Portfolio 2024

PORT FOLIO Selected Projects 2020-2024

Shao-Pu, Kuo

Shao-Pu, Kuo 0989 986 327 peterkuo912@gmail.com

Education National Cheng Kung University Bachelor of Science (Department of Architecture), 2024.06 Work Experience FieldEvo Design Studio + LinBoYang Architects ( 境衍設計 + 林柏陽建築師事務所 ) Intern, 2023.07 - 2023.08 making scale models and learning on construction sites Center for Architecture Performance Certification, NCKU Research and Development Foundation ( 財團法人成大研究發展基金會 - 建築性能評定中心 ) Part-time Research Assistant, 2023.03 - 2023.06 organizing construction methods, surveying and mapping on site Helsinkizurich (Helsinki, Finland) Intern, 2022.08 - 2022.12 proposing for architecture competitions

Award NCKU ARCH Vertical Competition 2023 Merit Award (5 of 34) Student Summer Seminar - Structural Art Competition 2023 in Tokyo 2 Judge's Selected Awards (7 of 67) Experience in College NCKU ARCH Camp 2021 Director of Lecture NCKU Freshman Orientation Camp 2020 Worker, Department of Image and Video Recording NCKU ARCH Student Association 2020 Member, Department of Art Activities Skill

Basic AutoCAD Rhino Grasshopper SketchUp Revit VRay Lumion Illustrator Photoshop Lightroom InDesign Microsoft Office Premiere Pro After Effects

Intermediate

Advanced

Featured Projects The Auxiliary - the Environmental Controller kristalli Huracan Neo-blend Natural Fiber Reinforced Joint

The Auxiliary - the Environmental Controller 2023.03 - 2023.06 Instructors: Chih-Ying, Chien This project questions how elevators express their own spatial properties in office building typology, turning around their traditional role as "serving device" or "auxiliary space". Besides, on behalf of the new bussiness trend, the office building stands out from the historic commercial area while still attempts to fit itself in this unique context. Overall, with the relationships of elevators versus functional spaces and the whole building versus the context, this project brings out an interesting idea of "belonging and independence" both internally and externally.

Located between the Bopiliao Historic Block and Xinfu Market in Wanhua District, Taipei, the dynamic commercial activities and the traditional lifestyle of locals in this area have contributed to its prosperity. As the suggestions from the urban plan and the renovation projects nearby, the new building introduces a variety of programs to enrich the urban activities. Spacially, the new building is faced with a plaza, which is also an endpoint of the Bopiliao Street. Consequently, the unique facade pattern is considered as a symbolic image in response to this condition and performs as a part of the thermal control strategy as well.

In terms of the interior, the elevators manifest their independence by connecting two voids that separate them from the other functional spaces, expressing a sense of detachment within this relationship. While, at the mean time, they also perform as "screws" bonding all spaces spacially and structurally. The differences of environmental conditions such as light and heat are amplified with the help of the vertical voids, which also drive the vertical visual movement besides air flow.

The ultimate goal is to search a way of creating vertical connection and transformation among repeated floors in the office building, articulating the value of the environmental controller.

1F Plan 1/400

2F Plan

3F Plan 1/200

9F Plan

North - South Section 1/150

kristalli 2022.08 - 2022.10 Team: Antti Ahlava, Shao-Pu Kuo, Yu-Cheng Wu, Ecem Kutlay This project is an entry for the competition of the Oulu Museum extension in Finland. The main goal of the new Oulu Museum is to renovate the original Tietomaa Science Center and combine the program of the Museum of North Ostrobothnia nearby, creating a more integrated mixused museum which incorporates the cultural heritage of the northern Finland, science and art.

A considerable amount of new space is required, introducing multiple new programs and a new pattern of management that obviously enrich the original small science center.

The most challenging task is to place a black box multipurpose room which has at least 30m x 20m in area and 10m in height so as to enable the use of 3D video projection. Much more exhibition spaces are also required than the existing ones. The balancing factor for the huge demand of interior spaces is the requirement of outdoor parking spaces for multiple traffic means and spaces for greening. To leave sufficient outdoor space while meeting the requirement of the large space amount in the building, we adopt the strategy of reducing footprint of the extension and gaining the total height, enhancing its role as a landmark. Leaving space for the restaurant and smaller rooms on the ground floor, the huge black box is hung on middle levels by the truss system.

To enhance the impression of a landmark that stands for modern style exhibition with flexibility and diversity, the concept of "kristalli"(Finnish term of "crystal") is selected to describe the polygonal geometry, which is in contrast to the formality of the old building side. With the visual attraction of this form and the timber cladding, we envision a lively and comfortable environment for this renovation project.

1F Plan 1/800

2F Plan

3F Plan

AA Section

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BB Section

Shell: crystalline geometry covered with timber panels provides a contrast to the formality of original museum

Slabs: slab geometries depend on programs and the boundary of the shell

Supports: a set of trusses are introduced to hang the huge "black box" space in the middle floors

Vertical Cores: the arrangement of vertical cores plays a critical role in management

Main Stairs: the stairs present variable forms, creating diverse experience of public circulation

Huracan 2022.11 - 2023.02 Team: Antti Ahlava, Shao-Pu Kuo, Yu-Cheng Wu, Irem Hancioglu, Merve Özkadi, Ecem Kutlay This project is an entry for the competition of the Leppävaara area master plan, situated in Espoo, the second most populous city in Finland. Leppävaara has a terminal of both railway and bus, with busy car traffic intertwines. The Sello Shopping Mall is located south of the track, forming a highly-developed area in contrast to the relaxed area north of the track. This urban design project aims to propose a solution that has the capacity of attracting growing visitors with a dynamic lifestyle, reorganizing multiple traffic means that forms smooth connections between both sides of the track, and creating a more friendly environment for bike riders and pedestrians.

An overpass is proposed above the track, connecting people from the mall, the bus terminal, railway platforms, and the central block to the north of the track. A multi-storey car park is also attached to the overpass to accommodate up to 300 cars due to increasing number of visitors. For the main planning area, different building types characterize the pedestrian spine that connects urban blocks in the east-west direction. Towards the west, the natural environment and residential buildings that require more privacy are dominant, while the eastern blocks are mainly mixed-use, more public and lively. Offices, retail shops and hotels in combination with residential buildings and the terminal create a balanced and well-functioned urban structure that suggest multi-use spaces and greenery, envisioning a versatile and sustainable environment.

Master Plan 1/2500

Neo-blend 2020.04 - 2020.06 Instructor: Chien-Chih, Wu The old office building complex holds a defensive configuration and therefore be regarded as difficult to access in these days. Moreover, some spaces in the original building are too narrow to use. This project aims to deal with these existing drawbacks with efficiency and flexibility.

The original office building of Dounan Branch is located near the train station and the provincial highway. The provincial highway(or Yanping Rd.) divides this area into a local zone at the north side and a business zone at the south side. This double-sided property characterizes this position. To make good use of this property, the west façade of the monument is preserved while the north one is redesigned to create an entry to a public place. With two façades serving locals and tourists respectively, the complex gathers different groups of people to activate this area. By reorganizing the masses in the south and reforming narrow spaces in the north, the complex regains a clear configuration. With the liberated courtyard as a center point, various programmatic spaces are rearranged with clear hierarchy and efficient circulation, while being naturally connected to form a unified community.

Once a police office in the Japanese colonial period, the complex transforms into a public school. Promoting the two featured industries - agriculture and carpentry in this town, each type of courses or public activities is held in different room. The courtyard unites people from different rooms, providing a public place available for performance or speech.

Orignal configuration

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1. Reading area / Wood furniture gallery 2. Lecture hall 3. Culinary arts 4. Restaurant 5. Souvenir shop 6. Carpentry 7. Carpentry gallery 8. Courtyard

Souvenir Shop

S e c . 2 , Ya n p i n g R d .

Locals' Entry

Carpentry Gallery

Restaurant

Plaza

Lectu

Restaurant

Zhongshan Rd. Tourists' Entry

Culinary Arts

re Hall

Restaurant

Culinary Arts

Natural Fiber Reinforced Joint 2023.09 - 2023.12 Team: Shao-Pu, Kuo / Yu-Ching, Tseng / Chun-Hsiang, Hsu Instructors: Yu-Liang, Hsu / Chia-Ching, Yen This project focuses on mechanical properties of natural fibers and the possibilities of utilizing these advantages in construction industry. The excellent tensile strength and flexural strength of natural fiber have been widely proved according to numerous researches. Materials such as wood and bamboo that have abundant content of natural fibers are getting more recognition in the new trend of design industries, thus further discussion can focus on the potential of replacing traditional architectural materials given their considerable impact on the environment.

The estimated global demand for steel is 1822 megatons in 2023, for which construction industry accounts 49%. One of the main reasons for this huge demand is the use of steel as connecting components, which may result from detached forms of traditional desgin methods. As observed in organic forms of plants and animals, those integrated patterns of structure present both performance and efficiency. Based on the discussions mentioned above, we decide to research the application of natural fibers for structural joints.

A prior research is conducted so as to provide us better understanding of how the biomimetic design methods influence the performance of structural components as well as how those mechanical properties are tested. After that, we choose timber as material to experiment the manufacturing process for the proposed joint design. The main challenge in this phase is to control the technique of wood-bending so that the angles of different parts are precisely present as expected. A full-scale two-dimensional joint is manufactured as demonstration of the proposed design priciple. The possibility of this design method can be extended from twodimensional to three-dimensional. Consequently, a proposal for the X-site program is presented to demonstrate the application of three-dimensional joint design in a full-scale context.

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Manufacture experiment 1. Bending mold ver.1 (crafted with jigsaw) 2. Bending mold ver.2 (crafted with jigsaw) 3. Bending mold final version (crafted with CNC) 4. 5mm glue laminating test (no steam) 5. Thickness-curvature relationship 6. Drying and glueing as independent variables 7. Three-dimensional curve (bend in two planes) 8. Full-scale 2D joint (failed) 9. Full-scale 2D joint (final result)

FEA test for 3D joint design method optimization

Bending test point load (3000N) Joint with buttress design is superior to that without buttress

Bending test point load (3000N) Joint with buttress design is superior to that without buttress

Bending test point load (3000N) buttress with longer distance from the inner layers has superior performance

Bending test point load (3000N) buttress with longer distance from the inner layers has superior performance

〈Misty Forest〉 This is a proposal for the X-site program located at the public plaza next to Taipei Fine Arts Museum. With the purpose of enhancing the sensuous importance of the fiber joints, mist is introduced as the interface to blur the visibility of complicated branches above the trunks, leaving the clear focuses on the unique joints. This pavilion is a "foyer" connecting the plaza stairs and the entrance of the museum, while redefining the borders of the plaza and providing unique spatial experience.

Length Symbol (F) Angle Symbol (A)

Axiom (A)

Length (L) Delta-length (dL)

Angle (A) Delta-angle (dA)

Production Rule (PR)

Iteration (n)

L-System

rewrite the production string

Final String (W)

Tube Section (TS)

Turtle

visualize the L-system result

Tree Structure

Algarithmic design process using Grasshopper Rabbit plugin

1. translucent mesh 2. mist spraying system 3. natural fiber reinforced joint 4. timber column 5. wood board cone 6. wooden pallet 7. scaffolding system

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