lchen_Portfolio

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LAND AS AIR

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INTIMACY IN AN ARTIFICIAL LANDSCAPE Rewriting the Narrative of the Suburban House

COLUMBIA SUMMER 2024

KINNE TRAVEL AWARD PROPOSAL

COLUMBIA - SPRING 2023 JUAN HERREROS

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AMBIANCE + AUDIENCE

ESSAY:

An Oasis in the City // A Catalyst for Change

“Facade as Infrastructure: Analyzing The Parc Biblioteca Espana”

EVENT COVERS: Canal Street: “Direct Action” Series

VOLUNTEER FALL 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NYRA - FREELANCE SUMMER 2023

Journey to Central Kalimantan + Rimbun Dahan Ecological Artist Residency

SMITH AND ARCHITECTS - 2019

WALKABLE COMMUNITY IN THE MIDWEST Elkhart, Indiana Masterplan

ALEXANDER GORLIN ARCHITECTS - 2020-2022

EL BORINQUEN

Decolonizing the American Museum of Natural History

Infrastructural Entanglements in Chinatown COLUMBIA - SUMMER 2022 ANDRES JACQUES

Rowgatta Fitness Studios

A TAPESTRY OF PLANETARY BIOMES

SHAN-SHUI IN NYC’S URBAN ECOLOGY

Field Labs for Indigenous land Reclamation

COMMUNITY BRANDING

05 RISD - SPRING 2017 LAURA BRIGGS

Columbia GSAPP MSAAD 2023 RISD BARCH/BFA 2017 Collected Works: 2017-2023

COLUMBIA - SUMMER 2022 DAN WOOD

LAYNA CHEN AIA

PROFESSIONAL

EXHIBITION: Oral Narratives in Brooklyn’s Community Gardens

ADDENDUM

ATMOSPHERIC ENCOUNTERS

As someone who sees research and design as inseparable, essays, analysis, and other research is woven into my portfolio. Projects outside of academia , including an exhibition, event covers, and installations. continue my research interests as well as my commitment to working with small communities.

RISD - SPRING 2017 CHRIS BARDT

This collection of projects is intended to provide the framework for future research on “atmospheres” in architecture. Project 01 looks at transnational atmospheres and indigenous practices, while Project 05 examines how designing with atmospheres provokes ecological consciousness. My fascination with “atmospheres” began as an undergraduate in Project 02, where a connection to th cosmos was used to challenge suburban postmodernist constructs. Since then, I have since looked into the kinetics of the sun in Project 03, and studied atmospheres and infrastructures in Project 04, and in my Addendum.

COLUMBIA - FALL 2022 NAHYUN HWANG

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Latino Supportive Housing

ALEXANDER GORLIN ARCHITECTS - 2020-2022

PERSONAL

COMMON BREATH Interactive Installation INDEPENDENT - SUMMER 2023 FIGMENT NYC

TEACHING

COLUMBIA TA:

Architecture of Invisibility: SUMMER 2023

NJIT ADV. STUDIO 1

A Museum in Venice: Canaletto FALL 2023

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01

Land as Air

FIELD LABS FOR INDIGENOUS LAND RECLAMATION

In th realm of environmental governance, air as a medium is fluid, trans-boundary, and rejects comprehensive regulation by authoritarian governments. This project looks at the cycle of toxic fumes and CO2 release from peat fires and proposes future where indigenous tribes gain control over their ancestral land by being recognized as stewards of peatlands.

Role: Produced vast majority of the drawings entirely, all of the designs + layouts, and majority of the research. All drawings shown are entirely or have the majority produced by me. Role is also noted. Contact: Nahyun Hwang, n@nhdm.org

Academic: Columbia GSAPP Partner: w/ Simran Raswant Teacher Nahyun Hwang (NHDM) Location: Central Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia Winner: Kinne Travel Award (independently won by Layna) Published: GSAPP Peel (indepndently written by Layna)

COUNTER MAP + COLLAGE: Indigenous future imaginary; Through traditional knowledge of the land and new digital technology, and countermapping, the Dayak retake control of their land. Research Drawing 1 (left): Survey of peat globally Role: Entirety

RESEARCH DRAWING 2: The history of indigenous marginalization and misuse of land.

Role: Layout, Partial research, Patial Details

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Role: Entirety

PROP0SAL DRAWING: History of peatland use and proposal for the future.

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5 SITES: (Role: entirety)

ACTOR NETWORK THEORY (Role: Research (partial) Diagram (entirety))

FIELD LAB LOCATIONS

TYPOLOGIES

Peatlands have become a transnational issue, because although peatlands cover only 3% of the earth’s surface, they contain twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests, about 500 tons every square meter.

Draining water from peatlands dries it out. Dried peat acts like coals and catches fire easily, releasing all the air contained inside as a toxic haze. Unlike forests, peat cannot be replaced when it disappears as it takes 1,000 years to grow 1 square meter.

The Dayak Longhouse

PHASING DIAGRAM

(Role: entirety) Field labs build up degraded peatlands as they move around.

Diagrams show rehabilitation over time.

To counter these localized power structures and address the overarching environmental concerns, we proposed a set of mobile field stations that stem from traditional sustainable Dayak practices. The five labs and masterplan, to be built on Dayak-owned land, place indigenous communities at the center of the production of knowledge. The tribe’s 1,000year old knowledge can provide a specialized lens in addressing environmental issues.

In these testing grounds, the micro-biotic and human scale experience of living on peat are addressed.

Structures are grained to be dismantled and transported. The buildings are designed at a scale to proclaim the importance of this transnational issue image while also delicately touching the earth.

MASTERPLAN

FIELD LAB 1

FIELD LAB 2

FIELD LAB 3

FIELD LAB 4

FIELD LAB 5

(Role: entirety) The masterplan is lies btweeen the Sebangau Natural Park and one of the largest cities, Palangkaraya. It takes fragments from the five field labs, and provides a porous border that is a destination and peatland regrowth center.

Models explore the composition of peat across various points across the site. Different colors designate the changes in bacteria and gas throughout the section.

This model shows how decomposable dams raise lowered water tables that cause peat to dry out, causing massive underground fires.

Role: Earth layers: partial Built structure: entirety

MASTERPLAN SITE ANALYSIS: (Role: entirety)

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Masterplan Details (Role: Entirety) Within Dayak culture craftsmanship and agriculture are intertwined. For instance, basket-weaving for seed distribution would not exist without rattan clearing.

Craftsmanship, marketplaces, and field labs integrate and celebrate this interweaving.

All drawings, collages, and sketches on this page were produced entirely by me.

Marketplace Collage: River is activated as a marketplace and located near the field labs. The marketplace is recognized as a transmitter of culture. Indigenous knowledge is transmitted through more sustainable agriculture.

Teaching Zone Collage: The masterplan incorporates into an existing school.

Children help plant mangrove seedlings and monitor weather + air conditions with Dayak owned infrastructure.

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LAB 1: COMMUNICATION TOWER A communication tower is placed at the site of a previous burn zone in the Sebangau National Park, creating a digital network over the National Park while recreating the underground network of plants and bacteria in peatlands. Forest and river field stations, and underground peat labs form an interconnected network

that facilitate data dissemination.

LAB 2: WEAVE FIELD STATION We located the first field campus on the border of a peat forest and the mega rice project. Here, indigenous farming techniques such as traditional Slash and burn are practiced. They are recognized as a stable form of farming that does not contribute to the mega haze of large scale projects.

In cyclical planting phases, trees and sphagnum moss are grown and replanted to rehabilitate land after each agricultural harvest.

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LAB 4: FIELD MARKET Close to a former rice cultivation site and palm oil cultivation zone, a field of heat-sensing lights mounted on geo-probes help monitor the underground conditions of peat, alerting the villagers of developing underground fires. The canals act as surveillance channels to monitor palm oil companies. Market infrastructure is also provided near an existing village, acting as a space for information dissemination and distribution of crops that can be grown on peatlands.

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13 LAB 5: MANGROVE REMEDIATION + SEA LEVEL RISE As the sea level rises in the future, it will begin to degrade peatlands. Mangroves trap sea salt before it travels inland. Salts prevent the growth of sphagnum, a crucial species to keep peatlands intact. Small-scale interventions like mobile testing pods and greenhouses are also proposed to allow the growth of plants like gerunggang, and pulai that help with peatland restoration network that facilitate data dissemination.

MAP (Role: Entirety) Rising sea levels in 2050 will threaten peatlands along the coast of Borneo. The entire shoreline of peat - and CO2 is sequesters - in the air are in danger of being released into the global atmosphere.

As peatlands assume visibility in the capitalistic world, it is vital to create a counter-narrative of a relationship towards land that sees it not only as a resource, but something that is intrinsically tied to human culture

KINNE TRAVEL AWARD DESCRIPTION: TIME PERIOD: 6 weeks (May-Jun 2024) I will produce an alternate narrative of peatlands through by working with, understanding, and documenting the culture, traditional craftsmanship, and farming practices of indigenous tribes in Indonesia. While peat has recently gained visibility as valuable carbon sink, the relationship towards the environment enacted by dominant worldviews misuse and destroy peatlands. Cultural agricultural practices are being forgotten as Indonesia develops.

PART 1: LEARNING FROM PEATLANDS

Jerumbun Center, Tanjung Puting National Park.

Duration: 2 weeks

PART 2: CREATION + ART RESIDENCY Rimbun Dahan Artist Residency Duration: 4 weeks

I will work with TPNP and learn permaculture techniques for a week.

The site acts as a buffer zone between oil palm plantations and the national park. Through th organization, I will then work/live with the Kubun Dayak in their village and learn how their sustainable lifestyle translates into farming and building culture.

I was accepted as an artist in residence at Rimbun Dahan, which specializes in ecological artworks. I will create a series of illustrations that describe the link between indigenous lifestyles and peatlands.

I plan will donate a copy to Columbia and submit it to other peatland organizations (Northern Europe) in the hopes of fostering a transcultural dialogue,

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02

INTIMACY IN AN ARTIFICIAL LANDSCAPE

REWRITING THE NARRATIVE OF THE SUBURBAN HOUSE This project takes on the postmodern condition of the life within a suburban development and proposes a new model for living: a house, that allows its residents to escape from the artificial landscape.

This project stemmed from my experience growing up in suburban California. I used my own house as a case study.

Model: X

Academic (RISD) Independent Teacher: Chris Bardt Time: Spring 2017 Duration: 20 weeks Location: El Dorado Hills, CA Process: Architectural Design (Model-making), Research (Architectural History, Anthropology, Film Theory), Prose-Writing Winner 2017 RISD Thesis Award

Style: Italian Villa Construction: Wood Frame w/ Stucco Facade Construction Year: 2003 Built by: Serrano Programs: 3 Bed/2.5 Bath

EXTG. HOUSE + PROGRAMS COLLAGE 1: A HOUSE IN AN ARTIFICIAL LANDSCAPE

The proposal recognizes the sky and the cosmos as the o is designed formally to be a mask to the sky and feel susp Referencing surrealism + postmodern critique, the design

on factor that can exist outside of the dome of artifice, a deep fake enveloping the suburbs. The house pended from it. The programs are fragmented. Primal connections are revealed through analysis. n is a truthful interpretation of family relationships while revealing the artificiality of its surroundings.

An Evolution of the Ideal House 1920’S - 1940’S: SPANISH COLONIAL REVIVAL Responding to hot climate and Spanish influence in CA.

1940’S - ONWARDS: DESERT MODERNISM Open outdoor living adapted to California Climate.

1950’S: LEVITTTOWN Single family homes get mass-produced for middle class.

1958: MODERNISM CRITIQUE Tati responds to the absurdity of modernity in Mon Oncle.

REFERENCES: Abalos Iñaki and Paul Hammond. 2017. The Good Life : A Guided Visit to the Houses of Modernity New revised and updated ed. Zurich Switzerland: Park Books.

Arnold, Jeane E., Graesch, Anthony, Raggazzini, Enzo.

2015. “Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century: 32 Families Open Their Doors.” Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.

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Revealing the Absurdity

Dissecting the original house reveals the absurd spatial adjacencies.

Model-making is used continuously throughout this project to “actively trigger the formation of [novel ecologies].” (Lavin) Lavin, Sylvia. “One to What? Cultural Technique and Model Making.” e-Flux Architecture. 2022 November.

Collage 2: Trying to Be an Ideal Family

The House as a Machine for Living

Program Analysis THE GARAGE

Analysis: Countering Postmodernism The journey within the house stems from an analysis of Paris Texas, which sees the film as Wim Wender’s proposition of how individuals are able to establish true connections in a world of artificial images.

THE LIVING ROOM

LONELINESS IN AN ARTIFICIAL LANDSCAPE The journey begins with a man lost in a world of false images.

THE SPACE OF EXCHANGE THE KITCHEN

THE SPACE OF IMAGES THE DINING ROOM

RECOGNIZING THE ARTIFICE Travis must recognize and reject the artifice and wrong images to rescue Jane.

ESTABLISHING TRUE CONNECTION Travis must turn away from the image to reconnect.

THE ANCHOR

THE COMMAND CENTER SHARED BATHROOM

MASTER BATHROOM

STEALING JANE Filmed like a heist, Travis + his son stake out and rescue Jane.

THE WAY OUT OF THE WORLD OF IMAGES The true, primal, + original connection between parent + child saves us from the world of images.

THE SPACE OF NEGOTIATION

THE SANCTUARY

The programs are recreated as models that examine the relationships of family members as opposed to an image based one. Anthropological studies of the suburban home guided these models.

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The Sky Brought Inwards

Suspending the House THE DINING RM THE ANCHOR

Elevation Points Programs of House

A House Floating Over Land Glass Windows Fragment House + Program

Thumbnail sketch shows the house suspended from the artificial landscape, drawn up to the sky.

A FLOATING PERFORMANCE: Programs of the house are suspended from the roof.

Occupants live in an alternative performance, lifted from the suburban landscape.

STRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT: Structural form found using catenary suspension w/ weights.

Developed with advice from Advisor Brett Schneider, (structural engineer for Guy Nordenson)

TOPOGRAPHY

Painting Explorations: A House that Frames the Sky THE DINING ROOM SUSPENDED

BY THE SKY.

SUNSET FROM THE FOUR BEDROOMS

The Walls Turned Inside Out

Suspending the Narrative

GYPSUM FLOWS UNDER THE HOUSE STUCCO

THE HOUSE AS A MASK

THE WINDOWS TURNED INSIDE OUT: Use of red paint references an old photography process, where the red was used to remove undesirable images post processing.

THE CORNER WINDOW

The Narrative 20

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ACT 2: THE LIVING ROOMS Where Duplicity is Revealed

ACT 1: THE GARAGE Where Artifice Enters

ARTIFICIAL - ENDLESS - PARADE

ACT 3: THE KITCHEN Where Authority is Established

PERFORM - DUPLICATE - PRESENT

COMMAND - PLAN - SURVEY

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ACT 5: THE SHARED BATHROOM Where Shared Space is Confronted

ACT 4: THE BEDROOMS Where the Internal is Unpacked

INDIVIDUAL - PRIVATE - OWNED

ACT 6: THE MASTER BATHROOM Where the Internal is Restored

CONFRONT - ARGUE - NEGOTIATE

CHAPEL - SACRED - PROTECT

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A House Turned Inside Out

A House Turned Inside Out

ROOF AND FOUNDATION MODEL.

FINAL MODEL (w/out roof + Foundation blocks)

THE LIVING ROOMS AT 3PM: Windows, planned like a sundial to correspond with 2 identical coffee tables in the living room, misalign during the day, revealing the absurdity of exact replication on Earth.

EXTG: SUN STUDY ANALYSIS Programs: Ladybug

FINAL MODEL Kitchen

TO MASTER BATH

SHARED BATH

DINING ROOM

BEDROOMS

LIVING ROOMS

THE KITCHEN

TO GARAGE

SECTION CUT THROUGH KITCHEN, DINING, BEDROOM The architectural drawings play on a traditional developer’s drawings, using generic hatches, but x-raying the house.

RENDER ON SITE: BACK VIEW.

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SHAN-SHUI [MOUNTAIN + WATER] IN NYC Infrastructural Entanglements in Chinatown

Within a studio that looked at contemporary issues surrounding water in New York, I established a new relationship to New York’s water infrastructure by integrating infrastructure with the traditional Chinese relationship between land and water. Drawing upon my own childhood memories, I translated the spatial layout and movement within these traditional Chinese landscapes to create a cultural center for the Asian diaspora at the edge of Chinatown.

Academic (Columbia) Independent Teacher: Dan Wood (WorkAC) Time: Summer 2022 Duration: 12 weeks Location: Chinatown, NYC Process: Architectural Design, Research (w/ NYC History, Infrastructural Analysis), Journalism, Academic Writing Awarded TA Position: Columbia Summer 2023

SECLUSION IN THE MOUNTAINS; SURVEYING THE CITY BELOW

The Journey Sketches above are of the mountains near my family’s farm in Southern China where I was raised.

Within Chinese philosophy, water, man, and mountains are intertwined. Within the city of New York, the water infrastructure is hidden from view. This project proposes a harmonious relationship between water + man by creating a similar relationship within NYC’s urban ecology by revealing the hidden mechanics of the land.

Global warming - related high precipitation events have caused sewer overflows in NYC. Water infrastructure is hidden from view and deemed unrelated to the life and culture of New York.

This project reframes our relationship to water infrastructure by cracking the street barrier. The theater’s central stage moves up and down as water levels rise and fall. The surrounding space transforms from an auditorium to an agora-like space.

SECTION THROUGH THE SUMMER PAL Painting: Ge Zichuan Moving to the Mountains.” Wang Men. (1308-1385)

BOAT RIDE THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS

UNDERGROUND RIVER DISCOVERY JOURNEY UP THE MOUNTAINS

CANA

L STRE

SURROUNDING CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

CHURCH ST.

ET

BROADWAY

FLOODING IN NYC

6TH AVE

ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

ACE:

SITE PLAN TRANSPORTATION ANALYSIS

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FORM FINDING: MOUNTAINS

EVENT COVERS: “DIRECT ACTION” ON CANAL STREET

excavating to reveal

During the summer of 2023, I covered the “Direct Action” performance series at Storefront for Art and Architecture for the New York Review of Architecture. These events highlight the necessity to entangling activism and culture within ecological movements.

THE JOURNEY developing cracks into the mountain

FINAL EXCAVATION PROCESS

Cutting the Block

Raising The Theater + Underground Market

EARLY EXCAVATION MODEL

Location: Storefront for Art and Architecture Performance Series: Francesca Benítez: Direct Action

Fly Over Areas + Backstage

Lobby

Theater Opens to Street

RUN OFF + EXCAVATION MODEL

SPATIAL ANALYSIS MODEL

CORES

pinwheeling views

FINAL MODEL

CISTERN

FORM FINDING: WATER Circular cisterns reduce surface area and prevent freezing. Turbines at each center prevents water stagnation.

Cistern to water tower

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CISTERN PLAN

GROUND FLR PLAN

2 A POLITICAL THEATER

The stage moves up and down dep thus, precipitation levels in NYC.

The theater transforms from an am making visible climate change in N

CARVING AN OPENING

1 PEEKING IN THE CREVICES

FILLED CISTERN THE MARKET/ REHEARSAL STAGES: A Multitude of Voices

UNFILLED CISTERN THE AMPHITHEATER:

A Space of Focused Opinion

R

pending on cistern water levels, and

mphitheater to an agora like space, NYC.

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A VIEW TO THE WATER

FLOOR 2

FORM FINDING: SPACE WITHIN THE MOUNTAINS

DISCOVERY WITHIN THE MOUNTAINS

3 A LANDSCAPE OF MEDIATED VIEWS

FLOOR 3

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5 A THEATER TO THE CITY

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SECLUSION FROM THE CITY

Related Writings

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RETREATING FROM THE CITY:

During the project, I also analyzed how building elements function as trans-scalar elements within a city. This analysis allowed me to consider how elements of the building in addition to infrastructure could become space for the public.

FACADE AS INFRASTRUCTURE: ANALYZING THE PARC BIBLIOTECA ESPANA Academic (Columbia) Essay Teacher: Andres Jacques TA: Benjamin Weisgall Time: Summer 2022 Duration: 2 weeks Location: Medellin, Columbia Class: Transscalarities (Left) Photo taken from 2022 of the restored library among the city and cable car systems.

Source: https://theculturetrip. com/south-america/ colombia/articles/10stunning-buildings-incolombia-an-architecturaltrendsetter/ (Right) Photo from 2017 taken of the Parc Biblioteca Espana with the facade currently in repair.

Source: http://www.elmundo. com/noticia/Asi-fuelapeliculade-la-BibliotecaEspana/347193

The architectural invention of the Parc Biblioteca Espana, a library-park intended to revitalize the urban community of Medellin, Columbia both transforms and is transformed across scales, audiences, and time. As one of five such buildings commissioned by major Sergio Fajardo as part of the government’s “social urbanism” masterplan, the image of this physical invention has been broadcasted as a symbol of the master plan’s effectiveness : since 1991, the murder rate for Medellin has fallen by a factor of 13. The library stands as an icon spurning less successful copies of its image. However, the separate construction details of the building and their inseparability from the overarching urban plan analyzed throughout their transformation across different stages of the building’s existence works to dispel the mythological effectiveness of the facade as a solitary object responsible for the transformation of a city.

Analyzing the Parc Biblioteca Espana’s elements in three stages: pre-design, constructed design, and publication provides an understanding of which details within its invention are responsible for its iconic power. This invention’s success began before construction when Fajardo integrated the society of Medellin into his urban plan by working with citizens to understand what interventions would be most effective. By involving citizens, an infrastructure of cable cars and accessible plazas helped bridge a socio-spatial divided city. The constructed design stands on the hillside of Santo Domingo, the site of one of the highest murder rates for drug cartels.

The three programmatic volumes rest on top of one of

those accessible plazas while the facade of the library itself is a topological interpretation of the mountainous hillside and existing ad-hoc buildings. Its facade ignores surrounding ad-hoc architecture and shields its interior from surrounding views through small windows and atrium lights. The beauty of the facade, the views it offers, and new transportation system drew tourists and residents to that previously undesirable area of the city, revitalizing the city. As its success is published, the facade is emphasized.

Its visual difference makes it appear as a symbol of the power of government intervention. The less visible, less photograph-able, but more physical plaza, does not provoke the same attention. Its attempted replications ignore the details of how Fajardo worked with the citizens to establish infrastructure. Tied to the effectiveness of the facade invention is the new transportation system allows easier access. While its initial design is justified and successful in its intentions, the image-centered methods of creating an icon divorce the library from its origins and audience.

This misinterpretation is not an argument against the facade

by Mazzanti. When the facade collapsed, it was mourned.

The government has, since 2005, been reconstructing it while upgrading the library’s programming. Instead, it is a lesson for architects to design facades with an awareness of the malleability of the image and the less malleable but staying power of the infrastructure supporting it. Symbols and icons are never an architecture’s creation, but created by the people who live with it.

References: Schwaller, Noemie. 2009.

Review of Parque Biblioteca España. Architonic. Architonic.

October 8, 2009.

Capille, Caue. 2018.

“Architecture for Politics: Designing Collectivity in Medellin’s Library Parks”.

Anon. 2009. Espana Library.

ArchetypeReview. Archetype Review.

Peláez, Jacobo Betancur. “Petro Pidió Entregar Hidroituango ‘Sin Afanes’, Asegura Daniel Quintero.” www.elcolombiano. com. ElColombiano.com, June 20, 2022.

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04

Ambiance + Audience An Oasis in the City // A Catalyst for Change This project evolved out of an interest in community gardens and kinetic structures. Community gardens seem like peaceful oasis in the city, but have been the result of protests + direct action and continue to function as spaces of change. This project highlights this role and gives the garden a visible symbol of environmental progress while providing a non-hierarchal community space.

PROJECT INFO. Independent Project Type: Academic (RISD)/ Independent Teacher: Laura Briggs Time: Spring 2017 Duration: 9 week (seminar) Location: Bronx, New York

Sealed Roof @

EXISTING SITE Address: Grove Hill Learning Garden 158th St. + Eagle Ave., Morrisania, Bronx

@ Night Open Studios

Managed: by NYC Parks

SUN STUDIES

PROGRAMS

Movie Night Night

Garden Market

Night

GARDENS

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Reference Photo: Panorama of Waves

Lightbox Study Model of Waves

Joint Study: 3D Print

Kinetic Study Model

Slider Detail

Kinetic Model at Cat

12 PM

Gallery - Ambiance Sketches

10 AM

5 PM

Energy Design

talyst The kinetic solar panls act as a catalyst for the surrounding community to install and embrace environmentally frindly conversions for their buildings.

10 PM

Section 40

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Scenes

Level 1 Variations

Open Studios

Exhibition Space Co-working

Level 2

Movie Night Artist Studio

Market + Dining

Kiosk Design

Level 1

Level 2 Variations

w

Quotes from Oral Interviews at Brooklyn’s Community Gardens.

(See next page.)

“It’s such a community run space, right? It is.

Everything is collaborative. There’s nothing that’s just yours. There’s nothing that you. Your decisions are never yours alone. And that’s great. ...We don’t have such a hierarchy. We have meetings every month, and we all vote on what to do.”

James, Bushwick City Farms

Stories from gardeners.

I mean, it’s kind of blind luck that they got put here because there are many other shelters that don’t have anything like this... the men, they cook every day and they cook their traditional food. Its Mauritanians but also Senegalese... Chadian men. It’s so many things, including therapy and bonding you know...you can tell how much they love it.

Mars, Bushwick City Farms

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Samplings:

Exhibition: Oral Narratives from Brooklyn’s Community Gardens

“...these community gardens and resistance. And because operations... where you’re ab organizations like phone line talk together.”

Curation/ Design/ Interviews/ Text: Layna Chen Location: Interference Archive Collaborators: Green Guerrillas, NYC GreenThumb Materials: Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space Timeline: 6 Weeks Research + Collab.; 1 Week Design Exhibition Info: Part of a larger exhibition: “Demonstrations”: Oct. - Nov. 2023

EXHIBITION INFO.

This exhibit explores 10 community gardens* within Brooklyn through the photos, maps, and oral narratives of its members. Memorabilia collected from key moments during the formation of community gardens situate these gardens as the success stories of direct action. These protests transformed New York’s derelict lots into the thriving community spaces known today and continue to be deployed to protect these spaces from recent battles with the government over development stock. Since their formation, each of these gardens has evolved to serve the growing and diverse needs of its surrounding community, be it a source of nutrition in a food desert, a site to share cultural traditions, a sanctuary for migrants and activists, or a green oasis to disconnect from the city and reconnect with the earth.

This exhibit does not intend to be comprehensive of Brooklyn’s many community gardens, but instead, to highlight and reveal the diverse voices behind their gates. This collection of gardens tackles a wide range of social, environmental, and economic issues. In doing so, they provide practical, tangible alternatives to existing systems and demonstrate that individuals and communities can take matters into their own hands to create positive change. (Exhibition Text) *Selection based off of correspondence with Green Guerrillas, NYC GreenThumb, gardeners, + activists **Original memorabilia on loan from the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space

“... This neighborhood has the most slots and gardeners. Why ? This is the most active square, the squatters and activist, these all those people took over the village and then they took over the garden. They’re going to be left out of history because people don’t like the fact that squatters didn’t want to be clean.”

1970S: ORIGINS

1990S: GUIL

Bill dePaola, Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space

NYC Greenthumb Planning Manual (1978) was enacted only after the major inroads by the Green Guerrillas years prior.

Flyers from Side Collective

Renewed Intere during the Occu

s, they have such a foundation of direct action of that, it’s a springboard for many different ble to connect the dots between different es and put it into a conference call for everyone to

“it was about that time that I read about Christy and the green guerillas and throwing grenades ...I thought: Wow, that is cool. And I want to be one of those.”

Patty Hagan, St Marks

There’s like formal stewards and the neighborhood and community stewards of the garden...but its really just someone who makes the commitment of showing up maintaining the space so that it’s enjoyable for everyone.

Maurice, Amboy St. Gardens

“for me it’s like I’m not here to police. I’m here to inform people and give them the best tools that they can to make the best educated decisions.. and if not, then there’s opportunity for growth moments to show up.”

Indalesio Tellez, Sunset Community Garden

We’ve been growing a lot of tropical plants lately.

The climate gets warmer, you become more habitable in New York. So we’ve been growing my passion flowers and papaya trees and learning about the cultural significance of those to people.

And the community has been really interesting, especially with the Caribbean diaspora.

Ren, Scholes Street Children’s Garden

LIANI YEARS

2010S: NEW INTERESTS: OWS + HPD PROTESTS “Empty Lot” Disputes and rallies during the HPD Land Grab. (2011-2016)

the Lower East (1999)

est in Community Gardens upy Wall Street Protests. (2011)

“We tell the story at our last big barbecue and how it represents the melting pot between different cuisines...so we have a we have a bush here called Callaloo. Well, the Jamaicans call it callaloo, or sometimes amaranth, but Trinidadians call it Bhaaji... and other Chinese people kind of call it yin choi... but they cook it the same way.”

Tammy, Amboy St. Gardens

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A Tapestry of Planetary Biomes

Decolonizing the American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History is a highly problematic building that continues to produce outdated, racist, and spatially unpleasant. As a prominent museum in the city, it is responsible for creating a relationship between nature and the public.

ROLE DESCRIPTION I led the design, drove concept, + conducted all research. I created research + design for process drawings and produced all final drawings + collages.

Role is noted on all work.

J. Herreros Contact Info: juan@estudioherreros.com +34 670776353

Exhibition History + Colonial Past

Photos: Layna C. / Yufei H.

PROJECT INFO. Group Project w/ Yufei Huang, Brent Zhang Type: Academic (GSAPP) Teacher: Juan Herreros Time: Spring 2023 Duration: 12 weeks Location: Manhattan, NY

The AMNH today is a result of “modern” additions. However, each attmpt to “modernize” the museum creates a more confusing layout.

Instead of adding new constructions to the museum, we propose to deconstruct it.

Research: Building History

Collage: Layna C.

Drawing/Models/Research: Layna C.

While recent moves, attempt to make the museum more open and transparent, the original, outdated confusing structure remains. We say the new addition does not do enough to decolonize the space and choose the pre-addition museum as our existing building.

Strategy of Decolonization The history of the American Museum of Natural History is the history of showing man’s domination over nature. The museum is monstrous both in its size and collection. As the largest natural history museum in New York, it occupies a prominent image as an international destination. As a draw for children, the museum also functions as an educational instrument. By turning it into a ruin, spatially, we give the museum back too nature.

In the current age of imminent planetary catastrophe, it is urgent there exists a museum today that sees nature as a social construct and addresses the problematic entanglements man has with nature.

Timeline/Research: Layna C.

Collage: Layna C.

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47 NYC Museums

200 ft.

1030 feet

The scale of the AMNH is rivaled only by the Met., Traversing the entire museum in a visit is unmanageable.

125 ft.

600 feet

Surrounding Site Yufei; Design: Layna Chen

CITY

ISLAND

PARK

We propose that this problematic museum be torn down and given back to nature the city. We will create an exterior connection to the park through the space, continuous circulation using existing vertical cores, and rearrange urban programs along the main path. New spaces witll be materially and spatially reconstituted out of the ruins.

Future museums should not serve as centers of display, but as a tool that changes the fundamental way people experience nature.

Site Context The museum currently sits as an isolated castle on an island between the city and Central Park. Our intervention turns the castle into a ruin, allowing nature to enter and break down the old structure. Our interconnected roof, bridge, and internal circulation links the city, the museum, and the park.

Concept+Sketches: Layna Chen

EXISTING VIEW OF NATURE

PROPOSAL - NATURE, THE EVERYDAY

EXOTIC - THE OTHER - STABLE -

CHANGEABLE - EMBODIED - FLUID -

DISCONNECTED FROM EVERYDAY

INTERCONNECTED - MANMADE

SECTION SKETCH Roof+Circulation Design: Layna; Diagram: Layna/Brent

Proposed Section Dwg

Section Drawing: Layna Chen

Design Proposal Nature is turned into an experience of temperature and humidity. The floor plans are an ever-shifting tapestry of the Earth’s biomes. as heat and water travel through the building.

We designed two core biomes to drive all other biomes: one a hot desert biome and another a polar biome. When air and water is allowed to flow Psychometrics from polar and desert to the surrounding hallways, the effect they have in the Chart galleries, the intermediate zones, will recreate the other biomes.

The surrounding experimentation labs are kept as temperature controlled spaces, while the surrounding spaces are a result of those spaces.

A History of Uncontrolled Growth Concept/Map: Layna; Existing Program Diagrams: Yufei; Axon Diagram: Brent

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49 Programs for Transparent Research

Native weeds and plants are introduced, destroying the concrete foundation.

Rewilding the Urban Corridor

Nature Intrudes...

Extg. Building: Brent

Typological Correction Cou�tyard w/ Atrium Gardens

PARK CORRIDOR

All other sketches, design, collages: Layna Chen

CIRCULATION

EXPERIMENTATION CEN

NTERS

The AMNH is a currently a research center + higher education facility. The proposal centers their role and makes the labs visually transparent and physically accessible.

Galleries as Reconstructions

Mechanically Controlled Biomes

Demolished brick + stone are purposed within the galleries.

New Building: Layna

Uncomfortably high and low temperatures in each biome require visitors to take on + off coats before entering.

GALLERIES

BIOMES + THEATERS

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Original Section - Brent

Artificial Constructions of Nature In the post-Anthropocene era, nature, man, and machinery cannot be separated. The new museum acknowledges this through exhibits that expose the building’s mechanics. Biomes and labs are controlled while the surrounding galleries are the result of expelled air. Collages and diagrams show examples of the new spaces in the museum.

A Humidity Machine Original Section - Brent

The Roof The public roof is a house for air based natural elements. Beehives, water collection, observatories, and solar panels inhabit its expanse.

All other Drawings + Collages - Layna

The Desert Biome: Machine + Collage Electricity generated from the roof helps supply radiant hat pipes under the floor and walls. Excess heat seeps into the corridors.

The Polar Biome: Machine + Collage Evaporative coolers underneath a metal panel (ice) keep the polar biome cold enough for coats.

Curtains, colorful lights (like the Aurora Borealis) illuminate the space. The exsiting blue whale is kept.

Exterior Balconies Enclosed courtyards, built on the ruin-like walls passively moderate temperatures between inside + outside of the museum.

Temperature Controlled Labs The research labs are kept temperature controlled. Vacuum-formed window walls allow visual transparency. The VAV system cycles through the biomes and dispenses excess air to the surrounding galleries.

Air Expelled in Corridors

The Underground The concrete covering the earth is stripped. Visitors are placed in direct contact with the dirt while rehabilitation studies are conducted by the researchers.

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New Ramp

Urban Corridor to Park COLUMBUS AVE.

Existing Ground Flr. Plan - Brent

Visitors traverse between the two biomes. At each entrance, they must take on or off their coats.

Heat + Cool air is dispelled through ducts into the surrounding spaces.

New Theaters

Loading Dock

Cafe

All other Drawings + Collages - Layna

Artificial Biomes

77 ST

Visitors enter first into an artificial, garden, emphasizing the need for human caretaking

81 ST

The Garden as Artifice

Entrance to Museum

CENTRAL PARK WEST

Pedestrian Bridge

International curators are invited to curate a series of rotating exhibits.

1 2 3 4

CENTRAL PARK

Rotating Galleries

New Ramp Ruins allowed to crumble on the vegetation there. The bricks are used as planters in other parts of the museum.

Existing Castle in Ruins 54

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COMMUNITY BRANDING ROWGATTA FITNESS STUDIOS

Rowgatta is a rowing-inspired boutique fitness studio. The design involved a careful analysis of the Rowgatta community ethos, specialized workout and equipment spaces. The resulting environment merges cross-fit studios with a high end underwater themed palette, linking program areas to build community and support the development of athletes of all skill levels.

Professional: Smith + Architects Role: Independent Architectural Designer w/ Brian Luce as Const.

Manager Location: Union Square, NYC Pre-SD - CA: 2018-2019

Role: In my first project as the sole designer, I created the marketing package, the environmental branding designed and chose all finishes and details, and created the entire drawing set. The project required heavy coordination with acoustic and mechanical engineers and frequent meetings with the client and branding consultant, as well as an understanding of ADA and NYC Code. The design brought in two new clients to the office.

STOREFRONT SPATIAL STUDY

Contact: chad@smithandarchitects.com

BRANDING/SPATIAL STUDY

STUDIO + REFRESH ZONE Changing rooms + the main studio features an underwater infinity room and millwork referencing an underwater cave.

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

BASEMENT PLAN

HUDDLE ZONE (LEFT) The need to create a space within the gym to wait, stretch, and learn the rowing machine necessitated the invention of a “Huddle Zone”. I created variations of traditional crossfit equipment.

WORKOUT ANALYSIS

PLAY ON CROSSFIT EQUIPMENT

EL BORINQUEN LATINA SUPPORTIVE HOUSING Role: I worked with my boss on the design of the facade, lobby, and interior apartments. The building was intended to be an uplifting experience for inhabitants, who were Latina women from abusive relationships.

Contact: agorlin@ gorlinarchitects.com

Professional: Alexander Gorlin Architects Team: w/ Quncie Williams Role: Junior Architect Location: Bronx, New York Phases: DD, CD, CA: Year: 2022 Featured in: Curbed, Metroplis, Archpaper, Archinect, NYSAFAH Project of the Year)

Role: Checked ADA requirements + sourced interior materials.

I updated the existing preliminary CD set and went on site visits.

STALLBAR MOCK-UP

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Walkable Community in the Midwest

Zones 1 + 1A

Zone 2

Zone 3

Construction Photos

Riverfront Condos

ELKHART, INDIANA MASTERPLAN

Masterplan for Ref. (by Jeff Speck)

Site Visit: Zone 1

After Zone 1 was built, I designed Zone 1A’s smaller building to give the building a monumentality required for the first bldg on the main street.

Ref: jewel box quality of Louis Sullivan’s Midwest Banks.

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Contact: agorlin@ gorlinarchitects.com

Professional: A Gorlin Architects Indivdual or w/ Daniel Schuetz Role: Design Architect (Role differed btwn. PM + designer by Zone) Location: Elkhart, IN Phases: SD-CA: (Varied / Zone) Year: 2021-2023

53'-0"

Role: I was a primary design architct, then project manager for a series of new buildings on the main street of a masterplan by Jeff Speck.

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Unit 2.1 2,937 sf

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Unit 2.2 3,075 sf

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Unit 2.4 2,781 sf

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Rd . nt me ive Ac he ior

Zone 2

Jun

Zone 1+Zone 1A: I worked on the design of two industrial commercial buildings featuring office spaces w/ restaurant, retail spaces, + rooftop bars. I took over DD and CA for Zone 1, then designed Zone 1A.

East Jackson Boulevard

Zone 3

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Building 1: 2nd Floor Plan

Building 2: 2nd Floor Plan

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Unit 2.2

Unit 2.3

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Unit 2.5 1,585 sf

Unit 2.6 1,647 sf

Unit 1.6

Building 2: 1st Floor Plan

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Unit 1.6 1,857 sf

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N. Clark St.

Zone 1A

Zones 2+3: Housing RFP Within a winning RFP, we focused on creating a vibrant street scape that mixed historic and modern architectural styles while creating a cohesive street grid within the same townhouse.

Role: Produced all renderings + drawings, met + coordinated units directly w/ developer during the process.

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60'-6"

Building 1: 1st Floor Plan

Riverfront Condos: I began the project as a junior architec played a major role in th schematic design of the building. projct, created all renderings, sourced materials, worked on me boss, and attended and provided feedback in virtual CA

Common Breath INTERACTIVE INSTALLATION

Individual Project Date: June 1-2, 2023 Type: Interactive Installation Location: Staten Island Event: Figment 2023

FIGMENT ENTRY PROPOSAL

This public installation is a meditation on the complexities of care embedded within our societies. Composed out of a collection of encapsulated breaths, hand-folded and sewn together, the work is a visualization of the amount of time it takes to create a moment to breathe together in a group. It is a space that provides a moment for everyone to make, breathe, and reflect together, and it is a structure that can only be created out of the work of collective bodies.

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ASSEMBLED INSTALLATION

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INSTRUCTIONS

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Soong, Maying. (1955). The art of Chinese paper folding for young and old. London : Thames & Hudson

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Unit 1.3 2,654 sf

*Paper balloons, or water bombs are a famous Chinese traditional toy invented for children to give old materials new life.

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t 1.4 60 sf

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Instruction Ref.:

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Close to a hundred tracing paper origami balloons folded and filled with the breaths of participants.

Instructions are simple and easy to follow. (Tables and construction stations can be set six feet apart.)

The balloons are then sewn together and then suspended. The size of the installation will fit 1-2 people.

Strings extend from the central installation, allowing participants to create their own constructions and installations.

24'-0" Unit 1.3

Unit 1.1

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Flo

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Pla

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Unit 1.5 2,006 sf

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ct in a 2-person team. I I ended up taking over the n CDs, visited the site with A meetings.

EVENT PHOTOS

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Columbia TA: MSAAD THE ARCHITECTURE OF INVISIBILITY ARCHITECTURE OF INVISIBILITY Offshore began by studying wind-powered electric infrastructure in NYC from the Students ocean to the apartment before developing interventions along the grid.

Student: Minjeong Song Site: City Substation Program: Office

Date: May-July 2023 Teacher: Dan Wood Location: NYC Topic: New Windmill Powered Renewable Electric Infrastructure

Student: “Bear” Xiong Ming Site: Shore Substation Program: Mixed Use Pier

Teaching: NJIT Adv. Studio 1 A MUSEUM IN VENICE: CANALETTO’S ARTWORKS Student: Zara Khan Project Title: Between Water and Land

First Flr.

Fall Semester 2023 @ NJIT Prompt: Museum for Canaletto’s Paintings. 100’x100’x600’ max.

Location: Misercordia, Venice Year: Undergraduate, 4th Year

Student: Isabella Gill Year: Materiality as Identity

Student: Nathaniel Farina Project Title: Bridging the Site

Student: Francesca Valde-Tan Project Title: Shifting over Water

Second Flr.

Third Flr.

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