Rain Yang Portfolio FEB 2025

rain yang

SELECTED WORKS 2025

rain education

Ruihua (Rain) Yang

ruihua@design.upenn.edu

university of pennsylvania (upenn)

sTaTus: Canada & hOngKOng sar duaL CiTiZen

rhode island school of design (risd)

STUART WEITZMAN SCHOOL OF DESIGN

bfa (double major) 3.777 GPA

master of architecture 3.96 GPA

2017 – 2022 • providence, rhode island, usa.

2023 – 2026 • philadelphia, pennsylvania, usa.

* Graphic Design * Interior Architecture Adaptive Reuse

* Dean's Merit Scholarship 2023 - 2026 * Intergrated Product Design Program

dis copenhagen interior architecture studio 4.0 GPA summer 2022 • copenhagen, denmark.

experience

mad architects - beijing office summer architect & design intern • june 2024 – august 2024 • beijing, china.

Assisted and worked alongside the competition team for Hangzhou Xihu Opera House, Tasks involved site modeling, research, schematic design, and plan & section drawing. aedas - chengdu office summer architect & design intern • june 2021 – august 2021 • chengdu, china.

Assisted and worked alongside a team of 6 architects and other interns on 4 large scale commercial architectural proposal projects, one of which was WuLiangYe Group's new economic center located at ChengDu. Tasks performed varied from research, mapping, design, presentation, to 3D modeling. tianhe interior architects architect & design intern • october 2020 – feburary 2021 • xi'an, china.

Worked with a team of 8 architects on various interior architecture projects. Tasks included producing renderings, floorplans, furniture design and plans, photography documentation, organizing material selection and measurements, as well as research. chiyi creatives - startup co-founder • july 2018 – 2023 • shanghai, china.

CYC was a start up design studio aiming to create online & international collab opportunities for

freelance and student designers. The studio has completed collab projects with student artists, WSJ journal, and BaiYuLan furniture. I was involved in the recruiting & startup process , designed

the CYC website, and participated in various designs, such as the first article illustration for WSJ China Issue 1, and the branding proposal for Elitoc Enzyme and UNIEE Yoga. risd teaching assistant & printshop monitor teaching assistant and printshop monitor • march – december 2022 • providence, rhode island, usa.

Teaching assistant for professor Hammett Nurosi for Graphic Design studio Class: Design Studio III, Fall 2022, Class of 12. Monitor for RISD print shops 2022 semesters under Hasan Askari.

community ,

achievements ,

& exhibitions

ST. GEORGE'S SCHOOL ARTSWEEk SPEAkER

WEITZMAN FRANk MILES DAy MEMORIAL PRIZE ( 2024 )

SPEAkER • 2022 • CANADA. (vIA ZOOM)

HOk DESIGN FUTURES 2024 SECOND PLACE WINNER

UbC PHOTOGRAPHy CLUb

RISD HONORS DESGINATION ( FIvE SEMESTERS )

GRAPHIC MENTOR • 2021 - 2022 • CANADA.

bC DOGWOOD SCHOLARSHIP ( 2017 )

vANCOUvER LEO'S CLUb

ST. GEORGE'S RIGG SCHOLARSHIP ( 2017 )

vP OF MARkETING • 2016 - 2017 • CANADA.

vANCOUvER HEART 2 HEART yOUTH SOCIETy CHAIRMAN • 2017 • CANADA.

skillset

& hobbies

professional

• Digital Fabrication • Physical Modeling • Analog & Digital Photography • Architectural Visulization • CGI. Motion Media & Animation • Branding & Book Design • Web Design

RISD INTAR SENIOR SHOW ( 2022) RISD GD DEGREE PROjECT ( 2022 ) RISD GD TRIENNIAL ( 2021)

techinicals

• 3ds Max & Fusion 360 • Rhinoceros 3D • Revit & AutoCAD • Adobe Creative Suite • Vray/Lumion/Enscape • Microsoft Office • HTML/CSS/JS • ArcGIS Pro & Forma

languages

• English (Native) • Mandarin (Native) • Spanish (Beginner) hobbies

• Illustration • Photography • Bodybuilding

index

Contents

Apertus Wanamaker Building Renovation

I

The Nautilaus East Fairmount Park Reservoir Re-Adaptation Bathhouse

II

Vela ICA Philadelphia Renovation

III

The Mystery Shack Weitzman Student Team HOK Design Futures Winning Entry

IV

Other Works Tower Build ARCH 501 & BIM Drawings

V

Professional Work MAD Architects Internship Competition

VI

1

1

// rain yang //

apertus

Childhood Memory Concept Sketch

1/32 Aggregation Study Model Housing Units Detail

In the book Delirious New York by Rem Koolhaas, he states that: “Each block is a ‘small city’ within the larger metropolis, a collection of private utopias, an endless experiment in reshaping human reality.” The Wanamaker is that of an outdated private utopia within the center of Philadelphia needing to be re-adapted to fit the pressing housing and climate needs of contemporary society. In this project, The Wanamaker

Apertus 2

FALL 2024 Individual Academic Project ARCH 601 | Scott Erdy Studio The Wanamaker Building. Philadelphia, PA

is transformed from an obsolete commercial relic into a shared, mystical, public garden nest.

Growing up in an immigrant family, I always chose the window seat on cramped flights, mesmerized by the

wings and endless sky. This fascination with unknown spaces shaped my approach to architecture, starting with a birdhouse module for a container house, evolving into an adaptive reuse strategy with mobile housing units, and later a skip-stop housing system.

The Wanamaker building, once a retail icon, now feels frozen in time, like the Titanic’s wreck. To revive it, I introduced modular units, roof gardens, and strategic voids, transforming it into a permeable public and residential hub—a vertical garden honoring its past. The units wrap around the atrium, attaching to the column grid, while skip-stop units and a revolving walkway provide vertical circulation without obstructing views.

3

process

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apertus

Walk Wing Container House Assembly drawing & 1/4 scale model of Container House exercise

1/32 Aggregation Study Model First study model of walk wing container house aggregation to site 4

Geometrical Generation Sequence of Borromian geometrical generation applied to site context 5

narrative process

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apertus

Atrium View (A) The atrium perspective shows branching columns that are re-adapted to allow a stronger support system on the housing floors above with a larger contact surface. The atrium is transformed into a public vertical park and the columns now blend in as tree-like forms extending from viewing decks on top of a first level of commercial spaces.

Public Commons Poster The urban relic narrative poster for studio public commons explores the story telling of the Wanamaker as an obsolete monolith within the city of Philadelphia, much like the sunken Titanic in the deep ocean floor. The Wanamaker is now “lifted up” and opened once again to the community.

6

Atrium Cut-Away Model 1/8 Scale chunk model from atrium perspective.

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apertus

process

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Rooftop Study Model

MEP Massing Study Diagrams

Vertical Garden Conceptual Collage

Container House Unit Plan

Massing Study Model 8

1/32 Scale MEP Model

Container Units Aggregation

Aggregation Model in Site

1/32 Scale Site Model

Chain Garden Structure Model 9

Section Perspective The floor plates gradually push and pull in section to form a gradually revolving atrium space 10

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apertus

drawings & detail

Penthouses

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Loft Floor 8

Loft Floor 7

Bamboo Facade View Site Map The interior green facade hold transparency and apertures to the atrium.

Loft Floor 6

Loft Floor 5

Loft Floor 4

Loft Floor 3

Model Section Detail 12

Facade & Floor Detail

Floor plans in Motion The floor plates gradually grow upon each other horizontally and branch from tangent geometrical generations in relation to the atrium contour.

Loft Units First Floor Plan 13

drawings & detail

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apertus

Loft Unit Plans Skip Stop Lofts The skip - stop loft units allow a more efficient use of space as a corridor is only implemented every other floor, allowing room for communal gym & work spaces.

Four types of different residential units are designed to accommodate single, couple, and family housing, as well as handicap access. Each unit have independent balcony garden spaces where the residents retains privacy provided by the interior green facade. The facade apertures allow framed views at the original organ atrium, which plays on holidays, creating communal celebration.

B

Unit Cluster Detail A

C Elevator Lobby View (A)

Atrium (B)

Unit Balcony (C) Loft Units Second Floor Plan

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2

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the nautilus

Viewing Deck Top level viewing spaces allowing visitors to oversee the trails, bathing pools, courtyard, and the reservoir.

Pool & Mezzanine Space Double height interior warm pool surrounded by limestone, dolomite, and Wissahickon Schist local to site

The Nautilus surfaces and unfolds itself to the human.

Has it always been here? Underneath the earth, buried all this time? The linear journey through different elevations, transitions, activities, and materials leads the visitor to the reservoir, all while experiencing the weathering, growth, and renewal of the Nautilus. The

The Nautilus 16

SPRING 2024 Individual Academic Project ARCH 502 | Kevin Cannon Studio East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA

bathhouse serves not only its function, but a long extinct echo of this artificially manipulated landscape. It embraces, frames, and coexists with the terrain and its metabolism.

Has the Nautilus always lingered beneath, cradled by the earth? Emergent, it unfolds its ancient form to the human. Journeying linearly across elevations, through transitions in activities and materials, each visitor is drawn to the reservoir. Along this path, they experience the dance of weathering, growth, and renewal.

This structure transcends the mere function of a bathhouse; it resonates as a faint echo of an ancient, yet now artificially shaped landscape. It embraces, frames, and coexists with the terrain, revolving into its natural rhythm and metabolism.

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the nautilus

process

Massing & Adaptation

1:500 Site Study Model

Massing Study Model // rain yang //

Schenk Woodman Competition Site Collage

Landscape Alteration II

Landscape Alteration

Section Watercolor Sketch

Site Hydro & Flood Plain Map

Object 3

Object 2

South Section Pencil Sketch

Object 1

East Section Pencil Sketch 18

Concept Development series of drawings from early conceptual objects to site adaptation

Artifact Study Models early concepts developed as objects inserted within the resevior site

Chunk Model & Facade Detail grid assembly mounting system for the limestone exterior facade in relation to structure and green roof 19

plan

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the nautilus

C

B E

A

D

1:200 Wood carve Model 20

Regeneration Pool (A)

Entrance Lobby (B)

Central Courtyard (C)

Underground Pool (D)

East Reservoir Pool (E) 21

vela

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3

Concept Collage Early material collage on the idea of concealment and aperture.

Napkin Sketch A lunch time napkin idea sketch of the floating “fins” on a very ordinary piece of paper.

Traditionally, monumentality has been associated with the instantaneous, monolithic, and institutional.

However, the new monumentality should present a gradual, fragmented, and human-centric experience.

A structure’s profundity fades as quickly as it is

Vela 22

FALL 2023 Individual Academic Project ARCH 501 | Anthony Gagliardi Studio ICA, Philadelphia, PA

perceived and understood. The tower should be a

multi-faceted structure to be explored slowly by the mind and etched into memory.

Unrolled Choisy Choisy draft drawing of a climbing continuous gallery within the tower.

From a distance, the tower isn’t a tower. It is instead a glare, a fragment, or perhaps an invitation to the human. Yet, with each step, the distance diminishes, and the structure reveals itself as three twisting forms embedded into the earth. The forms morph and pull apart, generating a series of solids and voids, while offsetting the surrounding plaza with its concealed mass in union.

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physical model

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vela

The tower presents itself as a riddle to the human, with each level and opening, the mind fills in a gap obscured by the exterior façade. As the floor plates detach from the tower mass, a set of rules are shown where the mass is emphasized on the interior instead of the exterior, and materiality guides the user in circulation. The central courtyard opens up to the sky, offering visitors a first glimpse at the gallery spaces and terraces above. As they explore through the museum spaces and ramps, they glance back at the central void, feeling the raise and verticality of the tower.

The sunken plaza juxtaposes the tower mass and introduces an enclosed public park barricaded by the tower from the streets. On the interior, layers of poché and transformations create specific and ever changing gallery spaces, challenging the traditional white cube gallery. Creating possibilities for more distinct and informing connections between the artworks and the spatial context. All of these elements coalesce into a journey in which the human meets the tower at a closer distance, experiences it gradually, and departs with its secret.

Physical Model in Site 24

Topdown View 25

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15

12

11 9

4

3

7

1

2 8

10

16

5

6

13

Lobby Level Plan The facade fins conceal the main tower, creating degrees of anticipation for the viewer.

Top Gallery Floor Plan At the same time, these in between spaces become shaded plaza seating spaces and gardens.

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1. Lobby 2. Sunken Plaza 3. Bridge 4. Cafe & Store 5. Coat Check 6. Garden 7. Gallery 8. Ramp

9. Elevators 10. Egress 11. Gender Neutral Bathroom 12. Mech 13. Storage 14. Loading Elevator 15. Community Plaza 16. Fins

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vela

drawings & render

2

1

8

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4

3

B

Unrolled Ramp Section The ramps continues across all the branching out towers.

5

A

6

7

1. Gallery 1 2. Seating Area 3. Central Void & Terrace 4. Connection Bridge

5. Gallery 2 6. Gallery 3 7. Double Height Gap 8. Stair Egress

Exterior Terrace Deck (A)

Upper Gallery Level Floor Plan The gallery spaces are designed as a continuous, ascending journey, offering glimpses of the central light well and neighboring gallery rooms at each turn. This layout allows curations and exhibitions to be effectively organized within the branching towers while maintaining connectivity. Simultaneously, the art pieces serve as dynamic backdrops for one another as visitors ascend the tower museum.

Gallery Interior (B)

28

Axon Slicing Diagrams

29

drawings

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the nautilus

C

Top Terrace View (C) As the visitors reach the top of the tower, terraces grant them a view that overlooks all the gallery rooms and the central void. This moment allows them to contemplate upon their journey and experience the tower in whole.

Section 30

31

4

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drawings

Portable Camping Unit Illustration This mobile unit allows the community to setup camp and experience the park space as groups with shelter.

Mystery Shack 32

SPRING 2024 Weitzman Student Competition Project two person collaboration on all aspects HOK Design Futures Second Place Cobbs Creek, Philadelphia, PA

The Mystery Shack emerges as a beacon of exploration within the heart of Cobbs Creek Park, serving as a communal nexus where the local community can delve into the wonders of their natural surroundings. This architectural gem functions dually as a gathering space and an innovative classroom laboratory, fostering a blend of study, observation, and communal interaction.

The Mystery Shack opens its doors to both human and animal visitors, and stands as a warm, welcoming portal to the mysteries of the natural world, inviting all to uncover and engage with the park’s phenomenal secrets.

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drawings

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the mystery shack

Portable Camping Unit Illustration Inspired by “Gravity Falls”, the proposed Mystery Shack eco-center reinterprets Cobbs Creek Park as a space for exploration, education, and community engagement. Rooted in GIS analysis, the site was chosen for its ideal elevation, slope, stream density, and proximity to floodplains. The design blends with the park’s natural landscape, integrating an observation tower, exhibition hall, and research lab. Divided by a central axis, the southern section features a mysterious cabin-like exhibition space and versatile areas, while the northern section focuses on education and research. The slope-integrated layout bridges urban and natural environments, encouraging curiosity and fostering meaningful connections with nature. The two axes allow circulation down the slope from community to park while introducing programs on the horizontal axis.

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35

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5

OTHER WORKS

tower sculpture

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other Towers works

Detail Drawing

Assembly Drawing

See-through Render Plan 38

Five Layers

Composition Drawing

UN-Clear Cuts “Un-Clear Cuts” is a sculptural tower that explores monumentality through relative perception from different perspectives. The tower consists of five layers: skeleton, mass, voids, projection contours, and layered varnish. As viewers wonder around the sculpture, new compositions of the five layers are formed at distinct view points.

Role: All Drawings and Renders. Team collaboration in Design & Fabrication.

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towers

drawings C

Section

A D

B

C

D

Unrolled Elevations

B

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A

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41

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TECHNICAL Drawing

BIM technical drawings

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1901 walnut street BIM Project

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45

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PROFESSIONAL WORKS

jade

// rain yang //

6

Portable Camping Unit Illustration This mobile unit allows the community to setup camp and experience the park space as groups with shelter.

Jade 48

SUMMER 2024 MAD Architects Competition Project Competition Team Internship Hangzhou Future International Performing Arts Center Competition

The Hangzhou Future International Performing Arts Center integrates culture and sustainability, situated in the Yuhang District along Hangzhou’s central axis.

The project features a music hall, grand theater, and supporting spaces, harmonizing architecture with the wetland landscape. A sustainable ecological axis incorporates rainwater management, permeable paving, and solar panels, while layered indoor-outdoor spaces evoke floating green islands extending toward the waterfront. Guided by the cultural heritage of the

marshland ecosystem and jade production, the design

envisions the center as a local jewel crafted from jade, emerging organically from the marshlands.

It emphasizes accessibility, transit connectivity, and innovative urban integration, balancing ecological and cultural priorities in a large-scale architectural endeavor. I collaborated with the competition team on site modeling, research, concept generation, and all drawings shown in this portfolio.

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drawings

Massing & Program The Hangzhou Future International Performing Arts Center seamlessly integrates cultural expression, ecological sustainability, and innovative urban design through its environmentally conscious features and harmonious connection to the wetland landscape.

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jade

Multi-Functional Hall Section

Grand Theater Section 50

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grandtheater

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jade

Grand Theater Interiors 52

53

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