Rachael Yu Portfolio by rachaelly

Portfolio

Rachael Yu

A House for More

Exploring the boundaries between public and private

A mixed used residence and storefront for an artist and collector. The building features a diagonal split that with openings inbetween that allow for the connection between public and private as the owners reside in one half of the house while their workshop and display case creates the other half of the buidling. The wooden lattice work allows for spaces to place collection pieces and sculptures that passerby and visitors can stop by and admire or purchase. As it is a floor to ceiling piece, it creates a juxtaposition with the victorian style buildings neighbouring it and instead uses a simple wooden frame to allow the sculptures to shine through. Upstairs features a quiet space doubling as a small cafe or simply a space to work.

The shop and the house is accessed through separate stairways with the private residence raised above the ground to provide a threshold and a step back from the street. An open atrium between the second and third floors look down onto the first floor, allowing for more sunlight and both halves of the storefront and residence to share an intermediate space. Meanwhile the shop and display case features prominently in the laneway leading passerby through its winding three-storey shelves.

COURSE : ARC361 Architecture Studio III

YEAR : Fall 2023

TYPE : Academic Design Research

TYPE : Independent Project (2 months)

INSTRUCTOR : Carol Moukheiber

Private: storage, laundry

Floor

:Storefront, display

Entryway and kitchen Second Floor Public : Cafe space Private: Living room

Third Floor

Public: Working space

Private: Bathroom, working space overlooking lower floors

Fourth Floor

Private: Master bedroom, study

Fifth Floor & Balcony

Private: Bedroom, balcony area

Rooftop

The Continuum at Sorauren

Wildlife Crossing in an Urban Park

Throughout this studio, we developed a proposal for Sorauren Park located in the Roncesvalles neighbourhood of Toronto. Our proposal draws upon precedents like the Emerald Necklace in Boston and the Highline in New York to create a connection between High Park, Sorauren Park and the adjacent Charles G. Williams Park. Through the use of a bike lane and woonerf on Wabash Ave, we intend to create more pedestrian friendly spaces that allow users access to more green spaces within the area. The woonerf not only makes Wabash Ave more accessible for children and families to access Charles G. Williams park, but also provides a more formal space for the farmers market which already utilizes parts of the road during the warmer months to set up stalls.

The circulation within the park itself is divided by the corridor of green canopy running through the open activity areas that also acts as the barrier marker between the dog park and the more intensive activity areas around the town square and seating space. The corridor intends to create a continuous green space between high park and throughout Sorauren Park into the adjacent areas and create spaces of activity in-between. The topographical layout of the park also intends to focus the viewer’s attention towards the town square and view of the city center as well as provide drainage for the higher landform near the dog park.

COURSE : ARC364 Landscape Studio IV

YEAR : Winter 2024

TYPE : Academic Design Research

TYPE : Group Project, collaboration on all drawings with Ashley Park (2.5 months)

INSTRUCTOR : Pete North

1. Large mixed-use sports field

2. Small mixed-use sports field

3. Seating area, low-intensity activity

4. Dog park

5. Amphitheater, gathering space

6. Woonerf, farmer’s market

7. Children’s park

8. Proposed wildlife land bridge crossing

5-10

Cyclist & Pedestrian Scenic Route

Cyclist lane Forest walkway

Predominantly wildlife crossing

Rainfall Showers

Haliburton Outdoor Recreation Facility

In the summer studio, a group of students along with instructor and TA headed up to Haliburton Forest to participate in designing and building a set of outdoor showers for the cabins by Bone Lake which regularly house research students for architecture and forestry. Providng an opportunity for a hands-on experience of designing and builidng a project from the ground up, we created an initial design which was then developed further reaching the site and analyzing the conditions at hand. The outdoor showers frame a view of the lake and feature clear plexiglass roof to allow for natural lighting. It is also raised off the ground to further ensure privacy while maintaining an indoor outdoor feeling. The treated cedar allowed for a naturally water resistant wood while the outside was framed with board and batten.

The building project took a little under two weeks from its inital concrete foundation to painting the roof and measuring and sawing the timber inbetween. It was also a great way to navigate and delegate relevant tasks among a largegroup in order to work more efficiently.

COURSE : ARC395 Design Build Studio

YEAR : Summer 2023

TYPE : Applied Academic Design Research

TYPE : Group Project, designed and built with ARC395 studio (2 weeks)

INSTRUCTOR : Jay Pooley

Photos courtesy of peers from the Haliburton Design Studio

Plexiglass & aluminium roof

Roof framing

Board and Batten walls

Timber frame walls with joists

Floor frame with joists & deck

Concrete foundation

North Elevation

Section A Section B

Kintsugi: Tranquility amongst the broken

Student Study Center

Kintsugi is the art of repairing broken pottery or porcelain with gold powder, and can also be used as a way of viewing events with a new perspective and finding beauty in the imperfect. Borrowing from this philosophy, for the concluding design for a student study, I simulated the cracks of pottery through a rough bowl made of clay and capturing its broken pieces, which I then manipulated to fit on the basis of a 12 column grid. The study center revolves around a central courtyard that opens throughout the entire building.

The building intends to create shadow and light through its wooden slats and balances the heavier structural elements with an open circulation. With each rising level providing more private study spaces as opposed to places for group work below. The courtyard with windows facing towards it offers a moment of calm from a busy schedule.

COURSE : ARC201 How to Design Almost Nothing

YEAR : Fall 2021

TYPE : Academic Design Research

TYPE : Independent Project (1.5 months)

INSTRUCTOR : Brian Boigon

Base extrusion

Connection between six individual spaces create larger studio spaces

Joining the pieces together to form 3 major spaces

Center courtyard space based on shapes carving into the earth

Extruding pieces to create 3 separate levels

Open air courtyard with covered pavilion spaces

Pushing in some of the levels to create spaces for connection and ourdoor seating

3 main corridors of connection between the upper levels

Staggered spaces mixed between individual study

Shattered pieces based on broken pottery bowl

Staggered study between individual and group

Staircase from ground level to second floor

Group/large study area

Elevation

Section through courtyard

Case Study: Danforth’s Greektown

People and Activity along the Danforth

This studio focuses on studying a street of our choosing upon which we research and document uses of the street as well as potential design interventions through different methods of representation. Our location of Greektown presents various outdoor restaurant seating and shop fronts which is drawn and annotated to create a further in-depth analysis. Initially in pairs we studied Greektown from Chester to Pape Station and noticed there is a decrease in Greek restaurants in comparison to non-Greek, and most of the street activity occurs during major events throughout the year such as Taste the Danforth and Christmas celebrations. Danforth Ave used have a high number of Greek households, but since the 1980s, the ethnic Greek population have spread out to neighbouring areas. We therefore explored what elements of Greektown remains and how it contributes to the area’s namesake.

My individual analysis of the street focuses on outdoor restaurant seating, and they can be categorized by open-air, closed coverings, movable and permanent fixtures. However, these determinations vary throughout the year and in winter, there is a lot of snow accumulation in the open-air areas while permanent seating tend to block certain pedestrian walkways.

COURSE : ARC200 Drawings and Representions II

YEAR : Winter 2023

TYPE : Academic Design Research

TYPE : Group Project, collaboration on all drawings with Larry Gao (3 months)

INSTRUCTOR : Jon Cummings

https://map.toronto.ca/maps/map.jsp?app=ZBL_CONSULT

https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/9a25-The-Danforth-route-map.pdf

https://greektowntoronto.com/winter/

Holy Name Parish

Royal Bank of Canada

Pantheon

Messini

Lukumum

The Friendly Greek Christinas

Soulas

Mezes

Astoria Megas

Kalyvia

South elevation

Various Street Activity along pedestrian and bike lane

Different Types of

Authentic Greek Cuisine

Stone Red Brick

Clear tarp Metal

Plywood

Reconsituted Stone

Plywood

Red Brick

Metal

Painted wood

Stucco

Plywood

Bartel-Pritchard Square Pavilion

Classical Entry Pavilion to Prospect Park

Through the Institute of Classical Architecture’s 2024 summer studio, we were tasked to design an entry pavilion for Prospect Park. In the weeks leading up to the design of the pavilion, we learnt hand-drafting, proportion, watercolor and rendering techniques alongside field drawings that gave inspiration for a entry pavilion for the Bartel-Pritchard Square in Brooklyn dedicated to two young sons of Brooklyn who fought and died in France during World War I.

The overall layout features a center entryway with two semi-octangonal rooms for administration and storage. The facade uses the ionic order with a pediment arch sitting in front of pilasters that come together in a double Roman arcade. The roof is hidden behind the parapet with an abundance of nature motifs along the entablature featuring acorns that symbolize fresh start and potential, a beaver on the pediment and statues sitting atop the balustrade representing icons of war, peace, nature and victory celebration.

The entry pavilion and its horticultural motifs tie in to the park itself and the other entryways welcoming and bidding farewell to visitors of the park and complete the missing entryway pavilion of the Bartel-Pritchard Square entrance.

COURSE : ICAA Summer Studio: Classical Design & Theory

YEAR : Summer 2024

TYPE : Academic Design Intensive

TYPE : Independent Project (2 weeks)

INSTRUCTOR : Michael Mesko