing, channel glass panels, and solid retaining walls were used to establish a material gradient along the span of the building.

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania

01 FRAMELAB ART & RESEARCH CENTER

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Jessica Wong

Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania LEVEL 02 FLOOR PLAN Showing public entry sequence and main level laboratory and research library

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Jessica Wong

PHYSICAL MODEL 1/8”

SECTIONAL VIEW OF PHYSICAL MODEL

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania AXONOMETRIC ASSEMBLY DETAIL

MATERIAL & PROGRAMMATIC TRANSITIONS The butterfly takes part in complex and fragile natural systems, including migration and metamorphosis.

Completing these processes requires the butterfly to exhibit efficiency in its formal qualities including its weight and wingspan. The means of these butterfly processes rely on hyper efficiency where every piece has a use and the identity of this project seeks to emulate that. What started as a very two-dimensional study of line and surface is transformed into a system of intricate parts, where

each element has a role in the greater system. The building is organized as a both a programmatic and material gradient that transitions from artist studios and gallery spaces, to the lab space, to an outdoor butterfly area. The material logic also changes from a system of plates and surfaces derived from analog model to a framed system of line and surface, to a purely framed and open-air space where the butterflies live.

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Jessica Wong

EXTRACTING ARTIST & SCIENTIST THEMES Monarch butterflies exhibit specific qualities when they cluster in the Oyamel Fur trees of Mexico at the end of their migration cycle. A catalog of forms was created to represent these wing shapes that act as signals for different conditions of temperature, weather, and self protection. With the same geometry, rectangular rigid frame elements were created as an

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interpretation of the artist’s tendency to frame and capture natural elements. The external framing system and the internal system fold to create spatial adjacencies that act together. This logic was then translated into the overall building approach.

OVERALL BUILDING SECTION

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Jessica Wong

WALL SECTION DETAIL Showing interior & exterior assemblies and relationships

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania INTERIOR RENDERING Main circulation center and access to research lab and artist studios

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Jessica Wong

STRUCTURAL LOGIC The frame and infill portions of the project mimic the finely tuned migratory system of the butterfly on a systemic and a formal level, since the geometry of the project was derived from the butterfly wing shape. The system created also employs a logic where every piece of the frame and its infill are utilized. We implemented the structural system that then started to dictate our formal decisions on the interior of the project. The triangulation of

the truss carries its way throughout the rest of the buildings systems and this is tied to the efficiency of anatomical structure of the butterfly. The diagonal striations inform the mullion patterns on the glazing and channel glass as well as programmatic elements on the interior.

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania EAST ELEVATION View of cantilever and material gradient

PHYSICAL MODEL ELEVATION Scale 1-0”=1/8”

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Jessica Wong

ARCH 701 | FALL 2023 | CRITIC: NATE HUME IN COLLABORATION WITH CHEYENNE YAMADA

SESCs (Social Service of Commerce) in Sao Paulo are non-profit private institutions dedicated to promoting social welfare, cultural enrichment, and community engagement across Brazil. SESCs are multi-functional centers that offer a wide range of activities, services, and spatial programming for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Alphabet Soup was designed and inspired by the positive cultural attitudes toward the education and recreation for children in Brazil, which we witnessed at our multiple visits to SESCs in Sao Paulo, particulary on National Children’s Day. This project aims to develop an aquatic recreational center and public library space that builds upon the playful experiences observed in stacked architectural structures. Unique floor plates create distinct worlds for recreational and library programming, creating varied views and experiences between levels.

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania

02 ALPHABET SOUP SAO PAULO SESC

Jessica Wong

CROSS SECTION Showing relationship between juxtaposing library & aquatic programs

SENSORIAL & CULTURAL DRIVERS Material assemblies, such as colorful pressurized cork blocks and mass timber frames contribute to a tactile atmosphere that invites exploration and interaction. Situated along Sao Paulo’s Avenue Paulista, the project attempts to engage the cultural energy of the city’s urban landscape

downtown . The ground level in particular seeks to mimic the spatial qualities of the public plaza beneath Lina Bo Bardi’s Museum of Art Sao Paulo, located near this proposed SESC site, by drawing visitors in through connective pathways and varied architectural green and hardscapes.

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania

INTERIOR RENDERING BUILDING AXON Main circulation center and access to research lab and artist studios

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Jessica Wong

MULTI-FLOOR AXONOMETRIC Demonstrating primary zones woven together by experiential circulation

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania LEVEL 05 FLOOR PLAN Highlighting relationship between library, leisure pool, and dive pool

TENSION BETWEEN DYNAMIC PROGRAMS which the other programs such as the reading areas and arts education spaces are arranged around.

Through a re-imagining of the stacking typology, material assembly, and experiential circulation, Alphabet Soup seeks to shape an architectural space that emphasizes the vibrancies witnessed in Brazil and SESCs generally during our studio travels in the fall of 2023.

Circulation is a primary element, with the interior and exterior ramps offering dynamic tensions between educational zones and recreational areas.

The design promotes social inclusion, prioritizing education and health in cultural development, and strategically blends diverse programmatic elements to create a cohesive, yet unique experience. The large dive pool, leisure pool and lap pool on the ground floor act as anchors in

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Jessica Wong

01 Physical Section Model - Scale : 1’-0” = 1/8”

02 Level 10 Atrium Overlook

03 Outdoor Sports Court

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04 Leisure Pool

Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania 05 Arts Programming

ACTIVITY ZONES A sectional model was built at 1/8” scale to create a physical representation of the key activity zones and material assemblies within the project. Techniques such as 3D printing, laser cutting, and casting soap and rockite were used to represent the proposed design. The goal of the physical model was to represent the pools as key anchors in the project

and to highlight the project’s structural system that hybridizes cast-in place concrete columns that transition to mass timber columns at the project’s podium. The model also allowed us to get inside the project and imagine the atmospheres and views that Alphabet Soup aims to capitalize on through circulation and juxtaposition.

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Jessica Wong

ARCH 7323 | SPRING 2023 | LECTURER: MIKAEL AVERY IN COLLABORATION WITH ALEXA ROJAS & DOUGLAS WONG

Created for the tech-based elective, Principles of Digital Fabrication, this bench was created as a gift to the local community in the New Freedom District in West Philadelphia. The class teamed up with Weitzman’s interdisciplinary design studio to create outdoor furniture for a transformed public landscape on Lex Street off of Lancaster Avenue.

Our group’s design was inspired by the tête-à-tête, a popular furniture design in the Victorian age often found in the household’s parlor. Also known as the conversation bench, this seat encouraged dialogue between two or three individuals.

The initial design and presence of this seat was often found in homes of the elite, however this bench design for the West Philadelphia community re-imagines the original tête-à-tête to be an accessible object to the community.

The bench sets out to spark informal conversations and interactions between those who utilize it.

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania

03 TÊTE-À-TÊTE NEW FREEDOM DISTRICT

Jessica Wong

BENCH ELEVATION

FABRICATION SHOP DRAWINGS

FABRICATION The cedar seat utilized CNC as technique to contour a seat pan for maximum comfort. CNC routing was also used to create contoured offsets that follow the bench’s geometry on the back cedar panel.

Each digitally fabricated piece’s connection to one another is necessary for the stability of the bench.

The design of this bench explores the capabilities of digital fabrication methods in the construction of outdoor furniture. The metal portions of each seat are comprised of three laser cut and bent 1/4” thick aluminum sheets that are bolted together and joined by laminated 2x4 cedar planks.

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania

DETAILS The laser cut bolt pattern for the 1 -1/4” 8/32 screws was strategic and aimed to follow the geometric language of the aluminum panels. Laser cut reveals also became a vital detail in highlighting the joinery and relationships between the juxtaposing cedar and metal elements.

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Jessica Wong

ARCH 502 | SPRING 2022 | CRITIC: KEVIN CANNON

The intersection of many Callowhill neighborhood identities and histories are re-imagined in a new market place at the corner of North 10th St and Buttonwood in Philadelphia.

Du Soleil is inspired by the neighborhood’s history of industrialization, proximity to present-day Chinatown, and the origins of one of Philadelphia’s first circuses.

The marketplace is accompanied by a performance space, public garden, local restaurant and artist lofts that weave and drape themselves in a sea of scaffolding that connects the previously abandoned viaduct to the ground below. Each ribboned volume acts as a separate performer in the production of a new community destination that draws from its past narratives to develop a more vibrant identity for the neighborhood.

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania

04 DU SOLEIL CALLOWHILL MARKET

Jessica Wong

CIRCULATION AND DISCOVERY Winding and overlapping ramps, pathways, stairs, and elevators grant each user the opportunity to choose their own journey to the larger programmatic elements or discover smaller pockets of gathering, allowing individuals or groups to self-define their own expression of performance and assembly.

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An individual’s experience in this space is unique to their interests and curiosities.

Each character of the program in this project has multi-modal means of access and circulation.

Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania

THE DERIVED GRID A grid system was developed to create a relationship between the ground and the viaduct that runs through the site. It was derived from the radial tangencies of the viaduct and the intersection of N. 10th street that runs directly to Chinatown and was used as a template for the space frame and formal strategies.

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Jessica Wong

2ND LEVEL FLOOR PLAN Program: garden, extension of exciting viaduct, circulation

PROGRAM DISBURSEMENT A series of elevated platforms and defined pockets are scattered throughout the space frame on varying levels and are interconnected or attached to the larger spatial volumes. The vibrant colored facade draws precedent from the colorful history of the circus that originated in this area of Philadelphia. Other familiar performance typologies such as lighting, viewing areas, and stages aid in the characterization of these spaces as well.

GROUND FLOOR PLAN Program: marketplace, restaurant, courtyard

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania EXTERIOR COURTYARD PERSPECTIVE View of public gathering and performance spaces

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Jessica Wong

ARCH 501 | FALL 2021 | CRITIC: EDUARDO REGA

Collective research into varying aspects of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, such as objects, museum layout, community connections, organizational structure, labor, and narratives, exposed interesting opportunities for a critique of the existing institution practice and culture.

The themes of organizational structure & the inherent commodification within the museum were some of the most glaring points of critique, which motivated the desire to develop an artistic destination that counters the traditional attitudes displayed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Along with research, this project is influenced by personal accounts given by the museum’s labor union president, which further emphasized the inspiration to develop a nonhierarchical exhibition, education, organization and community campus. This project aims to celebrate diverse ranges of artistic expressions and create a more interconnected museum experience for both the workers and community who visits.

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania

05 BREAKING SILOS MUSEUM EXTENSION

Jessica Wong

SITE ARRANGEMENT AND PROGRAM Breaking Silos hopes to stitch together and improve access to existing programs in the site using tangential pathways to draw in the community in a more inclusive manner. The clusters include varying scales of gathering spaces, galleries, educationally focused rooms, a library, and designated art studios. One of the

main critiques of the present art museum was the speculative departmental separation, which prevented interdisciplinary collaboration. This project looks to alleviate this aspect through a spatial intermixing of departmental programs to promote unity and solidarity within the institution.

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania SITE PLAN Showing relationship to Waterworks and art museum

SPATIAL TYPOLOGIES AND CLUSTERS

FOCUSED FUNCTIONS

INDOOR ASSEMBLY

OUTDOOR GATHERING

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Jessica Wong

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GROUND FLOOR CLUSTER PLAN

PROGRAM 1. LARGE INTERIOR ASSEMBLY 2. LIBRARY 3. ARCHIVES 4. CLASSROOMS 5. OUTDOOR GATHERING 6. GALLERY 7. ARTIST STUDIO 8. INTERIOR LOUNGE 9. CAFE/KITCHEN 10. WATERWORKS EVENT SPACE

INTERIOR RENDERING Gallery Cluster

11. AMPHITHEATER

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania SITE AXON Ghosted to reveal interior volumes and topographic relationships

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Jessica Wong

ARCH 601 | FALL 2022 | CRITIC: BRIAN PHILLIPS

The row house has proven to be a resilient and everevolving housing typology for centuries before, during, and after industrialism. The presence of this typology in urban centers has signified economic opportunity providing close proximity to places of work. Over time, the row house fabric has continued to organize daily life and the social networks of communities despite economic shifts and decline.

The former Blumenthal Chocolate Factory in our chosen site in Northeast Philadelphia is a fitting example because century old row houses still remain the dominant places of dwelling in the surrounding area, proving their power as resilient places to reside, despite scattered vacancy and neglect.

This project seeks to amplify and transform the most successful features and aspects of the existing neighborhood fabric by translating them onto the abandoned site. The row house in addition to the existing ad-hoc backyard life of the neighborhood are in conversation with one another in the formalization and arrangement of the site as it seeks to seamlessly situate itself in the present context.

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania

06 IN MY BACKYARD LO-HI HOUSING

Jessica Wong

SITE RELATIONSHIPS playhouses, sheds, and other make-shift amenities, influencing the desire for shared backyard space for each new residence. James Street was also transformed into a public plaza accessible to the neighborhood at large for events and activities.

Despite the abandoned factory, there was a high level of activity from neighbors and children on front porches and the sidewalks surrounding the site. Existing backyard landscapes also showed a high level of activity with a significant presence of barbecues, above ground pools,

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania

EXISTING BUILDINGS The three existing buildings were transformed into resident based amenities such as a community gathering space and mail room. The previous chocolate factory was converted into an entrepreneurial market place with interior relationships that relate to the overall scheme of the project.

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Jessica Wong

CARVED LANDSCAPE

FIRE PIT

SHADED BENCH

FREE STANDING POOL

ACTIVITY PLATFORM

SWING SET

DINING

SAND BOX

DECK/BUILT-IN

BUILT-IN POOL

TRAMPOLINE

OUTDOOR KITCHEN

OUT BUILDING / SHED

OFFICE

LOUNGE

GAME ROOM

BACKYARD TYPOLOGIES Formalizing the informal aspects found in backyard life

SECTIONAL MODEL PHOTOS 3d Printed with CNC Base

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVE View of shared backyard space

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Jessica Wong

UPPER LEVEL CIRCULATION & EXTERIOR SPACE A catwalk system stitches together the upper level units and provides access to them on the third level. The catwalk level is accessible from the circulation core in the single bar cluster as well as a few larger staircases located across the site.

The catwalk aims to create life and activity on the upper levels in addition to the ground level below.

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Residents in the upper level units have equal access to the outdoors on the catwalk and with the roof top terraces that are intended to act as the shared backyard where a similar template as the ground level can be implemented. The hinged section axon above begins to show these relationships within the project.

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Academic Works | University of Pennsylvania

THANK YOU