As We Dream

AS WE DREAM

XANDER WU ARCHITECTURAL PORTFOLIO

Architectural Portfolio, 2024 Edition Selected Work Since 2020 Xander Wu New York

As We Dream is a collection of architectural projects, each designed with an interesting narrative that incites emotions, imaginations, and hope. This portfolio itself serves as another manifesto of narrative design.

Acknowledgement: I am deeply grateful to all my studio professors at Columbia University and Cal Poly Pomona. Their guidance have enriched every project we worked on together. I am also grateful for my fellow classmates, intellectual companions, and friends, who have inspired and supported me throughout my education journey.

PROLOG

As we dream, the narrative begins.

Regardless of how much we flatter ourselves about our individual rationality, a good story, no matter how analytically deficient, lingers in the mind, resonates emotionally, and persuades more than the most dispositive facts or data. (The Delusions of Crowds)

Index

1

DREAM

Me t G a l a A fterparty

01

D e s i g n er of A prés M et II, WS A , 2024

2

ECONO X

Su s t a i n able Luxury B rand

09

O PEN , GS A P P, 2024

3

Ecocos m ic s

En v i ro n mental Justice for S pace E xploration

17

C l i ma t e Feudalism , GS A P P, 2023

4

St ar l ab

23

As t ro n o m er Retreat Tower

I n t e ri m E xhibition, CP P, 2020

5

Tower s O f Wild e r n e s s

Pre s e rv ing Coastal Life A m id Rising S eas Th e C i t y Island, GS A P P, 2023

29

Xander Wu

Architectural Designer New York City 562-338-7044 xanderpwu@gmail.com

Education

Experience

Columbia University

2023 - 2024

Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) College of Environmental Design Los Angeles, California Bachelor of Architecture (NAAB accredited)

2016 - 2022

Water Street Associates

Apr. - May 2024

Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation (GSAPP) New York City, NY M.S. Advanced Architectural Design

New York City, NY Designer of Aprés Met II, Met Gala Afterparty Proposed the schematic design and assisted in producing the installations

Da - Ju Architects & Associates

Taipei, Taiwan Drafter of a distribution center project (500,000+ sqft), Taoyuan Worked on the interior design of the Ambassador Hotel Project, Taipei

Ricky Liu & Associates Architects + Planners

Taipei, Taiwan Model-Maker of the international competition of Taichung Arena, Taichung BIM Designer of a social housing project (500+ units) for the government

Domaen

Los Angeles, California Model-Maker of Resident Alien: Austrian Architects in America, an exhibition at Austrian Cultural Forum New York (ACFNY) Designed the facade of a single -family house, Beverly Hills

Jun. - Jul. 2021

May - Dec. 2020

May - Sep. 2019

Publications

Wu, Alexander. Liu, Edwin. “Tsunami Evacuation Tower”, Deconstructionism Competitions, NON Architecture Editorials.

Dec. 2020

Exhibitions

Team of ARC 4990, “The Inverse Pyramid”, Bombay Beach Biennale Team of ARC 3420, “Sinuosity”, Interim Exhibition, CPP Wu, Alexander, “Toy Museum”, Interim Exhibition, CPP

Mar. 2019 Dec. 2019 May 2019

Awards

Outstanding Student Senior Project, ARC 4611A, CPP Dean’s List for GPA 3.5 or higher, CPP Honorable Mention, Bobby Brooks Memorial Studio, ARC 4031, CPP President’s Honor List for GPA 3.5 or higher, CPP Special Mention, 2019 Design Village Competitions, Cal Poly SLO

May 2022 Dec. 2022 May 2021 2020 - 2021 Nov. 2019

Skills

Rhinoceros Revit Adobe Illustrator Adobe Photoshop Adobe Indesign

Enscape + VR Autocad Sketchup Grasshopper Woodworking

+Critical Thinking +Problem Solving +Creativity +English +Mandarin

Present

DREAM Met Gala Af terpar t y 2024 Work: Aprés Met II by WSA Site: New York City

01

The Cloud Bed | A colossal daybed covered in cloudy cotton

02

Design Concept I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e M e t ’ s t h e m e o f S l e e p i n g B e a u t y, t h e Afterparty presents DREAM, envisioning what she dreams of

The Cloud Bed | Made for the IG moment

Production of the Bed T h e c l o u d s a r e c r e ate d by s p r ay i n g g l u e o n l a n te r n s a n d a d d i n g c o t t o n fi b e r s . Fo u r k i n g - s i ze b e d s fo r m i n t o o n e m e g a - s i ze d b e d, w i t h c l o u d s s u r r o u n d i t at va r y i n g h e i g h t s . At n i g h t , L ED s t r i p s p l a c e d a m o n g t h e c l o u d s g l ow, c r e at i n g a g o l d e n h u e ef fe c t .

03

Cotton Fibers

Laterns

Composition

The Jumping Bed | A rowdy DJ booth

Program of the Floor T h i s f u n k y i n s t a l l at i o n a n d s t a g e d r aw c e l e b r i t i e s e a g e r t o p e r fo r m. S i n g l e beds replace traditional booths and a r e l a i d o u t a r o u n d t h e d a n c e fl o o r fo r o p e n s e at i n g. T h e b a r s a r e c ove r e d i n s i l k fa b r i c , c r e at i n g s of t n e s s t o t h e d r e a m l i ke at m o s p h e r e.

Performance

Seats

Bars

04

Inside Aprés Met II

1 2

4

1

3

5

6

Index: (1) The Cloud Bed; (2) Makeup Room; (3) Open Seating; (4) Candle; (5) Dance Floor; (6) Champange Tower Credit: Zach Hilty, BFA | Image (5)

05

0’

3’

10’

15’

Strategy

View of Brooklyn

2

11

9

9

8

6

10

3

3

12

4 2

5

7 6

1

13

14

6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

core foyer champagne tower pipe and drape photobooth bar candle

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

the cloud bed lounge dance floor DJ booth seats makeup rm back of house

30FL 1’=1/16”

0’

3’

10’

06

Photography

Source: Zach Schwartz, Vogue | Image: Zach Hilty, BFA Celebrities: Carlos Nazario, Emily Ratajkowski, Paloma Elsesser

1

4 Source: Zach Schwartz, Vogue | Image: Zach Hilty, BFA

2

3

5

6

Celebrities: (1) Alexander Roth, Andrew Georgiades, Phil Kane; (2) Jordan Grant; (3) Dascha Polanco; (4) Jasmin Larian Hekmat; (5) Michelle Ochs; (6) Marc Jacobs, Charli XCX, Charly Defrancesco

07

Publicity

Source: Aurora Rose, WWD

Source: Zachery Schwartz, Vogue

Source: gettyimages | Credit: WWD

WWD: “Lana Del Rey, Bad Bunny, Kendall Jenner and more at the AprésMet Party”

Vogue: “Met Gala 2024: What’s the ROI on an afterparty look?”

GettyImages: “Aprés Met Party 2 Met Gala

After Party hosted by Carlos Nazario, Emily ...”

Source: Instagram Stories: (1) wsanyc; (2) andrewgeorgiades; (3) kmjr.world

08

ECONOX Sustainable Luxury Brand Academic: GSAPP Studio Topic: OPEN, 2024 Instructor: David Benjamin Site: Instagram

Creating the desire for sustainable materials in doing so to popularize sustainable architecture

09

10

Mount Econox, the world’s first 3D-printed Eco-Lux store is established in 2024.

Our Mission E c o n o x p i o n e e r s s u s t a i n a b i l i t y a n d l u x u r y, e m p o w e r i n g individuals to embrace a lifestyle that harmonizes elegance with environmental stewardship.

O ur Va lu e s S u s t a i n a b i l i t y | C o m m i t m e n t t o u s i n g 10 0 % e c o - f r i e n d l y m a t e r i a l s .

Design | Leveraging pop culture to make sustainabilit y appealing.

Luxur y | Positioning sustainable products as high- end items E x c l u s i v i t y | U t i l i z i n g s c a r c i t y a n d l i m i t e d e d i t i o n s t o c r e a t e u r g e n c y.

11

Po s t s | S u s t a i n a b l e - l u x u r y L fe s t y l e: Fe a t u r i n g A c c e s s o r i e s , Fu r n i t u r e, I n t e r i o r D e s i g n , a n d A r c h i t e c t u r e

12

Collectibles

Posts | Biodegradable Pop -Ar t, featuring Mycelium BearBrick and Bricks.

13

Advertisements

P o s t s | T h e E c o - L u x S o f a a n d O u t fi t s f e e l n a t u r a l l y e l e g a n t , m a d e f r o m j u t e a n d r i c e s t r a w.

14

Tr e n d i n g

P o p - U p | E n t h u s i a s t s a r e f o l l o w i n g E c o n o x ’ s I n s t a g r a m S t o r i e s t o fi n d t h e s e d i s c r e e t p o p - u p s .

15

Marketing

Stories | The hype is fostered through engaging with followers over time.

16

Ecocosmics Environmental Justice for Space Exploration

Using solar stills to cover lithium pools can slow extraction of lithium mining, thereby mitigating climate change from excessive resource use for space exploration.

17

Academic: GSAPP Studio Topic: Climate Feudalism, 2024 Instructor: M. Luzarraga, A. Muino

Salar De Uyuni | Bolivia 18

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Space Bubble: A geoengineering solution to deflect solar radiation before it hits our planet. (proposal, 2023, MIT Institute)

4

Space Junk: Defunct manmade objects in Earth’s orbit. It is not taken into account for by the launcher. It creates risks to spacecraft.

4

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Operator: Blue Origin Capacity: 2 Status: 2000 US Launch Site: Texas,

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Alien Life: Life which does not originate from Earth. No alien has yet been conclusively detected. Such life might range from prokaryotes to intelligent beings far more advanced than humanity.

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Operator: USA Type: Cre wed Status: 197 Total Lau 6 - 2020 nches: 135

12 13

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17

16

5

Sputnik: The first artificial Earth satellite. Its success triggered the Space Race.

(1957, Soviet)

14

21

2,000 km

35,000 km

5

15 OneWeb: It provides broadband satellite internet service for worldwide. (since 2012, UK, US)

6

45,000 km

16 Starlink: It is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX. (since 2019, US)

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18 GPS: It is a satellite-based radio navigation system that provides geolocation and time information anywhere on or near the Earth. (since 1978, USA)

20 Molniya: This series of satellites were for military and communications. (1965 - 2004, Soviet Union) 21 Beidou: It offers navigation services for China and neighboring regions. (since 2020, China)

Hubble Telescope: It observes comets and planets. It helps to understand how planets and galaxies form. (since 1990, STS)

7 James Webb: Its high-resolution and high-sesnsitivity instruments allow observation of the first stars and the formation of the first galaxies (since 2021, NASA, ESA, CSA).

17 Galileo: Its high-resolution and high-sesnsitivity instruments allow observation of the first stars and the formation of the first galaxies. (since 2021, NASA, ESA, CSA)

19 GLONASS: The second largest satellite navigational system with global coverage. (since 1982, Russia)

Chinasat: It offers broadcastings, emergency support, businesses, and communications. (since 2007, China)

14

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13

1 OKB- ctor ator: Oper r Impa 959) : Luna Type Inactive (1 raft to Moon s: Statu spacec First ct: Fa

on: A Stati ace astrol Sp ona ews of live. A cr rnati Inte where nauts strobiolo 13 home nd cosm for a y, a rolog tory nauts e labora y, meteo ws for llo u uniq stronom ore. It a (since a m s. ogy, s, and sion os, is m ic phys uration oscosm R -d long , NASA, SA) 2000 , ESA, C A JAX

8 Curiosity: Mars rover investigating of the limate, geology, microbial life, and planetary habitability. (2012 - 22, USA) 9 Perseverance: Mars rover identifying ancient environments and evidents of life. (since 2021, USA) 10 Tianwen-1: Mars rover investigating geology, water, and atmosphere. (since 2020, China) 11 Mars 3: The first spacecraft to attend a soft landing on Mars. (1971 - 72, Soviet Union)

11

9

2023

SITE #moon 2023 | A glimpse of politics in space

19

2025

A Chandrayaan 3: India landed a

C Artemis 3: First crewed lunar landing

B dearMoon Voyage: Space X plans

D MOM 2: An orbiter that uses hyper-

rover explore the Moon’s

to take Billioinaire Maezawa around the Moon.

at the south polar region. (NASA)

spectral camera to understand Martian crust, basalts, and boulder falls. (ISRO)

2030 + E NASA plans to launch astronauts to Mars.

F SpaceX plans to land spaceships on Mars.

G India plans to land astronauts on Moon.

H China plans to land astronauts on Moon.

8 10

SITE #mars

Asteroid Mining It is the hypothetical extraction of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects.

Gold Cobalt Iron Manganese

Molybdenum Nickel Osmium Palladium

Platinum Rhenium Rhodium Ruthenium Honey Bee Mining Technology builds on NASA technology invested in the ARM Mission.

Nickel Copper Zinc Niobium Molybdenum

Mars Mining

Magnesium Aluminum Titanium Iron Chromium Lithium Cobalt Lanthanum Tungsten Gold

Optical Mining exploits inflatable structures technology developed for Defense Applications.

TransAstra has patents pending for passive thermal volatile collection and dust separation technology.

Solar Power Earth

It is the new Scientific Space Station. It is part of the Artemis mission that bring back humans to the Moon and have an active presence on the surface.

#Goals

The Red Planet Life: Determine if Mars Supported Life.

Climate: Learn the Processes & History of The Climate.

Geology: Learn the Origin & Evolution of the Geo-system.

Humans: Prepare for Human Exploration.

An unlimited supply of electricity could be generated on the moon’s surface by huge arrays of solar cells and beams to Earth by laser could produce 100,000 megawatts of power.

Lunar Gateway

Space Semiconductor Factory Space-grade components can withstand high temperatures and radiation levels. The market increases for the demand of satellites and space technology

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SPACE GAME

Orbital Depots: Space Logistics Propellant Tankers Warehouse

Space Junk

Upgradable platforms: Permanent Hosted LEO/GEO platforms

ARTEMIS ACCORDS

In Sp ter ac na t e St ion at al io n

#Goals

in

Colombia

India

Mexico

Romania

Ukraine

Australia

Czech Republic

Isael

New Zealand

Rwanda

United Arab Emirates

Bahrain

Ecuador

Italy

Nigeria

Saudi Arabia

United Kingdom

Brazil

Rance

Japan

Poland

Singapore

United States

Canada

Germany

Luxembourg

Republic of Korea

Spain

Deorbiting Reentry

SpacePharma Company Space environment offers radiation, microgravity, and near vacuumless state, allowing for new manufacturing methods and materials that are not possible on Earth.

Far Range Rendezvous Close Range Rendezvous Commissioning Target phasing

Space Junk Clean-up Send Space Vehicles to capture and deorbit the junk, using tools such as a net, harpoon, or robotic arm.

Solar Power, Oxygen, and Metals are abundant resources on the Moon, as well as Silicon, Iron, Magnesium, Calcium, Aluminium, Manganese, and Titanium.

Circular Economy Ensuring long-term sustainability through in-orbit servicing (2050).

Capture Stack Configuration

Moon Mining Factory

Lunar Industrial Revolution opens up New Market for blue collars to join the workforce.

ac

Commercial Spaceflight has become available for Space Traveling (2050).

Sp

NASA has contracted both SpaceX and Blue Origin for its planned landings at the moon’s south pole to prospect for water ice, which can be used both as drinking water and maybe as rocket fuel, so that the moon could become a staging point for mission to more distant.

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Lunar Tourism

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#Space Tourism Startup Companies are planning to offer tourism on or around the Moon before 2043.

Curiosity Rover: It has been on Mars for over 2,800 Martian days, taken more than 700,000 raw images and traveled over 14 miles.

Optical mining uses concentrated sunlight to spall and outgas volatiles.

Launch

How Can Space Help Earth?

For Space Junk

to Lunar Gateway for Nickel

To Moon

for Titanium to Moon

To Mars

For Copper

for Gold

Surface Mining

ALUMINUM IRON GOLD

It is a form of mining in which the soil and the rock covering the mineral deposits are removed.

Sand Gravel Crushed Stone Phosphates

Coal Copper Iron Aluminum

2028 | A brief plan for space missions

20

Analysis

Space Race | Nations and the ultra-rich use celestial bodies to monitor climate change and control societal data.

Space Race | Agencies launch celestial bodies into space to explore, colonize, and compete their dominance.

21

Analysis

Space Game | Agencies plan to spark an industrial revolution in space for more resources and territories.

Space Game | Principles are set by agencies regarding mutually beneficial practices in the exploration and use of space.

22

Starlab

A s t r o n o m e r R e t r e a t To w e r

23

Academic: CalPoly Pomona Studio, 2020

Instructor: Yasushi Ishida

Site: Vetter Mountain, California, USA

24

P r e f a b S t e e l - F r a m e d M o d u l a r To w e r

25

Modular System for Minimizing On-Site Construction Pollution amongst Nature

Fa c t o r y Pr efa b

S i te Fo u n d at i o n

C o r e -Towe r

We l d i n g

User

John Grunsfeld

NASA Astronaut

N e i l d e G r a s s e Ty s o n Astrophysicist

Dale Sanders

Hiker

Jan Spiller

Astrologer

26

27

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To w e r s O f W i l d e r n e s s Preser ving Coastal Life Amid Rising Seas Academic: GSAPP Studio Topic: The City Island, 2024 Instructor: David Moon Team: Keira Chen Site: Lower New York Bay

Conver ting abandoned towers into an interconnected ecosystem to safeguard life from sea level rising

29

E N V. J U S T I C E

30

L i g h t h o u s e s | L o w e r N e w Yo r k B a y

31

To w e r s | C o n e y I s l a n d B e a c h

32

L .V. A q u a t i c L i g h t h o u s e Coral Reef Conservation Program: Ocean Laboratory & Aquarium Prior: West Bank Lighthouse, 1910 Details: 90’ (55’ ASL), Caisson Foundation Site: Lower New York Bay Addition: Modular Plates & Stone Cores

Directed by Louis Vuit ton, the project combines art, fashion, and conser vation, creating a VIP retreat while protecting marine ecosystems.

33

B i r d s P a r a c h u t e To w e r Coastal Birds Conservation Program: Bird Nests & Watchtower Prior: Parachute Jump, 1939 Details: 262’, Six-sided Steel Tower Site: Luna Park, Coney Island Addition: Steel Cables, Bird Nests, Core

Within the amusement park, the project protects coastal birds from rising sea levels while of fering birdwatching for visitors, merging conser vation and enter tainment.

34

Epilog

People do not deploy the powerful human intellect to dispassionately analyze the world. Instead, they understsand the world through narratives (The Delusions of Crowds). My role is to discover these narratives within projects to enrich the human experience.