Selected Works 2023

selected works maple lin

bechtel engineering center an adaptive reuse of student center on uc berkely campus berkeley, us

almost commemorative a living space in a museum orani, italy

station to station a community center oakland, us

traces to trace a new hub in memory of the old pavia, italy

the sculpting light a sensory healing center berkeley, us

painters’ lake house a house for two painters

nature amplifier a sleeping pod embracing nature

bechtel engineering center the bechtel engineering center at the university of california is the new heart of the college, reimagined with sustainability, innovation in engineering, and inclusion as tenets of the design. the new building includes a renovation and expansion of the existing two-story student center, bridging the latest in structural engineering with academic research to meet the changing needs of the campus. the new addition is a lightweight glass and steel paviliion built on top of an existing 1980’s brutalist-era concrete building. a structurally expressive colonnade and a canopy cornice articulation serve to complement the neighboring neoclassical building at the historic core of campus.

2021 - 2023 berkeley, ca building area, gross: 83,000 sf type: education, adaptive re-use professional work skidmore, owings, & merrill | sf office

terrace level floor plan organized around a central collaboration and circulation space called the forum, the engineering center is an ideation and discovery hub for the college of engineering and promote a sense of community and belonging for students.

building sections

south façade

a central gathering and circulation space, the forum, is programmed to include centers for innovation in partnership with leading engineering institutions, a variety of spaces for collaboration and interaction, student services, a library, and flexible workspaces.

the building is connected to the campus and landscape on three levels, allowing access for both engineering students and larger campus community. a generous canopy that wraps around the pavilion will reduce solar heat gain and mitigate glare within the interior spaces, while creating a covered civic terrace that overlooks the central glade.

enlarged floor plan - communal stairs

enlarged sections - communal stairs

the forum

stair 02 top landing

stair 03 bottom landing

stair 03 top landing

stair 03

stair 03 hanger at intermediate landing

stair 03 hanger at intermediate landing

stair 03 hanger at top landing

stair 02

louvre at grid - opt 1

louvre mid span - opt 1

louvre at grid - opt 2

louvre mid span - opt 2

campanile overlook

canopy at column

forum perimeter slab edge

ceiling and devices

forum perimeter ceiling

south façade

almost commemorative the town of orani is at a state of transformation, experiencing a shift in demographic adn core value: as villagers who once make livings at local mines move away to seek new opportunities, tourists are attracted to orani by its new core value built upon meories - the nivola museum. the museum houses two programs - the ordinary living and the appreciation of the monumental. the project proposes an alternate interpretation of the confrontation between the ordinary and the monumental: apposition. the present ordinary is captured within the form of monumental. the apposition of the ordinary and the monumental is achieved by coupling an experienced sequential space with the objects for appreciation. a solid grid that cuts into terrain defines identically dimensioned enclosed rooms and courtyards at the lower level and geometric formal garden at the upper level. within each courtyard lived a sculpture, that is both an ordinary bench to be leaned on and a distanced artwork to be appreciated.

2021 summer competition - second prize teamwork with xinwei chen

the appreciated

solid grid in terrain

the experienced

sculpture gardem

experienced ordinary vs appreciated monumental

bedroom

studio

station to station the 16th st train station is located at the edge of west oakland. though long passed its most vital time, the site, with its historic significance, along with its proximity to the neighborhood, is to become again a focal point that, not only commemorates its political, social, and technological participation, but also converges local reesidents, the youths, and the musicians. the new building is a multifaceted community center that supports educational, musical as well as various communal activities, and simultaneously presents to the community its retrieveid vitality.

2020 fall uc berkeley studio work instructor: dan spiegel teamwork with xinwei chen

forgotten corner the site is located at the border between residential area and freeways. with schools, music studios, libraries and churches in proximity. the former train station no longer plays a role in the neighborhood.

intersecting axes

site plan

each edge of the site corresponds to a different contextual condition. the new building response to context via two sets of axes generated by historic structure, streets, and visual access.

a public plaza located in front of the historic building provide space for gatherings and leisure activities. multiple paths lead visitors from streets into the plaza and finally to both the historic hall and the community center.

solid-void & frame formal study focuses on a specific portion of the train station, where the track steel structure and masonry thick walls intersect. the product is a set of space defined by thin structures, by the solid chunks, or by both.

building systems

view from steet

structural elements read as a series of directional frames are coupled with two pairs of load-bearing concretre walls, creating a contrasting spatial experience when walking inside the building.

interaction between the structural steel frames and solid concrete walls create transitional space from exterior to interior.

second level plan

central event space ground level plan

solid corridors at two sides of the central event space not only shape circulation within the building, but also selectively connect program at perimeter of building to central activities.

section

solid corridor section

solid corridor separating event space and program - here a reading area - help guide users to approach all programmatic space, including the exit to platform connecting the new building to the historic structure.

transparency

north entry

two-layered facade system, with U profile frosted glass panels on the exterior, is applied with differentiation at various locations in response to programs.

variation in transparency of the north facade is a response in program, where glimpse of movement beyond attracts visitors into the building.

variation

south plaza

air cavity within the south facade provides better thermal performance. on the north side, structural elements are exposed for rhhythmatic expression of overall massing.

landscapes in plaza direct views towards the community center where the translucent facade gives hints of activities beyond.

steel skylight mullion 2”x2” battens attached to steel beam hss steel beam 24”x4”x1/4” light blocker hidden in skylight double-layerd glazing skylight system 1” aluminum louver panel 1/8” aluminum panel 1/8” steel battens 2” insulation 6” reinforced concrete 6” steel battens 2” aluminum panel 1/8” aluminum standing seam panel hss batens for clips 1”x1”x1/8” self-adhered membrane insulation 3”+6”=9” steel finish panel 1/4” steel gutter 4”x4”x1/4” operable window double glazing air cavity for natural ventilation u profile flint glass, sandblasted aluminum panel 1/8” natural ventilation grille natural ventilation grille, galvanized grating

operable skylight window panel

aluminum panel 1/16” battens 1”x1/2” steel bracing 2”x2” aluminum panel 1/16” wood flooring 1” cast rc floor slab 6” hot water pipe 2” air exhaust duct 24”x12”x1/4” drop ceiling steel panel 1/4” wood flooring 1/2” steel structure for raised flooring reinforced concrete foundation insulation 6” compacted crush stone

traces to trace the abandoned hangar at the rivier bank is a trace of the city’s evolution: it was a witness of industrial and technological advancement; it was a synthesis between the expressive art nouveau movement and the rational modernism; it was once a point of connection between cities but now an empty building at the edge of the expanding city. the hangar is a running hourglass: its physical entity decays as its commemorative significance accumulates. instead of preserving the building’s original physical layer, the design proposes tracing of the form. space defined by original structure is traced over through offsetting and, as a result, physicalized as layers of a new massing. the new massing is a physical mold of the original space that, as the original structure decays, becomes its commemorative trace.

2021 winter competition teamwork with xinwei chen

collage

city layers

proximity

view projections

view corridor

shelter

symbiosis

commemorate

view out

lower level plan

view in

section

sculpting light in the sensory healing center, light is a healing medium for autistic spectrum disorder patients. moments of exterior beauty gently invites patients to momentarily step out from the secured cave, to experience surrounding flower blossoms and sunlight. spaces are crafted as caves and valleys - a scale that is comforatble for the patients. light enters through deep cuts into the building. space transforms as it expandss and contacts. it is a sensory interation bewteen users and space, light, and contextual environment.

2020 spring uc berkeley studio work instructor: ravee choksombatchai, luisa caldas

variation air cavity within the south facade provides better thermal performance. on the north side, structural elements are exposed for rhhythmatic expression of overall massing.

site plan the site is long and narrow, with a monumental concrete museum to the west and a narrow alley that cuts from north to south through the site.

roof level

second level

sculpted volume volume is scupted to create public alley that cuts through site. volume also pulls back from concrete building along west edge of site.

ground level

deep cuts creation of expansion-contraction space as a result of vertical deep cuts. light cuts through space, and the cuts connect interior to exterior.

painters’ lake house the house for two painters and their families is situated by a lake. the house establishes a balance between exposure to vast nature and secured retieval of self. the volume rotates 45 degrees to establish an unfamiliar yet attached relationship with the lake. unfamiliar because no wall is parallel to the shore. wandering in the space, one is either approaching the lake, or stepping away. yet at each turn of corner, the view of lake always presents. the rotated square is intersected by a pair of stairs, encapsulated in thick walls, across one of its diagonals. a large opening on the walls at the center creates flowing space that connects the entry porch, the living room, and the central activity space. here, the two families share happy moments, along with vast view of the lake. they retrieve from open space to the solid wood boxes located at two ends of the diagonal, where each family dine and sleep. it is a wander among exposure and retrieval.

2022 winter competition teamwork with xinwei chen, xueer ma

upper level plan

solid grid in terrain

solid grid in terrain

solid grid in terrain

solid grid in terrain

solid grid in terrain

solid grid in terrain

solid grid in terrain

lower level plan

section through void

view out

section through solid

view in

upper level plan

lower level plan

nature amplifier sited on steep slopes of a forest, the sleeping pods is an amplifier of nature: amplified exteperice of the touch of breezes, the sound of waving leaves, the shape of flowing water. this machine captures and physicalizes the forces of nature. comfort and joy come with the total immersion in and fun interaction with nature. the machine consists of three systems: the rigid timber structure, the flexible hanging cables, the soft and volatile water canvas. rigid members support the cables hanging a solid sleeping box that swings in the wind. water changes shapes of the canvas as it comes and goes. the machine moves with nature.

2021 spring uc berkeley course work instructor: mark anderson beebreeder competition: student award teamwork with xinwei chen

systems the machine consists of three systems: the rigid timber structure, the flexible hanging cables, the soft and volatile water canvas. rigid members support the cables hanging a solid sleeping box that swings in the wind.

bathing box

compartments the machine’s long and skinny legs support three boxes: the sorage box at entry, the sleeping box that swings, and the bathing box at the outlook.

entry box

selected works maple lin