U. Architecture
TIAN YU CHEN
TEL: 917-349-5058
EMAIL: T0206CTY@GMAIL
FLO Climate Action Experience
OFFSET Terraced Cultural Center on Triangular Corner
BIO-FLUCTUATE
3D Printed Clay, Non-Plannar Facade
LEVITATION Above, Respect the Rock THE NEXUS Mixed Use, Urban Neutral Network
SITE: Battery Park (harbor), NY
AREA:31,700 SF
PROGRAM: Education, Exhibition
Team Member: Kangpei Sun
In this project, we dig into NYC’s past to plan our future. An series of analyzation focus on the Global Climate Strick of 2019 shapes our ideas to eventually wanting to design an experience and landmark locate at the Battery Park where the strick took place. The project is to create a sense of urgency, persistance against long-term challenges, spread awareness of consequences, and inspiring and motivating young people to save the planet.
This climate change timeline diagram incorporates highlights significant events linked to human-induced climate change since the industrial revolution in the 1760s. The red hatching represents temperature increase from 1880 to the present, while the blue hatching represents the rise in CO2 emissions. Major events like WWI and WWII show notable spikes in both emissions and temperature.
Overall, the diagram demonstrates a continuous historical increase in CO2 emissions and temperature due to ongoing fossil fuel consumption. Incorporated golden ratio spiral template again to emphasize the extension of climate crisis.
We engaged with a deeper study of the Battery Park by illustrating the site section, wind rose, and sun angle on the site
During the design process, our team incorporated the golden section from our timeline diagram into our structure, emphasizing the critical point where the temperature and CO2 graph intersect.
The top opening gradually narrows and ultimately becomes enclosed, creating a sense of compression. This design choice aligns with the inspiration we drew from the golden section timeline. Just as the timeline suggests the worsening scenario if CO2 emissions and temperature continue to rise, our architectural concept aims to evoke a sense of emergency and urgency in the living space.
Choosing to build our project on the harbor, we aimed to convey the concept of flooding by incorporating a floating ramp in between walls.
SITE: NW corner of Convent Ave. and W. 135th St.
AREA: 38,600 SF
PROGRAM: Cultural Center, Education
This project took place on the existing corner parking lot of CCNY-CUNY. The lot has slopes of 7-14 feet where corner intersection is the lowest point. We noticed that the NAC(North Academic Center) defines a large part around of the site and lack of green space in the surrounding as well. As a concept, we bringing green space to the campus through design a system of terraces and greenroofs.
The project offsets the surroundings, the NAC behind, the community, the unique topography, and the greenery. We took out the existing parking lot from the site, and in the end, gave back a cultural center for the neighborhood.
Team Member: Katerina Kwong Philip Lee
In the 1st floor plan, we introduce several outdoor spaces for leisure while visitors are welcomed to use either one of two irregular main entrances. These’s a cafe for visitors and a wood finished grand stair that leads people to the cultral hall below at the basement floor featuring lounge area, elevators and backstage for service.
All the egree stairs are carefully located as per code requirement. The 2nd floor is a education alfloor, for all the CCNY faculty. Additionally, series of seatings to create a co-working space for student and faculties. The 3rd floor meant to be enclosed service floor to provide extra mep spaces.
Each floor implements a differenty types of planting. 1st floor utilizes planters and a silva cell water retention system, the second floor utilizes semi-intensive planters, and the roof utilizes an extensive green roof for easy maintenance.
EXTENSIVE GREEN ROOFS
CENTRAL ATRIUM MAXIMIZES DAYLIGHT
TRIPLE GLAZED WINDOWS
CONCRETE PROVIDES INSULATED ENVELOPE THAT MIMICS THERMAL LOADING
Bio-fluctuate is an interdisciplinary project combining architecture, biology, and ecology. It explores the potential of 3D printing clay technology and the use of lichen as a bio-design research tool. The project focuses on developing photosynthetic living building components, specifically a facade system. This system aims to cater to the needs of animals and humans while also supporting urban flora and fauna. One of its functions is to provide shading. Additionally, by integrating lichen, the facade acts as an air quality indicator and helps filter pollutants such as dust, sulfur, mercury, and nitrogen. This means the system can contribute to cleaner and healthier air.
The integration of computational strategy allows our project to demonstrate a wide range of possibilities and variations. The randomness component (SEED) in Grasshopper formed a major technical piece in our form-finding development. It applied a computer-generated randomness to the design and eventually formed a distinctive weaving pattern. Along with the robotic arm, we use the attractor point component to generate holes on the clay surface, creating spaces on each clay module for lichen to inhabit and respond to the pattern produced.
SITE: 602 W. 114th St, New York
AREA: 2,500 SF
PROGRAM: Residential
The given site of this project considered “unbuildable”. its provoking fragmentation (embedded rock) reflects the spirit of the overall approach.
Our concept is to respect the magnificent rock on its site by establishing a parti with minimum contact and maximum transparency, when it counts. We refuse to compromise the overall view of the roack and its surroundings. The entire parti is a substantial cantilever developing from the west of the lot, which differentiates the spatial demarcations being able to be transparent, and others that must be inventive in term of puched-out openings.
The major material components for this project is steel and glass. In order to support the cantilever part, a 2ft thick steel column with deep foundation is placed on west side of the lot align with the neighbor townhouse, then cover with pour in concreate. From that structural wall, the steel beams attached to it will be hanging and supporting the entire cantilever. The glass is widely used in stiars and facade to open up the space and making connection with rock and its surroundings.
SITE: 1026-34 Atlantic Ave. Brooklyn, NY
AREA: 48,390 SF
PROGRAM: Mixed Use,
Team Member: Katerina Kwong Kangpei Sun
Our project aims to create a mixed-use building in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, that promotes a carbon neutral network combining a variety of jobs, services and residential apartments within the site, intended to invite manufacturing and jobs that are green and healthy to the building, and build a connection with the residential community and ultimately make the building a nexus of Crown Heights.
The project offers five floors of commercial spaces responding to a desire by the community for family-sustaining jobs for residents without higher education. Nexus specifically provides spaces for businesses that advance a zero-carbon economy and a just transition. The ground level with an internal street loading zone can accommodate businesses with extensive logistics needs such as food and food waste management businesses as well as businesses providing micro-mobility such as vertical farming, E-bike shop and repair, and food distribution center to promote a sustainable and green transportation lifestyle. The upper commercial floors of the building will become a multi-tenant hub only targeted for local workshops and artists with no odor, and limited noise. We intended to provide various sizes of space and flexibility for their small businesses.
We utilize a rainwater retention system to capture and irrigate the extensive planting throughout the building. The green roof and vegetation act as buffers for water runoff, which is then filtered and retained for irrigation purposes. This process occurs on both higher and lower floors, with water collected in basins, filtered, and a portion of dirty water released. The filtered clean water is recycled for irrigation.
We prioritize natural light, cross-ventilation, and private balconies/terraces with city views for a pleasant living experience. The wavy-shaped external corridors provide shading, while setbacks and communal green spaces enhance ventilation and promote sustainability.
