NUS Architecture Portfolio | 2018 - present

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO LIU YIJIANG

Green Rail Corridor Illustration Part of a Summer 2021 Elective

LIU YIJIANG liu.yijiang@yahoo.com.sg

Education 2021 - ongoing Master of Architecture (Design Track) National University of Singapore School of Design and Environment 2018 - ongoing Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (Distinction) National University of Singapore School of Design and Environment 2014-2015 Full GCE ‘A’ Level Certification Raffles Junior College 2010-2013 Integrated Programme School Certification Raffles Institution Others 2014-2015 Goalkeeper Raffles Soccer 2010-2013 Oboist Raffles Institution Military Band 2008 ABRSM Grade 8 Piano and Music Theory Others Music Sports Road Cycling Photography Doodling Travelling

Experience Dec 2021 - May 2022 (6 Months) Architectural Intern MKPL Architects Pte Ltd Referees Mr Thomas Kong Year 3 Design Tutor akitkkh@nus.edu.sg Mr Tham Wai Hon Year 2 Design Tutor waihon@tacitdesign.net Skills Microsoft Office Autocad Sketchup Enscape Lumion Twinmotion Rhino BIM Photoshop Indesign Illustrator Hand Drawing Physical Model Making Languages English Chinese

This porfolio documents a selected few of my undergraduate works, from entering architecture school up until year 4. While incomplete and so is this learning journey, my projects demonstrate my expose into the depths of the architecture world while reflecting my humble process of harmonising concepts and aesthetics. I am definitely keen on broadening my skills and knowledge as I take on future job opportunities and projects.

The Infill | p.06 Bicycle Urbanism | p.14 Campus Green | p.22 C’est La Vie | p.30

The Infill A Housing and Rehabilitation Centre for All Fall 2021 Skid Row, Downtown Los Angeles Initial site analysis showed that within the 50-block radius of an overlysaturated homeless population, there exists 45 Single Room Occupancy hotels (SROs) repurposed by housing organisations to house the homeless.

With sobriety as a prerequisite, it becomes almost impossible for any of them to own an unit as 70%, out of the total 3000-4000 homeless population, are on substance abuse. This is worsened by the fact that out of the 45 SROs, only one of them is an emergency shelter and two of them are for inhouse rehabilitation programmes.

These site conditions create a social and housing hierarchy among the population, where a homeless person has to “climb the ranks” from being homeless, to short-termed and mid-termed rehabilitation housing, to owning a long-termed subsidised SRO, and finally leaving Skid Row for good. The interaction points of each respective tier are also plotted over the neighbourhood of San Julian Park. It becomes apparent that those in the emergency shelter and rehabilitation housings have very limited spaces for interactions and these often overlap with the general homeless population, questioning the what ifs of unhealthy interactions. The lack of proper amenities in these 3 buildings also cause many to fall in and out of these facilities and rehabilitation.

Existing Social Hierarchy

Rehabilitation Programmatic Research

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The Infill Lobby Perspective, Massings, Plans, Exploded Axonometric and Rooms

Design Thesis The architecture seeks to establish continuity between the different tiers while promoting new interactions and programmes. 200 new short-termed and rehabilitation housings, which the current Skid Row sees a lack of, are introduced while new cubicles for the homeless and rehabilitation programmes are also added. The form itself turns to underutilised spaces, such as rooftops and alleys between SROs, creating an infill architecture that bridges the social gaps within the heart of Skid Row Design The alleys and windows facing them present unique conditions and dimensions for design. The rooms would occupy and extent itself to the walls of the surrounding SROs whenever possible but gaps would be present at their windows. The gaps not only allow for ventilation and lighting, but naturally presents itself as spaces for cross-hierarchical interactions.

The housings were separated such that the first 4-5 floors see homeless cubicles and short-termed housing while the upper 3 floors and designated for short-termed and rehabilitation housing, thus separating the homeless cubicles and the inhouse rehabilitation units. The only way to access the higher floors is through the lobby, located on one of the two rooftop courtyards, where one would also sign up for rehab. Main programmes, such as pottery classrooms and a stage, where someone who has gone through the stages can share their experiences, and are also fitted near this space. The second rooftop courtyard hosts a running track and other physical activities. Pantries and toilets are located on the outskirts and near the connections to the surrounding SROs, providing yet another platform for informal interactions.

To highlight the idea of an infill, a unified colour washes the entire building. Pastel red is chosen here as the colour red stands out while its pastel quality brings about calmness and serenity to its users. Simple straight roof and wall slabs are also utilised to bring all the units together under The Infill.

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Spring 2021

The Infill Sectional Perspective and Perspectives

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Spring 2021

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The Infill The Model

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2 1 Close up shot of model.

2 Between Charles Cobb & Gateways.

3 Plan shot of model.

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Fall 2021

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Bicycle Urbanism Post-pandemic Bicycle-Oriented Development Fall 2020 Urbanism Everyday routines such as eating, grocery shopping, traveling and even watching the TV are reinvented in response to the pandemic. The entire project thus seizes the opportunities afforded to reimagine a post-pandemic urbanism in Whampoa. These new features include, but are not limited to, safe distancing urban furnitures, the cycle-through hawker centre and supermarket. Incorporating bicycles into design could be a very real and tangible way we move forward in this new age of pandemics.

Publicness Tapping on the large existing cycling community, the project brings these people as well as the broader Whampoa community together. The form and spatial porosity of the hub foster visual connections within the building and between the interior and the surrounding environment. Trishaw services are introduced to provide for those without private bicycle ownership as well as a mean to connect Whampoa’s residents. New bicycle-oriented programmes inform the planning and circulation of the building.

Density The main velodrome hub is integrated into the existing bus interchange, located in front of the park connector and in the middle of Whampoa. This encourages residents to use bicycles more instead of relying on inefficient public buses. The hub then extends via new PCNs to playgrounds and communal spaces in the neighbourhood, which are also reconfigured into new parking spaces and trishaw stops. These scattered nodes and the main hub thus form a new transport, recreational and social network in the neighbourhood. Bicycles are also designed to cater more to the needs of Whampoa residents.

Jln Rajah Blk 101 (taken during site anaylsis)

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Bicycle Urbanism Users, Site Anaylsis and Perspective

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Fall 2020

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Bicycle Urbanism Section and User Perspectives

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Fall 2020

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Bicycle Urbanism The Model

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1 South facade and view from PCN. 2 NE Section with node in foreground.

3 Plan shot of model.

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Fall 2020

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Campus Green The Biophilic Workplace of The Future Spring 2021 Why campus?

Taking a walk down Science Park 2, one can see how lifeless the existing workplace is, with white walls clearly demarcating each building’s boundary and lining up Science Park Road. Campus Green thus aims to break this preconceived notion of what a workplace is or should be and to redefine what it means to have a successful open building lab. Located at the forefront of Science Park 2, Campus Green acts as the converging point between NUS, Kent Ridge MRT, West Coast Park, and the rest of the science park and as such, would be an important knowledge hub in the area.

What makes a campus a campus?

A campus overlays the public with the formal and the research, while creating interfaces between these programmes. Campus Green does so by having a ring of connectivity stringing all these aspects together. The research itself is an ecosystem research, where scientists set out to question the relationship between us and the usage of plants, be it for food (geoponics, hydroponics and aquaponics) or for sustainable innovations (biofiltration wall HVAC systems and bioswales). This ecosystem also highlights the circular motion around the campus.

A campus is centripetal and centrifugal. It is spatially porous and pulls people in, around and through while having no fixed entrance. This inward/outward motion is further augmented with the strategic placement of bioswales, creating an irrigation cycle while drawing people towards and across the centre.

The form took inspiration from the site. By twisting and creating new landforms, different types of spaces on a different scale were invented. The macro defines how each contour line runs specifically along this circle to distribute the main spaces and the in-betweens (interfaces). The micro defines how the space is used, from spaces that open up and face outwards to more intimate spaces where people huddle up. This then informs the specific usage of the space, be it formal or informal, purposeful or incidental, public or private. Plants work in harmony with the contours to create these spaces and as such, not only act as a research component but as a spatial device as well.

Schematic Plan

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Campus Green Plan, Journey and Experiential Perspectives

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Spring 2021

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Campus Green Sectional Perspective and Technical Details

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Spring 2021

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Campus Green The Model

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1 Campus overview shot.

2 Close up shot of model.

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Spring 2021

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C’est La Vie A Dystopian Commentary of Modern Singapore Fall 2019 The film Birdman sees an idealised condition of success as reflected by the original utopic heroism of Golden Mile. Due to the harsh realities of the real world, Golden Mile has not achieved its original scale and vision as in Birdman. Extrapolating this has led me to observe some of the less published characteristics of Singapore.

This proposed airship caters to the VVIPs of CÉ LA VI (a restaurant atop Marina Bay Sands), screening local films that portray and allow the exclusive to understand the excluded. Touring over controversial places to wellestablished public housing, they consume the movie while consuming the population, all within the walls of their private rooms.

Map of airship route and income analysis of area with numbers representing the chronological order of said route.

3 Local films being projected onto and into HDB flats.

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Long Elevation of Route

C’est La Vie Perspectives and Exploded Axonometric

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1 Restaurant and boarding.

4 Inside perspective showcasing the comfort within as the airship looms over Singapore’s red light district.

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Fall 2019

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C’est La Vie Collage Illustrations and Model

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2 Golden Mile not achieving its glorified linear city projection and the realities observed in Singapore such as income inequality and media censorship.

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Fall 2019

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