Weijia Sun_Architectural Design Portfolio_Academic

PORT FOLIO

2016-2022

WEIJIA SUN ws376@cornell.edu 607-262-1919

RESUME

ws376@cornell.edu 607-262-1919

EDUCATION

LANGUAGES

Chinese English Spanish

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California Bachelor of Architecture, summa cum laude Aug 2016 - May 2021

● Honors: Tau Sigma Delta Society, Undergraduate Research Associates Fellowship

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California Bachelor of Arts, Communication, summa cum laude Aug 2016 - May 2021

● Honors: USC Renaissance Scholar, Dean’s List

Cornell University Ithaca, New York Master of Science, Advanced Architectural Design Aug 2021 - Dec 2022

● Honors: Scholarship

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Office of Mobile Design Venice, California

Architectural Design Intern May 2019 - Jul 2019

● Produced 3d modeling, rendering for Yuen’s Commercial-Office Building on Lincoln Blvd, Venice;

● Produced 3d modeling, rendering and documenting structural drawings for a private house on Lakeshore Dr;

● Created and organized specification sheets for projects.

Urbanus Architectural Design Firm Beijing, China

Architectural Design Intern May 2018 - Aug 2018

● Produced 3D modeling and rendering for OCT Exhibition Gallery in Zhuozhou, China; ● Produced 3D modeling, physical model making and construction drawings for Botanic Garden of International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 in Beijing, China; ● Design assistant for Changchun Microcity Conceptual Project, in Changchun, China.

ArchDaily Remote Translator & Editor-in-assistant Intern Aug 2017 - Feb 2018

● Translated ArchDaily articles done in English to Chinese; ● Over 50 translated articles/projects/news were published on ArchDaily China website.

Weber Shandwick Beijing, China

Public Relations Intern Feb 2021 - Jun 2021

● Assisted 361° (Chinese sports apparel brand) in social media campaigns; ● Organized two branding events “Sanzhong Creative Media Salon” in Xiamen and Beijing;

SKILLS

Office Package (Word, Excel, PowerPoint); Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, After Effect, Lightroom, Indesign); 3D Modeling (Rhino, SketchUp, Maya); Documentation (Revit, AutoCAD); Rendering (V-Ray, Enscape, Twinmotion); Script-writing (Grasshopper, Python).

TABLE OF CONTENT

PROJ 2 a ripple in time

pp.4-13

PROJ 1 gowanus iguana pp.14-21 pp.22-29

PROJ 4 wonder-farm-land

windfall pp.44-53

PROJ 3 the diamond pp.30-37 pp.38-43 PROJ 5

APPX I PROJ 6 tenement seams

other design works pp.54-57

APPX II mapping the futrue pp.58-61

APPX III sketching nowness pp.62-65

Category of Work: Group Academic Work

Teammates: Ziqi Wang

Date of Completion: May 11th, 2022

Supervisors: Florian Idenburg (idenburg@so-il.org)

Karilyn Johanesen (johanesen@so-il.org)

*Image by Ziqi Wang

Gamifying Heating and Cooling

To understand the energy of heating and cooling, we decided to study iguanas, who are masters of controlling their body heat and responding to the natural environments. While iguanas’ actions are driven by their bodily experiences of the surroundings, we developed a game, which asked the players to become iguanas and adjust their actions according to the thermal environment. The flow of energy is thus represented to the behavioral choices of an iguana.

You must amss heat from the sun in order to warm your body and be able to dive into the cold water insearch of food. Temperature Goggle will allow you to find warm and right spot.

Here in the water, your temperature will continue to drop as you search for algae and face obstacles. When warned, you must ascend and follow the warmer stream according to the Gogggle.

01 Heating 02 Cooling 03 Socializing

New friends can be found ashore! Send likes, comments, and friend requests, so you can find someone to cuddle with during cold nights and stay warmed.

04 Developing

After your long journey of adapting to the thermal environment, you will have the ability to customize your skills and skin and even hatch an egg!

Gamifying Heating and Cooling...

Around The Gowanus Canal!

When an iguana is placed in the site of the Gowanus Canal, they will also behave as in the natural surrounding. The game is then continued to be played as we, the human players, adapt our actions to the urban thermal conditions. But now, the real challenge is to act against thermal comfort zone and behave in the most sustainable ways, in order to win points.

Thermal Sensibilities of Mono-Materials

Playing along the thermal energy flow in the Gowanus Canal region, players are now welcomed to the newly designed E-sport Center, where also continues to challenge visitors’ adaptability to the thermal environments. By providing different thermal conditions, the Gowanus Iguana Center allows players to find different thermal extremes and sensibilities of their own body comfort. Building the different conditions in the Gowanus Iguana Center is made possible by combining material catalogs and also heating/cooling technologies. Different thermal sensibilities of materialities enable personalized thermal conditions for players, giving a passive play of thermal energy flows.

STADIUM FRONT

LOBBY

OUTDOOR PASSAGE

Sensational Temperature of Materiality

Physical Temperature of Space

Category of Work: Individual Academic Work Date of Completion: Apr. 26th, 2019

Supervisor: Roland Wahlroos-Ritter (roland.wahlroosritter@usc.edu)

Time

Telling Structure

Located in a quiet neighborhood near the LA beach, the Ripple Aquatics Center has a large backyard of trees and grass. As the site is mainly embraced by open spaces, the response to the climate and weather drives the structural design. Taking advantage of the California sunshine, the mass timber moment frames are aligned by the sun position, and the key structural frames will be able to tell the time based on shadows casting in the voided Solarium.

A Ripple

The roof facade resembles a water ripple, corresponding to the natural elements of the sun from the structure. While the large aluminium surface provides protection against heavy sunshine, the ripple becomes the skylight panels to bring playful interior lighting during the day.

Adapted Translucency

The location of the Ripple Aquatics Center is majorly embraced by the park while one side remains open to the pedestrian walkway. The facade is designed to have a gradient translucency, granting privacy when necessary.

The Sundial

The location of each moment frame beams follows the solar position. The structure itself becomes a giant solar clock. Space circumscribed by the compression ring is an outdoor solarium. Visitors can tell time by following the shadow of column on the ground.

Water Village

The interior of this aquatics center recalls a village-like experience. Welllitted by the skylights, the space is not necessarily open yet gives fun for children to explore.

The Swimming Basics

The Ripple Aquatic Center is consist of two swimming pools, one leisure pool and one olympic standard pool. The leisure pool is located below the water village and its dressing rooms, offering an intimate swimming space for play and explore. The Solarium is also essential as a sundial and also for the relaxation of the visitors under the sun.

Water Village

Swimming Pool

Park Pavement

PROJECT 3

WindFall (2021) urban + landscape discourse

Gunhill, Ithaca, NY

Category of Work: Group Academic Work

Teammates: Sijia Chi, Ziqi Wang

Date of Completion: Nov. 23rd, 2021

Supervisor: Jeremy Foster (jf252@cornell.edu)

When talking about the Gunhill near the Ithaca Fall, people have their own image: abandoned, toxic and inaccessible with all the demolition and clean ups. That was the common notion haunting the site. The only reason for visitors to come down from the cliff to there is to get on the trail to see the beautiful Ithaca Fall. However, Gunhill not only used to be packed with factories and mills, contributing to the rich history of the site, but also part of the significant energy source to power the overall industries. How to utilizing such rich and interesting history to shift the atmosphere and brought more people up the hill by making the Gunhill a more popular and elegant socialgathering space is our concern.

Reviving through the Nature

The answer lies immediately on reviving the old water energy system to power our new project; meanwhile, we start to introducing a new natural energy powered by wind. With a slow blow of the wind, our installation blow away the toughness and forbiddenness of the Gunhill by landing itself right next to the Ithaca Fall. When the Winfall revives the use of the old water raceway and embrace the wind energy, it starts to embody the past and the present, giving a future of the Gunhill, while the top installation celebrates the original geographical properties and histories of the Gunhill site.

Ithaca Regional Map

Ezra Cornell’s Tunnel

Demolished Gun Factory Parking Lot Ruins of Ithaca Fall Paper Company

WindFall Tower

Raceway

*Image by Sijia Chi

*Image by Sijia Chi

*Image by Ziqi Wang

Sun Portfolio

USC Center for Social Justice Leimert Park region, Los Angeles, CA

Category of Work: Individual Academic Work Date of Completion: Nov. 18th, 2020

Supervisor: Mario Cipresso (mario@studioshift.com)

To actively respond to the human rights crisis in the US (BLM Movemnet) over the summer 2020, this project takes the role of a social justice center sponsored by University of Southern California. Located in a historical Black Community, the building aims to stop the hatred and divide in the country, while elevating the living quality of the region to welcome diverse range of residents and visitors. While Crenshaw is known for its heavy traffic and function as parade routes, Degnan is known for landmarks for black history, the Social Justice Center oughts to offer a intermediate site for both busy streets.

Citizen’s Plaza

While the landmark destinations and events on the streets impliy the possibility to form a strong connection of both boulevards, and the open parking lots in between provides such spatial opportunity, the site calls to activate the ground plaza as public plazas. The building is then designed to be floating to emphasize the building mass over the landscape. As the open connection is created to allow multiple access from the streets to the central plaza and the Social Justice Center, the space speaks to the need for public campaign events and gatherings.

Foundation System: Footings, Pads, Friction Pillars

Foundation System: Circulation Core Vertical System: Columns

Horizontal System: Beams, Purlins

Diaphragm System: CLT Panels

Lateral System: Core, Truss, Retaining Walls

Roof System: Web Truss Secondary System: Curtain Wall with Operable Windows

site, Leimert Park has a dynamic ecosystem of outdoor activities and gatherings, but pleasant green spaces and public plazas are barely seen on site. It calls for a greenbelt strategy, utilizing current programs and events to activate the original parking lots which could be largely reduced due to metro stations and bicycling. Future developments, other than the USC Center for Social Justice, are also possible along the Degnan Blvd and can be functioned as a strong connection between Crenshaw and Degnan Blvd.

Facade Detail Exploded Axonometric

Facade and Sustainability

Given the sun position to the site, the most heated surface will be on the south-west facade and south-east facade while the other two receive almost no direct sunlight. As a result, a layer of alumnium solid panels supported by alumnium diamond-shaped grid will be providing sun shading to the two heated facades. Voids and angled alumnium panels will still allow direct sunlight to the interior, as curtain wall will be attached to the primary structure first. While these two facades have a double-skin facade system, the other two will have a single facade supported by a curtain wall of opaque glasses to be luminated at night yet well recovered for heat.

Illustration for Public Cafe

Illustration for Lobby

Wonder-Farm-Land (2019)

urban design + community living

La Marina de Port, Barcelona, Spain

Category of Work: Group Research + Individual Design

Teammates: Zhaohui Wang

Date of Completion: Nov. 20th, 2019

Supervisors: Roger Paez i Blanch (rpaez@aib.cat); John Dutton (jdutton@usc.edu); Jaime Font Furest (jaime.font@salle.url.edu)

*Image by Weijia Sun and Zhaohui Wang

The Soft Interior of an Industrial District

Situated in Sant-Monjuic District in the Southwestern Barcelona, La Marina del Prat Vermel has undergone dramatic land use change and building repurposing in the past century. With its rich historical footages of warehouses and railway stations, a soft interior where the pedestrians experience the changes of the area in little details is discovered. Potential strategies for renovating existing buildings provides a catalog of revonating the dying neighborhood to become pedestrian friendly again, while facing the coming water from sea level rise next door in the next 50 years.

Existing Section Proposed Section

*Image by Weijia Sun and Zhaohui Wang

Community Living within Urban Farm

A public housing was chosen at the end of the urban route. Designed on one original warehouse, the housing needs to satisfy the climate refuge function in the urgency of rising sea level and more severe climate change. While the site is naturally a wet land, the condition could be worsen in the next decades. The project responds in three scales: urban, building and unit. All aim on encouraging a happy community living while meeting sustainability goals.

Versatile Living Units

Urbanly, the open space surrounding the building is occupied as public farms (which reminds the agricultural memory of this area) in advantage of the wet land; inside the building, an interior garden is informed by three plazas for residents to plant for absorbing the water as well as beautifying the space; lastly, units are elevated from the ground to prevent future flooding, and some of them could be separated into more apartment, just in case of more accomodations for climate refugees.

Unit Type A

Unit Strategy

Unit Type A: Studio with Common Living Area

Unit Type B: Shared House with Common Roof Garden

* unit type b can be separated into two apartments when in need for climate refuge and more accomodation.

Unit Type B*

Once a factory, now a co-living apartment. The project takes advantage of the existing building and makes better out of it: the blue/green surfaces are pixelated to maked a new facade for sunshading and environment-controlling; the flat truss system is kept yet exposed more to attract daylight and favor ventilation.

New Facade Old Facade

PROJECT 1

Tenement Seams

a community kitchen celebrating water and history

St. James Pl, New York City, NY

Category of Work: Individual Academic Work

Date of Completion: Dec. 07, 2022

Supervisor: Nima Javidi (nj225@cornell.edu)

Behnaz Assadi (ba427@cornell.edu)

Thick Seams of Lower Manhattan

Using water flooding as an anchor point to identify thick seams of lower Manhattan, the site is chosen based on its physical vulnerability to water and disease. As it is located in the current Chinatown, the site has gone through multiple demographic changes but its building typologies still remained as tenement housings. While it has been haunted by the cholera outbreak and COVID-19, an architectural intervention is urgent to bring new light to this area.

The Community Kitchen to Sustain and Purify

As soon as the flooding problem is addressed by inserting necessary cisterns, the intervention begins at the critical seams between the former Synagogue and Tenement houses. While Tenement houses are often considered as crowded, dividing, and enclaved, the Synagogue is a healing, purifying, and spiritual space. The insertion of a community kitchen with its light structure and transparent facade starts to mediate the social imagery of these building typologies, and it then serves as a communal space for the diversed population of local residents.

lighten circulate inhabit store

Water, Plants and The Kitchen

The building occupies above one of the cisterns, while the other one collects the excessive rainwater from the pitched roof of the Synagogue. It then becomes an infill of an urban void and also purifies the flooding water as well as rainwaters for the use of the community kitchen. Two strategies are applied: firstly, the roof garden sitting on the Synagogue plants herbal species to not only purify rainwater but also in remembrance of the haunting memory of diseases; secondly, the impermeable open lot in between the kitchen and the tenement houses is filled with shade-tolerant and purifying plants as well. As a result, all purified water is able to meet in the cistern under the community kitchen, while the other is only collecting greywater to be released to the earth.

Flood Volume: 10692.6 cubic foot32077.8 cubic foot

Rainwater Volume: 8821.4 cubic foot max.

Flood/Rainwater

Purified Water

APPX I other

design works

A collection of some design projects outside studios. One is investigating the re-design of an existing facade, one is investigating the new joint systems using the savaged building materials, while the last one works on a larger scale of building, which re-imagines the relationship between human and animals, between inside and outside spaces. All offer a new lens to play with space and architecture beyond comprehensive construction and drawing details.

The Animal Haus (2018)

A Reversed Kintergarden for All Kinds of Infants

3934 Rigali Avenue, Los Angeles

transport animal (stalls)

transport human (classroom)

sightseeing human circulation

APPX II mapping the future

Mapping in architectural designs presents an essential role in finding spatial relationships between places and problems one site could have. Besides more zoomed-in site analysis shown in previous issues, this appendix quickly goes through several urban mappings that have identified specific challenges, helping to picture a future of the site based on the need of the citizens and the existing urbanscape.

The Strawlines

The Sea Level Rise Map of Norfolk, VA locating the placement of “Metal Straw“ flooding intervention

Following the city’s existing stormwater pipelines, the straws between the towers and the drains absorb flood water and reuse it for agricultural and residential purposes. The four montages show how the drain-tower system work in the urbanscape.

*These montages were collaboratedly produced by Hyun Jun Cho, Valentino Haro, Weijia

Time Leap

Tracing the Evolution of Barcelona Shoreline

Vell is nowadays a popular harbour to visit in Barcelona for its sports and shopping activities. Where it stands, the Barcelona shoreline, has been evolving ever since the birth of the city. Its expansion, either natural or manmade, tells its importance as a historical remark, a trading station and a tourism hotspot. Here, we trace the changing shoreline of Barcelona from 500 AC to present and chart the evolution. From the statistic graph, the expressed scope of each expansion is filled with the programs of the port at that time. We clearly see the port developing from a fisherman’s port and industrial area to the city’s most fascinating leisure space.

The City Embrace A Guide to Settle Runaway Homeless Youth from Crisis Centers to Nearby Inclusionary Housings

In New York City, there are approximately 4,600 runaway and homeless youth spending their nights on the street. While the Runaway and Homeless Youth Support Centers are allocated across the city to provide temporary shelters and crisis services, it is still urgent to help them find proper homes and start new lives to eventually support themselves.

The designated inclusive housings for low-income households offer an potential embracement of these homeless and desperate youth in the big city. Starting from each support center, the searching drone begins at its closest inclusive housing site to collect availability for the youth and searches within 5km. Once the data has been sent and confirmed, the youth can then be sent off by the direct path to the chosen site.

Runaway and Homeless Youth Support Center

Inclusive Housing Designated Area

Direct Dispatch Route (within 5 KM)

Searching Drone Fly Route (within 5 KM)

Exemplar Fly Route (Support Center #8)

RHY Support Center #13

This center, located in Staten Island, is lacking any inclusive housing site nearby. The issue needs to be addressed in future development of the land.

APPX III sketching nowness

The ability to quickly capture the landscape and its spatial quality is also essential to further understand the design intentions. As a result, this appendix shows a selection of on-site sketchings. They have helped record the hidden details as well as the overall composition of an urbanscape, reviewing people’s perspective to experience the space and its materialities.