Architectural portfolio

2018-2023 CHENJIA REN Selected Work

5

Winter 2022 Work

Pink Post

1

3 Winter 2019 Academic

Unravelled Heterotopia

STATEMENT Chenjia Lilith Ren is a Chinese-born US-based independent designer in new media and art. She experiments with multi-mediums such as robotics, green screen, Artificial Intelligence, sculpture, 3D printing, filming, and digital visual arts. Backboned with digital media, she still believes in traditional ingenuity and hope to explore the new definition of ‘authorship’ in contemporary art.

Winter 2018 Academic

After the Flood

2

6

Summer 2019 Academic

Leviathan

4

Chenjia is currently enrolled as an architectural designer at dt LA while doing freelance in various design territories. He holds an M.Arch 2 degree with an Admission scholarship from SCI-Arc; and a B.A. in Architecture with an Honors degree from the University of Liverpool with the Best Overall Academic Performance.

Spring 2023 Work

Chenjia was endowed with design awards not limited to GOLD AWARD | 2022 Communication Exhibition for AsiaPacific Visual Arts in 2023, SHORTLIST | YOUNG ONES STUDENTS AWARDS in 2022, FINALIST | SPARK DESIGN AWARDS in 2022, WINNING PRIZE | The One art - The First Global NFT ART Digital Competition in 2021, SECOND PRIZE | Architectural Future Competition in 2021. Recently, her sculpture work was exhibited in an art Gallery in Los Angeles, and her collaborated digital video was shown at HZSZ Design Biennale in Shenzhen. Her work has also been exhibited in VENICE ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE 2021, Shanghai K11 and Suzhou.

Folded Roof

Winter 2022 Work

Paverd Paradise

7

Summer 2020 Competition

Improvisation under heaven

3

01

Unravelled Heterotopia WINTER 2019 - ARC305 XJTLU DESIGN STUDIO Professor: Dwayne Olyer Partner: Austin Lightle

'The same story is never told twice and the truth is never told once.'

Once, there was a god in people’s heart and people’s lives were closely connected to ghosts and spirits. However, the world is changed, and psychological dominance is taken over by rationality. Things once can be felt in the water, felt in the earth, smelt in the air and much that once was is lost.

Therefore, an 'asylum' is created for people who would like to fetch things that were lost.

The project is set in the future where the rationality of human has taken over the psychological world. People lose faith in fantasy land and tales. So, a series of asylums will be created around the world to cure people with 'mental deficiency'.

The asylum is a mechanism for fabricating fantasies, by synthesizing information, substantiating fantasy tales derived from specific site memories. It unravels the reality and creates a metamorphotic mirrored space to offer people a new perspective of observation and experience.

5

CITY FABRIC STUDYBOARD

AXONOMETRIC DRAWING

Imagination is stronger when it is built on memories or experiences.

A4 Individual Housing

0 - Exiting city fabric

B2 Church 1 - Extracted space

A1

A3

B1

B3

2 - Reconstructed space

A2

A4

B2

B4

A - Residential space generation

B - Community space generation

A1: the fabric of city field A2: collective housing 3: the fabric of city crossroads 4: individual housing

1: the Phoenix Terrace 2: 'church'- meditation space 3: the Shang dynasty ruins 4: theatre

C2 Mechanical Center

1 generates 2 3 generates 4

D4 Central Opening

2 - Reconstructed space

D2 Garden

B2 Theatre

0 - Exiting city fabric

1 - Extracted space

A2 Collective Housing

C1

C3

C2

C4

D1

D3

D2

D4

C - Functional space generation

D - Open space generation

1: the city park 2: mechanical centre 3: Zhengzhou city centre 4: energy&supply system

1: Zhengzhou Luo River 2: garden 3: Zheng Wei River 4: central opening

C4 Energy&Supply System

7

0

0

1 3 2 6 DREAM1

4

DREAM2

7 DREAM4

5

8

9 10

Gallery entrance

Mechanical Zone

Sleeping capsule

Community centre and living units

Intersection Region

Individual housing units

Theatre

1 public garden 2 bridge 3 office 4 music studio 5 tower 6 community square 7 public garden 8 community centre 9 vertical void 10 transfer canal 11 theatre 12 gallery

12

DREAM5

Corridor connecting different parts

11

0

6

PLANA

12m

1:600

13

16 14

24 13 mechanical operator 14 sleeping capsule 15 entrance elevator 16 office 17 360 degree elevator 18 vertical void 19 public garden 20 control centre 21 opening 22 transfer canal 23 theatre 24 gallery 25 circulation void 26 mechanical void

19 21

15

DREAM3

25

18 22

23

21 17 26 20

6

12m

planB

0

1:600

9

PHYSICAL MODEL

PLANA

PLANB

CHURCH CORRIDOR

0

6

section

THEATRE

MECHANICAL AREA

12m

1:600

11

13

TECTONIC MODEL (PARTIAL)

HOUSING TYPOLOGY 1 Secondary vertical steel beam Air conditioning pipe

Water pipe

Secondary horizontal steel beam

Food supply pipe

External steel envelope

Ventilation system

Steel supporting structure

Electric pipe

Internal concrete cladding Thermal bridge insulation Steel box of supply storage

Insulation frame Insulation Secondary steel structure Steel envelope Primary steel structure

EXTERNAL FACADE STEEL PANAL

Steel frame

Pipe system

Primary steel beam

Prefabricated steel panels Link part Air gap

INTERNAL FACADE STEEL PANAL Adjusted shape for pipes Prefabricated steel panels

Electrics (access via pipes indiccated)

Link part

Primary steel beam Water pipe Air system/conditioning

15

17

02

Leviathan SUMMER 2019 - ARC 204 XJTLU DESIGN STUDIO Professor: Zayad Motlib

"Twilight", the mysterious moment in Japanese, refers to the moment when day and night alternate. The light makes the outline of things blurred and the world enters the period when ghosts and human beings coexist.

In contemporary era, concrete-and-steel construction is gradually eroding the ghost of the city (its culture factors) and turning the city into a mechanized machine. However, when the light dies out at twilight, the mechanized shell fades into darkness and the cultural ghost hidden in the dark side starts to glow.

Located near Tiger Hill (a traditional Chinese tower over 1000 years old) in Suzhou, the site is saturated with memories and stories. This project proposes a museum that not only exhibits, but also reconnects the two worlds (mysterious and realistic) once again.

As shown by the project 'After the Flood', Suzhou is a city made by water. Those winding canals carry the memory and culture of Suzhou. This contemporary museum is aims to revive the hidden world by weaving curves extracted from the site - weaving the memories.

At Twilight, the museum looks like a giant animal lying on the ground, breathing out the stories of the past.

19

SUZHOU URBAN DEVELOPMENT

FACADE DESIGN

1000s Before Song Dynasty, Suzhou was a city with endless farmland and canals. There was no difference between each region.

1800s

2000s

With the development of agricultural civilization, Pingjiang mansion was built and became the economic and cultural center of Suzhou. This region has witnessed the history of Suzhou since then.

In recent decades, the government shift the economic center to the surrounding area to protect the Pingjiang mansion. The old town now becomes the spiritual center of Suzhou, holding its memories and tales.

2D lines extracted from the site analysis are rotated and reconstructed based on spatial vaules, including environmental condition and views.

The museum rises like a whale from the sea, causing waves in its surrounding area.

The geometry consists of several twisted surfaces By merging them together, one complete surface is achieved for further development.

Using grasshopper to create panels based on the location of openings. Because of the twisted surface, secondary division is applied to optimize the panel size.

The panels are scaled in relation to the solar radiation on site, where the radiatioin is massive, there is a smaller gap between panels.

Combining the two layers together, a facade with proper panel size and environmental strategy is completed.

The isocurves of the surface indicates possible load transfer through the shell

Using lunchbox to create 2D truss as the non-loadbearing structure frame of the shell. This structure is used to attach aluminium panels and glass panes.

Using the same parameters as before, 3D truss is created as the main load-bearing structure of the shell.

Thinkness is added to the truss pipes with r=60mm The truss at the edge becomes the foundation

Panels with a gradient pattern are added to the facade, emphasizing the fluidity of the building

DESIGN PROCESS

Located in the old town, the site contains many factors, which are the invisible forces influencing the site. The first step is to visualize the forces and translate them into space.

WIND ANALYSIS

RADIATION ANALYSIS Summer Southeast Wind

Winter Northwest Wind

Natural Ventilation Maximum southeast facade layers to get cool wind in summer

Maximum south facade to get enough sunlight in winter Height difference creates natural shading

Minimum northwest facade layers to block cold wind in the winter 21

Two objects are embodied in the shell, functioning mainly as public space and circulation volumn

Floor plans flow according to the form of the shell and the two objects

Exhibition suites

Open galleries

Theater

Reataurant

Entrance platform Parking lot exit

Parking lot entrancce

performance platforms

Water

Main elevator

Secondary elevator Recreation space 3rd Exhibition space 2nd Exhibition space Open gallery space 1st Exhibition space

Main entrance

Cafe

23

26

13

13

N

GROUND FLOOR

13 25 24 27

23 21

20 19

18

22 32

6

33 17

6

39

28

34

15

16

40

6

35 29

1

Parking Entrance

2

Bicycle Parking lot

3

Tea Room

4

Restaurant

5

Kitchen

6

Lavatory

7

VIP Room

8

Open Cafe

9

Waterscape

10

Performance Area

11 Park

14

12 Entrance Platform

13

37

13 Entry Garden

36

14 Main Atrium

38

12

6

15 Temporary Exhibition

31

16 Sunken Zone 17 Cafe Staircase 18 Cafe

30

9

19 Kitchen 20 Temporary Gallery

11

21 Workshop 22 Reserved Workshop 10

23 Transition Space 24 Medical Centre 25 Office

10

26 Staff Entrance 27 Lab 28 Learning Centre 29 Lecture Room

5

9

30 Storage 31 Gift Shop

3 6

4

8

7

OPEN GALLERY

32 Permenant Exhibition

9

33 Video Room 34 Visual Gallery 35 Circulation Space

10

36 Voltage Room 37 Auditorium

2

0

1

8

32m

1:800

38 Ticketing Space 39 Circulation Void 40 Canal

42

41

43 45 44 46

47

FIRST FLOOR

48

0 1:800

8

32m

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

Recreation Space Open Gallery Small Exhibition Opening Gallery Video Room Auditorium Volumn Upstairs Gift Shop

ENTRANCE 25

27

03

After the Flood WINTER 2018 - DESIGN STUDIO COMPLEX MORPHOSISProfessor: Igea Troiani

We know we're going to have sea rise. This is literally a oneway street now. ' The ways of living and being which reflect deep Chinese cultural traditions, wisdom and insights, are at the core of many traditional Chinese building typologies. For example, traditional Chinese gardens were meant to evoke a feeling of being in the larger natural world, so that one could capture the sensations of wandering through the landscape. The garden presented the larger world of nature in microcosm.

This project put forwards a vision of future housing typology in Suzhou under the global trend of sea level rising. Anchored in traditional Chinese living philosophy, the methodology of this design is to extract patterns from stones and reconstruct them based on site conditions. The application of natural form and magnetic technology creates a ever-changing space for the dwellings.

Unlike traditional Chinese gardens, which put actual flowers to represent nature, the proposed typology itself becomes natural landscape, for its self-metabolism and self-adjustment according to natural forces.

29

SUZHOU HOUSING TYPOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

- SITE INFORMATION -

Suzhou is located in the alluvial plain of southeast China, with an average elevation of 3m. With canals running throughout the city, Suzhou built its city memory and civilization upon water. In the past, they traded via the canals, washed clothes, watched performances and were connected to other countries over water. In contemporary era, they drink tea, appreciate stone patterns and learn Zen. It seems that people in Suzhou always know how to get along with nature, and to appreciate life and love to have their lives closely connected to nature.

Another interesting characteristic of Suzhou is how it collage the traditional landscape and modern skyline together. As the drawing shows, Suzhou is a city composed by both strong traditional and contemporary language. Therefore, there is tension within the city. The threads of memory move back and forth between the past and the future, creating a constant phantasmagoria.

- CONCEPT DRAWING TIME LINE

200BC the first state is dominated by a vast wildness. This is the perfect image of liberty

2000BC Nature has sunk to relative insignificant and virtually faded from the scene

2000BC Cities are full of skyscrapers and share similar appearance. New forms of transportation begin to appear

2500BC The sea level rises. New forms of housing grows upon the water roads

31

GEOMETRY ABSTRACTION 1 original stone pattern

2 flattening the pattern, expanding, recombining and forming 3d forms Derived from the stone patterns, the 'new roads' floating on the water expand like the diffusion of pigment.

The artificial alleys meander according to the current and wind, bluring the direction of the road and leading people to explore unknown spaces .

- EXPANDING -

Each of the living units is created based on the different layering of stone patterns.

Strings are used to test their location in this model. With the waggling among different units, the most suitable arrangement can be achieved. In addition, the waggling simulates the different combination of units in different conditions.

- WAGGLING -

Some parts of the roads enwinds with each other, creating islands along the alleys.

Appreciating stone has always been an important part of learning Zen, for one can observe a world through a piece of stone. Therefore, I extracted linear patterns from stone and rewind them to form a space

- ENWINDING -

33

MODEL

2100AC

PLAN

The flood just begin, and there are still remains of the houses in sight

2200AC The sea level continues to go up and there is finally no trace of the previous life. Life grows lonely over the sea

2250AC New typologyies appears where human escape the sea level and seak feedom in the sky. The community begins to expand

2400AC The continuous growth of the community finally forms a new landscape of human civilization

35

UNIT EXPLODED AXONMETRIC

UNIT PLAN

typology 1

typology 2

typology 3

typology 4

typology 5

typology 6

typology 7

typology 8

typology 9

typology 10

typology 11

typology 12

typology 13

typology 14

37

AXONOMETRIC DRAWING

FIFITH FLOOR - stadium-for outdoor sports FOURTH FLOOR - indoor fitness room THIRD FLOOR - indoor fitness room SECOND FLOOR - restroom FIRST FLOOR - entrance

mythical creatures and other fantastic beasts share the same world with humans instead of hiding in the corner of the world

INSULATION - EARTH AND OTHER RECYCLED MATERIALS

WOODEN FLOORING AND FURNITURE

WOODEN FOOTING

39

04

Paverd Paradise WINTER 2022 - HIGH RISE DESIGN SPARCHS ARCHITECTS CLIENT: JEN JI

Principal Designer and Architect: Stephen Phillips, FAIA, Ph.D Project Team: Trevor Allen, Ismael Soto, Alex Fu, Pei Ju Wu, Estefani Aguilar, Joyce Ooi, Ryan Tran, Edwin Liu, Meihui Zhang; Lilith Ren, Yaxin Sun, Kris Swick; Stephen Phillips Architects (SPARCHS) Consultants: Structural Engineer: Fabio Zangoli, Labib Funk + Associates Building Technology: Pavel Getov, Studio Antares Pre-construction Services: PCL Construction Responsibility: Parametric pattern design, Geometrical design, Elevation design, Architectural drawing set, Renderings

41

43

45

47

49

51

05

Pink Post WINTER 2022 - MID RISE DESIGN SPARCHS ARCHITECTS CLIENT: JEN JI

Principal Designer and Architect: Stephen Phillips, FAIA, Ph.D Project Team: Trevor Allen, Ismael Soto, Alex Fu, Pei Ju Wu, Estefani Aguilar, Joyce Ooi, Ryan Tran, Edwin Liu, Meihui Zhang, Yaxin Sun, Lilith Ren, Kris Swick; Stephen Phillips Architects (SPARCHS) Consultants: Structural Engineer: Fabio Zangoli, Labib Funk + Associates Building Technology: Pavel Getov, Studio Antares Responsibility: Renderings, Architectural drawings

53

55

57

59

06

FOLDED ROOF SPRING 2023 - RESIDENTIAL DESIGN SPARCHS ARCHITECTS CLIENT: JOE

Principal Designer and Architect: Stephen Phillips, FAIA, Ph.D Project Team: Samuel Clovis, Jake Kutzin, Alina Chen, Michael Orlando, Chengyang Li, Lilith Ren Stephen Phillips Architects (SPARCHS) Consultants: Structural Engineer: Fabio Zangoli, Labib Funk + Associates Building Technology: Pavel Getov, Studio Antares Responsibility: Renderings, Interior Design, Detail retouch

61

63

65

67

69

07

Improvisation under heaven SUMMER 2020 - URBAN DESIGN COMPITION DA! Architects IND Architects | B+B Bureau

“Lishui: improvisation under heaven” – being an entry to the Future ShanShui City · Dwellings in Lishui Mountains International Urban Design Competition, our concept is rather an artistic philosophical statement on our future life than a single planning project.

Under heaven on a changing planet, I want to bring our cities alive: in improvisation city everyone is an artist – time, environment and human continuously inspire and shape each other. Only together we can keep making the greatest artwork – a story of our civilization.

Lishui city grows within the framework of the biggest Chinese philosophical concept of “Tianxia" (literally “Under heaven”), which describes the world as a whole unity of all living beings. Our design is our language to criticize current and propose new value system: from efficiency to harmony, from human-centric to all-living-beings world, from planning to improvisation.

"Tian xia "Lishui will be not just the Chinese Lishui, but the world's Lishui, welcoming everyone to improvise together under the common heaven.

71

73

75

77

79

81