Landon's portfolio

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LANDON DING

2018

L ANDON DING INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE STUDENT E D UCAT I O N Diploma, Interior Architecture & Design Temasek Polytechnic April 2016 - April 2019

E XPE R I E NCE

Google Project

TheNode | Sep 2017

Ambassador + Apprentice

TheNode | Oct 2017 - Present

Facilitator

Architours, Archifest 2017

Facilitator

International Federation of Interior Architects | May 2017

HONO UR S & AWAR DS

Director’s List (Top 10% of cohort) EDL Scholarship (with Temasek Polytechnic) Academic Achievement in Interior Architecture & Design certificate 2017 (Top of cohort) Student Leadership Programme (Top 15% of cohort)

CONTENT Projects 01 Nucleus

Community kitchen & garden

02 The Canyon

Gathering space for migrant workers

03 Google Project

Low Tech Smart Spaces

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Articles 01 My Amazing Experience at Google Pacific Asia A chronicle of my boot camp at Google

02 The Future of Cities

A culmination, sharing an interesting topic

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Honours & Awards Honours & Awards

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- Director’s List (Top 10% of cohort) - EDL Academic Scholarship - Architour Docent, Archifest 2017 - Student Leadership Programme (Top 15% of cohort) - Ambassador of TheNode

Sketchbook Sketches, Fine Art & Form Exploration

Pen & Pencil Sketches, Hand Models, Painting

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THE NUCLEUS Communal kitchen & garden

2ND YEAR OF STUDY | 2017 INT. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN TEMASEK POLYTECHNIC

Issue | High elderly population Dakota Crescent has a high elderly population. Many of them stay alone and lack human interaction. This has led to many related illnesses such as isolation, depression and dementia.

Introduction The Nucleus is a communal kitchen and garden for the elderly to reconnect to the wider community through communal cooking and planting. At the same time, foster ethnic unification, creating opportunities for recycling activities such as bottle planting.

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Communal Kitchen

THE NUCLEUS

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01 Current communal spaces (in red) are scattered.

02 The Nucleus aims to tie in communal spaces and various functions together.

03 Central void, radiates out from the centre.

04 Layered spaces.

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Concept Reinforcing interaction amongst the community and spaces, the central void ties in various activities happening in and around the space. Allowing visitors to have views of all the activities happening around them, allowing them to choose whichever activity they would like to participate in.

THE NUCLEUS

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NUCLEUS CONCEPT PLAN

2 axes coming together at the core of the space.

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1.

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Communal Kitchen Communal Dining Organic workshop & Store Communal Herb Garden Organic Cafe

THE NUCLEUS

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04 Communal Herb Garden Delicate plants and spices are grown here. An educational resting area with an aroma garden to educate people on the various types of traditional spices. It features a rainwater harvesting system that educates residents on the importance of reducing waste.

04 Herb Garden (Entrance)

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04 Herb Garden (overall view)

THE NUCLEUS

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Spider glass fitting (roof) Rainwater is collected and filtered through herb garden plants. Water is then channeled to the rest of the plants and into a collection pond. Fish waste acts as fertiliser for plants and process recycles.

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Aquaponics System

Evaporative water-cooling system

Herb Garden Section

THE NUCLEUS

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03 Organic Workshop & Store

05 Organic Cafe Relies on communal herb garden for herbs and spices. Cultivates healthy living. Is the retail aspect of the sapce. Revenue can then be used for buying more herbs.

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03 Organic Workshop & Store Gardening & recycling activities such as water bottle planting & PVC pipe planting held here.

Residents learn how to reuse wooden supermarket crates & pallets as furniture & planters.

View from 05 Organic Cafe

THE NUCLEUS

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D AY L IGHT ING | ST RAT EGY SUN PATH

Before 12pm | Sun rises from East

After 12pm | Sun sets in the West

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DESIGN STRATEGY & SUNSHADE Equinox & Solstices Even as the sun reaches its evening position, daylight from the atrium is reflected into the interiors, ensuring sufficient illumination in the space.

Fritted glass roof This feature reflects most of the harmful sun rays while allowing light to pass through to illuminate the space. This lessens the heat waves & glare of the sun.

Morning Sun Morning sun rays penetrate deep into the atrium and depths of space. The large central void concept allows sufficient natural light to enter the area & illuminate the entire space, leaving no hidden spots.

THE NUCLEUS

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N AT U RAL VENT IL AT ION

The most prominent winds in Singapore are from the northeast and the south, reflecting the dominance of the monsoons in Singapore. Facing the northwest direction, the open concept and addition of ventilation blocks while conserving the existing structure allows wind to pass through the space providing ventilation and natural airflow to cool the area.

WIND DIRECTION

Sectional elevation of structure, air movement throughout the space.

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View from 05 Organic Cafe

THE NUCLEUS

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THE CANYON

Communal resting space for migrant workers

1ST YEAR OF STUDY | 2017 INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE TEMASEK POLYTECHNIC

Issue | Overcrowded dormitories

Introduction

In 2013, there were the Little India riots. The main cause of the riots stems from the overcrowded dormitories.

There is a lack of space for these migrant workers to hang out and relax, they can only do so outside.

The Canyon is a communal space for migrant workers to enhance interaction and communication amongst the users and forms. It includes green spaces on the 1st and 3rd floors for them to relax and have meals with each other, or to sit down and talk in an open space that they can call their own.

Concept The oblique nature of the facades simulate the serene mountains the migrant workers have back in India. The forms emerge from the ground and give birth to new life. The upside-down “mountains” allow for a much larger atrium that enhances porosity of the space. A void that is formed also gives users an overall view of all activities. Allowing them to choose whichever activity one would like to participate in.

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Entrance

THE CANYON

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Level 1 Plan

Level 2 Plan

Level 3 Plan

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THE CANYON

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Cooling the space using biomimicry The Namibian Fog Beetle has little hydrophilic bumps that attract water. Between the bumps, a waxy finish that repels water. As droplets form on bumps, they stay in tight spherical beads. Rainwater can then be circulated and evaporation occurs, thus cooling the space.

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Level 1

Level 2

Concept sketch

Level 1

THE CANYON

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GOOGLE PROJECT Low-tech, smart office innovations

1ST YEAR OF STUDY | 2017 EXTERNAL PROJECT @ GOOGLE ASIA PACIFIC WITH THENODE

Low-tech smart office concept innovations | For 48 Googlers | Interviewed 15 Googlers A prestigious 2 week project at Google Asia Pacific. In a team of 5, my team and I looked at opportunities to create innovations based on a low-tech smart office concept for 48 Googlers at Google Asia Pacific (HQ, Singapore).

We interviewed 15 Googlers & came up with a few concepts. One of which, was chosen and now being further developed by a team of experts.

Way-finding made easier Google uses Singaporean names of places and even food for rooms. As not all the Googlers would know names, we proposed a catch phrase to spark memory. This gives rooms life & character, leading to lively Googlers.

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Portable storage for Googlers As all items left in the existing lockers would be cleared at the end of the day, personal belongings and clutter left overnight becomes a problem. We proposed portable storage container at their desks to simplify the way items are cleared.

It is able to fit under work desks, into lockers, is lightweight and durable.

Isolation hood Despite the existing phone booth, calls are still made at desks. We proposed a noise cancelling isolation pod that can be easily attached to every chair. This creates a temporary barrier, is sound absorbent and allows Googlers to be at their desks.

GOOGLE PROJECT

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MY AMAZING EXPERIENCE AT GOOGLE ASIA PACIFIC An article I wrote chronicling my boot camp at Google Asia Pacific

After the final presentation to Tang Wai Kok (Project manager at Google), and mentors.

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oining TheNode has given me the opportunity to experience a 2 week boot camp at Google Pacific Asia with fellow design students and mentors from the industry.

September 2017; One of the most memorable time periods of life as a student. Possibly my first and last time in Google’s headquarters in Singapore, I had spent a solid 2 weeks at the vibrant office. To call it an eye-opening experience is a severe understatement. A team of 5, including me, was tasked to look at opportunities to create innovations based on a low tech smart office concept.

I remember the first time I stepped into Google. My eyes lit up. High ceilings, bright and energetic colours and the Googlers (people who worked at Google) were from all

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races. 50+ races in Google to be exact. Everyone is cheerful and enthusiastic. It's like stepping into a foreign country.

The lively and vibrant atmosphere makes the whole office seem so motivated and optimistic. Our lunch and breaktimes were also joyful. We could eat anything we wanted! It was kind of embarrassing that I always took 2 plates of food for lunch. Well, I guess my only excuse is that the brain is a muscle and I had been exercising it. And as the saying goes “Design is 90% problem solving”.

So, we started with the research phase. I admit, we did think to ourselves that a tech giant like Google would never trust a bunch of students like us. Nonetheless, we kept our eyes peeled and made recordings and observations of everything we could discover. From

A regular session with mentors

human behaviour to furniture ergonomics. Soon, we found that there were opportunities for ideas on some low tech smart solutions. We went ahead interviewing Googlers and then brainstormed for ideas. Industry mentors were also there to guide us along our way.

They are Mattijs Rikken, co-founder and designer at Studio DAM; Narita Cheah, co-founder & director at Paperspace Pte Ltd; Chris Lefteri, director at Chris Lefteri Design Ltd; Sri Ranjini, research manager at J.D. Power; Alex Brown, an architect; Xiao Xuan Yu, project manager at CBRE; And last but not least, Henry Satyadi, assistant project manager at CBRE. They were very crucial in the development phase as we had

faced problems in the further development phase. As the mentors were dynamic and had different strengths, we tapped on their capabilities. One being the expert knowledge of social behaviour and another serving as a guidance for design and teamwork.

Despite it being a mere 2 weeks as compared to the many months of learning in school, the experience gained working in real life conditions is second to none. I had learnt that in life, it is not so much the hard skills that matter, but the soft skills- such as leadership and working well with others. Nobody teaches one that, one figures it out through trials and experiences.

And the Google experience has been a huge teacher.

To sum it up, my already high expectations of what the project was going to be like working at Google were trumped. I cannot put into words how eye-opening the experience was. It is not just the experiential part of soaking in the design ingenuity at Google’s office. It is the collaboration and interaction I had with not only students from other schools but with practicing designers. The amount of critical thinking and problem solving involved also gave new insight and experiential knowledge. It was then that I truly realized the importance of soft skills and conveying and articulating ideas.

Presentation to Project Manager of Google

GOOGLE ARTICLE

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THE FUTURE OF CITIES An article I wrote sharing an interesting topic I’ve researched about.

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ave you ever wondered what the future of our cities hold? Allow me to share with you just some of the fascinating things I’ve researched on. This is a culmination of what I’ve learnt and would love to share this interest with you.

What comes to mind when you think of successful and sustainable cities? You might have thought it would be the act of slapping on many photovoltaic cells (solar panels) on buildings, and a whole lot of green walls and green courtyards placed onto buildings.

Well, that was what I thought. But is it the case? It’s actually a lot more than that (that’s why we have architects, urban planners etc). So much so that I can only cover just 2 of many topics and aspects of this vast subject. People, culture, social equity, burden sharing, resource efficiency, connectivity, community, the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) and many more that I would not be able to cover in just 5 minutes.

So here’s a story that happened quite a few years back - In 1955, Greenwich village, Manhattan New York. Jane Jacobs vs Robert Moses. Who are they?

Well, Robert Moses was a very powerful architect and urban planner. He built power plants, housing projects and almost every highway in New York City was built by him. From the 1920s to 1960s, he was considered in many ways the most powerful person in NYC. On the other hand, Jane Jacobs was an American citizen, a journalist, philosopher and in many ways a designer. The way she designed was that she was an observer. She asked what the people wanted. She said this, “cities have the capability of providing something for everyone, only because and only when, they are created by everybody”. Essentially, what it means is that a city is made out of people, not buildings but people.

So only when a city is built by its people, for its

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people, it can provide something for everyone.

What did Robert Moses want to do? He proposed a road through Greenwich village and across Manhattan. He wanted to pummel through hundreds of buildings that were home to thousands of people, just to build a wide highway that would span across the entire city. Thus, connecting the entire city, improving traffic and transportation.

Only one thing, it was through cars. This would lead to a whole lot pollution and congestion. But, this was his vision of a successful city. Essentially, it was a “David vs Goliath”, David being Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses, the powerhouse.

Quite some time after, Jane Jacobs won.

Why? She was an observer. She always asked what the people wanted and cared for the people. Whereas Robert Moses, he wanted to enforce his idea and notion of a well nation.

What are its effects today? This has led to the rise of places that push for human interaction and public amenity. Nowadays, we see in cities many squares and courtyards where big spaces that span 30 metres allow unblocked views of all the human activities happening around them. Allowing one to choose any activity he or she would like to participate in. In fact, one of my favourite places to be in Singapore, Raffles Place, is a public square. One could relax on a swing and see what everyone’s up to. It is always full of life, bursting with character. This is what a city should be. A city is about life, the public realm and interaction amongst its people. A city without people is dead.

However, if we look at cities like Singapore today, they are getting well known and renown architects to build buildings. Zaha Hadid, Frank

Gehry, looking at their buildings, we don’t see much consideration to the public realm. Yes, it looks nice but it seems to have lost the essence of a city.

So how do we create a sustainable city? Let us look at vernacular architecture and design. Everyone remembers Singapore’s old kampung houses right? It was designed by the community, for the community. If you are Singaporean, your grandparents might have lived in these kampungs and what they did was that they used humble materials. Simple gestures such as raising the house on stilts so that the house does not get affected by flash floods and it even allows air and ventilation beneath the house, cooling the entire space. They were simple ideas, but totally necessary for its community. A translation and evolution of that in today’s world, would be the works of Malaysian architect Dr. Ken Yeang. He incorporates concepts of vernacular architecture such as the open air well courtyards that allow sunlight to illuminate the space, reducing the reliance on light bulbs.

Now let’s look at transportation and consumption.

The false message we send globally is that big highways solve problems. Do they? Well, it does increase trade and commerce, but it is only through cars. Singapore is a small country with a dense population, we cannot keep relying on large 6 lane highways. Soon, we would run out of space to accommodate our population of 6 million.

public space, allowing people to interact. This has even allowed them to create a lake that channels clean water, so people can wash their feet there.

With more park connectors and public realm, means more transportation choices such as cycling and jogging. Green public spaces can provide a city with the essential nature, shade, clean water and it even naturally cools down temperatures in the area.

Now, let us look at Singapore as a green car-lite city. Did you know that Singapore has 700km worth of park connectors? Pretty crazy right?

And did you know that a car’s toll on the roads is 65,000 times worse than a bicycle’s? A lot more emissions and wear and tear on the roads. Our Singapore government actually has many plans for furthering our vast network of park connectors.

The plan is to have our citizens cycle from one place to another, eradicating the reliance on fuel.

I have barely scratched the surface today, but that is what I have got. Let me leave you with a quote by the great Jane Jacobs, “Lowly, unpurposeful and random as they may appear, side walk contacts are the small change from which a city’s wealth of public life may grow.”

Cities remind us how much we actually benefit from public spaces and our desire to share these spaces with one another. While every city is exciting, it is its people that make me optimistic about the future.

Let us rethink what our street’s about and who they are for. Now cities are spending money to get rid of highways. In South Korea, they have converted an old highway and even a railway track into a green

‘THE FUTURE OF CITIES’, ARTICLE

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HONOURS & AWARDS I am involved in various design and academic activities. Such include the prestigious Student Leadership Programme that develops leadership skills, awarded to the top 15% of cohort.

Student Leadership Programme (Top 15% of cohort)

TheNode Project

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EDL Academic Scholarship

Scholarship Award Ceremony

Jason Pomeroy talk on Smart Cities 2.0

TheNode Project

Director’s List (Top 10% of cohort)

TheNode Community

Architours Facilitator

HONOURS & AWARDS

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SKETCHBOOK Sketching, making models and creating allows me to analyse, consider, dissect, unearth and seek to understand the meaning of things which are often hiding in plain view.

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SKETCHBOOK

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LANDON DING

2018