Architecutre Portfolio
Cylin-Cuboid
Instructor: Daniel Garcia
Collaborated with Weimiao Fan
This project challenges the boundaries between form and space, reinforcing the design’s core through the use of materials and offering a new perspective on exploring identity, expression, and boundaries, provoking deep reflection on the diversity of the community.
This project employs the interplay between cylindrical and rectilinear forms to challenge and redefine the conventional boundaries between form and space, thus creating a design that provokes ambiguity through material choices and facade cladding strategies, obscures geometric distinctions and supports a dynamic interaction between forms. Ultimately, this approach reflects the project’s core ethos of exploring ambiguity.
Initial Form
The basic triangular shape represents the original geometry of the site
Cylindrical Integration
A cylindrical volume was integrated starting to form new combinations
Triangular Decomposition
A deconstructive process introducing new axes and letting geometries facing different directions
Complex Reassembly
Altering the height of each geometry to create stacking composition
Final Composition
A final composition that makes the originally defined shape become ambiguous and undefinable. This deconstructive and reconstructive approach maintains vestiges of the original geometry while presenting an indefinable new form.
Material Selection and Application
In terms of material selection and application, facade cladding techniques are employed to further obscure the geometric boundaries of the structure. Materials vary from bottom to top, delineating three zones: the ground level uses metal perforated curtains for privacy and a unique visual effect. The perforations allow for subtle light filtration, casting intricate shadows that change throughout the day and thereby animate the facade. This dynamic interplay of light and shadow adds a layer of complexity to the building’s appearance and engages passersby with a continuously evolving visual experience. The middle section of the facade features angled individual metal plates. This design choice strategically enhances privacy while allowing natural light to penetrate the interior spaces. The inclination of these metal plates plays a dual role: it obstructs direct visual access, thus enhancing privacy, and it facilitates a controlled expression of light transmission. This ensures that while the interior benefits from natural light, it maintains a disconnect from direct public view. The upper zone of the building introduces natural light through glass curtain walls, reflecting transparency and openness. The primary exterior material is anodized aluminum panels, with the internal structure comprising sustainable cross-laminated timber and glued laminated timber beams, and the cylinder is clad in concrete panels.
Typical Floor Plan
TYPICAL ROOF ASSEMBLY
- PVC SEALANT
- CEMENT BONDED PARTICLE BOARD
- CEMENT SCREED
- IMPACT SOUND INSULATION
- 5-PLY CLT BOARD
- SPRING HANGER SUSPENSION SYSTEM
- INSULATION
- GYPSUM PLASTERBOARD
TYPICAL WALL ASSEMBLY
- STEEL SHEET PANEL
- BREATHER MEMBRANE
- MINERAL WOOL INSULATION
- EXTERIOR WALL, 3-PLY CLT BOARD
- INSULATION/SLUD WALL
- GYPSUM PLASTERBOARD
TYPICAL FLOOR ASSEMBLY
- CONCRETE TOPPING SLAB
- CEMENT SCREED
- IMPACT SOUND INSULATION
- FLOOR PANEL, 5-PLY CLT BOARD
- SPRING HANGER SUSPENSION SYSTEM
- INSULATION
- GYPSUM PLASTERBOARD
GROUND FLOOR ASSEMBLY
- WHITE BRUSHED MARBLE FLOORING
- REINFORCED SCREED WITH UNDERFLOOR
HEATING POLYTHENE SEPARATING LAYER
- IMPACT-SOUND INSULATION
- EPS THERMAL INSULATION
- MORTAR LEVELLING LAYER
- REINF. CONCRETE FLOOR
- UNREINFORCED CONCRETE BLINDING
Lobby Rendering
Gallery Rendering
Full Physical Model
Chunk Physical Model
Symbiotic Landscapes
Instructor: Jingjun Tao
Symbiotic Landscapes reimagines coastal resilience by integrating traditional Kitang systems with adaptive ecological design. As rising sea levels threaten farmlands and settlements, this project introduces a three-dimensional base pond framework, balancing aquaculture, agriculture, and urban adaptation.
Using GIS analysis and computational simulations, it proposes elevated structures, flood-responsive landscapes, and modular living spaces to restore ecological balance. By redefining land-water relationships, the design fosters biodiversity, food security, and sustainable urbanism. Symbiotic Landscapes envisions a future where architecture and ecology coexist, creating a flexible, evolving environment resilient to climate change.
Before uplift
Cash crops such as lotus roots will be planted on the surface of the pond to provide shelter from the sun for the fish in the bottom of the water. Fish manure is a fertiliser for the growth of lotus roots.
The planting area is dominated by crops such as citrus, mulberry and sugar cane, which are an integral part of the basin ecosystem.
Before uplift
Planting mulberry trees provides food for the silkworm, whose dung is food for the fish.
The sea inundates the original planting areas and the food source for the farming areas is affected, increasing the cost of farming. The lack of conversion of the basal pond production system to woodland forces the suspension of communication between land and water.
Impact of Sea Level Rise on Kitang
THE WISDOM OF THE FARMERS
Fish ponds
Ponds after sea level rise
Farming areas
Fruit forests
Sugar cane Grass
Farming areas
Fishing nets
Duck
Fish
Placement of species After conversion
Frog
Eel
Silkworm
Mulberry
Chicken
Steel frame
Bamboo sticks Wooden sticks
In order to reduce seawater intrusion, Guangdong farmers have started to respond to natural disasters by building special agricultural production systems called "kitang".
Future Sea Level Inundation Analysis
The ki ponds are part of the vernacular landscape and have a high degree of geographical adaptation. Through historical geography and gis spatial analysis, the historical evolution of the base ponds based on environmental adaptation is sorted out.
The basal pond model of agriculture has been highly valued by the local people since ancient times as it is highly suited to the watery and floodprone nature of the Pearl River Delta.
The Pearl River Delta gradually became an important economic development area and a large number of people moved to the area. Ponds had to be filled in to create land due to the difficulty of meeting the demand for land.
Pearl River Delta as a whole is facing serious problems of environmental degradation and massive soil erosion, which is accelerating the reduction in the area of the ponds.
A large number of ponds have been designed as factory and residential sites to enhance productivity.
According to literature calculations, the sea level will rese in the next 10 years to inundate most of the Pearl River Delta in China. The delta's basepond agricultural system will disappear.
Evolution of the Kitang System
The
Paddy Fields
Paddy Fields Vegetable garden Mulberry orchards
Mulberry orchards
Sugar cane forests
Densities
18th century
20th century
Riverbanks
Urbanization will not stop and the rise in sea level beomes inevitable. It is now more important to consider how to deal effectively with the resulting disasters.
Analysis of Future Inundation in Jiangmen
The spatial extent of the inundated city was extracted in the context of global climate change, i.e. under a sea level rise and storm surge scenario, based on sea level rese and storm surge elevations in the region in 2030 and 2050 obtained from climate change simulations, using GIS spatial analysis as technical support.
Future response strategies
The decision was made to retain the space of the fish pond, the residential land and the farmland, and to integrate the different
Landscape of Jiangmen City Unflooded area
Kitang's Development and Urbanization Components
Plates of the ecosystem
Tongue and groove construction is a special flexible strurctural body that goes beyond a row frame, and can withstand more load forces. therefore Ibelieve that learning mortise and tenon construction is the step towards the realization of three-dimensional space.
Structure Analysis
Experiment
Combination of two parts
Combination of ten parts
Combination of twenty parts
Realization of Components
By drawing the most basic structural parts on the computer and then using the computer to calculate different combinations of parts, the basic structure of the space is calculated using a large number of parts.
Based on experiments it is knows that the structure of computer computing can be achieved. On the basis of the practice I again used the computer for large calculations and finally the basic space was designed by means of parameters.
Spatial design
The base-pond agricultural system is condensed into a single building unit and the complete ecological chain of the base-pond is realised in a threedimensional space.
Jion the platform
Connecting the coast
Join the living space
Bringing in the scene
Three-dimensional base pond system
The future rise in sea level has inundated most of the coastal areas of Jiangmen city, seriously affecting the local agricultural ecoloqy. In order to mitigate the effects of rising sea levels and storm surges, and to perpetuate the agricultural landscape of the base ponds, an attempt can be made to create a threedimensional base pond along the coastal shore.
Artistic Complex
Instructor: Jingjun Tao
Artistic Complex reimagines Chongqing’s Huangjueping district as a multifunctional creative hub, integrating art, education, entertainment, and community engagement. Inspired by the area’s rich artistic heritage and industrial textures, the project transforms the site into a Fine Arts Park, fostering interaction between artists, students, residents, and visitors.
Through adaptive spatial design and cultural programming, the complex features art galleries, creative bazaars, interactive installations, and public performance spaces. Incorporating VR technology, ecological landscapes, and modular marketplaces, it enhances urban vibrancy while preserving its industrial identity. Artistic Complex is a testament to Chongqing’s evolving creative economy, offering an immersive and inclusive cultural experience.
Art exhibition space
Creative Arts Bazaar
Art Gallery Pavilion Leisure
In a sparsely populated area, the main focus is on education and periodic activities. The Creative Art Space not only provides a working and educational environment, but also has a corresponding art indoor and outdoor exhibition hall to enrich the art activities in the square and the whole Huangjueping art scene Explosion
The project is divided into six sub-divisions through the combination of an art industry chain and the crowd, namely: art creator space, art entertainment space, art ecological space, art education space, art transportation space and art community space.
Interactive
Artistic
Explosion Diagram
Porchscapes
Instructor: Scott Erdy
Inspired by West Philadelphia’s vibrant porch culture, my project reinterprets the ‘porch fest’ tradition in a 13-story academic housing tower. Townhouse porches, central to local celebrations, foster connection through music and gatherings. Extending this idea vertically, each floor represents a distinct college dormitory, cultivating its own identity while remaining part of a cohesive whole.
An open-air spiraling staircase, alongside a central elevator, weaves together diverse communities, fostering interaction across disciplines. Blurring public and private realms, visitors can ascend through academic and social spaces, culminating at a rooftop garden with panoramic city views—elevating the townhouse porch into a dynamic vertical campus.
Conceptual Diagrams
Commom Space
Tutoring & Office
Program Diagrams
Tutor Apartment
Student Units
Circulation
Typical Floor Plan
Housing Unit Detail Plans
Corridor Rendering
Pure Box
Instructor: Franca Trubiano
BIM Lab Co-Lecturer: Ryan Palider
This project explores the design and BIM integration of a speculative office/loft building near Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia. Beginning with conceptual massing in Rhino, the design follows site constraints, incorporating voids, cantilevers, and external terraces to enhance spatial quality. The structural system is developed with a reinforced concrete or steel frame, integrating a central core for vertical circulation and a three-story basement for parking.
The project advances through curtain wall system design, double-skin façade integration, and mechanical systems modeling, ensuring energy efficiency and user comfort. The final phase focuses on detailed construction elements, interior furnishing, and high-quality renderings, demonstrating a cohesive architectural vision that merges functionality, sustainability, and urban context.
Elevation
Wall Section
Details - Section
Exterior
Mezzanine Rendering
Work Samples
The following pages showcase work samples from my internship between 2023 and 2024, covering Schematic Design, Design Development, and Construction Documentation.
X3 Studio Inc
Walnut, CA, United States Architectural Intern
+ + + + Participated in design coordination meetings and assisted with marketing tasks. Built 3D models in Rhino based on designers’ hand sketches. Generated technical drawings in CAD and Revit. Oct. 2024 - Dec. 2024 (3 months)
MAD Architects
Beijing, China
+
+
Used Rhino to design and build interior space concepts. Used Enscape to produce 3D renderings, providing multiple design options for partner review.
Coordinated with consultants and designers in design refine, modeling, and set production, based on partners’ feedback, ensuring alignment with initial proposal.
Reviewed submissions from consultants and shop drawings to check the consistence. Used InDesign to organize construction-related documents such as construction drawings, renderings, material sample drawings, and MEP locations. Discussed with supervisors and coordinated with consultants about discrepancies.
+ + + Participated in the material selection process. Assisted designers in coordinating with contractor and confirmed the materials consistence with initial design idea.
May. 2024 - Aug. 2024 (4 months)
Young H Design
Shanghai, China
Architectural Intern
+ + + + Coordinated with teammates about new schemes, optimized and improved design solutions, and put together the final proposal.
Used Rhino to design and build several 3D schemes about the offices’ renovation for two different clients.
Coordinated with clients and updated design schemes based on clients’ comments. Jun. 2023 - Sep. 2023 (4 months)
