yi wang 2026 portfolio
Content Art Project Liminal Means.................................................................03-05 Where the body ends.......................................................06-09
Other work Timber Furniture - Momo.................................................11-12 Undergroun City of Memorial...........................................13-16 Planned Obsolescence..................................................... 17-20
Liminal Means is a sculptural investigation into threshold as a material condition.
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Liminal Means
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Liminal Means Process...
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where the body ends The series explores bodies in states of transition, suspended between anatomical structure and organic growth, questioning where the body ends and another presence begins.
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Graphite drawing 420 x 290mm
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Graphite drawing 210 x 148m
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Acrylic Paint on Canvas 400 x 500m
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11-12 Planned Obsolescence
Underground City Of Memorial
Timber Furniture - Momo
Other Work
13-16 17-20
T i m ber Fur niture
Produced during the ExLab subject Experimental Timber Furniture, University of Melbourne. @ex_lab
M0mo is an exploration of thick wood form manipulation and structural stabilization through the techniques of steam bending and glue lamination.
M o m o
Material: American Ash & Walnut
The curving legs of the stool create a motional dialogue, evoking an animalistic character embedded in the formal composition. The saddlelike seat emphasizes this character, celebrating the natural color and texture of the raw material.
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The making of Momo begins with soaking the trimmed timber pieces overnight, followed by steaming for over 30 minutes immediately prior to bending. A series of moulds are pre-fabricated based on digital modelling.
process
Once all four legs and the central structural components for the seat are completed, the natural colour of the timber is retained. A cow-like pattern is created by routing into the surface of the wood. After the components are trimmed to fit precisely within the chair structure, the entire composition is assembled and glued. The piece is left to cure for a full day before undergoing final finishing and polishing.
Each leg is formed from four 20 mmthick timber laminations, which are bent, aligned, and glued within the mould. The laminated components are then left to cure and dry overnight before removal.
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Master’s Thesis
Project Location: Queen Victoria Market Car Park Melbourne, Australia
Underground City of Memorial Melbourne, like many major cities worldwide, is facing increasing land shortages for inner-suburban activities. Among these, memorial services urgently require a more sustainable model to redefine their role within contemporary life. Drawing inspiration from the ancient burial typology of the catacomb, this project explores the potential of underground construction as a response to limited land availability, proposing an alternative approach to funeral storage and memorial services.
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(b) (a) Aboveground public space perspective (b) Project Longitudinal Section
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The underground columbarium serves as a memorial and archival space for physical remains and digital memories, freeing the ground level for programs that engage with the surrounding context. This included a market-linked food waste facility for local energy generation and public spaces that enhance site connectivity.
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Columbarium, Bridge & Materiality
To achieve a visually open and ventilated spatial experience, bridges are used as the primary circulation elements. The raw texture of exposed earth and integrated indoor planting introduce a sense of nature into the underground environment. These material strategies echo the conditions above ground, creating a smooth transition to the programs below.
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Basement 3 Floor Plan
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1. Lift
4. Columbarium Office
2. Columbarium Office Break Room 3. Columbarium Office
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Waiting Room
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8. Public Seatings with Cafe
Meeting Rooms
9. Digital Archive Memorial Chambers
5. Disabled Bathrooms
10. Parents Room
6. Female Bathroom 7. Male Bathroom
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Basement 2 Floor Plan
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1. Lift 2. Columbarium Office Break Room 3. Columbarium Office
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15m
Waiting Room
4. Columbarium Office Meeting Rooms 5. Disabled Bathrooms 6. Female Bathroom 7. Male Bathroom
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8. Parents Room 9. Digital Archive Memorial Chambers
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Columbarium & the Memorial Chambers
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The translucent nature of polycarbonate panels allows the travel of light while protecting the privacy of the urn storage and memorial activity. The material also allows the warm earthen tone from the vault, blending seamlessly into the interior of the memorial space, creating a serene, contemplative, and naturally illuminated environment for visitors.
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Basement 1 Floor Plan
1. Lift
5. Parents Room
9. Public Office
2. Columbarium Office
6. Female Bathroom
10. Cafe
Break Room 3. Public Seating
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15m
7. Male Bathroom 8. Corridor Library with Lockers
4. Disabled Bathrooms
(a) & (b) Urn Storage & Memorial Chambers
(a)
(b)
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Master’s research project Project Proposition
Reduce, Recycle & Reuse Building must die
Planned Obsolescence PO is a research project advocating a holistic approach to carbon emissions that considers a building’s entire life cycle. The project asks a “what if” question: what if the demolition stage of a building becomes part of the designer’s responsibility? How a building is demolished would then influence how it is designed. By incorporating time as a design factor, the project promotes construction techniques that maximize recycling and reuse, as well as material choices that support a faster ecological cycle.
Resarching life, living and energy production Jellyfish Protein Serves as Organic Solar Cell
Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is discovered from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. A droplet of GFP is added on top of two aluminum electrodes with a tiny gap between them, sitting onto a silicon dioxide substrate. The green fluorescent protein then assembles itself into strands between the two electrodes. Methods have been developed to grow artificial green fluorescent protein in the laboratory using bacteria, this would create the GFP without the need to harvest and liquefy large numbers of jellyfish.
Silicon Dioxide Substrate. GFP Electrodes
Resource: https://phys.org/news/2010-10-jellyfish-protein-power-nanodevices.html
Heat Sink Glass Backshield
Organic LED Lamps with Fluorescent Proteins
Dr. Rubén Costa’s research group has been researching the possibility of replacing inorganic materials in LED lights with fluorescent protein. The protein LEDs, named „OLEDs“ (organic LEDs), could thus soon be a cost-effective and organic alternative to the color filters made of rare earth elements.
Bio-solar Cell
Electricity Transfer Concentrated Solar Thermal System with Bio-solar Panel
Resource: https://en.reset.org/blog/organic-led-lamps-fluorescent-proteins-01262017
GFP
GFO Filter Set LED
Concentrated Solar Thermal System with Heat/Coolant Transfer Loop
DC to AC Inverter
Space Frame Textile Awning with Manual Mechanism Coil for Space Heating
Heating Storage Cylinder
Wastewater is pumped as nutrient Algae is pumped from algae tank to facade panels Curtain Wall Double Facade Steel Frame Structure
Algae Facade System Waste water as nutrient for algae
Differs in transparency according to the privacy needs
Coil for facade heating
Facade panels pumped with algae water
Algae can grow in anywhere where there is water, nutrient and sunlight. Under sunlight, electron is created during photosynthesis which can be extracted as electric energy for building use. While pumping algae water into the facade panels, the facade becomes a vertical algae farm in which the direct sunlight can intensify the growing process.
Algae Water Treatment
Wastewater collected from the building is pumped as the growing medium for algae for nutrients and water. During the process algae purifies water and ideally able to be reused.
Algae Facade System Heating system controlled transparency
Heating system from the HVAC system is extended to the facade. Since warmer temperature allows algae to grow thicker and faster, by adjusting the water temperature, the transparency of each facade panel can be controlled according to the level of brightness and privacy, e.g. low transparency for sleeping, higher transaprency for studying.
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Panels exposed to strong sunlight is also expected to have a thicker layer of algae due to the intense occurance of photosynthesis. The thick layer of
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Mycelium as Structural and Infill Material Before Growth
Product Facade Panels, Interior Finish Insulation,etc
Growth Phase
Feedstock Disposal/comost material (construction waste)
Initial growth (5 days)
Shredded
Drying- 1 day (Last the longest in an outdoor environment, 70 days)
Substrate Sterilisation
Fungi
Inculate mycelium
Mold growth (21 days)
Heat compress Baking
Given the short life cycle of mycelium, temporary maintenance structures, such as bamboo scaffolding, are deliberately incorporated into the building envelope as key architectural elements. These scaffolds not only support growth and maintenance but also highlight the dynamic, evolving nature of the structure. In this way, the building becomes a celebration of the constant “construction site,” embracing the coexistence of growth, decay, and renewal as part of its architectural expression.
By integrating mycelium, a self-growing fungal material, into the building system, resource consumption can be significantly reduced. This promots a more sustainable and regenerative approach to construction.
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