AY20162017 Semester 1 Architecture Portfolio

Chui Yee Chin Architecture Portfolio Year 1 Semester 1

Constructing the Intangible City

BALANCE IN WORDS

Twelve Senses & Experience Field BALANCE

PRECEDENT STUDIES

concept

Precedent studies assert that most balancing equipment involves the individual alone. Yet the concept of "balance" actually implies the equal distribution of two or more objects upon a fulcrum.

The poem further shows that, ironically, the sway of the rocking boat is what allows people to achieve their sense of steadiness and balance.

Alone

A playground equipment on balance is created, incorporating the two characteristics of balance as listed above: balance achieved through dual entities and balance through motion.

Balance

ImBalance

Conceptual Illustration

Up Fro Down

To

With Another

Process

Inclusion of Backrest

Addition of Material to increase Stability

Balance

Removal of material to ensure heavier base

Wider curl to enable better rotation

Balance

site analysis

Walkability Town Study Little India

In recent years, open air shopping districts such as Little India have been losing popularity among Singaporeans as many have turned to air-conditioned malls instead. While the mall’s cool environment may have been the main factor for local crowds to move away from open air shopping districts to the malls, other factors such as convenience, safety and resting areas are also significant as well.

Using the concept of walkability and the findings from the site analysis, a spatial intervention is designed to improve the comfort and attractiveness of Little India.

Vegetation

Trees Potted Plants Cuff Road

Upper Weld Road

Serangoon Road Clive Street

Traffic Flow Heaviest Lightest

Snapshots

Unsheltered Pathways Serangoon Road

Campbell lane

Campbell Lane

Human Density Nodes Heavier Heavy

Figure Ground Dunlop Street

Dunlop Street

T Junction

Skypod

Design Intervention

From the site analysis, Dunlop Street is one of the more popular streets in Little India. However, it is also one of the more discomforting streets to Dunlop Street walk in - it is not pedestrized and has a heavy traffic flow and the lack of trees to shade the area has made the street uncomfortable to walk in.

Therefore, our design intervention is situtated in Dunlop Street.

Conceptual Illustration

Skypod

Structure to take up as little area as possible on the street to facilitate walkability of the street

Minimal use of structure

The randomized arrangement and organic structure of the tensile fabric capture the vibrant atmosphere in Little India.

Pockets of vines inserted next to the cafe to keep the area cool and provide a sense of privacy.

Tensile fabric shelter

Mesh with Vines

Cafe

Resting Area

Dunlop Street Section 1:50

Isometric Projection

Gedung Merdeka

A Sense of Scale Jalan Asia Afrika (Bandung, indonesia)

Over a period of 4 days, the architecture, urban morphology and spaces of Jalan Asia Afrika were observed and documented.

In this exercise, Gerdung Merdeka was chosen to be the building of focus. Apart from documenting its architectural features and spaces, its history and significance to Indonesia were also unravelled.

Jalan Asia Afrika

Library Toilets Conference Hall

AV Room

Museum of the Asian-African Conference

Threshold Spaces in Gedung Merdeka Defined by: 1. Change in material 2. & 3. Change in Height 4. Presence of Markers

Gedung Merdeka Entrance Plan 1:200

Gedung Merdeka has architectural features which are of the Art-Deco style.

Jalan Asia Afrika’s abundance of Art Deco buildings was due to Indonesia’s colonial past. Jalan Asia Afrika was at the heart of Bandung and it became the epicenter for many Dutch activities.

Gedung Merdeka also has a significant impact on Indonesia’s history - it was the venue for the first Asian-African Conference.

Porch Section

Geometric Ornamentaion

Rectangular forms broken up by curves

Decorative Motif

Monolithic Appearence

Gedung Merdeka Elevation A 1:200

Tower emphasizes the entrance Low Relief Ornamentation

Geometric Ornamentaion

Banding

Gedung Merdeka Elevation B 1:100 Windows arranged in bays to give vertical emphasis

String Course BAY Low Relief Ornamentation

Gedung Merdeka Elevation c

1:100

Sidewalk Documentation

The Canopy

This plane is defined mostly by the top of streetlights. The lack of tree foliage and shade makes the street uncomfortable to walk on.

Jalan Asia Afrika

Building Plane

Greenery is grown to obscure the view of a barren land from the pedestrians.

The Canopy

This plane has little shading devices, trees and building cornices, leaving much of the sky visible and making the sidewalk feel less enclosed.

Building Plane

Colourful partition attracts cosplayers to this street in particular as it provides a good backdrop for them.

Roadside

Jalan Asia Afrika was very much designed for cars instead of walkability - the sidewalk is much narrower than roads take up to 5 lanes and there are very few pedestrian crossings.

Gap behind the partition is transformed into a “dressing room� for the cosplayers to get ready.

Ground PLane

Narrow sidewalk width. Benches placed along the sidewalk are underutilised because of the lack of shade.

Narrow sidewalk width reduced even futher by benches and boards.

Ground PLane

Narrow sidewalk width allows for greater interaction between cosplayers and pedestrians. Pedestrians also improvised the stone decor as a sitting spot.

Human Circulation along street

The Canopy

Sidewalk Documentation

This plane is defined by the cornice lines of Gedung Merdeka and the top of the flag poles.

It is aunenclosed sidewalk.

Jalan Asia Afrika

Flag poles define the primary plane while the vehicles define the secondary plane of the roadside. The presence of vertical elements such as the flag pole makes streetwalls on the other side less prominent.

Roadside

The Canopy

This plane is defined by the top of streetlights and the cornice of the commercial buildings at the side. Generally, the sidewalk is quite unenclosed.

Ground PLane

Wide sidewalk width which allows ample walking space despite the placement of benches. Benches are arranged in a way which allows pedestrians to view one another, promoting human interaction.

Building Plane Defined by a strong street wall with commercial entrances. The use of signage and different architecture features keep the sidewalk interesting.

Roadside

Due to the lack of space on the sidewalk, smaller pushcarts are pushed to the main roads.

Ground PLane

Wide sidewalk width was reduced due to the arrangement of benches and placement of pavilion. This forces pedestrians to walk over a smaller area.

Consructing the Intangible City The Shadow of Death

In this exercise, similarities found between cyanotype printing and batik printing were leverage on to create an art work which also drew parallels across cultures.

Process Concept

To explore the theme of death in the cyanotype artwork, the culture of death in the Southeast Asian region was explored.

The Slobog pattern originated from Java is usually reserved for funerals. It is typically made of light dots on a dark shroud, signifying a prayers that the wearer will receive a smooth passsage in their afterlife.

往生錢 Hell Money

往生錢 Hell Money Pattern on transparency

Folded Transparency and Shadow Casted

Slobog Pattern

Similarly, in most Asian cultures, devotees burn folded Hell Money to send off the deceased as a form of blessing for the afterlife.

Hell Money

Arrangement of Transparency

The Shadow of Death, Detail

The Shadow of Death

Exploring the Possibility of Material Cocohut

Precedent studies show that coconuts are not utilised to their fullest potential. Their husks and shells are usually discarded during the process of creating coconut oil and water, leading to almost 85% of coconut husks contributing to pollution.

Additionally, the average income of over 10 million coconut farmers is less than $2 per day.

With the creation of Cocohut, agricultural waste of little value can be transformed into an environmentally friendly and valuable commodity.

Cocohut Prototypes

Coconut Leaf

Alive Thin Flexible

Preliminary Study

Leaf

Instead of incorporating only the coconut fruit, other parts of the coconut tree were also experimented on to understand their different properties and the various means of utilising them.

Tree Bark

grated

Stalk Shell

Coconut Water

Fine Powdery Dry

Fine

Dead Brittle

Coconut Meat Coir

Coconut Fruit

Thin Easily Tangled Tensile

Tree Bark

Husk

fibrous

Brittle Uneven Smooth Surface

Coarse Tree Bark

peeled

Moist Thin Flakey Translucent

Shell

Coconut Milk(Meat)

Tree Bark

Fine Sticks to surfaces easily Powder-like

Reduced

High Viscosity Sticky Oil-Based Heat for 25 minutes

Experimentation

Grated Coconut Husk

Coconut Leaf

Coconut Shell Sawdust

Grated Tree Bark

Peeled Tree Bark

Reduced Coconut Milk

Fibrous Tree Bark

Prototype 2

Prototype 4

Prototype 1

Prototype 3

Peeled Tree Bark

Ingredients & Prototypes

Coconut Tree Bark (Peeled) Coconut Tree Back (peeled)

Coconut Tree Bark (Fibrous)

Coconut Husk (Grated)

Coconut Milk

Coconut Tree Bark (Fibrous)

Coconut Milk

Coconut Milk

Coconut Bark (grated)

Coconut Bark (grated) Coconut Tree Bark (Fibrous)

Coconut Milk

Coconut Bark (grated)

Coconut Shell Sawdust Coconut Tree Bark (Fibrous)

Prototype 1

Prototype 2

Prototype 3

Prototype 4

Prototype 1 was heavy and difficult to shape in the oven.

The air bubbles present in the material led to it expanding and deforming the shape of the material.

Prototype 2 incorporated more fine and smaller ingredients to fill up the air spaces in the material.

Husks were removed and attempts to make the materia more sturdy were made, like Prototype 1 by incorporating coarser ingredients such as the tree bark.

Prototype 4 was light and sturdy, however, it is not diverse enough as it only incorporates the coconut bark and milk.

However, it failed because the moist husk did not stick another because of coconut milk.

to stick coconut to one the oily

Prototype 3 failed to last because the smooth texture of the coconut bark failed to stick together.

Final Product

Coconut Tree Bark (Fibrous)

Cocohut is a lightweight, versatile material which can be moulded into any shape or form easily before it is heated. Being biodegradable, it also serves as an alternative material to replace unsustainable materials such as plastic.

Coconut Bark (grated)

In light of the recent refugee crisis, Cocohut can be shaped into Japanese joints to create refugee and evacuation shelters quickly without the use of bolts. As it is biodegradable, it will eventually return to nature, leaving no toxic waste.

Coconut Milk

Coconut Husk (Grated)

Cocohut shaped into Japanese joinery

Cocohut shaped into various forms

Interpretation of the Cocohut

Eventual decomposition of the Cocohut

Geometry & Concepts of tectonics, structure and material were explored through the Composition design and construction of a paper modular dome and a bridge.

As a starting point for this project, we looked to nature to study naturally-formed structures in the wild.

We found out that the honeycomb structure is one of the most strongest in nature, informing our decision to incorporate the hexagonal shape as a key shape in our structure.

Walls of Honeycomb structure support each other

Properties of paper were also studied, and we have concluded that paper is sturdier when folded and interlocked with one another, therefore we had chosen to work with origami.

Assembly of Honeycomb origami module

Hive

concept HIVE

Achieve an organic form with the honeycomb unit that was relatively angular in shape.

ASSEMBLY OF HEXAGONAL COMPONENT MODULE ASSEMBLY OF DOME

elevation

B

B

plan

Section b

sting

ASSEMBLY OF BRIDGE

ASSEMBLY OF SQUARE MODULE

concept STING

ASSEMBLY OF RING COMPONENT MODULE

Create a structure that will not only support two coke cans at its midpoint, but also allow two coke cans to be slipped into the structure and be held from within.

PLAN SECTION A

SIDE ELEVATION FRONT ELEVATION

In this exercise, a 60cm by 60cm box appropriate for the tropics is to be designed.

Climatic Box: Light & Nature Flow

The tropics are characterised by the hot sun, humidity and strong torrential rain.

However, apart from the weather, the tropics also embody more intangible aspects; such as the feelings of vibrancy, chaos and loudness.

The design concept for Flow aims to capture the intangible characteristics of the tropics while sheltering people from the weather - a dark room with a silver of diffused light which changes in a second the moment wind blows and shards of light boldy and randomly enter the room.

Diffused Light

Shards of Light

Flow

Conceptual Illustration

Gaps between the fan and the cuboid allows diffused sunlight to entire when there is no wind.

Wind is pushed to the sides, following the shape of the curve

Smaller fans arranged in a cross formation to give the structure greater stability.

They are also for weaker winds to pass through, while larger fans are meant for stronger winds.

Wind is caught on one side of the fan

Axonometric Projection The accumulation of wind on one side of the fan pushes the fan inwards, causing the fan to propel.

Improved Design Flow

Singapore experiences different weather patterns throughout the year. For example, winds come from the North or the South depending on the monsoon season.

Hence, an improved design which has different facades according to the character of the surrounding environment they face is proposed here.

East-West Facade Concept

Reflective fans will move in the wind but will return to different positions after spinning. The roof interior will also be made out of reflective material to reflect light from the fans around the box.

By introducing canopies to the north and south facade of the box, wind will be directed downward-upward in the box.

North-South Facade Concept

Axonometric Projection

East Elevation 1:20

North Elevation 1:20

END