Issuu

PORTFOLIO

ZIFEI SHEN

Arch 2, Washington University in St. Louis

June2023

Towhomitmayconcern:

ItismypleasuretohighlyrecommendZifeiShenforemploymentatyourarchitecturefirm. Zifeihasbeenanextremelydedicatedyoungprofessionalinourofficeduringhistwoyearsof employmentatRWJDA.Hehasbeendependable,hard-workinganddedicated,alwayswilling todowhateverwasrequiredtomeettightdeadlines.Onhisownvolitionhefrequentlyexpended additionaltimetolearnwhatheneededtosucceedorwhendeadlinesrequiredanadditional push.AtRWJDAheworkedonanumberoflargeandcomplexprojectsincludingthegut renovationandrepurposingofthe42story505,000sfThompsonCentralParkhoteland condominiumtower,anewfourteenstorycondominiumhi-riseat199ChrystieStreet,30,000sf foranewthreelevelcorporateheadquarterstohousedesignerAlexanderWangintheSeaport District,andacompletezoningstudyfortheHudsonHotelon58th street.

Zifeiworkedprimarilyonexistingconditions,designdevelopmentandconstructiondocuments aswellasassistingwithproductiononfilingpackagestotheNewYorkStateAttorneyGeneral, NYCTaxOfficeandNYCDOB.HeisnowfamiliarwithNYCALT1,ALT2,TPPandPA filings,andhasalsoworkedonPAAfilingstomostofthoseaswell.Duringhistenurehe communicateddirectlywithanumberofourprojectconsultantsaswellassomeofourclients. Hiscommunicationwasalwaysprofessional,clearandcarefullyconsidered.Hehasprovedtobe proficientinanumberofkeyprogramsincludingAutocad,Bluebeam,ProcoreandEBuilder.

Onnumerousoccasions,Zifeiwasgiventasksthatwereabovehislevelofexperienceandskill levelandhecheerfullyandwillinglytookonthesechallengessuccessfully.Zifeiisnotafraidto askquestions,iswillingtolearnandworkswellin aninteractiveandcollaborativeenvironment. Hewillbeagreatadditiontoanyprofessionaloffice,andwhilewearesorrytoseehimgo,we wishhimgoodfortuneinhiscareerandendeavors.

BestRegards,

R.WadeJohnsonAIA.LEEDAP

St.Louis,November16,2020

Towhomitmayconcern:

ItisapleasuretowriteanintroductoryletteraboutMr.ZifeiShen,arecentMasterof Architecturegraduatewhowasmystudent.

ImetZifei2yearsagowhenhetook apre-thesisseminarthatIteach.Theseminarisa criticalcourseforthepreparationofathesisproject, sinceitinvolvesconsiderableresearch coveringareasofhistory,culture,philosophyandaesthetics allsubjectsofcomplexitythat arekeyto informanarchitecturalproject. While Zifeicomesfromadifferentbackgroundand education,hetookon thechallengesof theclasswiththeenthusiasmanddedicationthatonlyaneageryoungmindcanpossess.He neverabandonedhisdesiretounderstandthetopicathandandinspiteoflanguage difficulties,producedaverysophisticatedhypothesis forhisDegreeProject.

AshisDPadvisoraswell,thechallengescontinued sincetheproposalrequiredaconception ofaprojectwhereconventionalassumptionsofsiteortypologywerealsoquestioned in searchforanarchitecturalproposalrequiringunusualcreativity. Irememberaskinghim,atonepoint,ifhewaswillingtotaketheriskforanun-conventional project,attheriskoffailing,towhichhereplied positively andwithouthesitation.

acrosssuc

exemplaryoneswithlimitlesstalent,butnottoo manywithsucheagernesstolearnand discover.Hisfinalprojectreceivedthehighestmark. Hisdemeanorisgentle,kindandthatalsospeaksof hisplentyqualities.Hiswillingnessand capacityto learn,inexhaustible.

IrecommendMr.ZifeiShenwithouthesitation.

AdrianLuchini RaymondE.MaritzProfessorofArchitecture Principal, LuchiniAD,llc. luchini@wustl.edu

Atrium. Construction Completed. Photo by R. Wade Johnson

Thompson Central Park Hotel

2018 to present, Professional Project

Architect of Record: R. Wade Johnson Design

Interior Designer: Thomas Juul-Hansen

Location: 119 W 56th St, Manhattan, NY

Program: Large Mixed-use Hospitality Project

Supervisor: R. Wade Johnson, Nilo de Leon

Team Work

Located on W 56th St in Manhattan overlooking the Central Park, Thompson Central Park Hotel is a large mixed-use hospitality project. The 42 story high-rise property renovation includes lobby, atrium, restaurants, through block arcades, meeting facilities, retail, new infrastructure,guest rooms and 9 stories of condominiums.

In this project, I was responsible for working with the internal team members and outside consultants to produce CDs for building construction and ﬁling drawing packages including ALT1, ALT2, PA, attorney general report drawings and tax map. I was also engaged in the design process and produced SKs for technical issue solutions.

FIRST FLOOR EGRESS PLAN

First Floor RCP Lobby. Construction completed. Photo by R. Wade Johnson

Through Block Arcade North. Construction completed. Photo by R. Wade Johnson Section Through Atrium & Burger Joint

Living/dining

of Unit 35D. Construction completed. Photo by R. Wade Johnson 35th Floor Plan. A typical condo ﬂoor. 42nd Floor Plan. The penthouse ﬂoor.

Kitchen of Unit 35D. Construction completed. Photo by R. Wade Johnson Type 1 Condo Layout. Unit plan of Units 34D, 35D, 36D, 37D, 38D, 39D, 40D & 41C. Interior Partial Elevation of vestibule & hallway @ Through Block Arcade South. Exterior Partial Elevation of Club Lobby Storefront. Section Detail through Club Lobby Storefront. Detail of Club Lobby Storefront Door.

East Facade. Construction completed.

199 Chrystie NYC High-rise Condo Tower

2017 to 2022, Professional Project

Architectural Designer: Thomas Juul-Hansen

Architect of Record: R. Wade Johnson Design

Location: 199 Chrystie St, Manhattan, NY

Program: High-rise Condo Tower

Supervisor: R. Wade Johnson, Nilo de Leon

Team Work

199 Chrystie NYC is a new fourteen story high-end condo tower in Manhattan with a two-story ground level art gallery. The condo tower employs a “Unité d’Habitation” style design with a skip-stop section that every unit enjoys a luxury two-story living area. The building also features an exposed architectural concrete skin with jumbo curtain.

In this project, I was engaged in producing multiple ﬁling drawing sets including Attorney General Drawing Set and NYC DOF Tax Map. I was also responsible for the energy audit analysis using COMCheck software to ensure suﬃcient thermal performance of the architectural envelope, and producing detailed diagram drawings for the analysis.

Interior view of the 2-story space in a typical condominium. Construction completed. Photo by R. Wade Johnson Ground floor plan West Facade. Construction completed. 8th floor plan. A typical condo floor.

East facade building envelope diagram

West facade building envelope diagram

Front view of 25820 Creekbend Dr. Photo by R. Wade Johnson

25820 Creekbend Dr

Single-family Residence

2022 to Present, Professional Project

Location: 25820 Creekbend Dr, Bonita Springs, FL

Program: Single-family Residence

Supervisor: Teri Kronman

Team Work

Located in Bonita Springs, FL, 25820 Creekbend Dr project is a highend one-story single-family residence with a front garden and a pool. In this project, I was engaged in the existing condition survey of the house and producing the existing conditions drawings including ﬂoor plan, RCP, interior and exterior elevations.

Reﬂected Ceiling Plan Floor Plan

North (Front) Elevation

East Elevation

South (Back) Elevation

West Elevation

Huckleberry Finn’s Floating Place

2020 Spring, Degree Project

Instructor: Adrian Luchini

Location: The Mississippi River

Program: River Facility and Writing Institute

Individual Work

Welcome to Huckleberry Finn’s Floating Place! It is a river engagement facility and a writing institute floating on the Mississippi, to celebrate the history of a monumental figure in literature, Mark Twain, along the river which was the backdrop for Huck Finn’s story. It is going on a weekly routine trip of two days from Hannibal, MO, Mark Twain’s hometown, through Clarksville, to St. Louis, that enables people to engage in writer’s workshops, appreciating the American landscape along the river, and enjoy river gourmets at the same time.

Huck Finn’s adventure takes place on a raft, a piece of land made of wood. One of my inspirations of this “raft” is also the wood debris, which is found along the shores of the Mississippi. The other inspiration are water bubbles, serving as the floating device. More importantly, they enable the transparency of the “rooms” in the raft, making unity with nature and the infinity of this specific site, the Mississippi.

On the raft, the guest rooms are surrounding around the perimeter, facing the river. The public spaces, the river-view restaurant and the gallery are in larger unified bubbles, while workshops also into small bubbles for intimate experience. On the deck, the debris forms slopes, and a “ribbon”, a wood ramp serves as a circulation connecting every bubble. Its main structure is steel, with steel beams and columns above the water level, and steel trusses beneath the water level with plastic inflatable bubbles above.

Celebrating the monuments along the Mississippi Eads Bridge Stan Musial Bridge Mark Twain Huckleberry Finn Gateway Arch Is to be floating on the Mississippi Water Intake Water Intake Chain of Rocks Bridge Merchant’s Bridge McAuthor Bridge

Hannibal St. Louis Clarksville Boarding P ass St. Louis, MO Hannibal, MO FINN’S FLOATING PL ACE TR AVEL WITH HUCK FINN WRITE AS MARK T WAIN ENJOY RIVER GOURMET MENU 8 a.m. 9 a.m. 10 a.m. 11:30 a.m. 12 p.m. 3 p.m. 5 p.m. 6 p.m. 8 p.m. S at 8 a.m. 9 a.m. 10 a.m. 11:30 a.m. 1 p.m. 3 p.m. 5 p.m. 6 p.m. 8 p.m. Sun WELCOME ABOARD TO FINN’S FLOATING PLACE 1:30 p.m. FOOD Boarding & Taking off Lecture on Mark Twain Morning Workshop Work Review Riverview Lunch Lecture on Twain’s Works with the Mississippi Afternoon Workshop Arrive at Clarksville Work Review Riverview Dinner Midwest Breakfast Arrive at St. Louis Afternoon Workshop Work Review Riverview Dinner Sightseeing Time Morning Workshop Riverview Lunch Farewell Party Boarding pass, brochure and schedule of the trip

Water bubbles enable the TRANSPARENCY of the spaces, making unity with nature and the INFINITY of the Mississippi.

Wood DEBRIS, or wood jam, always happens after floods, is a characteristic natural feature along the Mississippi

Water bubbles serve as the FLOATING device. Huck Finn’s adventure takes place on a raft, a piece of land made of WOOD. Observatory Deck Guest Rooms Ramp Gallery Writer’s Workshop

3 2

Study

of constructibility and the construction process of the raft 1 4 5 Constructing the skeleton Wood debris covered on the surface Ribbon ramp built on the debris Deck covering the skeleton All the bubbles are placed

Site Plan of the Mississippi in St. Louis Site Plan of the Mississippi in Hannibal Site Plan of the Mississippi in Clarksville Hannibal

Clarksville Mississippi River from Hannibal to St. Louis

Lower level plan of the raft with the Hannibal dock plan Higher level plan of the raft with the St. Louis dock plan

Clarksville

Middle level plan of the raft with the Clarksville dock plan St. Louis

Passing the Great Confluence

Going underneath the historical Chain of Rocks Bridge and the water intake

Passing the historical Eads Bridge

Arriving at the Gateway Arch Drifting through the lock & dams Floating with the American landscape on the way Parking at the St. Louis dock

Looking out from a typical guest-room bubble Looking out from a typical guest-room bubble Looking out from a typical guest-room bubble Looking out from the river-view restaurant Looking out from the writer’s workshop

Longitudinal Section

Longitudinal Section Detail

In atable bubble 4” Debris 4” Deck 4” Ramp Water-proof Sheathing W8x28 I-Beam @ 10’ Drainage Pipe Steel Trusses @ 10’ Steel Skin 6”x6” Steel Column 2” Wood Floor Slab 4” Deck 2” Wood Floor Slab Pump HVAC Unit Ladder Steel Trusses Steel Skin W 4x13 Steel Beam @ 5’ 4” Deck Gutter 0’ 4’ 8’ 2’ 0’ 4’ 8’ 2’ 16’

In atable bubble 4” Debris 4” Deck 4” Ramp Water-proof Sheathing W8x28 I-Beam @ 10’ Gutter Steel Trusses @ 10’ Steel Skin 6”x6” Steel Column 2” Wood Floor Slab 4” Deck 2” Wood Floor Slab Pump HVAC Unit Ladder Steel Trusses Steel Skin W 4x13 Steel Beam @ 5’ 4” Deck 0’ 4’ 8’ 2’ Transverse Section Detail

0’ 8’ 16’ 4’ 32’

Elevation

Steel Skeleton of the Raft

In atable bubbles 4” Debris 4” Deck 4” Ramp W8x28 I-Beam @ 10’ Steel Trusses @ 10’ Steel Skin 6”x6” Steel Column 6” Wood Floor Slab 2” Wood Floor Slab Steel Trusses Steel Skin 4” x4” Steel Beam @ 5’ Bubble Part Debris Part In atable bubbles Underwater Part Anatomy of the Raft

The Horizon

2019 Fall

Instructor: Patrick Gmur

Location: Zurich, Switzerland

Program: High-rise Residence

Individual Work

This project is a high-rise residential building located in the suburbs of Zurich, where the old town connects to the new district. The whole site is embraced by hills, with remote mountain peaks hidden in clouds. With such beautiful scenery, my design is to engage the residential high-rise with the SWISS LANDSCAPE. The building is supported by a central core, with repetitive floor slabs overhanging from the core, extending further to the horizon and the landscape. On the floor slabs, there is no interior walls except for the shear walls radiating from the core, supporting the loads and transferring them to the core, making the interior space fully flexible. The rectangular floors are evenly divided into two or four, that each unit takes the whole length of the side, enabling residences to enjoy the HORIZONTALITY and the luxury of space. The facade is totally open with curtain walls, that screen-shots the Swiss landscape into a horizontal painting. Besides, it is common strategy that curtains are always placed outside windows for energy saving. In this high-rise, there are two systems of shading outside the curtain wall, one is sun shading with multiple colors, and the other is overcast/rain shading with grayscale, the adjusts shading with the weather, and bringing a vividness to the cityscape.

The natural landscape of Zurich

3 2 4 9 14 8 31

The site’s connections with the city

The site’s relationships with the other high-rises in Zurich and the broader Swiss landscape

Site Plan N

Concept model of floor slabs extending to the horizon

Solar and overcast shading outside the curtain walls

The whole building supported by the core and 8 shear walls

1st-6th Floor Plan

Enjoy the horizontality of the Swiss landscape

7th-17th Floor Plan (Odd number)

8th-18th Floor Plan (Even number) 19th-22nd Floor Plan In the rain with the rain shading

Physical model of the high-rise residence A clip of the living scene in the high-rise residence

N-S Section

South Elevation with sun shading

South Elevation with overcast/rain shading

Landing Birds

2016 Fall Instructor: Jeffery Poss

Location: Kickapoo State Park, IL

Program: Resort

Individual Work

This project is a tourism resort in Kickapoo State Park in central Illinois. The site used to be a coal mine, and after it was abandoned, rain water started to accumulate in the mine, forming today’s High Pond. The inspiration of this project is BIRDS LANDING around the water. By creating this vivid image which brings about a sense of liveliness, it will enable people to approach nature and EMBRACE NATURE. Besides, like birds landing to rest, the high-pond in Kickapoo State Park is a place for relaxation. The curved, overhanging roofs represent the wings that are waving, and with the light wood structure of the pavilions, the image of landing is depicted.

The site is in Oakwood, east Illinois The guest pavilions are going down from the hill, with the main pavilions being rectangular

Study of the spatial relationship between the pavilions

1 4

2 The guest pavilions are going down from the hill, with the main pavilions being diamond The pavilions are surrounding the High Pond, with the main pavilions being octagon The pavilions are surrounding the High Pond, with the main pavilions being square

Fall scenery looking from the other side of the High Pond to the pavilions Fall scenery looking from the pavilion to the High Pond natural landscape

Winter scenery looking from the other side of the High Pond to the pavilions Winter scenery looking from the pavilion to the High Pond natural landscape

Laminated Curved Roof

Wood Frame

Twin Boxes

Wood Floor

Base Frame

Concrete Cassion

Anatomy of the pavilion

The construction process of the pavilion

3 2 1 Constructing the skeleton of the wood box and the curved roof Placing the twin box with curtain windows inside the frame Covering the roof skeleton with laminated curved wood sheet

Tectonic Plan and Sections of a Typical Pavilion

540’ Site Plan N

E-W Section N-S Section

Chicago Ferris Wheel

2019 Spring Instructor: Sungho Kim Location: Chicago, IL

Program: Headquarter

Individual Work

This project is a headquarter of a magnifying-tech company. Located at the beginning of the Magnificent Mile, just next to the historical Chicago Tribune Tower, I aim to make it another landmark of the city, a ferris wheel. The form of the ferris wheel is inspired by sculptor NAUM GABO, which is famous for using lines to create curvatures three-dimensionally. In my ferris wheel, the changing form of CURVATURES is achieved by the changing position of thin trusses in between the major supporting beams. With such strategy, while traveling along the Michigan Avenue, or along the Chicago River, people can appreciate the constant changing of the curvatures and experience the dynamics of the form of this landmark. The whole structure is made of steel, with cable cars traveling back and forth along the main supporting beams, enabling people to experience the dynamics of curvature also in the structure. On the tower, there are also multiple observatory decks, that enable visitors to sight the city from different views.