I seek spaces made for human connection because it always drew me into new communities.
Living around the world, I found that spaces when designed through a human touch can orchestrate an entire community. I believe in the power of design in cultivating communities crossing past cultural boundaries.
Culture is not without the people. People are not without the spaces. And spaces are not without the memories of its inhabitants.
Pharos finds solutions for the common issues faced by a Third Culture Kid (TCK) rooted in the constant change in environments during adolescent years. A homebase that empowers TCKs to find clarity in their stories, foster belonging and lasting sense of identity through nurture and celebration.
Mix-Used Cultural Center: Restaurant, Library, Museum and Co-Working Space
TOOLKIT
Senior Thesis Capstone 2024
PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACT
CULTURE CONFUSION
Later in life, TCKs are likely to struggle with lack of belonging and identity crisis due to social anxiety, loneliness and cultural confusion.
INCREASE IN GLOBAL MIGRATION
GROWTH OF TCKS POPULATION
LACK OF BELONGING + IDENTITY [ fair-os ]•Greek
(n.) An ancient lighthouse or beacon to guide sailors.
LOCATION
28th Floor of Times City Mall, Yangon, Myanmar
CONFLICTED POLITICAL IDENTITY
Burma was renamed Myanmar by the Military Junta in 1989 in an attempt to rebrand after economical and political takeover against the People’s Republic.
URBAN JUNCTION
LIGHT HOUSE
CULTURE& CONTEXT
Area is a commercial hub of 2 shopping centers attracting the local youths and international tourists. Geography
CONCEPT
Lighthouses are known to guide ships through turbulent storms from just a single light with a beam so intense that it can be seen from long distances.
Pharos is a guiding light for Third Culture Kids to navigate their identity through the constant changes in cultural environments.
Standing their ground against the harshest storms, TCKs are known to be resilient and adaptable to any environment just like a lighthouse by the bay. As the connection between land and sea, Pharos intends to help TCKs bridge different cultures and promote belonging.
Proximity
CONCEPT APPLICATION
WONDER & DISCOVER
Entice users in feeling curious about their origins and unveil layers of cultures that they feel most connected to by interconnecting information from space to space.
TO BE KNOWN IS TO BE CELEBRATED
A space that is built around accomodating exclusively to this user identity to occupy. To make them feel welcomed and expected is to make them feel at home.
TRUST IN GUIDED PATHWAYS
Circulation through different areas are clear and intentional to make users feel guided and reassured. Adjacency of each space is intended for smooth behaviour arrangement and easy access to all facilities.
AUTONOMY IN MOVEMENT
Users have the choice to be static or dynamic in each space with huddle areas and traffic hallways to meet each users at the pace or phase of where they are.
Centralized circulation considers the goals of the Pharos with the existing architecture of the space.
WELCOME LOBBY
The first impression of Pharos as users walk in to meet up and gather. Intended as a Third Place for Third Cultures to be surrounded by one another. Central landmark aids in wayfinding and a source of celebration.
MATERIAL VISION: EARTHY TRANSITIONAL ORGANIC
MAKER SPACE
A designated co-working office intended for open collaborations and a dedicated third place.
With varying huddle spaces that encourages individual work and collaborative interactions in a harmonious manner. Using the different levels as levels of emotional journey a TCK experiences in finding belonging. From feeling lost to connecting with fellow TCKs where they jumpstart to learning and reflecting.
1
MAKE YOUR MARK MUSEUM
Experiential museum that users can interact by sharing their TCK story and view the interactive light move through the 3D sculptural piece built around an optical illusion from the viewer standing at the entrance.
Level 1
THIRD CULTURE LIBRARY
The world first’s library that holds exclusively Third Culture related books and resources for ages of all kind to access and learn from. Huddle areas are divided and built for accessible seating for individuals, group gatherings and discussions.
Conversation Station
Focus Station
Learning Station
Level 2
NOVA BAR
Bar and restaurant with every main dish and cocktail ingredients are inspired and infused with ingredients from 3 various cultures dedicated to travels that make the identity of a TCK.
The glowing sculptural star with revolving rings ensures constant circulation around the space - Visual embodiment of coming together and feeling celebrated.
To gather at once and feel a spark of joy and belonging urges the need to burst and ignite through movement, visual intensity and array of variety.
2 PROFESSIONAL WORK
RESTORATION HARDWARE (RH)
SCOPE
Foundational and comprehensive design scope for a lakeside cottage in South Bristol, Maine and a Upper West Side full-home apartment in Manhattan, NY.
THE COTTAGE - SOUTH BRISTOL, MAINE
Designed the living and dining room for a cottage out by a lakeside in Maine with the interior setting the stage for the main 360 degrees of the lake and the woods. The cottage is to be minimal and relaxing for when the client spends time in the summer with guests; this influenced materiality and form to hold craftsmanship and character in each piece. Textures over color was the main driving force.
UWS APARTMENT - NEW YORK, NY
Furnished a full 3 BD 3BA apartment within a month turnaround for a client and his teenage son. Scope included the living, dining, primary bedroom, office and the son’s bedroom with a $100K budget for a comprehensive design.
LIVING & DINING SPACE
A masculine color palette was crucial to make the space represent the client and his eclectic business lifestyle while maintaining the warmth of a home that you can come back through the soft silhouettes and light natural woods.
OFFICE/ GUEST BEDROOM
Designed with comfort as the main goal for either purposes: Working from home should feel natural and ergonomic to the client’s productivity while accessible and accomodating for guests to use the Sleeper Sofa during their stays.
MASTER BEDROOM
Making the bedroom personal to the client by dedicating it to his Egyptian roots, the pieces were influenced by the sand dunes and the deeper hues of a sunset - minimal in form but bold in volume.
3 LA PERLE
ACCOR Design Competition Submission
2024 ACCOR Design Awards
A heavily conceptual project collaborated with two other design students to reimagine the entry experience of an international hotel. This submission focuses on the feeling of “Wander to Wonder: An Experience for the Curious” - To entice guests in the idea of abundance of experiences in one place while growing curiousity of these new spaces.
Hotel Experienced Reimaged + Fine Dining Restaurant
TOOLKIT
Revit
DIAMOND RESTAURANT
This 360 view restaurant on the top floor of La Perle sets a strong impression in its architecture for hotel guests and restaurant go-ers alike. This extension maintains the hotel’s identity to be multi-faceted while allowing the restaurant to foster a standalone experience.
Centralize people together in a ‘pod’ while providing own dining booth.
Creating a smooth flow from restaurant to bar is a linear hallway with handpainted murals of the hotel’s history. There is a sculptural ceiling that glows a soft amber light in the center of the bar.
THE DUNE - LOUNGE
Bringing the hotel’s Middle Eastern origins to its guests upon arrival into a lounge with a glass floor on top of a indoor sand dune. The skylight above heavily draped with knotted ropes and hand-spun silk panels casts a dreamy atmosphere in the lounge room.
4 PEREGRIN
Rooftop Bar at Perry Lane Hotel
SCADpro Collaboration April 2023 (Construction Complete in 2024)
SCOPE
A 48-Hour Design Project to refresh Perry Lane Hotel’s rooftop bar, Peregrin, to bring more emphasis to the hotel’s origin by produce a full design proposal collaborating between Interiors, Architecture and Brand Identity.
Revit
Enscape
Photoshop
SketchUp
HOSPITALITY - ROOFTOP BAR
TOOLKIT
Aprill 2023
3D RENDER
Smoother circulation around the bar to decrease traffic and congestion in certain areas of the bar. Optimize Flow
Adaptive Host
A versatile event space equipped for private hosting while operating public bar service.
Expand Capacity
Increasing seating options to accomodate more guests by utilizing all areas of the rooftop.
