Martin Lew
Portfolio 2014 - 2019
Martin Lew
lewtcmartin@gmail.com
National University of Singapore, School of Design and Environment Master of Architecture | 2019 Bachelor of Arts in Architecture | 2018
Contents M.Arch | July 2018 - May 2019
Valued Decay: The Urban Plant | 4 - 9 BA (Arch) Year 4 Semester 2 | Jan - April 2018
Community on The Road | 10 -15 BA (Arch) Year 4 Semester 1 (Exchange Semester) | Oct - Dec 2017
Seaming the City | 16 - 19 BA (Arch) Year 3 Semester 2 | Jan - Apr 2017
Second-hand Goods Market | 20 - 21 BA (Arch) Year 3 Semester 1 | Aug - Nov 2016
Community Walk | 22 - 23 BA (Arch) Year 2 Semester 2 | Jan - Apr 2016
Woodblock Print Museum | 24 - 27 BA (Arch) Year 1 Semester 1 | Aug - Nov 2014
Various Hand-drawn Drawings | 28
M.Arch | July 2018 - May 2019
Valued Decay: The Urban Plant Site: Hanoi, Vietnam Studio Tutor: Dr Abel Tablada
Perspective: C-shape terracing mass to accomodate site programs with waste treatment and chimney in central position; rectilinear masses as site response.
Conventional systems of waste disposal emphasize the negative qualities of waste by concentrating waste and obscuring consumers’ perspective of waste as a potential resource. Waste becomes incompatible with the city; a mutually reinforcing cycle of abhorrence of waste necessitates its distant disposal, which generates various social and environmental problems. The thesis sited in Hanoi, Vietnam – a city with its growing urban middle-class and increasing wasterelated problems due to a reliance on distant, insufficient rural landfills – seeks to address urban food waste by localizing food waste treatment in the city and create smaller loops of material flows.
Located at upcoming transport nodes, the thesis intends to reduce the scale of waste treatment, make it less imposing, more relatable to consumers and educate people on waste being a resource and create a common feature throughout the city, to enable waste to be more acceptable within the urban context. The main architectural feature is the terracing mass used to contain the linear programmes of these sites, with a food waste treatment plant as a connecting bridge in the centre of the site together with a productive landscape of outdoor terraces for green spaces, where treated waste would be used and made visible to the everyday consumer.
Thesis Premise Diagrams: localising waste treatment and making visible to consumers.
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Axonometric: showing the various programmes in the design and site context; waste treatment as bridge; terracing interior commercial spaces together with exterior green spaces (using treated waste); circulation around the building intended to make waste treatment and usage visible to educate the public.
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Perspective of Plaza: with terracing commercial spaces on the left, waste treatment plant in the centre, metro station (site context) on the right; waste once a hidden process is now made a central feature in the building; raised planters on the terraces used for growing vegetables emphasize a productive landscape encountered at the entrance to emphasize waste as a resource.
Section BB’: showing the various programme distribution in the design with site context; interior commercial spaces with accessible exterior green spaces.
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Perspective of Chimney Interior: to view part of the waste treatment process; the chimney as necessary element of the waste treatment plant is made into a landmark feature accessible from both afar and up-close; located at a key juncture in the circulation.
Perspective of Waste Treatment Bridge: a main thoroughfare between the two arms of the building; an education experience for people to learn about the waste treatment process; the background view is of the urban farms which use the treated waste.
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First Storey Plan: bus station (site context) on left, plaza in centre and market on right; the main site organisation is to emphasize centrality of waste treatment.
Perspective of Terraces: commercial spaces adjacent to green spaces used by the community and restaurants for growing of vegetables; the accessibility of the terraces seeks to bring people closer to an overall understanding of waste as a resource by seeing treated waste being used to grow food.
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Diagram: movement of waste and treated waste in the site.
Third Storey Plan: commuters would pass waste treatment moving between the two arms (bus station and metro station)
Diagram: service cores located at the rear for movement of produce.
Detail Section AA’: indicating functional aspects of terraces; planter layout, drainage and work-rooms in the background.
Section CC’: a section across the rear of the site; indicating the process of waste treatment; the chimney is a viewing gallery.
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BA (Arch) Year 4 Semester 2 | Jan - April 2018
Community on The Road Site: Boon Lay Road (Jurong East) Studio Tutor: Mr Teh Joo Heng
Perspective: the hub is situated between the MRT tracks of the East-West and North-South lines, stretching from Jurong East MRT to the surrounding HDB estates.
Jurong East is an area undergoing massive changes as an upcoming transport and commercial hub. Sited at the edge of Jurong East MRT, the massive networks of MRT lines and roads divide the surrounding residential communities. The project seeks to take advantage of the daily transit and fulfilment of daily chores to create a new communal space at this strategic crossroads between the various housing estates with the MRT and commercial spaces. Considered as an amenities pit-stop for residents, two arms contain the main bulk of amenities such as dance studios, gyms and shops on the second storey.
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A childcare centre, student care centre and senior citizens’ corner on the third storey. The main circulation takes the form of a ring which allows residents and commuters to move between different parts of the site efficiently. Communal spaces on the second storey such as a book exchange corner, shared workspace and a cafeteria overlook the road while also being directly adjacent with the main circulation, encouraging residents to take short stops at these spaces while en route to home or the MRT. Shared playing areas and communal planters on the third storey are situated on a loop overlooking the second storey communal spaces.
Axonometric: showing the various spaces in the hub with communal spaces highlighted in red
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Exterior Perspective: a series of terraces to bridge the roads, where waiting spaces (e.g. lift lobbies) serve as communal spaces through daily interactions between residents going through daily routines (e.g. dropping children off at childcare).
Section AA’: the proposal for a communal space and amenities hub stretching from the housing estates to Jurong East MRT station
#1 #2 Processs Models (left to right): process models one to eight
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Interior Perspective: second storey ‘ring’ as connector to amenities, communal spaces and vertical access to ground level. Structural system designed as a series of frames radiating from the centre into the communal spaces
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Second Storey: provides connection from the housing estate to Jurong East MRT as an extension of the system of elevated walkways in Jurong East. It houses the main bulk of amenities (shops, activity rooms) and communal spaces to serve residents on the way to work.
Section BB’: the use of screens on the third storey childcare centre provides a visual barrier from passing trains, while emphasising the curved forms. The second-storey activity rooms (e.g. dance studio) utilise a recessed balcony to create distance between trains and the rooms, while also serving as rest spaces for its users.
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Third Storey: houses a childcare centre, student care centre and a senior citizens’ corner.v
The double-volume communal space is emphasised by double-height screens, which seek to to provide a view of the road for its uers, while also allowing passing vehicles to look into the communal spaces - a way to broadcast communal events. The third-storey communal space (mainly serving children and seniors) overlooks the second storey space dedicated to residents on the way to work.
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BA (Arch) Year 4 Semester 1 (Exchange Semester) | Oct - Dec 2017
Seaming the City Site: Harumi Bridge, Tokyo
Studio Tutor: Mr Akira Kakuda (Kyoto Institute of Technology)
Site Section
Harumi Bridge with Site Context
Site Plan
Harumi Bridge, located in Tokyo Bay, sits between Harumi and Toyosu Wards. Constructed in 1957, the former railway bridge served on the Harumi Line, which carried freight. It has been abandoned since 1989, and left to decay amidst a rapidly growing urban area of Harumi and Toyosu. These two areas are experiencing rapid change especially with the construction of the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Village and new Toyosu Fish Market. Amidst this development, Harumi and Toyosu are struggling to retain their industrial past and identity; Harumi as a former port and Toyosu as a former ship construction yard.
The proposal seeks to breathe new life into the old steel bridge and serve its surrounding communities through a new programme - a City Gallery; a space to discuss past and future urban development projects in the area. The design seeks to create spaces for the growing communities to enjoy Harumi Bridge and the water-side, but to contemplate about developments in the area. Various galleries frame views of development around the site, which can be juxtaposed with exhibits of the old Harumi and Toyosu. Mesh flooring features extensively to retain the open nature of the bridge, while allowing views to construction barges and the water below.
Section AA’: two galleries connected by a bridge which overlooks a space for public hearings (the ‘third’ gallery)
First Storey Plan: galleries with opaque steel deck flooring interspersed with public spaces covered with mesh flooring
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Perspective: bridge connecting two districts of Tokyo Bay, with opaque rustic steel structure set against ‘transparent’ interventions
Diagram 02: Overall Massing
Diagram 03: Views around the site
Diagram 05: Rest Spaces and Viewing Decks
Diagram 06: Elevation
Process Diagrams
Diagram 01: Thresholds
Diagram 04: Internal Views
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Section BB’ & corresponding Perspective (opposite page): the gallery for old Harumi and Toyosu houses exhibits which are juxtaposed with the highway in the background - the highway and the subsequent container freight carried by trucks led to the decline of the ship industry in the area.
Section CC’ & corresponding Perspective (opposite page): the gallery for future Harumi and Toyosu developments houses exhibits which are framed against a view of the bay and the developments. The perspective depicts a rest area between the ‘future’ galleries which features the column as a remnant of the past.
Section DD’ & corresponding Perspective (opposite page): a space for public hearings is situated between the two galleries on the first storey. While traversing the two galleries, one will encounter this space from the second storey connecting bridge.
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BA (Arch) Year 3 Semester 2 | Jan - Apr 2017
Second-hand Goods Market Site: Current Queen Street Bus Terminal (Rochor) Studio Tutor: Mr Tsuto Sakamoto
Analysing the Thieves’ Market
With the eventual loss of the landmark Thieves’ Market and the loss of an important avenue for the physical trading of second hand goods,the scheme proposes a retail complex to continue this specialised sale of second hand goods by latching on to the revival of DIY culture. The unique appeal of the shopping experience of the Thieve’s Market lies in its no-frills hawking of one-a-kind goods spread across densely laid tarps throughout Sungei Road.
Studio Group-work (2 weeks) Revisiting Rochor; a masterplan to resurfance the morphological fabric of the old Rochor into major circulation paths, the proposal seeks to provide connections to experience the forgotten side of Rochor.
Adapted from an analysis of the Thieves’ Market located across the site; a linear central space serves as the main circulation of goods and people, to recast the no-frills procedures of goods delivery from Sungei Road into the context of the building; while the periphery contains the main work and retail spaces to expose these processes as much as possible to the surrounding streets below - the facade is envisioned as a vertical ‘tarp’.
2ndStorey Plan
First Storey Plan 3rdStorey Plan
Elevation 2
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Section AA’
4th Storey Plan
Roof Plan
Exterior Perspective
Interior Perspective
Elevation 1: goods and services exposed to surrounding streets
To accommodate the wide variety of one-a-kind goods that second hand shops can sell, an integrated shelving system is proposed in the retail spaces where the columns can hold adjustable shelves which are expressed on the facade. The volumes of these retail shelf-spaces are varied; to accommodate the variety of second-hand goods; or serve as integrated table-tops; as well as to enhance the effect of mass display of goods and services in the building.
Section BB’
1:10 Detail of Facade Fin
M&E services
Axonometric: facade for goods display
Module on Architecture Construction; Case Study of environmental features of Agape Village
1:50 Detail Section: a vertical ‘thieves market’ at the entrance
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BA (Arch) Year 3 Semester 1 | Aug - Nov 2016
Community Walk Site: Nyengseret, Bandung Studio Tutors: Dr Tan Beng Kiang & Mr Fung John Chye
Studio Group-work (7 weeks) Gotong Royong; A group project in collaboration with students from Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung. The intention was to design a masterplan for the low-income Nyengseret community in Bandung, building on the strong sense of community.
Perspective of Main Street: a large communal space
The project set in Bandung, Indonesia called for the design of a community street space in Nyengseret which serves to bridge the residential and commercial zones within the masterplan. Building on the strong ‘kampung’ spirit within the community, the programs revolve around shared workspaces which hug open spaces for the residents to gather; bringing the community together in the street whilst also supporting the local collectives from community kitchens and workshops. Localised communal programmes such as the community kitchens, workshops, neighbourhood offices are centralised along immediate circulation of the streets which also serve as communal spaces.
view of playground and workshop
view of neighbourhood street
Section AA’ & Perspectives: main street - communal spaces for the entire site
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Smaller neighbourhood streets serve as gathering spaces for the neighbourhood; residents meander through pockets of small gathering spaces and mingle with their community during their daily commute to and from work. In the larger main street, residents of the entire site can gather for big events (e.g. independence day, hari raya, etc), which also serves as dining spaces for residents on a daily basis with the adjacent community kitchens and push cart stalls. Frame structures run the length of the street; from the residential spaces to the market, emphasising the link between community programmes and the market. Functionally, these frames are also structures for roofs, and provide space for hanging of decorations, audio equipment, etc.
view of main street
First Storey Plan: the community walk bridges the market and residential spaces
This studio project was unique in its collaboration with Parahyangan Catholic University (UNPAR) and Bandung city authorities; the early stage of the project involved a site study of Nyengseret with UNPAR students and an initial presentation to the city’s Mayor. Subsequent individual design proposals were developed back in NUS, before concluding with a presentation to the Mayor and Nyengseret residents held in December 2016.
Canal in Nyengseret
Section BB’: neighbourhood street - communal space for interactions at the scale of the neighbourhood
view of community kitchen
Making a presentation to Bandung city mayor
Group photo with staff and students of UNPAR
view of community park and workshop
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BA (Arch) Year 2 Semester 2 | Jan - Apr 2016
Woodblock Print Museum Site: Hamilton Road (Jalan Besar) Studio Tutor: Ms Esther Wong
Perspective: screens, adapted from steel shelves used in hardware shops, integrate exhibit and structure, allowing the viewer to simultaneously view prints and the processes behind them
Hamilton Road, in Jalan Besar, has from its beginnings, been a hive of industrial activity; from the sights and sounds of lorries, metal-workers to sounds of grinding metal in hardware stores. While the woodblock print museum serves a space to exhibit woodblocks, prints and production processes it also serves to capture the industrial essence of Hamilton Road; showcasing the the layers of function to bring awareness of the inner workings of the traditional industrial shophouse along Hamilton Road.
The design features a series of steel screens which integrate structure with exhibition. Decreasing in porosity from front to back, they suggest the increasing privacy of spaces from the entrance to the storage spaces. A museum within a museum; the woodblock exhibits are held within the screens which also display the activities within them. Steel members extending from the screen support the floor and roof, suggesting a continuity between the screen and the space used. Openings on the walls aligned with these screens allow visual connection between the sequential layering of spaces.
Analysis of Hee Motor Cycle Service (the last motor-repair service on Hamilton Road) to understand the programmatic layers of the shophouse
Sketch: steel shelves in hardware stores
Section BB’: increased porosity of the screens at public spaces (e.g. public woodblock print workshop)
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Analysis of Woodblock Prints by Lim Mu Hue
Elevation: a continuity of the rhythm found in the facade of the shophouses
Site Plan: museum located amongst hardware shops and other industrial spaces
Section CC’: decreasing porosity of the screens moving inwards to the private spaces
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Detail Section of Screen: integrating exhibtion with structure
1:100 Model
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1:50 Model
First Storey Plan: bands of sequences of programmatic layers adapted from the analysis of Hee Motor Cycle Service - a rhythm continued from the shophouses also on exhibit for the visitor.
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BA (Arch) Year 1 Semester 1 | Aug - Nov 2014
Various Hand-drawn Drawings Site: St Andrew’s Cathedral and Church of St Mary of the Angels Studio Tutor: Mr Ng San Son
Perspective of Columbarium of Church of St Mary of the Angels
Part Elevation and Section of St Andrew’s Cathedral
Part Plan of Columbarium of Church of St Mary of the Angels
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Martin Lew Portfolio 2014 - 2019 lewtcmartin@gmail.com
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