Undergraduate Portfolio (2024 Edition)

UNDERGRADUATE ARCHITECTURE DESIGN

PORTFOLIO MINH PHAN

A.A. Architecture Design (Transfer), Valencia College

B.A. Architecture New School of Architecture & Design

Student Statement

I’ve always known that I was an architect. I’ve always had a driven desire to express my imagination, and specifically architectural design has grown to become an unmeasurable passion.

It was as a child that I first realized, that architecture determines quality of life, as I’ve always wanted to design my mom, siblings, and I, a “dream home”. With imagination, I was on the verge of thinking both critically, creatively, and conceptually, not knowing essentially there’s a harmony that made sense to all of this. I am an architect to my very own life.

So as a passionate youth, I was empowered as an agent for change and always expressed interest in controlling my environment through means of drawing, playing with legos, understanding space, and always staying curious to how things worked.

From the perspective of growing up and time, I’ve realized that architecture design has a holistic approach in which it influences the way in which we live, it’s essence is limited without the spirit of people, and it becomes moments of opportunities in exchanging experiences.

I always felt that I had a strong attention to detail, with imagination that allowed me to take a step back, take myself out of the box, and observe the world with a bigger picture in mind.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited; Imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein

The world is mine to shape, design and build.

Minh Phan Undergraduate Studies

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Cartographer VS. Carver

D1. Professor Donald Watters

Fall 2007

The Room + Garden project, was an opportunity to define spatial hinges (A ing the juxtapostion of both the cartographer & carver) and the influences es, a context, program, hierarchy, sense of scale, a trajectory, framing an aperture, otomic context, a field, large mass, private space to work, an introspection

4”x4”x4” that allowed two different spatial elements to connect, creating a “spatial hinge”, also highlightof spaces interlocking, creating an overlap of projections and recesses. The Cartographer conceptually created edgaperture, defining boundaries, creating techtonic folds, and shifts. The Carver in essence creates a landscape, a stere-

of space, and creates moments of contraction and expansion.

“Rear Window” (1954)

D3. Professor Donald Watters

Fall 2008

The Door, Window, Stairs project, was an opportunity to define an analysis cock’s 1954 movie, “REAR WINDOW”. The movie featured, “A wheelchair committed murder.” (IMBD) Within the context of this movie developed spatial tures or frames, identifiable modular spaces, an itenerary or registration of private spaces within a context.

DOOR, WINDOW, STAIRS

place within context and the context of place. The objective was to analyze spatial elements within Alfred Hitchbound photographer spying on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has spatial qualities, that showed projections of hierarchy, trajectory and transluceny of views, movements in different aperof spaces, a gap or thresold that defined a direct public view, identifiable grid systems, and an anlysis of public versus

Postulating then Uncovering

D3. Professor Donald Watters

Fall 2008

The Well, Hotel, Bridge project, was an opportunity to understand implicit boundaries, understand the hierarchy of layers, identify the tives, the translucancy of intentional private and public spaces were of scale to establish a sense of place. The main objectives, were to tems that is the “bridge, hotel, and well”.

the idea of scale within in a context in a macro and micro level. It was very important to be able to distinguish between the moments of pauses, create transtions of extractions of spaces, creating matrixs and grid systems. With these objecwere established, it created distinguishable moments of human occupation, opportunities for open spaces, and a sense to create and identify fragmented systems. It also identified the collision of trajectory, and juxtaposed the different sys-

BURNING MAN

D4. Professor Jose G. Benitez Mier Spring 2009

The Desert Occupation project for the event of Burning Man, in Black Rock every year in a desert. The objection was to create a place that is inhabitable Festival, a flexible space for an Amateur Rocketeering “Ball” Festival and siderations to scenic views, a concentration of circulating movement for the intricate detail and attention to moments of ANTICIPATION, ARRIVAL, DISCOVERY,

THE DESERT OCCUPATION

Rock Desert, Nevada was the opportunity to create a flexible place that was adaptable to an event that is temporarily held inhabitable to private space, designing a program for dwelling spaces that also allowed for engagement with the Burning Man Land Speed Trials. It also allowed for limited public / private occupation to contextual conditions. There are also conthe public, additon of scenic views but also a juxtaposed design for private opening spaces. The design process, made DISCOVERY, and REFLECTION.

Connection to Nature

AR202 Hussein Munaim

Fall 2009

CASE STUDY PROJECT: Mies Van Der Rohe’s, Farnsworth House (1941-54) is percieved to exist in harmony with society and nature. The underlining conceptual a perpendicular cross axis as the circulation, and an essence that is parallel architecture.

FARNSWORTH HOUSE, Mies Van Der Rohe

IL. The architecture of this design derived from the ideaology of that of the Modernism period, where an individual conceptual ideas for the Farnsworth House also includes, the use of nuetral colors to juxtapose and separate from nature, parallel to the structure itself. This was an analysis of the structure, its conceptual design, and exploration of the essence of this

Interfaith Center in Kyoto, Japan

AR202 Hussein Munaim

Fall 2009

The Interfaith Center Proposal was a design opportunity to introduce spect anyone of all types of religions. It is adaptable to all types santuary for people, a community gathering of open space, region of Kyoto, Japan.

INTERFAITH CENTER PROPOSAL

introduce a vernacular infused place with consideration to the influences to its context, and a program that would retypes of faith, with one ideaology, that engaged in a place that welcomed anyone, created a sense of peace, a place of and also becomes a place that is adaptable to different types of events. It caters to the vernacular details within the

Highrise Student Housing

AR302 Dr. Mitra Kanaani

Winter 2010

Vertiscape, is a highrise student housing proposal that introduced a that dealt with the urban setting, the ecological diversity, and living to enviornmental systems, and its impact on the green belt within the green belt, systems that are envionmentally concious, that also allowed

VERTISCAPE. HIGHRISE STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT

a place of temporary living for the students of Newschool of Architecture and Design. It caters to several objectives, space for students. There are intentional consideration to modulated spaces, well - being, communal space, attention the urban setting. It features different types of systems to create a net-zero gain highrise, a vertical extension of the allowed for a mixed used objective within the context of down.

Level 1 ( Ground Level)

Catchment System

TENSEGRITY; Spaghetti Bridge

AR 303 Eric S.

Spring 2010

Tensegrity (Buckmister Fuller) is a structural principle of tensional tive of this project was to understand the structural integrity developed into a project that tested the structural strength of ty, points of loads and pressure, pressure loads, and moments

tensional integrity or floating compression, that impacts isolated components in compression and in tension. The objecof tension and compression before moments of bending, torqueing, and sheering. Essentially this investigation bridges designed of spaghetti. There was attention to detail and consideration to design, structural systems, materialimoments of bending, with impacts of points of tension and compression within trusses.

Revitalized Aerospace Musuem

The revitalization of the Aerospace Musuem is an opportunity flexible to exhitition changes, anchor as another commodity uses within the program of Balboa Park.

AEROSPACE MUSEUM AT BALBOA PARK

opportunity to redesign a space to revitalize a part of Balboa Park, it will function to hold extraordinary gallery additions, become within the city, contribute to engaging with the local community, and become accessible to adapt to the recreational

CHARGERS Stadium

AR401 Frank Wolden

Fall 2011

The Qualcomm Stadium Proposal for Downtown San Diego, is the world, it will cater as a sports venue that is flexible to hold different moting more business within the local region, create opportunities growth and potential for the development of East Villiage and its that will promote opportunity for community engagement, reintroduce vestment for the local ecological affiliation to an education institute.

assisting an urban master plan of revitalizing the city to become an anchoring destination for visitors from all around different types of events within the dense region. It will bring the Chargers and its events closer to downtown, in proopportunities for growth, and merge work and play with destination. It will also extend the park to bay concept, but also promote its surrounding areas. The proposal will project, a revitaliztion of downtown and redefine the context to become a place reintroduce mixed used buildings of work and play, a business district that will influence the local enconomy, and an ininstitute.

East Villiage Development

AR403 Frank Wolden

Spring 2012

Park-City-Bay CONNECTION

The Urban Trail Trajectory project, is part of the master plan of revitalizing a new outlook on its program. This redevelopment will promote a place ban trail, concentrating on the connection of Park to Bay, a place that tribution to the ecological community, and a new place to compliment and encourages urban living.

revitalizing downtown; specifically East Villiage, with respect to major factors like the fault line, its surrounding context, and place of work, live, and play within a densely populated area. It’s approach will develop and extend the trajectory of an urthat promotes a sense of community, local small businesses, development of small nodes of recreational spaces, a concompliment downtown, San Diego. The proposal concentrates on the transistion a path, celebrates community gathering spaces,