2021-2022 Architecture Portfolio

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ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

XIER ZHU xzhu18@pratt.edu

PENTAGON ADAPTATION

Group Porject

Location Bridge St Brookyln, NY 11201

Site Context and Issue

The original plan of Farragut was more concerned with economic efficiency to accommodate more residents, thus neglecting the comfort of the house’s interior and the communication between the residents. We found that the existing community is divided by separate towers, and there is no strong connection between people. In the precedent study, we decided to integrate mat houses with the original tower to build a healthier and more harmonious community.

Scheme

We chose to expand the Farragut house concentrically as a pentagon and connect it to the ground - thus creating a relationship between the podium and the tower. The podium extends down to interact with the ground. At the same time, the pentagonal form is weakened, compromising and clashing with the urban texture and geography of the site, creating a new tectonic structure. As a result, the extruded and the expanded elements together form the dynamic circulation between towers.

Close up

The difficulty of young people to take care of their families and work has also become a potential reason for the low income in this community. We want to provide young residents with career training and job opportunities close to their homes by introducing new business district chains and public services.

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02

Chunk Render

Three Scheme System

Particles from Pentagon Pentagon Podium Extension Connection between Towers

Pentagon Pentagon Podium Extension Connection between Towers

Trimmed

Three Scheme System Trimmed Particles from

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Trimmed

Particles Pentagon Podium Connection between Towers

Program Diagram

Focal Site

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05

Ground Floor Plan Ground Floor Circulation

6th

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Floor Circulation 6th Floor Plan

Focal Site Section

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02 07

Exterior Render

Exterior Render 03 Exterior Render 04

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Focal Site Render

Unit Types

We want to use the same HOUSE UNIT shape to cater to different statuses for young people, such as teenagers, students, and couples. This group of users may consider a more independent space to live but also communicate and share their life much more. However, we also consider some who live with their parents or older people to take care of each other.

Therefore, we designed two categories of units: hostel and family type--- which are in a similar shape. Beyond that, public services, including career training, social storage, and entertainment, are contained to support our users. They are located on the ground floor and the second floor inside the Farragut tower and are surrounded by the mat houses.

Type A Type B Type C

Type A + Type B = Foster

4th Floor

3rd Floor 09

Ground Floor

2nd Floor

Type A Type B Type C Type A + Type B + Type C = Family

Unit

Ground Floor 2nd Floor 3rd Floor 4th Floor 10

Family

Model

Physical Model (Front View)

Physical Model (Back View)

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Physical Model Close Up 01 Unit Partial Model 01 Unit Partial Model 02 Unit Partial Model 03 Unit Partial Model 04 Physical Model Close Up 02 12

RED HOOK MIDDLE SCHOOL

Location 35 Delavan St Brookyln, NY 11231

Overview

This Course is to design a middle school in Red Hook, Brooklyn—The goal is to experiment with form-finding methodologies. Freed from a strictly pragmatic understanding of program, encourage students to investigate multiple approaches, ways of inventing poetic architecture, and discover how the ideas of both gesture and scale within architecture can illuminate the intractable problems of the discipline. Students are articulating how the introduction of disturbances to these non-uniform spatial fields elaborates programmatic exchange at different scales, sponsoring new kinds of educational typologies.

RED HOOK MIDDLE SCHOOL

Starting with understanding how drawing diagrams design the structures. The following precedents have been studied. The School & Homes for HIV Orphans, Berkeley Art Museum by Toyo Ito and The House of Glass by Anne Holtrop. The concept of this design is to create a middle school on the upper floors and other spaces are used by students and the public.

A grid is created by finding the connection from the site. The Interior and exterior are both formed using the grid system, and the circulation is formed by bridging them together. It also becomes the stairs inside the building and turns into doors and windows. The space between the buildings becomes walkways that allow access from different directions.

The material used on the walls is inspired by the exhibition hall from the University of Stuttgart. Using mass timber instead of concrete to create complex curvilinear forms. Each panel is placed together like a three-dimensional puzzle.

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Red Hook MIddle School Perspective Render

HIV Orphans

The project’s notoriety lies in its long-term social and contextual impact. The conceptual philosophy consists of creating new homes for orphans caused by HIV/AIDS that reﬂect the local social traditions and habits, provide shelter and offer health care, educational and leisure amenities.

Notational Diragram

Precedent No. 01

School & Home For HIV Orphans

Architect: Koji TsuTsui

Precedent No. 01 Notational Diragram

The project’s notoriety lies in its long-term social and contextual impact. The conceptual philosophy consists of creating new homes for orphans caused by HIV/AIDS that reﬂect the local social traditions and habits, provide shelter and offer health care, educational and leisure amenities.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

symbolcontogether to organ.

Berkeley Art Museum

Architect: Toyo Ito

the push and pull between solitude and intimacy, viewer never ends. Its contoured galleries, whose to be straining to contain an untamed world, would view art.

Precedent No. 02 Notational Diragram

Precedent No. 02

Each reactangle symbolize a cell unit. By connecting cells together to form an organ.

The reactangles represents the interior space, itself creates the circultation and the space within the connceted rectangles becomes the exterior space. By place organs together to form the complex.

Precedent

School & Home For HIV Orphans

The reactangles represents the interior space, itself creates the circultation and the space within the connceted rectangles becomes the exterior space. By place organs together to form the complex.

Berkeley Art Museum

Architect: Toyo Ito

The three-story structure suggests an intoxicating architectural dance in which the push and pull between solitude and intimacy, stillness and motion, art and viewer never ends. Its contoured galleries, whose honeycomb pattern seems to be straining to contain an untamed world, would make it a magical place to view art.

House Architect:

Precedent No. 01 Gestural Diragram Precedent

Precedent No. 02 Notational Diragram Precedent

Spring 2022 ARCH 602

Design 2: Interiorities & Context

The grid system help divding the spaces to created different functions.

Professor: Andrew Heid Xier Zhu

Positive and negative spaces are form to deternimed area. Larger area can be used as playground, gym, classrooms, or library. Smaller area can be used as restrooms and creates circulation through out the space.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Each reactangle symbolize a cell unit. By connecting cells together to form an organ.

Precedent No. 02

Gestural Diragram

Berkeley Art Museum

Precedent No. 01 Gestural Diragram

Architect: Toyo Ito

contains its and proprivacy.

Precedent No. 02

Berkeley Art Museum

Architect: Toyo Ito

The reactangles represents the interior space, itself creates the circultation and the space within the connceted rectangles becomes the exterior space. By place organs together to form the complex.

The

Precedent No. 02 Notational Diragram

Spring 2022 ARCH 602

Design 2: Interiorities & Context

Precedent No. 02 Notational Diragram

rectangles area.

Concept No. 01

Notational Diagram Drawing Gestural Diagram Drawing

Each room contains its own funtions, and provide privacy.

The grid system help divding the spaces to created different functions.

Precedent No. 03

The House of Glass

Spring 2022 ARCH 602

Design 2: Interiorities & Context

Positive and negative spaces are form to deternimed the function of each area. Larger area can be used as playground, gym, classrooms, auditorium or library. Smaller area can be used as restrooms and offices, it can also creates circulation through out the space.

Precedent No. 02 Gestural Diragram

Drawing

Solid walls created void space in the center, which can be turn into playgrounds.

Professor: Andrew Heid Xier Zhu

in

Different are

Precedent No. 02 Gestural Diragram Precedent

Architect: Anne Holtrop

position of the rooms and the thickness of the floors and walls. Show not just the inner or outer side of the wall but its interior too. The wall is laid bare as in an X-ray photograph.

pull between solitude and intimacy, stillness and motion, art and viewer never ends. Its contoured galleries, whose honeycomb pattern seems to be straining to contain an untamed world, would make it a magical place to view art.

Professor: Andrew Heid Xier

Zhu

own funtions, and provide privacy. space in the center, which can be turn into playgrounds.

Notational Diagram Drawing

Precedent No. 02 Gestural Diragram

Notational Diragram

Solid walls created void space in the center, which can be turn into playgrounds.

Drawing shows not just the contours of the facade but also gives, in dotted lines, the position of the rooms and the thickness of the floors and walls. Show not just the inner or outer side of the wall but its interior too. The wall is laid bare as in an X-ray photograph.

Precedent No. 02 Gestural Diragram

The lines of each rectangle are extended.

Notational Diagram Drawing

Extended lines become walls to created the interior and exterior space.

The entrances and circulations are formed by create openings on the lines.

Berkeley Art Museum

Concept

Precedent No. 03 Notational Diragram

Precedent No. 03

The House of Glass Architect: Anne Holtrop

Precedent No. 03 Notational Diragram

Lines created by the gird system are turning into organic walls.

Drawing shows not just the contours of the facade but also gives, in dotted lines, the position of the rooms and the thickness of the floors and walls. Show not just the inner or outer side of the wall but its interior too. The wall is laid bare as in an X-ray photograph.

Concept

Multiple organic walls forms a space.

Gestural Diagram Drawing

Floors are installed between the walls to create a three-story building, contains both public and private spaces.

Two ated,

No. 01 Plan

Lines created by the gird system are turning into organic walls.

Precedent No. 03 Gestural Diragram

The House Of Glass

Precedent

Concept No. 02

Multiple organic walls forms a space. Floors are tween the a three-story contains private

Concept No. 02 Concept

Concept No. 02 Concept No. 03

Gestural Diagram Drawing

Section Site Model Plan Section Site Model

21-31 Delavan

RED HOOK MIDDLE SCHOOL

Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn NY

The

Plan Plan Plan

TsuTsui

The

Extended

Positive and negative spaces are form to deternimed the

area. Larger area can be used as playground, gym, classrooms, auditorium or library. Smaller area can be used as restrooms and offices, it can also creates circulation through out the space.

The grid system help divding the spaces to created different functions. Different size rectangles are placed in the area.

lines of each rectangle are extended.

lines become walls to created the interior and exterior space. The entrances and circulations are formed by create openings on the lines.

function of each

three-story structure suggests an intoxicating architectural dance in which the push and pull between solitude and intimacy, stillness and motion, art and viewer never ends. Its contoured galleries, whose honeycomb pattern seems to be straining to contain an untamed world, would make it a magical place to view art.

but

shows not just the contours of the facade

also gives,

dotted lines, the

The

private spaces.

types of wall are created, soild walls and walls with opennings.

oppotunities to decide which where can be interior and exterior. The

and public can be define

the

and negative spaces are form to deternimed the function of each area. Larger area can be used as playground, gym, classrooms, auditorium or library. Smaller area can be used as restrooms and offices, it can also creates circulation through out the space.

three-story structure suggests an intoxicating architectural dance in which the push and

No. 03 Gestural Diragram The grid system help divding the spaces to created different functions. Different size rectangles are placed in the area.

lines of each rectangle are extended. Extended lines become walls to created the interior and exterior space. The entrances and circulations are formed by create openings on the lines. Lines created by the gird system are turning into organic walls. Multiple organic walls forms a space. Floors are installed between the walls to create a three-story building, contains both public and

Two

Given the

pravite

by

overall circulation. Positive

The

Concept No. 02 Concept No. 03

03 Holtrop

Gestural Diragram

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Precedent No. 02 Gestural Diragram Precedent

Two types of wall are created, soild walls and walls with opennings.

Developments

Each reactangle symbol ize a cell unit. By con necting cells together to form an organ.

Precedent No. 01 Gestural Diragram

Lines created by the gird system are turning into organic walls.

The reactangles represents the interior space, itself creates the circul tation and the space within the connceted rectangles becomes the exterior space. By place organs together to form the complex.

Multiple organic walls forms a space.

Floors are installed between the walls to create a three-story building, contains both public and private spaces.

Concept No. 02

Given the oppotunities to decide which where can be interior and exterior. The pravite and public can be define by the overall circulation. Plan

Concept NO. 02 Concept NO. 03

Precedent No.

Two types ated, with

Concept No.

The grid system divding the ated different Lines created system are turning organic

Each room contains its own funtions, and provide privacy. can be turn into playgrounds. Concept No. 01 Concept No. 02

Plan Plan

Section Concept No. 03 Concept

Concept NO. 01

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Top View Render 17

Site Connection (Grid System) Final Concept

Floor Plan 2nd Floor Plan 18

1st

Section 19

Section 20

HOUSE 03

Location Governors Island, New York City, NY 10004

Overview

This project uses two objects selected in the McMaster Library, using Boolean union, split, and extrusion method to achieve the final effect. The final architectural form is established by keeping the exicting aspects of the object itself and then cutting the reorganizing it. The design concept is to break the inherent closure of the object itself and divide the reserved area into public and private space.

HOUSE 03

House 03 design preserve and extend the concept to create a Gallery, but contains residential space. The structure of the original model integrate the interior and exterior of the house, removing parts of the exterior walls from the basement and the second floor to widen the view, remove the closure and allow more natural light to enter the interior.

The original cylinder in the model evolved into three separate studios. The stairs are installed in multiple areas, creating circulation between the inside and outside. People can choose different stairs to enter the house, making the entire space more explorative.

The material choices also continue the design concept, using different materials to differentiate and define the space. Woods increases the privacy of the space, while the use of Concrete and brick originally from the House 3 emphasizes the spaciousness and simplicity of the public space.

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House 03 Render 22

Addition and Subtraction

Transformation

Final Object 23

Front View

Final Object + Original House

Back View

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Right View Left View

Circulation

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Program +

Diagram

1st Floor Plan

2nd Floor Plan

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Physical Model (Right Side View) Physical Model (Left Side View)

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Physical Model (Close up)

Section

Cross-Section

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DIORAMA

Porject Summary

A diorama is a form of representation that depicts a perspectival scene. This interpretation technique illustrates relations of figures in space and provides a narrative to the spectator. The collage and digital model previously made for the first review are now transformed into a diorama.

The first step in physically modeling the diorama models will be to create the base. The base was created by using the digital model to do the addition and subtraction on a 12’’x12’’x2’’ base, later forming it with CNC technology. This layering of information is enhanced through the careful curation of the fore, middle, and background, supporting the inlay of an object within an environment.

The second step was to pick the materials for the physical model. For this model, numerous materials and techniques were used including LED wires, acrylic paints, UV paints, iron wires, and 3D print models.

The last step was to join all parts of the model together. It is necessary to create systems of joinery between the various parts and materials of the model. The system of joinery will impact the model structurally and visually.

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