Construction Documentation - Construction Administration
March 2024 - Present
Architect, Ballinger
Collaboration with Studio Gang Architects
New York Presbytarian Cancer Center is a new construction of 504,000 SF blend of hospital and college spaces, featuring infusion, exam, diagnostic, ophthalmology, radiation oncology, imaging modalities, and procedure rooms (OR, Endo, IR).
The cancer center stand as a monolithic beacon within the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, blending in with the fabric of New York City and providing the city life with a wellness garden.
Ballinger is the interior fit out and medical architect while Studio Gang Architects are designing the public space, exterior facade, and serving as the architect of record.
Imaging Modality - Breaking the norm: Upper floors instead of basement with views
Taking the lessons learned from our precedent project - NYP Cornell, the client requested an innovative campus standard - placing imaging modality rooms on upper floors instead of the traditional basement placement in order to takethe advantages of exterior views and to create better and more optimistic patient experiences.
Coordination is the key to the design of LINAC truebeam, halcyon, and ethos on third floor. The rooms require complicated coordination between structural consultants, physicist, shielding engineers, site specific drawings, vendors, lighting, and MEP engineers.
NYPCC has 8 different shielding partition types for MRIs. To incorporate windows into MRI, MRI sim, and PET MRI rooms, we came up with creative solutions of “windows outside windows” “access panels outside access panels” to resolve shielding and condensation issues.
Glazing - Standardization Across Designs
Taking the lead in glazing design and documentation, we standardized across campuses and created 11 glazing system types and 30+ glazing finishes. Being the glazing champion on the project demonstrates my leadership as well as technical and coordination skills, in design, detail documentation, and spec organization.
We came up with creative solutions to shielded cornered glass, fire counter doors, and incorporating different finishes in demountable partitions during the process.
INOVA EASTERN REGION
Healthcare | Northern Virginia
Schematic Design - Construction Administration
July 2021 - March 2024
Architect, Ballinger
Collaboration with Ennead Architects
Scope of work
Public space scope of the hospital spanning from planning, user workshops, design, and documentation. Works with senior design architect from Ennead and Ballinger through SD to DD, lead the continued design process , documentation, and coordination with consultants in CD. Champions the public spaces of two hospitals in Springfield and Landmark, oversees the standardization of public space kit of parts in Landmark Cancer Center and Landmark Specialty Care Center.
Program includes, but not limited to, lobby, welcome center, servery and cafe, offices, gift shop, meditation space, conference center, clinical waiting rooms, and the public outdoor spaces.
Inova Alexandria Hospital (SD-CA)
12 stories, 231 bed, ~1,080,000SF Hospital
Emergency & trauma
Inpatient, outpatient services
Women’s imaging
Neurosciences
Heart & vascular
Cancer center
Medical office building
Inova Health Center - Oakville (CA) ~93,000SF Outpatient Facility
Emergency services
Imaging
Health commons
Ambulatory surgery
Procedure rooms
Inova Springfield Hospital (SD-CA)
9 stories, 144 bed, ~985,000SF Hospital
Health campus
Emergency services
Inpatient and outpatient services - specialty surgical focus
Musculoskeletal hub
- Architecture, Interior FFE, MEP, Lighting
Lobby design and documentation is a important part of public space. It is also a combination of multiple scopes. To realize our design intent, I developed multiple details including but not limited to - finishes, millwork, and ceiling coves that takes light and air return into consideration.
Design intent also needed to be thought through for documentation. For example, the joints on lobby walls were set up as rules for documentation, the offsets for elevator headers were coordinated with shaft wall and drawn with rigor.
Thorough “spin” sessions with MEP and structure consultants were followed through to ensure that all drawings were coordinated and correct.
freestanding cafe planning, design and documentation on the campus, I participated in the user workshops and planning, interations, and spearheaded the coordination between multiple consultants, interior designers, as well as manufacturer reps.
freestanding object with overhanging canopy. To realize the design, we developed a complex canopy system with layers of pregrille ceilings, sprinkler layer, lighting layer, and structural layers for the intersection supports and the main HSS supports.
MONUMENTAL STAIRS - Coordination between Structure & Architecture
I lead the design and documentation of the two monumental stairs in the hospital podium. While the designs of two stairs, as well as other monumental stairs on the Inova campuses, are standardized and consistent.
We had to creatively develop different details because of unique conditions and slab cutouts. Working with senior project architects on code and life safety, flooring finish rep, and structural consultants, the designs of monumental stairs were realized and documented.
THE CUBE
Data Center Museum Complex | Long Island City, NY
Critic: Danielle Willems
Collaboration with Xinyi Huang
The studio explores to exhibit the power of computation data within a monolithic, machinic hybrics throughout ontological computation formations. The project seeks to showcase the power of data to the world - challenging the secretive and hidden nature of data center, displaying and emphasizing the machinc space, and visualizing the informational age with a powerful yet monolithic statement.
Containing two programs of data center and museum, the project links and opens up the secure and machine-centered data center to the public, educational, and human-centered museum space, while still maintaining a sense of division.
Scope of work
Concept development, material exploration, site planning, 3D modeling, renders, section details, and overall section
JEWELRY BOX - MATERIALITY AND GEOMETRY
Cenotaph is an ancient monument erected as memorial of a person or a group. Through precedent studies, we were most intrigued of the Kozara Memorial Monument.
The studio then studies the reciprocity between different materials - resin, rockite, concrete, wood, foam, wax, and color dye. The interactions between different colors and textures f omposite tectonics, which then informs the structural envelope technologies and the geometry interconnection between the machinic and the human space. The concept of data center being the “jewelry box” of the museum emerged from the studies.
With the site’s location found on the East River in Long Island City, the Cube’s infrastructural veins crawl through the landscape. The machinic designs extract and filter river water, which then serves as functional cooling water for the data center. Visitors follow the path of the water into the museum to speculate and experience about its life cycle. Structural analysis were conducted to study the constructability of the massing.
SPECULATION BEYOND THE CUBE
1. Landscape - Discrete v.s. Visibility
2. Front Entrance - Monolith, Voids, and Tectonics
3. Lobby - Space & Weight of Data
4. Museum Exhibition - Human v.s. Machine
Academic Work
PATHOLOGICAL MILIEU
Architecture & Artificial Intelligence | Governor’s Island, NY
Critic: Karel Klein
Collaboration with Jingchu Sun, Xinyi Huang
The project explores and reinterprets normal and pathological through the lens of artificial intelligence in an iterative process that leads to a redefinition of “new normal of architecture”. AI tools such as Runway ML and ostagram take the roles of collaborators with architects in the redesigning of Governors Island in New York City.
Programmatically in the project, the architectural space exists above ground serves as a research center and dwelling units for the residents, while underground spaces serve as facility usage. Different materials adapted from style transfers intertwine on the surface condition, yet being distinctive and legibly separated. The project diverges from typical architectural creations, but reclaims an opportunity of collaboration between human and AI to create an uncanny occupiable architectural space.
Scope of work
GAN image training, material exploration in style transfer, section development and 3D modeling, animation, final renders
GAN & STYLE TRANSFER of MARINE CREATURES
Generative adversarial network (GAN) is a machine learning model where networks compete and transform through the learning process. Style transfer is a algorithmic technique that allows computers to recompose and manipulate images into selected styles.
Thousands of images are input into Runway ML and style transferred to create the new marine creatures. Through the lens of artificial intelligence, tectonic relationships and textural studies are apprehended and then further comprehended by humans. The marine creatures are carefully studied, selected and modified based on the clarity and legibility of textures and geometry.
03. Specimen Style Transfer
02. Runway Machine Learning specimen outputs
NORMAL V.S. PATHOGEN
Normalilty in human society is based on cultural, statistical, and sociological concepts. The project tries to reinvent a “new normal” through the lens of AI, neglecting human common sense in order for an increase in creativity. The new normal is generated on the entire Governors Island, and site area is selected and further designed by our aesthetic judgements and the algorithmic calculations of style transfer from previous marine creature studies.
The surface conditions are created by this collaboration between human and AI in a plan basis before developing in sections.
05. Aerial Plan
04. Governors Island “new normal” development
06. Sectional development from GAN and style transfer
08. Section
SPECULATION THROUGH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
1. Landscape - Normal V.S. Pathogens
2. Tectonics and Pixels
4. Remnants
NEUROSLEEVE Other Work
Product Design for Healthcare
Project Designer 2021-2022
Collaboration with Mike Avery & Thomas Jefferson University Raphael Center
The project explores the potential of utilizing scripts to parametrically design prosthetic wears in the realm of healthcare architecture. Current prosthetic wears in the market often cost thousands and are heavy to wear, while approximately 291,000 Americans suffer from neuromuscular disorders. Neurosleeve establishes a workflow that customizes and generates parametric geometries in prosthetic wears, and explores the manufacturability through 3d printing.
Our project begins in the scanning of patient arms. As the lead designer, I work to establish a computational workflow where geometries of prosthetic wears are automatically exported with inputs of the scans. Simple variables control the general geometry of the prosthetics, and the structural stabilities are factored in the generation of prosthetic arms. Finally, a clean geometry is 3d printed with plastic with carbon fiber inlays, making the product strong enough to withstand the power of linear actuators.
The project, as of now, conducts 7 successful clinical trial, and was featured in the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation.
Scope of work
Development of the workflow, grasshopper coding, structural analysis and translating to geometry, aesthetic design
Other Work
LUMEN
MoMA PS1 2017 Exhibition
Engineer, Spring 2017
Collaboration with Jenny Sabin Lab
The project focused on creating a sustainable immersive environment where viewers can interact directly with the architectural gallery. The team has done immense environmental analysis and materials research, and created a responsive cellular canopy that adapts to the densities of bodies, heat, and sunlight.
As a materials engineering associate researcher in Sabin Design Lab, the individual project is the proposal model and the design of the misting system. The delicate model making process includes laser-cutting, sanding & staining of site model, and powder printing & curing of the canopy models. The misting system is designed to respond to visitors’ proximity, producing a refreshing microclimate. Bridging between engineering and architecture, the materials create a structure that transform throughout the day and night.
Scope of work
Study and development of the interactive misting system, PS1 proposal model fabrication
ALGORITHM Other Work
Computational Form, Algorithm, Fabrication
2020 - 2021
Critic: Ezio Blasetti
Collaboration with Saina Xiang, Kirsten Feng, June Yuan, Hayden Wu
The studies of computational power and parametric formations spans one year. Investigation topics include simple Moiré patterns, and the fabrication of carbon fiber with practical considerations.
Moiré patterns are visual effects from physical wavelength interferences. The intersection between lines simulate a magnetic pattern. By juxtapositioning electric potential concepts into moiré interferences, the project studies the complex relationship between two concepts. The project explores 2D, 3D, and 4D patterns with influences from hyperdimensional charges.
Taking the computational studies into reality, the team starts to investigate carbon fiber and robotic arm fabrication methods. With carbon fiber simulation the patterning lines, we studied structural impacts and stress lines and how it informs the design, as well as constructability. The iterative process simplifies and streamlines the design, and was finally constructed by weaving carbon fiber strings with robotic arms.
Scope of work
Coding, Grasshopper scripting, Renders and Animation, Formation Diagrams, Structural Analysis
