Mining Identity
Mengmeng He Architectural Portfolio
Cornell AAP M.S.AAD 25'
Selected Works before 2025
Experiences of cosmopolitan modernity and nation-building have been shaped by differences rooted in the colonial encounter and the construction of racialized bodies associated with it. The hybridity and mobility of identity take on a racialized dimension, becoming a characteristic of heterogeneity.
Architecture, as a medium that blends material technology, also serves as a tool and system to represent nationhood and identity.
My focus in architectural design has always been on the organization of such identity, seeking its boundaries and exploring its homogeneity and exclusivity.
Self Identify
\ experience and statement \
I have never regarded architecture merely as a conglomerate of materials but consistently perceived it as the amalgamation of spatial experience and identity affiliation. I vividly recall my childhood when my mother held my hand as we visited the family temple, believed to bless our neighborhood upon its initial construction. We slowly traversed through the crowd. The gradual ascent between the aged residential buildings exuded a sense of tranquility, with the distant aroma of burning incense and the warm recitation of prayers. The collective act of seeking blessings did not solely arise from blind faith in doctrine but was more so summoned by a secular spiritual sanctuary. The purposes, sounds, lights, aromas, silent yet intimate walks, and shared cultural significance all these elements composed the temple, a connection I have always retained.
When I began studying architecture, I naturally focused on topics related to phenomenology, memory, and moments. With deeper theoretical learning, I dedicated myself to exploring how architecture attains collective recognition of its spatial identity. Over the next three to four years, I delved into the works of Ferdinand de Saussure, Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault and David Harvey, developing a strong interest in the societal order hidden behind spatial experiences. Through in-depth studies in anthropology and sociology, I began interpreting my poetic and intuitive reflections based on individual experiences from a collective perspective. In this process, I gradually realized that " I " was no longer an independent individual but rather part of overlapping layers based on gender, age, political stance, culture, and social background, always within a changing subset of a broader community. I identified with individuals in a particular community for familiar reasons, leading to similar identity affiliations with specific places. I discovered that the feedback from different communities exhibits physiological commonalities and distinctions due to varying contexts. This response is only partially related to the function of architecture ; it is more of a " feeling, " a complex responsive relationship.
The spatial identity of architecture is an invisible force, guiding the matching of experiential perception and material space in different communities within their respective contexts. In my further reflections, I aim to understand what determines this identity and how it can be strengthened or weakened through reasonable architectural means. My goal is to deepen my understanding of the mechanisms behind the formation of spatial identity and explore how innovation and design in architecture can shape and guide people's perception and affiliation with space.
Over the past eight years, I selectively participated in a series of interdisciplinary workshops to broaden my understanding and consistently sought practical opportunities to implement my ideas through design experimentation. This portfolio partly documents the efforts I have invested in, and I wholeheartedly aspire to further advance my research on this theme.
\ front cover\ the scan translated by AI
\ back cover \ a CT scan of my brain in 2020
Cornall AAP \ M.S.AAD \
01-12
Neo Commons
\ identify characters \
\ 24 Fall \
My research on Jamaica examines the architectural and spatial dimensions of resistance through the Jonkonnu festival, particularly the headdresses used by enslaved people as tools of anonymity, protection, and social transformation. I analyze how fabric wrapping and layering create opacity, enabling anonymity that fosters resistance while also carrying protective and symbolic social attributes. By studying the stitching together of diverse materials in these headdresses, I explore their capacity to gather and reconfigure meaning, agency, and collective identity.
Drawing from this, my proposal for Jamaica envisions a Commons Park - a space that, like the Jonkonnu headdress, stitches together the best elements of the environment, culture, and community, offering a site for gathering, resilience, and shared expression.
13-18
Vertical Park
\ identify public \
\ 24 Summer \
My design reimagines Manhattan’s skyscraper facades as a new vertical grid, creating a base for public parks to climb across the city's skyline. These unit-based parks can move independently, span streets to form larger landscapes, shift, intersect, or cluster in specific areas. They allow people to transition directly from enclosed buildings to elevated urban spaces.
19-21
Sewer Cleaner
\ identify infrastructure system \
\ 24 Summer \
Using New York City's open-source data, I developed a responsive infrastructure system with Grasshopper and Python to provide pipeline cleaning services. In this concept, robotic units collect real-time data, detect the nearest clogged address through sensors, navigate autonomously, and break down obstructions within the pipelines.
SCUT
\ master of architectural design and theory \
23-32
Soundscape Monument
\ identify historical soundmarks \
\ 21 Fall \
This project establishes a Soundscape Monument to preserve Konigsberg’s lost heritage. By merging spatial form with the experience of entry, I translate shifting regional power into an experiential soundscape sequence, expressed with architectural honesty. The memorial reinterprets history through sound, engaging with the silent existing structure.
43-48
No Named Architectures
\ identify roles \
\ 19 Fall \ This research investigates marginalized groups ' architectural activities, examining the driving and controlling factors behind their construction and evolution within the discourse of architectural rights.
49-58 Switches
\ identify core tube generation \
\ 18 Fall \
I analogize the working principle of a mechanical keyboard to wetland urban construction, attempting to find a variant that exists, a replicable language for green city types. This involves linking the relationship between high-rise buildings and the ground through a building's core, similar to switches.
ZJUT
\ bachelor of architecture \
23-42
Sacred Cave
\ identify sacred \
\ 17 Fall \
This design creates everyday spiritual spaces by transforming the hospital’s rear into a sacred cave, offering a triple healing space for consultation, mutual aid, and meditation while easing the psychological distress of chronic illness.
1 - individual work
Let All Good Things Gather Together.
\ institution \
2024 Fall, Cornell AAP Optional Studio
\ advisor \ design - Jennifer Newsom research - Edward E. Baptist
\ infomation \ located in Jamaica, Petersfield
\ honor \ grade A+ elected for AAP's advisory council meeting
\ experience \
1' research on the Headdress of the Jamaican Jonkonnu Festival
2 ' field study on Petersfield, Jamaica
3' park pesign for the local community
4' layout and editing of the travelogue and booklet
characters for Jamaican community
Headdress
In 18th-century Jamaica, Jonkonnu emerged as a Christmas tradition during the brief respite granted to enslaved people. Marked by elaborate masked dances and the relentless beat of drums, it was both a celebration and an act of resistance. The enslaved mocked their European masters through characters with distinctive headdresses, such as the King, Queen, and Pitchy-Patchy, blending disguise and satire.
Using the verbs "Mix " , "Mask " , "Mock ", and "Move ", I abstract the term " Headdress", where each verb interconnects, forming a cyclical progression that captures its layered meaning.
identify characters for Jamaican community
Counter Map
\ deconstruct and reconstruct the headdress on mapping \
I view the headdress differently, deconstructing it into a skeleton and its covering. the overlapping of different materials creates distinct, sharp edges, which both reveal and obscure the boundaries of a map.
The materials, constantly transforming in transparency and texture, are stitched together by red thread, forming a fabric. these masses take shape as clusters, representing the core plantations on the map of Jamaica.
Headdress Jungles
\ combine different materials
Small, anthropomorphic sculptures carry a particular kind of sorrow. their human-like elements are all drawn from Jonkonnu, where, on just one day each year, only through disguise can equality be momentarily achieved. in this sense, each of them embodies a character.
identify characters for Jamaican community
Speculative models
\ repeat represent slavery history \
Repeated and iterative expressions are used to uncover the true keywords of this story, serving to generate the next spatial possibilities. All of these elements rhythmically combine into a single story. They are small-scale Headdress Jungles.
1 loading
Layered burdens, where hemp ropes tightly compress various materials, reveal different states of being bound. together, they bear the weight of the glittering upper class of slavery sociery.
5 mixing
The mixing of different materials, akin to the merging of crowds, invariably gives rise to boundaries, conflict, and mutual erosion.
9 force
The membrane evokes an imagined boundary, with force pushing outward from within pins. At times, the pinpoints break through the surface, becoming acts of penetration, but more often, they merely press outward, distorting the form without breaking through.
2 parking
Cotton, a staple crop of Jamaica, is tainted with blood and the soot of industry, turning it into a symbol of sin. wrapped in forced labor and iron cages, it carries the weight of its own oppression.
6 grave
A heap of small, anonymous graves displays an unspeakable sorrow. the crushed bodies lie discarded and buried, each a silent testament to profound suffering.
10 hollow
The enslaved people sought to enter the master's class, to partake in their food, drink, wealth, and social status. they attempted to infiltrate from all directions, but only found themselves inside a hollow.
3 hierarchy
The hierarchical structure of Jamaican slave society was built upon layers of exploitation and oppression, cascading downward.
7 ornament
How do you decorate a stone by binding its edges with red thread, locking it in. by adorning it with beautiful lace fabric, concealing its essence.
11 support
The crushed and compacted slave class supports the soft, indulgent upper class master , with an insurmountable chasm of modern industry separating them.
4 covering
Beneath the layers of confinement, the slaves sought a path to the center, but their efforts only added more layers, thickening the outer shell and reinforcing the surface of the social order.
8 stone-like
Tighten it, expressing hardness with a piece of soft, elastic fabric. steel wire pierces through the material, revealing rigid boundaries in a taut manner.
12 mirror
Peering, spying, gazing. slaves looked at the master's house, yearning to enter. They tried to peer inside, but all they saw was their own reflection in the mirror.
Red Circle Path
\ stitching different spatial forms \
In the constraints I’ve shaped for myself, I’ve cast aside the beautiful yet irrelevant aspects of the jungle and begun to truly understand the headdress as a tool for revealing or disrupting certain behaviors and power structures. The red circulatory threads, like the all-night leaps of Jonkonnu, tug at the material, drawing it inward.
On this upward path, the movement shifts from circling and clinging to the edges toward the core. What begins as a flexible outer loop becomes increasingly solidified, ultimately forming tight knots that stand in direct opposition to space.
The interaction between space and space, material and material, is like a veil through which one thing transforms into another. There’s an inherent ambiguity, a refusal to operate in a singular way. The materials overlap in layers and fuse into complex forms, constantly challenging the boundaries of their own identities.
Learn from local community
\ find good things and gather them together \
The local community in this site hopes that the land will be used to create a community park, a space for picnics, gatherings, and public activities. A new demand emerges to generate income, ensuring that the park can sustain itself.
Identify 5 Characters
\ find what is valuable to be an community spatial character \
\ diagram \ core public kitchen generate income farmers' market femalism education rent
Recalling how Jonkonnu gathered all the noble characters to resist slavery, the proposal uses spatial form of different functions as distinct characters, stitching together different functions, sites, environments, contents, and people.
Jonus Core
\ public kitchen for community \
On either side of the public kitchen, a duality unfolds, much like the nature of Jonas. On one side, the kitchen faces and serves the soccer field, with seating on the grandstand, where people can gather, share food, and watch the match.
On the other, the kitchen, with large windows, faces the school, offering a clear view into the students ' class schedules, always ready to observe when they finish. In this way, the kitchen becomes both a communal heart and a watchful eye.
step 7'
Elavator
\ vertical transparency \
The guiding entrance reveals a silent invitation beneath the weighty roof. In its deepest recess, light emerges, beckoning you.
There, in the distant courtyard, lies the public kitchen below.
Stitching Fabric
\ varying transparencies \ Roof
Plan
\ multiple roofs \
Neo Commons
\ park with multiple uses \
1. Community Zone
1. public kitchen
2. storage room
3. stands
4. the second-floor stands can be used for multi-purpose
2. Economic Zone
5. farmers’ market
6. vendors
3. Education Zone
7. Seats provided for students waiting bus
8. communication
9. computer zone
4. Service Zone
10. bathroom and fitting room
5. Activity Zone
11. original pavilion
12. open space for renting to parties, and weddings.
2 - team work
Vertical Park For Crowded Manhattan.
\ institution \ 2024 Summer, Cornell AAP AI-assisted Studio
\ co-worker\ Yashodhan Mangukia Siyuan (Justin) Liu
\ advisor \ James Lowder Michael Loverich
\ infomation \ located in Park Avenue, Manhaatan, New York City
\ experience \
1' research and rethink what is radical about park design
2' use AI (Midjourney) as assistant to explore concept
3' design development and AI-assisted representation
\ Max Ernst \ integrate nature and landscape
\ Toshio Shibata \ grid on black mountains
Grid Evolution
\ different zones under collective roof \
For a crowded city like Manhattan, its peculiarity is that there are almost no gaps between high-rise buildings, so its verticality is the starting point for our thinking. Not only because of the lack of space, but also because verticality and grid are the most important features of Manhattan.
We hope that our basic unit can be combined horizontally and vertically. Some coherent connections can be formed between different functions and different functions.
Unit Function
\ select different functions for the moving park \
Furthermore, we thought about questions in the park that elicit feedback, functions that focus activity and joy, and tried to think about the possibility of sharing them to the entire island of Manhattan. We want everyone to have equal access to all the good stuff, which is why we chose these features.
Vertical Park
\ utilize the vertical surface of Manhattan skyscrapers \
\ AI generation \
When park units are connected in pairs, people will be able to walk on them, combining various functions to form a huge comprehensive vertical park.
\ mixture form \ We refocus our attention on the truly radical reform of the space, that is, to answer the following three questions :
First, what kind of material changes does the vertical change in direction bring, and what can this change bring to the function or human activity. Second, what does the vertical shielding in direction, or the breaking of the building surface, mean to the users. Third, how can we find a suitable form to connect nature and man-made objects.
Assemble
\ two park units meet at Park Avenue and gather to be a "V" \
In order to strengthen the park 's mobile characteristics rather than a fixed type, we rethought the park 's mobile characteristics. At this stage, we used some mechanical devices as a prototype reference to discuss how our park would crawl in the city. In the imagined Manhattan, our park is like various insects crawling on the vertical interface. There were many types of them, and they could (1) crawl vertically and horizontally on a building surface, (2) crawl across gaps between buildings, and ( 3 ) be combined together.
3 - individual work
Sewer Cleaner For New York City.
\ institution \ 2024 Summer, Cornell AAP AI-assisted Studio
\ advisor \ Fleet Hower
\ infomation \ located in Park Avenue, Manhaatan, New York City
\ experience \
1' proficient in Rhino
2' well-versed in Grasshopper and its built-in Python logic
3' skilled in creating interactive websites
Sewer System
\ the robertic clean system in different scales \
The sewer system in New York is a crucial municipal facility. If it gets clogged, the city's drainage system will have significant issues, and the entire city will be immersed in foul odors. Manual cleaning requires a lot of manpower and resources, and it also poses safety risks. I hope to solve this problem with mobile drones.
The sewer cleaner drone is battery-powered and equipped with a GPS positioning system. It includes a set of mechanical arms for grabbing debris, a centrally located waste shredder, a pouch for storing waste, and some docking ports that allow multiple cleaners to work together.
Using NYC ' s open data, I collected and mapped the data onto real geographic information to create an interactive module. Additionally, I utilized Python to call various functional modules, generating different form types and selecting the optimal configuration to best match specific needs.
Proximity Sensing
\ block recognition in robotic systems \
4 - individual work
A Soundscape Monument Against The Silent Ruins.
\ institution \ 2021 Fall, SCUT Masters' Thesis Program
\ mentor \ Jingtang He
\ infomation \ located in Konigsberg Castle, Russia
\ honor \ grade A selected into the China higher education database
\ experience \
1' research on the Sounscape Theory
2 ' field study on Konigsberg Castle Ruins
3' generate concept about rebuilding historical soundmarks
4' design and representation
Chapter 1 harbourage of fort
Chapter 2 faith of church
Chapter 3 frighten of bell tower
Chapter 4 order of chamber
identify historical soundmark for the Konigsberg's silent ruins
1244 a.d.
The Teutonic Order founded this castle, which was the oldest landmark in the city.
1565-1933 a.d.
It was became the center of secular politics.
1457-1525 a.d.
The church was became the site of early churches.
The 700-year-old regional capital of Königsberg is the birthplace of the ancient Prussians and has a landmark castle. After World War II, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the city became an enclave, and the former Germans were expelled. The Russians who replaced them were geographically isolated from other regions. Their relationship with their mother country was politically severed.
During the period from 2005 to 2020, the Russian government has repeatedly opened discussions on rebuilding a castle on this piece of ruins. But the rebuilt building is just a beautiful fake. We cannot go back to the past. What Königsberg needs is a new plan to respond to history.
1944-1945 a.d.
The castle was constantly bombed during the World War Ⅱ and suffered serious damage.
- Today Königsberg's Needs Pic1. Historically, the castle was an important administrative hub
1970 a.d.
After the war, the Soviet Union demolished the ruins of the castle and replaced it with an unfinished Soviet house.
The Effect Of Sound On The Environment
\ correlation between physical environment and acoustic experience \
Physical environment and the location of sound sources create the ways in which soundscapes are experienced. However, the listener’s involvement is the aspect that requires the most discussion. This involvement encompasses the listener ’s cultural context, physiological state, spatial position, and mode of listening. All of these factors determine the listener ’s identity within a soundscape.
\ Sound Field Construction \ The basic attributes of a sound field are determined by the decibel level, directionality, and the material environment.
\ Sound Material Identity \ Based on context, each sound source occupies a specific position and role, with its unique identity.
\ Sound Masking \ The masking of sound in space creates a sense of envelopment, defining the hierarchy and segments.
Identify the Sounmark Of A City
\ acoustic signal of community cohesion \
When the identity of sound becomes a long-lasting recognizable regional Sound Signal, similar to a Landmark, the sound transforms into a Soundmark for that area. It governs residents cognitive perception of the region, possessing dual attributes of political and significance in the city.
ear: location, status, context
comprehensive sound field
Acoustic Perception Process (consciousness and subconscious outcomes) different sound reflecting interfaces (1-8)
Political
and
\ the heritage of history \
identify historical soundmark for the Konigsberg's silent ruins
Material Evolution
I carefully sorted out the history of changes in the architecture itself and the political relationships it carried and represented throughout the history of the K nigsberg Castle, and extracted the most critical signals in each historical segment. I found that they are indeed It has to do with sound. Like instruments, the Königsberg Castle from different historical periods vibrate in the city, influencing people 's daily lives in social and political ways.
1584-1594
The head of state's residence was added here
14th - 15th
Addition as an auxiliary part, the castle gradually removes publicness
1242 a.d. The regional shelter and the church
(Demolition in the 14th)
(Destroyed in World War II)
1309 a.d. Renovated as a national archives
1255 a.d.
This is the original site of the wooden fort, which was renovated over the following centuries
1565-1569 a.d.
1705-1712 a.d. Hall and auditorium for political diplomacy
1944 a.d. Russia blew up the ruins of the castle and built an unfinished House of Soviet on it
Königsberg Castle
\ the soundmark of the city \
Soundmark is a term derived from 'landmark' used in Soundscape studies to refer to a community sound which is unique, or possesses qualities which make it specially regarded or noticed by the people in that community.
\
of the
Former Soundmark Location The Center of Radiating Surrounding Areas
1242 a.d. Fort A sheltered sound square
1255 a.d. Church A directional sound range
1525 a.d. Bell Tower A widely radiated sound wave
\ The sound spreads in this land for a long time \
The former Königsberg has always been the Soundmark of the city, which simultaneously overlaps the meaning of architecture and city in any dimension.
\ The diffusion effect of sound texture \
In the sonic texture of the city, Königsberg is the ongoing center. The sound texture it diffuses is a symbol of the regional structure at any point in time. Its sound attribute to the entire city in each historical period corresponds to the regional political and cultural structure. At the same time, the structural and functional changes of the building itself.
1712 a.d. Castle A set of regular sound sequences
1944 a.d. Ruins
1993 a.d. House of Soviet A silent vortex
\ 1981, Eric Johnson, the acoustics of violin plates
Ruins
Königsberg Castle
Church - Ritual
Bell Tower - Grading
Castle - Order
Fort - Shelter
identify historical soundmark for the Konigsberg's silent ruins
identify historical soundmark for the Konigsberg's
Reference. MOJR(2013), Labyrinth
2F
2F
5 - individual work
Sacred Cave: An Additional Patient Center For A Chronic Hospital.
\ institution \ 2017 Fall, ZJUT Individual Program
\ advisor \ Xiaoqing Zhu
\ infomation \ located in a local chronic hospital, French \ experience \
1' research on the historical development of hospital 2 ' design the additional part for the hospital
\ find space for spiritual supporting \ Statues of gods enshrined in a narrow aisle, a window full of scenery, a chapel, a simple place related to light, and the space behind the stairs may all become their spiritual realm. Patients tried their best to seek spiritual comfort.
Modern Hospital: a despiritualized treatment machine
\ hospital development history \
The modern hospital, with its distinctive authority and knowledge, monitors and manages patients by categorizing, labeling, and controlling them to maintain social order and power structures.
In this mechanism, patients are not only sufferers of physical illnesses but also subjects of social control.
Historically, places imbued with sacred significance have inspired hope for the alleviation of pain and a return to wholeness. While the field of classification medicine constructs its authority, the medical spaces also provide opportunities for patients at the bottom of the power hierarchy to shape their own spaces.
\ temple \ Antient Greek
hospital \ Modern
Cure. A recurrent process in modern society
step1: triage enter
step2: checkup
step3: medical treatment died
Past
\ sacred space \
In the European Middle Ages, hospitals became important institutions for caring. Patients pray to medicine for good health. During this period, doctors usually doubled as clergy. They not only diagnosed and treated patients with medicines, but also provided strong spiritual support to patients.
Modern
\ functionality \
As the design of hospital began to focus more on functionality, they also began to adopt more scientific methods of medical care. When modern hospitals complete their differentiation from traditional hospitals, patients will be cycled through countless examinations and treatments.
However, at the far end, they still maintained their pursuit of sanctity.
In daily life, spiritual fragments are like soft caves, eroding the hard architectural convenience. The space related to the spirit is always soft and sentimental, and I finally processed it into pure curves. Memories related to the spirit disintegrate the architectural boundaries formed by straight lines.
Regular Lobby
\ the regular hospital lobby for divide people by their diseases \
The lobby is usually at the entrance to the hospital. No matter how decorated it is, its function is to classify patients.
I want to provide a daily spiritual place for chronic patients, which includes people strolling, staying, meditating, talking, blessing each other, including all activities that can soothe their souls as much as I can. In imagination, it has pure arcs, soft walls, and most importantly, a kind atmosphere.
1. (Joe Fletcher) SUMC Center, 2009
2. (Elliott Erwitt) Allied Chemical, 1966
a. communication area (public)
b. viewing platform
c. elevator
d. waiting area
e. meditation room (personal)
f. entrance
g. cafeteria (public)
h. waiting area
i. physiotherapy recovery room
0 5m 2
Sacred Cave
\ a place for spiritual support \
I hope to build a soft, cave-like place to wrap the patient. It is derived from the traditional hospital space and uses curves to intrude and interfere with the rigid straight walls of the traditional clinic layout to provide a spiritual power.
6 - team work
A Field Research Of No Named Architectures.
\ institution \ 2019 Fall, SCUT Elective Workshop
\ advisor \ Jason Ho Elaine Kwong
\ infomation \ Rsearch on Meijia Courtyard, Guangdong Province
\ honor \ International 2019 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism Exhibition
\ experience \
1' a week-long field study
2 ' large-scale hand-drawn maps
3' two months of analysis
I include it in my portfolio because it marked a turning point in my architectural studies. The workshop examined how marginalized groups construct and modify space, challenging the Beaux-Arts tradition, where technical mastery often diminishes empathy. Architecture had become a detached discipline, disconnected from everyday life.
Our instructors urged us to regain empathy by immersing in different perspectives. I embedded myself in the lives of those I studied, observing, reflecting, and understanding their needs. At the time, the lack of spatial design outcomes frustrated me, but I later realized it had taught me a new way of thinking one centered on everyday life, care, and human connection.
1. auspicious day scene
2. spontaneous town architectural texture
3-7. analysis of population changes
8-12. transportation mode juxtaposition analysis
13-17. market model changes
18-19. report of the survey
20. architectural changes in 50 years 21-22. structural history changes
24-. fieldwork reports and photos
7 - team work
Rethinking The Core-Tube As A Mx Switch.
\ institution \ 2018 Fall, He Jingtang Studio Practice Program
\ advisor \ Jingtang He
\ infomation \ located in Jiangdong New District, Haikou City
\ honor \ won the urban planning competition
\ experience \
1' research on the typology of core-tubes 2 ' design the residential part
This is about the analogy between a mechanical keyboard and high-rise buildings. Similar to how a mechanical keyboard triggers a circuit by pressing down on switches with fingers, I believe the core cylinder has a similar value. Beyond facilitating traffic, it serves as a crucial medium for natural transportation, collecting rainwater, supplementing solar energy, and forming a top-down urban water cycle.
The strips of this cycle not only clear water routes but also successfully plant greenery on various floors, creating truly autonomous green buildings. It grafts unique urban pathways based on multilevel green platforms on the natural ground layer.
Mechanical Keyboard
\ inspiration from the triggering \
The working principle of a mechanical keyboard is based on the fact that each key has an independent switch. When a key on the keyboard is pressed, the mechanical switch corresponding to that key is closed. When the switch is closed, an electric current is sent to the computer, allowing the computer to recognize and record the pressed key.
\ mx - switches \ Through mechanical triggering, the switch is the core component enabling the functionality of a mechanical keyboard. Encased within keycaps, the switch is mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) and positioned through a backplate.
As the finger descends, an electrical current forms a pathway on the PCB, creating a seamless and functionally aesthetic process.
a. cherry mx switches
b. function knob
c. screen display board
d. positioning plate
e. shaft underpad
f. printed circuit board
g. kit metal base
Multi-level Modern City
\ structural analogy \
This term refers to a city that incorporates multiple layers or levels in its urban structure and design. This concept goes beyond the traditional two-dimensional understanding of cities and envisions urban spaces that extend vertically, creating a threedimensional or multi-level environment.
\ core - tube \
Like the switch, the core tube provides the functional trigger core of a high-rise building. As a transportation medium, it connects the underground, the surface and every horizontal layer of the city. In my vision, it not only transports people and items, but also transports nature.
a. core tubes
b. public architecture
c. overhead layer
d. traffic layer
e. hydrophobic layer
f. underground structure
g. natural land
Mx Switch
\ combination \
Through variation and arrangement, switches form the prototype of the Layout.
Site Plan
\ part of plan organization \
Just like swiches of the keyboard are embedded in the positioning plate and lights up the printed circuit board to generate functions, the core tube also radiates its role through its coordination relationship with the urban.
\ high rise building layer \ In the distance, the seaside and mangroves seep through the gaps in the building. Through swichlike architecture, the building is embedded in the site.
\ near ground layer \ The existence of the core tube allows the horizontal and vertical traffic planes to be suspended on the second-floor platform of the city like positioning boards, allowing the first floor to still retain its earth-friendly nature.
\ solar \ The solar photovoltaic panels provide accessories for custom assembly to meet the needs of different scales
\ water \ The roof water storage takes advantage of the rainy climate characteristics of Hainan
\ storage \ Small storage and circulation equipment at each platform serves the natural vegetation extended by each platform
\ ventilation \ Constant temperature and ventilation systems meet the comfort needs of each floor
\ recycle \ Water circulation systems meet the environmental protection needs of modern urban construction
The building core connects the roof and the soil in series, allowing the natural circulation
core-tube for urban design
Gradually rising floors follow the transmission of swtiches while still enjoying sufficient
The lower level of the central street is the main node for water circulation and the main line of urban dredging
The store on the ground floor is closely connected with nature and is the
The city's equipment layer reserves space for underground transportation, meeting
The underground floor meets basic urban public functions, such as parking lots