Portfolio Langtian Zheng

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+ 1 ( 3 1 5 ) 8 9 8 - 6 1 1 2 zhenglangtian249 @ gmail.com

2022-2026

LANGTIAN

ZHENG

S YA R C U S E U N I V E R S I T Y B . A r c h ' 2 6

CONTENT

THE BACKSTAGE

YO U N G A R T I S T H O U S I N G AGAINST THE GENTRIFICATION

CANAL HOUSING 102 FRANKLIN SYSTEM ORNAMENT

AS

THE TRAIN GRAVEYARD

01 02

Type : Mid-size Residential Project

Year : Second Year design studio

Location : Syracuse NY Collaborator(s) : Individual Work

A METONYM FOR HIGHGATE URBAN DECLAY Type : Adaptive reuse Year : Fourth Year Design Studio

Location : Highgate London Collaborator(s) : Jiahao Zheng, Guanxin Luo

03 Type : Residential Year : Third Year Design Studio

Location : Harlem NY Collaborator(s) : Bochao Yang

E

T G E

3

ROOTED NEXUS A L I V I N G M O N U M E N T FOR MANGROVE RESTORATION

04 Type : Ecological Restoration Year : Second Year Design Studio

Location : Carlaba Nigeria Collaborator(s) : Individual Work

o

OTHER WORKS P RO F E S S I O N A L WORK

05

Type : Detailed Drawings & Analysis

Year : 2021-2026 Location : Syracuse NY Collaborator(s) : Individual Work

01

CANAL HOUSING 102 FRANKLIN St SYSTEM AS ORNAMENT Fall 2023 design studio : ARC 208 Collaborator(s) : Individual Work Location : Syracuse NY Instructor : Elizabeth Kamell

4

Canal Housing reconfigures urban centrality

, where structure, infrastructure, and enclosure collectively

t h r o u g h a r c h i t e c t u r e . Ac ro s s t h e c a n a l st a n d s t h e

shape spatial experience. In contrast to earlier paradigms—

Niagara Mohawk Building, once a symbol of institutional

where exterior image was detached from interior life—this project

power in S yracuse, whose A r t D eco façade asser ted

proposes a systemic logic in which power is redistributed through

authorit y through ornament and representation.

spatial organization. Infrastructural elements are externalized

As employee housing for the Niagara Mohawk

and made legible, while domestic systems are compressed

Building, this project responds to that legacy by

into integrated wall assemblies. Through this process, interior

reinterpreting ornament as system. Rather than treating

space is expanded, allowing flexibilit y, openness, and

the façade as a purely representational sur face,

spatial capacity to become shared architectural conditions.

C a n a l H o u s i n g t r a n s f o r m s a r c h i t e c t u r a l sys t e m s

Here, power is no longer expressed as an exterior image, but

into a contemporary form of ornamentation

realized as a spatial right.

5

u2

u3

u4

u5

L4 Circulation

u1

Wall Assemblies

ape

L5 Landsc

L3 Residential Package

SAN/WASTE

L2 Primary Façade DWC

DHW

p2

p1

p p4

3

CHWS/CHWR

a1 a2

L1 Primary Conduit

a

a3 a4 5

L0 Canal

System Juxtaposition System juxtaposition structures the architectural organization through the alignment of externalized infrastructural networks and interior housing units. Façade-mounted pipelines operate as a continuous system that penetrates the building envelope and extends inward, analogous to subcutaneous vascular networks. Together, these strategies liberate living space, allowing the interior to remain open, flexible, and spatially efficient. The façade is no longer a decorative surface but an operative layer, while the wall assembly becomes a spatial device that reallocates area from equipment to inhabitation.

Organizational Logic

6

Canal as Urban Mediator Historically, the canal functioned as a line of separation, reinforcing the Niagara Mohawk Building’s role as a centralized locus of power within Syracuse. By inserting Canal Housing along this infrastructural divide, the project repositions the canal as an active urban mediator rather than a boundary. The housing complex establishes a spatial and programmatic relationship between institutional authority and everyday habitation, redistributing urban centrality across the site. In this configuration, the canal becomes an operative framework through which power is no longer concentrated in a singular monument, but reorganized through inhabitable space.

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Urban Reconfiguration

Spatial Alignment of Systems The overall form of the project follows the curvature of the canal and culminates at its terminus in dialogue with the Niagara Mohawk Building across the river, establishing an urban and spatial correspondence along the canal edge.

Beyond residential units, the project incorporates shared living programs—including meeting rooms, activity spaces, a basketball court, and a sauna— integrating collective life into the housing framework.

Point-access circulation as the spatial organizer.

Façade systems as a continuous infrastructural layer.

Project Organization

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1. Conference Room 2. Landscape 3. Communal Amenties 4. Unit Type A 5. Unit Type B 6. Unit Type C

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c

b

SECTION 1

a

Residential Unit Package

Table a

a-a'

a

SECTION 1

Wall Assembly System Section

Cabinet

b

Bedroom a

a'

Bath

b'

Interlocking Unit Packages Interlocking unit packages, informed by the spatial logic of Le Corbusier’s Immeuble Clarté, are organized through reciprocal overlap to form a coherent housing assembly.

Rather than operating as isolated units, individual dwellings interlock spatially, generating continuity across the collective structure.

A shared platform extends from both sides of the building, linking these unit packages and intensifying their spatial relationships. Exaggerated into an architectural element, the platform mediates between front and back conditions, transforming circulation and adjacency into an active organizational framework.

Unit Package

10

Residential Unit interior render

c

Bedroom b

b-b'

c-c'

c'

Infrastructural Wall Assemblies Infrastructural wall assemblies organize the interior of each housing unit, consolidating furniture, storage, and services into a continuous architectural framework. Rather than treating domestic elements as discrete objects, these assemblies embed everyday apparatuses within the wall thickness, allowing living space to remain open and adaptable.

By compressing technical systems into an integrated envelope, the project reframes domestic space as infrastructural inhabitation, where spatial efficiency and flexibility emerge from architectural organization rather than surface customization.

Modular wall typology : Pre-fab wall system

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Unit Package

Façade

System

Semi-Transparent FRP Panels Double-Glazed Window Modules Aluminum Subframe + Mullions

Interior

System

Metal

Stud

Partition

Drop

Ceiling

System

H VA C & L i g h t i n g I n t e g r a t i o n

Structural Frame Reinforced Concrete Slab Steel

Tr u s s

Members

Vertical Steel Façade Supports

Wall Assembly System Section

Layered Assembly

12

System as Ornament The primary structural system is designed with sufficient depth to accommodate building services within the façade assembly. Allowing mechanical, environmental, and glazing systems to be integrated directly into the building 4

5 6

envelope.

Rather than treating services as secondary insertions, the structure itself organizes their placement, aligning ducts, pipes, and mullions

a

7

with load-bearing elements. Through this strategy, the façade becomes a structural

8

interface where systems are embedded,

c

exposed, and spatially operative.

9 10

1.

2 mm Aluminum Cap Flashing

2.

1.5 mm Galvanized Steel Gutter

3.

10 mm FRP Panel

4.

40 mm Ventilated Cavity

5.

50×100×4 RHS Steel Subframe

6.

80×120×6 RHS Vertical Steel Support

13

7.

6+12+6 Double Glazing

11

8.

25×50 Aluminum Mullion Cap

9.

5 mm EPDM Gasket

10.

M12 SS Bolt @600 o.c.

11.

200 mm RC Hollow-Core Slab

12.

10 mm Steel Connection Plate

13.

L-Bracket 10×100×120

14.

10 mm Thermal Break Pad

15.

100 mm PIR Rigid Insulation

16.

0.2 mm PE Vapor Barrier

17.

75 mm Metal Stud

18.

15 mm Gypsum Board

19.

12 mm Plywood Backing

20.

600×600 Aluminum Ceiling Panels

20

21.

250×150 HVAC Duct

d

22.

Recessed LED Linear

12 14 17 18 19

15 16 21 22

1.

2 mm Aluminum Cap Flashing

2.

1.5 mm Galvanized Steel Gutter

3.

10 mm FRP Panel

4.

40 mm Ventilated Cavity

4

5.

50×100×4 RHS Steel Subframe

5

6.

80×120×6 RHS Vertical Steel Support

7.

6+12+6 Double Glazing

8.

25×50 Aluminum Mullion Cap

9.

5 mm EPDM Gasket

10.

M12 SS Bolt @600 o.c.

1 2

3

6 7 8 9 10

11.

200 mm RC Hollow-Core Slab

12.

10 mm Steel Connection Plate

13.

L-Bracket 10×100×120

13

11

12 13

Layered Assembly

The façade operates simultaneously as ornament and system, animated by everyday life.

Canal Housing 102 Franklin St

14

15

Canal Housing 102 Franklin St

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Operative Chunk Model The physical model isolates two housing chunks to foreground the project’s operative logic at an architectural scale. Structure, circulation, and infrastructural systems are not treated as secondary layers, but expressed as integrated assemblies that shape both interior space and façade articulation. Externalized systems and thickened wall zones demonstrate how ornament emerges from operation, while interior space is liberated through the compression and alignment of domestic infrastructure.

Rather than representing form, the model renders architecture as a spatial system—where structure, service, and inhabitation are inseparable.

17

02

THE TRAIN GRAVEYARD

A METONYM FOR HIGHGATE URBAN DECLAY Fall 2024 design studio : ARC 408 Collaborator(s) : Jiahao Zheng, Gunxin Luo Location : Hightgate London Instructor : Amber Bartosh, Vanessa Lastrucci

18

The Train Graveyard speculates on Highgate’s future 50

from old trains and station parts, creating a readymade

years from now, proposing a system of adaptive reuse

installation within the space. By preserving the materiality of

t h at allows t h e co exist e n c e of p hysi c al ruins a n d

the original railway station while infusing it with new life, the

archives of urban decay. The exhibition is designed as

exhibition becomes a hub for themes such as urban ruins,

a flexible space capable of hosting various topics related

transportation facilities, historical artifacts, and collective

to urban decay, transforming the remnants of Highgate

memory. It reimagines abandoned public spaces as fluid

into a dynamic plat form for exploration and dialogue.

vessels for social gathering and storytelling, offering a

The design retains the original circulation of the Northern Line,

network that connects archives of urbanization across the

repurposing it as an entrance to the exhibition. A tectonic

city.

intervention system integrates post-industrial elements collected

19

The history of urban declay in the Highgate area can be seen not just as the rise and fall of trains, but as the development of the city of London.

Higate station(left) became the train graveyard as an exhibition space. Train deport(right) is transported as the exhibition theme of the exhibition.

Urban Declay Studies

20

Overlaying of the Physical and Digital

Physical Design Strategy

Design flow chart

21

Performative Reuse Innovation

Overall Schematic Axon

The Train Graveyard

22

23

The Train Graveyard

Section cut through the existing tube station

Long Section Through the Second-Floor Interactive Spacec Defined by Retained Historic Wall Structures

Adaptive Reuse

24

Site Plan

Second-Floor Plan of the Interactive Space

25

Adaptive Reuse

Structural Insertion The renovation introduces a lightweight steel system inserted within the existing brick envelope as a reversible and legible intervention. Rather than replacing the historic fabric, the new structure operates as an independent frame that supports circulation and exhibition elements while preserving the original materiality of the station.This layered strategy establishes a clear distinction between old and new: the retained masonry functions as an archive of industrial memory, while the steel system provides an adaptive infrastructure for evolving uses. Visual separation and minimal contact reinforce coexistence over integration, allowing decay, structure, and movement to remain simultaneously perceptible.

Adaptive Reuse

26

Interactive Exhibition Wall

Interactive Exhibit Object

Interactive Exhibition The project is structured around three modes of interactive exhibition.

The exhibition space itself functions as an immersive environment, where architecture, material decay, and circulation actively shape the visitor experience. The exhibits—assembled from salvaged train components and infrastructural fragments— operate as tactile artifacts that invite close, physical engagement. Finally, decommissioned train carriages are repurposed as mobile exhibition units, extending the exhibition beyond the site and allowing it to temporarily inhabit other urban contexts.

These three interactive modes dissolve the boundary between space, object, and movement.

27

Spatial Interaction

Second Floor exhibition space with and without Pointcloud Projection

The Train Graveyard

28

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The Train Graveyard

THE BACKSTAGE

03

YOUNG ARTIST HOUSING AGAINST GENTRIFICATION Spring 2024 design studio : ARC 407 Collaborator(s) : Bochao Yang Location : Harlem NY Instructor : Gary Bates, Albert Williamson-Taylor, Gregory Baggett

30

Amid accelerating gentrification, art has increasingly been

or labor, rehearsal, and production that supports the public

instrumentalized as a vehicle of capitalist influence, severed

image of culture.Extending this spatial logic across the vacant

from the communities that once sustained its production and

lots along 126th Street, the project proposes a network of locally

meaning. In Harlem, this shift is legible in the transformation of

owned art hubs embedded within the existing urban fabric. Each

the urban landscape surrounding 125th Street, where rezoning has reclassified the area as a special use district, reinforcing a spectacle-driven cultural economy.Within this context, the Apollo Theater remains a powerful cultural icon—not only as a landmark on 125th Street, but through its spatial relationship to 126th Street, which has historically functioned as its backstage: a space of lab 31

hub operates as a site of co-living and artistic production, allowing residents to inhabit a shared environment where making, living, and collaboration converge. The project aims to reclaim art as a lived practice, rooted in community rather than capital.

The "Backstage"

32

HIEARCHY

PROGRAM

MASSING & FACADE

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The "Backstage"

1. Work Space 7

2. Telescope Room 3. Atrium 4. Research Lab 5. Exhinition Space 6. Public Lobby 7. Archive

Long Section Cut Through Living Units and Research Center

The "Backstage"

34

1

2

4

3

6

35

5

The "Backstage"

Upper Floor Plan with Section Cut Through Living, Gallery, and Atrium

Lower Floor Plan with Section Cut Through Offices, Meeting Spaces, Atrium, and Lobby

The "Backstage"

36

37

The "Backstage"

Adaptive Living Units Each living unit is structured around a single movable wall that serves as the primary organizational device of the interior. Rather than relying on fixed partitions or predetermined room layouts, this movable element allows one unit to support three distinct unit types, responding to different modes of inhabitation and production.

Vertically, the unit is divided into three zones— living, working, and mixed-use—each occupying a different spatial band within the unit section.

Through its repositioning, the unit can prioritize domestic living, focused work, or hybrid activities without altering the underlying structural or infrastructural framework.

Movable walls reconfigure a single unit to accommodate three unit types.

Operative Modularity

38

Movable walls reconfigure a single unit to accommodate three unit types.

39

Operative Modularity

Cladding System Study The façade system is developed through site-based solar analysis. A parametric cladding panel responds to patterns of sunlight, filtering light and reducing heat gain while maintaining visibility.

Designed as a lightweight modular assembly, the system can be directly mounted onto the existing building façade. Acting as an additional environmental layer, the cladding enhances performance while transforming the architectural identity of the structure.

1 2 3

4

5 6

7 8

9 10

13 11

12 14 17

1.

GFRP Parametric Facade Panel

11.

Aluminum Curtain Wall Frame

18

2.

Internal Steel Tube Stiffener

12.

Double Glazed Insulated Glass Unit

19

3.

CNC Fabricated Node Connection

13.

Thermal Break Spacer

4.

Ø16 Stainless Steel Pin Joint

14.

EPDM Weather Gasket

5.

Hollow Steel Armature Frame

15.

100 mm Rigid Thermal Insulation

6.

Custom Steel Bracket Connection

16.

0.2 mm PE Vapor Barrier

7.

M16 Anchor Bolt Connection

17.

Metal Stud Framing

8.

10 mm Steel Connection Plate

18.

15 mm Gypsum Board Interior Finish

9.

Structural Steel Support Arm

19.

Recessed LED Linear Fixture

10.

200 mm Reinforced Concrete Floor

20.

Suspended Ceiling System

The "Backstage"

40

Final Chunk Model

41

The "Backstage"

A series of physical models were developed to study façade systems, circulation strategies, and overall massing.

The "Backstage"

42

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The "Backstage"

ROOTED NEXUS

04

A Living Monument for Ecological Restoration Spring 2023 design studio : ARC 208 Individual Work Location : Carlaba Nigeria Instructor : Joseph Godlewski

44

Situated in the Calabar region of Nigeria’s river valley, the project

seedlings across the country through three specialized

responds to the urgent decline of mangrove ecosystems—an

towers operating via water, land, and air networks.

essential ecological and cultural infrastructure of the region.

The primary tower functions simultaneously as a

Drawing from mangroves’ natural germination processes, the proposal introduces a seed-pod–based restoration system

research facility and a public exhibition space, coupling ecological production with knowledge dissemination.

designed to support the sustainable cultivation of native species.

Beyond restoring mangrove habitats, the project

Mature seedlings are carefully harvested from parent trees and

positions architecture as an active agent in ecological

encapsulated within custom-designed seed pods, creating

regeneration, proposing a scalable model for

controlled conditions that promote early growth and resilience.

An integrated infrastructural framework distributes these

environmental restoration and sustainable development.

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Mangrove seed pod distribution Network

Site masterplan

Landscape Gesture as Territorial Expansion Situated within a network of national parks and protected landscapes, the project leverages t h e s i t e a s a n o p e r a t i v e e c o l o g i c a l h i n g e . T h ro u g h a s e r i e s o f d e l i b e r a t e t o p o g r a p h i c gestures, the river edge is reshaped to expand the viable territor y for mangrove cultivation, transforming the site into an active zone of ecological production rather than a fixed boundary.

From this expanded landscape, a system of three specialized towers distributes mangrove seed pods across surrounding parks through networks. Together, the site and its infrastructural extensions operate as a territorial framework, enabling localized landscape intervention to generate regional ecological impact.

TERRITORIAL CONTEXT

46

Aerial Distribution Tower

Terrestrial Distribution Tower

Aquatic Distribution Tower

47

Rooted Nexus

Air Tower Operation System Sectional Perspective

Rooted Nexus

48

49

Rooted Nexus

Exterior Render : Drones carry the mangrove seed pods from Rehabilitation Tower to the ecological conservation Centres near

Rooted Nexus

50

51

Rooted Nexus

Land Tower Model

Rooted Nexus

52

Conceptural Watercolor Drawing

53

Rooted Nexus

Professional Works Detailed Drawings & Analysis

54

2025 SUMMER INTERNSHIP SFO Cargo developmentx Intern work at Woods Bagot LA Role: Facade design,3D Modeling, Rendering, Diagram Drawings

Tech Headquarters & Corporate Workplace Projects Intern work at Woods Bagot LA

2024 SUMMER INTERNSHIP Wuhan MIXC Commercial & Retail Street Intern work at AECOM Role: Facade design,3D Modeling, Technical Drawings, Retail Design and Rendering, Diagram Drawings

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LANGTIAN ZHENG SYARCUSE UNIVERSITY B.Arch'26 www.linkedin.com/in/langtian-zheng-84b48b290

M: +1 (315)898-6112 E: lazheng@syr.edu / zhenglangtian249@gmail.com

https://issuu.com/lazheng/docs/2026_portfolio_by_langtian_zheng