Portfolio for UCL

Poetry of Phases Kexin Qian Portfolio Selected Works 2019 - 2021 Applying for Urban Design MArch University College of London Applicant Number: 21169212

Kexin Qian Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University BEng Architecture (Expected) Phone: +86 18015594873 E-mail: qiankxkathleen@gmail.com

Honors 2018

3rd Prize in National Translation Competition

2019

Merit Student of XJTLU

2019

1st Prize in Social Practice Project

2020

Best Essay of School of Architecture

2017 - 2019

Academic Achievement Honor (Ranking Top 3)

Internship Experience 2019. 6 2019. 8-9

Suzhou International Design Week Curation and Exhibition Intern CCDI (Suzhou) Exploration & Design Consultant Co., Ltd Intern of Comprehensive Department

Student’s Work & Research Experience 2019. 6

Central Guizhou Rural Reconstruction Practice Workshop Project Leader & Research Assistant

2020. 1-2

Indian Slum Reconstruction Practice Workshop Research Assistant

2020.2-6

XJTLU Think-Tank Soft Science Project Research Assistant

2020.6 to Present

Design Software Skills Rhino+Gh Sketchup Photoshop Illustrator Indesign

Students’ Publication (GRID), School of Architecture, XJTLU Founder & Chief Editor

Project Catalogue Amelioration

Soil-themed museum accommodating community center Individual Work|Y3|1985 m2|2020.9 - 2020. 12 Tutor: Teo Hidalgo Nacher

Vortex

Digital library with fluid space in ancient context Individual Work|Y2|2100 m2|2020.2 - 2020. 6 Tutor: Zayad Motlib

Retelling

Mental rehabilitation center for post-depression group Individual Work|Y1|1235 m2|2019.2 - 2019. 6 Tutor: David Vardy

Kaleidoscope

Facade renovation for convent area in Germany Group Work|Y3|2020.2 - 2020. 6 Tutor: Iasef Md Rian and Zayad Motlib

Exoneration

House for imprisoned artist and engineer Individual Work|Y1|395 m2| 2018.9 - 2019. 1 Tutor: John Latto

Other Works Costume design coursework Construction modelling coursework Rural renovation workshop Landscape workshop with Doshi

AMELIORATION Museum + Village Activity Center, Reute Village, Germany

Topography

Vegetation

Agriculture

Gleysols forms geographic characteristics.

Podzols nutures vegetation which preserves water.

Luvisols and cambisols are critical to farming.

Modern Changes

Infrastructure

Production

Technology and tourism are worsing soil quality.

Future construction indicates larger impact.

Local production rely on soil in unsustainable way.

Rural Routine

Local Typology

Paving

The execution also relies on the stability of ground.

Concrete-based building is replacing timber structure.

Solid pavement is replacing natural soil ground.

The site is located in south-west Germany, an area with agricultural landscape. Soil is an element that is vital to the stability of eco-system, local agriculture industry and resident’ daily life. However, regional change is imposing threat on soil quality, and such trend is irreversible. The building is the demonstration of new architectural attitude towards soil. A refertilization process will be executed on site before the building’s phased construction. The project always serves as the medium to create a balanced relationship between human and all soil-based resources.

Programme for Different Stakeholders Functionally, the museum will develop surrounding agriculture land into organic farmland, with a market and an organic restaurant embedded in the project. An organic waste disposal pavilion is also included for refertilizing the site. Production is also included into the museum’s experience, and the process will also bring qualitative production for the village to feed surrounding cities back.

From the user’s perspective, the project will not only create living exhibition spaces surrounded by greenery but also a number of educational soil-related activities. All stakeholders may develope their own way of exploring the project, and all function spaces may become dramatic spaces for encountering.

Circulation

Panorama

Grid

Reshaping

People with different identities The landscape field requires a may come in different directions, panorama view enabling sight which the building responses. into different directionis.

A hexagonal grid allows multi-directional orientation as well as protect original trees.

Consider center/vertex of grid unit together, a more reasonable shape could come out.

Elevation

View

Greenhouse

Interior

The mass is elevated from ground by piles to avoid compression of soil.

The building shell is considered as greenhouse allowing daylight to breed greenery.

The building shell is considered as greenhouse allowing daylight to breed greenery.

By dividing volume considering loft space, the museum obtain spaces with different darkness.

Refertilization

Function Transition

Connection

Loft Space

Three pavilions are developed in advance to improve soil condition on the site.

Two pavilions are tranformed into market and gallery to rebuild connection with village.

Volumes are connected with each other with different functions facing different users.

Several loft spaces are create to build connection and leave indoor greenery area.

Users can walk between vast field and the building.

The exhibition exists both in and out of the building. All the nursery and organic fields, even the organic waste disposal place will become space for experience. Smaller pavilions accommodate outdoor activities, such as organic farming preparation and harvesting.

Structure and Material

Sunspace and Ventilation

Utilizing tenon-and-mortise timber structural system to facilitate construction. Cladding in soil-earth mixed material to enable vertical greenery.

The green space on the corner of each unit is designed with flexible in different seasons. The zig-zag skylight is also controllable for hanging plants.

Water and Greenery

Combination of Units

Different greenery species forms a closed circulation of recycled water. The fair distribution of greenery serves as an auxiliary HVAC system.

All units are elevated to protect the original natural ground. View through glazing and different roof slopes naturally redefine the view from slope.

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Formation of New Landscape Landscape is a vital element in the evolution of Germany’s geographical history. While Humbolt firstly expand the definition of “landscape” from a visual term to systematic concept , the scope of the project should. at present, explore towards the blurring boundary between architecture and natural ground. The building is a kind of response to the overlapping zone and it is trying to create a kind of symbiosis between artificial and nature from a practical perspective.

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1 Entrance Hall 2 Indoor Soil Botanic Exhibition 3 Projection Installation Area 4 Indoor Soil Green Cafe 5 Nun’s Bakery 6 Seedling Room 7 Market 8 Organic Restaurant 9 Kitchen 10 Food Storage Room 11 Bathroom 12 Village Book Circulation Center 13 Design Studio 14 Bathroom 15 Timber Assembly Workshop 16 Indoor Soil Animal Exhibition 17 Storage 18 Staff room 19 Organic Waste Disposal Workshop 20 Organic Waste Disposal Pavilion 21 Parking Lot 22 Soil Nursery 23 Soil Specimen Production Room 24 Soil Specie Collection Field

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2-1 1-1 2-2 2-3

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1 Exterior Structure

2 Interior Structure

3 Skin

1-1 Polycarbonate roof panels d=25mm 1-2 Steel zig-zag roof frame d=10mm 1-3 Ring beam d=400mm 1-4 Secondary beam d=150mm 1-5 CLT primary column d=400mm 1-6 Ground ring beam d=600mm 1-7 Concrete footing with poles d=2500mm

2-1 Timber floor finish d=50mm 2-2 Water-proofing layer d=20mm 2-3 Insulation layer d=20mm 2-4 Concrete floor slab d=150mm 2-5 Beam system d=20mm 2-6 Vertical circulation system 2-7 Green house glass wall 2-8 Soil pot

3-1 Polycarbonate panel d=25mm 3-2 Aluminum glazing frame d=25mm 3-3 Facade joint 3-4 Acrylic plastic translucent louver d=40mm 3-5 Interial timber finish d= 100mm 3-6 Insulation d=50mm 3-7 Water-proofing layer d=20mm 3-8 Exterior soil brick cladding d=150mm

VORTEX

Suzhou Ancient City Public Library, China The project was Suzhou Public Library. The project was developed as a result of research and urban analysis of the old city. Inspired by the concept of vortexes that creates urban energy to seamlessly connect main urban nodes of the ancient city site of Suzhou, the project aims to introduce a new urban node in the selected site. The vortexes concept was again implemented in the building level to define a series of connected internal spaces (reading and workshop spaces) that informed the overall form of the building.

During the development stage, the tectonic aspect of the building skin and structure, as well as appropriateness of the internal spaces to the designated function have been well-studied. Light study has been carefully conducted as part of the environmental strategy of the project, which also created the soft overall ambience and light quality that facilites reading.

Ancient City Population

Population Density

Suzhou Population Composition

Form of Content Read

Approach to Getting Books

Work and Live

SIP

65+

Online

Online shopping

Only Live

Suzhou

15-65

Book

Library

Tourists

Ancient City

Under 15

Newspaper

Other people

Journal

Bookstore

The Non-tradition space integrates media facilities as monument of intangible heritages

Indoor and Outdoor Programming The project contains four different types of information exchange space that provide users with various reading experience relying on different information media. As spatial response, the reading spaces are organized in different ports which allows free internal circulation.

Reading Space

Media Space Advanced media technology is applied to immerse user in an inteactive learning space.

VR Space 70 sqm

Leisure Space

Composed by three ports, the main area provides users with access to various types of information sources.

AI Space 80 sqm

Exhibition 250 sqm

HCI Room 120 sqm

Digital Reading 250 sqm

Reading 400 sqm

Workshop 150 sqm

Lobby 100 sqm

Direct Access Indirect Access Interconnection

Space with vivid atmosphere enables recreational reading to for mind-refreshing.

Interactive Reading 130 sqm Outdoor Reading 130 sqm

Green 70 sqm

Archive 100 sqm

The lobby provides access to all main ports of the library and also accommodates all receptional facilities.

Lobby

Bathroom 80 sqm

Office 50 sqm

Working spaces for staff are concentrated in an port with sole connection with lobby.

Auxiliary Space

Form Testing The project's redefinition of space begins from testing models. In the design process, some unconventional model materials were tried to explore the effect of fluid space. The selection of basic form element also defines different patterns of spatial connection and the strategy of opening creation.

Ribbon Ribbon is used as the foundamental formational element as it creates a sense of continuity from site as well as between ports.

Strips Layered openings on the shell brings potential to form a kind of internal visual guidance that coordinates with the designed circulation..

Spheres Combination of spheres were also tried to form a threedimentional labyrinth that helps realize a coherent interior sensory experience.

Continuity in Space This project is intended to attempt a relatively vague boundary strategy, not only between the site and the building, but also between the different ports within the building. The process model inspires the final design in three relationships -- between site and building, between shell and interior, and also between ports accommodating connecting functions.

As a result, the building will rise naturally from the site, and as users walk through it, they will enjoy a highly coherent walking experience and an interesting perspective on the activities within the differently featured spherical space.

Buildings are 'humane' only when they promote peaceful human co-existence.

—— Frei Otto

2D Pattern

Form

Combination of spheres were also trialed to form a three-dimentional labyrinth that facilitates mixed sensory experience.

The 2D pattern were folded from the ground as trialed in process model to obtain the abstract form of the shell.

Shell

Programming

Gaps on shell were created to facilitate natural ventilation and visual connection between inside and outside on different levels.

Function space of different ports were are arranged into semispheres which forms a merged internal space system.

Reshaping The spheres are reshaped according to the circulation designed between different ports, which also creates variable visual connection.

Continuation The landscape forms resonance with original pattern and generates a kind of transition between the building and the context.

Building and Context The position and scale change of the ribbon gives the building a naturally occurring entrance and layered openings. The transition between the building and the ground is gradual enough to give the users a warm feeling. At the entrance, the user can naturally transfer from the external morphological system to the internal spherical shell system. The overall form of the building is harmonious with the background of the urban context, both of which have the momentum of upward growth. However, this project has undoubtedly completed the re-inspiration of the urban style in the process of modernization.

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1 Lobby 2 Reception 3 Exhibition Space 4 Reading Area 5 Activity Room 6 Leisure Area 7 Media Center 8 Panorama Projection 9 Bathroom 10 Archive & Admin 11 Sightseeing Lift

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Internal Spatial Relationship The interior of the building is made up of coherent spheres. The semi-open space enclosed by slices of spheres replaces the regular, enclosed reading space that may appear in traditional libraries. The space defined by sphere slices also brings unique circulation experience in exploration of media technology facilities. The layered openings on the shell is matched with the spheres of different scales inside, making each space unique in comparison with others.

Apart from that, the furniture, the building, the bookshelves and the handrails are all created based on a logic similar to that of the whole space. Users will be able to observe completely different spatial perspective relationships according to their standing point.The interior is generally in white tone to create space for long stay and meditation. At the same time, the local use of bright color timber will help create a warmer space as well as emphasize the different layers of the space.

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Finish

Curved Laminated Timber Batten d=25mm

Wall

Pre-stressed Concrete Core d=600mm

Glazing

Double-layer Low-e Glazing d=25mm

Structure

Steel Space Truss d=750mm

Facade

White Terracotta 1200mm × 600mm

35 %

Shading

Tempered Glass Louver 5%

Floor

Nature Sandstone Floor 600mm × 600mm

25 %

Finish

White Primed Pinewood Wall Panel 400 × 200mm

25%

Pavement

Sandstone Mosaic Ground Pavement

10%

Louver Detail

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1 Steel Mullion 2 Stainless Steel Axletree 3 Rotating Axis Rod 4 Double-layered Glazing 6+10+6mm 5 Aluminum Glazed Louver Leaf

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Shell Detail 2

1 White Terracotta Cladding d=70mm 2 Rigid Insulation d=25mm 3 Frame Bracket / Air Gap Layer 4 Aluminum Cladding Frame d=40mm 5 Space Truss d=600mm 6 Interior Water-proofing Layer d=30mm 7 Gypsum Cladding d=15mm

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RETELLING

Depression Rehabitation Center, Suzhou, China

Depression Patient Population Composition in China (2016)

15 %

90 %

70 % Instant return to normal work and life may lead to too large pressure for them for not being quickly understood.

Patients need quite long time to recover communication ability during which others’ support is vital.

Growth of mental health department number in Jiangsu (2016)

The reinforcement of patients’ self-recognition can be more easily achieved when people with similar experience are presensed.

Number of consealing space distributed in different zones of Suzhou (2018)

Current Situation of Post-depression Group The number of people currently suffering from depression in China exceeds 100 million. Despite the growing social concern, few people know that medication and counseling represent only a very small part of depression treatment. Many patients who survive the high-risk period do not receive follow-up support for social functioning rehabilitation. They are still being harmed by potential demons.

SITE

Working

Private Consealing

Home

Lack of Healing Spaces in Urban Context Home is the most important place for healing post-depression patients, but not every patient is able to enjoy the warmth of family under the pressure of migration, competing interests, and social prejudice. Private counseling agencies can also provide short-term help, but they often hide in dilapidated places and charge high fees. A mental healing space facing the public is vital for changing the situation.

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Context and Landscape The project creates a kind of intervention with blurred boundary in context. Landscape themes correspond with internal functions as well as attracting passerbys for staying.

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1 Entrance Hall 2 Security Room 3 Kitchen 4 Reception 5 Dining Hall 6 Leisure Space 7 Seminar Room 8 Sandplay Curing 9 Yoga Curing 10 Consultation 11 Music Curing 12 Office 13 Bathroom

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1 Game Curing 2 Leisure Space 3 Double Room 4 Dance Curing 5 Single Room 6 Cafe Bar

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Opening Strategies enable different framings of landscape for different function areas.

Skylights create softened light environment on the second floor for pleasing residential environment.

Mixture of professional caring spaces and activity spaces facing the public encourges interaction.

Relationship between Public and Private This program does not define collective living in the traditional sense. Standardized plan can bring efficiency, but for a group of temporary residents, they will have a strong tendency to close the door, just a wall can bring long-term sense of separation. To this end, the relationship between social and accommodation spaces is presented in an extremely compact form, and the activities of the nonresidential part become part of the daily behavior of the occupants.

For the individual occupants of the project, the healing process is also a process of building emotional connection with the project. The public spaces are their portals to further social bonding, in which their perception and ability to tolerate uncertainty are nursed, but the intensity of social interaction is still controlled. The balanced spatial distribution of healing places also makes the spatial relationship of the project itself an important element in shaping the user's memory.

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Formation of New Landscape The changing roof and slab openings create an infinite variety of interior light and shadow effects at different points in time, giving the user a richer spatial memory.

The building maintains its iconic form that can be appreciated at different angles, constituting a kind of landmark as very gentle intervention.

1 Rooftop timber planks d=15mm 2 Thermal insulation layer d=50mm 3 Timber truss structure d=50mm 4 Internal finish d=5mm 5 Water-proofing layer d=10mm 6 Thermal insulation layer d=50mm 7 External cladding d=15mm 8 Timber floor finish d=15mm 9 Sound insulation layer d=20mm 10 Concrete floor slab d=200mm 11 Concrete masonry unit foundation 12 Concrete footing d=1000mm

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KALEIDOSCOPE Facade Renovation Project, Germany (Group Work)

This project is a shading installation for a museum in Germany, designed to solve the problem of excessive summer sunlight intensity and to create freely controllable light conditions for different user scenarios within the museum. The grouped units are attached to a single curved skin, each under specific sunlight conditions, and will thus generate a multiplicity of patterns. In addition to achieving sustainability purpose, the programme will also bring the building new poetic atmosphere.

Mechanism Inspiration

Kaleidoscope (Ticki Kids, 2016)

The mechanism of kaleidoscope lies in the reflection of beads in surrounding mirrors.By designing a single part of solid / void pattern and moving mechanism, we can constitute a whole facade unit that moves under simple logic as well as gives attractive light pattern.

Using the mirroring effect, patterns can easily group with each other.

Any kinetic strategy can also perform in a continuous way by similar approach.

Kinetic Facade Hexagon Frame with 1000mm length of side

Solid Panel Hexagon Timber Panel with thickness d=16mm

Perforated Panel Hexagon Timber Panel with Holes d=50mm

Week 2: A Flexible Rod System The research team first identified a strategy using rod as the main element of the movable structure and tested a variable system without a fixed anchor point or shaded area.

Week 4: Semi-defined Frame The team identified an axisymmetric form with six anchor points and generated some fixed panels. However, there still exists some parts with irregularly changing forms which is impractical.

Week 7: System Driven by Gear and Axle Finally, the entire kinetic system is concentrated in the centre of the unit, the shading panels of varying transparency were given fixed shape. The total area of shading can also be flexibly varied.

Polycarbonate panels Timber solid panels Steel unit outer frame Steel secondary frame External timber batten Curved glazing system Primary timber structure

100%

80%

60%

Translucent 33% Vacancy 33%

Translucent 24% Vacancy 41%

Translucent 16% Vacancy 49%

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Translucent 8% Vacancy 57%

Translucent 0% Vacancy 66%

Translucent 100% Vacancy 0%

Exhibition Space Various kinds of light-and-shadow effect is provided by the facade units allowing adaptability of different exhibition condition.

Parent-child Space The lower units on each floor can be adjusted manually by the users, and the upper units can be monitoed by remote control.

Specie-Breeding Space The solid and perforated panels can give different light conditions for indoor live exhibitions including animals and plants.

Exhibition Space

Parent-child Space

Specie-Breeding Space 860

26

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EXONERATION House For Artist and Engineer, Virtual Site

This is a house set in a virtual Chinese painting, in an extremely empty context. It is inhabited by an engineer and an artist. The house is designed as a metaphor for their identities and the two extremes of their daily lives: a sheltered space for reflection and survival, and an open top floor space for rest and recreation. A daily life that occurs in a opposition will create both integrity and an endless cycle. In addition to residential space, the house also forms mutual reinforcement of identity with users.

Daily Sceneries The scenes within the residence correspond to four different forms of daily life: survival, study, work and living, a response to the integration of living and working. The coming and going of natural light constitutes a natural allusion to the rhythm of work and rest. The different window openings respond to the landscape and interact with the different functional scenes.

7:00 Morning Exercise

9:00 Reading

11:00 Start Operation

12:00 Body Exercise

13:00 Art Practice

14:00 Having meals

15:00 Relaxation

16:00 Art Creation

18:00 Knocking off

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Space of Regulation The ground floor plan unfolds according to strict geometric rules in order to maximise the use of space and ensures respect for privacy. The layout also aims at defining clear boundary, representing the three highly disciplined spatial themes - survival, learning and working,with openings created in diversed ways.

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1 Reading space 2 Body practice space 3 Engineer’s workshop 4 Residential space 5 Bathroom

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Space of Exoneration The first floor plan has flexible organization, creating panoramic places with more possibilities. The abundant natural light can be a reminder of the passage of time. The fixed furniture arrangement can be integrated into a number of different spatial themes. The living space can also serve as exhibition purposes.

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COSTUME COURSEWORK Costume for a Weaver, 2018. 9 - 2018. 10

This coursework, a costume for a weaver who has lost her children, is a three-dimensional composition using three elements: round wheels, wooden sticks and thread, highlighting the figure's situation in the midst of fractured memories. The dichotomy and gradation of scale between the entwined elements allows the work to be appreciated from different angles.

CONSTRUCTION COURSEWORK Ningbo Museum Facade Tectonic Model, 1:20, 2019.6

This work is a detailed model completed as an assignment for the structure and construction module.

The work explores the relationship between the steel frame and the traditional Chinese "Wapan Wall" as well as attempting to clarify the principles of placement between the different layers. The work also explains the localized treatment of several special nodes.

RURAL RENOVATION WORKSHOP Installation, Maiweng Village, Guizhou, 2019.7 (Group Work)

The three installations were built in a village to create an attractive landscape. The materials used include schist and bamboo tubes, all of which are indigenous to the area. The installations address some of the existing problems of the site (lack of lighting, lack of protection at the edges of the high platforms) and also create a strong interactivity with the simple composition.

WORKSHOP WITH DOSHI Landscape Design Workshop,Ahemedabad, 2020.1 (Group Work)

This poster represents the final output of a landscape design workshop done in collaboration with Sungath Studio. Faced with the dual challenges of slum relocation and the risk of seasonal flooding, this design created a set of marketplaces and bridges across the river that can change function in response to changing water levels to broaden the possibility of community life.

Thank you for reading.

Poetry of Phases Kexin Qian Portfolio Selected Works 2019 - 2021